Lawlessness in Evangeline and Saint Landry

  "Evangeline Parish is different...from any other parish in the state of Louisiana. I think we sometimes think that we may be above the law." Monsieur Dossman

Prairie des Femmes 1958

Camp des Hariats

Jim and Hil talk about the old Pig Stand restaurant (RIP!) and how Mister Archange LaFleur cooked a flathead catfish for breakfast to feed the "Trash Pen" customers who came in for breakfast;) Hil was there too one morning, you know, because he was a hariat himself, and couldn't believe that Mister Archange was cooking a flathead catfish for breakfast, not just the internal organs in a sauce like usual. But Mister Archange says, that's what we had, so that's what we're cookin'.

On Archange...
Yes!
He used to call it the Camp des Hariats.
C'était le Camp des Hariats?
Uh huh.
Ha ha Ha!
Et c'est les hariats qui mangait déjeuner.
Oh! Alright!
I got there one morning- Moi j'étais un hariat, you know?
Uh huh...
And you know what he was cookin' for breakfast!?
Uh-uh.
A gou-jon caille!
No kidding! C'était pas juste les fressures alors, c'est un goujon caille.
-pas juste les fressures...
un goujon caille pour déjeuner.
Mais, c'est pas mauvais!
Ohhh! Moi j'crois pas, non!
Il avait un beau crowd là bas..
Oh ouais 'coute c'était tout du monde qu'a- c'avait les bons appetits, ça.
Oh ouais, c'était tout des cadiens! Comme dit Archange.
Les cadiens à pied plat !
but uh...Arcange had a good time at that Pig Stand and Verlain, too, yeah.
Oh.. 'coute!
You could get some good stories outa there.
... that's what they were cookin'
J'ai dit, Mais jamais de la vie! C'est pas des goujons cailles ils après cuire pour déjeuner!
Ouais, il dit, c'est ça on avait, c'est ça on après cuire.

DAGOW!!!!!

Mes Amis mon nom c'est Eddie J. Sainte Marie
Mo Sheriff de la paroisse de Lafourche dans l'état de la Louisiane.
Mo té né et élèvé dans Loreauville dans la paroisse de Ibirie, ça c'est dans l'état de la Louisiane.
Quand mo té gain quatorze ans, mo demenagé à Thibodeaux avec Mom et Pop. Le premier jour quand mo courri à l'école les ti-bougres yé té yé t'après parler français. Mo, mo commencais parler français avec yé. Tout d'ain coup yé commencé ris moi.

Quand école té fini, mo courri côté mom, mo dit mom, quoi faire ti bougre yé rit moi quand mo parlé français? Mom dit moi "Ti-Ed! To pourrais dit moi to courri parler patois là to parle! Mo dis mais Mom! Yé parle pas comme ça? (Yé?) dit moi non! Monde-ça yé parle bon français!
Va-pas to ouvert to la geule encore et parler français ici dan Thibodeaux!

Là mo graduaé. Quand mo graduaé mo commençé travailler avec les State Police. Yé appelle ça des Speed Cop. Là mo courri dans l'armée. Quand yé dechargé moi, y'en dans mos ami qui veni côté moi. Yé dit moi Ste Marie! Nous-autres to lé pour gallop pour sheriff. Mo courri côté Mom: Mo dit Mom: Mo lé galloper pour sheriff. Li dit 'coute: To ka galloper si to lé. Mais mo voulais-to installe toi-même sur un stand et parler pas patois-la que to parle parce que t'aller fait ton mom honte. Mo courri côté tout mos amis, mo dit yé m'aller galloper pour sheriff. Mais, mo pas aller parler français.

 Mos amis yé dit moi; Ste Marie, si to parle pas français c'est pas la peine to gallop, parce que to pas ka gagner. Tout le monde icitte dans la Paroisse Lafourche yé parle tous français. Ça fait, mo commencais. Le premier meeting mo té gain, y'en avait juste vingt-deux persons là. Now mes amis, mo dis à moi même mo pas ka gagner! Mo pas ka fait li! Pas juste avec deux, vingt-deux persons ici à un meeting avec un gros paroisse comme ça. Well, là 'cout ça q'a arrivait: L'autre soir-le, à le soir après moi a eu le meeting-là mes amis, y'en avait cinq-mille persons à mom meeting! Quand mo arrivé là mo dit: qui c'est qu'après parler icitte? Yé dit mais c'est toi Ste Marie!

Mais 'coute! Ouvre pas to la geule et parler l'anglais. Juste parle français. Parce-que monde-ça-yé ont jamais attendait un Cadien parler Cadien la manière toi to parle! Now mes amis, si mon sais parler le jolie français comme vous-autres, mo mêle l'affaire, là mo pas connait ça mo'près dis mo-même. Ça fait, mo parle français comme mo comprend-lui. DAGOW!!!!***

*** This is my first attempt at transcribing Louisiana creole patois, and I am guessing on a lot of the grammar/spelling. If you see any errors, please let me know @ prairiedesfemmes@gmail.com or leave a comment! Merci.



My Freinds, my name is Eddie J. SteMarie.
I am the Sheriff of Lafourche Parish in the state of Louisiana.
I was born and raised in Loreauville in Iberia Parish. That is in the state of Louisiana.

When I was 14 years old, I moved to Thibodeaux (Louisiana) with my Mom and Pop. The first day when I went to school, the little guys there were speaking French. Me, I started speaking in French with them. All of a sudden, they started laughing at me!

 When school was finished, I ran to mom. I said mom, why the little guys, they laughed at me when I spoke French? Mom said to me, "Lil Ed! You can't tell me you went speak the patois you speak! I said well mom, They don't talk like that? She said to me no! People over here speak good French! Don't go and open ya snout again and speak French here in Thibodeaux!

 So, then, I graduated. When I graduated, I started working with the State Police. They call that some Speed Cops. Then I went to the army. When they discharged me, there were some of my friends who came by and they said SteMarie! We want you to run for sheriff! I ran by mama's. I said, Mom, I am gonna run for Sheriff. She said listen, you can run if you want, but I don't want you to put yourself on a stand and speak the way you speak because you are going to embarrass me! I ran to see my friends, I told them I was going to run for sheriff, but I wasn't going to speak French.

My friends said Ste Marie, if you don't speak French, it's not worth it to run, because you can't win. Everyone here in Lafourche Parish speaks French. So, I began. The first meeting I had, there were just twenty two people there! Now my friends, I said to myself, I can't win! I can't do it! Not with just twenty two people at a meeting in a big parish like this! Well, listen what happened: The other night, the night after we had the meeting, there were five thousand people at my meeting! When I got there, I said: Who is it that's speaking here? They said, well it's you SteMarie!

But listen, Don't open yout mouth and speak English! Just speak French, because the people here they have never heard a Cajun speak Cajun the way you speak! Now my friends, if I knew how to speak the pretty French like y'all, I mess the whole thing up until I don't know what I am saying myself! So, I speak French the way that I understand her! DAGOW!!!!!

Pointe Claire Mary Chez les Richard

Evangelium Vitae in Ville Platte

Prayer for Life by Pope

 John Paul II

O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, 

Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life: 

Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, 

of the poor whose lives are made difficult, 

of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, 

of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. 

 Grant that all who believe in your son may proclaim the Gospel of life 

with honesty and love to the people of our time. 

Obtain for them the grace to accept that 

Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives, 

and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, 

in order to build, together with all people of good will, 

the civilization of truth and love, 

to the praise and glory of God, 

the Creator and lover of life.