Louisiana Anthology Podcast: 623. Ed Branley, part 1

623. Part 1 of Ed Branley's return to the porch to talk about the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to America in 1825. Fifty years after the Revolutionary War, Lafayette returned for a triumphant tour of the United States. Nowhere was he more welcome than in his visit to Louisiana. Ed is a volunteer docent at the Cabildo Museum in Jackson Square, and the Museum has a fantastic eshibit commemorating the occasion.
"Bienvenue Lafayette. Thu, April 10, 2025 - Sun, January 18, 2026. Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s Visit to Louisiana. Lafayette's tour was marked by public celebrations, music, and the creation of commemorative items, making him a precursor to modern celebrity. One notable stop was his five-day visit to New Orleans in April 1825, where city officials spared no expense, spending the equivalent of $450,000 to transform the Cabildo into lavish accommodations for Lafayette, symbolizing the city's growing significance in the United States.

"To commemorate the bicentennial of Lafayette's tour, the Louisiana State Museum presents Bienvenue Lafayette from April 10, 2025, to January 18, 2026, opening on the exact 200th anniversary of his arrival in New Orleans. The exhibition features artifacts, documents, and works of art from local and national collections, and offers visitors insight into Lafayette's legacy as a champion of liberty, democracy, and the abolition of slavery. This exhibition deepens the public's understanding of Lafayette's impact on both the United States and France and highlights New Orleans' role in the broader historical narrative" (Cabildo).

Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today!
This week in Louisiana history. April 26, 1777. Galvez siezes 11 richly laden English ships on the Mississippi River.
This week in New Orleans history. U. S. Naval Air Station Dedicated
April 26, 1958. World War I flying ace Alvin Andrew Callender was born in New Orleans on the 4th of July, 1893, graduated from Tulane with a degree in architecture. He was deployed to France and assigned to 32 Squadron, equipped with SE-5As. Shortly after his second victory he was shot down by an enemy fighter on 10 June, but survived unhurt. He was shot down again and died near Ghislain, France, on October 30, 1918, of his injuries. He was awarded with eight aerial victories, his last being achieved on 24 September 1918. After the World War II era Naval Air Station on the Lakefront (now the University of New Orleans campus) closed in 1957, the United States Naval Air Station in Belle Chasse, which includes the original Alvin Callender Field, was dedicated on April 26, 1958.
This week in Louisiana.
Morehouse May Madness Street Festival
May 3, 2025
100 E. Madison Ave.
Bastrop, LA 71221
(318) 282-2985
morehousemaymadness@yahoo.com
Website
Morehouse May Madness is a street festival celebrating Morehouse Parish with the focus being on historic downtown Bastrop, LA. The festival features an art exhibit, a motorcycle exhibit, a classic car exhibit, awesome music, a kid zone, farmers market activities, music, and juried merchant and food vendors. All of these activities are located in downtown Bastrop with no gate fee. The Art Exhibit is filled with quilts, pottery, and paintings. All types of motorcycles will be exhibited. The popular Classic Car Exhibit is for cars that are 1995 or older. At the Farmers Market there will be music and fresh produce. Three inflatables, a Bastrop Fire Truck, the Bastrop Police Dept., and games will be included in the Kids Zone. MMM will have two stages. Food vendors will offer a wide range of food.
Postcards from Louisiana. Rev. Paris Poole talks about his book, Understanding the Book of Revelation at the Louisiana Book Festival.