December 17, 2022
It has been nearly two months since the Grand Réveil Acadien took place in Louisiana. My wife and I were present for all nine days of the much-delayed celebration, and I could write quite a bit about our car trip from Maryland south and include interesting stops going and returning in Abingdon (VA), Jackson (MS), Baton Rouge, Laurel (MS), Birmingham, Atlanta, and Raleigh. A mixture of friends and notable places in covering some 3300 miles of road! The highlights of Jackson were the Eudora Welty House and Museum and the positively overwhelming Civil Rights Museum. Atlanta once again won the “worst traffic award,” with the constant Petersburg (VA) to DC Beltway mess garnering honorable mention. In this blog, however, southwestern Louisiana will be the main focus.
Weather was perfect in Louisiana in early October – 80s and blue skies, with only one stifling afternoon in the low 90s. Though the national midterms were just around the corner, conversation centered comfortably around history, genealogy, music, and food. New and old acquaintances kept popping into our lives. Acadians enjoy life and never miss an occasion to speak about their past, present, and future. Of course, Maryland played a major role in the settlement of early Acadiana and that story is always open for further research. While my Morin Acadian ancestors were not a part of the Louisiana narrative, I have found more than enough satisfaction in the last half-century documenting the journey of other exiles from the Maritimes southward and to have been included as an honorary Guidry.
Normally our many trips to the Pelican State center on lodging in Lafayette, but this year’s séjour involved both country and city. Our friends the Perrins invited us to first enjoy their family farm in Henry, where we spent five nights amid rice and cane fields. The once-extensive property is now limited to a comfortable elevated ancestral house, outbuildings, live oaks, and some gardens, with many personal mementos, photos, and books inviting guests to relax in appropriate reverence to the region. Henry has no more than its small Catholic parish and is just a few miles from historic Erath, Abbeville, and Delcambre, the Vermilion Parish shrimp capital. Erath is known for its jam-packed Musée Acadien and two deceased icons, politician and entrepreneur Dudley LeBlanc and musician D. L. Menard.
Abbeville is a most remarkable city, with an impressive Catholic church, Magdalen Square, and older structures, as well as an enthusiastic tourist bureau staff. It was just the right venue to open the GRA on Saturday, October 1. Magdalen Square, with its oaks, fountain, and constant shade was perfect for food demonstrations (oyster shucking, jambalaya, cracklins), local tents, a cameo by Abbeville’s famous Giant Omelette chefs, and entertainment involving immersion students and professional musicians. Activities lasted from early morning to mid-evening, capped by a theatrical presentation of Warren Perrin’s The Birth of Cajun Culture and a musical performance by Steve Riley, David Greely, and friends. The “play” allowed me to relate how Marylanders complemented Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil’s settling in the Attakapas in the 1760s. A first for me: donning late-eighteenth-century clothing to “perform” with Warren Perrin, Marty Guidry, Brenda Trahan, Natial d’Augereau, Earlene Broussard, Michael Vincent, Richard Landry, Barry Toups, two Donalds (Arceneaux and Landry), and Melissa Bonin. What an honor and lot of fun!
Sunday the 2nd was more or less a quiet day to attend religious services, walk the streets of New Iberia, have lunch at the Church Alley Café Bistro, and then examine Delcambre’s shrimp fleet.
I had greatly anticipated my presentation in St. Martinville at the Longfellow-Evangeline State Park on Monday, October 3. For technical reasons, the folks at the Acadian Memorial could not use the upstairs of their facility downtown, so the park was an excellent substitute. Its main building has wonderful historical displays and a hall for my power point talk that led off St. Martin Parish’s assigned day of festivities. I had more than enough time and opportunity to interact with the friendly audience. Lynn and I were then treated to a fine lunch at the local St. John Restaurant, an establishment that has continued to be an excellent go-to. The afternoon brought us back to the state park and a tour of the grounds and its Creole house. By late afternoon, we were again downtown on the church lawn for a free community jambalaya and other treats.
New Iberia had its turn to share its heritage on Tuesday, October 4. At this city on the Bayou Teche, we were treated to interesting speakers en plein air. Gumbo and homemade potato salad were prepared for visitors at the old Evangeline Theater down the street. Later, I could not forego exploring the parish cemetery back in St. Martinville and I tracked down the tombstone of Martin Castille Jr., said to have been born in Baltimore in 1764. It was also time to end our rural stay and move on to the city of Lafayette. Shane and Anne, the farm’s caretakers, delightfully shared some of their experiences with us as we readied ourselves for the transition.
Early on Wednesday, October 5, we set off on a 100-mile-plus trek to Thibodaux, via Morgan City. The day’s activities took place at the National Park Service’s Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center there, under the auspices of the Center for Bayou Studies at Nicholls State University. The symposium ran all day and featured a number of well-known speakers (Glen Pitre, Nathalie Dajko, Windell Curole, John Doucet, Gary LaFleur, Shana Walton, and Patty Walton, among others) addressing environmental, cultural, and linguistic aspects of the Terrebonne-Lafourche area. Lunch was purchased at Gina’s at the Legion across the street. Alas, just spaghetti and meat balls this time around, although an Acadian fricot made a quiet appearance just outside the center! The ride back to Lafayette provided everchanging skyscapes and a great bit to ponder as to southern Louisiana’s ecological future.
Thursday, October 6, was technically a free day from formal GRA activities, but it served us well to return to St. Martinville to visit with one of our newest acquaintances, Jason Vidrine, pastor of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church. We had met Father Vidrine on Monday at the state park, and he had invited us to continue our adventures by visiting the parish archives and the historic presbytère (rectory). Father Vidrine is himself a historian – author of two books (La Famille de Vidrine at 275 Years and The Religious History of the Vidrine Family). As thanks for his gracious tour and assistance, we again shared a noon meal at the St. John Restaurant and then stopped by the local library to visit Patty GuteKunst, an archivist who so welcomed me in July 2018 at a Saturday morning presentation and also helped make this year’s visit possible. She was generous in pulling up microfilm of the Attakapas Gazette, which was established by a Maryland native and Acadian descendant, Theodore De Valcourt.
The community of Broussard, just south of Lafayette, showed off its best on Friday, October 7. The Valsin Broussard home on Main Street is becoming the town’s cultural center, so people were on hand to visit the structure and witness the twinning ceremony with the town of Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick. The Canadian community’s mayor, Serge Léger, and others were present as a band, a mini-parade of family signs, and good conversation filled the morning before Lynn and I found Cajun lunch entrées at Ton’s Restaurant down the street. The pleasant morning out on the lawn gave way to some overwhelming fall heat in the afternoon, a visit to the famous Borden’s Ice Cream shop on Johnston Street in Lafayette (always on our schedule), and a first visit to Billy’s Boudin, up the road on the way to Carencro.
On Saturday, October 8, the Guédry-Petitpas/Hébert Family Reunion took place in Rayne, about 20 miles west of Lafayette on I-10. The all-day event was very much in full swing by 9 am and gave Marty Guidry and me a second chance to dress à l’acadienne and tromp around in sabots (wooden shoes) for several hours. By all accounts, this family reunion attracted the most attendees of the week – some 200 assembled in the Civic Center for a Cajun band in the morning, jambalaya, white beans, and cracklins prepared by chefs Barry, E.J., and Jay Guidry, short talks by Art Guidry and myself, awards, displays, and book signings. Many Guidrys and Héberts generously furnished a wide assortment of desserts. So many special moments thanks to herculean efforts of Marty, Allie Guidry, Rachel and Jeff Killingsworth, and the chefs. My brother John and wife Michelle were also able to drive over from Montgomery, Texas, for the reunion, dinner in Breaux Bridge, and activities the next morning. So, a great day for all!
One last day of celebration took place in Lafayette on Sunday, October 9. A French mass was celebrated at St. John’s Cathedral at 9 am. Then many gathered for a tintamarre through the city streets (and escorted by the local police) to the Warehouse 535 on Garfield Street, where music, another version of the Abbevile play, and final remarks were offered to guide the GRA through its final hours. Afternoon coffee with Donald Arceneaux, historian and ardent researcher, capped another wonderful day. We are ever so thankful to have spent several hours during the week especially with such fine friends and associates as Donald and Marty. It was also a pleasure renewing acquaintances with talented Cajun activists Earlene Broussard and Jolene Adam and archivists Ann Boltin and Amy Simon in Baton Rouge after so many years.
A big shoutout to Randy Menard, Ray Trahan, Michael Vincent, and others from Louisiane-Acadie; Elaine Clement and board members of the Acadian Memorial who invited me to St. Martinville for perhaps the fourth time; Warren and Mary Perrin; Marty Guidry; and local officials who made this year’s GRA a success!
For those visiting the area in the future, note that there are many restaurants serving delicious fare in all the communities. Other than those mentioned above, our current favorites include Duke’s, just south of the interstate in Denham Springs; Frank’s, on Airline Highway in Prairieville (excellent breakfasts); and Sydnie Mae’s, in Breaux Bridge. Crawfish pie and étouffée, shrimp, catfish, boudin, jambalaya, and various gumbos are sure winners most anywhere. A stop at the Coffee Call in Baton Rouge for beignets and café au lait will be just as satisfying as going to the French Market in New Orleans; full breakfasts can be found at the old, reliable Dwyer’s Café in downtown Lafayette; and lunch with abundant po’boys is recommended from the Olde Tyme Grocery, just a few blocks north of the U-L campus in Lafayette.
I cannot count the times that the Lafayette area has beckoned us since the mid-1970s. Tastes and musical groups have changed over those years; some friends have retired, with newer folks standing tall in their stead.
Francophones in Maryland 