Flight Paths
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…
Louisiana Life - Winter 2004
Kip Holden
State Sen. Melvin “Kip” Holden, a Democrat, made history Nov. 2 when he was elected as Baton Rouge’s first black mayor-president. East Baton Rouge Parish has a consolidated city and parish government, and for Holden, the big challenge was getting…
Greater New Orleans
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…
Baton Rouge/Plantation Country
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…
Cajun Country
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…
Central Louisiana
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…
Northern Louisiana
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…
Building Barriers
Bayou Baptiste Collette is a shortcut used by fishermen and offshore supply boats to get from the Mississippi River at Venice in Plaquemines Parish to Breton Sound. The willows, the tall roseau cane and marsh grass that cover the wetlands…
Call to Arms
“As they were fighting in defense of their own soil, I wished the Louisiana troops to draw the first blood.” –Gen. Richard Taylor (Confederate States of America) to Mouton’s Louisiana Brigade at Mansfield, April 8, 1864. The blood of both…
Fazendeville
Almost two centuries ago, a famous battle occurred on the sugar-cane fields on Ignace de Chalmette’s plantation in St. Bernard Parish. On that date, the Battle of New Orleans was fought and won by a curious assembly of American militia,…
Art has a prayer at this abbey near Covington
As the sun set, a haunting, ancient melody drifted across the small wooded pond and settled among the dark oaks as a procession of black-robed monks performed evening vespers. The songs and chants are almost as old as recorded time,…
Mounds of Mystery
The day is shaping up to be unseasonably perfect for early September – 7 o’clock and the breeze through this great stone courtyard in Monroe is cool enough to chill the coffee. Louisiana has a newly designated “Ancient Mounds Trail”…
Risen Star
The Tuscan-style villa that overlooks Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans is a secret treasure. Hidden from busy Lakeshore Drive behind huge iron gates and framed by glorious rose gardens, the home of Natasha and Ronnie Lamarque is a work of…
Soups for the Season
I love all kinds of cooking and baking, but there is no kitchen task I enjoy more than making soup. The very process of combining a variety of ingredients in a single pot, letting them simmer while their flavors meld,…
Statewide Carnival Calendar
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…
Louisiana at Large
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…
A Quarterly Compendium of what's hot and what's not in Louisiana
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…
Hallelujah, brother
I want to thank Louisiana Life for Autumn 2004’s “Around Louisiana.” Juban’s Restaurant has served “Hallelujah Crab” for the past 21 years. Jeanne Frois’ description of our most popular dish had me grinning. Thank you for showcasing the best of…
REMEMBER DES ALLEMANDS
I enjoyed the article in your Autumn issue on the German influence in Louisiana. But I was surprised that the community of Des Allemands was not even mentioned. Des Allemands, French for “the Germans,” was formed when German settlers from…
Screech Owl
In the Autumn 2004 issue on page 64, there is an error about the barred owl. The article is about barred owls; it says that near Monroe they have been heard emitting a long, drawn-out scream. This is not from…
False River masquerade
Ask a New Orleanian what the oldest existing Carnival parades are and he might say, if he knows his stuff, Rex, Proteus and Zulu (Comus and Momus, which would otherwise have been first and third, stopped parading in 1992). Now…
