Interviews with R.A. "Beedy" Herpin; Hazel Herpin; and Dalton Comeaux

Accession No.: 
BE1-054

Interview with Raymond Herpin:
00:40 - Real name - Raymond Andrew Herpin, discussing his nickname;
01:00 - background - Born September 1, 1918 in Crowley;
01:45 - Mother was from Beaumont, TX, he never learned to speak French;
02:20 - Education;
03:15 - Was in the Army when Pearl Harbor happened, was stationed at Barksdale, Discussing what made him join;
04:45 - Stationed in Shreveport, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City. Was a welder, crew chief, flight chief. Discharged in 1945;
07:00 - Didn't pilot planes, but assisted the pilots as a flight engineer;
08:10 - Highest rank was staff Seargent
08:30 - Cultural differences in different parts of the country;
10:40 - Other people who he served with who spoke French - Only one person from Broussard who he knew;
12:00 - Says he never felt out of place while serving;
13:00 - After serving, worked in the family business - Laundry pressing and dry cleaning;
16:00 - Discussing the planes that he flew on;

17:30 - Interview with Hazel Bernard Herpin:
18:00 - Went to Opelousas High School, Born in 1927,
18:20 - Didn't speak French, never saw kids punished for speaking French in school;
20:40 - Graduated from High School in 1945, then went to school to become a cadet nurse;
21:20 - Living in Baton Rouge for school;
23:00 - French in school;
27:00 - Her grandmother spoke Creole French
29:30 - Plantation homes in Saint Francisville;

30:20 - Interview with Dalton Comeaux:
30:30 - Background - Born in 1922 in Maurice. Went to High School in Indian Bayou;
31:20 - Speaks French - his mother spoke very little English;
33:15 - Learned English in school;
33:40 - Punishment for speaking French in school;
37:25 - Les Americains;
40:00 - French in the family;
40:40 - Creation of CODOFIL - shift in how people looked down on French speakers;
41:00 - Dalton discusses how being able to speak French helped him throughout his life;
41:40 - Teaching in Tunisia - Taught them how to raise beef and dairy cattle, did all of his teaching in French;
44:00 - Retired after returning from Tunisia;

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Shane K. Bernard
Subject: 
Louisiana, French Language, World War II, Education
Creator: 
Shane Bernard
Recording date: 
Thursday, July 17, 1997
Coverage Spatial: 
Opelousas, LA
Publisher: 
Shane K. Bernard
Rights Usage: 
All Rights Reserved
Language: 
English
Meta Information
Duration: 
46:04
Cataloged Date: 
Monday, February 5, 2024
Digitized Date: 
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Original Format: 
Audio--Cassette--60
Digital Format: 
Audio
Bit Depth: 
16 bit
Sampling Rate: 
44.1k
Storage Location: 
Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore