Echoes From The Attic and Poems, Jackson L. Bahm, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Don Johnson, Feb. 2001
Typed by Belford Carver
Written by by Edna F. Campbell
Copyrighted by Edna F. Campbell
With special thanks to her family for permission to use her works.

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ALWAYS FOUGHT FOR CITY

As far back as 1898 Jackson L. Bahm has been putting his best foot forward in 
promoting Hammond's growth.  It was in these early years that Jack and his brother 
Fletcher boarded in Hammond in order to gain a good education.  Their parents, the 
Fletcher Bahms, homesteaded 141 acres of land adjoining Zemurray Lodge then called 
Holtonwood.

Jack continued his schooling until he thought he was old enough to enter the 
business world.  He first went to work for Frank and George Neelis whose spreading 
building was on the corner of North Cate and East Thomas Street.  In fact the Jack 
Bahm store is the old warehouse of the Neelis Department and Emporium of 1905.  
Bahm was one of the group of the first five per cent of the draft of the First 
World War; he served about two years.  He did not go overseas, but was 
commissioned.  He returned to Hammond in 1919 and opened his store where he 
remained for 53 years.  He was an alert enterpriser and was elected as one of the 
directors of the first Chamber of Commerce.  The group met monthly over Johnny 
Perron's Barber Shop on West Thomas Street.  Bahm recalls vividly the night Linus 
A. Sims attended a meeting and urged the chamber to get a junior college started 
in Hammond.  "We took it on from there," said Bahm. 

 "Another of our achievements was promoting the first Experiment Station."  Bahm 
recalls the fervency with which the chamber worked to get the farm rolling.  He 
remembers Will Nalty, then the chamber president, writing a personal check out to 
buy the land from the Byron Bankston owners of the farmplace.  This was done until 
the Police Jury could go through orderly form to make the deal.  Bahm was one of 
the promoters spearheading the movement.

Another project Bahm was actively involved in was the beginning of the road 
building between Hammond and LaPlace.  He said, "There was a winding river road 
from LaPlace to New Orleans, but we were anxious to have a road to travel from 
this point so we went to Baton Rouge and talked with Governor John M. Parker and 
convinced him of the need.  Dave Strader's father went with us and was convincing 
spokesman as he knew the area." Also, Bahm remembers their consistent work in 
getting the drainage set up through the chamber.

Bahm has been active in the American Legion Post 156 since its inception in 1920.  
He commented on Joe Robinson being the first commander.  He added, "we had our ups 
and downs with the organization but now it is flourishing."  Bahm has been honored 
by the Legion on various occasions for his untiring work.  His philanthropic work 
has prompted many Legion citations.

Bahm is also an active and loyal member of the Knights of Columbus.  He was one of 
the seven of the first communion class of Holy Ghost Catholic Church along with his 
brother Fletcher.  Reminiscing he said his love for Hammond goes back to the early 
days when driving in the horse-driven buggy from their country home to Hammond: the 
many church steeples fascinated him He would ask his parents numerous questions 
about the churches and their spirals.

As long as Bahm operated his store, he did not change with the modern modes.  He 
held on to his patrons fromthe country and kept many outmoded items such as wash 
boards, coffee mills, harnesses, saddles and numerous farm tools. The long time 
merchant philosophizes on the reasoning of most people of today.  He has remarked 
that people have more today than they have ever had, but are not satisfied.  This 
"school dropout" says he is content with what he has amassed and thinks the town 
of Hammond is the finest in the nation.  He has a farm which he looks after daily, 
and he likes to camp and fish.

In the grocery building with a floor space of 188 feet, Bahm spent the span of his 
working years behind the counter.  He went merrily on his way content with the old 
methods with which he started.

(From ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC, VIII, 1974, by Edna Campbell)

(Pic of Jack Bahm)

(See also Parts III "Turns Back on New Things" and VII "Old Store Passes on to New 
Hands" for other articles on Jack Bahm and his store.)