Historic Louisiana

months and trapped when it was cold to
support their growing family. While helping to
support the family when he was not in school,
Harold also developed an interest in scouting.
Typical of the drive within him, Callais set
his goals on achieving Eagle Scout, the highest
level in the organization. He earned the honor,
becoming the first in the area to do so. His
achievement so impressed national leaders that
he was invited to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to
represent the best in scouting.
While his parents imparted the value of
education to their children, financial reality
limited the number of children who could
attend college at one time. Callais worked
with his father on the family trawl boat for 18
months after his high school graduation.
Upon graduation from SLI in 1959, he
took a job with Chevron Oil Company in
Leeville, working with electronics. Callais was
intrigued by the electrical engineers he
worked with, and decided that was the career
path he would follow. He soon ventured into
a business of his own, Mike Electronics,
selling, installing and repairing radio
equipment on the fishing vessels, which
worked the nearby waters.
Callais never stopped learning. When he was
not working, he was researching the newest
trends. It was through engineering publications
that he first learned of the birth of the cable
television industry. Cable TV was so new that
Ted Turner had not yet become a part of it and
the city of New Orleans had yet to be exposed
to extended channel viewing. (Callais later was
in attendance at a cable meeting in Atlanta in
1975 when Turner announced his intentions to
begin the Turner Broadcasting Station.)
“We put our first customers on in April
1969,” Callais said in the 1999 interview.
“That was before satellites.”
With less than 200 customers, Callais
Cablevision was born. He built in phases,
eventually offering the service to residents in
the southern and central part of Lafourche
Parish and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish. In
2002 over 12,000 digital-ready customers are
offered up to 200 channels.
With the New Orleans and Baton Rouge
broadcast channels available to customers
clearer than what home antennas or ‘rabbit
ears’ could receive, Callais developed another
incentive for residents to sign up: a local
channel where he could showcase local talent
and draw viewers in with audience
participation. He partnered with a local
supermarket owner to host a weekly bingo
game. He encouraged adults and teens to
show up at the studio for a weekly dance
session, with music provided by local artists
who eventually went on to prominence.
A weekly phone-in auction promoted local
merchants, showcasing their products and
services. Throughout his life, Callais encouraged
community support of locally owned
✧
Above: Harold Callais was one of the first in
the region to achieve Eagle Scout status.
Below: Harold Callais opened Harold’s
Appliance and Hardware in 1961, followed
by Mike Electronics, which led to the
establishment of Callais Cablevision
in 1968.
SHARING THE HERITAGE
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