“The Guzardo Ladies”

GUEYDAN - This week’s “Meet Your Neighbor” you will meet sisters, two beautiful women that can make you laugh till the cows come home!

Sister stories have always been endlessly appealing to most women and these two sisters, Alberta Guzardo Touchet and Dolores Guzardo Saal have many to tell.

Only a few minutes after meeting her baby sister, Alberta decided she would have nothing to do with a new sibling in the house. After spending a few days with her grandparents Alberta was promised a “surprise” when she returned home, and to her dismay the “surprise” was her brand new baby sister, Dolores!

It didn’t take long for Alberta to take to her “surprise”, growing up together along with their oldest sister Ruby, the Guzardo sisters became best friends and simply enjoyed life. They never spent very must time apart and spent endless hours laughing together.

A quick wink from Alberta means the next sentence will be a good one, which makes Dolores sit up at attention. The sister laugh, finish each other sentences and sometimes remember the stories differently. One thing they both agree on is “life was good” whether it was spending time riding bikes, going to the movies, enjoying school events or learning to speak french from the neighbor’s children, “Life was good”.

Growing up Alberta says she always wanted to grow up and get married. Dolores wanted to become a movie star then later changed her mind and wanted to become a nurse. Both graduated from Gueydan High School, both married and raised their children (Dolores two sons and Alberta three sons) in the safe haven of a small community. They were actively involved in civic, school and church events. Both women agree that staying in Gueydan and being close to family gave them many benefits in their lives.

Inheriting a strong faith, from their Italian/French parents the sisters became strong examples of women in the twentieth century with strong ethical standards.

When asked their thoughts on how times have changed during their lifetime they both agree technology has changed quite a bit and has helped with communicating with family, one so much as to having an IPad and finding the internet an endless world of possibilities.

When questioned about marriage and comparing their marriage to married couples of today, Dolores says, her husband took care of all the finances. Asked if she minded, she answered “not at all”. The opposite was true for Alberta, she stated her and her husband agreed that she would be the one to handle the finances, proving that neither of the couples decisions were the right way, just the best way for each individual family. Giving the advice that marriage should be something that is grown into, and using her faith Dolores softly says “if you think about it, it is the way God intended marriage to be, wives submit to your husbands and husbands love your wives.” Both agree if you can follow that rule, not to an extreme but simply follow it, you should be able to maintain a happy and solid marriage.

Margaret Mead summed up the sisterhood relationship by saying “Sisters are probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship”. This quote describes most sisters but holds true to heart with the Guzardo sisters, the twinkle in their eyes expresses the respect and love they have for each other.