Mermantau, Crowley, and Rayne...a South Louisiana jaunt

I got a text from Meggan telling me about the special exhibit this week at St. Joseph's in Rayne. It looked interesting, so our  first open day (Tuesday), Richard and I jumped in the truck. About the same time, Rory called to say there's a little place we might want to check out. He hadn't been, but still...

So off we went in hopes of an adventure. What we got was a downpour. The interesting little place was a dud, but we saw lots of rice fields, several rice mills, and a couple of towns that we would visit again. 

Mermentau River

Not much larger than Evergreen, Mermentau is a little town on the Mermentau River. The river looks wide here, and it is, but it spills into Lake Arthur where it becomes much bigger as it travels into Grand Lake and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. 

One of many rice fields between Mermentau and Crowley

The area between Mermentau and Crowley is part of the Grand Chenier prairie, rich soil perfect for growing rice, crawfish, and sugar cane. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes, "The Chenier Plain is a popular destination for nature watchers, anglers and hunters, who come from around the world....With its location at the terminus of the Central and Mississippi Flyways, coastal wetlands in this focal area are extremely important for waterfowl and...up to 5.8 million ducks. The area also has productive estuaries, nearby forests and grasslands, and expansive tidal wetland systems. The coastal waters...contribute substantially to the nation’s commercial fishery landings, particularly for shrimp, blue crab, oysters and Gulf menhaden operations."

Top: Riviana rice mill; Bottom: Supreme Rice
Mill in operation (note the train cars waiting to be loaded)

From Crowley we moseyed east to Rayne along Hwy. 90 for the original reason of the trip: The Eucharistic Miracles of the World exhibit.  It was set up to explain each miracle independently. Placards give an overview, details, and photos of monstrances and tabernacles, artwork,  churches and saints. 

And that rounds up our little jaunt. There were other interesting finds along the way, but this post is plenty long already. 
Thanks for stopping by.

Pin It Weekly #228

Happy first Pin It Weekly of 2018!

One of my bloggy friends sent a sweet card for the holidays. What a wonderful gesture! Preeti, of SewPreetiQuilts, has been a wonderful friend in other ways, but I want to focus on her card because it's so darling. Thanks sweet Preeti!

And since Preeti is definitely on my mind, I decided to check out her Pinterest site. She has one! Yay! These are from the board that shows her quilts. Aren't they something fantastic?

She has another board of quilts that she is interesting in maybe making one day. Ah, some nice quilts...I need to pin some of those!

And now some of the things I have been pinning. Just this crazy mix-mash (is that really a word?) of things and stuff. No rhyme or reason behind my thinking. Just stuff I like.

Okay, so it turns out that I was mistaken. Everything after Preeti is from The Met. Every now and again I fall into The Met-hole and find it impossible to get out. I never pin anything because Why? It's already there. Organized by people whose job it is to curate and organize such things. Life is perfect in some corners.

Migrant Mother

One of the quilts that we viewed at the Houston IQA Show is this one.  I spent a good bit of time appreciating its beauty.  

I also had a great conversation with a very sweet lady who was also appreciating it.  I'm still impressed--so much so, that I felt that it deserves its own post!

Do you recognize this famous picture?  

It's the iconic Depression Era 1936 documentary photograph by Dorothea Lange, entitled Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936 taken as part of the California's Resettlement Administration.  

Lange's job as photographer was to tell the stories of migrant workers moving into the state so that officials could figure out how to handle the influx of people.  

Ironically, she took several pictures before moving the children around and achieving the final, and sixth, photograph.

I've always loved the picture.  I think that the mother could have been my own mom at any time of my childhood.  Although we always had a house, my dad worked pipeline when we were very young children, and my mom would follow him from job site to job site.  



The mother in the photograph, Florence Owens Thompson, remained unknown until 1978. She knew and understood what she was doing at the time that Lange photographed her.  Lange promised not to reveal her identity, which helped her to agree to pose for Lange.


She was concerned that her family would be embarrassed since the photos depict her as poor and show parts of the tent they were living out of.

So, while she became famous for her face, she received no money for her work and lived in poverty for most of her life.

All of the photographs on this post are taken from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.  The LOC has more information if you're interested in Dorothea Lange or her work.

Another good source is The History Place, an online resource for teachers and students.  It's easy to navigate and has a wealth of easy to understand sources, including photos, speeches, reviews, and histories.

Hypolite Bordelon House (Museum)

A couple of days ago I was in Marksville for a meeting and happened to drive past an old home that I've seen many, many times.  I don't know why the house caught my eye, but it did, so after the meeting I returned to take a look.  Unfortunately I arrived after 5 o'clock, but the very nice lady who was closing up gave me a few minutes to take some pictures of the outbuilding.   Listed on the National Historic Register and the Louisiana National Register of Historic Places, it has the original "bousillage walls, the front and rear chamfered columns and the French doors." 

Marksville Chamber of Commerce photograph

From the Chamber website: The Hypolite Bordelon house was built five miles from Marksville on the Red River in the early Louisiana Creole Style of architecture.

Some members of the Bordelon family lived in the house until 1941 when Pierre Bordelon died. The house is furnished with articles from 1820 - 1940 period.

In 1979 the house was given to the city of Marksville and moved to its present location on Tunica Drive West, in the center of town. The house was restored and is listed on the National Historic Register because of its architectural and historical significance.

The map, which is from the Louisiana Register of Historic Places, shows the location of the home in Marksville.  It's one of the few items available online.

I enjoyed my few minutes at the site and hope to return for more pictures and information and, if I'm lucky, a tour of the home.  If you're ever in the area, it's well worth some of your time to stop by.

Not again! Pin It Wednesday #21

Now, this is just sad.  Why can't I remember when it's Wednesday?  Am I losing it or just ......well, let's not answer that!

I'm too embarrassed to think, so instead I'm going to show pictures from our recent trip to Mobile, AL.  These are from my sister Laura who sent me a fabulous package: CD's of pictures from our trips to Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.  Oh, they are gorgeous photos!  


Disclaimer: I haven't touched a photo....they are all her creative talent at work.  I'm just putting them here to share with you.

We spent part of the afternoon walking around the city like true tourists, cameras in hand, gawking at the beauty of old buildings and new.  When we happened upon the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mobile, we stepped in to say some prayers and enjoy the basilica. 

Note to self: just point out the shot and let Laura do the work.  Isn't this architectural corbel unbelievable?  

Across from the cathedral is a small deeply shaded park with lots of benches, a gazebo, a huge cross (above) and, of course, Spanish moss hanging from the live oaks that line the streets. 

A short walk toward "the beach" turned out to be the riverfront.  No beach.  We were planning to kick back and play on the beach.  Well, anyway, we learned something and enjoyed the ships and barges passing through.

From there, we walked to a pub for something to drink and a snack.  The seafood was delicious!  After that we returned to the hotel to get dressed for a visit with family.  Definitely the way to end our Mobile day.

Have you been to a Southern city?  What was best about your visit: people, customs, food, music, architecture?  There's so much in any city in the deep South to enjoy.....just not always a beach!