Bull Moose and the Daisy I read with much interest the article on “Building Barriers” concerning Breton National Wildlife Refuge, which appeared in the Winter 2004/05 edition. The article was excellent and addressed an important part of our state’s pioneer…
Suitable meals for summer by STANLEY DRY My favorite summer meal is grilled food, a salad and a cold bottle of dry rosé. If there’s any meal more welcome than that on a hot day, I don’t know what it…
A brief history of coastal smuggling by JEREMY J. ALFORD The hurricane-charged winds and rain stopped almost as suddenly as they attacked. All that could be heard now were cypress planks creaking under the strain of the surviving sails and…
Eunice's former first couple's trophy house by BONNIE WARREN Just six blocks from the famous Liberty Theatre in Eunice lives the man who is credited with being the father of an effort to preserve Cajun music, the French language in…
Searching for Louisiana's good grapes by PAUL F. STAHLS JR. For a road trip that’s perfect for summer – “cool” enough, in fact, to repeat in any and every season – let’s blaze a trail through the southeastern parishes seeking…
The music thrives at Lafayette's Festivals Acadiens by ROBERT BUCKMAN It is a huge, outdoor, Louisiana-style party that not only welcomes crashers but beckons them. For the 29th consecutive September, Lafayette’s Girard Park will be burgeoning with the sights, sounds,…
Cityscapes from the other side by JOHN R. KEMP New Orleans writer Andrei Codrescu describes the white-washed crypts and miniature temples of the city’s decaying above-ground cemeteries as “waiting rooms for the Day of Judgment” where the dead “rehearse the…
by BRIAN HUDGINS As a teenager in the late 1980s, Oklahoma native Scot Jones was mainly a weekend warrior when it came to the sport of water-skiing. What served as a May-to-August hobby soon introduced Jones to Louisiana, a new…
Edited by HILLARY GOLDEN Northern LOUISIANA April 1-7. Art Competition, Bry Art Gallery, Monroe, (318) 342-1382. April 1-30. St. Francisville Artists Exhibit, Schepis Museum, Columbia, (318) 649-9931. April 2. Bead Workshop, Poverty Point State Historic Park, Epps, (888) 926-5492. April…
by ADAM TRACEY It only 14 years old, Amanda Shaw has achieved more than most adults twice her age. She has studied violin under a world-renowned Russian violinist. She has released three albums. She has performed for thousands of cheering…
by PAUL F. STAHLS JR. When it comes to luring tourists, the St. Landry Parish village of Grand Coteau prints no brochures, runs no ads, concocts no slogans or sales strategies. One reason is that it has not a single…
For two years, the city of Baton Rouge has awaited the completion of the Shaw Center for the Arts. Now the interactive community art school, museum and theater – which extends over one block in the city’s arts district and…
As a founder of the Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield, I want to thank you for drawing attention to the mining that threatens the sacred ground on this historic Louisiana site. Dr. White’s well-written article offers readers a clearer understanding…
As early as grade-school history, we were told about the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the valley they created, known as the “cradle of civilization.” Legend even links this fertile land, where oranges, olives and dates grow easily, to the…
by SCOTT DYER A few hours after the LSU Tigers wrapped up their last home win, a 27-24 victory over Ole Miss on Nov. 20, work crews began to demolish the western upper deck of Tiger Stadium. The Tiger Athletic…
by BONNIE WARREN Hays Town, the “dean” of Louisiana architecture, produced buildings that have been revered for generations. On the banks of Cane River Lake in Natchitoches is one of his gems, a house that he designed in 1981 for…
WHAT'S HOT Speeding school principal. After 12 years behind the desk, Kim Crosby retired as principal of Slidell Junior High School to become a professional race car driver. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste will sponsor Crosby in the upcoming 35-race NASCAR Busch…
by STANLEY DRY Other states may herald spring with the arrival of shad roe, fiddlehead ferns, a final melting of the ice or robins returning from the South, but in Louisiana, crawfish are the true harbingers of the season. It’s…
by ROBERT FRITCHEY On the corner of Iberville and Bourbon streets in New Orleans, the oyster bar at Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House is in the midst of some tough company. Across the street, Felix’s has been serving oysters for 62…
South of Interstate 10, there is a terrific fight taking place. It’s a life and death struggle. The Gulf of Mexico is trying to wash us away. And so far, the Gulf is coming out on top. Since 1932, the…
WORTH WATCHING San Bernardo The San Bernardo Scenic Byway, which winds past Chalmette Battlefield in St. Bernard Parish, travels the land of “Los Islenos”(the island people), who left the Canary Islands in the 1780s and colonized Louisiana in 1788. (The…
FORK IN THE ROAD Happy as a clam Sitting amidst the ladder-backed chairs and white Priscilla curtains of Maison Lacour, a charming French restaurant in Baton Rouge, you won’t be surprised to see menu selections such as soupe Jacqueline, a…
WORTH WATCHING L’Auberge du Lac Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., has been as busy as a spinning roulette wheel these days in Lake Charles. Construction on L’Auberge du Lac, Pinnacle’s $365 million casino and resort, has been intense, with a targeted opening…
FORK IN THE ROAD Indian in the pantry If you travel through Avoyelles Parish these cold winter days, you’ll pass farmhouses, festivals and church gatherings graced by the high-as-a-mountain, light-as-air, baked-from-scratch cakes the ladies of Bordelonville and Moreauville set forth…
PROFILE Compassion Inc. Since 1967, the Monroe Sheltered Workshop, a non-profit organization for mentally or physically disabled people, has been part of the fabric of life in northeast Louisiana. New CEO Brandon Ramsey currently oversees the workshop, whose woodshop, bench…
Addis (337) 942-4637 Feb. 8. Half Fast Krewe of Frank’s Mardi Gras parade, East Landry Street in front of St. Landry Parish Courthouse. 11 a.m. Jan. 30. Addis Volunteer Fire Dept. Mardi Gras Parade, downtown Addis at Front Street. 11…
ULTIMATE TAILGATING Sports condos coming to LSU When it comes to understanding what a sports fan really wants, Capstone Development Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., is ahead of the game. Project “FieldHouse, Baton Rouge” is a 100-unit luxury sports condominium development…
What’s Hot Bus ride. Southern University students Katorri Alexander and Aileen A. Hendricks wrote the play “Our Boycott” about the Baton Rouge bus boycott of 1953. The play recently premiered at Southern. It was soooo big! Four Louisiana youngsters earned…
