Sunday, September 1, 2013

Southern Louisiana


"This land is your land....."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGKU8awk7Vg

I don't think anyone has said it better than Old Woody. That is Woody Guthrie if you are wandering. Thanks to the vision of our earlier presidents, we now can motor to these sacred grounds to visit, photograph and just sit and reflect on all that God has given us. Just think our lives are better for these gifts we have been given. We should all shout with one voice on one day, loudly, "I am lucky, thankful, PROUD to be an American!" You choose the day, and I'll join you.

This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

I was sent a wonderful collection of Southern Louisiana images that expands "this land was made for you and me." by my friend Twila here at Redstone. Ain't the internet something. Looking at these national treasures, I can appreciate why Denis Reggie is proud of his heritage and why Ralph Romeguera is celebrating his home town at every ppa activity he speaks at.
 

 

Bienvenue en Louisiane!

The photos on this page were all taken in south Louisiana. From the Acadian
culture of southwestern Louisiana, to the Creole culture of metropolitan New
Orleans in southeastern Louisiana, the southern portion of the state is rich in
its history and heritage, unique in its customs, and lush in its scenic beauty.


 


 

Some have said that south Louisiana is "a country within a country." And,
as though to note this distinction, the state's bright blue highway welcome
signs supply their warm greeting in both the English and French languages:
Bienvenue en Louisiane! ~ Welcome to Louisiana!
-- Nancy

 
Joseph Jefferson home, Rip Van Winkle Gardens, New Iberia, LA
The Gardens take their name from the character in the Washington Irving
story, in honor of Mr. Jefferson, who played the role 4,500 times, all over the
world. The actor built the home in 1870 and spent all of his winters here.

 

San Francisco Plantation, Great River Road, Garyville, LA
This distinctive home was constructed in 1853. A few years later, the son who
inherited it, along with a huge debt, is said to have given it its name by proclaiming
he was "sans fruscins" (without a penny). The name evolved to "San Francisco."
 
It was in danger of being demolished in 1932, when the Mississippi River levee system

was constructed. But there was such an outcry to save as many of the River Road
plantations as possible, that the legislature passed a measure to do so, and the levee
was curved around San Francisco, taking the front gardens, but leaving the house



Shrimp boat on Bayou Barataria, Jefferson Parish, LA

 
A church at the Vermillionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park, Lafayette, LA
Vermillionville is a representation of a Cajun village, in the years between 1765-1890.

 
Houmas House, Great River Road, Darrow, LA
Named after the land's first inhabitants, the Houmas Indians, the home was built
by Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Wade Hampton, beginning in 1810 (the original,
smaller home, constructed in the mid-1700's, still stands on the grounds).
 
At one time, Houmas House was the largest producer of sugar in the nation,
actively working a sugar cane crop on 98,000 acres, producing 20 million pounds of
sugar per year. The home was spared from the river flood of 1927, but slowly fell into
disrepair. It was saved by Dr. George Crozat, who purchased and renovated it in 1940.

 
Sun's coming up on the bayou, Lord,
So bright in the clean, cool air,
As I kneel in my Cajun cabin, Lord,
To offer my morning prayer.

 
Shrimp boat on a bayou passes by a cemetery at sunrise.
 
What can I ask of you, Bon Dieu?
What more could a Cajun wish?
I've got black coffee on my stove,
And this grand bayou to fish.
My nets are full and heavy, Lord,
Filled with the bounty you yield;
I harvest so many riches, Lord,
From your bayou, gulf and field.
 
When my exiled Cajun fathers, Lord,
Sought refuge in this land,
I know the force that led them on
Was le Bon Dieu's unseen hand.
So, what more could a Cajun ask
Than what I have today?
Bon sante, bons amis et ma famille,
And le Bon Dieu, who hears me pray.
 
Then, this is my simple prayer, Lord,
A Cajun's humble plea:
May all of those who love you, Lord,
Have all you've given me.
-- Bob Hamm
 
shrimp boat on a bayou passes by a cemetery at sunrise.

 
Vermillionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park, Lafayette, LA

 
Shadows-on-the-Teche House and Gardens, New Iberia, LA
Constructed in 1831, the g-grandson of the original owner bequeathed the property
to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1958. But he did much more than
that, he meticulously archived over 17,000 family papers, making this historic
house museum one of only a very few to be documented in such minute detail.



 
Ancient Live Oaks, New Orleans, LA

 
Ignatius House - Formerly the President's home of Jefferson College - Convent, LA
Jefferson College was chartered in 1831, the home above built in 1836. In 1927, the
college was sold to the Jesuit Fathers and turned into a spiritual retreat, still open today.

 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie," was published in 1847 and
became one of his most famous poems. It's the tale of a young girl searching for her lost
love after the Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia and rejected in New England.
 
The statue of Evangeline above was donated to the town of St. Martinville in 1929 by the
cast and crew of the movie adapted from the poem. There is, also, an Evangeline statue
in Nova Scotia. in the courtyard of a reconstructed French church.
 
"Evangeline" - St. Martinville, LA
 
Emmeline LaBiche is buried in the cemetery of the church shown below. It's said
that the fictionalized Evangeline was based on the true story of Emmeline.

 
St. Martin de Tours Church, St. Martinville, LA

 
Looks like Ralph photographing The Bald Cypress tree that is Louisiana's state tree?


 
 

 

Isn't 'our land" wonderful?





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Please don't use the "Send Page" feature of your computer to send this entire
page in an e-mail message, document or pdf format. This distorts the layout and
separates the page from its source. If you'd like to share it, please just send the
link. The link to this page is: http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Bayou.html

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