Ron Usner can rattle off a dozen stories about the old days in Slidell.

He remembers when NASA employees started taking up residence in the area, the days before Textron became an industrial hub and when Slidell High was the only high school in town.

He moved to Slidell when he was 9, he said, and now, at nearly 80 years old, he has seen a complete transformation of the town he has called home for nearly all of his life.

And that’s why when Mayor Bill Borchert offered him the opportunity to curate the Slidell History Museum, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It just fell right in my lap,” said Usner.

Usner has always been enthralled with history, he said. He has a degree in sociology and a master’s in history, and despite a career in banking and finance, studying the days of yesteryear h

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