Some Year-End Reflections

Bayou Teche

This is the time of the year when people tend to do a lot of reflection and self-evaluation, and I find myself doing the same thing.

I've spent a lot more time living life rather than writing about it -- my last blog post was this summer.

This has been an epic year for me and I am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude and almost disbelief, sometimes.

I have said before that when I began this project to write about Cammie Henry and her life, her contributions to preservation and to the arts, I never had any idea where it would take me. Basically, I simply went where she led me, and I still am.

This book, and Cammie, have taken the reins of my life and led me on such a journey this year! I have traveled to cities and towns across the state and I have talked to groups large and small about Cammie Henry and Melrose Plantation.

At first I was terrified. At my first appearance at the Louisiana Book Festival (2018), I was a nervous wreck. Even though I have been teaching for over twenty years, it was still intimidating to me to get up in front of a crowd of people and talk.  As it turned out, that was a pretty friendly, and small, audience that included my husband, my editor, and an intern that contributed to some of the editing work.

In the spring I spoke at the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN) annual banquet; this was a very large crowd and I was still quite nervous. This was followed by an appearance before the Baton Rouge Country Club Book Club, and later the North Louisiana Historical Association. Most recently, I spoke to a group of architects at the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture event in Natchitoches and then to the Calico Belles, an auxiliary group of the APHN -- young high school age ladies who volunteer at events in Natchitoches like the annual Tour of Homes.

Each event has become a bit less nerve wracking and the Calico Belles event was downright fun because those girls were so enthusiastic and interested, plus we got to walk the grounds of Melrose and talk about Cammie and her friends. It was a joyous day.

Cammie Henry has also led me to many new friendships that mean so much to me. When the book launched in October 2018 at the Cammie Garrett Henry Research Center at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, in attendance was a fun-loving group of ladies who were the children and grandchildren of one of Cammie's sons. I visited with them that night and it seemed like all they did was joke and laugh. I remember thinking at the time, "These are my people." I felt instantly comfortable with them...connected.  Cammie kept throwing us together -- I started running into Dana everywhere! And in late summer they invited Steve and I to a small family gathering on Cane River and it was just the most wonderful day.

Another event that stands out to me from this past year is our trip to Lake Charles and McNeese University to speak at their SAGE program. That was another huge crowd and the first time I'd included a visual presentation with my speech. McNeese rolled out the red carpet for Cammie and Cane River Bohemia. Steve and I were treated to lunch and dinner at beautiful local restaurants, given a tour of the city, and I did two television appearances. May Gray, who organized the event, has become a friend now, and she made the trip one I will never forget.

I feel so blessed and honored for all of these opportunities and I know Cammie isn't finished with me. Our journey is not finished.

Besides book related blessings, this is the year I feel in love with Arnaudville, a tiny town in south Louisiana, where the arts are celebrated and the people are welcoming. I discovered Gateau Nana this year! And Song Trivia and Social Commentary! I made some great new friends and acquaintances in south Louisiana. I spend a lot of time waiting until my next trip to Arnaudville. The way we found Arnaudville and the house on the Teche where we stay has its own convoluted sort of story and wispy Cammie-connections which I'll be able to convey someday.

This year has also included a great first-semester at school; last semester, in the spring, was rough, rough, rough, but this semester has been good, and all but three of my students passed their EOC exam. And my gosh, the people that stepped up to contribute to my classroom library or to fill my Amazon wish list for my classroom have been amazing,

As this year comes to a close, I think we all tend to look back and evaluate our year, and I'm no different. It has not been without challenges, to be sure. Christmas is often a difficult time for me... I get overly sentimental and filled with loss for those who are no longer with us. We have a very small family and those losses are so strongly felt. But we persevere, we make new traditions, new friends, and really, I am blessed.

This self-serving post is really meant just to say thank you to everyone who made this year so exciting and gratifying for me.

You know who you are.

Cane River Bohemia Updates and the Next Big Thing

I've spent my morning cleaning off my desk, arranging stacks of papers, binders, and downloading articles for research in preparation for my next book project. I've been scratching around this process since I finished Cane River Bohemia, and now it's time to get to work. The muse has struck.

I don't want to reveal much about the project yet except perhaps to say that it will be a nice companion to Cane River Bohemia and that Miss Cammie would definitely approve. I'm very excited about being back in writer mode and ready to get back to work. For me, writing is a very consuming process. Wish me luck.

As to upcoming events for Cane River Bohemia, I will be the speaker at the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN) annual luncheon in February; in March I will be speaking to the Baton Rouge Country Club Book Club, and in April I will be speaking to the Northwest Louisiana Historical Society at their awards luncheon in Natchitoches. I'm so grateful for these opportunities and for all of the blessings this book has presented so far.

I was thrilled last week to learn that Cane River Bohemia will be available at the Melrose Gift Shop because to me, it means Cammie has returned to Melrose (not that she ever left, really!) and it completes the histories of the trifecta of Melrose ladies: Marie Therese Coincoin, Cammie Henry, and Clementine Hunter.  The Melrose Arts and Crafts Festival will be April 6th and 7th this year and I'm happy the book will be in the gift shop for that event.

I've been extremely grateful to see the reviews on Amazon of the book, as well. The Amazon metrics are all based on reviews and this helps the book be seen.  One of my favorite authors, Steph Post, wrote:

I love a well-written historical biography and Cane River Bohemia is not only fascinating, it reads like a novel- captivating and engaging. Becker thoroughly transported me to Melrose Plantation and shed a light on a place and group of people, particularly Cammie Henry, of course, but her cultivated 'salon' of sorts as well, that I would never have known about. History buffs, but also those interested in learning more about American artist colonies and some of the creative 'influencers' of the '20s and '30s who have slipped under the mainstream radar, will definitely appreciate this book. 

Steph has a fantastic book coming out this week, Miraculum, which I reviewed here.  She's also got a great Florida crime series with the protagonist Judah Cannon and I'm anxiously awaiting the third book in that series!

So it seems Miss Cammie is settling in comfortably to her place in history and it's time for me to get to work on the next big thing!

If blogging here becomes sporadic, have patience with me once again.

Take a Trip to the Louisiana Book Festival, 2018

Signing copies of Cane River Bohemia.

The fifteenth annual Louisiana Book Festival was held last weekend and your humble correspondent was honored to be a part of it as one of the presenters for my book Cane River Bohemia.

You know you have reached the surreal when you are signing books fifteen feet away from Donna Brazile who was there signing her new book, Hacks, or riding the elevator at your hotel with the legendary Ernest Gaines. I was fortunate enough to see Mr. Gaines last year at the Books Along the Teche literary festival: he is a gracious gentleman and gifted writer.

My husband and I drove to Baton Rouge Friday afternoon in time to make the author’s party at the State Library of Louisiana that evening. I’ll admit that I did think about Stacy McCain when we drove through Livonia. (You might ask him about that speeding ticket a few years ago!)

The author’s party was fabulous; there was a jazz band and enough superb Louisiana food to feast upon for days: gumbo, boudin balls, crab cakes, shrimp alfredo, bread pudding, etouffee, and of course Abita beer; the food just went on forever.

I met the most fascinating people and added to my “want to read” list in a significant way. I even added a children’s book to my list: Poncho’s Rescue: A Baby Bull and a Big Flood, by Julie Thomas, who was working with the LSU Vet school during the floods of 2016 and was involved with the team who helped save the very sick little animal after his rescue. It’s quite a story!

I ran into the fabulous Mary Ann Wilson who I met last year, also at the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival; she was giving a book talk entitled "Voices from Louisiana: Profiles of Contemporary Writers."  In New Iberia last year she spoke so eloquently on James Lee Burke's Tin Roof Blowdown I had to come home and re-read it.

With Dr. Mary Ann Wilson

I also chased down Karen McManus, author of the popular YA novel, One of Us is Lying, to tell her how much both I and my students love her book. She was very gracious and didn’t seem to mind my gushing fan-girl approach, thankfully.

And of course, I got to visit with my favorite editor, Margaret Lovecraft of LSU Press who made my book so much better than what I envisioned.

With Margaret Lovecraft, LSU Press.

Day two began with a little sightseeing around Baton Rouge; we spent a lot of time on the levee watching the tow boats and barges on the Mississippi River; we toured the old Louisiana State Capitol which is absolutely stunning.

Old Louisiana State Capitol

 The stained glass, kaleidoscope dome is breathtaking. Then we headed over to the Capitol grounds for the festival.

Stained glass dome, Old State Capitol

The Louisiana Book Festival draws about 20,000 people and is one of the top book festivals in the South. This year there were 250 authors either giving talks about their books or participating in panel discussions. There are children’s events and various live music performances as well as food trucks all day long. The book presentations take place in the State Capitol Building in the various House and Senate Committee meeting rooms in thirty-minute intervals and then the authors are shuttled over to the signing tent to sign copies of their books.

 My presentation was one of the last ones of the day and so we had plenty of time to browse the book tents while waiting. We picked up My Brother’s Keeper by Chris Blackwood, which is a true-crime thriller about the 1984 death of Gary Kergan from Crowley, Louisiana. The case went cold and was finally resolved thirty years later and it’s a wild one. Chris sat next to me as we signed books together and she signed our book! We also bought The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros, the epitome Southern Gothic novel filled with voodoo, quirky characters, and mysterious plot. It’s getting good reviews so I can’t wait to just get lost in this one.

 Louisiana is home to so many terrific and talented authors, I think in part due to the cultural diversity we have in our state. From the southern tip of the state to the far northeastern corner, we are a mélange of swamps, rice fields, sugar cane and cotton fields, and bustling cities. We are refineries and skyscrapers, blue collar workers and suits. We are the Shreveport Symphony, New Orleans jazz, and Cajun zydeco. We eat boudin, crawfish, alligator, meat pies, and the infamous gumbo. We are fine dining with a river view in Baton Rouge, woodfired pizzas at the craft beer tap room in Arnaudville, and huge homemade burgers in Coushatta, and delicious pies in LeCompte. We are magnolia trees, Spanish moss, azaleas, and cape jasmine. We are Spanish, French, African, Jamaican, Creole, Irish, English, Hispanic, but uniquely American. It is no wonder that Louisiana writers and authors create such a wonderful and diverse collection of material every single year which is celebrated at the Louisiana Book Festival.

Be sure to put it on your calendar for next year: you won’t be sorry!

Take a Trip to the Cane River Bohemia Book Launch at Cammie Henry Research Center in Natchitoches

The Cammie Garrett Henry Research Center, NSULA

We drove to Natchitoches Thursday for the first book event for Cane River Bohemia.  I was a nervous wreck and looking back now, I can't fathom why.

The event was held on familiar ground, the Cammie Henry Research Center at Watson Library at Northwestern State University, where I did most of my research.  This is where Cammie Henry's archives are and a great deal of my research consisted of reading her letters, papers, documents, and the correspondence she received from others.

Mary Linn Wernet is the archivist there and she terrified me when I first began this project but soon became a friend and guide.  I could not have written this book without her and that's a fact.  Today, I treasure her friendship and smile every time I think about some of those days pouring over photographs with her and the discussions we had.

With Mary Linn Wernet, archivist, CGHRC

Mary Linn's assistant, Sharon Wolff, prepared a terrific exhibit prior to the book event which will remain on display for several weeks if you want to get over and see it.  It's all about Cammie and her circle of friends, and her children.  You can see photographs and scrapbook pages from Cammie's collection as well as letters between the circle of friends.  There is also a small table with Lyle Saxon's Children of Strangers on display and Caroline Dormon's Wild Flowers of Louisiana, which is very rare and impossible to find now.  It's the first time I've actually seen it and the color plates are absolutely stunning.

Wild Flowers of Louisiana by Caroline Dormon

As time for the event approached, I actually began to calm down.  The books arrived from the bookstore, the caterers arrived and began setting up, and soon the first guests began to arrive.  It meant so much to see some familiar faces and friends who drove over from Shreveport. That helped my nerves immensely.

The fabulous caterers: the cucumber sandwiches were fab!

The next two hours went by in a blur.  Literally everyone was so warm and welcoming.  Everyone was as interested in Cammie as I have been and it was especially gratifying to me to see that this is a book that people have been waiting to read.  Not necessarily MY book, but people have been waiting for a book about Cammie Henry.  Like me, they want to know more.  People got their books signed and then sat down at the tables and had refreshments or visited with friends.

During the evening I was so honored to see the president of the university, Dr. Chris Maggio, come by; he's doing great things at NSULA and is such a friendly and personable man. I really enjoyed visiting with him.

With Dr. Chris Maggio, NSULA President.  (Bill Vance photo used with permission,
Natchitoches Parish Journal).

I was over the moon when J. Michael Kinny came in.  J. Michael had The Book Merchant on Front Street for a very long time and it is still missed.  It was the perfect indie book shop and I have always wanted to open one just like it.  Maybe one day.  J. Michael wrote the blurb for the book and it was just perfect; he captured exactly what I wanted to achieve: "...you'll see Miss Cammie and Lyle Saxon sitting behind the Big House sharing stories and laughter...".  I want my readers to feel like they have experienced Melrose as it was when Cammie had her writers and artists colony there.  When J. Michael came in I bolted around the table to give him a hug. I'm forever grateful to him for not just the blurb but for being who he is and for sharing books with me through his shop.

With J. Michael Kinny, The Book Merchant

One of the highlights of the evening was when the Henry grandchildren came in.  I felt right at home with those ladies and wish I could spend more time with them.  What fun they are!  We laughed and shared stories and I just fell in love with them.  They felt like family.  I could not have been more honored that they came to this event.  I wish I'd taken a picture with them!

Several ladies with the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches came by and bought books, and had them signed, and that meant so much to me.  Their mission in preserving these historic sites, Melrose and Lemee House, and well as the rich cultural legacy of Natchitoches, is so important.  Having Cammie's story now available now only adds to the rich history at Melrose and hopefully will help support their cause.  I lobbied a little bit for the site manager job at Melrose but I didn't get very far!  ;)

In short, there was never any reason for me to be so nervous; everyone was, as Natchitoches always is, so warm and welcoming.  I was sorry for the night to end.  I was sorry we sold out of books: I wanted everyone to be able to go home with a book, but the bookstore did take orders and promise free shipping as soon as they arrive, so it turned out fine.

After the event, Steve and I headed down to my favorite eatery, Pioneer Pub, for fried alligator bites (and he had eggplant fries).  After dinner we turned north on I-49 and headed home but I felt like a kid at Christmas for the next 24 hours.

I'm looking forward to sharing Cammie's story in the coming months; the next event is the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge on November 9-10.

As I prepare now to begin another book, I'm not moving too far away from Cammie.  I don't want to go into details on the project yet but I will say that I am collaborating with someone on this one and I could not be more excited about it.  We've been doing some necessary legwork over the past few months and have all the pieces in place now, so I've boxed up my Cammie files, kept out the things I'm going to carry over, I've cleaned off my desk and I'm ready to start writing.

I'm not comfortable with a lot of self serving posts like this but the event was so wonderful and so gratifying that I just had to share it.  I can't thank everyone involved enough for making this happen.

Further Reading:
Cane River Bohemia Book Signing Held at Cammie G. Henry Research Center (Natchitoches Parish Journal, October 19, 2018).

Take a Trip to Visit Louisiana's Unique Preservation Sites

Cammie Henry's scrapbook on Shadows-on-the-Teche

Spring is the most beautiful time of the year in Louisiana. There's no doubt in my mind. The dogwoods and azaleas are beautiful and they are everywhere! Everything is turning green and spring's pastel colors paint our landscape. It's no wonder that we get wanderlust and want to hit the road this time of year. I have a trip to south Louisiana planned in a few weeks and could not be more excited.

In preparation for that trip I went to Natchitoches yesterday to dig into Cammie Henry's archives once again. I have just finished reading Morris Raphael's biography of Weeks Hall, owner of Shadows-on-the-Teche plantation.  

Weeks Hall was a colorful character and reminds me in many ways of Lyle Saxon. The Hall family presence can be dated to the very early 1800s on Bayou Teche with large landholdings and a sugar plantation. The plantation house that remains today was begun in 1831 and completed in 1834 so that makes it contemporary with Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches which was completed in 1833.

As I researched my book, Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation, it was impossible not to fall under the spell of Lyle Saxon as well as Cammie Henry because they were both such vivid people who loved life and lived every moment of their lives. 

 Weeks Hall also falls into this category.  

While both Weeks and Lyle would probably have lived longer if they had taken better care of themselves, they were both a product of their time and they both lived the way they wanted to.  They had a lot of fun, entertained a lot of people, and both made their own unique preservation contribution to Louisiana.  So did Cammie Henry, and let's not overlook Cammie's best friend, Caroline Dormon and her preservation of the Kistachie forest as well as her home, Briarwood..

That all of these people should come together is fascinating to me when I think about the conversations and gatherings they had.  

Weeks Hall is a paradox to me in that he restored this beautiful plantation home and the gardens in New Iberia which naturally attracted tourists and the general public who wanted to see it.  But Weeks also valued his privacy and was a huge practical joker.  Morris Raphael writes that Weeks often walked the gardens in his underwear much to the shock of tourists who happened to be availing themselves of his gardens.  Sometimes people would simply wander into his house, uninvited.

In one one of the letters from Weeks to Cammie Henry dated July 1932 that I read yesterday, he describes encounters with uninvited guests:

I have been locking my gates night and day.  It is now 8:45 p.m. and someone just telephoned.  I answered myself and said I was out.  We have been finding people in the house even. Monday I locked a crowd of fifteen in and made them jump the fence!
...

Weeks Hall letter to Cammie Henry, 1932

Why is it, dear Aunt Cammie, that people pressure on country people, as you well know, in ways that they would not dare in the cities. Two months ago I had my house and gates locked. I was upstairs and sent the boy to the yard for the dog. A man that I know fairly well had jumped the fence and caught the boy coming in the back door. He made him open the gate, brought in eight people, a suitcase of liquors, and had party in my kitchen for two hours. I had hidden in the garret. When they left I asked the boy to bring up my lunch. They had eaten not only all of that but a ham that I cooked especially and promised to my cousins next door.

Can you imagine?!

Weeks Hall and Lyle Saxon were lifelong friends and both were charming hosts when they wanted to be, apparently, as was Cammie Henry, and all had a sense of responsibility in preservation.

Cammie's efforts in preserving and restoring not only Melrose plantation but the cabins and buildings that she brought there as well as her patronage of artists and writers of the time is invaluable.  Lyle Saxon preserved Louisiana lore and history through his writings for the newspaper as well as through his books, and Weeks Hall, of course, preserved and restored The Shadows.

I'm grateful for all three of these people not only for their preservation of my home state but also for their forward thinking and the records they left behind. They provide an invaluable look at their age and allow us to look into their lives.

If wanderlust strikes you this spring and summer, put both Melrose Plantation and The Shadows on your destination list.  Louisiana is a beautiful place: get out and explore!

Lyle Saxon, Weeks Hall, and Shadows on the Teche

Shadows on the Teche, 1938

Fantastic news!  The good people at the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival have offered me a media pass to cover the festival this year and I could not be more excited!

The festival will be April 6 - 8 in New Iberia's historic district but their website promises events all throughout the parish. Their agenda is jam-packed with events I don't want to miss and one of the highlights for me will be the opening reception:  a Cajun Cochon de Lait (pig roast) with music by the Bunk Johnson Brazz Band, hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages at Shadows-on-the-Teche, a National Trust for Historic Preservation site.

Shadows-on-the-Teche was the home of the Weeks family and was built in 1831 and completed 1834 for David Weeks and his wife, Mary Clara Conrad Weeks.  According to Richard Lewis, curator of visual arts at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, the land was granted to Weeks's father, William,  in 1792 through a Spanish land grant.  William continued to purchase property throughout the area and eventually accumulated over 2,000 acres.

David Weeks and his father grew some cotton but focused primarily on sugar cane in the early 1820s. William retained carpenter James Bedell and mason Jeremiah Clark to build the Shadows but he died before the house was completed. When his widow remarried, she kept her property separate from that of her second husband. When she died the plantation passed to her son, William F. Weeks who died in 1895; then it passed to his daughters, one of whom was Lily Weeks Hall.  She died in 1918 and her son, William Weeks Hall returned to the plantation from Paris.  He acquired all family shares and at the age of 25 became the sole owner of the plantation.

Weeks Hall spent the rest of his life restoring the plantation to its original grandeur.  He used family papers and a complete set of construction records to achieve this, according to Richard Lewis in his book, Robert W. Tebbs: Photographer to Architects.  Architects Richard Koch (1889-1971) and Charles R. Armstrong (d. 1947) were retained to restore the home "to its 1830s appearance."  When Weeks Hall died in 1959 he bequeathed the home to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Koch and Samuel Wilson, Jr. did restoration work for the National Trust in 1961 and since then the gardens have also been restored.

Like Cammie Henry, Weeks Hall spent his life preserving and restoring a plantation home and buffering it against the encroaching modernism that he saw around him.  Both Cammie and Weeks Hall used their plantation homes to paint a picture of the past in which they both lived, while also keeping one foot in the present.  Complicit in this for both of them was their common friend, writer Lyle Saxon.

Lyle Saxon and Weeks Hall, a fine artist and painter, were lifelong friends and when Lyle Saxon had an appendectomy that turned out to be much more complicated than initially believed, Weeks Hall stepped up as a blood donor for Lyle.  Chance Harvey, in her biography of Saxon, says that after this they referred to each other as "cousins."  Lyle even joked, "If you think this is going to make me paint any better, you're crazy."

In The Friends of Joe Gilmore, Saxon devotes an entire chapter to Weeks Hall and chronicles a literal "moonlight and magnolias" visit to the plantation with his servant, Joe Gilmore:

"And so we sat there on the broad gallery sipping [mint]juleps while Joe and Mose brought in the bags...After dinner we strolled out to the summer house overlooking the bayou and some of Weeks' friends came to call.  The moon was nearly full and the bayou was filled with shining ripples.  Great trees arched over our heads where we sat in the shadow."

Lyle's friend and illustrator Edward Suydam was also present that night and Lyle calls the evening "nearly perfect" as ladies in white linen dresses and men in summer suits drifted across the lawn while servants mingled among them balancing trays of drinks.

I'm fully expecting to "see" Lyle Saxon and Weeks Hall when I visit The Shadows in April!

There is so much history and so many truly cool things to see in New Iberia and the surrounding area that I'm certain one weekend will in no way be enough.  Now that the book is finished I plan to make several trips south to more fully explore the stomping grounds of Lyle Saxon and Cammie Henry.

Cammie was born in Assumption parish (she sometimes says that she was born in Ascension parish) and taught school in Donaldsonville after her graduation from the Normal School in Natchitoches.  There are plenty of places around that area to explore as well.  Another trip!

Once again, The Books Along the Teche Literary Festival will be April 6-8; get your tickets here and make plans to go!


For Further Reading:
Robert W. Tebbs: Photographer to Architects (LSU Press, 2011)
Shadows on the Teche Plantation (Karen Kingsley, Knowla)
The Shadows on the Teche: History 
Lyle Saxon and the WPA Guide to New Orleans (Lawrence N. Powell, 2009)




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Cane Juice: One of Louisiana's More Interesting Scandalous Novels

In the course of my research on Cammie Garrett Henry, I've come across some truly wonderful, all but forgotten literature by Louisiana writers.  I've lived in this state my entire life and was at least in my thirties before I ever heard of Lyle Saxon.  I never heard of Ada Jack Carver until I began my research on Mrs. Henry.  And now, there's John Earle Uhler.

Mr. Uhler was an English professor at LSU and in 1931 he published a book:  Cane Juice:  A Story of Southern Louisiana.  

And then he got fired.

Mr. Uhler was a native of Pennsylvania but came to Louisiana in 1928 to teach freshman English at the university.  His book centers around the "Cajun Gorilla," Bernard Couvillon, who was born and raised on Bayou Lafourche.  Bernard's father runs a sugar plantation and as the novel begins, sugar in Louisiana isn't doing very well.  The borer and the mosaic are taking their toll and the cane is no longer producing much juice; the mills that used to run constantly are falling quiet.

Bernard, as it turns out, is a pretty intelligent fellow and because of his excellent grades in school, (well, except for English - most people around the bayou still spoke French then...), the local police jury awards him a scholarship to LSU.  Bernard dreams of going to the university sugar school in order to learn just enough to save the sugar production in Louisiana.  His father is torn; he wants Bernard to stay and work with him.  "We don't need no book learnin' to raise sugar," Bernard's father said.  "This boy work wit' me in the mill...".

But, Bernard packs his $2 suitcase and walks down the levee to the university where he is promptly met with the ritual hazing of freshmen ("dogs") by upperclassmen and his temper is tested.

The book is filled with local color and Uhler's plot moves quickly.  As a piece of regional literature, it's as good as anything I've read.  It lacks the syrupy moonlight and magnolia prose that so many books of local color seem to have.  The protagonist, Bernard, is beautifully drawn and you pull for his success from the very beginning.  The dialect is just enough without being over done.

"Sugar-raisin's dead in Loosana," Bernard is told, but he refuses to give up his dream of saving the industry.

At the university, Bernard meets an assortment of characters from his mentor, Professor Paul Gatz, to the lovely Juliette Filastre who dates Morgan Fairchild, the star quarterback on the football team.  We also meet Bernard's sister with the dubious reputation, who lives in New Orleans.

When Mr. Uhler's book came out in 1931, it ignited quite the controversy.  The powers that be at LSU rather objected to the portrayal of the university - the hazing, the wild parties on the levee or at abandoned plantations in the countryside.  Chapter 25 describes a party at a deserted plantation house, Shadowlawn, which was now "waiting for the tragic end that has befallen so many of the old Louisiana river houses...within a few years it will go into the Mississippi."  At this party there is an abundance of drinking and more than a few intoxicated young women, one of whom makes very direct advances toward Bernard which the boy gently refuses because he doesn't want to take advantage of her in her intoxicated state and notes as well, "You' only a babee."  Bernard, in fact, takes measures to protect the young lady's reputation before he leaves the party.

Scenes like this one, while quite tame by our standards today, led to vigorous objections about Uhler's book by the Right Reverend Monsignor E. L. Gassler of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Baton Rouge.  Monsignor Glasser objected to the young people in the novel "seeking out dark corners" at these parties, insisting that none of the fine ladies in southern Louisiana would act in such a way.  Scandal!

He also highly objected to the portrayal of university boys (and sometimes ladies) "breaking the Eighteenth Amendment" and consuming (sometimes in great quantities) alcohol.  There is one scene where at a party in a hotel where Bernard is challenged to a drinking contest - a challenge that actually Juliette Filaster finds offensive, not so much for the use of alcohol but that it targeted and was mean-spirited to, Bernard.

As it turns out, Huey Long (who never actually read the book) was displeased that an employee of "his university" would write and publish anything that would damage the reputation of the school and so Professor Uhler was fired.  Whether or not Huey Long actually had anything to do with the firing is still a matter of debate, and it, as Thomas W. Cutrer points out in Parnassus on the Mississippi, "cannot at this late date be verified."

In response, Uhler enlisted the aid of the ACLU to get his job back.  He was reinstated within the year.

In Cammie Henry's Scrapbook no. 12, housed at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, there are pages and pages of clippings from newspapers around the state as this controversy unfolded. There is also a letter from Mr. Uhler to Mrs. Henry in which he thanks her for her letter of support and promises to send her an autographed copy of his novel which was sold out all over the state.  Otto Claitor, a frequent correspondent with Mrs. Henry, noted that he simply could not keep the book in stock.

While Cane Juice is probably not considered "fine literature" by the literati, I found it to be a jolly romp through the LSU of old and through the cane fields, levees, and plantations of the old south.  At the very least it is one of the more colorful controversies in our state's literary history and one that is worth preserving.

And how did Bernard Couvillon fare at LSU?  Did he save the sugar industry?  You'll have to read the book for yourself!  I found my copy on the third floor of an antique shop in Minden, Louisiana, a nifty little first printing, hardback edition with a tiny bit of water damage to the cover.  It's got a few pages breaking loose from the binding, but to me, it's a treasure.

Loose Thoughts

Centenary Candlelight Service 2014

This is such a busy time of year and my already sporadic blogging has been more sporadic than usual it seems.  It seems like about all I can get together as far as blogging goes is my weekly contribution to DaTechGuy's blog.  Between Christmas, the book, and my job it seems like there's no time left for blogging!  But, here's a quick check in:

1.   Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day:  take a moment to remember those who lost their lives in service that day and in the days following.  One of the things on my bucket list is to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial one day.  Even in her last few years, my mother would still tear up and struggle to talk about the friends she lost that day.  Here's a fellow that was there:

Bombs were dropped on surrounding Ameican aircrafts, except the planes in the photographic squadron Pouyadou belonged to. "Our aircrafts were able to get up and start taking pictures," Pouyadou said. 

He stepped into action and helped survivors get medical assistance.
"There were bodies everywhere. We were leaving the dead and picking up the people we thought we could save their lives," Pouyadou said. 

As Pouyadou opened the door of the dispensary, headed out with a stretcher carried with the assistance of his partner, he heard the whistling of a bomb.
He yelled at his partner to jump as the bomb hit the dispensary, but the bomb did not go off. 

"It was a dud. That's the only reason he's alive," said Becky Pardue, Pouyadou's daughter, as she sat next to her father Friday evening listening to his story.

2.  I'm trying to get Christmas together; ever since I lost my mom, almost two years ago, Christmas has been hard.  I keep telling myself that pretty much almost everyone my age has lost their parents, or at least one of them, and do know that I'm very lucky to have had her for as long as I did.  I know others have lost parents and even children and we all keep going.  But sometimes the memories rush back when I least expect them and suck the air right out of me.  Last year I walked into the grocery store right after Thanksgiving and saw the candied fruit for fruitcake sitting up front in a big holiday display; because making fruitcake cookies was one of the things mom and I did together it triggered a flood of memories and there I was feeling sorry for myself and sobbing through the store.  Felt like an idiot.

But there's progress.  I saw a similar display this year and no tears.  Some sadness and longing, but no tears.

It's a process, I guess.  I'm okay.

About six months after mom died I got an email from a reader who told me she just couldn't read my blog until I quit grieving so publicly about my loss.  It sounds harsh, I guess, and I was taken aback at first, but she was right.  It was a sort of virtual "Snap out of it!" moment that I needed.  I still grieved, but in private.  Nobody wants to read about how sad you are, right?!  Anyway, Christmas is a difficult time of year for everyone who has lost someone close, and I'm more conscious of that now than I used to be.  All this forced cheer and merriment sometimes is rough.  But we make new traditions and memories and forge ahead.

3.  To that end, Steve and I went to the Centenary College annual Candlelight Service at Brown Chapel last night -- why have I never done this before?!  I've lived in the shadow of this college my entire life and have never attended this event.  It was simply lovely, the choir sounded like angels, and the moment at the end of the service when the lights go down and the chapel is filled with congregants holding lighted candles and singing "Silent Night" was surreal.  Such a feeling of peace!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been to walk out of the little chapel and find snow, but we got fog.  It's enough.  It was wonderful.

4.  I'm deep into this book I'm working on about Cammie Henry and Melrose Plantation.  She's simply enchanted and fascinated me and so it goes.  I spent most of last summer in the archives at Northwestern in Natchitoches and have made a few trips this fall.  The Melrose collection there is massive and I'm reading my way through a great deal of it as it relates to Cammie and the Melrose group.  At home I have dozens of books I've collected for research and spend my time reading and studying those.  I've got a couple of good systems going for organizing all this information (and it's massive!), but we're still quite a ways away from a finished book.  I'm trying to be very thorough and I'm so OCD about things I check and cross-check everything.  I'm optimistically saying another year, but it may be two.  Or longer.

5.  This is my favorite time of year at work -- we have Senior Project presentations next week.  My kids have worked so hard, and I've driven them like a mad woman.  It's so stressful for them but the payoff is after the presentations and they all feel such confidence and pride.  Senior Project has its drawbacks -- we lose a lot of time for literature with it, but at this particular time of the process, I really like it.  Just filled with pride for my students!

6.  Mary Landrieu is going to lose her job today.  Prediction.  I need to go vote.

7.  The news nationwide is so depressing I just can't even bring myself to blog it right now.  The Ferguson thing and the Eric Garner case in New York -- everyone else is weighing in on those and my little voice will contribute nothing.  I have strong feelings in both cases but I'm keeping them to myself.  Both are incredibly polarizing.  I will say this:  the race-baiters like Sharpton and Jackson make me go ballistic.  Angry, angry, angry.  Why can't people see that they are simply stirring up emotions for the purpose of lining their own pockets?  I loathe them.

8.  Lots of you have asked about the outcome of our incident with the SPD storming into our home and pointing a gun at Steve's heart:  no word from the Internal Affairs investigation yet.  I'm not sure what their timeline is on these investigations but I will note that it's been over a month, now.  We were told we would be notified of the outcome, so we shall see.  I'll keep you posted.  Everytime someone knocks on my door unexpectedly now I almost jump out of my skin.  It's getting better, but that was just CRAZY!

I think that covers my loose ends for now.  It's a quiet morning here at Casa SIGIS so I'm going to make another cup of coffee and try to work on my Cammie project.

Stay in touch!  Is anybody still out there?

In the Weeds

I am beginning to see why this book hasn't been written by anyone else in the past.  I think I'm also beginning to see why OCD people can not write books.  Or maybe they write the best books.  I'm not sure yet.

It drives me insane when none of my sources agree on the most basic of dates - dates you think should be able to be confirmed rather easily, like say, a marriage, or a death.  A newspaper article says one thing, a wedding announcement another, and a family genealogical chart says still another.  I can't even get a clear consensus on the name of a parish where someone was born - Assumption or Ascension?  My subject herself has said both in her own handwritten notes.

Even sources you think would be reliable do not even agree on the correct number of children - that one, however, I have nailed down.

Yet still, I spend all my time in the weeds, confirming each tiny fact with multiple, as-reliable-as-possible sources.  Checking, cross-checking and re-checking.

I'm going to drive myself crazy.

Take a Trip to Miss Cammie's Dinner Table

Steve and I went to Natchitoches yesterday to see the Cammie Henry exhibit at Lemee House:  Miss Cammie's Dinner table.  It was a nicely done presentation and I got to see one of the famous tablecloths that Cammie did.  On special occasions she would break out the tablecloth and everyone would sign it.  She would go back later and embroider the names in colored thread.

I'm sure there were several of these tablecloths and the one we saw yesterday had dates after her death which was puzzling.  Another mystery to solve.  Someone else must have picked up the tradition.  Some of the names are family members, some friends, some writers and artists that visited her.

There was a descendant of Cammie's at the exhibit with (I presume) his son.  I wanted to try to talk with him, but so did everyone else, so I didn't get a chance before he made his exit.  Wish I knew who it was.  I'd like to ask him a few questions!

It was too hot to walk around much.  Front Street still had plenty of shoppers but it was light traffic.

We parked down by the river and walked up to Lasyone's for meat pies, then walked down to Lemee House for the exhibit.  Even though it was hot, I love walking around the Historic District.  It's just beautiful.

Even when it's hot.

We passed Bayou Amulet and we thought the marker was interesting.

After the exhibit we went back up Front Street and dipped into an antique shop (thank goodness for air conditioning).  I bought a vintage glass doorknob strictly for practical purposes -- that's what I have in my house and I needed one.  At Kaffie-Frederick I bought two reproduction/modern glass doorknobs (I have a doorknob problem) that are not nearly as cool, or as heavy, but are functional.  Doors without knobs are difficult.

We wanted to eat alligator at The Pioneer Pub for dinner but they don't open until four (although as it turned out later, they were closed up for vacation and we missed out altogether) so we got into the Jeep and headed down the river road to Melrose.  I needed the inspiration.

Steve sat on the back porch of the Bindery and I walked around the grounds.  He likes to sit there and listen to the cows, but even the cows were quiet and still in that heat.

I headed over to Lyle Saxon's cabin - the Yucca House.

It's so peaceful there...

...who couldn't write a book there?

I'd hang a swing at the end of this gallery...

...and watch the horse in the pasture just beyond the fence.

You see him?

I sat there for a few minutes pondering Lyle, Cammie, Ada, Carrie, and all the others that had come to Melrose in the 1920s and 30s for inspiration and camaraderie.  They had a wonderful time!  And part of the lure, or charm, was the isolation.  Even though Melrose looks a little different now, the grounds I mean, the aura or mystique is still there.  When Cammie lived there the place was a riot of color and blooms with something planted or growing just about everywhere.  The grounds are meticulously kept now and are certainly beautiful, but I suspect Cammie would want to sink her spade into the dirt and plant something.  I can just hear her calling Carrie Dormon:  "Bring me some of that yaupon!"

I wandered up to the Big House and went up on the front gallery where Mother Garrett, Cammie's mother, would often sit and visit with callers.

You can't see the river from up there anymore because of all the growth, but back then you could.  The river is on the other side of that road, although it's not really a river anymore.  Now it's Cane River Lake.

I sat up on the gallery for a bit listening to voices gathering below for the next tour through the grounds and house.  There are still remnants of bygone days here, too.

I looked over at "the pit" where Leudivine used to put her geraniums in the winter and where Cammie would store plants to protect them from the cold.  I wondered what was growing in all that open area when Cammie was alive.  There are pictures but the ones I've seen so far are all black and white, so it's hard to tell what was where.

There were a few dirt daubers up there with me catching the breeze, and I don't know if they sting or not, so I went on back downstairs.

I walked around a little more, I walked up to the road and the fence and looked at the house.  I wandered around the cabin Cammie moved to Melrose in 1934 for the purpose of storing her looms.  Cammie would escape the bustle of the guests and tourists and come over to her cabin and practice the lost arts of spinning and weaving.  She made beautiful fabrics, blankets, and upholstery.

Steve and I walked over to the barn and looked for the cat, but we didn't see her.  She was probably asleep in the cool shadows underneath.

We drove back to town, found the Pub still closed, so we headed back to Shreveport.

When I was falling asleep last night I was thinking about Lyle and the cabin.  How hot was it trying to sleep out there in the summer, cicadas singing, mosquitoes, gnats and who knows what other critters trying to get at you.  We saw a fox crossing the road out there and Cammie often wrote about skunks getting under the cabin until she rectified that by modifying the floor.  Malaria was a common malady for the Melrose folks.  But it was apparently worth it for the inspiration and peace that could be found there.

There's still a mystique in the air when you go to Melrose; I'm not sure I can explain what it is, but it's something.  Not ghosts.  Atmosphere, maybe.  I can see exactly why writers and artists longed to be there.

 Like Lyle Saxon said the first time he saw Yucca House, "I could write a book here."

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:

Take a Trip on Route 66 from Oklahoma City to Miami OK

Take a Trip to Coushatta, See the Lawnmower Man, and a Crop Duster

Take a Trip to the 2014 Cross Lake Floatilla:  Loving the Lake Life

Take a Trip to the Barskdale AFB First Annual Luau

Take a Trip to the 2013 Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

Take a Trip to Natchitoches for a Sons of the American Revolution Grave Marking Ceremony and Some Gator Bites

Take a Trip to the Sixth Annual Barksdale Oktoberfest

Take One More Quick Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Explore Room 104

Take a Trip to the Cross Lake Flotilla 2013

Take a Spontaneous Mother's Day Trip to Jefferson, Texas

Take a Trip Along East Texas Back Roads

Take a Trip to the "Going Green on the Red River" Festival

Take a Springtime Drive Down the Cane River Heritage Trail

Take a Spring Break Trip to Arcadia Louisiana

Take a Trip to the 2012 Natchitoches Christmas Festival
Take a Trip to the 2012 Grand Cane Pioneer Day and Christmas Parade

Take a Trip to the 2012 Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Vets for Vets Event

Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Photographs of the Vietnam War Exhibit

Take a Trip to Octoberfest 2012 at Barksdale Air Force Base

Take a Picnic Trip to the Lock and Dam and a Detour to Lake Bistineau

Take a Dinner Ride Through East Texas

Take a Trip to an End of Summer Party and Listen to Soulfish Blues Band

Take a Summer Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Meet New Friends

Take a Trip to Dallas, Texas and The West End

Take a Stocking the Freezer Trip to Ed Lester Farms and Find a Cool Truck!

Take a Trip to Coushatta Down Louisiana Backroads

Take a Trip to the 2012 Cross Lake Floatilla

Take a Sunday Drive in North Caddo Parish

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation

Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas 

Full Metal Jacket Saturday:  The Oktoberfest Edition

Oktoberfest at BAFB