In Every Issue 4 Free-lancing The Allure of Acadiana Profile Celebrating 45 years
table des matières
by trent angers
6 Nouvelles des Villes News Briefs From Around Acadiana by william kalec
10 De la Cuisine Cool Drinks, Good Times Beat the heat with a cocktail hour, complete with tasty beverages and simple snacks. by marcelle bienvenu
14 Les Artistes Sights to Behold In what critics consider a full and accomplished artistic life, Fredric Daspit feels he’s finally reached his zenith despite the limitations of age. by william kalec
20 La Maison An Enduring Acadiana Muse A Breaux Bridge home created by a Louisiana artist colony continues to inspire. by lisa leblanc-berry
62 Personnes d’Acadiana Flipping the Script Although not from central casting, St. Martinville attorney Allan Durand has somehow found himself rubbing elbows with Hollywood’s elite screenwriters. by william kalec
66 Sur le Menu
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Pizza Toppers “Acadiana” may not be synonymous with “pizza,” but there are a lot of fantastic options in the area. by jan risher
70 Visiter The Best Things to See and Do in Cajun Country compiled by judi russell
72 En Français, S’il Vous Plaît Pas si fou que ça by david cheramie
Features 28 Dansant à Travers Acadiana
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Weekend adventures along the region’s live music trail. by lisa leblanc-berry
37 Top Dentists 121 listings in 7 categories across 22 parishes with profiles by caroline malouse and sarah ravits
50 Notable Nuptials A guide to Acadiana wedding destinations by lisa leblanc-berry
58 A League of Their Own The 24-year run of the Evangeline League was marred by scandal, but the colorful group was also a huge source of Acadiana pride. by ryan whirty
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June/July 2013 Vol. 32 No. 3 Executive Editor Trent Angers Managing Editor Eve Kidd Crawford Art Director Jennifer Hronek Associate Art Director Sarah George Associate Editors Sarah Ravits, Haley Adams Intern Caroline Malouse Sales Manager Rebecca Taylor (337) 298-4424 • (337) 235-7919 x230 Rebecca@acadianaprofile.com Intern Allison Nelson Sales Assistant Erin Maher Distribution/Newsstand Manager Christian Coombs Executive Assistant Kristi Ferrante Subscriptions Erin Duhe Production/Web Manager Staci McCarty Production Designers Casey Hano Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne President Alan Campell Executive Vice President/Editor in Chief Errol Laborde
Renaissance Publishing LLC 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 • (877) 221-3512 315 S. College Road, Suite 160, Lafayette, LA 70503 (337) 235-7919 Acadiana Profile (ISSN 0001-4397) is published bimonthly by Renaissance Publishing LLC, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 and 315 S. College Road, Suite 160, Lafayette, LA 70503 (337) 235-7919. Subscription rate: One year $10; Foreign Subscriptions vary. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Acadiana Profile, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2013 Renaissance Publishing LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Acadiana Profile is registered. Acadiana Profile is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Acadiana Profile are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner. www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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freelancing
Trent Angers in the newsroom of the Palm Beach Post, 1969
by trent angers
The Allure of Acadiana Profile Moving back to Lafayette after finishing college was the last thing on my mind. In 1969, the same year the first edition of Acadiana Profile rolled off the press, I was living in Baton Rouge and attending LSU. I was a senior, majoring in journalism. I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do after graduation, but I was thinking about pursuing a master’s degree in journalism or going to work as a reporter for a big-city newspaper somewhere in America. Working for my dad’s new magazine back home in Lafayette wasn’t one of the options I was considering. At the time, my world revolved around the study of daily metropolitan newspaper journalism and the practice thereof in the newsroom of the Daily Reveille, the campus paper. We wrote on manual typewriters, and I can still hear the distinctive sound, the chorus of three or four typewriters going at the same time as we raced to meet our 8 p.m. deadline. It was a very exciting time to be alive and in college and honing my skills in my chosen profession. In my world, defined by the boundaries of the LSU campus, it was a time of reporting on heated debates (read: shouting matches) at Free Speech Alley, next to the Student Union building, especially those dealing with controversial issues of the day such as U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Just across the street, in the basketball arena known as the Cow Palace, superstar “Pistol” Pete Maravich was ripping the nets for 50 and 60 points per game. On the radio were the inspiring and thought-provoking songs of Otis Redding; John Denver; Joan Baez; Judy Collins; Bob Dylan; and Peter, Paul and Mary. In the newspapers were aweinspiring stories about the real possibility of putting a man on the moon. In the classrooms, we were starting to hear rumblings of the seemingly far-fetched notion that one day we’d be getting our news on a monitor of some kind rather than from newspapers. Meanwhile, back in Lafayette, the fledgling Acadiana Profile 4
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magazine was in its first year of operation, and my dad, its editor and publisher, was up at 4 in the morning typing away on his electric typewriter about South Louisiana’s unique culture and heritage. He’d call me at school occasionally or drop me a line, suggesting there was great opportunity right here in Lafayette for a young journalist to ply his trade. In the spring of 1970, in the last ... in his Acadiana couple of months of my college days, I Profile office, 2009 knew it was time to decide which path I’d take, career-wise. It was time to “fish or cut bait,” as Dad was fond of saying. I had the opportunity to go to the University of Texas at Austin to teach news-writing and photojournalism while pursuing a master’s in journalism. Or I could go along with Chancellor Cecil Taylor’s suggestion that I move to Boston and enter Harvard’s journalism graduate school on a Nieman fellowship. Or I could apply to work as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune or Palm Beach Post, where I had worked as an intern the previous summer. Or I could move back to Lafayette and go to work for Acadiana Profile. There was a chance, too, that the matter might not be mine to decide because I was subject to being drafted into the service and sent to fight in Vietnam. The lottery draft system had recently been put in place, and if your birth date was picked early in the process, then your luck had just run out. (I managed to dodge a
bullet, with my birth date being picked 316th out of 365 numbers. My services would not be needed overseas.) But still, at age 21, I had a lot to think about. I wasn’t excited by the thought of continuing to go to college because journalism is not that academic of a subject; I felt investing more time in college would soon reach a point of diminishing returns for the effort expended. As for being a big-city newspaper reporter, that’s where my heart was, but I felt that job would always be there if I wanted it, so there was no rush. I knew Dad wanted me to come home and work with him. And I did see South Louisiana as a journalist’s paradise, a sea of feature story possibilities, with its unique FrenchAcadian culture, countless festivals and colorful characters. It might be intriguing to work in a medium as fresh and new as a regional magazine – there were very, very few such media in the U.S. at the time. I began to imagine writing stories, editing copy, taking pictures and laying out pages of the magazine. I could nearly see the striking color photography beautifully reproduced on glossy stock – pictures of alleys of ancient oaks, sunrises over the Atchafalaya Basin and the rich texture of old brick-andcypress exteriors of historic buildings. The magazine offered opportunities for creativity, for variety, for the practice of the journalistic skills I acquired at LSU. So, all things considered, I decided to forgo Chicago, West Palm Beach, Austin and Boston. The allure of what waited for me in Lafayette was just too strong. I’d return to Lafayette – but only for a year or so. That’s the deal I made with myself: one year and then off to the big-city newspaper job. And that’s what I told my dad. He didn’t say much. But I could tell what he was thinking: that one day I’d take over from him and I’d have a long and gratifying career with Acadiana Profile. MAGAZIN Turned out, the satisfaction ILE E CE OF R of working for this new regional magazine proved to be greater than I had imagined. I ended up staying for 43 years … and still counting. ap P
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questions or comments about this column can be addressed to tcangers @ cox . net .
sur le web
If you can’t get enough Acadiana Profile, check out our redesigned website. With our new look, everything is easier to read on your smartphone or tablet. Flip through the issue archive, renew your subscription, or read the English translation of En Français, S’il Vous Plaît. You will also find content from all of Renaissance Publishing’s publications, including Louisiana Life and New Orleans Magazine. You can find it at AcadianaProfile.com.
For up-to-the-minute information about Acadiana events, recipes and fun photos, make sure to like Acadiana Profile on Facebook and follow @AcadianaProfile on Twitter.
Attention Festival-Planners! Help Us Promote Your Event! Go online to AcadianaProfile.com, and click on “Submit an Event to Acadiana Profile” to let us know about festivals, shows or special events coming up in your town. Remember, the sooner we get the information, the better able we are to help you.
Want to contact the Acadiana Profile staff by email? Want to see one of your events on Acadiana Profile’s Facebook page? Send feedback to Managing Editor Eve Kidd Crawford at eve@ acadianaprofile.com.
www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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nouvelles des villes
by William Kalec
Gear and Chain by Kenneth Baskin
Special Cajun IDs and Plates to Benefit CODOFIL BATON ROUGE – If you’re Cajun and you know it … show your license? As if the music, language, cuisine and overall cultural uniqueness weren’t already enough, two proposed legislative bills would allow residents of Louisiana to put a “Cajun” stamp on their driver’s licenses and license plates. It might sound silly, but the additional fees for the distinctive IDs do go to a good cause – funding the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL, program for recruiting and training French teachers. All you Cajuns by association and approximation, don’t worry: You can get these special IDs for your wallet and car, as well. The licenses are available to anyone, regardless of ancestry.
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The two bills are fairly similar, except the slogans appearing on the plates are different. In Rep. Mike Huval’s bill (R-Breaux Bridge) the plates read, “I’m Cajun ... and Proud.” In Sen. Fred Mills’ (R-Parks) legislation, the plate and IDs include the line, “I’m a Cajun.” Founded in 1968, CODOFIL is a state agency responsible for promoting and preserving the French-speaking heritage of Louisiana, specifically in Acadiana. Professor Wins Big in Texas LAKE CHARLES – Kenneth Baskin, associate professor of art at McNeese State University, won the Best of Show award for his ceramic piece titled Gear and Chain, exhibited in the Regional Juried Ceramic Competition at the University of Dallas. The exhibition
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showcases contemporary ceramic sculptural and functional artwork. Baskin will also have a solo exhibition at the University of Dallas in 2014. Les Manning, the competition’s juror, also selected Baskin’s ceramic art piece Hammer Mill for inclusion in the campus exhibit. Hub City to Get Whole Foods LAFAYETTE – Whole Foods Market, the health foods and specialty store that bills itself as the “world leader in natural and organic foods,” plans to
open a Lafayette location by 2014. The expansive shopping center will be located at the corner of Ambassador Caffery Parkway and Settlers Trace Boulevard and serve as the paramount store in what will become a new business development. Currently, there are only three Whole Foods locations in Louisiana: New Orleans, Metairie and Baton Rouge. According to newspaper accounts, in May 2011, CityParish President Joey Durel announced that Whole Foods was moving into the then-vacant Kmart building on Ambassador Caffery near Johnston Street. That announcement was obviously premature. Corporate representatives from Whole Foods denied any such plans, dismissing Durel’s announcement as simply a rumor.
www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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nouvelles des villes
Mall of Acadiana Is Getting Spruced Up, Renamed LAFAYETTE – It’ll still have the same department stores, same specialty shops, same dining opinions and unfortunately the same crowded parking lots around holiday time – but the Mall of Acadiana will soon have a new name. Well, a new old name, technically: Mall officials recently announced the sprawling shopping complex will revert back to its original Acadiana Mall moniker by the end of the year. The name switch coincides with an exterior and interior renovation of the building, which was opened in 1979. Specifically, the landscape around the property will
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be upgraded, new seating will be installed in mall rest areas, food court tables and chairs will be replaced and restrooms will be altered and modernized. Cajun and Creole Horse Culture Explored in Celebrated Film LAFAYETTE – The film T-Galop: A Louisiana Horse Story, directed by Lafayette’s Conni Castille, was named Documentary Film of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Each year, the LEH selects a documentary film that best exemplifies scholarship on Louisiana topics or by Louisiana documentary filmmakers. “It’s chosen on the basis
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of its representation of the humanities, the history and culture of the state and the quality of the film itself,” said Brian Boyles, director of public relations and programs for LEH. T-Galop, which is pronounced “TEE-gah-low,” refers to a horse moving at a slow gallop or canter. Castille’s film traces the history of Louisiana’s equine connections from the colonial period to the present day, paying special attention to traditions surrounding horses in the Cajun and Creole cultures. It features sulky races; Creole trail rides; and Le Tournoi de la Ville Platte, a contest inspired by medieval jousting. Castille explores the
inclusion of horses in traditional rural Mardi Gras celebrations, where masked riders go from house to house, begging for ingredients – including live chickens – to make a gumbo. The film also includes an interview with Calvin Borel, the only jockey in history to win three consecutive Kentucky Derby races. A native of Catahoula, Borel began his career when he was just 11, riding on Louisiana’s bush tracks, unsanctioned, rough-and-tumble tracks that once dotted the Southwest Louisiana countryside. Castille wrote, directed and produced the film. A ULL graduate, she is assistant director of the University’s Center for Moving Image Arts
Conni Castille
and an instructor who teaches English and film studies. The film takes its name from a Cajun song, “’Tit Galop Pour
terri fensel portrait
Mamou,” written and recorded by Dewey Balfa and released in 1965. It tells the story of a rider who sells his mule and wagon to buy treats for the children and elders in the small town of Mamou. Dr. Michael Martin, director of ULL’s Center for Louisiana Studies, called the film “remarkable for its blending of archival and contemporary footage to show the complexities of horse culture in the region.” T-Galop also earned the Louisiana Feature Film Prize at the 2012 New Orleans Film Festival. Castille’s filmmaking exploits were featured in the February/ March 2012 issue of Acadiana Profile. ap
www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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de la cuisine
Cool Drinks, Good Times Beat the heat with a cocktail hour, complete with tasty beverages and simple snacks. By Marcelle Bienvenu | Photographed by eugenia uhl During the summers of my childhood, the highlight of many hot afternoons was sipping homemade lemonade, root beer or tea. What fun we had under the oak trees at Aunt Belle’s, slurping beverages chilled with ice that had been crushed by beating ice cubes wrapped in a towel with an old hammer! These days, what with the plethora of bottled, canned and ready-to-mix drinks on the market, half the fun – gathering ingredients and making the concoctions – is gone. With the summer stretching before me, nieces and nephews, some of them with their own young children, are already calling me to set aside some time to spend in my treeshaded yard with plastic swimming pools. So I’m gathering some old-time drink recipes. Too, I’ve decided that late afternoons on these long summer days are perfect for inviting the neighbors over for a cocktail hour now and then. Mama and Papa often had impromptu get-togethers years ago on their cool, lush patio, and I thought that was so civilized and pleasurable. You might want to do the same! Don’t forget to include some munchies. Let’s begin with the nonalcoholic beverages.
Tea Punch 6 individual-size tea bags 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup fresh lemon juice 1 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup grenadine 1 quart chilled ginger ale Mint sprigs (optional) Combine the tea bags with 2 cups of boiling water, and steep. Discard the bags. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add the fruit juices and grenadine. Chill for several hours. When ready to serve, add the chilled ginger ale. Serve over ice, and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serves 8 to 10.
Grape Ices 3 1/2 cups water 3/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 12-ounce can frozen grape juice concentrate, undiluted Combine the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until the grape concentrate is completely melted. Pour the mixture into freeze trays or a plastic bowl. Freeze until firm, stirring several times during the freezing process. To serve, scrape the ice with a large spoon and serve in small bowls. Serves 6 to 8.
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de la cuisine
And now on to adult beverages! Blue Lagoon 2 ounces light rum 1/2 ounce triple sec Splash of blue Curaçao 1 1/4 cups crushed ice Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve in a tall glass. Serves 1.
Surf Sider 1 1/2 ounces white rum 1 ounce blue Curaçao 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice 1 ounce simple syrup 1 1/4 cups crushed ice Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a tall glass to serve. Serves 1.
Green Cooler 1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate 1 can vodka, measured in the limeade can 3 cups crushed ice Combine all of the ingredients in the blender, and blend for about 15 seconds. Serve in cocktail glasses. Serves 4. Munchies can be as easy as chips and dips, crackers and cheese or finger sandwiches. Avocado Dip 2 avocados, peeled and mashed 2 Italian plum tomatoes, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro 1 teaspoon finely chopped green onions 1 tablespoon sour cream 1 teaspoon (more or less to taste) chopped pickled jalapeños Salt and finely ground black pepper to taste 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix well. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Best when used within 24 hours. Serves 2 to 4. This curry dip is great to serve with boiled and peeled shrimp. Curry Dip 1 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon curry powder (try the Madras curry powder if you can find it) 1 teaspoon horseradish 1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar 1 tablespoon minced onions 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and whisk to blend well. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days. Makes about 1 cup.
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During the summer, I love homemade pimento cheese to serve on crackers. My Pimento Cheese 1/2 pound mild cheddar cheese, grated 1 2-ounce jar diced pimento with its liquid 3 tablespoons mayonnaise Freshly ground black pepper to taste Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Cover, and chill until ready to serve. Makes about 2 cups. In my book, there’s nothing better than chicken salad sandwiches. Chicken salad is ideal for making finger sandwiches, plopping on the top of thick slices of Creole tomatoes or stuffing into half an avocado. This one is a classic. Classic Chicken Salad 1 fryer chicken, about 3 pounds 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped 1 medium-size yellow onion, peeled
covered, until the meat begins to fall off the bones, about 1 1/2 hours.
and quartered 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1 teaspoon salt 2 sprigs fresh parsley 1 cup mayonnaise 3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/4 cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the fryer from the pot, and strain the broth. (The broth can be cooled and stored in containers in the freezer to use for soups.) Let the chicken cool, and then pick the meat off the bones. Coarsely chop or shred the chicken.
to taste
In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the mayonnaise, eggs, lemon juice, mustard, celery, parsley and sweet relish. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix well. If you like it a little moist, add a few tablespoons of the reserved chicken broth. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Serves about 6. ap
Put the fryer in a large, deep pot, and cover with water. Add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt and parsley sprigs. Bring to a boil; then reduce the heat, and simmer, partially
www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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les artistes
Sights to Behold In what critics consider a full and accomplished artistic life, Fredric Daspit feels he’s finally reached his zenith despite the limitations of age. BY WILLIAM KALEC There’s a poster. It might be in your room or in your psychiatrist’s office, framed in a den or thumbtacked to the break-room wall, or maybe you’re a procrastinator and haven’t unrolled the thing yet. It’s the one from this year’s Festival International, the one they sell as a fundraising vehicle, the one with the blue-rust border and the wood sculptures that appear to have been excavated from an ancient Mayan temple instead of forged with four different kinds of popsicle sticks in Fred Daspit’s work shed on Stephens Street. As the retired professor says in a voice on loan from Vincent Price – commanding, deliberate and a tad cryptic – so many friends and contemporaries marvel at its brilliance, commenting how they can’t take their eyes off it, how the complicated pieces bait them in for much more than a passing glance. Daspit smiles, embarrassed by the flattery, humored by the irony: The man who made the poster – or, more accurately, created the work featured in the poster – can’t see the poster. Not directly, anyway. Daspit’s star as an artist and author is ascending to levels of acceptance he once fantasized about, but the rise has coincided with the loss of most of his eyesight. Less than a decade ago, doctors diagnosed Daspit with macular degeneration, an eye condition in which the center of the retina deteriorates.
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les artistes
“Where your face would be,” Daspit explains to me, “all I see is a gray dot. The peripheral is clear. The straight-ahead is a mystery. I asked my friend Peter a couple of years ago: ‘Why now? Why now this late in my life am I having this success?’ My friend quipped back, ‘Well, aren’t you glad it happened now as opposed to even later?’ I laughed because there’s a lot of truth to that. “I sometimes wonder, ‘Where in the world did these things come from?’” Daspit continues, “because during the process, I’m not looking directly at the piece. I’m looking at it sideways.” Despite teaching art history for close to 40 years at ULL, authoring three books on Louisiana architecture, meticulously constructing miniature models of some of the world’s most fascinating structures and designing Christmas murals on his teachers’ chalkboards when he was in high school, Daspit never felt like a true artist until this still-recent venture into wood-sculpting. Inspiration for the pieces comes from a series of redbound, gold-leaf books on the history of civilization that Daspit inherited as
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portrait by Travis gauthier
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les artistes
a child, shrewdly completing the entire set by collecting the volumes from family members who used them as doorstops and paperweights. “Growing up in St. Martinville, I used to take clay and marbles and any brightcolored pieces of debris I could find in the trash and create art,” Daspit says. “So I look back, and those elementary school tendencies are still visible in my work today. But even then, I didn’t feel like an artist. I was just a kid being creative. With these pieces of wood, though, I’m starting to accept the title. This is totally different, according to some people who are supposed to be knowledgeable. People see things in my work that I don’t. They see the metaphysical. I have no doubts that it’s there. I’m sure it is. I just don’t put it in consciously. It’s all subconsciously or intuitive as opposed to an artistic technique.” The wood Daspit uses generally is swept from the floors – and pulled from the waste bins – of carpenters, builders and other local artists, the reason
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being that the shapes of scraps tend to be more interesting and inspiring than anything found on a store shelf. Daspit draws out the armature for the pieces in plywood, but because he can’t see well enough to follow the lines, he leans on the help of his grandson (and occasionally his wife) for the cutting. That’s when the popsicle sticks come into play; they are essentially materials to build up the textual surface, Daspit explains. Additional wood pieces are adhered and then coated in a colored spray just before Daspit applies a final layer of a solution containing iron dust, which embellishes the ancient rust effect. “Each piece evolves,” he says. “It’s a gradual buildup. Since I can’t see clearly, I work underneath a magnifying light, and I’m essentially looking at a flat. You know this has to go there, that has to
go here, this needs more, etc. But the whole – the whole is a mystery to me until they’re displayed on the gallery wall for the first time. Looking directly at them, displayed, is like looking at them for the first time.” Daspit’s wood pieces have been
exhibited at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at ULL, Gallery 549 in downtown Lafayette and the Abbeville Cultural & Historical Alliance Center. “This sounds awful and conceited, but I don’t mean it to be so – but it amazes me to see the pieces and know I’m the one who did them,” Daspit says. “I don’t comprehend it totally. It’s very strange to me. I looked at pieces from the last show and said, ‘My God, this thing is beautiful.’ And I felt guilty saying it. “I’m a person who all his life copied other things, and the satisfaction was never there,” Daspit continues. “They looked beautiful, and I made a lot of money doing it for decorators and designers, but the satisfaction was never there. But the satisfaction is there with these pieces. I did this. It floors me.” ap
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la maison
An Enduring Acadiana Muse A Breaux Bridge home created by a Louisiana artist colony continues to inspire. By Lisa leblanc–berry | Photographed by chad chenier
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Opposite: A horse skull with elk antlers and a steel sculpture titled Spark by sculptor Russell Whiting adorn the entrance of the residence. Left: Bénédicte Blanc-Fontenille’s delicate mixed media on paper that hangs above a cypress credenza adds a soft nuance to the rustic elements of the space. Above: Whiting, whose large-scale works are exhibited in galleries, museums and in private and corporate collections throughout the U.S., is shown at work near one of his intriguing steeland-wood cabinets.
There is a palpable energy in the artful residence of renowned sculptor Russell Whiting and his entrepreneurial wife, Michelle Vallot. Known as the “bottle wall” house, it originally served as a gathering place for artists, professors and their students. Visitors are always fascinated by the two picture windows that appear to be afloat in a whimsical wall made with glass bottles. It was assembled with the help of college students residing in nearby Lafayette. Built in the 1960s by landscape architect Russell Dupuis, who was a professor at ULL (known as University of Southwestern Louisiana at the time), it was one of the early "green" homes of the period. Located in a secluded woodland area on the outskirts of Breaux Bridge, the one-of-a-kind, handmade dwelling was created from salvaged materials. Notable artists designed, carved, painted and crafted the house so that it emerged into a working canvas. The late painters Robert Gordy and Elemore Morgan, totemic sculptor John Geldersma, painter and printmaker David Alpha and other Louisiana artists put their collective talents into the heart and soul of the residence. “It is an organic living space
that necessarily evolves to adapt to nature and to satisfy our intrinsic artistic needs,” says Vallot, a passionate arts patron and savvy businesswoman who has been active in the Lafayette art scene for many years. Devoted to continuing the artistic legacy of the house, Vallot and Whiting enjoy their calling as keepers of the flame. They have added their own personal touches since Vallot purchased the home in 1989. “Something just happened to me after I peeked into the big windows for the first time,” she says. “I fell in love with it and knew that this house had to be preserved.” Their additions to the ever-evolving bottle wall house have included the creation of a contemporary veranda, a front-entrance fountain, a spacious outbuilding and studio and a glassed-in deck off the master suite. Standing on the upper deck on breezy summer evenings, one experiences the intoxicating fragrances of night-blooming jasmine and sweet olive as fireflies sparkle over the pond and foliage. The couple’s property, bordered by unique varieties of bamboo, is spread out over 5 acres strewn with towering cypress trees. Whiting’s commanding carved steel sculptures in the house and around the grounds have added an intriguing, contemporary element to the compound. From the corn-and-skull carved posts by Morgan to the stainedglass works, unique carved beams, neo-expressionist paintings by Hunt Slonem and spiritual wall hangings by Geldersma, the house continues to inspire. Whiting created a sleek spiral staircase, handcrafted contemporary furniture and original cabinetry for the house, which has taken on a life of its own. Aside from sculpture, Whiting is also notable for his one-of-a-kind furniture. www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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la maison
“Living around so many great artists such as David Alpha, Elemore Morgan and John Geldersma who have carvings on the beams of our living room area is very energizing,” Whiting notes. “It keeps art at the foreground of the daily activities that go into the evolution of our home and its maintenance. The house and yard also make a great backdrop and environment for my sculptures. It is helpful to place a new piece on the grounds and then have the time to live around it for a while. Essentially, it breeds ideas.” Whiting is known for pioneering the art of carving metal with a torch, a method he developed while working on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and his majestic figurative sculptures are in corporate and private collections around the world. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. Whiting’s large-scale Man Defeats Chair carved steel sculpture was recently erected on the corner of Poydras Street and Convention Center Boulevard in New Orleans as part of an outdoor exhibition curated jointly by Sculpture for New Orleans and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Vallot resigned from her law practice three years ago to become the founder and proprietor of Zydeco Foods LLC, which produces the original sweet potato Zydeco Bar. She recently introduced two new 22
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Left: Whiting’s sleek steel-and-dyed-plywood stools embellish an all-cypress bar in the kitchen. Custom cypress cabinets are inset with etched glass by Craig McCullen. Below: The cozy den serves as a pleasant nook for relaxation with its cypress daybed. The interior column was hand-carved by college students in the 1960s. A shuttered window showcases artful stained-glass insets by the late Charles Kimble. Bottom: The fanciful steel bed and rustic wooden footrest by Whiting grace a renovated upstairs bedroom designed with wide-plank reclaimed pine flooring.
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la maison Below: A marble-and-steel table by Whiting and a woodcut print by David Alpha complement the secondfloor master suite with an adjoining deck that overlooks the grounds. Bottom: A wood column carved by John Geldersma and a bronze table by Whiting enhance the artful ambience of the living room. A splendid view is afforded through a round window positioned in a wall constructed of multicolored bottles. Right: A clay sculpture by Dan Girouard titled Man and Woman adds an organic element near the round glass window flanked by protruding bottles that jut from a wall created by a Lafayette artist colony in the 1960s.
healthful bars this spring, a fruit-and-pecan bar and a pecan-brownie bar, while increasing national distribution. Both Vallot and Whiting are gifted cooks and enjoy hosting dinner parties. When I visited their home recently, Whiting was returning from St. Petersburg, Fla., where a lighting ceremony and concert had been held in his honor to commemorate the placement of his 12-foot-tall Soul Survivor sculpture in the city’s downtown corridor. Vallot was just getting in from Las Vegas. They were about to host yet another one of their famous cochon du lait soirées. The scent of logs flickering in the outdoor fire pit and pork roasting on a spit filled the air. “We enjoy entertaining,” Vallot says while pouring wine into Whiting’s glass, as a dozen guests gathered around the outdoor fire on this sultry starlit night. 24
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la maison
Left: Whiting created the spiral staircase and sculptures in the living room. A decorative tramp art box resides on a walnut-and-steel table near the entrance. Below: The master bedroom’s adjoining bath was renovated during an addition. Whiting’s Blue Tree sculpture adds a touch of whimsy to the room.
Carefully tending the roast, Whiting ceremoniously raises his glass in a toast. “I call this the bottle wall house of a thousand angles because no matter what direction you look, there is always some interesting feature or inspiration. And with my studio being just a few steps away from the main house, I can go from idea to creation in just a flash." ap
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by
rom the moment the sun rises over the basins, bayous and coulees of Acadiana, people awaken to the smell of dark roast coffee brewing and turn on their playlists to get the weekend going. When I hit the highway, a musical gumbo of zydeco, Cajun and jazz always fuels the senses. After putting on Corey Ledet’s Nothin’ But the Best album or Wayne Toups, Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy’s recent Grammy-winning album, The Band Courtbouillon, I am in the zone. Driving past sugar cane and rice fields, with an occasional crop-duster flying overhead, I begin planning another weekend road trip. With an ice chest, a map and some dancing shoes, I am ready to visit places off the beaten path. My first stop will be St. Landry Parish for a weekend of twostepping, boudin-tasting and club-hopping.
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LISA LeBLANC -BERRY
As the musical stars are aligning in the galaxy this summer, devotees of zydeco, Cajun and swamp pop are cruising the back roads, where fiddlers are popping up like daisies at honky-tonks, river shacks and salles de danse. Whether it’s Clifton Chenier’s house party “la-la” or Nathan Abshire’s old-time “chanka-chank” music, Beau Jocque’s high-octane blaze of electric guitars or the soft, passionate ballads and fiddling of the all-female Bonsoir, Catin, you can bet someone is playing it tonight in Acadiana. It’s the season of steamy summer festivals, wild honky-tonking and big musical gatherings in unexpected places. I’ve been to Sunday afternoon trail ride parties that draw hundreds on horseback near Cecilia, with great zydeco bands, mountains of boudin and plenty of dusty dancing in open fields, and those Saturday night summer shindigs in tin-roof
buildings that shake when the bands play as bonfires crackle near the banks of the river. A weekly ritual on Saturday nights occurs in rural roadhouses and bars in St. Landry Parish, where Creole cowboys and perfumed ladies twirl around the dance floor as the bands pound out pulsating zydeco tunes. The mood rises to a feverish pitch at Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki on the outskirts of Opelousas. The accordionist incites the crowd by playing on his knees, limbo-style, while singing in French. The ululation, “les haricots sont pas salés,” resounds from the stage while the supercharged rhythms from the frottoir (rub board) played with spoons gets people shimmying close around the stage. It is so hot I have to go outside on the gravel to cool off between sets. Known as the Zydeco Capital of the World, Opelousas boasts the annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival (the nation's oldest), which is actually held in nearby Plaisance at Zydeco Park on the weekend of Labor Day, with a Friday night kickoff party and dance contest at Slim’s Y-Ki-Ki (check out the great jam session with top
musicians on Thursday night at Slim’s). More great music can be enjoyed during the Yamboree Festival in October, which brings dancing in the streets once again. To the delight of regulars, the 65-yearold Miller’s Zydeco Hall of Fame, formerly known as Richard’s Club in Lawtell near Opelousas, reopened in 2012 after closing twice before. This iconic old jewel still has those bouncy wooden floors, screen windows, low ceilings and no air conditioning (just box fans and ceiling fans), but everyone packs in for the music and energy of the place. Best-selling albums have been recorded at Richard’s, which is what you still call it if you’re from this neck of the woods. Movies have also been filmed here. Zydeco stars Clifton Chenier (who booked some of his first gigs at Richard’s before he was popular), Terrance Simien, Rockin’ Sidney, plus blues and R&B greats such as B.B. King and John Lee Hooker played at the club on their way to gigs in Houston. I visited on a steamy night when Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys were thumping and grinding. The parking lot was filled
with pickup trucks, and the line to get in was long, but it’s always worth the wait to experience this landmark out in the country. On my way out of town, I like to stop by the tiny town of Cankton and visit Cormier’s Country Store, which has delicious, moist boudin flecked with green onions. I place an order in French and then pop the boudin into the ice chest, ready for the next adventure. Rumor has it that Anthony Bourdain came here. Around 3 miles north of nearby Eunice is Lakeview Park & Beach, where I danced until midnight in a big, rowdy barn to the music of Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie. They did a great set. A guy in a muscle shirt and cowboy hat asked, “Where y’all from, boo?” I guess we didn’t look local. During weekends in June, this earthy RV park/beach/playground/ dance hall stages events, including beach parties and snowball-eating contests. We’re not talking sugar-white sand like you see in Destin, Fla., but the beach is clean and pleasant enough.
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Fred' s Lounge
Liberty Theater
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Large crowds come each summer. It also has a bal de magasin, which gets hopping on Saturday nights. It’s really easy to meet folks here because people are usually in vacation mode. When in Eunice, be sure to stop by the Eunice Superette, which has a slaughterhouse out back and makes terrific boudin (the pigs are fed boiled crawfish shells, which kicks up the flavor a notch). On Saturday afternoons from 3 to 6 at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, you can learn how to Cajun dance if you don’t already know how. Volunteers are on hand to teach you a step or two. They also share local secrets for the perfect gumbo. In the evening, head next door at around 6 to the Liberty Theater for live Cajun and zydeco music when the National Park Service sponsors Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns, which is broadcast live at krvs.org. It’s a real hoot, this place, and a great place to entertain out-of-town visitors who want to see Cajun Country without going to a dance hall or a smoky bar. While in Eunice, if you are an aspiring musician, you can hear live music while participating in a Cajun jam session at the Savoy Music Center, but you must bring your own instrument. You get popular really fast if you also bring along
some good boudin. Sessions are from around 9 a.m. until noon – no charge, either. Marc and Ann Savoy have had their band since 1977, and now their famous grown children, Joel and Wilson, step in to play. I brought my guitar and some spoons one afternoon and learned a thing or two, even though I mainly play keyboard. It’s not hard to find: just look for a string of cars on Highway 190 between Eunice and Lawtell. In Basile, I recommend stopping by the secluded D.I.’s Cajun Restaurant, which is decorated with family photos and pictures of celebrities and is located near a landing strip. If you’ve got a small airplane, you can fly there. It’s not that easy to find (between bayous Des Cannes and Nezpique), but you will see all the cars and the gravel lot from Evangeline Highway. D.I. Fruge and his wife, Sherry, began farm-raising crawfish in the 1970s and later started a restaurant. During crawfish season, it is packed. D.I.’s is an authentic Cajun joint that serves great seafood and seats around 275; there is a good-size dance floor with live local music Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We “cut da rug” to Mack Manuel and the Lake Charles Ramblers the last time we passed through Basile in April. Heading to Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, I usually stay the weekend, visit the flea market, stop at Poché’s for some great boudin (for the ice chest) and Hebert’s for rice dressing – and of course we always hit the live music venues. Known as the Crawfish Capital of the World, this is a hopping little town. Notable musicians, artists and writers have been relocating here ever since Katrina. It’s the only town in the U.S. that lists people by their nicknames. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival is held at Parc Hardy in May, and features more than 30 hot bands on three stages, crawfisheating contests, cooking demos, Cajun and zydeco dancing lessons and even a crawfish race where live crawdads wearing numbers scurry to the finish line. The highlight of visiting Pont Breaux, as the locals like to call it, is the fast-paced, energetic zydeco breakfast on Saturday
mornings at Café des Amis. The only thing vaguely comparable to this supercharged experience is Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, the iconic salle de danse that also has a Saturday morning dance scene starting at 8 and lasting until 1 p.m. Café des Amis has exceptionally good food, especially for dinner (braised duck glazed with Steen’s cane syrup and pepper jelly, redfish court bouillon, oven-roasted rabbit). You have to get to Café des Amis early if you don’t want to wait in line for a long time; there are no reservations – first come, first served. People start lining up at 7 a.m., and the doors open at 8:30 a.m.; the music stops around 12:30 p.m., but the bands can often be encouraged to do another couple of songs. Around 300 people show up each Saturday, and the place only seats 85. The circa 1890s building has 20-foot-high pressed-tin ceilings and local consignment art. Great Bloody Marys, shrimp and grits in a tasso cream sauce and grilled biscuits with eggs and crawfish étouffée are staples. There is also a live band on Wednesday nights, but it’s rarely crowded and not nearly as fun. You squeeze in for breakfast and often have to sit at communal tables; sometimes, you even have to dance between the tables since
the dance floor is so small. On my last visit, I brought my daughter and she danced the morning away with old geezers in cowboy hats who were good enough to be on Dancing with the Stars. Also in Breaux Bridge is Pont Breaux’s, which was Mulate’s for many years (in various incarnations). I liked it best in the early days, when Kerry Boutté opened it in 1980 and hired Zachary Richard and Michael Doucet before they became famous. It has changed quite a bit through the years and has had different owners. There is a dramatic mural on one wall to the left of the entrance near the closely spaced dining tables, with the bandstand directly in front, flanked by a decent-size dance floor. It has bright lights and good acoustics. One evening, some ladies from Switzerland asked if they could meet us and sit at our table. Sure, the food is still good, the portions are generous, and the atmosphere is fun, but you’ll find a lot of tourists here whereas if you go down the street to La Poussiere on a Saturday night, you will find mostly locals. And the older they are, the better they can dance! The last time we visited, we became immersed in a circular thing
Joie de Vivre CafE
on the dance floor; everyone was doing the two-step waltz and circling in the same exact direction in unison, as if choreographed. Older couples, all dressed up for Saturday night, were hugging romantically as they expertly dipped and twirled in perfect harmony, an inspiring sight. Only a few regulars were still at the bar when we closed the place down. Breaux Bridge has a fairly new cute little “coffee shop and cultural café,” as owner Melanie Harrington calls it. Joie de Vivre CafE offers everything from yoga classes to literary nights, plus live music and jam sessions on Saturday mornings. When I’m in New Iberia visiting cousins and friends, I always like to stop in at Clementine on Saturday nights, when the live music alternates among blues, zydeco and Cajun. People often get up to dance when dining. Wayne Peltier’s elegant restaurant, named after the late great folk artist Clementine Hunter, serves superb Louisiana cuisine, and the bar is popular among locals after 5. If you enjoy hearing music at summer festivals, head to the 31st annual Church Point Buggy Festival, which is held June 7-9. It has grown considerably since it started in 1981 and features live Cajun and zydeco bands, a fiddle contest that is becoming increasingly popular, a buggy parade, an antique buggy show and great local food. This year’s lineup showcases such groups as Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, Kenneth Benoit and the Gravel Road Band and an accordion extravaganza with Paul Daigle and Cajun Gold. Another great music-centric summer event is the 26th annual Cajun Music & Food Festival, held in Lake Charles at the Burton Coliseum on July 19-21. It is highlighted by numerous live bands, a children’s Cajun waltz contest, a children’s bandstand and a Dancing with the Cajun Stars contest. The Marshland Festival is held July 25-27 and features more than a dozen
grant street dancehall
FEED & SEED bands performing at the Lake Charles Civic Center. A popular place with live entertainment in Lake Charles is Yesterdays Night Club. The 10-year-old club features everything from Cajun to zydeco and country music. OB’s Bar and Grill often has live ‘80s and ‘90s music Wednesday and Friday nights. It hits the spot if you’re in the mood for a little music with your burger or poor boy on the way to the clubs or all the action at L’Auberge Casino Resort, which offers national music headliners and special summer Liquid Society poolside events and concerts. In Lafayette, I like the hip vibe at the Blue Moon Saloon & Guesthouse, which has Cajun music and a verdant outdoor setting, but if you don’t feel like sweating during the summer heat, the best place to hear live music and go Cajun dancing is Randol’s. The large dance
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hall has nightly live bands and is populated with mostly locals during the week and a mixture of locals and visitors on weekends (regulars are Kevin Naquin, Bayou Boys, Jambalaya and the Lafayette Rhythm Devils). The food is top-shelf, with a little Asian mixed into the Cajun. They raise their own crawfish and crabs, and have a team of “pickers” who clean the seafood and pick the fresh Blue Point lump crabmeat out of the boiled crabs in the rear of the restaurant. Try the famous BBQ Crabs, which are quartered, bathed in Saigon sauce and then battered and fried. Another good place for Cajun music and dancing in Lafayette is Prejean’s, which provides good food and a fun time with live Cajun and zydeco bands and plenty of dancing, family-style. Children are frequently seen here learning to dance alongside their parents. Blue Dog Café offers a lively Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring a
range of music styles including Cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, Celtic and folk. The extensive menu includes a delicious crab cake Benedict, prime rib, smoked salmon, grillades and cheese grits and omelets made to order. It’s a great place to bring children for brunch and is adorned with paintings by George Rodrigue. Lafayette has many places to hear different kinds of live music. At the top of my list is a fairly new music venue housed in a beautiful, artsy old shack with primitive shutters. Feed & Seed is part community center, part clubhouse and part nightclub and recently acquired a liquor license. Acts have included a variety of bands such as Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, the Cat Head Biscuit Boys, The Essentials and Little Freddie King. Just across the train tracks is the equally cavernous Grant Street Dancehall, the iconic dance hall that has been around for decades and features such acts as Tab Benoit, Papa Grows Funk, Bonerama and Big Sam’s Funky Nation. Cowboys Nightclub in Scott on the outskirts of Lafayette is a great place to kick up your heels on weekends; you can catch such bands as Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express, Leroy Thomas, Lil’ Wayne Singleton & Same Ol’ 2 Step and Travis Matte and the Kingpins. Traveling the back roads to St. Martin Parish, away from the Lafayette city limits and traffic, I head to Henderson, where I once spent the night in a houseboat that felt like a floating toolshed. From the interstate, you can see the metal roofs of a
few clubs in the distance. There is one main drag leading to the levee, which is where all the river shack action is happening. Perched on the very western edge of the Atchafalaya Basin is McGee’s Landing, which has everything from Cajun guesthouses to swamp tours and a great café overlooking the Atchafalaya. It’s beautiful at sunset, and if you spend the night, there’s nothing like a swamp
dawn. The live Cajun music starts at 7 on Friday and Saturday nights and at around noon on Sundays. Within 2 miles is Pat’s Fisherman’s Wharf and the adjacent Atchafalaya Club (a huge, hangar-like building with a shiny dance floor and great live Cajun music), located a couple of miles off Highway 352 down at the levee. You’ll find the dance hall, restaurant, a motel and a series of
outbuildings including a lighthouse at the entrance of the always-packed parking lot. An offbeat, funky place nearby that is not to be missed is the Turtles Bar, which dangles over the levee. It’s got a great oldies jukebox and fishnets on the walls and is jamming with people coming in from their boat outings; we danced there on a Sunday night (no live music was needed) and got to know the locals. It’s
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L'Auberge casino Resort
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part of a houseboat-and-marina complex, the Atchafalaya Basin Landing, and is a good place to launch a boat or take an airboat tour over the eerie, vast swamp. Farther down the levee from Pat’s and Turtles is Angelle’s Whiskey River Landing (which is open on Sundays, when top-name zydeco and Cajun groups pull people to the plywood dance floor). The music builds like a crescendo, until couples are sliding and stomping to the beat of the drums, getting wild and steamy. Houseboats, tour barges and boats are parked outside at the water‘s edge. It’s worth a special trip down the levee just to finish the tail end of a weekend at Angelle’s. When we finally left, the room was surging with energy. But we knew that just behind the big windows lurked the dark Atchafalaya basin and a long drive home over the murky waters strewn with alligators, nutria and moss-draped trees casting shadows in the moonlight. ap
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DENTISTS 121
This list is excerpted from the 2013 topDentists™ list, a database that includes listings for more than 100 dentists and specialists in the Acadiana area. The Acadiana list is based on thousands of detailed evaluations of dentists and professionals by their peers. The complete database is available at usatopdentists.com. For more information, call 706/364-0853; write P.O. Box 970, Augusta, GA 30903; email info@usatopdentists.com; or visit usatopdentists.com.
selection process If you had a patient in need of a dentist, which dentist would you refer them to?” This is the question we’ve asked thousands of dentists to help us determine who the topDentists should be. Dentists and specialists are asked to take into consideration years of experience, continuing education, manner with patients, use of new techniques and technologies and of course physical results. The nomination pool of dentists consists of dentists listed online with the American Dental Association, as well as all dentists listed online with their local dental societies, thus allowing virtually every dentist the opportunity to participate. Dentists are also given the opportunity to nominate other dentists who we have missed who they feel should be included in our list. Respondents are asked to put aside any personal bias or political motivations and to use only
their knowledge of their peers’ work when evaluating the other nominees. Voters are asked to individually evaluate the practitioners on their ballots whose work they are familiar with. Once the balloting is completed, the scores are compiled and then averaged. The numerical average required for inclusion varies depending on the average for all the nominees within the specialty and the geographic area. Borderline cases are given careful consideration by the editors. Voting characteristics and comments are taken into consideration while making decisions. Past awards a dentist has received and status in various dental academies (Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Periodontology, etc.) can play a factor in our decision. Once the decisions have been finalized, the included dentists are checked against state dental boards for disciplinary actions to make sure they have an active license and are in good standing with the board. Then letters of congratulations are sent to all the listed dentists.
Of course there are many fine dentists who are not included in this representative list. It is intended as a sampling of the great body of talent in the field of dentistry in the United States. A dentist’s inclusion on our list is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow dentists. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, we remain confident that our polling methodology largely corrects for any biases and that these lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate and useful list of dentists available anywhere.
This list is excerpted from the 2013 topDentists™ list, which includes listings for more than 100 dentists and specialists in the Acadiana area. For more information, call 706/364-20853; write P.O. Box 970, Augusta, GA 30903; email info@usatopdentists.com; or visit usatopdentists.com. topDentists has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. Copyright 2011-2013 by Top Dentists LLC, Augusta, Ga. All rights reserved. This list, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without permission of topDentists. No fees may be charged, directly or indirectly, for the use of the information in this list without permission.
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one of my most difficult cases
After Trauma, a Brand-New Smile DAVID GUNTER BAUGHMAN HOUMA, MORGAN CITY Specialty: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery • Northeast Louisiana University 1989 • University of New Mexico in Albuquerque 1990 • University of Texas Dental Branch Houston 1996 • Louisiana State University at New Orleans Medical School 2000 Native of Farmerville
Profile By Caroline Malouse r. David Baughman loves his job. “I could do it till I’m 100,” he says. With his thriving practice and active lifestyle, it seems entirely possible that he’ll have the chance to do just that. He and his business partner, Dr. Chris Saal, have 13 employees and operate out of Houma, Morgan City and Thibodaux. At their oral and maxillofacial practice, they place dental implants, extract wisdom teeth and other non-restorable teeth, diagnose head and neck cancer and perform orthognathic surgery (corrective jaw surgery). When on call at Terrebonne General and Thibodaux Regional hospitals, they treat emergency facial trauma cases. One special case was an offshore worker who experienced severe trauma when a pressure hose exploded, destroying his jawbone and badly lacerating his lips. He was airlifted to Terrebonne General Hospital, where Baughman cleaned up the wounds. The patient was allowed to heal before Baughman created bone grafts to repair his jaw, replacing teeth with dental implants. After careful work, the patient’s smile and jaw function were restored. “That was a huge challenge and a gratifying result,” says Baughman. 38
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He knew this line of work was for him when he extracted his first tooth in dental school. Baughman comes from a long line of pharmacists, including his father, grandfather, uncle and brother, and had wanted to follow in their footsteps since age 6. Growing up, he spent time in his family’s corner drugstore, working behind the counter at the soda fountain, checking inventory after school and in the summer and watching customers fill prescriptions and pass the time. But with the advancement of medical technology and changing times, modern drugstores and pharmacies had become the norm by the time he graduated pharmacy school. After practicing pharmacy for a couple of years, he realized he missed the community-gathering feel of the old corner drugstores and felt that he wanted to be even more directly involved with patient care. “I was working at MD Anderson in Houston next door to the University of Houston dental school,” Baughman says. “One day I walked over and spoke to an adviser about applying, and the next thing I knew I was studying to be a dentist.” His educational history is impressive indeed. After earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pharmacy at what is now the University of Louisiana at Monroe and at University of New Mexico, respectively, he earned his dental degree at the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston and then went on to earn his medical degree at Louisiana State University at New Orleans. Working as colleagues with professors in his later years of school, he also completed a general surgery internship and an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, both at LSU. Although he sees dozens of patients a day, Baughman still finds time to act as the president of the Louisiana Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a position he earned after spending four years as secretary/treasurer and two as vice president. He also just finished six years as a board member of the Louisiana Dental Association, representing Bayou District Dental. As if his leadership in dentistry weren’t enough to keep him busy, Baughman is also an avid outdoorsman who likes to fish and compete in triathlons. “There’s a great group of athletes in the area,” Baughman says of the friends he swims, bikes and runs with. He finds time before work and during lunch to do the things he enjoys. On top of everything, he loves to hang out with his children and even coaches their 7- and 8-year-old coach-pitch baseball team, where the coach pitches the ball. Baughman’s only concern about his field is the current state of flux of health care policies. “I don’t like being with the unknowns of governmental health care and insurance companies,” he says, ever sympathetic toward patient needs. Patients can rest assured that Baughman does his best to ensure excellent care for them. portrait by Lauren self
Endodontics Benjamin Ber Southern Endodontic Specialists 1211 Museum Drive Houma 985/917-0084 houmaendo.com Brent Chauvin Advanced Endodontics of Lafayette 221 Rue De Jean, Suite 214, Lafayette 337/769-0999 chauvinendo.com Kenneth Shane Fowler 4906 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Building O Lafayette 337/981-0144 shanefowlerdds.com Steven Michael Gaudet Jr. Southern Endodontic Specialists 1211 Museum Drive Houma 985/917-0084 houmaendo.com John E. Levin Levin Endodontics 312 W. University Ave., Suite A, Lafayette 337/236-9880 levinendo.com Terrell Louis Murphy 1924 Southwood Drive Lake Charles 337/477-7744 Kenneth W. Parks Lake Area Endodontics 636 W. McNeese St. Lake Charles 337/477-6124 lakeareaendo.com Anthony B. Rainwater 3909 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Suite B Lafayette 337/233-7113 rainwaterendo.com
General Dentistry Melanie Jean Andrews Plantation Road Dental Care 103 Plantation Road Destrehan 504/764-1148 plantationroaddental.com John Kenneth Aycock 512 Haifleigh St. Franklin 337/828-5841 Peter T. Bayles 824 W. Fourth St. DeQuincy 337/786-6221 Douglas S. Ber 511 Cardinal Drive Thibodaux 985/447-9379 Sheard Adolph Ber 1711 Himalaya Ave. Thibodaux 985/446-5031 drsber.com Edwin L. Bercier III 300 N. Polk St. P. O. Box 23 Rayne 337/334-3581 Charles A. Bernard III 2726 Kaliste Saloom Road Lafayette 337/984-9414 Clare M. Berthelot Berthelot and Associates LLC 6711 Louisiana 1 S. Addis 225/364-3640 Mark J. Bilello 399 Bayou Gardens Blvd. Houma 985/872-9470 houmacomprehensivedentistry.com Gary Joseph Blanchette Sulphur Dental Associates 2920 Maplewood Drive Sulphur 337/625-2671 Richard Irvin Borne Southdown Dental Center 103 Southdown W. Blvd. Houma 985/876-5564
Ellis David Braud Jr. 810 Bayou Lane Thibodaux 985/446-2888
Robert J. Foret 705 Plantation Road Thibodaux 985/446-8821
Richard L. LeBlanc 4003 Louisiana Ave. Lake Charles 337/477-8360
Nathan H. Bray Jr. 700 W. McNeese St., Suite B, Lake Charles 337/478-8470 braydentistry.com
Laurie R. Glaser 13270 Highway 90 P.O. Box 515 Boutte 985/785-0123
Charlie Buller III 206 S. Thompson Ave. P.O. Box 1179 Iowa 337/582-7225
Dean Leonard Listi 904 David Drive P.O. Box 3573 Morgan City 985/384-4044 drlisti.com
Joshua Ryan Guidry 556 Cardinal Drive Thibodaux 985/449-0611
Carl W. Churchman Jr. 3425 Louisiana Ave. Lake Charles 337/477-5043 James Richard Churchman Churchman Family Dentistry 150 W. Prien Lake Road Lake Charles 337/478-1700
Peter S. Guidry 1234 David Drive, Suite 106 P.O. Box 2118 Morgan City 985/385-5423 Kenneth J. Guilbeau Guilbeau Stelly & Maestri 258 Arceneaux Road P.O. Box 700 Carencro 337/896-3267
Mary S. Churchman 3632 E. School St. Lake Charles 337/478-4022
Donald P. Harris 605 Rue De Brille New Iberia 337/367-6144
Robert C. Cochran Moss Bluff Family Dental Care 1434 Sam Houston Jones Parkway Lake Charles 337/855-7748
Edward J. Hebert 1540 Country Club Road Lake Charles 337/474-4892 edwardjhebertdds.com
Daniel Domingue 200 Beaullieu Drive, Building 2, Lafayette 337/235-1512 acadianadentistry.com Dennis Edward Donald 627 W. College St. Lake Charles 337/478-3646 drdennisdonald.com Christy Gail Drum-Ammons 214 W. McNeese St. Lake Charles 337/478-0870 Lige F. Dunaway III 121 Representative Row Lafayette 337/264-1890 ligedunawaydds.com
Bryan Manning Manning Dental Associates 1910 Maplewood Drive Sulphur 337/625-8787 Dean L. Manning Manning Dental Associates 1910 Maplewood Drive Sulphur 337/625-8787 Kent Raymond Mauduit 429 W. Airline Highway, Suite F, LaPlace 985/652-3121 laplacedentist.com Elizabeth S. McCrory 3107 Maplewood Drive Sulphur 337/625-9911 Mark M. Miller 1516 18th St. Lake Charles 337/478-9994
Daniel M. Perry 4301 Lake St. Lake Charles 337/478-0812 drperrydentistry.com Randall R. Perry Family Dental Care 1430 W. McNeese St. Lake Charles 337/474-0212 drrandallperry.com Esperanza M. Prato 2816 First Ave. Lake Charles 337/437-7107 Jason R. Ray 698 E. First St. Thibodaux 985/446-8037 thibodauxdentist.com Kurt S. Rothermel 817 N. Ave. K Crowley 337/783-2113 Charles C. Savoia 200 Clinic Drive Donaldsonville 225/473-1082 Lance N. Savoie Lance Savoie Family Dental 105 Rue Centre St. Abbeville 337/937-8168
Craig Steven Landry 350 Doucet Road, Suite 101, Lafayette 337/981-9242 drcraiglandry.com
James Philip Mire 102 Mystic Blvd. Houma 985/868-5337
Gary Kyle Slaven 671 S. Post Oak Road Sulphur 337/625-0008 kyleslavendds.com
Joseph O. Laprairie Jr. 117 W. Magnolia St. P.O. Box 230 Bunkie 318/346-6774
Edward Morris Moody II 404 E. Texas Ave. Rayne 337/334-2967 moodydentist.com
J. Jerome Smith 200 Beaullieu Drive, Building 2, Lafayette 337/235-1523 acadianadentistry.com
Ann K. Laurent Dr. Ann Laurent’s Dental Artistry 101 W. Martial Ave. Lafayette 337/406-1110 drannlaurent.com
James R. Nichols Jr. 401 Settlers Trace Blvd. Lafayette 337/991-0766
John L. Speer 3425 Louisiana Ave. Lake Charles 337/477-6561
Benjamin M. Ory Ory Family Dentistry 430 W. Fifth St. LaPlace 985/652-9616 orydentists.com
Michael J. Stacey Avoyelles Dental Care 921 Shirley Road Bunkie 318/346-6668
Michele Lavergne 4306 N. University Ave. Carencro 337/896-3062
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one of my most difficult cases
Profile By Sarah Ravits
he biggest challenge that pediatric dentist Leslie Jacobs faces is making sure that skittish kids and their parents realize that going to the dentist should be a positive and even downright pleasant experience. “Sometimes people have had a bad experience at another office, and it’s my job to turn them around and get them comfortable so they’re not afraid anymore,” she explains. “That’s one of the most rewarding things that I do. Sometimes they come in here, and they are so afraid that they’re crying.” Jacobs, a mother of two young girls, Chloe and Callie, has always possessed a nurturing side. Growing up, she babysat constantly – sometimes for as many as 11 children at the same time. Her maternal instincts help her deal with dental problems in the youngsters she sees on a daily basis. “We have a philosophy that everyone will leave happy, and we do whatever it takes to keep them happy and get everything done in the least-traumatic way possible,” she says. “All my assistants are moms, too, and sweet.” Jacobs realized early on that she
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wanted to get involved with dentistry when, at the height of the all-toounavoidable high school awkward phase, her self-described “buckteeth” were fixed by the magic of braces. “My orthodontist changed my life!” she says enthusiastically. Feeling empowered by her newly straightened pearly whites, Jacobs knew that she was meant to improve others’ lives by fixing their teeth. “I was put in my profession for a reason; it’s who I am inside.” She and her husband, Stacy Ste. Marie, an orthodontist, operate a private practice, which happens to be in close proximity to Meche’s, Acadiana’s popular sweet shop known for its award-winning king cakes and doughnuts. And LESLIE JACOBS though Jacobs acknowledges LAFAYETTE that cavities are a primary concern in children, she Specialty: Pediatric Dentistry remains pragmatic about • University of Southwestern Louisiana 1994 little ones’ natural inclination • LSU Health Sciences Center School toward sugary treats. of Dentistry 1999 “Oh, they can have sugar – Native of Sunset you just have to get it off your teeth after,” she says. “I never tell anyone they can’t have candy or sugar. That’s not realistic. I just tell them how to prevent cavities by getting it off their teeth.” Cavities, she says, are 100 percent preventable, and one of her biggest goals is to teach parents how to prevent them in young children. “Sometimes someone will come in here with eight or 10 cavities at 3 years old,” she says. “And it’s because no one ever taught the parents how to deal with it.” At the end of the day, Jacobs leaves her office feeling fulfilled. “How could I ever complain with what I have to do?” she muses. “Nothing about my job is hard to me; it’s just rewarding and fun. We have a lot of people who have orthodontic problems; we do a lot of cosmetics, as well. Kids get teased in school about blemishes on their teeth, so I can put veneers on their teeth, and it changes their whole lives. They feel more confident, and they don’t get teased anymore. I can make people smile beautifully in an hour. I love my little babies; I love all my patients, and they always leave happy.”
Soothing Kids’ Fears While Protecting Their Teeth
portrait by Romero & Romero Photography
James J. Stafford 2670 Highway 20 P.O. Box 70 Vacherie 225/265-3026 drjamesstafford.com
Daniel A. Weaver Smile Lake Charles 715 W. College St. Lake Charles 337/478-3123 smilelakecharles.com
Robert Roy Vaughan 1402 Oak Park Blvd. Lake Charles 337/478-2850 Paul D. Vidrine Westlake Dental Care 902 Shady Lane, Suite A Westlake 337/433-1306 Lamar E. Waguespack Jr. La Vie Dental 109 Johnny Dufrene Drive Raceland 985/532-5303 Jerome M. Walker 600 Liberty St. Houma 985/851-2653 Ryan Walker 1700 St. Charles St. Houma 985/851-1633
Robin C. Ardoin 203 A Energy Parkway Lafayette 337/234-1780
Harold David Kennedy 203 Energy Parkway Lafayette 337/948-9878
Stephanie B. Weaver Smile Lake Charles 715 W. College St. Lake Charles 337/463-6545 smilelakecharles.com
David Gunter Baughman Oral-Facial Surgery Center 1608 Polk St. Houma 985/879-1972 oral-facialsurgerycenter. com
Edward A. Neupert III Drs. Dupree and Neupert 3839 W. Congress St., Suite C, Lafayette 337/984-0403 lafoms.com
Michael B. Williamson 731 E. McNeese Lake Charles 337/477-6928 lakecharlessmiles.com
Donald P. Boudreaux Jr. 606 Rue De Brille New Iberia 337/560-0131 soafs.com
C. Leonard Wise 1200 N. Victor II Blvd. Morgan City 985/384-0926
Clay S. Chandler Drs. Dupree and Neupert 3839 W. Congress St., Suite C, Lafayette 337/984-0403 lafoms.com
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Randolph H. Alexander 2708 Aster St., Suite A Lake Charles 337/478-9843
Gene O. Dupree Drs. Dupree and Neupert 3839 W. Congress St., Suite C, Lafayette 337/984-0403 lafoms.com
Christopher J. Saal Oral-Facial Surgery Center 1608 Polk St. Houma 985/879-1972 oral-facialsurgerycenter. com Orthodontics Catherine Schwab Coreil Le Centre Orthodontic Arts 7845 Main St. Houma 985/853-1142 lecentreortho.com
Mark N. Coreil Le Centre Orthodontic Arts 7845 Main St. Houma 985/853-1142 lecentreortho.com Craig Hannie Crawford Crawford Orthodontics 701 W. College St. Lake Charles 337/478-7590 drcrawfordorthodontics. com Kerwin V. Donaldson Jr. Donaldson Orthodontics 519 N. Lewis St. New Iberia 337/367-8866 donaldsonortho.com Danielle Ardoin Dore 1144 Coolidge Blvd., Suite F, Lafayette 337/267-7645 doresmiles.com Noel P. Dragon Jr. 301 Rue Beauregard, Suite A, Lafayette 337/412-6281
Whybra Joseph Duay Jr. Duay Orthodontics 1301 Victor II Blvd. P.O. Box 2750 Morgan City 985/385-1850 Jude P. Fairchild Lake Charles Orthodontics 1837 W. Prien Lake Road Lake Charles 337/478-2805 lakecharlesorthodontics. com Guy Andrew Favaloro Favaloro Orthodontics 416 Belle Terre Blvd. LaPlace 985/652-2178 favaloroorthodontics.com Guy Warren Favaloro Favaloro Orthodontics 103 Plantation Road Destrehan 985/764-6050 favaloroorthodontics.com
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one of my most difficult cases
Treating a Tumor in the Maxilla John F. Moffett Jr. Lake Charles Specialty: Orthodontics • Emory University 1987 • Air Force General Practice Residency 1988 • University of Pennsylvania 1992 Native of Lake Charles
Profile By Caroline Malouse
entistry captivated me when I was being treated myself at age 15,” says Dr. John Moffett. “I’ve always liked working with my hands, and my dad is a physician, so for years I thought I might go into health care.” After getting his dental degree at Emory University, he went on to join the Air Force and complete a yearlong general practice residency at the Ehrling Berquist Strategic Hospital Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where he had hands-on training in rotations among the specialties in dentistry. Then he was stationed Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla., for two years. He received orthodontic training at the University of Pennsylvania and then opened his Lake Charles practice in 1992. Today he has six employees and sees 40 to 50 patients a day. Moffett advocates for children to be seen by an orthodontist by age 7, as does the American Association of Orthodontists. “What most parents don’t know is that they don’t have to wait for a dentist to refer them to an orthodontist,” he says. “And they don’t have to wait for all of their children’s
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permanent teeth to erupt.” Not every 7-year-old needs orthodontic treatment, but the ones who do will benefit most from treatment before facial growth slows down. “Early treatment can be as easy as timely extraction of baby teeth,” he says, or it can be more involved, such as facial orthopedics, which corrects skeletal problems affecting the position of the front teeth related to the rest of the face. “An attractive smile isn’t just about having straight teeth,” Moffett says. “The bite is important, too.” A surprising case he once had was that of a 10-year-old coming in for a routine evaluation. An X-ray showed that he had a tumor in his maxilla that no one had known about. It turned out to be benign and was removed without complications, but the situation might have been much more complicated if it had not been detected until later in his adolescence. Every day, he is motivated by the chance to improve the self-esteem and confidence of his patients. “That’s the beauty of what we do,” he says. One of his patients was so excited about her beautiful smile at the end of treatment that she tried out for the dance team at her school and made the cut. It’s impossible for him to choose a favorite patient, but one of them was a girl who wouldn’t smile because she felt her front teeth were unattractive. The staff had a hard time getting her to smile for the clinical photos taken prior to treatment. After just a few months, her teeth were straight enough that she could hardly keep from smiling. Now that her treatment is over, “she has a constant smile from ear to ear,” Moffett says. Many children have unerupted teeth or congenitally missing adult teeth, and Moffett is able to erupt the teeth in position or replace the missing teeth, and the patients “light up,” he says. “You can see their confidence and self-esteem grow.” Although Moffett places importance on seeing patients early, he says it is never too late for orthodontic improvement. “I think society places a lot of emphasis on aesthetics these days, and a beautiful smile enhances one’s self-confidence,” he says. Many of his patients are beginning treatment in their 20s and 30s, and he has even treated a number of patients in their 80s. One patient in particular wanted to straighten her teeth so she could more easily clean them and not lose them. This was her second time wearing braces, the first being as an adolescent, when she would routinely take the train into New Orleans to visit the orthodontist there. “Now that is dedication!” he says.
portrait by Romero & Romero Photography
David A. Guidry Guidry Orthodontics 1234 David Drive, Suite 202B, Morgan City 985/375-2399 GuidryOrtho.com
Alan Carl Perry Lake Charles Orthodontics 1837 W. Prien Lake Road Lake Charles 337/478-2805 lakecharlesorthodontics.com
Pediatric Dentistry Kennell P. Brown Jr. 306 N. Lewis St., Suite 2 New Iberia 337/369-7654
Allison Hamada-Moise Hamada Orthodontics 159 Longview Drive, Suite A, Destrehan 985/725-0509
Paul C. Perry 3109 Maplewood Drive Sulphur 337/625-5330 paulcperry.com
James A. Leithead Jr. 615 W. College St. Lake Charles 337/478-8091 leitheadorthodontics.com
Stephen E. Searcy Searcy Orthodontics 3839 W. Congress St., Suite B, Lafayette 337/984-0178 searcyortho.com
Claudia A. Cavallino Bayou Childrens Dental Center 4752 Highway 311, Suite 115, Houma 985/868-8331 bayouchildrensdental.com
John F. Moffett Jr. 1509 W. McNeese St. Lake Charles 337/479-0300 moffettorthodontics.com John Marion Oubre John Oubre Orthodontics for Children and Adults 1605 Kaliste Saloom Road Lafayette 337/988-2025 droubre.com
Donovan Paul Soignet Soignet Orthodontics 1001 E. Seventh St., Suite A, Thibodaux 985/446-5211 Jay Waguespack IV 4906 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Building L, Suite 1200, Lafayette 337/233-3677 jaywagortho.com
Gantt N. De Jean 1604 Kerr St., Suite 101 Opelousas 337/948-8253 N. Paige Gaudet Bayou Childrens Dental Center 4752 Highway 311, Suite 115, Houma 985/868-8331 bayouchildrensdental.com Roger G. Grimball 910 S. Beglis Parkway Sulphur 337/625-2212 grimballdds.com
John Alexander Hendry 185 South Beadle Road Lafayette 337/234-2349 drjohnhendry.com Leslie J. Jacobs Hendry McGuire & Jacobs 113 Rue Fountaine Lafayette 337/500-1500 William A. Keaty 350 Doucet Road, Suite 101, Lafayette 337/981-9242 nocavitykids.com S. Troy Miller Quest Pediatric Dental Group 210 Beaullieu Drive Lafayette 337/984-4747 troymillerdds.com Eric A. Sanders Sanders Pediatric Dentistry 2620 Country Club Road Lake Charles 337/433-5437 lc-kid-dentist.com
Scott L. Worley The Dental Depot 4600 Lake St. Lake Charles 337/474-0246 thedentaldepot.com Periodontics M. Randal Comeaux Periodontics Associates LLP 3839 W. Congress St., Suite D, Lafayette 337/989-0267 periodonticsassociates.com James M. Finley Finley Periodontics 185 S. Beadle Road, Suite 102A, Lafayette 337/233-0440 finleyperio.com Monroe M. Howell 1117 Canal Blvd. Thibodaux 985/446-3855
Murray L. Rabalais Jr. 236 Progressive Blvd. Houma 985/447-1500 louisianaperiolaser.com Edward T. Savoy 2708 Aster St., Suite B Lake Charles 337/474-2612 Raymond J. Steiner 4550 Lake St. Lake Charles 337/478-1000 raymondsteinerdds.com Prosthodontics Conrad F. Frey III Advanced Dental Designs 185 S. Beadle Road, Building 1, Suite C Lafayette 337/704-0692 addesigns.net ap
Bryan S. Pearson Periodontics Associates LLP 3839 W. Congress St., Suite D, Lafayette 337/989-0267 periodonticsassociates.com
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Notable Nuptials A guide to Acadiana wedding destinations By Lisa LeBlanc-Berry
The date is set. Now you need to find the perfect, romantic setting for your dream wedding, one that will be remembered and cherished for as long as you both shall live. There are many variables to consider, such as the style of your wedding, the flowers, color themes, decorations, cuisine, music, wedding cake, invitations, bridal party transportation and of course the allimportant wedding dress and honeymoon wardrobe. So much to do! Once a suitable location has been found, your happily-everafter will begin. The first step in selecting a wedding location is determining your budget and deciding if you want an outdoor or an indoor reception or a combination of both (depending on the time of year and climate). Do you want it to be held at an elegant plantation or a clubhouse, in a setting surrounded by nature with perhaps a string quartet under an awning; something exotic and
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casual with an island theme; or would you rather have an earthy, country wedding with a Cajun band near home? The big decision, of course, is how many guests you want to invite. Based on the number of guests, you can then begin to research appropriate spots to suit the size and style of your reception. A rule of thumb is that you should allow approximately 25 to 30 square feet of space per person for the reception, according to event-planners. When it comes to calculating expenses, they say that no more than 50 percent of your budget should be spent on the reception itself. Optimally, there should be a 10 percent cap on the flowers, and the same goes for the music and the photos and videos. With enough planning ahead and with the help of friends, you will actually be able to relax and enjoy your special day. Here is a diverse selection of wedding reception destinations ranging from casual to elegant.
Rip Van Winkle Gardens 5505 Rip Van Winkle Road, New Iberia 337/359-8525 Some of the most exceptionally beautiful weddings in Acadiana have been held in this lush, verdant setting. Evening weddings are particularly lovely at Rip Van Winkle Gardens, with a view of the beautiful grounds in the moonlight. Set on 25 semitropical acres of Jefferson Island, this is the perfect spot for a wedding with nature as a backdrop but with all the conveniences of a lovely air-conditioned house. It is elegant yet not too formal. The Acadian-style bed-and-breakfast cottages on the premises are particularly romantic should you choose to spend the night. The staff can do everything from bridal luncheons to rehearsal dinners and the reception, plus the wedding night accommodations. CafĂŠ Jefferson has a spectacular view of Lake Peigneur, giant oak trees and beautiful statuary from the glassed-in porch. It is always nice to stroll the grounds. The historic Joseph Jefferson Mansion is on the winding walking path and is well-worth viewing, filled with period antiques.
Maison Madeleine at Lake Martin 1015 John D. Hebert Drive, Breaux Bridge 337/332-4555 Located on the edge of Lake Martin, which is known for its extensive varieties of birds, this small bed-andbreakfast out in the country is a peaceful place to hold intimate, informal weddings. Cajun bands assemble on the front porch, and the reception is usually held outdoors. Owner Madeleine Cenac will set up tables in this bucolic setting for your guests, and when family reunions are held here, the band and guests often gather inside the house to dance. Charming and rustic, it is an utterly Cajun venue.
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Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club 100 Club Drive, Broussard • 337/856-9005 Le Triomphe’s elegant, beautifully appointed French Chateau Clubhouse has a banquet room, the Chantilly, on the second floor that is ideal for weddings for up to 150 people. It extends to the veranda, which overlooks the 18th hole on the signature Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course. You can say your vows outside on the grounds and then have a stunning reception indoors, which is always preferable during the heat of the summer. Those driving up to the building will find it majestic and impressive. There is a lovely rotunda with a grand piano on the second floor near the reception hall. The food is excellent.
L’eglise 3203 J. Alcee Road, Abbeville • 337/937-0700 If you want your wedding to be staged out in the country, L’eglise provides a quiet, timeless setting in the great outdoors with beautiful gardens, an old church and ancient oak trees. A restored mission, it is popular for intimate weddings and family reunions and can accommodate up to 500. You can arrange for your own caterer here.
Palmetto Club 301 Heymann Blvd., Oil Center, Lafayette • 337/371-0005 Formerly A la Carte, which was a popular place for weddings, Carnival parties and special events for many years, the halfblock-long building on the corner of Heymann and Travis streets has been taken over by new owners and reopened in 2012 as the Palmetto Club (as part of a revitalization of the Oil Center). The handsome, contemporary ballroom can accommodate approximately 300 people for a “stand-up” reception with a buffet and 130 people for a seated dinner. They usually have flowers already there, as the staff decorates according to the season and for special events, so you have the option of using these arrangements or purchasing flowers elsewhere.
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Abacus 530 W. Pinhook Road, Lafayette • 337/269-1550 With its classic 1940s architecture and sophisticated ambience, the totally restored building that houses Abacus is embellished with modern amenities. The main floor of this beautiful structure can accommodate buffet lines and seating for as many as 300 guests, plus a space for dancing. You can also request use of the second floor for additional seating or perhaps for the bridal party. The staff provides food and beverages, centerpieces and all the other details, allowing you to have a hassle-free wedding in an elegant, memorable setting in downtown Lafayette.
Grand Opera House of the South 505 N. Parkerson Ave., Crowley • 337/785-0440 Built in 1901, this unique opera house is tucked away in historic downtown Crowley. Following a $4.5 million renovation, it was restored and brought back to its original splendor and reopened in 2008. It is not only a state-of-the-art performing arts hall and a national historic landmark, but it is also used for weddings. The Grand Ballroom is an intimate space that can accommodate 150 on the third floor overlooking Main Street. Le Grand Hall, which is the larger space on the first floor of the building, can accommodate up to 700 guests in one continuous area. It features an entertainment area, a full bar, two lobby-style seating areas, a kitchen and a spacious bride’s room.
Calcasieu Marine National Bank 844 Ryan St., Lake Charles • 337/478-8530 Built in 1928, the Calcasieu Marine National Bank is an impressive three-story building with a neoclassical exterior that features three dramatic two-story bronze arch windows, which can serve as a backdrop for wedding receptions. The stately foyer is popular for bridal portraits. Guests enter the grand banking hall with its 22 colossal Corinthian pillars and an elaborate coffered ceiling. Receptions can be held in the pavilion and landscaped courtyard. You can arrange for your own caterer; locals often use Cajun Café Events and Catering, which prepares stunning food displays and wedding cakes. Many weddings are also held at the casual café located at 329 Pryce St. in downtown Lake Charles (337/439-3722).
Vermilionville 300 Fisher Road, Lafayette • 337/233-4077 A cultural hub with a Cajun/Creole village, weekly community activities, a restaurant and a cooking school, Vermilionville provides a rustic and fun Cajun setting for weddings. The bridal party strolls down a candlelit trail for evening weddings. You can see the village and the period homes along the path. Most couples get married on the porch of the historic Broussard home. Seating for 350 is possible, and if you elect to open up the courtyard, this increases the available space and the number of guests you can have. Spanish moss is frequently used for decoration and placed in Mason jars as centerpieces. Vintage bridal gowns with bird-cage headpieces are a common theme here. Sometimes, the ring bearer will wear suspenders without the jacket and no shoes. A big attraction is the Cajun food, including crawfish étouffée, fried catfish and jambalaya. As the guests are leaving, they can grab boudin and cracklins to go from the food truck as a sort of party favor.
Coushatta Casino Resort 777 Coushatta Drive, Kinder • 800/584-7263 For an utterly romantic setting and a great place for your guests to stay overnight after the wedding, Coushatta Casino Resort is a popular destination among couples in search of an elegant wedding venue near Lake Charles. You can exchange vows in a
ceremony on Coushatta’s deck overlooking the lake or enjoy a ceremony and reception held in the beautiful indoor/outdoor veranda, which is situated in the midst of Koasati Pines at Coushatta, with its state-of-the-art golf course and handsome clubhouse surrounded by pines and towering oak trees. Receptions can also be held in one of the formal ballrooms on the premises. Full catering services are provided, leaving your big day hassle-free. Adding fun to the mix is the 100,000 square feet of gaming and top-notch live entertainment in the casino. Coushatta’s amazing, huge new outdoor Dream Pool has a lazy river and a swim-up bar for adults, and more amenities for the 2013 pool season are being added. It’s great lagniappe for your wedding party, and it can also add luster to your first night as Mr. and Mrs. after you say the two little magic words, “I do.” www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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Twelve Oaks Plantation 3650 Southdown Mandalay Road, Houma • 985/876-5772 Situated on a 750-acre working sugar cane plantation set amid beautiful live oak trees, Twelve Oaks is a bed-and-breakfast that exudes Southern charm. A lovely place for a wedding, it can accommodate up to 250 guests indoors and 1,000 on the lawn. The package includes basic wedding coordination services (you can bring in your own vendor, and they have a list of recommended vendors), a night for the bride and groom in the exclusive Bonnie Blue suite and two off-duty sheriff’s officers for the reception.
Wolff Banquet and Reception Hall
The Crossing at Mervine Kahn 113 E. Louisiana Ave., Rayne • 337/393-2416 The beautifully restored 125-year-old historic building located in the heart of downtown Rayne houses The Crossing at Mervine Kahn, a special spot for wedding receptions, parties and special events. A full-service staff handles all the catering, music and decorations. The large, multilevel facility features 13,745 square feet on the lower level, which can be used in its entirety or divided up, and a new 10,000-square-foot upstairs area with private rooms for the wedding party, plus a romantic Jacuzzi for the bride and groom. It can accommodate from 20 to 800 people with unlimited layout choices and is flexible enough so that multiple events can be held there in one night. With a full catering operation, the staff can also assist in planning your reception off-site. 54
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202 N. Main St., Washington • 337/269-1550 Built in the 1840s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Wolff Banquet and Reception Hall has that “old South” ambience, plus a 6,000-square-foot space that can accommodate up to 450 guests; they recommend certain vendors, which are optional. The reception area has 16 chandeliers and a copper-lined bar, and there is a courtyard that is suitable for taking your vows. The charming town of Washington, one of the oldest in the South, founded in 1720, is filled with antebellum homes and is worth touring.
Cypress Columns 157 Tourist Drive, Gray • 985/580-1500 Located on several acres with oak and cypress trees between Thibodaux and Houma near the bayous, Cypress Columns is distinguished by its colonial architecture, 8-foot Australian crystal chandeliers, a 12,000-square-foot ballroom, hardwood dance floors, a knotted cypress bar and crackle-glass hurricane vase centerpieces that add to the elegance of the formal wedding receptions that are held here.
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Maison de Tours 128 S. Main St., St. Martinville • 337/380-5677 Restored to its original 1855 splendor, Maison de Tours is appointed with exposed beams, longleaf pine floors, marbleand-brick fireplaces and wrought-iron balconies. A side alley leads through a lovely arbor and brick walkway punctuated with foliage. A cascading fountain and copper gas lanterns in the courtyard and on the balconies create a romantic ambience for weddings, which can be held in the courtyard, indoors or at St. Martin de Tours Church across the street. This is a fullservice facility, so no vendors are necessary. The staff places fresh flowers throughout the house, and there is a state-ofthe-art surround-sound system throughout the grounds and a balcony with a splendid view of the church square. There are also culinary amenities such as a chocolate fountain. The Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site is nearby.
Houmas House Plantation 40136 Highway 942, Darrow • 225/473-9380 You can stage everything from an intimate gourmet dinner party for a small wedding to a grand wedding reception with hundreds of guests and all the frills at Houmas House, which provides a gorgeous setting for the big day and photo opportunities around the 38-acre grounds filled with indigenous plants and lily ponds. The historic Greek Revival mansion was built in 1840 and lovingly restored by owner Kevin Kelly. Top chef Jeremy Langlois prepares exceptional feasts for receptions. Kelly recently unveiled his stunning new Carriage House restaurant with cathedral-height ceilings, a grand piano, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the gardens, fine art and antiques and cuisine by chef Langlois. Touring the grounds is part of the charm for wedding guests. ap
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Several smaller leagues existed across Louisiana at the same time as the Evangeline League, including the Negro Leagues’ New Orleans Eagles, seen here.
By Rya
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The 24-year run of the Evangeline League was marred by scandal, but the colorful group was also a huge source of Acadiana pride. n what was undoubtedly a typically sultry southern Louisiana night, the Jeanerette Blues came to Rayne to play an Evangeline League baseball doubleheader against the Rice Birds. It was July 16, 1939, and the two umpires manning the diamond that night, head ump Lynn Dowdy and his assistant, Leonard Montelbano, couldn’t have possibly anticipated that by the end of the evening, one of them would be whacked in the face by a flying pop bottle and the other would be conked from behind by a baseball bat. But then again, this was the wild and woolly Evangeline League, where the fact that a group of irate Rice Birds fans would physically attack the officiating crew after their home team suffered a disputed 8-4 loss wasn’t really out of the ordinary. Over the 24-year span in which the minor, minor league existed – in two versions, a pre-war Class D edition and a post-World War II Class D-turned-C one – life in the Evangeline was unpredictable, volatile, often surreal and sometimes even seemingly impossible. But it was also, quite simply, a huge bundle of fun. “It really was a league that was a wild and crazy one in a lot of ways,” says author Gerald Duff, whose novel, Dirty Rice: A Season in the Evangeline League, was a 58
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fictionalized but research-based work. Doug Taylor, who has extensively researched and written about the Lafayette White Sox – the winners of the league’s first championship in 1934 – says Evangeline League games were just too compelling, in good and bad ways, for people to stay away. “While that may not seem like much today, when observed against the relatively small populations of league towns in the 1930s, the crowds made up an amazingly large percentage of the local population,” Taylor says. “In short, the Evangeline League game was the biggest show in town. If you weren’t at the game, you wanted to talk to someone who had been. A marriage on the diamond, a bench-clearing brawl, an umpire’s ejection, the clutch hit – these were the things the old men at the post office were talking about the next day in Lafayette.” In a league composed largely of teams in the small cities and towns that dotted the Acadian part of the Pelican State – Lake Charles to Lafayette, Houma to Hammond, Opelousas to Thibodaux – games in the circuit existed as some of the most beloved and popular social events in the league’s respective towns, which numbered 17 in all over the years. photo courtesy of NOPL
Although only one franchise, the Alexandria Aces, lasted for every Evangeline League season, the communities of the circuit nonetheless embraced their teams and players, making them like family and showering them with adulation. Some Evangeline League contests even had higher attendance than Major League ones. “In those days, there wasn’t much else for people to do in these towns,” Duff says. “People had to go to these games to have some fun.” And those fans were often rewarded for their loyalty with some stellar playing by stellar athletes. In 1948, for example, Houma’s Roy “Tex” Sanner laid out one of the most remarkable efforts in baseball history. He not only won the batting triple crown with a .386 average, 34 homers and 126 RBI, but he very nearly picked up the pitching version, too, posting a 21-2 record, 251 strikeouts and a 2.58 ERA. The Evangeline launched dozens of players on to Major League careers, including one Hall of Famer, pitcher Hal Newhouser, who began his pro career in 1938 for the Aces before becoming perhaps the Majors’ best war-period hurler with the Detroit Tigers. Terry Fox was another Evangeline alumnus who made it all the way to the Majors. A Chicago native, Fox was taken in baseball’s amateur draft after high school and ended up in tiny New Iberia in 1954 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, where he was surrounded by a mixture of young prospects like himself and well-traveled veterans who helped teach him the ropes of professional baseball. And that’s not to mention the incredible fans. “The people were always very supportive, especially for someone like
me, being from out of town,” Fox says. “Baseball was always very interesting to the people of the town. TV hadn’t taken over yet, so they’d come out to the ballpark. We’d get 2,000 or 3,000 for games.” Fox eventually played in “The Show” from 1960-66 with Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia, but his two initial years in South Louisiana made such an impression on him that he married a local woman and, after retiring, settled in New Iberia permanently. Today, memories of joining teammates at the Iberia Cafe after a game and squaring off against their intense rivals in Crowley fill Fox’s thoughts and warm his heart. “I think God meant for that to happen,” he says of being sent to New Iberia as a teen. “I drank the water here, married a local girl, and so I’ve stayed. Baseball was very successful for me. But [the Evangeline League] set the background for me to understand baseball. My life is so much better because of everything I’ve experienced. The people here in South Louisiana enjoy life. It’s been a great experience.” But the Evangeline also had a murky, dark and at times tragic side. Gamblers corrupted players and officials with bribes – a practice that peaked with a massive scandal in 1946-47 involving four players from the Houma Indians and one from the Abbeville Athletics who allegedly accepted money in exchange for altering the course of games. The illicit behavior marred what should have been the league’s triumphant, re-emergent season after the war. “The long-smoldering fire of scandal finally has burst into leaping flame in the Evangeline League,” clucked longtime New Orleans Times-Picayune sports editor Bill Keefe in November 1946. “An example should be made of these contemptible culprits,” he added. “Their names should be
published so that all honest employes [sic] will shun them. You’d think that the miserable lives eked out by men who were in the Black Sox scandal would serve as an eternal warning to young men to keep themselves clean and keep above suspicion the great sport that gives them a livelihood.” The Evangeline League also wasn’t spared the painful, turbulent process of integration that began in late 1945 when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson. In early 1956, for example, the Chicago Cubs signed two black players – including Ben Banks, Hall of Famer Ernie’s brother – and assigned them to the Evangeline League’s Lafayette Oilers. That triggered action by East Baton Rouge Parish, the home of the Baton Rouge Rebels, that promptly forbade visiting league teams from playing black players in its city-owned stadium. Just weeks later, the Evangeline League itself banned all of its teams from carrying non-white players and ordered all five black players currently on league rosters – namely, in Lake Charles and Lafayette – transferred elsewhere. Despite frantic PR backpedaling by league President Ray Mullins, the move triggered outrage among regional black groups as well as the national black press. Boycotts of league games were organized, and black writers such as Marion Jackson of the Atlanta Daily World reacted with outrage. Their ire was stirred even more in June 1956, when the Louisiana House of Representatives passed a bill nixing all racially mixed sporting events in the state. Jackson delighted when the controversy forced the Evangeline to cancel the rest of its playoffs after the first round. “Now, with tears flowing in uncontrolled volume, the Evangeline League, which ousted Negro players at Lake Charles and Lafayette because of a Baton Rouge
“... If you weren’t at the game, you wanted to talk to someone who had been. A marriage on the diamond, a bench-clearing brawl, an umpire’s ejection, the clutch hit – these were the things the old men at the post office were talking about the next day ...” www.acadianaprofile.com | april/may 2013
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The Evangeline League, like leagues across the state, was shaken by integration.
park ordinance barring them, is ready to throw in the towel,” Jackson crowed in his Sept. 19, 1956, column. “It is amazing how these Nullicrats white-wash wrong to make it look right. The Evangeline League was a thriving, red-corpuscled loop a few months ago when bronze players were making the turnstiles click. Then the segregationists seized control of mass opinion and ramrodded a series of segregation measures.” Nicholls State professor Paul Leslie, who has researched and written about the league extensively, says the league’s racial ban hurt the loop’s teams at the turnstiles because it meant rejecting a potentially significant fan base. “[League officials] integrated very reluctantly,” Leslie says. “The major league sponsors would send players to the teams, and in a couple of instances, this involved African Americans. One thing that people forget or don’t know is that the use of black players filled the stands and sold tickets. This is something that has been shown as a backdrop to Branch Rickey’s decision to sign Jackie Robinson.” The Evangeline also succumbed to the economic realities of World War II in mid-1942 after valiantly trying to continue playing despite the drafting or enlistment of dozens, if not hundreds, of courageous players. In May of that year, the New Iberia and Lake Charles franchises dropped out 60
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of the league, leaving only four teams in the loop. On May 29, 1942, circuit officials announced that play would cease June 1. The league then went dormant for another three seasons. “We have fought every inch of the way to keep the loop in operations,” league President Judge A. Wilmot Dalferes told the Associated Press, “but now we are saying au revoir and not goodbye ... After the war is over you’ll find the Evangeline League, about the finest little league, back in baseball.” He was right, but, as previously stated, it wasn’t all good times in the Evangeline League, and the circuit’s most famous – or, perhaps more appropriately, infamous – season came in 1946, which started with a wave of post-war optimism but concluded with an ugly gambling scandal that continues to tarnish the league’s history to this day. It commenced with a furious process of cooperation among numerous cities to get the Evangeline restarted after World War II, and this time the loop would take a step up in level of play, from Class D to C, another reason for hardball fans to harbor optimism. In addition, the geographic proximity of the league’s teams doubled the tight-knit feeling that developed among the member towns. “The Evangeline League is going to the post this summer with eight teams,” wrote
Keefe in late January 1946. “... That is a circuit that just about meets the dreamedof condition where every game will be a home game because in most of the jumps, a team’s followers can hop in a car and within an hour be in the ‘enemy’ town where their heroes are playing.” The situation almost instantly triggered the establishment of intense but respectful rivalries that were savored by the clubs’ respective faithful. By the time September 1946 rolled around, the Houma Indians had thoroughly outclassed the rest of the league and breezed through the playoffs, posting a blistering 92-38 regular-season mark before conquering Alexandria in the first round and Abbeville in the title series, both by the count of four games to one. Pitcher Edward Burkett “Pat” Patterson had an amazing campaign, going 35-7, and second-sacker Mike Conroy paced the league in batting at .372. Center fielder Lanny Pecou won the stolen-bases crown with 53 swipes, and first baseman Paul Fugit led the loop with 130 RBI. Overall, the Indians’ incredible display of prowess had journalists naming them the best Class D team in the country and declaring that the 1946 season had been an overwhelming success. The fact that the Indians were initially a last-second replacement for an aborted Opelousas franchise – in less than a month, Houma right photo courtesy of the hogan jazz archive, tulane university
organizers sold stock in a team, secured a field, hired management and gathered players – only added to the sweetness and pride Houma residents felt in their team’s title. Then it all came crashing down. Soon after the Indians donned their 1946 crown, allegations of impropriety erupted; several Houma players were accused of taking bribes from gamblers in return for losing two games in the playoffs and winning another one. An investigation was launched, and on Jan. 18, 1947, Judge W.G. Bramham, president of the minor leagues-governing National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, announced the banning of five Evangeline players from organized baseball. Implicated were Houma players Pecou, Fugit, pitcher William Thomas and Alvin Kaiser, as well as Don Vettorel, Abbeville’s catcher. (Popular speculation has that several other players were guilty of game-fixing, but those were the only five named.) Several player appeals were denied, and the scandal became closely followed national news. It also elicited Evangeline League, like leagues across indignant from the media, which the scorn state, was lamented the fact that gambling was so rife in baseball and, perhaps, all of sports. “Houma’s professional baseball scandal brings the trail of the gamblers’ schemes to turn sports into a racket pretty close to home,” the Times-Picayune editorialized. “Developments ... indicate that gamblers and their ‘fixers’ have been trying to make for themselves as soft a place in other sports as they have had in racing. Smaller baseball leagues flourished in the state in the pre-war years.
... As long as they are allowed to set up in this ugly business, some of them will be ready with big money to engineer a bigger ‘killing’ in sports where their influence is unsuspected.” But, says Nicholls professor Leslie, even such media fury reflected a naiveté about the undercurrent of illicitness that flowed through the state. “Gambling and corruption are always rampant in Louisiana,” he says. “It is a way of life for Louisianians. You have too many people who feel that it is a legitimate form of expression.” The Evangeline League rallied and survived, however, even being bumped up to Class C beginning in 1949 and continuing to draw large crowds. But even that gradually came to an end, Leslie says, largely due to the advancement of technology that encouraged people to stay in their homes instead of sitting outdoors at a sticky, mosquito-infested ballfield. With the evolution of television and air conditioning, Leslie says, baseball fans now could enjoy America’s pastime in the comfort of their own homes. And that, in the end, provided the final death knell to the Evangeline. With attendance – and, correspondingly, revenue – sliding for most loop teams, the league shuttered its doors for good in 1957. With it went an institution that had, over nearly a quarter-decade, become an integral part of life in Central and South Louisiana. In fact, an estimated 7 million people went through Evangeline League turnstiles over the years. At its height,
the league – with nicknames such as the Pepper Pot League, the Hot Sauce League and the Tabasco Circuit – was a uniquely zany Louisianian entity that represented the character, both good and bad, of its towns and people. Not only did the league draw faithful fans, but it also garnered the devoted coverage of numerous South Louisiana sportswriters, including Fred Bandy, who in the last stop of his five-decade career was the editor of and columnist for the New Iberian. In an April 1990 edition of his column, “Bandying About,” the journalist waxed poetic about the way younger generations simply didn’t understand the meaning and importance of the Evangeline League to the people of its era. “[T]hey have no reason to understand the attachment some of us old-timers may have to an era that gave us the best and worst of America’s favorite pastime,” he penned. “Wild and crazy games were the norm rather than the exception in the old Evangeline League. There were some good players, some good games of baseball ... but when things were going right those in the stands and in the press box knew that at any second it could blow wide open and look very much like Junior’s Little League in City Park.” Not everyone has forgotten, though. In July 2000, Crowley Mayor Isabella L. de la Houssaye signed a proclamation declaring Evangeline League Baseball and Crowley Millers Day, the crowning event of the 11th annual reunion of league players, officials, fans and historians. Along with those reunions, Leslie and Charles Gaharan founded the Evangeline Baseball League Memorabilia Society and established the university archives as the official repository of league documents; reports; and ephemera, such as uniforms, mitts and autographed baseballs. Such efforts have helped preserve the heritage and history of the Evangeline, and it’s indeed quite a history. Each season of the Evangeline League began with the fervor only a nascent season of baseball could bring, and each campaign was indelibly marked by unique, colorful and sometimes quirky players and teams. ap
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Flipping the Script Although not from central casting, St. Martinville attorney Allan Durand has somehow found himself rubbing elbows with Hollywood’s elite screenwriters. | by william kalec The marine layer casts a veil of gloom across this land of make-believe, fostering a biting April chill the Beach Boys never bothered to sing about. The hipsters and beautiful people won’t be here for another 45 minutes, leaving the waiter little else to do but interrupt Allan Durand’s wandering story – something about how an intrusive cold call begot a phone call that almost knocked him out cold – to ask if he’d like a third cup of coffee. The St. Martinville tax attorney stares down at his more-than-half-empty mug and then taps the screen to awaken his slumbering iPhone: It’s only 9:46 a.m. “Yeah, sure,” he says in a tone more Jed Clampett than James Earl Jones, as if the Texas Longhorns fleece wasn’t proof enough that’s he’s not from around here. “Decaf, please.” Durand takes a long, deliberate sip, at peace in knowing it won’t jolt him from this beautiful dream. Yesterday, he met with his agent. How the heck he ever got an agent – well, he’s still not sure, just like he’s not sure how he got Danny Glover to narrate his documentary for free or fooled Robert Redford into thinking he was a movie producer. His 62
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voice, normally animated, is a bit more somber, perhaps to reinforce the sincerity of what he’s about to say. Durand has a confession: He’s having an affair – not cheating on his wife but on real life. Tonight he’ll hop a red-eye from LAX to Houston and then board a puddle-jumper to Lafayette, leaving behind his routine escape from the mundane until the next tantalizing rendezvous five weeks from now. “I’ve been coming out here for quite a while, pretty regularly, meeting with my agent and meeting other filmmakers, and every damn time I do, I stop myself and ask, ‘What the heck am I doing here?’” Durand says. “But a filmmaker once gave me great advice to young, aspiring screenwriters. Here’s the rule, and you can tattoo it to your eyelids: Nobody knows nothing. “All this energy you feel around this town – it’s fear,” Durand continues. “Because nobody knows what’s gonna work, what story is going to sell. That’s why I never quit my day job.” You see, Durand lawyers for dough but writes screenplays for show – a passionturned-hobby-turned-wild-ride-withouta-foreseeable-finish-line. With just a sprinkling of credits to his name (writer and director of documentaries on the Texas Rangers and twice-executed teenager Willie Francis), Durand is in demand after capturing the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting awarded by the Academy of Motion Pictures. Durand’s adaptation of his own documentary Willie Francis Must Die Again was one of five scripts selected from nearly 8,000 entrants from 66 counties – a distinction that came with an invite to the Oscars and a $35,000 grant given so that winners can complete another script during the fellowship period. “As a writer, you’re insecure by nature – it’s how we’re programmed,” Durand says. “You have that voice saying: ‘You know, this isn’t any good. You’re really not any good.’ And in the entertainment business, you get so much rejection; it’s easy to believe that voice. That voice gets a lot of reinforcement. But now, I can pull out my Nicholl award and say ‘shut up’ to that little negative devil on my shoulder. It’s amazing who you can get to read your story now with that little Nicholl award in my pocket.” For all the stories he’s written, though,
travis gauthier photograph
Durand will spend the rest of this cup of coffee (and part of a fourth) sharing his own. Technically, he says, the beginning traces back to when his grandfather bought the family’s first television set in the 1950s. Like most impressionable kids in St. Martinville at that time, Durand was immediately hooked but also dared to dream of entering that world professionally – a wish he suppressed until adulthood for fear of social ridicule. But, as Durand himself would definitely point out, that makes for a bit of a slow, boring start. To get to the good stuff, you have to fast-forward a couple of years to when Durand wrote a screenplay for Weekend at Rambouillet – a tale of two American soldiers from Acadiana hiding in a French village just before the liberation of Paris in 1944. “I didn’t know anything about making a movie, [and] I didn’t know anyone in the movies, so that was that,” Durand says. “So I went to college, got my degrees, came home, and I was determined I wasn’t going to look for a job until I made the damn movie. Then, a month later, I read an article in the newspaper about this filmmaker – Glen Pitre – from Larose/ Cut Off whose movie broke the box office record at the Jet theater in Galliano, La. Well, I don’t know, sounded like a big deal to me. So I called information.” Pitre’s mom picked up the phone, and after Durand finished his nervous introduction, she handed it off to her son. Durand went through his whole spiel again – how he’s a tax attorney who wrote a screenplay and wanted some tidbits on how to pluck it from paper and put it on film. “Yeah, sure, what’s your question?” Pitre said. “Well, where do I get a movie camera, and what do I do with a movie camera?” Durand asked. “So we’re starting real, real basic, huh?” Pitre said. Pitre was a pillar of patience, answering every question (“I think he laughed at most of them,” Durand says today in good spirits), and then he brokered a deal – Pitre would shepherd Durand’s project into a short film if Durand lent his legal services pro bono for Pitre’s next project, Belizaire the Cajun. So sure enough, Durand handled all the paperwork and
St. Martinville teenager Willie Francis, seen here in his cell, was executed (twice!) for a crime most believe he didn’t commit.
set up a limited partnership with project investors, and Pitre served as a bearded Jiminy Cricket on the Rambouillet flick. In 1983, Belizaire (which was written, directed and produced by Pitre) was selected by Robert Redford’s then-infant Sundance Institute for inclusion in its Screenwriters and Directors Lab – a distinction attached to stories deemed promising but in need of expert help and financial assistance. For fear of submitting
a narcissistic crew list, Pitre listed Durand as the film’s producer, meaning he’d have to temporarily drop his caseload and make the trip out west. “Well, I’m concerned that by the time I take my bags off the plane, they’re going to know I’m not a producer,” Durand says. “Glen reassured me: ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ll get to meet Robert Redford, take a picture. It’ll be good.’ Well, we were there for four weeks and learned a lot, and I www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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never got exposed. … From there, we make the movie, go to all these film festivals – Sundance, Cannes – and I’m walking red carpets, fooling everyone, I suppose.” When the lights faded, Durand willingly slipped back into the everyday ordinary, opening a private law practice in Lafayette. Then about six years later, as Durand puts it, “the God-darn addiction kicked back in.” He went to Houston and pitched public broadcast executives a trio of documentaries, the first being the tale of the Texas Rangers. The suits loved the idea – because Durand was going to give them original programming for free, he footnotes. Durand’s most-decorated documentary – the one whose feature-film screenplay garnered the award from the Academy – centers on the trial and failed and successful executions of St. Martinville teenager Willie Francis. Represented by a defense attorney who failed to call a single witness or make a single objection, Francis was sentenced to death by electrocution for the murder of local pharmacist Andrew Thomas. A botched execution afforded Francis a series
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of appeals that ended at the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the original ruling 5-4. “Everybody knew the story, but nobody ever talked about guilt versus innocence,” Durand says. “When I made my first rough cut of the documentary and showed my mother and my aunt, I asked them, ‘What was the feeling in the community at that time?’ And they both said, ‘Nobody thought that little boy had done it.’ But this was 1946, right after World War II. People weren’t challenging the government. Nobody was going to speak up to the injustice. There was no doubt he was innocent.” The film won Best Documentary at the Santa Monica Film Festival, the Memphis Film Festival, the Charlotte Film Festival and captured a Social Justice Documentary award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. “I was waiting for someone from Warner Bros. to fall in love with it, come running down the aisle and ask for a screenplay. And then, I’d reach into my pocket and pull it out,” Durand says. “Well, that didn’t happen.”
Undeterred, Durand submitted the script to the Academy for Nicholl award consideration – essentially the Oscars of unmade screenplays. Over the course of several months, he received a series of emails informing him he’d advanced to the next stage. Then, as he was walking out of his office one afternoon, the phone rang. The caller ID read “ACADEMY OF MOTI.” Durand’s secretary was away from her desk, so he rushed to pick up the oldschool wireless phone, the kind with the antenna you have to pull out. “The damn thing sticks me in the eye, and I drop the phone,” Durand recalls. “I’m crawling under the desk, looking for it with one eye. I say hello, and they congratulate me. That just proves that even when the Academy of Motion Pictures calls you, nothing comes easy in this business. So I never forget that. I can go be a lawyer and do this when I get the itch. This is a weekend love affair. Being a lawyer is a marriage. There’s no pressure this way. But the dream is still there.” ap
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Pizza Village
sur le menu
bacon on the crust. I don’t know what all is on it, but it’s perfection.” She’s been going to Alesi’s since college and isn’t sure she’s ever ordered anything else. “It’s true Italian,” says Kristy Robin Landry, who faithfully orders the shrimp pizza with extra cheese. Landry has been going to Alesi’s for much of her life and, like people who like a particular pizza everywhere, has much sentiment tied up in her pizza preference. She remembers the older Alesi couple who helped build the restaurant and their devotion to each other. “I want a love like that – for another person, for food and for my career,” she says. “That restaurant was their baby. They were proud of it and rightfully so. It’s quaint, romantic and somehow, it’s still child-friendly – with excellent service and reasonable prices. I love that place. Memories are made there!”
Dean-O’s Pizza
Pizza Toppers
“Acadiana” may not be synonymous with “pizza,” but there are a lot of fantastic options in the area. | by Jan Risher
Nearly every town and everyone has a favorite pizza. For many of us, it’s the one we grew up with. For others, a favorite pizza is sometimes discovered in a stars-arealigned-and-the-crust-is-just-right moment that transcends time and space. Favorite pizza has a lot to do with memory and sentiment. A favorite pizza is like an anchor in a harbor – it’s contemporary comfort food. They say the sense of smell is the strongest sense of memory. Perhaps that’s true. But the sense of pizza ranks right up there. In Lafayette, there’s plenty of great pizza. La Pizzeria, for example, is fantastic, but for many longtime Lafayetters, the favorite pizza decision 66
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ends up in a three-way split. The deciding factor seems to have been the geography of childhood – which pizza place was closer: Alesi’s, Dean-O’s or Pizza Village?
Alesi Pizza House 4110 Johnston St., Lafayette 337/984-1823 • alesipizzahouse.com “When it comes to pizza, Pizza Alesi is the best,” says Elizabeth Hamilton, a diehard fan, who is not alone in her devotion to the Johnston Street brick building. The menu has plenty of Italian staples, but if it’s pizza you’re looking for, the Alesi contingency offers a convincing argument: “Pizza Alesi,” Hamilton says. “The crust is super-thin and has huge, yummy strips of
305 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette 337/233-5446 2312 Kaliste Saloom, Lafayette 337/534-8092 • deanospizza.com Dean-O’s Pizza has been making pizza with South Louisiana flair for decades. Members of the old guard know exactly what they want when they get to DeanO’s. Some quintessential local favorites include the Cajun Executioner, pizza for the folks who like it spicy, with pepperoni, hot sausage, spicy shrimp, fresh onions, bell peppers and a lot of jalapeños; the Cajun Canaille with shrimp, Louisiana smoked sausage and jalapeños; and finally, the Marie LeVeaux, with Blue Point crabs sautéed with mushrooms, onions and spices. Dean-O’s does have more tried and true pizza options for those who prefer their pizza more traditional, but the salads are also a hit – a mega spinach salad called Popeye’s Revenge is a local favorite, and the Cheeseburger Salad is an unexpected surprise. A spiced-up ground beef (or turkey) patty with melted cheese on a bed of greens and veggies, it’s a salad that is proof that the sum of its parts is greater than the individual ingredients.
Pizza Village
Tony’s Pizza
1935 Moss St., Lafayette 337/232-1418 2340 Kaliste Saloom, Lafayette 337/706-8644 • pizza-village.com People who love Pizza Village will fight you for their pizza’s honor. It’s been a matter of Northside pride since the restaurant opened back in 1971. Granted, they feel a little betrayed now that Pizza Village has opened its fancy new South Lafayette restaurant, but they still stand behind the Moss Street institution. They also love the inexplicably delicious salad that goes with the pizza. It’s simply iceberg lettuce, ham, cheese and olives, but many have speculated as to what secret potion Pizza Village employees must sprinkle over the salad to make it taste so unbelievably good. Almost every conversation over a Pizza Village salad goes like this: Person A: “How can this be so good?” Person B: “I don’t know, but it is.” Person A: “It’s just iceberg lettuce, ham, cheese and olives.” Person B: “I know, but it’s perfect.” Person A: “Even the temperature is perfect.” Person B: “I know, and I don’t make a habit of noticing the temperature of my salad.” But back to the pizza. It’s a thin-crust, not-too-heavy-on-thesauce good kind of pizza. Stephen A. Duhon says he almost always orders the Pizza Village Special, a practical pizza of pepperoni, hamburger, onions, green olives, black olives, bell peppers and mushrooms. The new Pizza Village on Kaliste Saloom has a fine full-service bar and a slightly different menu with dessert options, but it still offers the same thin-crusted goodness that is Pizza Village pizza. Liz Mouton, a longtime Pizza Village fan, isn’t picky about which topping is on her Pizza Village pizza. “I just love their pizza,” Mouton says. “It’s part nostalgic – I mean I know their phone number by heart. They greet you by name. It’s unbeatable. I love the thin crust.” And great pizza with the potential to make a native wistful exists outside the confines of Lafayette.
335 E. Prien Lake Road, Lake Charles 337/477-1611 • tonyspizzainc.com “I’ve been going since I can remember,” says Richard Leblanc, a loyal Tony’s fan. “When I was a little kid on Sundays, we’d go pick up a platter of spaghetti and meatballs. I always enjoyed the pizza.” Like so many other local pizza-lovers, Leblanc started out loving the thin crust. Now that he’s older, he prefers the deep dish. Just like local pizza joints everywhere, Tony’s is relaxed and easygoing – and has cold beer. Tony’s is also famous for its homemade Italian dressing. The Tony’s faithful will drive for an hour to stock up on a takehome bottle of the salad dressing. Leblanc prefers the Deluxe Veggie Pizza. “They’re one of the few places that will put broccoli on their veggie pizza – and I like that.”
Mike Alesi, co-owner of Alesi Pizza House
A selection of pizzas from Alesi Pizza House
Pizza Shack in Opelousas
Patricia Parks agrees – even though she
1242 Edith St., Opelousas 337/948-4838 • pizzashackopelousas.com Michelle Wiltz of Opelousas swears by Pizza Shack in Opelousas. Per normal, it’s the pizza she grew up with. The crust is thin, and the beer is cold. “They’ve been around forever,” she says. “The pizza is good. The beer is served in an ice-cold mug. It’s one of those smalltown dependable pizza places. It’s always crowded and very casual. The place is packed with people like me who grew up eating the pizza.”
hasn’t been in a few years. Parks is more proof that when people think “great pizza,” they think about the pizza they loved growing up. “I just remember going with my parents as a kid and with my friends in high school,” she says. “As a kid, I enjoyed the arcade games, and as a teenager, we played the heck out of the jukebox. Pizza Shack is like your typical pizza place – it’s dark, cozy and wall-to-wall booths. Like any respectable pizza place, they serve ice-cold pitchers of beer.” www.acadianaprofile.com | JUNE/JULY 2013
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sur le menu
Pizza Village
And then Parks hastens to add, “I had the beer as an adult, not a teenager, by the way!” Her pizza of preference is the Ferdie’s Special. “It’s loaded with pepperoni, sausage (Savoie’s Cajun sausage!), shrimp, jalapeños, onions, cheese and lots of other yummy goodies – all on the thin and crispy crust that locals love!”
Amore Pizzaroma 105 Jacqulyn St., Abbeville 337/898-6002 • apizzaroma.com Sean Trcalek is a major fan of Amore Pizzaroma. He is not alone.
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“It’s great because of the variety of specialty pizzas – and the variety of sauces they use,” he says. For Trcalek and others, Amore has figured out how to serve pizzas with just the right amount of red sauce. But they don’t stop there; they also serve pizzas with Parmesan sauce, barbecue sauce and even honeymustard sauce. The Chicken Florentine pizza is a popular choice. It’s made with Parmesan sauce, grilled chicken, feta, roasted garlic and roasted tomatoes. The Shrimp Pesto pizza is another
favorite that capitalizes on the proximity to good, fresh shrimp. “They use whole roasted cloves of garlic on several of their specialty pizzas, which are incredible and roasted to perfection,” Trcalek says. “The pizzas are made with homemade crusts – pan, thin and crispy, even a whole wheat thin crust, and they make their sauces from scratch to complement the crusts, which hold up well to the toppings.” Amore is not pretentious about what it is. It’s a pizza place connected to a Shell gas station at the corner of Jacqulyn and South State streets. It’s simple, comfortable, clean, quaint and composed of mostly booths. It even offers a drive-thru for pickup. ap
Also notable: Peppers Pizzeria 600 W. Third St., Thibodaux 985/446-0006 541 Corporate Drive, Houma 985/872-0006
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visiter
Around Acadiana: Gatherings, carnivals and activities around Acadiana. Compiled by judi russell JUNE
1 Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market. Delcambre Festival Grounds, Delcambre. (337) 367-0834.
Daylily Festival and Garden Show. Magdalen Square, Abbeville. (337) 898-4110. Palmetto Family Fun Day. Palmetto Town Hall, Palmetto. (337) 632-4426. 1-3 Church Point Buggy Festival. City Park, Church Point. (337) 684-2739.
8 LCCMC-UN Celebration de Cajun-Leur Culture. Northwest Community Center Pavilion, Eunice. (337) 457-5601.
Jerry Crochet Horseshoe Pitching Tournament. Kemper Williams Park, Patterson. (985) 385-3858. Rolling for the Kids of St. Jude. Berwick Civic Center, Houma. (985) 384-8128. 10 Third Annual Horses & Harmony. Evangeline Downs Event Center, Opelousas. (337)
942-2683. 14 Flag Day. Bouligny Park, New Iberia. (337) 367-1080.
14-16 Louisiana Corn Festival. Hays Auditorium, Corn Festival Fairgrounds, Bunkie. (318)
346-2575. 15 Juneteenth Folklife Celebration. Farmer’s Market, 828 E. Landry St., Opelousas.
(337) 945-5064.
Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market
Juneteenth 2013-150th Anniversary. Lake Charles Civic Center, Lake Charles. (337) 491-9955. Bayou Vermilion District’s Vermilionville Seed to Skillet, “Veggies.” Lafayette. (337) 233-4077, Extension 211. 17 Father’s Day Event. USS Orleck Naval Museum, Lake Charles. (337) 214-7447.
17-Aug. 15 EatLafayette. Various restaurants, Lafayette. (337) 232-3737.
21-22 Don Gay Championship Bull Riding. Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles. (254) 5923662. 22 Clifton Chenier Celebration. 2116 Ferdinand Crochet Road, New Iberia. (337) 339-
5903.
Church Point Buggy Festival
Live Professional Boxing. Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino, Opelousas. (337) 594-3000. 23 Iron Horse Triathlon. Lake End Park, Morgan City. (985) 855-1719.
24-25 Louisiana Festival de la Viande Boucanee (Smoked Meat Festival). Ville Platte. (337) 363-1416. 26 Genealogy Workshop. Acadian Memorial, 121 S. New Market St., St. Martinville.
(337) 294-2258.
29 Bayou Teche Market. 203 New Market St., St. Martinville. (337) 394-2230. 29-30 Atchafalaya Eastern Divisionals, Morgan City Power Boat Association. Lake Palourde, Morgan City.
JULY
Louisiana Corn Festival
4 Fourth of July Celebration. Erath. (337)-937-5515.
Red, White and You Festival. 900 Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles. (337) 475-5000. New Iberia Festival of July Parade. Main Street, New Iberia. (337) 365-1428. Let Freedom Ring Festival. End of East Seventh Street, Thibodaux. (985) 447-1978.
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Let Freedom Ring. Peltier Park, Thibodaux. (985) 446-5237.
4-6 Fourth of July Fishing Rodeo. Louisiana 319 and Beach Lane, Cypremort Point. (337) 367-9873.
4-6 Golden Meadow-Fourchon International Tarpon Rodeo. 27900 Louisiana Highway 1, Fourchon, Golden Meadow. (225) 931-7306. 6 23rd Annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival. 103 Lebeau Church Road, Lebeau. (337)
351-3902.
13-14 COYC Indoor Craft & Market Place. Cut Off Youth Center, Cut Off. (985) 632-7616.
18-21 & 25-28 Little Shop of Horrors. Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, Thibodaux. (985) 4461896. 20 Fifth Annual Cake & Ice Cream Festival. 300 A.A. Comeaux Park Drive, Abbeville (337) 652-0646.
Fourth of July Celebration
Cajun French Music & Food Festival. 7001 Gulf Highway, Lake Charles. (337) 794-2541. Second Annual Bayou BBQ Bash. Under the U.S. 90 Bridge, Morgan City. (985) 384-3830.
20-21 SugaSheaux. 713 N.W. Bypass (Highway 3212), New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.
27 Louisiana Stock Horse Competition. 713 N.W. Bypass (Highway 3213), New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.
27 Zydeco Bash. 5509 Highway 14, New Iberia. (337) 277-6069.
28 Acadian Day of Remembrance. Acadian Memorial, 121 S. New Market St., St. Martinville. (337) 394-2258. ap
don’t see your event? go to acadianaprofile.com to submit.
Louisiana Festival de la Viande Boucanee
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en français, s’il vous plaît
Pas si fou que ça par david cheramie Zachary Richard, Ralph pour les intimes, a fait un sacré bout de chemin depuis sa naissance à Scott, là où l’Ouest commence, la capitale mondiale du boudin. Il aurait pu rester le fils de son père, jouant dans les bars du coin, voire la Nouvelle-Orléans de temps en temps, ou prendre son diplôme en histoire de Tulane pour entrer à une faculté de droit et poursuivre une autre carrière. L’énorme talent et l’impulsion créative qui semblent l’habitaient depuis toujours en ont décidé autrement. Et pourtant, sa carrière musicale, surtout en français, a failli ne jamais avoir lieu. L’histoire, aujourd’hui passée au royaume des légendes, veut que le jeune Ralph, avec cent piastres avancées par un mécène qui lui a dit d’aller chercher sa fortune au Québec, ait accompagné un ami qui montait en voiture pour faire des études à l’Université McGill. À la frontière, le douanier, voyant l’équipement musical sur le banc arrière, leur demande ce qu’ils viennent faire au Canada. Le chauffeur sort son visa d’étudiant et lui justifie la raison de son séjour. À son tour, et encore selon la légende, Richard lui annonce, « Je viens pour chanter et devenir célèbre ». Quand le douanier, pas impressionné par l’audace, lui demande de montrer son permis de travail canadien, il ne le peut pas. Refoulés à la frontière plusieurs fois après d’autres tentatives semblables et quelques jours d’hôtel, Richard réussit enfin à retrouver un promoteur qui lui envoie un contrat prouvant qu’il a le droit de travailler au pays de ces « quelques arpents de neige », comme le disait Voltaire. Le reste, selon le dicton, c’est de l’histoire. Après tout le mal
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qu’il s’est donné, est-ce un hasard ironique que son premier succès était « Travailler, c’est trop dur » ? Ce long travail acharné a transformé Ralph en Zachary, nettement plus rock ‘n’ roll, mais aussi en honneur d’un ancêtre dont le nom lui a été donné en deuxième prénom. C’est en quelque sorte avec cette deuxième naissance qu’il est devenu l’homme de la renaissance acadienne en Louisiane. Comme les oiseaux migrateurs de ses chansons, sa poésie et son engagement écologique, il fait le va-et-vient entre deux langues, deux continents, trois pays et maintes cultures. Un vrai citoyen du
perdu dans un trou noir juridique, Richard a pu le sortir seulement en 2001. Néanmoins, la longue courbe de son art trace une ligne qui relie ses passions, ses amours, ses espoirs et ses craintes. Richard comprend l’intime et fragile connexion entre la nature et les hommes ainsi que le courage qu’il faut pour l’entretenir. Avec ce dernier disque, , une boucle est bouclée, sans que ce soit la fin, nous l’espérons très fort, de ses activités artistique et écologique. Profondément touché par les catastrophes-bessonnes des ouragans Katrina et Rita et la marée noire de Macondo comme l’ont témoigné
monde autant enraciné dans les marais de l’Atchafalaya que ceux du Saint-Laurent, du Petit Codiac ou du Poitou. Comme les fous de Bassan, les oies canadiennes ou les canards français, peu lui importe les frontières, ces lignes artificielles que les hommes ont dessinées sur la mappemonde. Le respect du passé, des traditions et de la nature, combiné avec une persévérance quasi-génétique (ce n’est pas pour rien qu’on dit Cadien tête-dure) qui frôle l’obstination ont informé l’ensemble de son œuvre qui souffle ses 40 chandelles cette année, si l’on démarre le compteur en 1973 avec l’enregistrement de son tout premier disque, « High Times ». Longtemps
ces trois albums précédents, Richard retrouve une tranquillité zen face aux intempéries dans une détermination redoublée à vivre sa vie dans , et une envie éternelle d’un retour aux sources dans , sans rien perdre sa fougue. On la voit grandeur nature, cette rage de vivre, dans , où il raconte l’histoire méconnue, mais aussi importante pour nous que celle de Beausoleil Broussard, du marron Jean St. Malo, un esclave fuyard qui a abandonné ses chaînes et en a aidé d’autres à en faire autant. Comme lui, Richard n’accepte pas la raison du plus fort et crée sa propre identité. Si tu l’appelles fou, moi aussi, je le suis. ap
for an english translation , visit www . acadianaprofile . com .
photos courtesy david simpson