Center for Louisiana Studies Archival Catalog

00:30 - Background - Born August 16, 1936
01:00 - Musicians in the family - Father played fiddle and accordion, mother played guitar. They'd play Creole Dances. Father was a construction worker;
01:35 - Both parents spoke Creole French, Huey never played French music professionally, but would play some songs around the house;
02:00 - Influences - Fats Domino, likes Country and Western music;
03:50 - Born between Welsh and Jennings;
04:30 - French Influence;
05:10 - Forming the Cupcakes;
06:30 - Recording for George Khoury - He said they knew nothing about royalities at that point;
09:50 - Talking more about when he first met that band that would become the Cupcakes - around 1949-50;
10:20 - Contract signed with Eddie Shuler;
11:00 - Discussing how they came up with "Cookie and the Cupcakes" name;
13:10 - "Cindy Lou" recording and release;
15:00 - First "Swamp Pop" band - Shane asks where the sound from "Mathilda" came from;
17:15 - Recorded the original "Mathilda" at KOAK in Lake Charles;
19:20 - "Got You on my Mind"
20:00 - "Belinda"
22:00 - "Twisted" - No writers credit on the record, Cookie wrote it;
24:55 - Working with Shuler and Khoury;
26:25 - Judd label leased "Mathilda" from Khoury, then went bankrupt on the lease. To pay off the band, he gave them a nice bus, but it was broken down;
29:00 - Songs being released overseas without their knowledge;
29:30 - History of the Cupcakes, Cookie was initially a stagehand;
33:00 - Band actually played gigs without Cookie under the same name;
33:40 - Cookie Imposters, Guitar Gable imposter;
34:45 - Cookie moved to California after leaving the band. Worked in a hospital;
38:00 - Rumors that Cookie was killed in a car wreck;
40:00 - Discussing a car accident that he was in;
43:25 - Cupcake reunion - Performed a benefit for a terminally ill band member;
46:20 - Ernest discusses trying to locate Cookie in California;

00:45 - Blues scene in Louisiana in his early days. Most of his blues artists came from Southwest LA and East TX;
03:30 - Lee Baker Jr. "Lonnie Brooks;"
05:30 - Major labels struggled with blues artists. Eddie says recordings were to "slick";
06:00 - Eddie's approach to recording Blues music;
07:20 - Started recording Blues artists before any other genre;
07:50 - James Freeman "Big Leg Mama" from around 1945. Lost masters;
09:00 - Other blues artists recorded - Bill Parker, Clarence Garlow;
11:00 - Recorded his band, The All-Star Reveliers, first;
11:10 - Hackberry Ramblers - their radio show and early Shuler recordings;
13:40 - Guitar Slim and T-Bone Walker - their influence on other artists;
15:40 - Southwest LA blues clubs;
17:50 - "Zydeco Blues" - Marcel Dugas, Rockin' Sidney, Thadius Declouet, Little Latour;
20:20 - Discussing Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis - Boozoo's "Paper in My Shoe" was leased to Imperial and sold 136,000 copies;
21:30 - Lawrence Chenier - Clifton's uncle who taught him;
24:00 - Local Blues clubs;
26:00 - Story about the son of the mayor of New York - Offered to buy a Goldband 45 from a discjockey for $300;
27:45 - Ivory Jackson - Drummer for Cookie and the Cupcakes and for Phil Phillips;
28:20 - Clarence Garlow;
29:19 - Al Smith;
29:30 - "Chicken Stump"
30:20 - Lazy Lester;
31:20 - Ashton Savoy, Katie Webster, Barbara Lynn;
33:30 - Lonesome Sundown
34:00 - "Left-handed" Charlie Morris;
35:20 - Walter Price;
36:00 - Little Miss Peggy, Bill Parker, Cal Miller, Little Latour;
42:00 - Joe Turner's influence;

Interview with Dalton Comeaux (cont.):
00:40 - Continued teaching in Africa - Made five short trips to train them for beef cattle production and dairy production;
02:00 - One of his students came back to the states, went to Texas A&M and got his Master's degree a Ph.D. in two years;
04:00 - Finished high school in 1939 and started at U.S.L.;
05:10 - Was the second sibling in his family to graduate from college;
06:00 - Joined the Army, went to Cheyenne, Wyoming for basic training
07:55 - Had a brother who died in the service during an invasion near Tunisia;
09:00 - Adjusting to being far away from home;
12:00 - 89th Division - Duties as T/5;
14:50 - French background;
15:50 - Medical discharge - Got some kind of ear infection that led to a hearing loss;
08:00 - Dalton's wife Evelyn joins the conversation;
18:30 - Evelyn started teaching English in 1942 and was a part-time librarian;
19:00 - Started at Thibodeaux High
19:20 - French speaking students - says she had some, but not as many as the Opelousas;
20:20 - She says there was no pressure from the state to not allow French on the school grounds at the point;
20:50 - French at home;
21:20 - learned Standard French - 2 years in high school, 2 years in college;
22:15 - Got her Master's in Library Science at LSU;
23:00 - integrating Opelousas High students and teachers - Some picketers were blocking the entire entrance;
24:45 - Protests at school board meeting;
27:00 - Teachers being reassigned;
32:50 - Moved to Saint Landry Parish in 1946, she took off work for 3-4 years, then started teaching in Washington, LA
33:00 - Problems at Washington High in 1954 - Assistant Principal thought that the school was too progressive;
38:00 - Culture shock;
39:25 - Changing attitudes towards Cajuns;
40:45 - Evelyn's heritage - Toups family;
42:30 - Was in charge of beef and dairy cattle enterprises in Saint Landry Parish
43:45 - Using bi-planes for seeding rice fields;
44:20 - Technology in agriculture - Insect control

00:00 - Being stationed in Scotland for training;
01:10 - Being debriefed on situation going on in France, they had to know the French language for this;
02:10 - Description of OSS teams and their jobs;
05:30 - Was assigned to the 4th armored division;
07:40 - Description of tasks - Provided security for Patton's convoys, guarded POWs, provided intelligence;
09:00 - Returning to U.S. for training and then was deployed to French Indochina - trained people over there for espionage work;
10:00 - End of the war; returning home;
10:30 - State of education before WWII;
11:35 - Studied Geology at LSU, had not graduated by the time he was called to duty;
12:10 - Never registered for the Draft because he was an ROTC cadet;
12:50 - His family owned the first radio in Abbeville, Only station they caught was WWL;
15:00 - Robert LeBlanc's background - Born north of Erath in 1921, moved to Abbeville when his father went work at the Accessor's office;
15:30 - Charles Donald Frederick's death at Pearl Harbor;
18:30 - Glen Conrad and Carl Brasseaux's definitions of Cajun and Creole;
20:00 - LeBlanc talks about joining the service after Pearl Harbor;
23:20 - Response to the Pearl Harbor attack;
24:45 - LeBlanc spoke very little English when he started grade school. He discusses learning English in school;
25:55 - He was never punished for speaking French, but talks about how other students were punished;
29:30 - Hiring of non-local, non-French speaking teachers;
31:30 - Discussing how bilingualism is valuable;
32:25 - Shame felt for not being able to speak English;
35:00 - Americanization;
35:45 - LeBlanc telling a story about having dinner with some French people, he used the word "asteur" which caught the ear of the older people;
40:20 - Culture shock when entering the service;
43:30 - Slang from different regions
44:15 - "Frenchie" nickname; name mispronunciation

Interview with Dronet and Leblanc (cont.):
00:30 - Contingency plans for Vermilion Parish in case of nuclear war;
00:50 - Fallout shelters;
02:30 - Nuclear drills for local officials
04:00 - Discussing various private fallout shelters built in Vermilion Parish;
07:20 - germ (biological) warfare;

Interview with Louise Landry and Dave Landry:
13:20 - Personal info;
15:00 - Discussing family members who spoke English;
16:20 - Punishments for speaking French in school;
20:30 - Quitting school for work, had to go back to school since he wasn't 16;
21:15 - Dave describes working in the bakery for John Henke. Eventually started working as an electrician;
20:20 - Experiences in the military - Korea, was drafted and served from 52-54, Highest rank was as Corporal;
25:00 - Worked at Jefferson Island Salt Mine during the strike;
26:30 - Military training in Arkansas
30:00 - People would ask where he was from due to his accent while in training;
31:00 - Working in the oil field and being called a "coonass" and discussing why they don't like the slang;
34:10 - Didn't see any combat during Korea, stayed stateside. Was transferred to Fort Hood in Texas;
38:45 - Not teaching their children French, Louise mentions that they didn't feel a sense of pride for the language until recently;
41:00 - Use of the French language in church;

00:30 - Punishments for speaking French - Simon was punished - pinched, had to write lines, had to kneel on rice, etc;
01:15 - Cajun kids had trouble pronouncing "th";
04:00 - Certain schools were less strict with French speakers depending on school leadership;
06:00 - Confidence when speaking English;
06:15 - Camey and Deanna Doucet - Deanna told Allen he sounded much more confident when speaking French;
07:45 - Dudley LeBlanc and Roy Theriot;
08:20 - Catherine Brookshire Blanchet taught kids French skits and songs; Roy Theriot let them perform songs in French on KROF;
10:35 - Allen says he feels that Catherine Blanchet is an unsung heroine in the French preservation movement - She could read and write french, was a music teacher;
12:30 - Catherine would bring a radio into class, would request the radio DJ to play a song and would play it in class to teach songs;
13:30 - Catherine would drive around the area to different schools, Shane talks about an article that he read about her attending a conference in St. Louis;
15:15 - Allen says he was too short of breath to sing and couldn't perform in the quartet, She made Allen jog alongside her car to improve his breathing;
17:30 - Blanchet taught "danses rondes" during lent;
18:25 - Allen was drafted into the service in 1960 while he was in college, his parents didn't want him to go to college, so he paid his way;
19:30 - He worked two jobs and his grades eventually started dropping, was drafted since he didn't keep his grades up;
20:50 - Served in Turkey, says his French got him more places in Europe that French. Started learning basics to the Turkish language;
22:00 - European views of Americans;
23:00 - Being Cajun in the army;
24:25 - CODOFIL, KRVS;
26:50 - James Domengeaux, Dudley LeBlanc;
29:00 - Caricatures of the Cajun people;
30:00 - Discussion about Allen Babineaux's visit to France, his use of older French;

Interview with Allen Simon - continued:
00:00 - Hillbilly/Country and Western Music on the radio - Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride;
01:55 - Music clubs - lists bands he'd watch at clubs - Larry Brasso, Warren Storm, Bobby Page, J.B. Terry, etc;
03:15 - French music on records - Joe Falcon "Allons a Lafayette;
04:10 - Allen first got a TV in the mid '50s - TVs were called "boite de portrait"
06:45 - Discusses television's effect on the Americanization of Cajuns

Interview with Elmo Authement - Lafayette, LA
11:15 - They'd never speak French in the school building, but would during recess. If they were caught, they were punished;
13:00 - Attended Cutoff Hight School, moved to Lafayette for college, served in WWII and then settled in Lafayette;
13:30 - Authement Family information;
14:30 - Bernard's research methods - Having local newspapers print letters reaching out to potential interviewees;
15:30 - Background - Born in 1921, Father was Joseph Authement, Mother was Eliska (?) Lafort, started school in 1926;
16:20 - Had learned a bit of English via the radio before he entered school;
17:25 - First days of school - Most teachers were bilingual, all students were native French speakers;
18:55 - Parish to parish differences in punishment for speaking French in school - Was maybe slightly less severe in Lafourche Parish;
20:00 - Description of a punishment for speaking French in schools using a noose;
21:50 - Taught in Carencro, at that point, he never came across policies for punishing French speakers;
22:40 - Bombing of Pearl Harbor - was in his last semester at USL, drafted after graduation, went to Flying Cadet School;
23:45 - Became a radio operator, was able to choose to serve in New Orleans, then was transferred to Brownsville, TX, then to Mexico;
28:15 - Culture shock, changing his speaking accent;

Interview with Elmo Authement:
00:00 - James Domengeaux;
01:30 - Discussion on the term "coonass." Where did the term come from and when?;

Interview with Ernest Crochet:
04:45 - Ernest Lee Crochet, born November 7, 1918 in Loreauville;
05:05 - Still speaks French at home, learned English at school, doesn't remember punishment for speaking French in school;
07:30 - French in the family;
07:55 - Served in the CCC Camp in 38-39, joined the Navy in 1941, transferred to the reserved after 6 years and also served in Korea;
09:00 - leaving south Louisiana;
10:00 - Says the poeple he served with enjoyed hearing him speak French;
10:40 - Was called "Frenchie," says they made fun of him, but it wasn't malicious. "All in good humor."
12:00 - Served in Casablanca in North Africa, he was able to communicate with them;
13:45 - Culture shock - said he didn't feel it much, only missed the fact that they didn't eat much rice;
16:00 - First hearing about Pearl Harbor;
17:00 - Serving on the submarine - mostly stayed in the Atlantic;
18:10 - Encounters with enemy submarines;
20:25 - They were allowed to take a short leave for a few days every year and could return home;
24:55 - Discussing the term "coonass." Heard it while in the service, also in Texas;
28:00 - Identifying as cajun;
29:00 - other Cajuns he served with;

Interview with Elvin Soileau:
00:30 - prairie grass;
01:00 - Native Americans living in the area;

Interview with Floyd Soileau:
04:00 - Cajun music in the 1950s, Floyd's reasons for entering the business and focusing on French music;
05:50 - Eugene Manuel, a jukebox operator, needed records. He brought a tape of the "Manuel Bar Waltz" to Floyd to press;
07:10 - Lawrence Walker, Aldus Roger Austin Pitre, Adam Hebert approached Floyd about recording;
10:00 - Talking about how he started producing. As his catalog grew, the store started doing really well;
12:30 - Reach of his record distribution
12:40 - Vin Bruce, popularity of the accordion down in Terrebonne;
14:40 - "La valse de ma chèrie" was used on a Charles Bronson movie;
16:00 - Media licensing - ""Big Easy;"
17:00 - Keeping French alive in music;
18:30 - New French sounds;
21:00 - Discussing Cajun culture becoming popular;
21:40 - Contracts, artists letters, and royalty statements;

RESTRICTED INTERVIEW
Interview with Homer J. LeBlanc

Bernard's notes on previous interview - Tape recorder failure - During their careers in education through the 40s -60s, they never received orders from anyone stating that they should punish children for speaking French, never punished students, and never witnessed other teachers or administrators punish students in Saint Martin Parish;

RESTRICTED INTERVIEW. DO NOT LINK AUDIO.
02:20 - Interview with Pat Broussard born in 1929 in New Iberia:
03:00 - Discipline for speaking French as a student; She never witnessed major punishments at Magnolia Elementary
03:45 - Mentions she never learned to speak French, all of her family did;
04:40 - Father spoke mainly French when growing up, but spoke mostly English in his later years;
05:50 - Teaching in the 1950s - everything was in English by that point. Did have some students who spoke only French at home;
07:45 - Weeks Island School - Held first to eight grade, one teacher for each grade, one P.E. Teacher, one librarian
09:00 - She never punished French speaking students, asked them to speak English at school, but encouraged them to continue speaking French at home;
09:30 - Would give her French speaking students extra one on one attention to help them out;
12:15 - Official English-only policy - She was never given any orders or saw any official notation;
13:30 - French disappearing from the home;
14:20 - CODOFIL enterring schools;
16:10 - Cold War drills in schools;
18:30 - Threat of war at home;
20:30 - Red scare / McCarthyism;
21:55 - Communist activity in Acadiana;
24:00 - Americanism classes;
24:50 - Integration;
27:00 - Reactions of parents;

Tape speed increases towards end

00:55 - Says that he grew up a lot during his service in the Navy, decided to volunteer instead of being drafted;
03:50 - Was asked if he spoke French or any other languages when he joined the service;
04:15 - Met French soldiers in the Philippines;
05:00 - Speaking French in the military - But did not serve as an interpreter or translator;
07:10 - Says he used his Spanish speaking ability while serving;
07:55 - Cajuns and higher education before WWII;
09:45 - Went back to SLI after the war;
12:30 - Cajuns being called "Frenchie" while serving
13:00 - "coonass;"
14:45 - Graduated in 1948, Began teaching in Cecilia, then eventually started in Special Education in Lafayette;
15:45 - Official memos encouraging speaking English (Discouraging French use) in schools;
17:00 - No punishment for speaking French policy, to his knowledge;
18:30 - Problems with French speaking students, some students had trouble pronouncing the "th" sound;
23:10 - Personal experiences with speaking French in school as a child;
23:40 - Cold War in Acadiana;
29:15 - School drills/fallout shelters;

Ledelle D. "Biggie" Dupuis:
00:20 - Shame of being Cajun;
01:20 - Other ethnic prejudices;
02:20 - Describing a typical day in his Americanism class;
07:00 - Discussion on American History textbooks;
10:55 - nuclear hysteria;
12:50 - Vietnam/fall of French Indochina;
18:15 - Discussing Vietnam War protesters;
19:20 - hippies;
20:50 - Integration of Northside High School; road to integration; student responses to integration

Ernest Crochet:
29:20 - newspaper article featuring Crochet;

00:00 - Americanism classes mandated by the school board;
02:20 - Communist propaganda;
04:00 - McCarthyism
05:00 - Possibility of a nuclear attack during the Cold War
05:50 - Ignorance of American history;
08:00 - Defense Education Act - Teachers had more money to spend on textbooks, received additional training;
09:00 - Shane asks about integration in the area - Nunez says there were no issues in Carencro;
11:00 - Service in WWII;
12:15 - Ridicule for being Cajun;
13:30 - First heard the term "coonass" in the mid-1930s;
18:40 - outsiders opinions of Louisiana;
19:10 - feelings about the word "coonass";
23:00 - reflections on life;
25:20 - Was called"Frenchie" when he worked for Sun Oil Co.;
27:00 - Boot Camp

00:40 - Acadian Flag
03:45 - Founding of CODOFIL;
05:30 - The first Acadian International Festival
07:40 - Early CODOFIL meeting that took place at the Lafayette Courthouse, discussing how the organization was formed;
10:45 - CODOFIL - Discussing the early perception that the organization catered more towards standard French over local dialects;
15:20 - Punishment for speaking French in school
16:10 - Served in WWII - Navy in the Pacific, was called "Frenchie";
18:45 - Importance of the G.I. Bill;
20:20 - Continued at S.L.I. after the war in Political Science;

00:25 - Was in CCC Camp before the war;
01:00 - Went into the Navy; He had some trouble getting a job after returning from the war;

02:30 - Interview with Richard Nunez - November 10, 1997 in Lafayette;
04:10 - Born in 1925 in Lake Arthur, TX. Moved to Vermilion Parish near Cow Island by wagon when he was two;
04:40 - Richard's wife joins the interview;
06:25 - Was punished in elementary school for speaking French on the playground - Punishment was to kneel on old shingles;
08:30 - Says all of his peers in school were French speakers;
09:00 - He eventually became a teacher in Krotz Springs;
11:50 - Became a principle at Montgomery Elementary in 1968, then moved to Myrtle Place and J. Wallace James;
13:00 - Shane talks about students being punished for speaking French in school in the 40s and 50s, as late as 1958 in Lake Charles;
14:30 - Richard discusses the point when the English language "clicked" for him;
16:00 - Small-town politics;
17:45 - Punishment for speaking French in schools in the 50s - Nunez says he never received orders to punish students for speaking French;
19:00 - Discussing the term "Américain;"
20:00 - "Duck and Cover" Drills in schools during the Cold War - similar to tornado drills;
22:30 - Had nuclear attack drill training while in the Naval Reserves, was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during WWII;
24:30 - Cuban Missile Crisis;
26:00 - Discussing a veterinarian who lived in Abbeville (from Ukraine) who ran for office and was accused of being a communist
26:30 - Dr. Leonpacher was accused of being a spy (He was not, but was suspected because he'd fly a plane;
28:20 - Espionage case in Abbeville - a Junkyard owner had microfilm of waterways in Abbeville;
30:15 - Americanism, Democracy vs. Communism classes in the 50s;

Mathé Allain:
00:00 - Discussing the music used for the bicentiannial celebration - Lacked local music;
02:00 - Louise Olivier;
04:00 - Involvement with CODOFIL;
05:00 - Conversations about preserving French in Louisiana;
07:10 - James Domengeaux's vision for CODOFIL - "Teaching Cajun French would be like teaching Redneck English;"
09:40 - Early French teachers had no teaching materials in Cajun French; Most school administrations weren't supportive;
11:45 - Discussing the successes of CODOFIL;
13:50 - Mathé's positive impressions of Domengeaux;
16:10 - Visits by foreign dignitaries;
18:00 - University students learning to speak French;
19:45 - Gaining outside validation using the Evangeline story;
21:55 - Discussing the future of Cajun culture and Louisiana French;
23:30 - Discussing what will happen to Cajun culture if the language dies out;
24:10 - French Immersion programs
25:00 - Discussing how ancient Roman culture has "died," but it has influenced so many other cultures that are thriving today;

28:00 - Interview with William "Bill" Patton: Former General Manager of Channel 10 and Channel 3
28:35 - beginnings in radio - 1947 at KVOL, In 1950, moved to KLFY Radio;
29:15 - Went to Shreveport and Corpus Christi for a while, returned to KPEL until 1962, then joined KATC
30:30 - Lived in Lafayette since 1935, attended SLI

00:00 - Gunsmoke in French - dubbed in French for broadcast in Canada
02:30 - Sponsors eventually stopped supporting French broadcasts
03:30 - French versus English speaking audiences;
06:00 - Origins of the term "Acadiana;" - An invoice from GE had a typo, Acadiana instead of Acadian, they then started using it on the air;
10:00 - Acadiana Travel was the first business to use the term "Acadiana"
11:00 - The state's definition of Acadiana. The group who coined the term protested that the state was trying to make the "Acadiana area" too large;
13:00 - French programming on Channel 3 - Floyd Cormier's French Newscast, Hunting and Fishing show; Polycarp
15:50 - Channel 10 took the lead with French programming in the 60s. They focused on the rural, elderly audience.
17:00 - Channel 10 managers after Patton left;
17:50 - Cajun character on the show "Combat";
18:40 - John Plauché's Polycarp kid's program - Ken Guidry, V.J. Boulet;
23:00 - Discussing why Polycarp ended - FCC made new rules saying that children's show personalities could no longer perform the commercials;
24:00 - Plauché's death;
30:00 - Remote broadcasts from Landry's Paladium.

00:00 - arrival at USL - August of 1956;
00:50 - Academic atmosphere at USL at the time of his arrival - "Open and exciting campus";
02:00 - Dr. Bernard Bienvenu - Management Dept - Complained about being intimidated about McCarthyism;
02:50 - Simpson finished his PhD at Berkeley - was instructed to sign an oath saying he was not he was not and will never be a member of any organization which is on the Attorney General's list. Was forced out for refusing to sign; Simpson was a member of the Methodist Church - The Church was on the AG list.
04:00 - Was also asked to sign a similar oath at USL, didn't sign and wasn't given any trouble;
10:15 - USL desegregation;
11:00 - Tolerance in Cajun country - "Lafayette was the most live and let live culture that I have ever lived in...And I've lived and taught in San Francisco."
14:15 - Instances of racial violence on campus - Says there were probably incidents, but that Shane should talk to Raymond Blanco, he was "hands-on" and didn't tolerate violence."
15:30 - Instances of McCarthyism on campus and in Acadiana; Says there was a 10-15 year delay in McCarthyism arriving here;
16:45 - Incident involving Walter Craddick;
21:10 - Hippies on campus - Says they were good students, for the most part;
23:30 - Misbehavior in class;

Interview with Marvin Ducote:
00:00 - Attitude of the public towards hippies and protesters;
00:55 - atomic safety;
01:30 - Would attend 2-3 lectures on various subjects per week during basic training;
03:44 - Basic training with a Lithuanian serviceman;
06:00 - First got a television in the 60s, his mother probably got one by 1954;
06:30 - French/local programming on television;

10:00 - Interview with Tom Pears:
11:15 - His mother was a radio announcer on KVOL from 1942-1945;
12:00 - Pears joined his parents in Texas after WWII to go to school, was so unhappy he moved back to Lafayette
12:55 - G.I. Bill;
14:40 - Job search; finally got a job at KVOL making 25 cents/hour;
17:00 - Worked at KVOL for 11 years
17:30 - Received an offer to manage a furniture store where he would receive a furnished house, a Cadillac and made $5,000/year - Talked to his boss at KVOL about it, decided to pass.
20:30 - the Declouets build KLFY-TV, Pears starts working there as the General Manager;
25:00 - Declouet tells Pears that the station is for sale, purchase by people in Waco, Pears continued working for them;
28:45 - Got a company car after the station was bought out;