Interviews with Allen Simon (cont.); Elmo Authement

Accession No.: 
BE1-063

Interview with Allen Simon - continued:
00:00 - Hillbilly/Country and Western Music on the radio - Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride;
01:55 - Music clubs - lists bands he'd watch at clubs - Larry Brasso, Warren Storm, Bobby Page, J.B. Terry, etc;
03:15 - French music on records - Joe Falcon "Allons a Lafayette;
04:10 - Allen first got a TV in the mid '50s - TVs were called "boite de portrait"
06:45 - Discusses television's effect on the Americanization of Cajuns

Interview with Elmo Authement - Lafayette, LA
11:15 - They'd never speak French in the school building, but would during recess. If they were caught, they were punished;
13:00 - Attended Cutoff Hight School, moved to Lafayette for college, served in WWII and then settled in Lafayette;
13:30 - Authement Family information;
14:30 - Bernard's research methods - Having local newspapers print letters reaching out to potential interviewees;
15:30 - Background - Born in 1921, Father was Joseph Authement, Mother was Eliska (?) Lafort, started school in 1926;
16:20 - Had learned a bit of English via the radio before he entered school;
17:25 - First days of school - Most teachers were bilingual, all students were native French speakers;
18:55 - Parish to parish differences in punishment for speaking French in school - Was maybe slightly less severe in Lafourche Parish;
20:00 - Description of a punishment for speaking French in schools using a noose;
21:50 - Taught in Carencro, at that point, he never came across policies for punishing French speakers;
22:40 - Bombing of Pearl Harbor - was in his last semester at USL, drafted after graduation, went to Flying Cadet School;
23:45 - Became a radio operator, was able to choose to serve in New Orleans, then was transferred to Brownsville, TX, then to Mexico;
28:15 - Culture shock, changing his speaking accent;

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Shane K. Bernard
Subject: 
Louisiana; French language; Cajun Music, Country Music
Creator: 
Shane Bernard
Informants: 
Allen Simon; Elmo Authement
Recording date: 
Monday, September 15, 1997
Coverage Spatial: 
Abbeville, LA
Publisher: 
Shane K. Bernard
Rights Usage: 
All Rights Reserved
Language: 
English
Meta Information
Duration: 
30:58
Cataloged Date: 
Monday, February 5, 2024
Digitized Date: 
Wednesday, February 1, 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