Erath historians interview, video survivors of collapsed water tower 50 years later

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the collapsed of the Erath water tower.
Dubbed the “Tragedy of the Century” for Erath’s Centennial in 1999, without a doubt, the tragic 1964 event changed the face of the community. On Sunday, Erath will honor the memory of the eight men who gave their lives in service of their town.

A Community Remembers
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and the Erath 4th of July Association will commemorate the sacrifice of these men on Sunday. The community is invited to take part in this special event.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath will hold a Mass of Remembrance for the eight victims of the collapsed Erath water tower during Hurricane Hilda. The Mass will be held at 11 a.m. at the church located at 700 South Broadway Street.
At the completion of the Mass, a recently completed documentary detailing the tragic event will be shown. The documentary was produced by Erath Historians Robert B. Vincent and Stacy Bodin.
The film is approximately 45 minutes long, and each family of the victims will be given a DVD of the documentary.
Following the showing of the documentary, a reception will be held where community members can mingle and share their memories of that tragic time in Erath’s history.

Documenting
Erath’s Stark
Tragedy

Erath historians Stacy Bodin and Robert B. Vincent, who maintain the “Erath Echoes Historical Legacy” Facebook page online, decided they wanted to create a video documentary which offered a few firsthand accounts of the fifty year old tragedy.
Without each realizing it, both Bodin and Vincent had separate plans, months prior to the anniversary, to produce a video documenting the event. Bodin’s plan was to create a video account of the event, if time was on her side, during the summer months. With the help of former Supervisor of Classroom Technology Jude Dubois, Bodin learned about video editing from her mentor around 2003. So, with a little experience under her belt, she felt she could create an amateur video that would document this event in the town’s history.
Without realizing Bodin’s plan, Vincent, in the meantime had contacted a company to help him with the project, however, the cost was higher than he expected. The two collaborated and decided they would try and work on one themselves. The concept was to create a documentary focusing on events through the eyes of a few who experienced it back in 1964.
Bodin said, “In terms of work, we knew this would be a huge project if we did it ourselves. However, Robert (Vincent) and I felt strongly that a historical video was needed to mark this part of our town’s history. This was also a way to pay tribute to the eight victims who died that day.”
Bodin added, “Obviously, it isn’t a professional video documentary, but we do feel it will serve a historical purpose for our town.”
Vincent said, “I have always felt that the story of these eight brave men had to be preserved so that it wouldn’t be forgotten to history. Their sacrifice was too important to be forgotten, but was unsure how to preserve this history.”
He also shared, “On May 26, 2013, I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of a documentary on Mervin Kahn in Rayne. I immediately began thinking a documentary would be the perfect way to preserve this story, and knew that the only way this could be accomplished is if Stacy Bodin was involved. I told Stacy my idea, and we ran with it.”
During the summer of 2014, trio Stacy Bodin, Robert Vincent and Jackie Vincent, were able to set up interviews and film Martial Broussard (one survivor of the tower’s fall), Steve Granger (an Erath ambulance driver at the time of the tower’s collapse), Erath Mayor John Earl LeBlanc, (who worked at Broussard Funeral Home in Erath in 1964), and Alice Dubois LeBlanc, (daughter of victim Felix Dubois), for a video documentary of their firsthand accounts of the disaster.
Also included is a short clip of the late Cleve Thibodeaux who was filmed by Kermit Bouillion on February 14, 2003. Thibodeaux was an eyewitness to the water tower collapse and also served as an Erath Town Councilman during that era. The complete interview with Cleve Thibodeaux’s account of the disaster (filmed by Bouillion in 2003), is available on the Erath Echoes Facebook page.
Inclusive in the documentary are interviews with Erath Attorney and Acadian Museum Board Member Robert Vincent, who speaks about the routes taken in rebuilding after this event, and the 1999 Erath Centennial Historian Stacy Bodin who speaks briefly about her experience as historian in researching this tragic moment in the town’s history, as well as remembering the event through her then five year old eyes. Jackie Vincent narrated the documentary with passages from Bodin’s “In the Wake of Tragedy” article written in 1999.
The informational documentary includes interviews, photos of the eight victims, a little insight with the (eight victims), multiple funerals, the ordeal the town endured in 1964, and steps taken to rebuild the city hall, fire station and water tower.
Local author and Attorney Warren Perrin, who helped establish the Acadian Museum in Erath in 1993, shared his thoughts on the 50 year old tragedy by saying, “During its 115 years, Erath has overcome many disasters, but none were more devastating to the heart and soul of this Cajun community than the collapse of the water tower,” Perrin said. “The sudden death of eight very pro-active citizens together with the destruction of the town’s City Hall caused all Erathians to experience first shock then collective depression.”
Kermit Bouillion, Board Member of the Acadian Museum, shared a similar sentiment by saying “The unthinkable tragedy that the town of Erath suffered in 1964 will forever remain in our hearts.”
On October 3, 2014, 50 years to the day of the tragedy, the 43-minute video will be published online (on or before 9 a.m.) on the Erath Echoes Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/TownOfErathsHistoricalSite.
Both Bodin and Vincent voiced regrets that time was not on their side to interview more people for the video. Bodin shared that both she and Vincent had time constraints preventing them from doing more interviews. The duo did state however that if anyone wants to share their accounts of this event, they can send it to them using any of these routes. (1) Email a typed story of their experience to Stacy Bodin at stacybodin@aol.com or Robert Vincent at erath1@aol.com. (2) Mail the story (typed or hand written) to Robert Vincent at P.O. Box 64, Erath, LA 70533. (3) Video the person’s story and mail or bring the DVD to the Acadian Museum in Erath. For each listed above, please include the name of the person who is telling the story, (the name of the person sending it, if it is a different person), a phone number, email address or physical address with the information. Everything gathered will be placed in the Hurricane Hilda-ErathWater Tower Collapse folder at the Erath Museum to preserve the stories.
Vincent ended by saying, “I am very proud of the finished version. We now have the story told in a clear, concise manner that can be shown to any group that wants to know about this episode in Erath’s history. It is my hope that the Erath schools will use the documentary when teaching students about Erath. These eight brave men paid the ultimate sacrifice for their community, and we all owe them our respect and gratitude.”

Note: Where can you view the video and story online? When can it be viewed?
1. Erath Echoes Facebook Page @ https://www.facebook.com/TownOfErathsHistoricalSite.
2. On Stacy Bodin’s Vimeo link @ http://vimeo.comstacybodin/1964erathwatertower .
3. On the Town of Erath’s website at http://townoferath.com.
4. Both In the Wake of Tragedy Video and Cleve Thibodeaux’s 2003 interview will both be located on Bodin’s Vimeo Video page at https://vimeo.com/channels/erathechoes.
5. Also Bodin’s complete story of the Erath Water Tower Fall can be found @ erathhighalumniclasses.edublogs.org/2010/04/21/in-the-wake-of-tragedy.