New Year Traditions

We have a tradition of going over to Vic & Bebe McElroy's home for New Year's Eve, along with a couple of other families. We enjoy eating finger foods, playing games, having lively conversation, and watching the countdown in TV up to the New Year. Their son, Joe Fox, usually has a fireworks show immediately after midnight, but not this year. It seems that just about everyone has cut back on their fireworks budget. Vic & Bebe make their income conducting safety training classes for offshore oilfield personnel. They have a camp in Cocodrie that they go to regularly. They enjoy Cajun dancing on weekends, and are active in the community.

The following day, we have the tradition (10-years running) of going over to the Ron & Stacy Mangels home, where we have New Year's dinner with them and their family, consisting of black eyed peas, cabbage, and roast pork. A New Year's tradition in the South has it that if black eyed peas, cabbage, and ham/pork are consumed on the 1st day of the year, they bring good luck and prosperity. According to some, this practice dates back to the Civil War period. Ron also works in an oil-related industry, and has more recently spent time on offshore oil platforms. Ron & Stacy have a son, Jon, who is the only missionary serving from our ward at the moment. He is serving in Chili, and has a little over 8 months left on his mission.

Both of these families have gone out of their way to make us feel at home down here in Cajun Country, and we greatly appreciate it. Now it's time to start loosing the weight I picked up over the holidays!

Religious life in the South

Louisiana is distinct among southern states because of the large proportion of its population that is Catholic. Protestants are concentrated in the northern and central part of the State, while Catholics are dominant in the southern part of the State, largely as a result of the Cajun and French Creole influence. Some have suggested that Interstate 10 roughly separates the Protestant fraction (most dominant being Southern Baptist) from the Catholic fraction, but this is, of course, simplistic. A lady who recently moved to the Houma-Thibodaux area from the Florida panhandle told me that she was trying to put a finger on the essential difference between the two groups, and she finally came to the conclusion that the difference was that where she grew up, people tried to hide their sins, whereas, down here, people flaunt their sins. I thought that was pretty funny when she said it. This was shortly after Mardi Gras.

Our Tennessee "Friends of Sewanee" shared a rather humorous Ray Stevens video about religious life in the South, entitled "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival." Ray mentions Pascagoula, Mississippi in the video, which is not too far from Louisiana and a place some people around here can relate to. Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did. Thanks to our Friends for sharing it.

Onions, shallots, and the leek in Louisiana

I admit, "onions, shallots, and the leek" isn't even as punny as "Allium in the family." We have tried growing onions, shallots, and leek, all members of the Allium genus in our garden, and have had good success growing them in the winter. Judy just recently harvested both onions and shallots, which we planted in early October (pictures are of the shallots we just harvested).

Judy prepared a large quantity of shallots, cut them up, and put them in our dehydrator, so we were able to store a substantial supply to flavor our dishes for a considerable time. Onions, shallots, leek, garlic, and chives are all used extensively in Cajun cooking. Both the ability to easily grow these particular Allium species in this area, and their popularity with the French generally, helps explain why they are so extensively used down here. Among the big three, leek was our least favorite.

I read at one website that it would be more accurate to refer to shallots as a type of onion than a distinct species. Shallots could be thought of as a more mild form of onion. Unlike onions, the bulbs grow in clusters, the individual bulbs being more flattened than are onions, which are generally pretty much always round at the base.

Fleur-de-lis connection to Louisiana

While Louisiana has no special claim to the fleur-de-lis, it is prominently displayed in this part of the world. It is associated with the New Orleans Saints football team. It will be on prominent display during Mardi Gras. I suppose some of this has to do with its French name and connection. So here is a little history about the fleur-de-lis (fleur-de-lys, singular). The Wikipedia web page includes pictures of some of the coats of arms and flags that use the fleur-de-lis. The scouting organization recently updated their logo, of which the fleur-de-lis continues to be its central element. On October 16, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act which authorizes the minting of 350,000 silver dollar coins in recognition of BSA’s 100th Anniversary in 2010. The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910. These coins will prominently display the fleur-de-lis. There are some rather creative fleur-de-lis out there, and here is a small sampling: wildlife version, Craw-de-lis version, monarch butterfly version, New Orleans Hornets version, and finally a link to New Orleans Fig Street Studio that uses fleur-de-lis designs in many of their products.

SPEBSQSA changed to BHS

The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America has now become the Barbershop Harmony Society, while retaining the old title on their books for legal and sentimental reasons. This is the official organization for barbershop choruses and quartets in the U. S. The organization is actually international with a fairly sizeable number of chapters in Canada, the U. K., and elsewhere.

I was fortunate enough to have been part of a very successful barbershop chorus (Skyline Chorus) in Utah Valley while living in Provo. I miss the comradery that was felt, being part of this wonderful organization, and dearly wish we had a chorus close to home here in the Houma-Thibodaux area. There are barbershop choruses in Baton Rouge (Showboat Chorus) and New Orleans (Mardi Gras Chorus). Choruses are able to perform throughout the year in a wide range of venues. They usually put on an annual show, inviting world class quartets (often very humorous) to be part of their show. They also compete with each other at a regional level, and if good enough, at an international level. The Society just had their most recent international competition (early July) in Nashville. Choruses also have breakout quartets that perform on the side in their own venues.

To get a flavor of what a barbershop chorus is like, and a sense of why I miss being part of one as much as I do, I found this video made by The Southern Gateway Chorus based in Cincinnati. Go to their website and click on "Irish Blessing." This brief song, and how it is harmonized, will give you a sense why participants often describe barbershop singing as a spiritual experience. Some of the patriotic songs we sang brought tears to my eyes every time I sang them. And of course, barbershop wouldn't be barbershop without havin' a fun time while singing some hilarious songs, and doing some pretty silly antics on stage while singing them. Check out the Chordiac Arrest Quartet...they're one of the best, when it comes to keeping the audiences entertained!

Finally, getting back to that original acronym, SPEBSQSA. Back in Utah, how we remembered it was, "Stake Presidents & Bishops should quit singing altogether!" (only LDS members may appreciate this)

Bonne Terre Garden Fair

This coming weekend, the third annual Bonne Terre Garden Fair will be held at the historic Southdown Plantation in Houma Lawn and garden enthusiasts will be showing off their plants, vendors will be selling their lawn/garden-related merchandise, and experts will educating us. I enjoy lawns and gardens, so I expect that's where I will most likely be, this coming weekend. The LSU AgCenter is responsible for the program.

As is illustrated in LSU's Vegetable Planting Guide, gardening is done a rather differently down here from what I was used to, growing up in the intermountain west at 6,800 ft elevation where it wasn't that uncommon for fences to disappear from the depth of the snowpack in the winter. Here, there are fall planted winter crops (cabbage, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, etc.), winter-planted spring crops (vegetables that most folks would plant in the early spring (beets, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, etc.), and spring-planted summer crops (beans, corn, eggplant, melons, okra, peppers, squash, tomatoes, etc.). While I was weeding in the garden, Judy grabbed a camera. You can see that the spring-planted crops are progressing well...and so are the weeds.

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest are two major events in New Orleans that to a great degree, define the city. According to the official Jazz Fest website, "The Festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, bluegrass, and everything in between. And of course there is lots of jazz, both contemporary and traditional." Jazz Fest kicks off tomorrow, Friday (Apr 25), continuing on Sat (Apr 26), Sun (Apr 27), Thu (May 1), Fri (May 2), Sat (May 3), and Sun (May 4). The likes of Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Timmy Graw, the Neville Brothers, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Keyshia Cole, Ellis Costello, Allen Toussaint and other artists will be featured. There are 11 stages/tents of various sizes set up at the Festival, the two big stages being the Acura Stage and the Gentilly Stage. Music will be played simultaneously at the various stages/tents, as shown under Music Schedule at the official website. I told the Idaho musicians that it's a shame they would be missing this, and they agreed...it would have been nice to have experienced a part of Jazz Fest. You can experience enough to whet your appetite by clicking on some of the previews of recordings from past Jazz Fests.

Cajuns, Creoles, and Tabasco Sauce

Avery Island, Louisiana is the home of world-famous Tabasco sauce and the McIlhennys. Avery Island is a very special and unique location in its own right, having been transformed into a wonderful botanical treasure and bird refuge. Their website shows how Tabasco sauce is made. Also, their website does a pretty good job of defining Cajuns and Creoles, and explaining the essential differences between these two cultures that so greatly impact southern Louisiana. It is interesting to realize some common names down here are not Acadian in origin, speaking to the influences of French Creole, Spanish, German, and other early settlers.

You Live in Cajun Country when...

• You find it difficult to give directions without saying "up the bayou," "down the bayou," "across the bayou," and similar
• Roadkill generally consists of armadillos, alligators, nutrias, ‘possums and ‘coons…all of which are tasty with the right amount of Creole seasoning
• You go to a local restaurant, and the choices include crawfish etouffee, shrimp gumbo, crab bisque, and jambalaya
• You think that the four basic food groups are broiled seafood, boiled seafood, fried seafood and beer
• Your “camp” consists of a trailer house perched on 15-ft stilts overlooking a bayou
• You look at your barometer each morning and wonder if it is reading accurately or if it is just stuck on 100% humidity
• You are a distinct minority if your name doesn’t end with …in, …on, …ois, …ot, …iot, …ert, …et, …ete, …ette, …ene, …nge, …ngue, …oux, …eaux, …ier, …aire, or …ard and have a distinctive French sound to it. Examples: Herbert (A-bear), Richard (ree-shard), Breaux (broh).
• Your next-door neighbor’s dog is named either Fideaux or Gator bait, and the bumper sticker on his car says, “Geaux Tigers!”
• Until you left home, you thought Mardi Gras was a national holiday.
• You understand the difference between Zatarains, Zapps and Zydeco. Under Zydeco, check out some of the Musicians at the bottom of the page. One example: Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.

Life in Houma, sweet Houma

Over the weekend, I went to the Spring Arts, Crafts, & Food Festival at the former Southdown Plantation, the most significant plantation home in Houma, now a Historical Museum. After checking out most of the exhibits, I went to my perenniel favorite, which features a wide variety of jams and jellys, and sugarcane and sweet sorghum syrups. I had the good fortune of visiting an exhibit featuring some of the paintings of Ron Atwood who hails from Homer (not Houma). He does incredible work. Among his paintings, check out his newest. I was so impressed with "The Swamp," I thought long and hard about buying the large version, but chickened out, and just bought a small version at the end. Also, over the weekend, I took a walk in our neighborhood. We have a small "lake," and the neighborhood kids love fishing in it. Right now, the sac-au-lait (sock-oh-lay) is what the kids are catching. That's White Perch, for those not from this region. They caught three during the short time I was watching, so I decided to take snapshot of their success.