Contents
O C TO B E R 2 0 2 1
Events
11 6 8
ROUGAROUS AT THE READY Monster mashes, corn mazes, and more
REFLECTIONS Keeping the “Story” in “History” by James Fox-Smith
NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES
VO LU M E 3 8 // I SS U E 1 0
Features
32 36 42
Publisher
EVANGELINE ENDURES Deconstructing Louisiana’s most beloved literary legend by Lauren Heffker
THE PASCAGOULA ABDUCTION Alleged alien abductee Calvin Parker tells all. by Alexandra Kennon
James Fox-Smith
Associate Publisher
Ashley Fox-Smith
Managing Editor
Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Alexandra Kennon
Creative Director
STORIES FROM THE HIDDEN CEMETERY
Kourtney Zimmerman
In the Point Blue pauper’s graveyard, little legacies live on. by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
On the Cover
Contributors:
Cheré Coen, Burton Durand, John Francois, Tom Guarisco, Ashley Hinson, Chris Jay, Olivia Perillo, Harriett Pooler, George Rodrigue, Federico Villasenor
“VIRTUAL REALITY”
Cover Artist
Cover image by George Rodrigue
George Rodrigue
While preparing for our annual Myths and Legends issue, with Longfellow and spirituality and legacy on the mind, our editorial team suddenly remembered the origin story of George Rodrigue’s beloved motif, The Blue Dog. As detailed in a conversation with Wendy Rodrigue transcribed on page 8, the venerable artist originally painted his striking, stalwart pup as none other than Louisiana’s own boogie man, the rougarou. In our cover image, titled “Virtual Reality,” Rodrigue’s contemporary interpretation of one our region’s oldest scary stories meets the artist’s own legend of origin, Evangeline—the archetype of the Cajun story and the very first myth captured by Rodrigue’s brush. In an issue of myth centered on origin stories, Evangeline gets her moment, as do her Acadian descendants who had the opportunity years later to stick it back to the British in the Revolutionary War, and others whose graves still spark wonder in a remote corner of Point Blue. Curiosity extends even beyond, though, to prehistoric civilizations and visitors from other worlds. And as always, we remain enraptured by the local legends, in the forms of forgotten pastries and lost treasure, attic galleries and nocturnal pollinators. Here in the South, we are a storytelling sort, which makes the Myths and Legends issue one of our favorites.
Cuisine
46
BLACK FOREST CAKE Chef Shorty Lenard’s cherry-less confection by Chris Jay
Culture
50 53 56
UNEARTHING PREHISTORY Frank McMains probes at ancient civilizations by Tom Guarisco
OUR BRILLIANT BATS LDWF’s efforts to protect our region’s vulnerable and integral bat population by Harriett Pooler
ACADIANS FOR AMERICA The Opelousas Post Militia in the American Revolution by John Francois
4
O C T 2 1 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
Escapes
58 62
THE ATTIC GALLERY A fifty-year-old arts haven in Vicksburg by Cheré Coen
PERSPECTIVES Cayla Mattea Zeek by Ashley Hinson
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President
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