Out of minutes

Tasked with keeping the court minutes of the 13th Judicial District Court for Division “A” here in Evangeline Parish for 30 years was Tina Fontenot of Mamou.
After transitioning into more of a utility role, she continued working at the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court Office for an additional eight years before finally retiring recently.
“It’s a good feeling to not have to get up early in the morning and go to work,” Fontenot said about being retired.
Fontenot started working at the clerk’s office on June 1, 1982. For 30 years, she worked for Walter Lee, who served as clerk for 56 years and is inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame.
“It’s pretty awesome working for somebody who was clerk for 56 years,” Fontenot said. “It was really great. Walter Lee was a good boss and was fair. He had a lot of wisdom, and he pretty much let us run the criminal department the way we wanted because he would just oversee everything.”
When Fontenot first began at the clerk’s office, she was the minute clerk for Judge J. Emile Coreil.
“It was not easy,” Fontenot said. “We had to type on electronic typewriters, and then we upgraded to the ones where we could store documents in it. But, when I first started, Judge Coreil really helped me a lot to learn how to type all these minutes in the proper form. At first, I would type the minutes and bring them to him. He’d proofread them for me, and he’d tell me what he wanted in his minutes. That’s how I really learned.”
Fontenot continued, “Judge Coreil used to make me bring the minute book to court everyday. I guess he felt it was official. If he had a question about something prior, I could look it up. But, very seldom did he ask me to open the book. He just made me bring it.”
After working as a minute clerk for Judge Coreil, Fontenot worked Judge Preston Aucoin.
“He was a very good and understanding judge,” Fontenot said. “He was strict, but, as for me working under him, I had no problems.”
Fontenot, however, recalled one incident where Judge Aucoin put her on the spot in court.
“There was a witness who could not speak English,” she said. “Judge Preston knew I could speak French because he and I would talk in French a lot. So, he told me in court he wanted me to translate. The lawyers would ask the questions in English, and I had translate for the elderly man in French. Judge Preston couldn’t do it as a judge, so I did the best I could.”
When Judge Aucoin retired in 2002, Fontenot then worked as minute clerk for Judge Bruce Rozas before Judge J. Larry Vidrine was elected later that year.
Fontenot continued as minute clerk for an additional nine years before going work in the file room of the clerk’s office with Chief Deputy Clerk of Court J.L. Brignac. Part of her role was doing research.
When current clerk Randy Deshotel took office in 2012, Fontenot then began doing marriage licenses and birth certificates on top of doing research.
About the transition from minute clerk to a utility role, Fontenot said, “It was a good transition because I felt it was time to move on to something different.”
She concluded, “I have always loved working there. All-in-all it was a wonderful experience. It was the main part of my life because I grew up there. I started at age 20, and I’m 58 now. It was a second home to me. There is a lot to learn in that office. It’s a good experience for anyone.