Carrollton's 'Mayor' Joseph Meynier Jr. Dies
Times Picayune 11-22-1996

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Proprietor of Meynier Hardware StoreJoseph Charles "Charlie" Meynier Jr.,
retired owner and operator of Meynier Hardware Store and honorary mayor of
Carrollton, died Sunday at Heritage Health Care Nursing Home in Leesburg, Va.
He was 87.

Mr. Meynier was born in New Orleans and lived there and in Metairie until
moving to Leesburg two years ago.

He was named honorary mayor of "The Town of Carrollton" by Mayor Moon Landrieu
about 1977, 103 years after the town was annexed by New Orleans. Intended to
be a rotating title, it was assigned permanently to Mr. Meynier because of his
devotion to the neighborhood's past and its future.

Mr. Meynier led the fight to save the old Carrollton Courthouse, built in 1855
and designed by noted architect Henry Howard, from demolition in the 1950s.
When he was not allowed to testify in a court battle over the building, he
collected 2,200 signatures from residents opposing plans to tear it down.

The courthouse was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was the home of Benjamin Franklin High School for more than 30 years and
today is used as the Lusher Elementary School Annex.

Mr. Meynier was chairman of the Carrollton Centennial Committee in the mid-
1950s.

He also was president of the Maple Street Civic Association and was active in
getting electric streetlights installed along the street.

Mr. Meynier was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II. With the
exception of those years, he spent his entire working life at Meynier Hardware
on Maple Street, which he bought from his father, J.C. Meynier Sr., in 1971.
He sold the store and retired in 1987.

He moved to Metairie, but his heart never left Carrollton. In later years, his
energies were channeled into the Carrollton Businessmen's Association.

He also was past commander of American Legion Carrollton Post 228 and former
leader of Boy Scout Troop 21 in Carrollton.

Survivors include a daughter, Gesina Meynier Font of Leesburg; a son, Joseph
C. Meynier III; two brothers, Warren and Harold Meynier; two sisters, Lucille
M. Forestier and Helen M. Smith; and two grandchildren.

A Mass will be said Saturday at 11 a.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home,
5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Burial will be in
Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.