Young's dad Franklin native
Andrew Young Jr., former congressman, mayor of Atlanta and ambassador to the United Nations, is known around the world for his diplomatic skills and leadership in the civil rights movement. His d...
Happy Fats heard nationwide
Louisiana French music began to get a wide national audience in the 1970s after masters of the craft like Bois Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot, the Balfa Brothers, Nathan Abshire, and others were in...
How many 'original' colonies?
Revisionist historians have been telling us since the Revolution that American history began in the 13 "original" Atlantic colonies and that hardy, English-speaking pioneers pushing across the moun...
De Flaugeac a man for all seasons
Jean Lafitte was probably the most famous French speaker at the Battle of New Orleans, fought 197 years ago today. But there were some others — mostly former Napoleonic soldiers — who fought well a...
Gray scale publishing: an essay on printing An essay on printing should at least mention Johannes Gutenberg. But only a few words. He was born in Germany a very long time ago, and most of what is associated with his name might not even have ...
Olympian names in Acadiana
A boy would likely be laughed out of the first grade today -- or certainly need a nickname -- if he was named the same as his great-grandpa, but it was once the fashion for Acadian families to give...
'Little red church' has long history
The "little red church," on Hwy. 182 between Opelousas and Sunset has no pastor and no Sunday services but still has a large congregation that meets once each year. It's history dates to the year...
Gray gloves changed a custom
War leaves lasting legacies, sometimes in places and ways that we least expect. That was the story behind the headline in October 1951 about a wedding in Vermilion Parish involving a World War II v...
Tales of fortune excited heirs
Sixty-eight million dollars is a lot of money, even if it is going to be split among 120 people, especially if most of them are poor southwest Louisiana farmers. That's why there was such big exc...
They hunted the rascals down
Rev. J.M. Johnson was the only passenger aboard the stage coach that pulled out of Bayou Chicot in what is now Evangeline Parish about 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3, 1881. But the driver, Robert Fergu...
Everything you need to know about washing your car You don’t need to own or even drive a car, truck, SUV or any other of the machines that dominate Louisiana’s magnificent highways and road system to know that, whatever it is, it gets dirty and som...