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.
- This week in Louisiana history. April 23, 1831. Ponchartrain
Railroad opened, first west of Alleghenies.
- 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".
- 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.
Listen in iTunes.
Like us on Facebook.
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. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Listen in iTunes.
Like us on Facebook.
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.
- This week in Louisiana history. April 1, 1718. Approx. date
land began being cleared for city of New Orleans.
- 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.
- 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.
Listen in iTunes.
Like us on Facebook.
 |
| Bryan Wagner |
 |
| Bras Coupe |
149. LaKisha Simmons interview, Part 2. Author
of Crescent City Girls. “What was it like to grow up black and female in the segregated South? To
answer this question, LaKisha Simmons blends social history and
cultural studies, recreating children's streets and neighborhoods within
Jim Crow New Orleans and offering a rare look into black girls’
personal lives. Simmons argues that these children faced the difficult
task of adhering to middle-class expectations of purity and
respectability even as they encountered the daily realities of Jim Crow
violence, which included interracial sexual aggression, street
harassment, and presumptions of black girls’ impurity.” LaKisha Michelle Simmons
is assistant professor of global gender studies at the
University at Buffalo, SUNY.
She specializes in Black gender history, history of sexuality,
childhood, and cultural geography.
- This week in Louisiana history. March 26, 1804. The
Louisiana Purchase was divided at the 33rd parallel into two
parts, the District of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans.
- This week in New Orleans history. March 26, 1912.
Mistrial for Annie Crawford. The 28-year-old woman was on
trial for the poisoning of her 24 year-old sister Elise. Elise
had been ill for quite some time before her death. The
Crawford family had lost three family members within the past
15 months. On June 25, 1910, another sister, Mary Agnes
Crawford died suddenly -- the cause of death was attributed to
Acute Meningitis. Three weeks later on July 15 her
father, Walter C. Crawford passed away -- the cause of death
was allegedly Uremic Poisoning. Two weeks after that, on
July 29 her mother died -- it was thought that she also
succumbed to Uremic Poisoning. Upon the death of Elise
suspicions were raised that the family might have been victims
of murder.
- This week in Louisiana.
Louisiana Crawfish Festival
March 31st, 2016 - April 3rd, 2016
Sigur Center grounds
8245 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, LA 70043
504-329-6411
Website
Sigur Center grounds
Sample your way through more than 30,000 pounds of crawfish,
served boiled, fried, baked, over pasta, and more! Live music,
rides and crafts.
$5.00 entry fee
Listen in iTunes.
Like us on Facebook.
148. LaKisha Simmons interview, Part 1. Author
of Crescent City Girls. “What was it like to grow up black and female in the segregated South? To
answer this question, LaKisha Simmons blends social history and
cultural studies, recreating children's streets and neighborhoods within
Jim Crow New Orleans and offering a rare look into black girls'
personal lives. Simmons argues that these children faced the difficult
task of adhering to middle-class expectations of purity and
respectability even as they encountered the daily realities of Jim Crow
violence, which included interracial sexual aggression, street
harassment, and presumptions of black girls' impurity.” LaKisha Michelle Simmons
is assistant professor of global gender studies at the
University at Buffalo, SUNY.
She specializes in Black gender history, history of sexuality,
childhood, and cultural geography.
- This week in Louisiana history. March 19, 1687. French
explorer Rene'-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle who claimed
the entire Mississippi river drainage for France, is murdered
by his own men. (most creditable account).
- This week in New Orleans history. March 19, 1835.
New Orleans Draining Company was established by act of the
Louisiana legislature on March 19, 1835, the Company was to
drain, fill, and improve all of the land between the settled
portion of the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
Capital in the amount of $1 million, divided into 10,000
shares, was authorized by the act, which also provided limits
for purchase of stock by the city and state.
- This week in Louisiana.
Acadiana Dragon Boat Festival
March 26th, 2016
Bouligny Plaza
102 W Main St, New Iberia, LA 70560
337-352-2180
Website
Bouligny Plaza
Traditional dragon boats holding 20 rowers and one drummer
will race down the Bayou Teche. Food, beverages, etc will be
available and music through the day.
Listen in iTunes.
Like us on Facebook.
147. Renée Sentilles’ interview about Adah Isaac
Menken. Renee has written a major biography about Menken, Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity. The actress grew up in New Orleans and became the United States' first celebrity, as well known for her lifestyle as for her acting. This week we interview her about Loreta Janeta Velazquez, who wrote the memoir The Woman in Battle after the Civil War describing her adventures during the Civil War. She both dressed as a man to serve as a soldier, and as a woman to carry out her spying assignments.
- This week in Louisiana history. March 12, 1817. Miss.
Steamboat Navigation Co. seized Capt. H. Shreve's boat, the
Washington.
- This week in New Orleans history. Andrew Jackson Young, born
March 12, 1932 in New Orleans, is an American
politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has
served as a Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional
district, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations,
and Mayor of Atlanta.
- This week in Louisiana.
Iowa Rabbit Festival
March 18th, 2016 - March 19th, 2016
Burton Complex
7001 Gulf Hwy, Lake Charles, LA 70607
337-436-9566
Website
Burton Complex
Celebrating the economic and culinary impact rabbits have in
Southwest Louisiana, the annual Iowa Rabbit Festival is a
one-of-a-kind event, from the rabbit gumbo to crowning the new
Miss Bunny, who will go on to represent the festival at other
state-wide festivals and competitions. The family-friendly
event has some of the best music in the area from the Iowa
High School Marching band to local Cajun favorites. This
festival has it all, from great food to live music and
cook-offs! All proceeds from the festival go to support the
community of Iowa and various other youth organizations,
schools and not for profit groups.
