Interview with Merlin Fontenot

Accession No.: 
ST1-173

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

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Students
Subject: 
WWII; Cajun Music, Fiddle, French
Creator: 
Moriah Istre
Informants: 
Merlin Fontenot
Recording date: 
Thursday, April 3, 2003
Coverage Spatial: 
Vermilionville, Lafayette, LA
Publisher: 
Center for Louisiana Studies
Rights Usage: 
All Rights Reserved
Language: 
English
Meta Information
Duration: 
31:24
Cataloged Date: 
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Original Format: 
MP3
Digital Format: 
MP3
Storage Location: 
Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore - Born Digital