As Seen in the Prairie des Femmes

A Typical Sunday sight in Prairie of the Women.

Reppin Hard for Exit 11

Prairie des Femmes, Exit 11 (dis wat made me)

 

Facebook message I sent to my old student, who was raised up by Exit 11

The area around nearby Grand Coteau, Louisiana was called Prairie des Femmes in a land grant as early as 1776. These days, off of I-49, the Grand Coteau/Sunset exit is Exit #11.  The small towns are similar in size, and straddle the interstate, where are concentrated a few modern conveniences: the Chevron, Beau Chene Truck Stop, the Grand Coteau Popeye's and the new McDonald's:(.  The towns themselves are quite small and lie back about 1/2 mile off of the exit in either direction. Sunset, on the west side, seems to harbor many of the utilitarian services that her sister town needs: a grocery store (Janise's), restaurants,  a pharmacy, doctors, dollar stores, etc. Grand Coteau, French for big ridge, is a charming, historic village. She is known as the Holy Land of the South (and heavily Catholic South Louisiana) because of a miracle that took place there.  Grand Coteau was spared a burning in the civil war because the girl's school, the Academy of the Sacred Heart (founded in 1821) lay back in the fields, and it was said one of the northern generals had a daughter that was a student of an Academy of the Sacred Heart elsewhere. As a result, the school was spared and the town unburned. Today, the main drag, Martin Luther King Drive (Hwy 93) is lined with antebellum acadian style and Victorian homes, colorful with antique shops, facing the manicured grounds of a Jesuit retreat center. You'd think that the town was an affluent historical hamlet from the look of MLK drive. Historical it is, but the town's streets are shallow, and the houses behind MLK spread into a few historical homes, a few modern ones, old shacks, and trailer homes. What I mean is, the culture of the back streets does not mirror the mecca of Catholic antiquers the main drag attracts, rather, this is the real culture of Exit 11, as I have observed, as follows:

King Bobb's Tat, Reppin hard for Exit 11

Ain't that the damn truth

As you enter Grand Coteau...

and across the Street, King Bobb, reppin his car...

Looks like some people love ole Exit 11 as much as I do...

Mais Jamais de La Vie! Carême Traditions.

A reminder from my favorite priest, Father Jason Vidrine

Here, from the Tasse Cafe Radio Program, Lena talks about the traditions of local Catholics during Lent, or Carême: 

 

1. People fasted starting at age 21.  

2.  No meat was eaten on Wednesday or Friday.

 3. One meal of meat was allowed per day, except on Sundays. 

4. No snacks or "in-between meals" except on Sundays. 

5. During a fast, the sum of your three daily meals (breakfast, dinner and supper) should equal the amount of food eaten at one usual sized meal. 

6. People fasted and practiced abstinence.

7. Tu peux pas aller au bal during Lent, until Holy Saturday. 
(You can't go to the dance during lent until Holy Saturday.) 

8. If March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph, falls during Lent, you can break fast that day, go to the dance, eat all you want. 

9. Nowadays you can choose your penance, except you still can't eat meat on Fridays.

10. They not strict like they used to be.

In the old old days, it was a sin to go to the dance during Lent, but Lena's aunt had slept out one night and went anyway. When she went to confession, the priest refused her absolution! To this, Jim Soileau exclaims, "Mais, jamais de la vie!"(Well I never!/Never in life!) But it was ok, because she went to another priest, who forgave her, but she sure didn't want to tell Mamere that she didn't have absolution!

Another Reminder from Father Vidrine

Manglier Tea, it's Nasty!

When I taught at Beau Chene High School, I asked the students to tell me about home remedies that their families used. The students all told of the "nasty tastin'" mongreae tea. I hadn't heard of it, but the students all nodded their heads. One boy, Chwayne Esprit said, "ma grandmother makes dat mongreae tea! She try to put some peppermint or honey in there or something, but it don't work! it still tase naaaaasty!! the tea works, though."

I offered extra credit for this mysterious mongrea plant, and the very next morning, Kelly Carmouche showed up with a branch wrapped in a plastic grocery bag and hung it on my doorknob before school. I immediately recognized it as a "trash" scrub plant that grew in utter abundance in our fallow field and along every ditch and coulee in Saint Landry Parish. I have since learned that manglier means mangrove (and come to think of it, the bushes do resemble a mangrove, but they grow in the prairie, not the water).

According to Wikipedia, Baccharis halimifolia is unusually salt-tolerant, and often found along salty or brackish shores of marshes and estuaries, and the inland shores of coastal barrier islands on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the eastern United States.
 

How I do it: Boil two or so cups of water with a handful or two of manglier leaves. Boil the leaves, strain. Sweeten the tisane with a peppermint, cough drop, honey, lemon, whiskey, or any combination of each. Drink a cup three times a day, and even to ward off a cold or sore throat.

Information from:

Groundsel Bush, Manglier
Baccharis halimifolia
Asteraceae
Respiratory, Flu
Leaves, Stem, Root; Tea
Perennial, Tree, Shrub

Groundsel Bush
“When someone gets a fever, give him some tea made with manglier. Serve it in a coffee cup three time per day.”
Manglier is the hidden jewel of the medicinal plant collection. Little seems to be known about it outside of Louisiana, but it is well known by our Native American, Cajun and Creole communities as an excellent remedy for fevers, chills, congestion, and other cold or pneumonia type symptoms. The leaves of the plant are boiled to make an aromatic yellow/green brew. Because of its strong, bitter taste, it is usually served with honey and lemon, a cough drop, or some whiskey to cut the flavor. Whole branches can be dried and stored for later use. The tea can be made several times using the same leaves.

Manglier
“Quand quékin gain la fiève, donne li di thé fait avéc menguilié. Donne li ein ti tasse à café trois fois par jour.”
Le manglier est le bijou caché de la collection des plantes médicinales. On le connaît peu ailleurs au monde, mais il est bien connu des communautés amérindiennes, cadiennes et créoles comme remède excellent contre la fièvre, les frissons, la congestion et d’autres symptômes associés avec un rhume
ou la grippe. On fait bouillir les feuilles pour en faire une tisane aromatique. À cause de son goût fort et amer, on la sert d’habitude avec du miel et du citron, une pastille ou du whisky pour la rendre buvable. On peut faire sécher des branches entières et les garder pour plus tard. On peut réutiliser les memes feuilles plusieurs fois.

The Basile Mardi Gras Song

The Capitaine of the Basile Mardi Gras called in to the Tasse Cafe' radio Program, and they asked him to sing the Basile Mardi Gras Song: 

The Basile Mardi Gras song sung by Capitaine Rider, a pretty awesome name for a Capitaine. 

The Basile Mardi Gras Song

Sung by Russell Potic Rider and the Basile Mardi Gras
in the Basile Town Park Barn immediately before the start of the courir, February 16, 1999
Capitaine, capitaine, voyage ton flag et hale ton camp.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
La route est grande, la nuit est longue, et les belles sont pas invitées.
C'est les Mardi Gras, ça vient une fois par an demander la charité.
Une fois par an, c’est pas trop souvent pour vous quand même.
Chorus: C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C'est les Mardi Gras ça devient de loin, ça devient de l'Angleterre.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
C’est les Mardi Gras c’est tout des bons jeunes gens,
Des bons jeunes gens ça devient de bonnes familles.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
C’est pas des malfecteurs. C’est juste des chamondeurs.
Chorus: C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est les Mardi Gras, ça demande à la maitresse,
À la maitresse pour une petite poule grasse et du riz ou de la graisse.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
Pour faire leur grand gumbo ce soir à Grand Basile.
Chorus: C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
Tu me promettrais ci, tu me promettrais ça, mais tu m’en donneras pas.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade
Capitaine, Capitaine les sauvages ça peut plus chanter à force que leur gorge est sec.
Chorus: Tout le tour autour du moyeu.
Une bonne petite bière fraide [froide] les ferait chanter meilleur.
Chorus: C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade.
C’est hip, c’est hip, c’est hop, et mon cher de camarade

---

English Translation

Capitain, capitain, wave your flag and let’s get going.
The way is long, the night is long, and the women are not invited.

Chorus: All around the hub.
The Mardi Gras come once a year to ask for charity.
Anyhow, one time a year is not too often for you.
Chorus: It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
The Mardi Gras come from far, they come from England.
Chorus: All around the hub.
The Mardi Gras are all good people
Good people who come from good families.
Chorus: All around the hub.
They are not wrong-doers. They are just beggars.
Chorus: It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
The Mardi Gras ask the mistress,
The mistress for a small fat chicken, some rice, or some grease.
Chorus: All around the hub.
To make their big gumbo this evening in Big Basile.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
You promise me this, you promise me that, but you don’t give me anything.
Chorus: All around the hub.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
Capitain, Capitain, these wild Indians can no longer sing because their throats are dry.
A good little cold beer would make them sing better.
Chorus: It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
It's hip, it's hip, it's hop, and my dear camarade.
Based on a French transcript by Helena Putnam supplied by the Basile Mardi Gras Association.

Dans d'Autres Nouvelles à Ce Matin

In Other News this Morning:                          Dans d'autres nouvelles à ce matin:

...avec possession de marijuana, possession de crack cocaine et drug paraphernalia. (with possession of...)

... suspension, pas de turn signal, possession de crack cocaine et soliciting prostitution. (suspension, no turn signal, possession...)

...Tioga High School, les étudiants, le faculty, le staff a était en bas lock-down pour plusieurs heures...après une maîtress d'école a reçu un email, ça t'après la menacer. (the students, faculty and staff were under lock-down for many hours, after a teacher received an email that which was the menace(?))

...le email reste en bas d'un investigation et il peux pas faire des comment à ce temps ça icitte là là...(the email is under investigation and they can not comment on it at this time here, here.)

...Wal-Mart dans la Ville Platte après sponsor un Blood Drive
(Wal-Mart in Ville Platte is sponsoring a Blood Drive)


...le nouveau "Cork-sicle"...ça c'est un corkscrew, et ça va garder le vin froid. (the new Cork-sicle, is a corkscrew that keeps your winw cold.)

...les butt-hams boucannés (smoked butt hams)

...les filets de barboue les gros morceaux (Catfish filets, big pieces)

...et les pork chops, les coupes du butte (Pork chops, the end cut)

...sur le chemin Chataignier (on the Chataignier road)

...le nouveau Fusion Hybrid vous offre le milleur dedans les classes de sauver dessus le gas, class fuel economy, les nouveau 2012 Fuel Economy Ford Expedition XLT avec les seat en cuire une paquet de leather seat package (the new Fusion Hybrid offers you the best in class to save on gas, class fuel economy, the new 2012 Fuel Economy Ford Expedition XLT with seats of leather, leather seat package.)

...quoi faire éspèrer plus longtemps? (why wait any longer?)

...Et vous-autres va find out que c'est votre meilleur ami! (And yall will find out that that's your best friend!)

...C'est les nouvelles en français à ce matin (It's the news in French this morning)

...Aujourd'hui c'est vendredi c'est le premier jour de le mois de février (Today is Friday, it's the first day of the month of February.)

...pour le gros bal de Swamp Pop Reunion (the big party for the Swamp Pop Reunion)

...Mister Ankles Freeman! (Mister Ankles Freeman!)

...Dans d'autres nouvelles à ce matin, Chef. (in other news this morning, Chief...)



  

Jim Soileau: Rapper?

Mister Jim Soileau LIVE (center) layin down the beats from the old Cajun Smokehouse.

   

                         In this rare clip from the Tasse de Cafe' Radio Program, Mr. Jim Soileau breaks into spontaneous rap about the title of an old conte told to him by his mamere. Although difficult to decipher this archaic Evangeline Parish flow, I think it goes: 

"Ca c'est la danse qu'est longue, et ça c'est l'essence qui brûle." 

 (That's that dance that's long and that's the gas (oil?) that burns.) Allons donc, Mister Jim!

Le Remède de la Tasse

  
Herbal Remedies and other things I learned on the Tasse Cafe Radio Program Friday:

1. Cod liver oil is la crème de fouin(?) morue

2. Put old time cane syrup and castor oil in the ear sealed with cotton for earache (also, heat up table salt and put it in a sock, place on ear, or, blow smoke in ear, seal.)

2b. Vapo-rub is used by the Creoles of Evangeline Parish as a cure-all. Put "Vic-salve" on a cotton ball in the ear for earache.

3. On est après s'amuser avec les "uremède". We are having a good time with remedies. (In Evangeline Parish, the first syllable is sometimes inverse.)

4. Castor oil is l'huile à purger.

5. Camphor (du camphre) is put in a pint bottle with water and left to develop and then "served" with a little sugar and water in a glass and it treated "inflamation" fever, and any ole ailment for old and young. I think the camphor she spoke of was a part (root or bark) of the camphor tree (?)

6.  Robins like to roost in the les arbres camphré and eat the camphor berries.

7. For a bad cold or asthma take a spoonful of sugar and kerosene. Warning: Do not do this while smoking.

8. Mash an aspirin, mix with "Vic-Salve" and honey in a coffee cup, heat by the pilot light. Every time you cough, pop you a spoonful.

9. For sore throat, beat a raw egg yolk with 1/2 cup of sugar until is becomes white. Eat dat.

10.  Old Indian Remedy? Take the skin of a gizzard, wash it and dry it. Doc Veillion's grandmother used to keep them in a tin on top of her garde-manger. Make a tea with the peau de gésier (gi-gi?) for nausea during virus or pregnancy.

11. Mix whiskey, aspirin, Vic-Salve and honey, boil it on the stove. Make the kids drink it!

12. For tonsillitis, go to the woods and find a red oak tree. Take the root or the bark, make a tea with it and gargle with it for seven days. 

13. Toothache tree- boil the bark, apply to itch from poison ivy. Apply bark directly to tooth, or make an infusion to kill tooth pain.

14. Mamou tea. Take 9 (I have heard 3, 5, 7, or 9- odd number) red Mamou seeds. Smash them good good and boil them. Mix the tea with honey, lemon and sometimes whiskey. Drink hot. This will break up chest congestion.   

15. For tallow bumps or infected sores, take ashes out of the fireplace, mix it with some Vic-Salve, heat it up, stick it in between two cloths. Apply to sore. It will draw the infection out. 

16. Wasp stings- apply spider webs or moistened tabacco to the sting. It will draw the poison out.  

17. C'est joli de voir comment on a bien enjoy ça. (It's pretty to see how we really enjoy that (talking about remedy))

Mamou seeds

 



 

The Rosary in French

In the early morning, the avant-jour,  KVPI has the rosary in French. The other day, a man called in to the Tasse Cafe Radio Program to thank them for playing the rosary in the early morning, because he had to drive from Alexandria to Lafayette for his cancer treatments, and on the way, he listens to the French Rosary. He said it brought him unimaginable peace, and reminded him of his family who prayed only in French in years past. He went on to say that he wants to see the French Rosary continued to be played/prayed on KVPI for generations to come, and that he wanted to see if he could sponsor it. He said that he was the owner of an old family company that gleans like, 85% of the ground pecans in Louisiana. That's big business. I forget the name of the company (Bruce Foods?), but the man was very generous and emphatic that he wanted to sponsor the Rosary in French, and how much it had helped him. 

 Prayers in French

Here is a clip of the rosary from KVPI in Evangeline Parish:

This morning, it was followed by "Listen to your Heart" by Roxette in reason #15724 that KVPI is awesome.

The Legend of Madame Grands Doigts

Madame Grands Doigts is "Mrs. Santa" to some

Madame Grands Doigts

The tradition of Madame Grands Doigts remains strong in south Louisiana, though her origins remain somewhat mysterious. Madame Grands Doigts (Lady Long Fingers) is a character known by locals sometimes as Mrs. Santa Claus. She "passes" on New Years Eve, leaving fruits, candy and small gifts in children's shoes or stockings. Madame Grands Doigts' gifts are simpler than Santa Claus', but it is always a treat to see the small yet thoughtful gifts la Madame has left. 


Madame Grands Doigts' origins in south Louisiana folklore remain mysterious to me. Who brought her here? Can she be found in other cultures' folklore? Even in South Louisiana, her identity changes and indeed sometimes she has a dual identity. 

Because of the different French populations in Louisiana, and also because of the borrowing between the cultures, sometimes MGD will appear as a bad witch, a good witch, or Madame Santa, all within the same area. In Evangeline Parish, she came to my family as Mrs. Santa at New Year and left fruit, nuts, candy and small toys. Later on she left useful items, such as toothbrushes and chap stick. Sometimes Mom called her MGD and sometimes Mrs. Clause. Sometimes it was even said that she accompanied Papa L'An or Papa Noel on his way back to the North Pole after passing for Christmas, but not always. Just down the road in Reddell, however, Papa L'An passed at my best friend's house alone, and in similar fashion to our Madame.

In certain areas of south Louisiana, however, Madame Grands Doigts does not come at holiday time, nor is she benevolent. She is a character used to frighten children into obedience, their families saying, "If you don't behave, Madame Grands Doigts va venir et tirer tes orteilles!(will come and pull your toes!). The story of bad Madame Grands Doigts is probably linked to the story "La Fille aux Belles Mains" (The Girl with the Beautiful Hands). Legend said that she was la belle de la ville and the other girls were jalouses of her, so they put a gris-gris on her hands, causing them to become gnarled and deformées. Beaucoup honte, she spent the rest of her life in seclusion and died in despair. After her death it is said she continued to haunt attics and other abandoned places, tormenting children by pulling their toes with her long, carbuncled fingers, sometimes stealing them away within her large sleeves. 

In some places, like Mamou, Madame Grands Doigts was said to take back the Christmas presents of naughty little "Yans"

 Some locals, such as Amanda LaFleur Giambrone, imagined Madame Grands Doigts as a "Glenda the Good Witch of the East" from the Wizard of Oz, with long, beautiful, slender fingers that could reach all the way to the bottom of their stockings. It wasn't until Giambrone taught in St. Martinville and saw a bulletin board with a "vilaine sorcière" on it labeled "Madame Grands Doigts" that she realized that there was more to the story. "She had never been a scary character in my personal experience," Giambrone says. This characterization makes MGD sound a lot like La Christkind:

Madame Grands Doigts, the Good Witch of Ville Platte

The Madame Grands Doigts appellation may have been taken from "La Fille aux Belles Mains" story and blended over the years (as things in our culture are so apt to do) with other Christmas folk characters,such as Le/a Christkind, Papa L'An, or le Petit Bonhomme Janvier, or in Avoyelles Parish, Santa Croupee, a type of fake Santa, who also seems to be a woman. Le Christkind (Christ Child) is a German folk character found now in many parts of the world, including south Louisiana. Le Christkind is a fairy-like child (sometimes depicted as a beautiful blonde woman) who dresses in white with a gold crown and delivers gifts. "She" is at the same time a representation of the child Jesus, and the spiritual child bearing gifts to Jesus at Christmastime. In some areas, the name has morphed into La Christkind, sometimes pronounced "La Christine" or "Greeshin."  According of Rocky McKeon of Terrebone Parish, "La Christkind" is the word for Santa Claus. Even though the article (la) is feminine, it's for the male Santa Claus. As far as I know, it's the only word that Louisiana French borrowed from German."

La Christkind looks a lot like the Good Witch of Ville Platte

 Le Petit Bonhomme Janvier (Little Man January), similarly to Madame Grands Doigts, delivers candy, nuts, toys and fruits to children on le Jour de l'An (New Year's Day). There may be another name for this character, Papa l'An (Father Year),who, according to Giambrone, came on the same night as Madame Grands Doigts, who assisted him. Whatever the origins of Madame Grands Doigts, her presence and the presence of other folk characters across South Louisiana enriches the lives of young and old, and, as legend is passed down, we can be assured that our customs will be continued with future generations, as evidenced in the following narration by Mr. and Mrs. Roland Hebert dit Milan of L'Anse Grise. Read in French as they discuss their family memories of Madame Grands Doigts. English translation follows. 

CLICK HERE FOR MADAME GRANDS  DOIGT SURVEY RESULTS.

 

MADAME GRAND DOIGTS CHEZ LES HEBERT dit MILAN

 

Madame Calvalene "Tist" Guillory Hebert dit Milan and daughter Marisha, Christmas 1974

Calvalene Hebert (Mom): Je me rappelle bien de Madame Grand Doigts. On avait tout le temps chacun une banane, chacun une pomme, chacun une orange, et deux ou trois paquets de pétards. C'est ça Madame Grands Doigts passait. Là Mom prendait les fruits et a faisait une salade avec les fruits et nous-autres on craquait les pétards. Mais on était tous contents contents! Là une année je me rappelle bien on s’est levé, on a couru 'oir qui alle avait passé, et y avait pas rien! On pouvait pas comprendre ça, on a été dans leur chambre on a reveillé Mom et eux-autres on a dit Madame Grands Doigts avait pas passée. So Daddy répond, il dit, "tu connais éyou, peut-être...alle a arrêté au char. Va regarder dans le char, peut-être alle a arrêté moitié chemin. Ça fait, on a couru dehors au char et le bag de pétards et de fruits étaient là. Ça fait plus tard quand j'étais plus vieille, j'ai compris que Madame Grands Doigts avait eu un drink de trop! Elle avait arrêté au char plutôt d’arriver à la maison! Et qui toi tu te rappelles, Dad? 

Roland Hebert (Dad): Je me rappelle que un matin j'allais au arbre, et je trouvais les bananes, et les oranges dans les 'tites branches, et oh, j'éspérais pour ça un tas, un tas pour Madame Grands Doigts, c'est une grosse affaire pour moi. Tous les jours de l'An, le matin, on allait pour 'oir qui Madame Grands Doigts avait ammené... 


Mom: Une fois j'avais demandé à Memere, qui est… si Madame Grands Doigts passait pour eux-autres quand elle, a était petite, et a m'a dit "nous-autres on était chanceux d'avoir un coton de maïs!" Je pouvais pas croire c'est vrai! Tu crois c'est réellement vrai ou c'est juste a était après bêtiser avec moi? 

Dad: J'crois c'est des bêtises... 

Mom: Mais, je souhaite ça. Là après ça on était après parler de ça encore et on a parlé de notres petits à nous-autres. Ils avaient un tas plus que juste des fruits! C'était pas des grosses boîtes des bébelles, mais c'était tout le temps des bébelles on aurait eu. Y avait des pétards, et peut-être un nombre des fruits, je me rappelle pas bien. Mais je connais y avait des bébelles, et ça espérait tous les ans pour quand Madame Grands Doigts aurait passé. 

 Dad: Je me rappelle un matin, Marisha et Michael et Mark, eux-autres, les petit, a couru au lit, et ça a dit, “Hey! Hey! Come see what the lady brought us!” Ça dit “la femme,” ça dit pas Madame Grands Doigts des fois. Juste “la femme.” 

Mom: Et ça que je suis contente pour, c’est que tous mes petits a été élevés à connaître pour Madame Grands Doigts et mes trois petits qui est mariés, Madame Grands Doigts passe à leur maison. Mes deux filles, leurs petites filles, la plus vieille, Marisha, ses filles, ses petits est après venir grand, so quinze and quatorze ans, mais éspère pour Madame Grands Doigts. Et l'autre 'tite jeune, elle aussite, et mon garçon qui reste à Pineville, son ti garçon a vu Madame Grands Doigts, lui aussite. Ça fait je suis bien contente pour ça. 

The Heberts

 
 ENGLISH TRANSLATION 

 Mom: I remember MGD well. We always each got a banana, each an apple and each an orange and two or three packs of firecrackers. That's what she brought. The Mom took the fruits and she made a salad with the fruit, and we popped the firecrackers. We were all happy, happy! Then, one year, I remember we got up and ran to see what she left, and there was nothing! We could not understand that. We went into their bedroom and we woke mom and said, "MGD didn't pass!" Daddy responded, he said, You know where...maybe...she stopped at the car. Go see in the car, maybe she stopped halfway. So, we ran outside to the car and the bag of firecrackers and fruit was there. So years later, when I was older, I understood that MGD had had one drink too many! She stopped at the car rather than make it all the way into the house. 

Dad: I remember that one morning I went to the tree and I found the bananas, the oranges in the little branches, and oh, I waited for that a lot a lot. It was a big thing for me, every New Years Day in the morning we went out to see what MGD had brought. 

Mom: One time I asked my Memère if MGD passed for them when she was little and she told me "We were lucky to get a corn cob!" I could not believe it was true! You think that was true or just her teasing me? Dad: I think it was teasing... 

Mom: Well, I hope so. We were all talking about this again, about our kids; they had a bunch more then just fruits! It wasn't big boxes of toys but it was always little toys that they got. There were firecrackers, and maybe some fruits, But I know there were little pretty toys, and they waited every year to see what MGD had brought. 

Dad:I remember one morning, Marisha and Michael and Mark, thee children ran to the bed and they said "Hey! Hey! Come see what the lady brought us! They say "the lady" they don't say MGD sometimes, just "the lady! 

Mom: And that's what I am happy about, that all my children were raised knowing MGD, and my three married children, MGD passes that their houses. My two girls, their girls, their children, they wait for MGD. And the other young one, my son who lives in Pineville, his boy saw MGD also, and I am very happy about that. 

Special thanks to Mme Amanda LaFleur Giambrone for her aide in the transcription of this piece, as well as for her personal memories. un GROS merci to the Hebert Family for their personal family photos and stories. Merci Mike!
 

THIS is Christmas in EVP as I remember it:)