Jules Stormestraat

A big enterprise is always the work of a great man. If Waregem could become what it is now, this must partly be attributed to its location and the efforts of its residents, but equally to the capability, insight, and courage of a few decisive men, among whom Jules Storme may have been the foremost.

No one from Waregem left a greater mark on the municipality than Jules Storme, who was born on January 24, 1819. This doctor of law and notary sat on the municipal council from 1836 and on the provincial council as a liberal council member from 1848.

He became mayor in 1848 at the age of 29 and remained in that position for 56 years. In that half-century, the municipality underwent a thorough transformation. From an insignificant 'farmers' village', it became a thriving small town, thanks to the achievements of a man who managed to combine youthful entrepreneurship with judicious wisdom.
First and foremost, Storme created the possibilities for a material blossoming. When he began his administration, there was only one main road in Waregem, the provincial road from Vijve to Kerkhove; when he died on May 13, 1904, the municipality was connected to all the surrounding villages by good roads and thus became the easily accessible center where people from the surrounding area could come to shop. The market had fallen into disrepair and was little frequented; he breathed new life and expansion into it, making it one of the busiest markets in the southern part of West Flanders.

On the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary in office on August 1, 1897, the Kwade- or Kortrijkstraat, where he lived, was renamed 'Jules Stormestraat'. Together with the Stationsstraat, the Markt, the Holstraat, and the shopping center het Pand, Stormestraat forms the commercial heart of the city.

He was also the chairman of the 'Rallye Waereghem' and of the 'Société des courses' (Waregemse Koersmaatschappij), succeeding his brother-in-law Felix De Ruyck.

Source: website city of Waregem - http://www.waregem.be/over-waregem/kort-maar-krachtig/waregem-historisch/waregem/jules_storme

Waregemse Gordel