The school facility was unusual for the South, eventually featuring three buildings of non-air-conditioned classrooms, divided by the age group of the students, each surrounding its own custom basketball court or gymnasium.
Although the school may be best known for its athletic prowess, it also maintained a reputation as an elite educational facility, consistently producing its share of National Merit Scholarship finalists in the New Orleans metro area.
The school was also a perennial power in the local scholastic Prep Quiz Bowl, a popular televised game show hosted by Mel Levitt.
All teams were composed of students in elementary and Jr. High grades, ensuring every boy had a chance to play organized sports.
In the late 1960s, when racial desegregation became federal law, the previously all-white New Orleans public school system began to accept minority students.
But overall, enrollment kept growing and new rivalries from more distant schools, such as Central Private, Riverside, and Reserve, began to form.
Barthe himself retired to his "farm" in a rural area outside of New Orleans with his wife of many years, known to Sam and students as "Mama".