Acadiana Profile Magazine April-May 2023

Generations of shrimpers fight to stay afloat amid the rough seas of the industry’s many challenges TOP LAWYERS

Trailblazers

5 Acadianians making their mark on the region

EDITORIAL

Editor Melanie Warner Spencer Art Director Sarah George

Associate Editor Ashley McLellan

Copy Editor Liz Clearman

Lead Photographer Danley Romero Web Editor Kelly Massicot

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rebecca@acadianaprofile.com

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Subscriptions Jessica Armand

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Office Manager Mallary Wolfe

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For subscriptions call 877-221-3512

There are few times of year more magical in South Louisiana than spring. The temperature can of course get fairly high, but for the most part it ranges from cool to just a little hot, as opposed to the barely bearable, entirely oppressive summer heat. Crawfish is also abundant, which trumps pretty much every other reason to love this time of year.

This season when I’m not eating crawfish, I’ll be hiking, biking, gardening, picnicking and otherwise relishing the many outdoor activities I enjoy before it’s too hot to bother. In fact, I’ve been inspired by “De la Cusine” writer Marcelle Bienvenu to coordinate a picnic as soon as possible as an excuse to whip up a batch of her delectable-sounding pâté.

Also in season in Louisiana until the end of May is brown shrimp. If like me you are a shrimp lover and crave it any time you can get your hands on it, our feature on Acadiana’s multigenerational shrimping families is a must-read. Writer and photographer Kevin Rabalais traveled throughout South Louisiana to talk to shrimpers about their passion for the work and the seemingly insurmountable challenges facing this beloved regional industry that has sustained local families for decades. I’m a firm believer in always knowing where our food comes from and who brings it to our plates. By learning about the people, places, creatures and conditions that that must be met to produce our food, we gain a greater appreciation for it and understanding of how we can better serve the communities that serve us, as well as conserve and respect the animals, Earth and humans that make our meals possible. The memorable families you’ll meet in this feature have a lot to teach us if we pause long enough to listen.

Last, but certainly not least, we have another installment of our annual Acadiana Trailblazers. Like Acadiana’s shrimping families, these folks are making a big impact on the region. You’ll come away from their stories feeling inspired and motivated. I certainly did.

Cheers!

Melanie Warner Spencer Managing Editor Melanie@AcadianaProfile.com

AWARDS

International and Regional Magazine Association

2021

Gold Art Direction of a Single Story

Silver Covid Related Story

Silver Food Feature

Bronze Overall Art Direction

2020

Gold Overall Art Direction

Silver Art and Culture Feature

Silver Recreation Feature

Bronze Food Feature

Bronze Profiles

Bronze Art Direction of a Single Story

2019

Winner Magazine of the Year

Gold Overall Art Direction

Gold Art Direction

Single Story

Gold Photo Series

Silver Photographer of the Year

2018

Gold Overall Art Direction

Gold Magazine

Photographer Gold Art Direction of a Single Story

Gold Food Feature

Gold Department

Silver Magazine

Writer of the Year

Silver Hed & Dek

Silver Photo Series

2017

Gold Overall Art Direction

Gold Magazine

Photographer of the Year

Gold Art Direction of a Single Story

Gold Food Feature

Silver Cover

2016

Gold Overall Art Direction

Gold Magazine

Photographer of the Year

Gold Art Direction of a Single Story

Silver Photo Series

Spring Flinging

Round up of what's new in Acadiana

BY LISA LEBLANC-BERRY

Sipping

Suds with Pups and Pals

Two adopted dogs served as the inspiration for Ryan and Traci Pécot’s latest venture, the new Adopted Dog Brewery (ADB). Owners of Tchoup’s MidCity Smokehouse, the pet-loving husband-and-wife team unveils a family- and dog-friendly craft beer haven with an indoor arcade and large, outdoor seating area surrounded by trees. Enjoy in-house brewed ambers and pales, non-alcoholic beer and home-brewed root beer while Fido checks out other bar-hopping pups (adopteddogbrewing.com; facebook.com/adopteddogbrew).

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM UNDERWAY IN LAKE CHARLES

Cameron LNG recently contributed $50,000 for Lake Charles’ new Port Wonder Project, with a nod to the new Children’s Museum currently underway. Arranged around a view corridor from the street to the lake, it will be housed within the state-ofthe-art Port Wonder facility along with the new Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science and Nature Center and Educational Complex upon completion (cambridgeseven. com/project/ port-wonderchildrens-museumand-nature-center).

High-end Pooch Pampering

Lafayette Dogtopia recently opened in Lafayette to the delight of devoted pet parents. A state-of-the-art pampering daycare and spa facility, the upscale center allows owners to drop their dogs off during the day in a safe, fun, supervised environment that provides socialization with other dogs. Spa perks range from the Feet, Face and Fanny Trim Up to the Nail Trims and Spa Deluxe (dogtopia.com/lafayette).

Help Solve Monkey Mystery

Broussard Although an arrest has been made after the recent theft of 12 spider monkeys from Zoosiana, the monkeys’ safety and whereabouts remain a mystery. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Broussard Police Department (broussardpolice. com), the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (wlf.louisiana.gov) or call Lafayette Crime Stoppers at 337-232-TIPS/800-805-8477.

Boots for Beautification

For more news briefs visit AcadianaProfile.com

Houma Enter a Jean Lafitte look-alike contest or a treasure hunt during the Pirates & Boots Festival (April 22), celebrated in conjunction with Keep Terrebonne Beautiful’s Love the Boot Week. The fundraising fest features live music, regional cuisine, booths and kids’ activities galore (keepterrebonnebeautiful.org).

NEW

LAFAYETTE

Crazy for Cobblers

The Peach Cobbler Factory opened in Scott (next door to Piggly Wiggly in the space previously occupied by Green Heart Meals). Founded in 2013 (and not affiliated with Cobbler House in Abbeville and Youngsville), the offerings include 12 flavors of cobbler, 12 flavors of pudding, Pudd-n shakes, cobbler cookies and cinnamon rolls (tip: they can be stuffed with any of the 12 cobbler options). Ask about Dessert Flights (peachcobblerfactory.com).

Allons Danser!

Breaux Bridge The 7th annual Pardoning of the Crawfish led by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser was recently held to launch the three-day Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival (May 5-7) featuring more than 30 zydeco and Cajun bands, dance contests and lessons, crawfish races and eating contests, cooking demos and an abundance of crawfish creations. Put on your dancing shoes and “cut da rug” to Wayne Toups, the Pine Leaf Boys, Steve Riley, Horace Trahan and Chubby Carrier (bbcrawfest.com).

Francophone Fun in the Sun

Lafayette Grammy-winning contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle headlines the 37th annual Festival International de Louisiane (April 26-30) in conjunction with Lafayette’s Bicentennial. The international and regional array of talent includes Angélique Kidjo, ADG7, Dub Inc., Tank & the Bangas, George Porter, Lisa LeBlanc and Corey Ledet. Look for flamboyant belly dancers and pow wow dancers, sample fest favorites like crawfish nachos and duck quesadillas, and treat the kids to the educational Petit Marché (festivalinternational.org).

SCOTT

Down the Bayou

Be hungry and inquisitive as you explore Thibodaux

BY CHERÉ COEN

1

Bayou Country Crawfish Trail

DINE ON CRUSTACEANS

No, it’s not a trek through the woods, but a culinary trail that honors our favorite spring crustacean. In Houma and Thibodaux, there are more than 30 places to pause for crawfish dishes, from po’ boys and étouffée to spreading a table with hot boiled mudbugs. Visit the website for a downloadable map and take off, but we recommend starting with the crawfish boudin at Bourgeois Meat Market. Once you’ve visited five sites, you can claim a Crawfish Trail T-shirt.

BAYOU COUNTRY CRAWFISH TRAIL CRAWFISHTRAIL.COM

BOURGEOIS

MEAT MARKET

543 W. MAIN ST., THIBODAUX 985-447-7128

BOURGEOISMEATMARKET.COM

WETLANDS ACADIAN

CULTURAL CENTER 314 ST. MARY ST. THIBODAUX 985-448-1375

NPS.GOV/JELA/ PLANYOURVISIT/ WETLANDSACADIAN-CULTURALCENTER.HTM

BAYOU COUNTRY

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 211 RUE BETANCOURT

THIBODAUX

985-446-2200

BAYOUCOUNTRYCHILDRENSMUSEUM.ORG

2 3

Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center

LEARN HISTORY, SPEAK FRENCH

The center is one branch of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve with its focus on the Acadians who settled along Bayou Lafourche. Not only will visitors learn the history and culture of the Bayou Cajuns, but also the center hosts walking tours of downtown Thibodaux, boat tours of the bayou and Cercle Francophone, where Cajun French speakers gather to speak the language. All are welcome.

Bayou Country Children’s Museum

DRIVE A SHRIMP BOAT

It’s not actually a boat on the water, but children — and may we say of all ages — will love climbing aboard this replica of a shrimp boat. That’s not all at this fun children’s museum with a Cajun focus There’s a Mardi Gras float, an oil platform, a sugarcane harvester and simulations of severe weather at a makeshift weather station.

MAKING MUSIC ON CANVAS

Lafayette artist Bryant Benoit creates collages inspired by South Louisiana’s African-American culture

BY JOHN R. KEMP

On the cover of zydeco musician Keith Frank’s 2021 album “The Resurrection of the Creole Connection” is a painted scene of an African-American Creole family sitting out in the front yard. The woman has a bowl of okra in her lap and other family members are playing various musical instruments. The painting “Passin Time” by Lafayette artist Bryant Benoit is telling a universal story about family and a way of life in South Louisiana’s Acadian parishes. It’s a story about Benoit’s life, too.

Benoit is a storyteller and natural artist who sees and interprets African-American life, culture and music in South Louisiana through his mixed media paintings. His collages are visual memories on canvas that emerge from his life-story and imagination as he listens to the chords, riffs, vibrations and rhythms of jazz, zydeco and the blues.

“To me, music is the storytelling of one’s culture,” he says. “My subject matter is music. My subject matter is my life. When we play that music that’s when you hear our stories. That’s when you hear about making pies, you hear about the gumbo, you hear about the

(above) Family Tyme (right) Feeding Tyme II

étouffée. That’s when you hear about the ‘fais do-do.’ My paintings come out of that music. They tell our life stories.”

Born and raised in Lafayette, the 52-year-old Benoit’s love of art and music began as a child. Because he constantly drew, his mother bought him pencils and sketchbooks. Because his father was a musician, the young Bryant took up trumpet lessons in the fifth grade. The two art forms eventually came together to create the artist-storyteller. As he listens to the music, he hears the stories embedded in the lyrics. Those stories work their way through his imagination to the canvas.

In recent years, Benoit has developed an interesting style of creating collages. He first paints his initial concept on canvas then applies photographs he cuts out of magazines as accents to enhance the total composition. Look carefully at each painting and you’ll see those cut out collaged images blended into the paint.

“The images I place in my collages are random,” he says. “Once the photographs are on the canvas, I might paint around them and even alter the photo a

little bit and blend it into the painting. The collages are small details that enhance the bigger image of what I’m painting.”

Now a successful artist, Benoit didn’t start off to be one. Initially, he studied architecture at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Though he didn’t finish the program, he says it was excellent training in transforming ideas to paper and three-dimensional forms. In one class exercise he had to create collages after interpreting a stanza of poetry. It was a skill he took with him into his art.

“My collages come from interpreting words, styles and colors and all those things that make a shape and form,” says Benoit. “Architecture and collage, art and music combined all of those aspects. It’s kind of like jazz, organized chaos.”

After leaving college, Benoit worked in construction but got laid up in 2009 after knee surgery. He lost his job but all the while he kept painting. His wife, Joey, placed them on Facebook and they began to sell. A new career was born.

Through his gallery in North Lafayette, Benoit continues to sell his work to collectors across the United States and world from Canada and Europe to West Africa, New Zealand and Asia. His growing list of credits and awards is impressive. He also has participated in various cultural festivals, including the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His commissioned work includes, among others, official posters for the Lafayette-based African American Heritage Foundation and for the 2018 and 2019 Zydeco Extravaganza.

Whether creating posters or interpreting music through his paintings, Benoit says his art is an expression of “his inner voice.” It’s a “symphony” and he is the conductor bringing together on canvas all those improvisations, rhythms and vibrations. 

MEET

In 2020, Hurricane Laura dealt a devastating blow to Jerry and Leslie Trahan’s family home on the southern edges of Cameron Parish. The natural disaster prompted the couple to relocate further inland and rescue a Greek revival replica on the verge of being demolished.

When designer Sara Vincent received a call from Leslie Trahan about the project, she knew exactly which Gulf Highway home her client was referring to. She’d fallen in love with the property years earlier while passing by on the way to another design project on Big Lake.

Greek Revival

“We brought all the charms and character back to life,” says designer Sara Vincent, who returned the home to its former grandeur by incorporating ornate wallpaper, as well as antique chandeliers and mirrors.

BY MARIE ELIZABETH OLIVER PHOTOS BY HAYLEI SMITH

Built in the 1990s, the Trahans’ two-story home was originally modeled off of the historic Burn House in Natchez, Mississippi. Vincent says even though their newly purchased house had also sustained some damage from Hurricane Laura, she knew it wouldn’t be a problem. The dated, 1990s interior however, was another story.

“It was a mess,” says Vincent. “It broke my heart. It was a bunch of DIYs gone bad.”

Her design goal, explains Vincent, was to bring the charm and character of the house back to life. She planned a vision for the interiors, while Jerry, the owner of Trahan Construction, went to work on structural issues.

An Acadiana family breathes new life into a stately home on the outskirts of Lake Charles

The home’s interior balances dramatic statement pieces with sleek minimalism, for a design that feels both contemporary and timeless.

The classic Southern style of the exterior served as Vincent’s inspiration as she worked to reimagine the home’s aesthetic. She brought in traditional elements, like wallpaper, antiques and richly stained wood to help make the space feel up to date, and even more importantly, timeless.

“I knew I wanted this room to be a little more bold,” says Vincent of the office, which she painted a deep blue from the Benjamin Moore Historic Collection and added marble to make the fireplace pop.

“I try my very best to always have warmth in a home,” says Vincent. “Reuse old history. Stay away from what you see all over HGTV.”

Luckily, the kitchen already came centered around a brick arched stove area, which Vincent used as a jumping-off point for the rest of the design. She raised the cabinets and added front-facing windows to bring natural light into the breakfast area. Neutral quartzite countertops and a freestanding island kept the space feeling light and airy.

The designer chose to go bolder in the library, with a deeply saturated historic shade of blue by Benjamin Moore. Vincent selected the color to complement jewel-toned textiles she mined at Round Top.

“I found the most beautiful chartreuse fabric I knew would pop,” says Vincent.

She admits the homeowners initially had cold feet about the library’s bold hue, which she extended to the ceiling. But, now it’s one of their favorite rooms in the house.

The primary bath also underwent a major transformation. Vincent describes its original style as “heavy” and “hodgepodge.” She went in the opposite direction, incorporating generous swaths of light marble and glass.

“We totally gutted that area,” she says. “We reworked it to have a much better flow.”

The Trahans are still making updates to the fourbedroom home. Vincent says they have a movie theater planned for upstairs and a pool house in the back. At about 6,000 square feet, the home provides ample space for entertaining and raising their two teenagers.

Most importantly, they’ve created a family home for the long haul and a sturdy shelter to stand up to any future storms. 

DETAILS

Builder Trahan

Construction, trahanconstruction.com

Designer Sara Vincent, saravincentdesigns.com

Carpenter/ Installer Chad Cormiera

Vincent says she knew one thing she didn’t want to change was the brick arch in the kitchen. Instead, she re-bricked the backsplash and made it a focal point.

5 ACADIANIANS MAKING THEIR MARK ON THEIR PROFESSIONS, THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE REGION.

TRAILBlazers TRAILBlazers

by DAVID CHERAMIE & STANLEY DRY portraits by ROMERO & ROMERO

Amber RobInson

No pun intended, but Amber Robinson is a natural for conservation. She comes by it honestly with a father from Grand Isle, a mother from Gueydan, and a childhood spent between Louisiana’s last inhabited barrier island and its coastal marshes. Robinson is amazed her love of the outdoors has turned into a career as an environmental consultant and wetland scientist with one of the largest engineering firms in the United States. “We are water people and development has changed us,” says Robinson as she describes how we have changed the environment and the effect it has had on us. One recent project brought her back to where her father grew up. In collaboration with the Nature Conservancy, Robinson and her team oversee the planting of black mangroves along the coast from Texas to Florida. On a visit to Grand Isle, she was surprised to find stands of this key plant in the fight against coastal erosion. The problem, Robinson says, is for some, it holds a negative connotation. “So much of what I do is educating people about best practices,” pointing out her strength in bringing people together, allowing for advocacy and collaboration. Robinson does this not only as a top professional in her field, but also as an engaged member of the conservation community.

Since 2019, Robinson has served as president of the Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association, a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization formed to raise awareness about issues relating to the local environment by getting people out on the water.

“Both in my job and with the BVPA, educating the public about conservation is essential,” Robinson says. “The better you know something, the more you care about it and the more you want to protect it.”

Major projects include a quarterly clean-up and planting at Beaver Park near the Lafayette airport, the River Symposium that brings together conservation experts and Reviving Resilient Landscapes, free educational workshops on how and what to plant. Teacher resources are also on the website.

Robinson, like many Acadiana residents, seems happiest when she is on the water and along the marshes. In both her professional and personal capacity, she is making sure that in spite of the enormous environmental challenges we face, we will have a healthy ecosystem to enjoy for years to come. —

David Cheramie

CULINARY

Kerry Boutté

If you’ve ever enjoyed a delicious plate of crawfish étouffée while listening to a Cajun band before twostepping the night away, you can thank Kerry Boutté, a native of Arnaudville at the junction of two bayous. It may be coincidental that his hometown’s French name is “La Jonction,” but by bringing together three key elements of Cajun culture, Boutté created what

was the epicenter of the Cajun craze of the ‘80s: a restaurant called Mulate’s. Though synonymous with French Louisiana, the success behind Mulate’s — combining and popularizing our food, music and dance — has a surprising German connection. As a serviceman stationed in Germany in 1968 and ‘69, Boutté got an upclose look at the biergartens. He saw families gathered around tables, eating traditional foods, drinking beer and dancing to their local bands. It reminded him of home. Boutté returned stateside with that seminal idea tucked in the back of his head. His culinary trailblazing began in a Morgan City supermarket as an apprentice butcher, before moving on to work in restaurants in Texas and New Orleans. He learned the business through trial and error, never having had any professional training. “My formal education didn’t go too far; I could never pass algebra. I couldn’t find x,” jokes Boutté. “But what I do have is good intuition.” One day, he found himself with a wife and child, broke and out of work. With his intuition as his guide, he moved to Lafayette. “I think what I’m looking for is there,” he says.

The first day he opened his new restaurant in 1980, he had two customers. “That’s all right,” he thought. “If we take care of them, then they’ll tell two more people and so forth.” Algebra may have given him fits, but he understood exponential growth. His business grew steadily, but the restaurant erupted once a German film crew looking for Louisiana stories outside New Orleans during the 1984 World’s Fair happened upon Mulate’s. Soon after filing its report, the world, including the likes of Paul Simon and Lorne Michaels, beat a path to Breaux Bridge. The now-legendary restaurant with its myriad business cards stapled to the ceiling, the well-worn dance floor and the bronze shoes of its most fabled dancers is long closed, but Mulate’s lives on at the New Orleans location. Its lasting legacy is wherever the X factor of combining South Louisiana food, music and dance can be found. — David

Cheramie

CULTURE

Cathy Indest

Four times a year, Lafayette’s Acadiana Symphony Orchestra comes to New Iberia for a free public concert. The concerts, which cost $16,000 to $20,000 each to produce, are sponsored by the Iberia Cultural Resources Association and funded by individual and corporate donations. As president of the association, Cathy Indest is the driving force behind the concerts,

as well as other activities of the group.

The Iberia Cultural Resources Association was founded in 1969, but it was inactive for many years until Indest revitalized it in 2006. Today, there are more than 365 dues-paying members of the organization. One of the group’s projects has been the installation of 21 bronze markers in downtown New Iberia to commemorate historic buildings, sites and events. Another 11 markers will be installed this year. The information on the markers is in English, Spanish and French.

In conjunction with the Bayou Teche Museum and Shadows-on-the-Teche, the Association sponsors New Iberia Beneath the Balconies, featuring a variety of dramatic and musical productions performed on the balconies of Main Street buildings. For the occasion, Main Street is turned into a pedestrian mall and the audience, many of whom bring folding chairs, moves from one performance to the next.

Books Along the Teche Literary Festival is another event sponsored by the three entities. This year’s festival, which is Friday, March 31 to Sunday, April 2, features a variety of speakers, panels and workshops, as well as a number of tours and social events. Past festivals have attracted guests from 14 states and three countries. The Iberia Cultural Resources Association also sponsors lectures and a project to collect oral histories from local residents. Some of the stories have been published as a book, and a second volume is planned.

In addition to her fundraising for the Iberia Cultural Resources Association, Indest has been active in raising money for the expansion of the Bayou Teche Museum and for special museum exhibits, such as the upcoming one honoring Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who hailed from Iberia Parish.

When asked how a small town with a population of less than 30,000 is able to support so many cultural events, Indest lauds the generosity of New Iberia’s residents and businesses. For her community work, she has received a number of honorary awards, including New Iberia Citizen of the Year. — Stanley Dry

ChrIstIne VerdIn

When Christine Verdin was born into the Pointe-auChien Indian Tribe in lower Terrebonne Parish, Native Americans were segregated into separate schools known as settlement schools. It wasn’t until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that the public schools were integrated just as she was entering school. Her first teachers, though, happened to be Baptist missionaries who did not punish the children for speaking French as was the case across South Louisiana. It turned out to be a blessing for longer preservation of the French language there, even though instruction was in English. “French is my first language,” says Verdin proudly. “My parents spoke almost no English, so we always spoke French at home.” Today, Verdin is on the verge of doing something no one would have imagined possible 60 years ago. She will become the first principal of the first French immersion school primarily serving Native American children. Act 454 of the 2022 regular session created École Pointeau-Chien, a public charter school, pre-K through 4th grade. Plans are to open its door in August. It was a long struggle to get to that point.

Recognizing the success of French immersion programs, the community began petitioning the Terrebonne Parish school board six years ago, well before COVID and Hurricane Ida. Their request fell on deaf ears in spite of a state law requiring parishes to respond. The decision in 2021 to close Pointe-aux-Chênes Elementary in Montegut, named a Blue Ribbon school in 2015 with a student population 50% Native American, provided the impetus to push for reopening it as an immersion school. Two months after closing, Ida hit, heavily damaging the building. Repairs throughout the community are ongoing thanks to generous volunteers and Williams Architects, a New Orleans architecture firm.

With 34 years’ experience to her credit, she spent 14 of them in the pre-K and Kindergarten classroom, the rest as an instructional coach and master teacher. Verdin’s inspiration to become an educator came from an aunt who, after finishing settlement school upon completing 7th grade, was sent along with others to a boarding school for Native Americans near Eunice. Her aunt later went to college and became a teacher. While French is still prevalent in the area, it is less spoken among the younger tribe members. “My hope for this school,” says Verdin, “is that it brings the language back to the community, brings it home and bridges the gap between generations.”

— David Cheramie

ChrIs Stafford

There’s an old joke around Lafayette and elsewhere that goes something like this: There are 100 bands in town, but only 10 musicians. The joke may be hyperbole but saying that Chris Stafford has played with almost all of them is not. While he has backed up many of Acadiana’s musicians, Stafford first burst onto the local music scene as one of the founding members of the band Feufollet when its musicians were barely bigger than the instruments they played. Being in French immersion empowered him not only to sing in French, but to comprehend the words and their meaning as well. In addition to rejuvenating some classic Cajun tunes, he also composes new songs in French. The lyrics of “Les Jours Sont Longs” are so poetic they were included in a recent anthology of Louisiana French literature.

With preternatural talent, he basically taught himself to play the many instruments he masters, including the accordion from which he was able to squeeze out a song the moment he ever touched one. Others took a little longer, like the notoriously difficult steel pedal guitar, which he learned by listening to Jeff “Skunk” Baxter perform on Steely Dan numbers over and over again. His autodidactic approach also led to a second, related career in recording music. He was gifted a Sony 4-track minidisc recorder, turning his bedroom into his first studio. He later got a Roland multitrack recorder which he used to cut

tracks for himself and friends. Being a millennial, Stafford gleaned recording techniques from early Internet chat forums, honing his skills. This growing passion eventually led to the creation of Staffland Studio in downtown Lafayette because, as he says, “My mom got tired of cables running all over the house.” His studio credits sound like a Who’s Who of local musicians: Cedric Watson, Steve Riley, The Revelers and Blake Miller to name a few. With nearly 25 years of experience, including a stint as the guitarist in the decidedly not Cajun band The Viatones, Stafford now loves playing Cajun music, as he says, “correctly.” “I find the music so satisfying as it has stood the test of time.” When asked if he ever considered doing anything else, Safford replied, “Music is the only thing I was ever interested in. At this point, it’s all I know how to do.” With talent like that, it’s all he needs to know. — David

Cheramie

During the off-season, Jimmie Leger and Carolyn Landry drive to Intercoastal City to perform regular maintenance on their boat the Carolyn Sue.

by Kevin Rabalais

Generations of shrimpers fight to stay afloat amid the rough seas of the industry’s many challenges

e all have dreams in life,” Timmy Schouest Jr. said as he stood beside the Smokin Joe, his 49-year-old shrimp boat docked along Bayou Carlin in Delcambre. Schouest’s dreams began in the 1960s, in Golden Meadow, where he grew up as heir to four generations of commercial fishermen. As a child, Schouest thought of this life on the water as a gift. Still, his father framed family tradition as a choice. “You can make $1,000 a day and be miserable,” he remembered his father telling him, “or you can make $300 a week and be happy as a frog. What are you gonna do?”

Schouest said, “I’m going shrimping.”

Half a century later, he recalled his father’s response: “Then you’re gonna be happy in life.”

Seated across from Cheryl Granger, Carolyn Landry of CJL Seafood recalled her own first trip on a shrimp boat. She and Jimmie Leger Sr., CJL’s other half, had their own plans to work together on the 38-foot skiff Carolyn Sue, which he named for her. “For a long time, I was too excited to notice it,” she said of her first outing, “but I got seasick.”

Like Cheryl Granger, Landry now stays home to run CJL Seafood, taking orders while Leger works on the boat. There are times, though, when he needs her onboard the Carolyn Sue as a deckhand, the position where his own life as a shrimper started 49 years ago.

For Leger, as for Timmy Schouest Jr. — Leger’s former brotherin-law and one-time deckhand — shrimping seemed hereditary, more vocation than job. Leger’s father worked for Exxon. On days off, he shrimped out of Intercoastal City. He eventually retired from one but not the other. Shrimpers, it seems, don’t retire so much as go on hiatus. As a boy, Leger would sometimes skip school to join his father on the boat, the two working side by side. When he graduated from high school, he gave himself the weekend to relax. Then on Monday, he started full-time work as a shrimper.

Nearly 50 years later, Leger still shrimps out of Intercoastal City. He works the same places he did with his father, now with a lifetime’s knowledge of South Louisiana’s waterways and those places with names that only fishermen recall, the kind, as Melville writes in “Moby-Dick,” that are “not down in any map; true places never are.”

Seventeen miles northwest of Delcambre, near Maurice, Cheryl Granger sat at a picnic table outside her kitchen door, where, a week before Christmas, she fielded seafood orders. Throughout the afternoon, the Granger’s Seafood phones jingled, one after another, with Granger and others answering questions about shrimp, crabmeat and crawfish, while cars pulled off Placide Road, away from the sugarcane field and across the gravel to the table. Some had already preordered their holiday seafood. Others arrived to see what remained in the deep freezers that keep the family business thriving between seasons when Cheryl’s husband, Albert Granger, isn’t working the 55-foot Miss Brittany G., the shrimp boat named for their daughter.

Albert Granger grew up in the Atchafalaya Basin. After finishing high school, he made his living working in the oil fields. On days off, he spent his time crawfishing in the Basin. When he and Cheryl married and moved to Maurice, she worried about how her husband would adapt to her hometown. “It’s hard to take a man out of the Basin,” she said.

During their early years together, Albert would return there to crawfish, often leaving home at 2 a.m. Then, in 1988, he began to see the possibilities of the world that opened not far from his new back door. He and Cheryl bought a shrimp boat.

“Our plans, me and Al, when our kids were younger, we were going to work the boat together,” said Cheryl. “It didn’t work out that way.”

On an early trip, she and Albert had been out for three days, shrimping in Vermilion Bay. Or at least Albert had been shrimping in Vermilion Bay. “I had been sleeping the whole time,” Cheryl said. “The water all around, and the sound of all that water, I find it too relaxing.” Now, she stays home, running Granger Seafood on the family property. During shrimp season, they sell what comes in on the Miss Brittany G. Out of season, they sell frozen and fresh seafood, including soft-shell crabs, soft-shell shrimp, and fileted alligator tail.

Leger bought his first shrimp boat when he was 18. “I knew nothing about working a boat,” he admitted, seated across from Granger and Landry. Owning a boat, however, meant abandoning excuses. You either learn fast, or you get out. And since getting out meant having to work on land, Leger learned to feel his way through the maze of South Louisiana’s waterways. He learned to patch nets. He learned to overhaul engines. He learned to dive, cutting ropes out of wheels and working to clean propellors — his own and others — while at sea. He lived inside the rhythms of the shrimp seasons along the Gulf Coast. Out of Intercoastal City, he passed the mouth of the Mississippi River. Over four days and three nights, he worked his way to Key West, Florida. From there, he followed the shrimp — pink in the eastern Gulf, white in the central, brown in the western — all the way to Brownsville, Texas, only to soon begin the rotation again.

Then, after 20 years of this life, Leger needed a change. He wanted variation, something other than a flat and steady horizon. He decided on mountains

Timmy Schouest Jr. and Macie Kemp live part time on the Smokin Joe. Kemp calls the stern her “happy place,” especially when she sits there eating boiled shrimp.

and settled in Wyoming, where he found work in an aboveground coal mine.

“But shrimping was in his blood,” Landry said. To that, Leger nodded, a brief acknowledgement that seemed to suggest he had no better explanation.

“You can’t take the Cajun out of Cajun,” Cheryl Granger said as she turned to take another order.

“This is what he wanted to do, to come back and work harder,” Landry said, her tone a mixture of disbelief and respect.

Leger has now been back in Louisiana working as a shrimper for six years. But this, he said, will probably be his final season in the industry. What had once been both livelihood and lifeblood for him, the Grangers, Schouest and many other Louisiana shrimpers, has become dire. Over the years, they understood friends’ decisions to retire from the industry as they aged or developed health problems. Now, though, they’re seeing something different. Shrimpers are getting out of the industry for other reasons, among them the rising cost of fuel, new regulations and the low market value of local shrimp. Another trend they consider terminal for the future of shrimping in Louisiana: Fewer young shrimpers are starting out, and those who do, such as Albert and Cheryl Granger’s son, Albert Jr., often leave after several years to seek more stable work.

“How can young shrimpers start now and raise a family without having a second income?” Leger asked. Several decades ago, when he, Schouest and the Grangers started in the industry, the question would have been unthinkable.

“The years now are not good like they used to be,” Granger said.

1987 to prevent sea turtles from getting trapped. Conservationists applaud this law that requires a TED for each net on a shrimp boat. Many shrimpers, on the other hand, complain that the devices are yet another costly expense and setback to their livelihood, one that interferes with netting and can reduce their catch by up to 20 percent.

Fuel, ice, storms, oil spills, regulations and there’s yet another worry that punctuates almost every conversation among shrimpers: Imported shrimp. With their rising expenses and the stabilized market value for Louisiana shrimp, many complain that trade regulations make it too difficult to compete with the prices of farm-raised shrimp. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, farm-raised shrimp comprise more than 50 percent of global shrimp production. More than 90 percent of all shrimp consumed in the United States is imported from farms in India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Vietnam and Thailand. Because these farms are typically unregulated, imported shrimp tested in this country have contained traces of antibiotics and pesticides.

As Emma Christopher Lirette writes in her 2022 book, “Last Stand of the Louisiana Shrimpers,” “If we try to measure the success of the fishery by the value of its landings or the amount of new commercial licenses or the market share of the products, we will find that wild-caught shrimp is becoming a niche industry incapable of supporting the people who work in it.”

For Louisiana shrimpers, things turned worse in August 2022, when the United States signed a new trade agreement to increase shrimp imports from Ecuador.

At Granger Seafood, Leger said, “Until a regulation limits the amount we can import to America, the business will continue to die.”

Granger’s sentiment echoed something that Timmy Schouest Jr. said in Delcambre as he stepped onto the Smokin Joe and pointed out yachts where shrimp boats once docked: “This is gonna be a dead industry in 10 years. Mark my words.”

The good years, Schouest and many other Louisiana shrimpers say, were the 1970s and 1980s, a golden era when the price for fuel and ice remained low and steady, tropical storms and hurricanes were less persistent and severe, fishermen hadn’t navigated through the worst marine oil spill in history, and prices of shrimp held strong. As years passed, while other prices climbed, the market value of shrimp, unlike that of crawfish, failed to rise with the times.

That’s just the beginning. Decades ago, shrimpers needed only one license. Now, they need separate licenses for each net, as well as a license for a commercial boat, and another for a vessel. Each license comes with an annual price tag. There’s another sore spot, one that pervades conversations among commercial shrimpers: the turtle excluder devices, or TEDs — grids made of metal bars that fit into trawl nets — that they’ve been required to have since

Louisiana shrimpers have no doubt that the high quantity and low cost of imported shrimp equates financial crisis. They also agree on another matter.

“You can’t beat Louisiana shrimp,” Cheryl Granger said.

“The taste … ,” Leger said, aware that he didn’t need to complete the thought.

“They’re sweeter here,” Granger said.

“It’s the brackish water and iodine,” Leger explained. “Those imported shrimp, they’re rubbery. They don’t have flavor. All you can say is that you’re eating a shrimp.”

In Delcambre, Schouest’s companion and deckhand, Macie Kemp, spoke of how she prefers to eat shrimp on the stern of the Smokin Joe, or what she calls her back porch. “I like them straight out of the water and into the pot. That’s the best.” Aboard the Miss Brittany G., Albert Granger likes to bake shrimp, shells on, in a black iron skillet, letting them cook in their own juices, while the thought of fried shrimp makes Leger smile.

Talk of eating shrimp, among shrimpers, is one of the swiftest ways to divert conversation from the current crises. There have been other times, though, when shrimpers believed the end was near.

(Top left) The topography of Intercoastal City emanates Louisiana’s commercial fisheries industry. (Top right) Schouest relaxes aboard the Smokin Joe. (Bottom) Albert Granger Sr. works aboard the Miss Brittany G. south of Pecan Island.

In the 1980s, Schouest’s father tried to convince him that it was time to get out. Now, Schouest wonders if he should have taken heed. He estimates that he earns less money today than he did in the 1970s, the same decade he quit school, at age 14, to shrimp with his father and, later, his brother. The Schouests eventually earned enough to buy a bigger boat. Their plan was to work enough to run three boats at the same time. But fuel prices climbed. Profits seeped into repairs. The bank reclaimed the new boat. “We all have dreams in life,” Schouest said for the second time. “That was ours. If it had turned out good, you wouldn’t see me here today. I’d be on a beach in South America drinking tequila.”

Eventually, he found work as a deckhand for Leger. They were together in 1989, that period when Leger trolled the breadth of the Gulf of Mexico, his boat like a metronome between Key West and Brownsville. That year, they were among the shrimpers who protested the new law requiring that their nets contain turtle excluder devices. Schouest speaks of his participation in the blockade at Aransas Pass much as hippies talk about being present on the morning Jimi Hendrix played “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock.

In was 1989, the year of the blockade, that marked the end of what some shrimpers cite as the final era when deckhands could support their families through seasonal shrimping alone. Now, many who once made their living as deckhands seek steadier work in the oilfields and other industries, where they receive guaranteed pay rather than a percentage of a boat’s profits. This change means an additional stress for captains: Lacking reliable workers, they must sometimes hire multiple deckhands each season.

“It’s dying,” Leger said of the industry. “It’s almost dead.”

Granger added another point: “You don’t have health insurance.” “Who wants to get into a business that can’t be profitable?” Landry asked.

Decades ago, Don Guidry was among the many who left shrimping for steadier work on land. He became a boat builder. Now retired, he has resumed shrimping. This time, however, he’s not concerned about profit. “I believe in the barter system. I make enough to pay my fuel, and the rest I give away,” he said at his dock in Delcambre, where he’s rebuilding a 62-year old boat. “Do me a favor,” he said. “Don’t step there, there, there or there.”

The boat is a perfect example of another regular expense that shrimpers must consider. In the best scenario, Leger said, shrimpers put their boats on a dry dock every two years. There’s regular wear and tear on propellors. Anodes need to be changed. Bottoms need cleaning.

“If you’ve got to hire a mechanic for everything, you’ll never make it,” Leger said. “You have to be a jack of all trades.”

That’s one reason Guidry has decided to do the work himself. Another is that he feels rooted to the work. “I was four years old on the deck of a boat,” he said, remembering his childhood in Golden Meadow, shrimping with his mother, brother and stepfather. In the 1960s, the family caught seafood and served it in their restaurant in Cut Off, where Guidry started shucking oysters at

age seven. One night, after cutting his hand with an oyster knife, he went to his mother so she could help him stop the bleeding. “She took one look at me and said, ‘Go finish opening them oysters.’” This moment previewed the life that awaited him as a commercial fisherman.

At the start of shrimping seasons in the 1960s, Guidry remembered as many as 60 kids skipping school to help their families on boats. “I was 11, 12 years old working on a boat,” he said. “They paid me like a man.” At 16, he quit school to work as a deckhand. At 19, his uncle gave him the boat that he captained for nearly two decades. Then one day, he calculated that he had spent threefourths of his life on the water. “I decided right then that I’m not sleeping on a boat anymore.” Now, though, he spends his time working on his boat, talking about it, admiring it from his dock or taking it on the water.

Conversations among shrimpers often revolve around boats, their own and others’. They admire. They admonish. One line carried on the wind in Delcambre, drifting down from the morning activity along the dock near Ocean Harvest Seafood: “I don’t know how that boat stays afloat.” Across from the banter, several submerged boats lined Bayou Carlin. The speaker’s gaze, however, suggested that he had a working vessel in mind.

Schouest has his own theories. “A pretty boat don’t make money,” he said. “The way I look at life, I don’t have to impress anybody. A boat makes you stay on your toes. If you know your boat, your boat talks to you. You feel it with your feet, your hands, the first sign something is wrong.”

At that, Macie Kemp stepped onto the Smokin Joe. Kemp grew up in Bayou Sorrel and spent much of her earlier life crawfishing and hoop net fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin. When she first met Schouest, all she wanted to do was take a ride on his boat. “Now, this boat don’t leave without me,” she said. They live part-time on the boat and work together for five days at a stretch, returning to Delcambre to sell their catch from the dock. In the early morning light, squinting at the Smokin Joe, Kemp said, “I love what I do.”

Her sentiment sparked Schouest’s memories about his earliest days as a shrimper. He recalled his decision to quit school, at age 14. “I told my dad, ‘I ain’t learning nothing. I think I’m a man now. I want to go work on the boat with you’.”

His father gave him a chance. Through the days, they worked, with Schouest pursuing his earliest dream, but at night, when he crawled into his bunk, those dreams turned to nightmares. Fifty years later, he can’t shake them. “The nightmares were so bad that I wanted to go back to school,” he said. He never told his father. Given another chance, he would still stay silent. He wouldn’t do much else differently, either.

“I don’t feel right if I’m not on my boat,” he said. “That’s my life. I can do anything I want — construction, carpentry. But the only way y’all gonna keep me from shrimping is if you put me in the hospital and change my blood. I’m 62 years old, and I’m gonna do this work until I die.” Schouest turned to Bayou Carlin. Raising his chin toward Vermilion Bay, he said, “They’re gonna find me going around in circles out there.” 

(Top) A boat trawls for bait shrimp out of Shell Beach.

(Bottom left)

Ronnie Stewart sorts shrimp in Vermilion Bay.

(Bottom right)

Don Guidry works aboard his 62-year old boat docked in Delcambre.

TOP LAWYERS

225 Lawyers in 39 Specialties

“Our area’s most respected attorneys, as nominated by their peers within the legal profession. The attorneys in this feature were selected by Professional Research Services (PRS), which conducted an online peer-review survey of area attorneys in Acadiana, Louisiana. Attorneys were asked to nominated fellow lawyers they deemed the best in their field of law practice. Many votes

were cast honoring excellence in all categories of law. The featured attorneys were screened and selected through the verification of licensing and review of any infractions through applicable boards, agencies and rating services. For additional information, visit prscom.com. Acadiana Profile was not involved in the selection process. “

Admiralty & Maritime Law

Bennett Boyd Anderson Jr. Anderson Blanda & Saltzman Lafayette 337-233-3366

Richard C. Broussard Broussard & David, LLC

Lafayette 337-233-2323

Blake R. David Sr. Broussard & David, LLC Lafayette 337-233-2323

Kenneth W. DeJean Law Offices of Kenneth W. DeJean Lafayette 337-235-5294

Robert M. Kallam Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-235-2232

Catherine Landry Degan, Blanchard & Nash Lafayette 337-345-8628

Brian J. Lindsey Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-235-2232

Jerome H. Moroux Broussard & David, LLC Lafayette 337-233-2323

P. Craig Morrow Jr. Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas 337-948-4483

S. Brian Perry Allen & Gooch Lafayette 337-291-1000

Ross F. Roubion Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-422-3667

James P. Ryan Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas 337-948-4483

Z. Ambrose Stearns Jr. Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-422-3643

Randall K. Theunissen Allen & Gooch Lafayette 337-291-1000

Douglas W. Truxillo Onebane Law Firm Lafayette 337-237-2660

Jason M. Welborn Welborn & Hargett Injury Attorneys Lafayette 337-205-7803

Jonathan L. Woods Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC Lafayette 337-291-4900

Alternate Dispute Resolution

David S. Cook David S. Cook, APLC Lafayette 337-234-4155

Robert J. David Jr. Juneau David, APLC Lafayette 337-905-3128

Richard J. Hymel Perry Dampf Dispute Solutions Lafayette 337-905-3128

Thomas R. Juneau Sr. Juneau David, APLC Lafayette 337-905-3128

James A. Lochridge Jr. Voorhies & Labbé Lafayette 337-232-9700

Katherine M. Loos Katherine M. Loos, LLC Lafayette 337-534-4770

Appellate Practice

James H. Gibson Gibson Law Partners, LLC Lafayette 337-761-6023

Chad M. Ikerd Ikerd Law Firm, LLC Lafayette 337-366-8994

Lawrence "Larry" P. Simon Jr. Liskow & Lewis Lafayette 337-267-2323

Paul B. Simon Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC Lafayette 337-237-0132

Banking and Finance Law

Harold L. Domingue Jr. Onebane Law Firm Lafayette 337-237-2660

Steven G. "Buzz" Durio Durio, McGoffin, Stagg & Guidry Lafayette

337-233-0300

William H.L. Kaufman Ottinger Hebert LLC

Lafayette 337-232-2606

Steven T. Ramos Andrus Boudreaux Lafayette

337-984-9480

Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law

H. Kent Aguillard Aguillard Law Eunice

337-457-9331

Harold L. Domingue Jr. Onebane Law Firm Lafayette 337-237-2660

William H.L. Kaufman Ottinger Hebert LLC

Lafayette 337-232-2606

Commercial Litigation

Clare Sanchez Burke Sanchez Burke, LLC Lake Charles

337-433-4405

Robert D. Felder Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP

Lafayette

337-237-1660

John Philip "J.P." Graf Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC Lafayette

337-237-0132

Matthew S. Green The Dill Firm, APLC Lafayette 337-261-1408

Steven C. Lanza Onebane Law Firm

Lafayette 337-237-2660

Gregory J. Logan

The Logan Law Firm, LLC Lafayette 337-283-4008

David K. McCrory

Ottinger Hebert, LLC

Lafayette 337-232-2606

Michael D. Skinner Skinner Law Firm, LLC

Lafayette 337-354-3030

Z. Ambrose Stearns Jr. Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-422-3643

Jena Kyle Wynne Allen & Gooch

Lafayette 337-291-1000

Commercial Transactions/ LLS Law

Kyle M. Bacon Jones Walker, LLP Lafayette 337-593-7706

Tammy B. Scelfo Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette 337-235-2232

Construction Law

Emile Joseph Jr. Allen & Gooch Lafayette 337-291-1000

James T. Rivera Scofield & Rivera, LLC

Lafayette 337-235-5353

Corporate Law

James J. Davidson III Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP Lafayette 337-237-1660

Joseph C. Giglio Jr. Liskow & Lewis Lafayette 337-267-2311

Criminal Defense

Non White-Collar

Alfred F. Boustany III Boustany Law Firm Lafayette 337-261-0225

Joseph M.W. Burke Sanchez Burke, LLC Lake Charles 337-433-4405

Donald D. Cleveland Donald D. Cleveland, APLC Lafayette 337-205-0319

William L. Goode

The Goode Law Firm

Lafayette

337-234-0600

Jordan T. Precht Precht Law Firm

Lafayette

337-201-9119

Barry Sallinger

Barry Sallinger Law

Lafayette 337-235-5791

Walter M. Sanchez Sanchez Burke, LLC Lake Charles 337-433-4405

Criminal Defense White Collar

Alfred F. Boustany III Boustany Law Firm Lafayette 337-261-0225

Donald D. Cleveland

Donald D. Cleveland, APLC

Lafayette 337-205-0319

Jordan T. Precht Precht Law Firm Lafayette 337-201-9119

Donald W.

Washington Jones Walker, LLP

Lafayette 337-593-7624

Employee Benefits Law

Troy A. Broussard

Allen & Gooch Lafayette 337-291-1000

Robert E. Rowe

Rowe Law Corporation

Lafayette 337-266-9626

Energy Law

Christopher B. Bailey

Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC Lafayette 337-291-4900

Brian W. Capell Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette 337-232-7424

Hunter A. Chauvin Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette 337-267-2354

Mark A. Dore' Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-235-2232

J. Michael Fussell Jr. Ottinger Hebert LLC

Lafayette 337-232-2606

Joseph C. Giglio III Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC Lafayette 337-291-4900

Samuel E. Masur Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC

Lafayette 337-521-8843

Patrick S. Ottinger Ottinger Hebert LLC Lafayette 337-232-2606

Jamie D. Rhymes Liskow & Lewis Lafayette 337-267-2360

April L. Rolen-Ogden Liskow & Lewis Lafayette 337-267-2330

Stuart M. Simoneaud Ottinger Hebert LLC Lafayette 337-232-2606

Environmental Law

Elena Arcos Knezek Knezek Law Firm

Lafayette 337-266-2233

Thomas M. McNamara Johnson Gray McNamara, LLC Lafayette 337-412-6037

Alex P. Prochaska Jones Walker, LLP Lafayette 337-593-7616

Matthew (Matt) J. Randazzo III Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC Lafayette 337-291-4900

Gary J. Russo Jones Walker, LLP Lafayette 337-593-7610

Family Law

Alyson Vamvoras Antoon Vamvoras Antoon, Attorneys at Law Lake Charles 337-433-1621

James D. Bayard

Onebane Law Firm

Lafayette 337-237-2660

Clare Sanchez Burke Sanchez Burke, LLC

Lake Charles 337-433-4405

Michael Domingue Jr. Domingue Law Firm, LLC Lafayette 337-484-1001

Claire Edwards

Claire B. Edwards, Attorney at Law Lafayette 337-233-3616

Philip C. Kobetz Law Office of Philip C. Kobetz Lafayette 337-291-1990

Emily Latiolais Latiolais Law Firm

Lafayette 337-315-1465

Jack Miller Miller, Mitchell & Luquette LTD

Crowley 337-788-0768

Dona K. Renegar Veazey Felder & Renegar LLC Lafayette 337-446-2709

Walter M. Sanchez Sanchez Burke, LLC Lake Charles 337-433-4405

Dwazendra J. Smith

D. Smith Legal Lafayette 337-534-4020

D. Reardon Stanford Hoyt, Stanford & Wynne LLC Lafayette 337-234-1012

Chris Villemarette

Chris Villemarette, Trial Lawyer Lafayette 337-232-3100

Lindsay Meador Young Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith, APLC Lafayette 337-735-1760

General Service Law Firm

James D. Bayard Onebane Law Firm Lafayette 337-237-2660

Lance Beal Beal & Hebert, LLC Lafayette 337-991-6263

Jeffrey K. Coreil Neuner Pate Lafayette 337-272-0375

Paul J. Hebert Ottinger Hebert LLC Lafayette 337-232-2606

Jared Nelson Liskow & Lewis Lafayette 337-232-7424

Dona K. Renegar Veazey Felder & Renegar LLC Lafayette 337-446-2709

Government Relations Practice

Tyron Picard The Picard Group Lafayette 337-989-0071

Health Care Law

Charles J. Boudreaux Jr. Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-430-0350

Nadia de la Houssaye Jones Walker, LLP Lafayette 337-593-7634

Nicholas Gachassin III Gachassin Law Firm Lafayette 337-235-4576

Michael D. Skinner Skinner Law Firm, LLC Lafayette 337-354-3030

Immigration Law Andres Gomez Parker & Landry LLC

Lafayette 337-362-1600

Anna M. Grand Gibson Law Partners, LLC

Lafayette

337-761-6250

Holly J. Lamarche Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys

Lafayette 337-347-6517

Insurance Law

Michael P. Corry Sr. Briney Foret Corry, LLP

Lafayette

337-456-9817

Karnina D. Deane Preis PLC

Lafayette

337-266-6221

Charles J. Foret Briney Foret Corry, LLP

Lafayette

337-456-9819

Michael G. Lemoine Jones Walker, LLP

Lafayette

337-593-7624

Brian J. Lindsey Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette

337-235-2232

Jennifer E. Michel Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

Lafayette

337-205-4739

James L. Pate Neuner Pate

Lafayette 337-272-0337

S. Brian Perry Allen & Gooch

Lafayette

337-291-1000

David O. Way Oliver & Way, LLC

Lafayette

337-988-3500

Intellectual Property Law

Ted M. Anthony Babineaux, Poché, Anthony & Slavich, LLC

Lafayette

337-984-2505

Robert L. Waddell Jones Walker, LLP

Lafayette 337-593-7623

Labor and Employment Law

Joel P. Babineaux Babineaux, Poché, Anthony & Slavich, LLC

Lafayette 337-984-2505

John S. Bradford Stockwell, Sievert, Viccellio, Clements & Shaddock, L.L.P. Lake Charles 337-493-7224

Robert J. David Jr. Juneau David, APLC

Lafayette 337-905-3128

Greg Guidry Ogletree Deakins

Lafayette 337-769-6583

Kenneth D. St. Pé Kenneth D. St. Pé, APLC Lafayette 337-534-4043

Land Use and Zoning Law

Jonathan R. Davis Turnkey Title and Escrow Lafayette 337-326-4830

Legal Malpractice Law

James H. Gibson Gibson Law Partners, LLC Lafayette 337-761-6023

Paul J. Hebert Ottinger Hebert LLC Lafayette 337-232-2606

Leslie J. Schiff Schiff, Scheckman & White LLP

Opelousas 337-942-9771

Scott Webre Webre & Associates Lafayette 337-237-5051

Mass Tort Litigation/ Class Actions

Digger Earles Laborde Earles Law Firm Lafayette 337-717-1087

Thomas A. Filo Cox, Cox, Filo, Camel & Wilson LLC

Lake Charles 337-800-8888

Amy Allums Lee

Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette 337-232-7424

Derriel C. McCorvey

The Law Office of Derriel C. McCorvey, LLC

Lafayette 337-291-2431

Patrick C. Morrow

Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik

Opelousas

337-948-4483

Edwin G. Preis Jr. Preis PLC

Lafayette

337-266-6239

James P. Roy Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC

Lafayette 337-291-4878

Medical Malpractice Law

Alan K. Breaud Breaud & Meyers, APLC

Lafayette

337-266-2200

Adam Gulotta

Judice & Adley, PLC

Lafayette 337-235-2405

Marc W. Judice Judice & Adley, PLC

Lafayette

337-235-2405

Ross F. Roubion

Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette 337-235-2232

Sera H. Russell III

The Law Office of Sera H. Russell, III

Lafayette 337-205-9786

Elwood C. Stevens Jr. Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC

Lafayette 337-291-4878

Scott Webre Webre & Associates

Lafayette 337-237-5051

Mergers and Acquisitions Law

Samuel E. Masur

Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC

Lafayette

337-521-8843

Municipal Law

Michael D. Hebert

Becker & Hebert, LLC

Lafayette

337-233-1987

Natural Resources Law

Richard E. Gerard Jr. Scofield, Gerard, Pohorelsky, Gallaugher & Landry

Lake Charles 337-433-9436

Oil and Gas Law

George Arceneaux III Liskow & Lewis Lafayette

337-267-2332

Brittan J. Bush Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette

337-267-2357

Mark A. Dore' Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette

337-235-2232

Kyle P. Polozola Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette

337-235-2232

Matthew (Matt) J. Randazzo III

Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC

Lafayette

337-291-4900

Jamie D. Rhymes Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette

337-267-2360

April L. RolenOgden

Liskow & Lewis

Lafayette

337-267-2330

Court C. VanTassell Liskow & Lewis Lafayette

337-232-7424

Personal Injury Litigation

Taylor J. Bassett Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas

337-948-4483

Nicholas A. Blanda Anderson Blanda & Saltzman

Lafayette

337-233-3366

Richard C. Broussard Broussard & David, LLC

Lafayette

337-233-2323

Lucas S. Colligan

The Gaar Law Firm

Lafayette

337-202-2295

TOP LAWYERS

Blake R. David Sr. Broussard & David, LLC

Lafayette 337-233-2323

James Domengeaux Jr. Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP Lafayette 337-237-1660

James Domengeaux

Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC Lafayette 337-291-4878

Digger Earles Laborde Earles Law Firm Lafayette 337-717-1087

James S. Gates Morrow, Gates & Morrow, LLC

Opelousas 337-942-6529

William Gee III Gee Law Firm Lafayette 337-222-2222

John Philip "J.P." Graf Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC

Lafayette 337-237-0132

Rémy A.M. Jardell

Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards, LLC Lafayette 337-291-4878

Philip C. Kobetz Law Office of Philip C. Kobetz Lafayette 337-291-1990

David Charles Laborde Jr. Laborde Earles Law Firm Lafayette 337-221-9907

Seth Mansfield Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick Lafayette 337-735-9177

Jason A. Matt Law Offices of Matt & Allen Lafayette 337-237-1000

Jerome H. Moroux Broussard & David, LLC Lafayette 337-233-2323

John Michael Morrow Jr. Morrow, Gates & Morrow, LLC

Opelousas 337-942-6529

Patrick C. Morrow Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas 337-948-4483

William P. Morrow Morrow, Gates & Morrow, LLC

Opelousas 337-942-6529

Andrew Quackenbos Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC Lafayette 337-291-4878

James P. Ryan Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas 337-948-4483

Keith P. Saltzman Anderson Blanda & Saltzman Lafayette 337-233-3366

Elwood C. Stevens Jr. Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC Lafayette 337-291-4878

Product Liability Litigation

Nicholas A. Blanda Anderson Blanda & Saltzman Lafayette 337-233-3366

Natalie M. DeJean Law Offices of Kenneth W. DeJean Lafayette 337-235-5294

Whitney Ikerd Webre & Associates Lafayette 337-237-5051

Professional Marketing Law

Clare S. Roubion Louisiana Legal Ethics, LLC Lafayette 337-258-0101

Railroad Law

Grant Fulton Freeman

Knezek Law Firm Lafayette 337-266-2233

Kyle L. Gideon Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP

Lafayette

337-237-1660

John E. McElligott Jr. Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP

Lafayette

337-237-1660

Real Estate Law

Philip H. Boudreaux Andrus Boudreaux Lafayette

337-984-9480

Jean-Paul Coussan Andrus Boudreaux Lafayette

337-984-9480

Elisa Devall Davis Turnkey Title and Escrow

Lafayette

337-326-4830

Jonathan R. Davis Turnkey Title and Escrow Lafayette 337-326-4830

Tammy B. Scelfo Kean Miller LLP

Lafayette 337-235-2232

Tax Law

Angela Smith Bryson Bryson Law Firm, LLC Lafayette

337-233-4210

Cary Brian Bryson Bryson Law Firm, LLC

Lafayette 337-233-4210

Ted W. Hoyt Hoyt, Stanford & Wynne LLC Lafayette 337-234-1012

Lawrence L. Lewis III Onebane Law Firm

Lafayette 337-237-2660

Joseph M. Placer Jr. Placer Law Firm, LLC Lafayette 337-237-2530

Kyle P. Polozola Kean Miller LLP Lafayette 337-235-2232

Robert E. Rowe Rowe Law Corporation Lafayette 337-266-9626

Transportation Law

Mike W. Adley Judice & Adley, PLC Lafayette 337-235-2405

Susan A. Daigle Daigle Rayburn LLC Lafayette 337-234-7000

James M. Dill The Dill Firm, APLC Lafayette 337-261-1408

Grant Fulton Freeman Knezek Law Firm Lafayette 337-266-2233

Jacob H. Hargett Welborn & Hargett Injury Attorneys Lafayette 337-205-0339

Richard R. Kennedy III Law Offices of Richard R. Kennedy Lafayette 337-232-1934

Elena Arcos Knezek Knezek Law Firm

Lafayette 337-266-2233

Miles A. Matt Law Offices of Matt & Allen Lafayette 337-237-1000

John E. McElligott Jr. Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier, McElligott, Fontenot, Gideon & Edwards, LLP

Lafayette 337-237-1660

P. Craig Morrow Jr. Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik Opelousas 337-948-4483

Francis X. Neuner Jr. Neuner Pate Lafayette 337-272-0311

Edwin G. Preis Jr. Preis PLC

Lafayette

337-266-6239

Bryan D. Scofield Scofield & Rivera, LLC

Lafayette

337-235-5353

Trusts and Estates

Daniel J. Finch

Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC

Lafayette

337-291-4900

John Wayne Jewell

Jewell & Jewell Attorneys At Law

New Roads

225-638-3311

Lawrence L. Lewis III

Onebane Law Firm

Lafayette

337-237-2660

Joseph M. Placer Jr. Placer Law Firm, LLC

Lafayette

337-237-2530

Jena Kyle Wynne Allen & Gooch

Lafayette

337-291-1000

Workers

Compensation Law

Glenn Armentor The Glenn Armentor Law Corporation

Lafayette

337-233-1471

J. Derek Aswell Broussard & David, LLC

Lafayette

337-233-2323

Charmaine B. Borne

Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC

Lafayette

337-291-4900

Rémy A.M. Jardell

Domengeaux Wright

Roy & Edwards, LLC

Lafayette

337-291-4878

Charles Benjamin Landry Charles Benjamin Landry, APLC

Lafayette

337-232-9806

Matt D. McConnell McConnell Law Offices

Lafayette 337-347-6404

Corey Meaux Parker & Landry LLC

Lafayette

337-362-1603

Stephen M. Morrow Sr. Morrow, Gates & Morrow, LLC

Opelousas

337-942-6529

Michael Parker

Parker & Landry LLC

Lafayette 337-362-2600

John W. Tilly

Keaty & Tilly LLC

Lafayette

337-347-8995

Jonathan L. Woods

Randazzo Giglio & Bailey LLC

Lafayette

337-291-4900

Hurricane at the Crossroads

A powerful cocktail inspired by a blues legend at Whisky & Vine

BY LISA LEBLANC-BERRY

PHOTO BY ROMERO & ROMERO

As the story goes, guitarist Robert Johnson transformed into a blues virtuoso with a shocking mastery of the six-string after a few weeks’ unexplained absence. According to myth, Johnson met the Devil at Highway 49 and Highway 61 in Clarksdale, “the crossroads,” where he sold his soul in exchange for talent. His songs elucidating this haunted hook-up include “Cross Road Blues.”

“I was inspired to create our signature cocktail, The Crossroads, by a conversation I had with the owners who often referenced Robert Johnson while saying that they found themselves at the crossroads about names,” says Dina Bohn, sommelier and general manager of the new Whiskey & Vine in Lafayette. “It has five ounces of alcohol, including whiskey and wine, balanced with fresh satsuma juice and fig syrup we make in-house, served in a Libbey 1924 20-ounce gin and tonic glass.”

Proprietors Steven and Patrick O’Bryan, who also own Bon Temps Grill, opened Whiskey & Vine with a retro jazz-age flair to “fill a niche in Lafayette.” Whiskey & Vine emulates an upscale New Orleans jazz club complete with live blues and jazz acts except on Sundays, when brunch is served.

Located in the former Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro, Whiskey & Vine serves chargrilled oysters and bananas Foster, as well as a few New Orleans-style cocktails, Bohn’s carefully curated wines and some of her creatively crafted original libations. 

HOME BAR The Crossroads

Shake 3 ounces Landry Vineyard’s Sweet Dixie Muscadine wine, 1 ounce Southern Comfort, ½ ounce

strawberry nectar, ½ ounce fresh squeezed satsuma, ½ ounce fig syrup (8 ounces sugar to 8 ounces hot water and

½ cup fig preserves) and 1 ounce lemon juice with ice and strain over fresh ice in glass. Top with 1 ounce high-proof

bourbon float (such as Knob Creek or Jim Beam). Garnish with fresh strawberry and satsuma slice.

SEE A VIDEO OF THE COCKTAIL CREATION VISIT ACADIANAPROFILE.COM

A hurricane glass can be substituted for the vintage gin and tonic glass.

THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD

Mr. Bill’s Seafood Express in Lake Charles reopens with a new look, same great food

BY ERIC CORMIER PHOTOS BY JOSEPH VIDRINE

Resourceful and committed restaurant owners share a similar trait exhibited by successfully married couples. How on Earth can someone compare participants in the culinary industry to people who developed a personal relationship that evolved into a union? Well, both restaurant owners and couples have decided to stick it out through the good times and bad; for better or worse.

In Lake Charles, Jason Guillory, and his cousin Chad Pousson — owners of Mr. Bill’s Seafood Express — just reopened their restaurant located near McNeese State University.

Prior to 2020, the year locals in South Louisiana witnessed COVID-19, hurricanes and historic freezes and flooding, Mr. Bill’s was the consummate holein-the wall restaurant. It was open for nearly three decades and had a loyal following.

Mr. Bill’s version of a po’ boy, the quintessential Louisiana sandwich, is a simple and no frills, but delicious and amply constructed food offering with lettuce, tomato, mayo, great bread and delicious fried shrimp.

When the new year starts, the demand for hot, boiled, spicy critters from the mud upticks. Those who know what’s good to eat in the greater Lake Charles area rush to Mr. Bill’s knowing their crawfish fix will be addressed.

Boiled crawfish, fried seafood, stuffed potatoes, and plate lunches were the restaurant’s calling card. A down-home and family atmosphere bolstered Mr. Bill’s experience. Here, strangers had been known to share a table and become friends while eating po’ boys.

The restaurant’s décor was always simple — white walls were covered with newspaper clips and pictures featuring McNeese State University athletic greats and moments.

Visitors could even see longtime kitchen staff prepare delicious food because the restaurant’s dining and cooking area were divided only by a counter with a cash register.

Nature, by way of big storms, beat up the old Mr. Bill’s building. After a tussle with the insurance company and lots of out-of-pocket cash for repairs, Guillory and Pousson reopened Jan. 4, 2023.

On that day, the guys expressed their excitement by serving a plate lunch with barbecued pork steak, baked beans and rice dressing.

“We wanted to make this a family sports bar,” Jason Guillory explains. “This is a place where mom and dad can come with their kids. While the parents talk, the children can watch TV and all of them get good food.”

Since Guillory bought the restaurant from family members in 2005 (Pousson became a partner several years later) boiled crawfish have been the big revenue generators. Once the season ended, the guys worked hard the rest of the year, but it was a struggle, Guillory said.

While rebuilding the restaurant after the storm, the men installed a bar that jazzes up the relaxed atmosphere just a tad.

TRY THIS!

Best way to start a meal here

Hand-battered pickles and jalapeño served with jalapeño ranch dressing makes the mouth pleasantly simmer.

2Seafood

Two pieces of fried catfish fillets and six shrimp. Guillory says the art of making good Cajun-inspired food is to keep it simple and showcase the seafood — mission accomplished. 3

Eat the beef

A half-pound pepper jack hamburger topped with mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion is a quick and tasty way to curb hunger.

Aside from crawfish, the fried shrimp are a customer favorite. “Well, we’ve been voted best fried shrimp in Lake Charles for years,” Guillory said.

The hamburgers and fried oysters are also menu items that regular customers order.

Since opening again, customers have flocked to Mr. Bill’s. Being able to serve food and get community love in return has left an impression on Guillory.

“This is humbling. We have always given back to McNeese and our customers by being here and supporting. To see it all come back to us is incredible. Sometimes, I get emotional,” Guillory said.

It is amazing to see food professionals stick it out when it would be easy to give in.

Love of good food, good people and a strong community are the reasons Guillory and Pousson keep on keeping on. For better or worse. 

MR. BILL’S SEAFOOD

Preparing fresh, down-home food with a whole lot of bayou spirt is what drives Jason Guillory and Chad Pousson. Hamburgers, chicken wings and fried catfish are dishes Mr. Bill’s customers crave on a daily basis.

MANGER DEHORS

Celebrate spring with a picnic featuring simple, flavorful fare

BY MARCELLE BIENVENU

PHOTO & STYLING BY EUGENIA UHL

Spring is an ideal time to have a picnic. My father claimed that food eaten outdoors always tastes better, and I’ve agreed with him. You might want to consider a romantic picnic for two, one for the entire family or for a few guests.

Give some thought to the location. It could be in the backyard, by the pool, at a public park, on a screened-in porch, on a small balcony or patio and even on a boat. It’s time to get out and enjoy the sights and scents only a Louisiana spring can offer. The fragrance of honeysuckle and jasmine, the tweeting of red birds, mockingbirds singing in the moonlight, the glow of an orange sunset are all the more savored when accompanied by a simple but sumptuous repast.

Chilled wine, a jug of mintflavored ice tea or lemonade and small bottles of water (include some of the flavored ones if you like) are easy enough to tote along. Homemade or store-bought cookies are great for a dessert. Then again you might want to bring along blue cheese, fresh pears and ginger snap cookies to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Serve chicken liver pâté and herbed cheese spread on party crackers, chunks of French or rye bread.

Marinated Mixed Vegetables

This is easy to put together and keep chilled until ready to use.

3 garlic cloves, crushed

¾ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 small head cauliflower , broken into florets

3 carrots , cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices

1 large green or red pepper , seeded and cut into strips

½ pound green beans , trimmed and blanched in salted boiling water

1 large zucchini , cut into strips

½ pound cherry tomatoes

1. Combine garlic, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Whisk to blend, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Place vegetables into a large shallow container fitted with a lid. Pour in marinade and toss to coat evenly. Cover with lid and marinate, tossing vegetables two to three times, for at least 24 hours before serving. Serves 6 to 8

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped green onions or fresh chives

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken livers and cook just until the pink disappears. Remove from heat.

2. Purée mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. Put the egg yolks through a sieve and add to the liver mixture together with the 4 tablespoons softened butter, the cream, Cognac, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process to mix well.

3. Spoon the pâté into a decorative bowl, cover and chill for several hours.

4. Sprinkle top of pâté with green onions and chives before serving. Makes about 24 appetizer portions

DESSERT Chocolate Mint Cookies

2/ 3 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 / 3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ounce square unsweetened chocolate , melted

1½ cups all-purpose flour

To get the recipe for herbed cheese spread, visit AcadianaProfile.com

ON THE SIDE

Chicken Liver Pâté

Bring a baguette or toast points, a small jar of Dijon or Creole mustard and you’re good to go.

3 tablespoons butter

¼ cup finely chopped onions

1½ pounds chicken livers , cleaned

2 hard-boiled egg yolks

4 tablespoons softened butter

½ cup heavy cream

1 / 3 cup Cognac

10 ounces mint chocolate morsels

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugars, beating well. Add egg, vanilla and melted chocolate, mixing well. Gradually add flour, mixing well. Stir in morsels. Drop by level tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for about three minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before storing in an airtight container. Makes about 3 ½ dozen

De la Table de cuisine à la table français

Les rendez-vous du français

Cinquante ans passés, le recensement américain nous disait que le nombre de Francophones en Louisiane s’élevait à plus d’un million. De nos jours, c’est probablement autour de 200 000, plus ou moins, mais personne ne le dire avec certitude. Cette diminution est attribuable en grande partie, comme on le sait, à l’interdiction du français à l’école. La difficulté pour compter celles et ceux qui ont pu, malgré tout, continuer à le pratiquer peut s’expliquer par le fait que des gens qui parlent bien le français ou le créole loui-

sianais sont toujours sous la fausse impression qu’ils ne parlent pas le « bon » français et disent « non » quand on leur pose la question. Il n’empêche que trois générations plus tard, malgré les efforts du CODOFIL et des individus militants, engagés et même enragés des fois, la langue française en Louisiane n’est plus aussi robuste en termes de chiffres absolus. Soit. Le changement radical qu’on a vu depuis ce temps est plutôt celui de l’attitude envers l’expression publique du français. Avant, le français se pratiquer chez soi autour de la table de cuisine pour ainsi dire. Les histoires de Cadiens qui recevaient fréquemment des remontrances, de la part d’autres Francophones louisianais, pour avoir commis le péché mortel de parler français en public, sont nombreuses. Paradoxalement, pendant cette période de déclin, au fur et à mesure que le nombre de Francophones diminuait, le français était de plus en plus acceptable sur la place publique. De nos jours, le français a droit de cité en Louisiane. Si on sait où tendre l’oreille, on entendra charrer le français un peu partout.

Le lieu public le plus sûr où vous pouvez aller est à une des nombreuses tables françaises qui pullulent en Acadiana. Selon le site web du CODOFIL qui les a répertoriées, on peut en trouver une quelque part pratiquement tous les jours. De Basile à Raceland, de Marksville à Kaplan et de Eunice à Scott, en passant par Welsh, Thibodaux et Arnaudville, on peut rencontrer des Francophones de tous les niveaux, du débutant qui ne sait dire que « bonjour » jusqu’au monde qui peut lire et écrire en français aussi, tous devant une bonne tasse de café comme il se doit bien sûr. Pour les amateurs de boissons plus fortes, les rencontres peuvent se faire en soirée autour d’une bière fraîche. De Dwyer’s Café de Lafayette toutes les semaines à la Table française de la Maison Valsin Broussard une fois par mois, les occasions de se faire des amis en français ne manquent pas.

Au lieu de me faire insulter quand je parle en public, les gens m’expriment leur désappointement de ne pas pouvoir parler en français. Ils formulent des remarques en anglais plutôt du genre « Que tu es chanceux de parler français », « J’aurais tant voulu que mes grands-parents me montrent le français » ou d’une façon qui en dit long, « J’aurais dû écouter mes grands-parents plus ». Alors, venez à table et causez avec nous. ■

PAR DAVID CHERAMIE ILLUSTRATION PAR SARA WILLIA