HYLA Junior High explores the history, culture and arts of Bay St. Louis

For Immediate Release:
April 8, 2019
 
The Hancock Youth Leadership Academy (HYLA) Junior High Program Class of 2019 spent their most recent session, sponsored by Brehm Bell, Attorney at Law, immersed in the history, art, and culture of Bay St. Louis.
 
The 2019 HYLA Junior High School Class is comprised of twenty-four eighth graders from Hancock County who represent all four area middle schools.  On Thursday, March 28th, the group began their day with a tour of The Sea Coast Echo.  There they learned how the news is gathered and designed for print and also the immense value of the community newspaper to the residents. 
 
The students then walked to Ruth’s Roots, the community garden, created by former Youth Court Judge Elise Deano. The garden was created to help serve the community’s youth through enrichment, but is now truly a community treasure.  Local artists have made the garden quite vibrant with painted murals and fence posts.  Students were surprised to see chickens, rabbits and flowers, plants and herbs being grown in raised “salad tables”.  The garden also is home to two hives of honeybees, a butterfly habitat, two worm farms, as well as a Koi pond.
 
Hancock County Historical Society was the next stop on the tour where Mr. Charles Gray educated the students on the history of Bay St. Louis.  Students learned that they could access the archives to do their own historical research.  They then enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Purple Banana.
 
HYLA students were further immersed in Hancock County culture when they took a walking tour with stops at the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum and the Mardi Gras Museum where costumes from the Krewe of Nereids are displayed.  Mary Ann Pucheu, a current Officer of the Krewe, was on hand to explain the history behind the organization and the impact that it has on the local economy.   HYLA students ended their walking tour with a stop at the Starr Boarding House (which is now the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre).  They were treated to a tour and presentation by Ms. Cheryl Grace.
 
The Hancock Youth Leadership Academy is the first and only county-wide youth leadership program in Hancock County, and is a program of The Hancock Resource Center.  Moving forward, local community sponsorships are needed.  Please consider sponsoring a session or making a general donation to support the ongoing operation of the Hancock Youth Leadership Academy.  Invest in Hancock County’s future by cultivating its next generation of leaders: visit www.hancockhrc.org or call 228-463-8887 to learn how.
 
 
Picture – HYLA students pose in front of one of the vibrant “salad beds” at Ruth’s Roots.
Front Row (left to right): Lilly Lundgren (OLA), Hailey Capo (OLA), Lilianne Martin (OLA), Allie Mauffray (Bay Middle), Katie Koenenn (OLA), Jenna Antunica (Hancock), Ella Key (Hancock), Kamryn Avery (Bay Middle), Brynn Compretta (Bay Middle), Trinity Reynolds (Bay Middle) and Makayla Robertson (Hancock).
Back Row:  Owen Haynes (Hancock), Louis Weber (Saint Stanislaus), Landon DeWitt (Hancock), Edward Dezendorf (Saint Stanislaus), and Max Garrett (Hancock)
 
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For additional information, contact Rhonda Rhodes at 228-463-8887 or rrhodes@hancockhrc.org.