154. Pete Melman, Part 2

154. Our interview with Pete Melman, Part 2. His novel Landsman has been called, "a stirring, evocative, and unforgettable epic novel of the Civil War in the tradition of Cold Mountain and Widow of the South. In the summer of 1853, in Lafayette City, Louisiana, eleven-year-old Elias Abrams loses his mother to yellow fever. Grief-stricken and alone, he becomes embroiled in the street life of New Orleans. After Elias is falsely accused of a crime and in order to escape arrest a decade later, he enlists as a private in the Third Louisiana Regiment, where three thousand other Jews will ultimately fight for the Confederacy.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 30, 1803. Louisiana Treaty Purchase Treaty signed.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 30, 1812.  Louisiana becomes a state. Nine years after the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France, Louisiana became the 18th American state on April 30, 1812. It was not contiguous to any other U.S. state (Mississippi was not admitted until 1817, Arkansas until 1836, and Texas in 1845).
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association
   May 6th, 2016 - May 8th, 2016
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
   1300 Rees St., 520 Parkway Dr, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
   337-332-6655 | 337-332-5917
   Website
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
   Famous Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop musicians and plays host to over 30 bands on three stages during the three-day festival.

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153. Peter Melman, Part 1

153. Our interview with Pete Melman, Part 1. His novel Landsman has been called, "a stirring, evocative, and unforgettable epic novel of the Civil War in the tradition of Cold Mountain and Widow of the South. In the summer of 1853, in Lafayette City, Louisiana, eleven-year-old Elias Abrams loses his mother to yellow fever. Grief-stricken and alone, he becomes embroiled in the street life of New Orleans. After Elias is falsely accused of a crime and in order to escape arrest a decade later, he enlists as a private in the Third Louisiana Regiment, where three thousand other Jews will ultimately fight for the Confederacy.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 23, 1831. Ponchartrain Railroad opened, first west of Alleghenies.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 23, 1939, the Zephyr first whisked New Orleanians into the sky along its winding path around the Pontchartrain Beach.  Harry Jr. remembered, when he was a twelve year-old, "It was fantastic to get on top of the Zephyr and see nothing but cow pasture as far as you could see in Gentilly".
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Slidell Spring Antique Street Fair
   April 23rd, 2016 - April 24th, 2016
   Slidell Antique Street Fair
   Erlanger, First & Second Sts., Slidell, LA 70458
   985-641-6316
   Website
   Slidell Antique Street Fair
   Family fun at Slidell's Antique Street Fairs, April 23 & 24 and October 29 & 30, 2016. Erlanger, First & Second Sts. Olde Towne Slidell. Antiques, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, crystal, food & drink, live music.

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152. Janet Bordelon, Part 2.

152. Part 2 of our interview with Janet Bordelon about Jewish people in Louisiana. Janet teaches Jewish history at Kehillah Jewish high school. She brings with her over 10 years of teaching experience at the secondary and undergraduate level. In 2014, Janet completed her PhD at NYU in 2014. Her research focused on church state issues in American history. Because of her connection to central Louisiana, she is especially interested in Jewish history regarding central and north Louisiana.

151. Janet Bordelon, Part 1

151. Part 1 of our interview with Janet Bordelon about Jewish history in Louisiana. Janet Bordelon teaches Jewish history at Kehillah Jewish high school. She brings with her over 10 years of teaching experience at the secondary and undergraduate level. In 2014, Janet completed her PhD at NYU in 2014. Her research focused on church state issues in American history. Because of her connection to central Louisiana, she is especially interested in Jewish history regarding central and north Louisiana.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 9, 1682. Louisiana Territory is so named by the Sieur de La Salle who reaches the mouth of the Mississippi April 9 with a party of 50 men after descending from the Illinois River.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 9, 1904.  Sharkey Bonano was born.  Born in Milneburg in 1898, trumpeter Gustave Joseph (Sharkey) Bonano entered the world as Jazz was beginning to brew in his hometown. Sometimes compared to Louis Prima, he was known as a charismatic personality and a fine musician.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival
   April 15th, 2016 - April 16th, 2016
   Downtown Riverbank Stage
   Downtown Natchitoches, Natchitoches, LA 71457
   800-259-1714
   Website
   Downtown Riverbank Stage
   Two-day musical event with a variety of music from rock to soul; food vendors on the riverbank of Cane River Lake in Downtown Natchitoches, Louisiana. For more information visit www.NatchJazzFest.com or www.Natchitoches.com.

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150. Bryan Wagner Interview

150. This week we interview Bryan Wagner about Bras Coupe and the history of policing in New Orleans.  Bryan is an associate professor in the English Department and affiliated faculty in the American Studies Program at UC Berkeley. He received a BA from Carleton College and a PhD in English from the University of Virginia before coming to Berkeley in 2002. His primary research focuses on African American expression in the context of slavery and its aftermath, and he has secondary interests in legal history, cultural theory, and popular music. His first book, Disturbing the Peace: Black Culture and the Police Power after Slavery, a study of black vernacular expression and its entanglement with the law, was published by Harvard University Press in 2009.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 1, 1718. Approx. date land began being cleared for city of New Orleans.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 2, 1842.  Daniel Henry Holmes Establishes D.H. Holmes Department Store. The Canal Street store was a landmark for 140 years, until Dillard's Department Store chain bought Holmes' stores & closed or renamed them in 1989.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   2016 Louisiana Samboree
   April 3rd, 2016 - April 10th, 2016
   State Fair of Louisiana-"Dare to Dream"
   3701 Hudson Ave, Shreveport, LA 71109
   318-655-0414
   Website
   State Fair of Louisiana: "Dare to Dream"
   Each year Louisiana Good Sam host a rally called Samboree which is held in April. The Good Sams are RV clubs.  The Louisiana Spring Samboree is rotated among the south regions (Texas, Arkansas). They are three day events and bring together hundreds of families from surrounding states. You will make many friends who you will run into from time to time at other functions. You can play games, both indoor and outdoor; attend seminars; enjoy good entertainment; and many other special activities.  Any member of the Good Sam Club is authorized to attend a Samboree. Membership in a local Good Sam Chapter is not a prerequisite; however joining a local Chapter is encouraged.

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Bryan Wagner

Bras Coupe