Group restores marker dedicated to Battle of Lake Pontchartrain

When a friend of the Mandeville on the Lake Civic Association recently came across a hidden treasure while on a stroll around the lake, the group knew that something had to be done to restore it.

The treasure, a forgotten marker dedicated to the Battle of Lake Pontchartrain, had been abandoned and lay rusting under a tree.

"A friend of our organization, Nancy Clark, was near the Trailhead when she saw this sign lying under a tree," MOTLCA board member and founding member Nick Chronis said. "Apparently, its base got broken, it was set aside, and lay wasting away. She contacted us because she thought it might be the kind of project we would like to work on."

Chronis, along with the help of some strong friends, immediately drove over and retrieved the broken marker. "It's quite a substantial sign," he said. "It's made of aluminum and is about 3 feet by 2 1/2 feet, originally put up by the bicentennial committee years ago."

When Chronis approached MOTLCA with the project, members approved it overwhelmingly.

"This seemed like a natural fit for us. We decided to work with the city of Mandeville to rework the sign and put it back where it belongs rather than leave it under a tree," he said.

Chronis joined with Glenn Craddock of the city's Public Works Department, as well as several members of the community to put it all back together again.

Restoring the sign turned out to be something of a learning process for him and others involved in its reworking.

"We didn't really know where to start. How do you restore something like this? I first approached a friend, Roy Hardin, who is knowledgeable about things like this. He was able to sandblast it for us and then applied a coat of primer. We wanted to do it right."...