Center for Louisiana Studies Archival Catalog
This searchable database provides information on images, documents, and audio and video recordings, made between 1934 and the present.
Interview with Ray Abshire
Interview with Helen Willingham
Helen Willingham;
Principal subjects:
Great Depression and World War II eras;
Questions:
Typical daily routine;
Childhood games;
Education / school attendance;
Parental support of education;
Use of English language;
Marriage;
Changes in local life after World War II;
Travel; holidays and holiday celebrations;
Lenten meals / holiday meals / diet / cuisine;
Role of the Catholic church in family life;
Work / jobs;
Flood of 1927;
Dancehalls / dance halls
Interview with Andeole Stelly Part i
Principal subjects:
Great Depression and World War II eras
Description of a typical day and daily routine during the Great Depression - Grandmother raised him;
Childhood games (Depression era);
Daily diet;
Role of the church in everyday life;
Education;
Use of English in school;
Language usage at home;
Parental support of education;
Age at which persons usually began to work;
Jobs;
Impact of the Great Depression on everyday life in informant's community;
Age at which informant married;
Material culture:
Home ownership;
Cost of a house;
Celebration of holidays;
Exchange of gifts (Christmas, etc.);
Christmas trees;
Dancehalls (dance halls);
Changes occurring after World War II;
Flood of 1927
Interview with Andeole Stelly Part II
Principal subjects: Great Depression and World War II eras;
Kerosene lamps, no electricity;
Fireplace was only heat source;
Weston Stelly, Andeole's brother - fought in World War II;
Memories of the Flood of 1927;
Born on February 6, baptized in March
Interview with Earl P. King, Sr.
00:00 - Fur industry in South LA - No school in the wintertime, kids would spend winter with their parents trapping and skinning animals;
01:50 - Great Depression - Both rich and poor people were affected; Farms went under;
02:50 - Flood of 1927 - Doesn't remember much about it. He did remember a hurricane happening that year;
03:40 - Finished school in the 8th grade and started working on the farm;
04:35 - His family wasn't affected much by the depression because they lived on a farm - always had cattle and crops growing, Hunting also helped;
07:10 - Evaluating presidential performances - Roosevelt, Truman. Says Harry Truman was his greatest president because he ended the war;
11:00 - U.S. entry into WWII, Speaks about U-boats that were in the Gulf of Mexico; Speaking about his service time;
16:40 - Used his French to help out while serving in France during WWII;
17:15 - Reasons for not teaching French to his children;
21:00 - Speaking about how the Cajun and Creole communities were affected by the war - rationing
22:00 - Main characteristics of Cajun culture
Interview with Earl P. King, Sr.
00:00 - Cajun culture - stereotypes given by outsiders;
01:50 - Logging cypress trees when he was younger in Bayou Terrebonne. Says they would be scaffolding on some larger trees;
05:30 - Talking about his family's farm - Sugarcane was main crop. Also made big gardens, raised pigs, sold things at the market;
07:00 - Loading sugarcane by hand to bring to the sugar mill;
07:45 - Only speaking English in schools - Talking about they were discouraged from speaking French;
09:15 - His grandmother refused to speak English;
10:15 - Talking about how he used French in World War II, Trouble he had speaking and understanding Parisian French;
11:35 - Day to day activities when he was younger;
17:00 - Talking about younger generations, today's government, etc;
Interview with Myrtle Marie Billeaudeaux Riley
00:00 - Born July 21, 1913 in Mamou, 5 brothers and 2 sisters, Father's name was Eudé Billeaudeaux, Mother was Iris Aguillard Billeaudeaux, French was the primary language used at home;
00:45 - Had to own land to sell produce for a good price. Her father wanted to leave each child 50-100 acres when he died;
03:45 - Says they were scared of cars when they started being used. Her father drove into a ditch the first time he drove;
04:40 - Daily routines - Food they ate was mostly grown and raised on their land, clothing was sewed at home, recreation - games they'd play;
07:30 - Traveling by wagon to visit friends and family. her Grandfather lived in Chatagnier, 4 miles away. She says that felt like a far distance and they'd get excited to travel that far;
11:00 - Raising a calf to sell;
11:40 - Took a train to Lafayette - Myrtle says she was scared to come to the "big city." Attended SLI from 1932-1936;
13:30 - Attitudes towards French speakers - Elementary teachers made her speak English;
15:15 - Says that her father wanted all of his children to be educated;
15:50 - Impact of the Great Depression on the area;
18:00 - WWII
Interview with Olympe Arceneaux Butcher
00:00 - Daily life - born in October 1918 in Lafayette - Great Flu epidemic. Says her mother was very scared that she would get the flu as a newborn;
01:58 - Speaking on her Acadian ancestry;
03:20 - Attended Carencro High School during Great Depression. She says she didn't know she was poor during this time, but she always had food to eat;
05:45 - Dust bowl;
7:05 - Started teaching in 1939;
07:25 - Had plenty to eat during the depression - Her family grew fruits and vegetables; They had chickens; Her family would have a small boucherie on Christmas Eve (Le réveillon);
10:25 - Clothing - Wore many hand-me-downs. Her mother taught her how to sew, so she eventually made her own clothing out of feed sacks;
13:20 - Rationing during WWII - Coffee, gas, food items;
14:00 - Morale of the community during the depression;
15:10 - One of her brothers passed away at 10;
16:00 - Talking about Lafayette - would visit for swimming lessons, movies, etc. Mentions that the streets of Lafayette were laid out where cow paths were, says she doesn't know how true that is.
17:40 - Getting electricity in their house in the 30s, listened to the news about Pearl Harbor on the radio. Would always listen to the news on the radio;
18:40 - Spoke French and English at home.
20:00 - She would occasionally speak French in schools.
22:00 - Fondest memories
23:45 - Lived close to other family members;
24:10 - No festivals during this time. Talks about the first "Carnival Parade," says chariots were drawn by horses.
25:22 - Talks about her family trip to Spanish Lake
25:45 - Mardi Gras - Talks about remembering being scared of the Mardi Gras runners;
26:50 - She was teaching at Myrtle Place during the start of WWII - Many of her friends went to fight. Would be woken up by airplanes being used for training every morning.
Interview with Olympe Arceneaux Butcher Part II
00:00 - Change in Carencro during WWII, story about one of her classmates coming home from the war;
01:15 - People were very nervous about being drafted - One of her brothers went to Guam, one couldn't be drafted due to health issues;
02:00 - Went to USL (SLI) to become a teacher;
04:00 - Would listen to news about the war on the radio. At this time, nobody knew about the concentration camps;
06:50 - Learned how to drive on her own, didn't need a driver's license in those days. First car her father bought was a 1925 Ford Touring.
Interview with Evelyn Istre
00:40 - Graduated from high school in 1938, started working at Morgan and Lindsey's store for $1 per day;
02:00 - Heard about D-day when she went back to work on Monday;
03:10 - Says that there was one local man was killed at Pearl Harbor, his twin brother survived;
04:10 - Speaking on the role of women when the war broke out;
05:30 - Her mother would sew their clothes. She says once she started working at the store, she would buy most of her clothing;
07:20 - Talking about attending movies in the 40s;
09:00 - Collecting and scrapping metal for the war;
11:00 - Talking about trains coming through towns that were moving servicemen to a base in California;
12:45 - Grew up speaking French at home, went to school in English. She already knew some English when she started school;
14:00 - Got pneumonia in the third grade and didn't attend school for 3 months;
15:45 - Didn't have school dances. They did have a Junior and Senior picnic in Lake Arthur at the end of the school year;
16:45 - Talking about food they ate. Had a milk cow that her dad would milk, no pasteurization;
18:10 - Men and boys always wore suit and ties to mass - no air conditioning during these times;
21:15 - Talks about one of her classmates whose husband was serving overseas. She would keep her company often;
22:00 - Attending USO Dances - Big band and swing performances, formal dress,
Interview with Marcella Stagg Sensat
00:00 - Born and raised in Rayne, now lives in Crowley;
00:40 - Went to Saint Joseph High School - graduated valedictorian, walked to school everyday;
01:10 - Went to SLI for Business Administration, Married in 1943;
01:35 - Her mother was a good seamstress and made most of her clothes;
02:55 - Her mother was from Washington, LA, Father went to college in Alabama to study dentistry, they settled in Rayne;
03:50 - Discussing her hobbies - reading, skating, dancing;
04:30 - Her father spoke French, Mother was pure Irish, so she was never taught to speak French; Discussing other kids speaking French in school
05:20 - Using the radio as a news source during WWII;
05:50 - Description of a typical day during the 30s and 40s
07:00 - Says that daily life around here didn't change much during the war, then goes on to say that many of the boys she went to school with went off to fight, many were killed;
07:45 - Talking about women who went on to serve during WWII;
10:15 - GI Bills - says she doesn't know much about that;
10:40 - Things got back to normal pretty quickly after the war finished;
11:20 - Says there is now a push for people to learn French and Spanish after they were only allowed to speak English when she was growing up;
13:00 - She was the Rice Festival Senior Citizen Queen in 1995 - Senior Citizen Ball;
15:40 - Talks about her son, Lloyd Sensat, Jr. - Was a teacher, now gives walking tours in New Orleans
Interview with Milta Sonnier
01:10 - Born July 29, 1926, First memories of the Great Depression;
02:15 - She graduated from high school, went to college for a few semesters;
02:35 - Sweet potatoes were the most common food on the table during the depression for them;
03:00 - Role of the radio during this time - her family had a battery operated radio, they'd listen to Dudley LeBlanc and news;
03:45 - Parents wanted her to work at home rather than go to SLI;
04:15 - Speaking about how the depression affected her family and community;
05:00 - Earliest memories of WWII - Had 5 brothers serving;
05:55 - Pearl Harbor - speaking about similarities to 9/11;
06:30 - Use of French language in South LA;
08:15 - Rationing during WWII;
Interview with Mrs. Adam (Bernice Liebersiht) Hebert
01:00 - Father's family came from France and settled near Abbeville, had 6 siblings, her grandparents lived with them for a time;
01:55 - Earliest memories about the Great Depression - They only went to school for 7 months during her senior year of high school because the school board ran out of money, didn't wear robes to graduation, just dressed up in their Sunday clothes;
02:30 - Her father had two businesses - He made wagons and also had a sawmill;
03:50 - They had a big garden - her father hired somebody to help in the garden because he was too busy. The garden provided for them during the depression;
05:15 - Describing their home - built of cypress. Her mother was a great cook - Talks about some of the dishes she would make;
06:30 - Her dad raised chickens and cows for meat. Talking about salting and preserving meat;
07:20 - Her mother made most of their clothing. Discussion about her shoes. She had school shoes and Sunday shoes;
08:50 - Describing her school - teachers were strict, the old school house is now the Abbeville School Board office, she graduated at 15;
10:30 - Talking about their first family car - Went to town in horse and buggy before they got their car. She always walked to school;
11:30 - Talking about common chores the kids had;
12:50 - Worked for First National Bank when she was 16 - She made $1/hour
14:00 - Eventually started working as a book keeper for Landry Store;
15:20 - Changes to daily life once WWII started
Interview with Mrs. Odey (Virgie Guidry) Leleux
01:00 - Family information - Lived with foster parents;
01:40 - Great Depression - remembers hearing old people complaining, Foster Family grew their own food and they had a car;
02:25 - Would fish for crawfish, hunt for ducks and geese. They had a community garden - certain number of rows per family in the area;
03:35 - Attended Lyons Point Elementary - There was one room per each grade, went up to grade 7; Says she never missed school, was valedictorian;
05:15 - Describing her family's house. Wood frame, no plumbing or electricity, used a wood stove for heat;
06:50 - Story about how her grandfather couldn't pay property taxes. Her foster father sold his last cow to help him pay the taxes so he wouldn't lose his land;
07:40 - No refrigeration - they'd eat whatever was in the garden. Would kill a calf every few weeks and everyone in community would get a few pounds to make tasso. Also raised pigs;
09:00 - Haircuts were 10 cents at the barber, so women in the neighborhood started cutting peoples hair so they wouldn't have to pay;
9:55 - Mentions Lionel Leleux was a barber in Lyon's Point;
10:15 - Describing her clothes - made out of feed sacks;
11:40 - Didn't get to play much when she was younger, she had to do chores around the house;
13:00 - Describing a typical day during the Great Depression;
14:00 - Would cook and submerge sausage in lard to preserve it;
Interview with Andrus (Doo) Henry)
00:40 - Family information - Lived on a farm in Lyons Point - 4 brothers, 4 sisters
01:10 - First memories of the Great Depresssion - Says they had no shows, few pieces of clothing. They fished, hunted blackbirds, rabbits, marsh hens. His mother would make bread;
03:00 - Grew beans, okra, corn, whatever other vegetables they wanted.
04:00 - Describes the family home - Had a water pump, no plumbing, no electricity;
04:55 - Cush cush with biscuits for breakfast, they ate rabbit and blackbirds or anything they could hunt.
05:50 - Clothing - they bought 3 sets of clothes a year, one pair of shoes;
06:30 - Describing the school in Lyon's Point - Attended part-time during the summer so that he could stay home and help at home
07:30 - Mule and Wagon were their main form of transportation;
08:45 - Entertainment - played baseball on the weekends, describes other game they would play;
09:40 - Started working on the farm at 10 years old until he went into the service, 35 cents per day;
11:00 - Talks about how WWII changed his life and the area - entered service in 1942, served in the Pacific;
12:00 - Memories from the war (warning: graphic descriptions);
20:00 - Mentions that he saw General MacArthur; Tells story about how he was injured - was shell shocked, stayed in the hospital for seven weeks;
22:00 - Doctor approved for him to go back to his company, couldn't go back to the front lines;
23:00 - Reminiscing more about war;
32:30 - Talking about finally being sent home from the war
Interview with Whitney (Eunice Gould) Pousson
00:50 - Family Information - Four brothers and one sister - Lived in Roberts Cove
01:30 - Great Depression - Farmed Cotton, Corn, Potatoes, other vegetables
02:30 - Description of Family Home, Talks about food they'd eat during the depression;
03:40 - Clothing - Her mother sewed most of what they wore, had two pair of shoes;
04:40 - Went to school until the 7th grade, says she needed to work around the house;
06:25 - Talks about entertainment; would go to dances when they got older;
07:55 - Describing a typical day during the depression
Interview with Merlin Fontenot
00:45 - Married for 61 years, His mother was a McGee; mentions that he was related to Dennis McGee;
01:30 - Talking about WWII - Attended infantry training in Kentucky, transferred to Fort Ord in California, then took a troop transport ship out of Seatlle to Hawaii for more training;
03:00 - Shipped to Guam then Okinawa, talks about his service time in Japan;
09:00 - Mentions the dropping of the atomic bombs
11:15 - Talks about being honorably discharged after WWII, he didn't want to join the Army Reserves;
11:55 - Lived in Jacksonville, FL for 25 years, moved back to Lafayette in 1971;
12:20 - Played the Grand Ole Opry twice;
13:00 - Clothing description
15:15 - Made a fiddle out of a cigar box;
16:10 - Talks about his violins. Says that he has one made in 1813; One of his fiddles was brought back from Germany after the war;
18:00 - Food they ate during the war - depended what was shipped in, but usually got eggs, potatoes, bread, gravy, canned items;
22:00 - Went to school through the 6th grade, had to work on the family farm. Had six sisters and one brother
25:00 - Grew up in a French speaking home, learned English in school. Punishment for speaking French
28:00 - Tells a story about how he put soapy water into the gas tank of his father's new car when he was young
Interview with Joe Richard
00:02:30 - Family information - 11 siblings, their house was pretty large, boys and girls each had their own rooms.
00:03:00 - Parents were farmers - Sugarcane, potatoes, cotton. The kids helped around the farm
00:04:00 - flood of 1927 - Says they weren't affected badly. Commodities during the depression - food, diet,cuisine;
00:05:00 - Says they had plenty to ear during the depression
00:05:45 - Education - finished high school, parents wanted the kids to all get an education;
00:06:30 - Whole family was bilingual - Only used English in school;
00:07:30 - Description of a day from that era - chores, school, working in the field, feeding cattle;
00:08:30 - Conversation about practical jokes;
00:09:50 - Joined the Army in 1941 - Served in the Pacific as a welder. He was at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened;
00:11:00 - GI checks, payment while he was serving;
00:11:50 - French speakers who he served with - says there was one person from Lafayette who spoke French on his ship;
00:12:30 - French Interpreters in WWII - He was never asked to be an interpreter when he served.
00:13:20 - Electricity in rural Louisiana; Battery operated radio;
00:14:20 - Early refrigeration (Ice Box)
00:16:20 - Would get hired out for work after finishing their work at home;
00:18:15 - Would take horse and buggy to town; Says they couldn't all fit in the buggy at the same time, so they'd take turns going to Mass;
00:20:45 - Discussion about French language, younger generation now learning French in school;
00:22:00 - More discussion about WWII - awards he received
electricity / modernization;
air conditioning,
radios, television;
ancestors / genealogy
Interview with Albert Cormier and Edith Barousse
Cajuns; importance of family; education; food / diet / cuisine; family gatherings; mules; parties; chores / work; daily life; coffee; ground pepper; bread; school lunches
Interview with Lorenna Richard Sonnier
how to make lace; daily life; work; marriage (married for sixty-one years); education; chores / work;importance of family; food / diet / cuisine; church
Interview with Mayble and Liverday Young
Principal subjects: Great Depression and World War II erasdances / dancing / recreation; crops / agriculture; money; food / diet / cuisine; education; importance of family; house; technology / techological advances after World War II; tractors / mechanization; credit;weekly pay outside the home; buggies; church / religion / Catholic faith; transportation
Interview with Rose Broussard
daily life; games / recreation; Catholic church / religion / religious faith; education; learning English language; work / jobs; The Great Depression; World War II; dance halls / dancehalls; celebration of holidays; food / diet / cuisine; marriage
Interview with Earl P. Broussard
daily life; games / recreation; Catholic church / religion / religious faith; education; learning English language; work / jobs; The Great Depression; World War II; dance halls / dancehalls; celebration of holidays; food / diet / cuisine; marriage
Interview with Gladys Clouter
daily life; diet; clothing / costume; morale; townÕs appearance; daily life; effects; town appearance; morale
Interview with Elista Domingue Price
Great Depression; World War II; food; clothes / costume; travel; recreation / entertainment; work; school;French language / Cajun French / English; recreation / socials; linguistic change sin south Louisiana;education
Interview with Eugene Bradley Garber
daily life; diet; clothing; morale; townÕs appearance (Morgan City?)
Interview with Mrs. Margaret Gorman Rappmundt
daily life; diet; clothing; morale; Morgan City Ñ the townÕs appearance; daily life; effects of the war;Morgan City Ñ the townÕs appearance; morale
Interview with Ada ÒTante DotÓ Hebert
lived near Erath, Vermilion Parish; work / jobs; sewing baby clothes / material culture / textiles; working on a farm; washing on a washboard; money / economics; getting married / marriage; starting a family;living in a nursing home; hearing; bingo / recreation
Interview with Lily Mae ÒLemonÓ Hebert Romero
size of families / importance of families; country living / daily life; farming / economics; houses / architecture;baby dolls / material culture; mattresses; taking care of younger siblings; education / school; money;food stamps; husband left during World War II / draft; transportation / wagons / buggies / buggy
Interview with Edgar Mouton, Jr.
Great DepressionWorld War IICajun FrenchLafayette
Interview with Hilda Duhon Stelly, a.k.a.ÒMomÓ Stelly
daily life; economics / frugality during the Depression; farming / farm life; education; relocating / moving to a new house; getting married and starting a family; anxiety over the possibility that her husband would be drafted during the war; food stamps
Interview with Mrs. Gertie Dejean
Food, clothes, education, chores, language, change from French to English, entertainment
Interview with Cammie Fox
Great DepressionWorld War II
Interview with Patricia Broussard
New Orleans; World War II Ñ U.S.O.; Gentilly; multi generational households; food; costume / store bought clothes; food / diet / cuisine; started working at the age of twelve; telephones Ñ party lines
Interview with Alvin Smith
Jennings; World War II; high school football Ñ 6-man teams; rice farming; self-sufficiency of local farmers;sold eggs to store for hard currency; work Ñ began working at the age of twelve years; recreation / entertainment Ñ listened to battery powered radio; no telephones; daily life; moved from Jennings to Lafayette on April 1, 1950; outhouses; water wells; rural electrification / REA; French language / Cajun French; education Ñ students punished for speaking French; Acadiana Bottling Company
Interview with Delta Primeaux Trahan
radio; politics; school; orphans; work in field Ñ wages were $2.00 a day; clothing / homemade clothes; self-sufficiency / grew own food; sold eggs to the local store; brothers served in World War II; French language / Cajun French; telephones Ñ party lines; electric lights / electricity; punished at school for speaking French;education; water wells; outhouses; material culture; G.I. Bill
Interview with Lionel Clayton ÒBeauÓ Billeaudeaux
daily life in rural St. Landry and Evangeline parishes; French language / Cajun French; use of French language in residences and at school; education; German prisoner of war (POW) camps in the Eunice area;food / diet / cuisine; recreation / entertainment / duties / chores; travel
Interview with Harold M. Mire
Great Depression; World War II; daily life in Crowley; education; food / diet / cuisine; recreation; chores / duties; travel