Winchester, Virginia – Day 2

The motorhome is still parked at Moose Lodge #1283. We expect to leave here tomorrow.

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about one mile to the Winchester Visitor Center for local information.

Winchester was the home of famous country singer Patsy Cline whose song “Crazy”, written by Willie Nelson, remains the #1 jukebox-played song of all time. At the center was a small Patsy Cline exhibit. Patsy died in a plane crash at the age of 30 near Camden, Tennessee. We visited that site recently and you can see the Blog entry by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-80v

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Here’s the poster for Patsy’s last performance. She died on Tuesday March 5, 1963…

Then we drove the about two miles to her grave site at Shenandoah Memorial Park…

From there about three miles to Patsy’s childhood home at 608 Kent Street…

Where docents Patricia (Patsy’s first cousin) and Pam (Patsy’s second cousin) told us Patsy stories. No photography was allowed in the house…

About three blocks away to Gaunt’s Drug Store where Patsy worked behind the no-longer-there soda fountain in the early 1950′s…

After lunch about one mile away we went to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley which depicts the history of life in this area…

You can view the official website of the museum by clicking this link…
http://www.shenandoahmuseum.org/

Yesterday it was 87 degrees with 88 forecast for today with equivalent humidity. Too danged hot and humid for my liking!!!

Enjoying interesting museums is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of West Virginia. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

POINT PLEASANT RIVER MUSEUM, WEST VIRGINIA

Yesterday, we crossed the bridge from Gallipolis,Ohio to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Practically under the bridge is a complex of State Land devoted to a fort, a War of 1812 memorial and this River Museum.

We don’t see much about the War of 1812. On the grounds is also a mansion, the site of government and all community meetings. You can see it to the left of the monument.

It kind of makes you smile, especially this crooked wall and rustic construction. Originally a tavern, it was the biggest building in the community and to them, it was a mansion. It’s all in the perspective.

The museum is about life on the river in this particular river community of Point Pleasant. The Museum is so full, you need a full day to really see it. And there is a wonderful river walk full of murals, and a fort nearby. Much to see here if you go.

A lot of different types and sizes of river boat models.

The usual artifacts of all things river boat you would expect to see.

You can play this calliope, they even give you the number guide to play country roads.

Ten whistles, but the music was loud and harsh to my ear. I think it needed the river atmosphere to sound right.

The river is life. Boats like this are called shanty boats where people lived. They couldn’t afford to buy land and build a house.

Who snapped the picture? You learn nothing about the family but what you can discern from a random photo.

The boats were owned by the captains of industry, but this captain, Tom Reynolds was a stern wheeler driver. He loved his job and he was known to sit in a chair and steer with his feet in an area where the river was stable.

The Sprague was called Big Momma. She could pull 56 loaded barges in a line.

Men who worked the boats gathered for a picture. They probably never would have had their picture taken in their whole life except for an arranged gathering like this.

All river towns face flooding at some point or another and Point Pleasant had a big one in 1903.

Amid hardship,  the theatre owner employed a bit of humor.  The town has since built a huge river wall, but the river wall couldn’t protect them from their very worst disaster that still affects the townspeople today, one of whom we met.

A new bridge in 1928, built in a style never tried before was called the Silver Bridge by the locals. It crossed from Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio. One horror filled night in 1967, the bridge gave way and toppled into the river, killing 47 people. Five men were rescued from the cold waters and lived to tell the tale.

A video shows the type of attachment that held up the uprights on the bridge.

A hairline crack, after 41 years, snapped and sent the bridge to the bottom in seconds.

All the tons of steel and concrete were nothing in the end. Visible is the rusting old railroad bridge in the back ground that our local fellow told us everyone worried would fall into the river some day.

But it was their bridge that fell. He told us he lived four minutes from the bridge. His wife and her visiting mother had gone shopping and were planning to cross over to a favorite restaurant, but they were tired, the traffic was heavy so they chose a local cafe instead. The lights blinked in the cafe. It was reported all over town the lights everywhere blinked as the bridge toppled. And, of course, the drama is, they would have been on that bridge. He told us of dozens of stories of people who would have gone, were supposed to be on it, and those who felt the shaking and were close enough to back up, or get out of their cars and run to land. Feelings were so raw, their loss so great, no one talked about it for years. They finally put up a memorial in the 1990s, if my memory is correct.

I particularly enjoyed a story about vaudeville and entertainment that made riding the boats up and down the river one of those glorious experiences.

One family, the Bryants worked vaudeville/melodrama aboard the paddle wheel steamers. Josephine, on top of the piano, married into the family and was a born entertainer.  You had to have a villain to boo, a heroine to save and a hero. The audiences didn’t tolerate intermissions. And if the show was short of two hours, they felt cheated and let you know it.

Billy Bryant was known for his wicked antics, he’d dance and hop all over and became an acrobatic thespian, much loved by audiences.

The Bryant family, as it grew, spent most of their lives aboard the boats. Sam and Violet, back center in the photo, came here from England. He had a traveling medicine show where he sold kerosene and red peppers made into a liniment. They got jobs working the Water Queen and decided they needed a boat of their own, which they did accomplish by 1907.

They sold cigarettes, candy and snacks, much like the nightclubs of Hollywood and New York while they sang and danced up and down the rivers. Such a life.

Jim and I walked the River Walk, and enjoyed the murals, some pastoral scenes of Virginia.

Others of a political nature.

And all within view of the gorgeous, cooling  Ohio River.  (And that rusting old railroad bridge still standing.)

Bardstown, Kentucky

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 75 miles from Park City to Bardstown, Kentucky in an all-day-long down-pouring rain.

Along the way we passed into the Eastern Time Zone.

First stop was at the…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

It’s located about three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky. In the visitors center we viewed a 15 minute film entitled…Abraham Lincoln – The Kentucky Years. The film told the story of how he was born here to upper-middle-class parents, Tom and Nancy. After two years the family moved to the Knob Creek Farm about ten miles northeast of this location. Here are some photos from the visitors center…

There’s a replica of the Lincoln cabin inside this memorial building which we did not go to because of the heavy rain, plus too many steps for Mary’s current physical condition…

Here’s the official government website link for this national historic park…
http://www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm

Then we drove the motorhome the about three miles to the center of Hodgenville to the Lincoln Museum that depicts the life of Abraham Lincoln…

Mary Todd Lincoln looked a lot like Mary Matzek…

Here’s the museum’s website link…
http://lincolnmuseum-ky.org/

We then drove the motorhome about six miles to Lincoln’s Knob Creek Farm where he lived from ages 3 through 7. The story told is while living here, he fell into Knob Creek and almost drown. A friend who extended a tree branch to Lincoln saved his life…

After living here, the Lincoln’s moved to Indiana and then Illinois. It was really enjoyable to see and get a better understanding of Lincoln’s boyhood. If it wasn’t for his friend saving his life…we wouldn’t have had him during the Civil War. Lincoln was 56 at the time of his assassination.

We continued on in the motorhome to arrive at Bardstown where we are parked at Moose Lodge #2408…

Here’s the dinette window photo…

The rain finally stopped during the night. It’s still a gray and gloomy overcast morning. We will move along later this morning.

Enjoying beautiful national historic sites and museums is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Kentucky. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

PERLICULTURE, PATSY CLINE AND CAMDEN ELKS CLUB.

 

Pearls were used as decoration 3,500 years before Christ. The only gem that formed naturally and useable as soon as you bit down on one while eating a mollusk of some sort. They became valued for their beauty and natural perfection by all early cultures and remain so today. Birdsong Bob Keast bought into the only place in North America that farms pearls. Bob’s Birdsong Resort, the pearl farm, boat slips, boat rentals and sales is not unlike a little city of its own.

An aerial view of the spot on the Tennessee River off I-40 near Camden is where Bob runs his farm, gives tours and sells beautiful pearl jewelry, among other needed items in his store. A little museum tells the story and a 45 minute film shows how it is done. Bob even has his own sauce, Birdsong Bob’s Barbecue Sauce-mild, unlike his personality.

In fact, Bob was so busy, (his wife Judith calls him “Type A”)) we didn’t get a picture of him. He appeared to be putting out wildfires right and left. I guess a resort with permanent sites, rental sites, room for tenters, along with boat rentals coming in from fishing for the day, and…well you get the point. It is a very busy place. The formal picture above is from when Bob was made official Ambassador for the State of Tennessee. And, we all know Judith helps make all he does possible.

And now to the culture of fresh water pearls. My first thought was how do they find the particular mollusk that has been “seeded” with an irritant to produce a pearl? Well, the answer is pretty simple. The mollusks are tied in wire racks and suspended in the water until the pearl forms. And, I learned that pearls can be formed in any number of different mollusks such as oysters, clams, conch and others. The large mollusk above has room enough to seed forty small pearls at once.

The mollusk is soaked in warmish water until it relaxes and opens its mighty grip. It is sometimes necessary to sedate them a bit. Then, the “seeds” made from plugs of used shells or thinner organic mantle material are inserted and the mollusk is left to form a crystalline carbonate natural coating over the irritant, and thus the pearl is formed.

Though cultured pearls are made by the bi-valve, the same way a naturally occurring pearl is made, culturing allows different shapes to be put in the shell and form squares, crosses, or your initials if you are so inclined.

 

 

 

Perhaps the most famous pearl was once owned by a queen and purchased by Richard Burton for his queen. Truly gorgeous.

Bob’s store carries a beautiful line of finished pearls for sale, some quite affordable I might add.

Anyone of these necklaces, with all colors of pearls, can be purchased for $45.

Fine  jewelry as in this pearl winged swan set in gold is also available.

White gold and pearl necklace and earrings sells for $1,500.

A golden fish with pearls and a diamond in his mouth, a real beautiful piece.

You can also buy some beautiful polished shells at Bobs.

.

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Pearls come in many colors, even gray pearls are beautiful on their own. In the film a piece of jewelry shows a bright orange pearl as the bulbous body of a spider.

Birdsong Resort is a bit off the beaten path but well worth a visit. And Bob is a first-rate character.

We left Birdsong and visited the Patsy Cline Memorial. She died March 5th, 1963.

The memorial is printed on a rock deep in the ravine where the plane went down. A sad day for all of us when  her  beautiful voice was silenced.

We spent the night at Camden Elks Lodge #2156 where we discovered the friendliest Elks Club we’ve ever visited. What a great bunch of guys….and gals. The guys gave Jim a shirt referencing their annual crappie tournament, and me a lodge pin. I’ve asked my lodge to give me something to handout along the way, but they don’t seem to be interested.

And, I’m not sure how this plumbers butt picture got into my camera. All I know is she usta wazza truck driver, but plumbing pays better, so she got a surgeons tattoo?  Or something like that. Itsa mystery. We gals had a grand time yakkin away. Thanks to all of you from Lodge #2156.

 

Camden, Tennessee

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 75 miles from Savannah to Camden, Tennessee.

Along the way we traveled on some narrow back roads…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Our first stop was at a rather unusual place…the Birdsong Marina, Campground and Pearl Farm/Museum. The next photo is of an aerial photo of the 58 acre complex…

And a photo of one of their advertisements…

Owners Bob and Judy Keast have two very complete websites. Here’s the link for the marina/campground…
http://www.birdsong.com/index.php

Bob told us that this is the only freshwater pearl farm in North America. Here’s the link for the Pearl Farm/Museum…
http://www.tennesseeriverpearls.com/index.php

Here are some of the photos that I took there…

To see the other 21 photos that I took, click this Picasa Web Album link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/PearlMuseumCamdenTennessee

Then on into Camden where we parked the motorhome at the back of Elks Club #2156…

and my usual dinette window photo…

I then unhooked the Bronco to drive the Bronco the about five miles to the Patsy Cline Crash Site Memorial location. Patsy Cline was a very famous country-western music singer who was only 30 years old when she died. You can read about her and the crash by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Cline

Once you reach the parking area you have to walk down an incline for about 300 yards. Mary wasn’t up to the return climb so she waited for me at the top…

Once you know where to look you can barely see the rock through the trees…

In 2007 I passed through Patsy’s hometown of Winchester, Virginia and visited her two homes, the drugstore where she once worked and her grave site. You can see those photos by clicking this Picasa Web Album link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/PatsyCline

Upon return to the Elks club we went inside and met a bunch of very friendly people. So much so that when we exited two hours later we declared Elks club #2156 in Camden, Tennessee…The Friendliest Elks Club In The United States!

We will move along further down the road later this morning.

Enjoying interesting places and museums is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location near Memphis in the State of Tennessee. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Southaven, Mississippi – Day 10

The motorhome is still parked at VFW Post #10567 in Southaven, Mississippi. The location is about 1/4 mile south of the Tennessee Border and about 10 miles south of the City of Memphis. We are now expecting to depart from here tomorrow.

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about 10 miles to downtown Memphis where we visited the Mud Island River Park. You can read all about this place by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_Island,_Memphis

Here’s their official website link…
http://www.mudisland.com/

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Although you can drive on to Mud Island by car, we elected to take the about 1/2 mile trip by a tram-car…

All throughout our day on Mud Island we saw lots of neat old photos and paintings…

Looking down upon a small portion of the River Walk. It’s 2,000 feet long and you can read all about it by clicking this link…
http://www.mudisland.com/c-14-riverwalk.aspx

Down on the ground along the River Walk…

At the southern end of the River Walk is this nice fountain…

The Interstate Highway 40 Bridge crossing the Mississippi River as seen from Mud Island…

Then we went into the museum which is comprised of 18 galleries that showcase 10,000 years of history in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.  The exhibits detail early inhabitants in the valley to modern-day transportation and contain over 5,000 artifacts; including two full size boat replicas which you can board and explore…

And back to the Bronco after another nice day…

Enjoying interesting places and museums is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location near Memphis in the State of Tennessee. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Vicksburg, Mississippi – Day 2

Note: Mary flew from Baton Rouge Airport, Louisiana on March 12 to her home in California. I’m hoping to get her back with me by mid-April. My current plans are to drift SLOWLY north along the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee where I’ll then turn northeast heading for New England for the Summer. Can’t go north too fast because it’s still cold up there! The Mississippi River is rich in history…I expect it to be an interesting passage. I’m now expecting to arrive in Memphis around April 14th.

————————————————————————————————————–

The motorhome is parked at Moose Lodge #1581. I expect to be here several more days.

Vicksburg has a very interesting history which you can read about by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg,_Mississippi

Nope, I’m not going to go. Gonna be to many people…too crowded. That was my initial reaction when I first heard I had, by accident, ended up in Vicksburg during the Civil War Heritage Fair…the first event in the signature Sesquicentennial (150 year) event. This music, these songs, these speeches along with crafts and handiwork identify what life was like here in Vicksburg in 1863…in the midst of a bloody Civil War.

I decided to take a chance and check it out…and I’m glad I did. Not only was it not overcrowded…I was surprised how few people were there. I went…and I’m glad I did.

You can read about this event by clicking this link…
http://www.nps.gov/vick/planyourvisit/vicksburg-national-military-park-cw150-events.htm

After a brief stop at the Vicksburg Visitors center, my next stop was at the Old Courthouse…a great old building and museum…

Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Then about a three block walk to Pemberton’s (who surrendered Vicksburg to Grant after a 47 day siege) Headquarters…

and across the street to the Southern Culture Heritage Center…

Where all of the notable people were in nearby attendance…

President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis and Mrs. Davis…

Sarah from Bloomington, Illinois portraying Albert Cashier, a woman pretending to be a man so she could fight in the war. Sarah is a founding member (18 years) of the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band. You can read about the band by clicking this Wikipedia link…
https://33rdband.com/

In real life Sarah is a substitute elementary school teacher. You can read all about Albert Cashier by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Cashier

A mammy…

An African-American Union Soldier…

A Civil War photographer…

A Confederate Soldier and his lady…

General Grant and Abraham Lincoln…

And the slaves…

During the course of the day there was lots of music. Because video gobbles up precious megabytes, I’m forced to keep these snippets short…but I wanted to give you a little flavor of the musical day. Just click the links…

First the Old Towne Brass Band…
http://youtu.be/T9sZ2KNlFBQ

Next is the 2nd South Carolina String Band…
http://youtu.be/c3KkH5ssKrI

And finally, Nick and Julia Blake…
http://youtu.be/rAyZY9PDQno

Another great day!

Enjoying historic places and meeting interesting people is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Mississippi. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Baker, Louisiana – Day 4

Note: Mary flew from Baton Rouge Airport, Louisiana on March 12 to her home in California. I’m hoping to get her back with me by mid-April. My current plans are to stay here for a few days and then start SLOWLY drifting north along the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee where I’ll then turn northeast heading for New England. Can’t go north too fast because it’s still cold up there!
————————————————————————————————————–

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #4224 in Baker, a few miles north of Baton Rouge.

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about 10 miles to the West Baton Rouge Museum which you can read about by clicking their official website link…
http://www.westbatonrougemuseum.com/

It is an excellently done museum where they have a large main building and several other buildings that have been moved from the plantations to that location…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Gwen Laviolette was my individual tour guide. She’s a retired French language school teacher, born in St. Martinsville, Louisiana and has lived in the area most of her life. She is very knowledgeable and provided me with a lot of information which greatly added to my visit there…

The museum is actually located in Port Allen…directly across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge…is funded by the Parish and hence the name…West Baton Rouge Museum. You can read about Port Allen by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Allen,_Louisiana

Gwen told me that in the past in this area of Louisiana…sugar was king. In 1900 there were 26 sugar mills…the last one closed in 2005. You can read about and see photos of that mill by clicking this link…
http://www.westbatonrougemuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73%3Acinclare-plantation&catid=42%3Ahistoric-markers&Itemid=54

Here’s an excellent link showing the remains of that mill…
http://abandonedbatonrouge.typepad.com/abandoned_baton_rouge/2010/04/cinclare-plantation-sugar-mill.html

A 22′ model of a sugar mill…

Here are some more photos that I took…

The Aillet House is an example of a small Creole plantation house…circa 1830…

As it once looked…

The interior of a slave cabin…

The interior of a plantation store…

Photos from inside the store…

Mr. Kirby is the head man of maintenance at the museum…

Other photos in the museum…

Like I said earlier…a great museum…admission for seniors is only $2. A good value for the experience. Highly recommended if you find yourself in this area.

Enjoying interesting local museums is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

ERATH, LOUISIANA

Yesterday, we drove to the small town of Erath, pronounced ee-rath, to visit their museum. A wonderful website intrigued us and off we went. We had an amusing introduction because the museum wasn’t open. We called all of the volunteers listed on a bronze plaque, obviously printed with high hopes, and only one was a working number with a message machine.  The City Hall claimed they had nothing to do with it. The cafe number was good, and an employee pointed to a paper-sign as the right number to call, and it, too, was disconnected. We kind of chomped at the bit and Jim called back to City Hall and asked to speak to the Mayor. The secretary there finally located someone to come and open the doors. I KNOW what it is like in a small town where the barber puts a “gone fishing” sign on his door, or the little museum run by volunteers has a sign, “Sorry, Gerta is sick today.”

Erath is the home of D.L. Menard, the musician we had just seen in concert at Eunice (back a few blogs).

There were a lot of pictures of Menard and this tapestry of Hank Williams, obviously a very popular figure in the South Land.

Other notable characters from Erath?  Several jockeys. I managed to get pictures of pictures of two of them.

In fact, there are some really great things in this museum, but it is so poorly presented, one cannot hope to find it without help. Volunteers uneducated in acessioning and display can’t be faulted. Putting it kindly, it is a mess. They are funded by the University and someone should have helped them put it together.

Artifacts are jumbled together. Hundreds of pictures, 3 X 5,’s are framed and you can’t possibly make sense of them or read what is written beneath them unless they are on a table or low on the walls. The walls are literally wallpapered with these photos.

Artifacts cover other artifacts until confusion reigns. The best pictures should have been blown up. Small ones filed in a rolodex fashion for people to read through or not. Well, now that I’ve complained, I must get to the meat of why this museum is worth visiting, if you are in the area.

Warren A Perrin, a local attorney, made a petition to Queen Elizabeth to apologize to the Acadian People for running them off their land and forcing them to move from Canada. Many people died as a result.  To everyone’s surprise, the queen agreed. A copy of the proclamation in English and French is above. Double click it to view what is written.

The ceremony and deliverance of the proclamation was held in Nova Scotia, where the Acadians had settled. On the right is the Queen’s Representative, dressed in clothing similar in style to clothing Queen Elizabeth wears. A very proud moment for Perrin and his delegation and a very important document for the Acadian population of Southern Louisiana.

I always look for an item I’ve never seen before and I found it. But, it is unidentified, the black studded tool at the bottom of the picture. If anyone out there knows what it is, let me know.

This case was for a storekeeper selling needles. The type of needle is described and pictured on the lid. The customer could then choose a small tube of needles with a wooden “thimble” cap. Something else I’d never seen before.

I remember buying needles in packages like this. Even those are a thing of the past.

An interesting weapons case. Notice the skull on the pistol upper left corner. And the jawbone of an animal knife-front

This carving depicting the Acadians gathering together to leave their chosen homeland in Nova Scotia was given to the museum by Evangeline Parrish.

And as usual in this country, the ravages of hurricanes and flooding. The museum had to toss 3,000 artifacts damaged by Ike.

There is much to see here if you have the time and a ladder. Here, a 1930′s photo men taking bets on a cockfight.  I love the hats. Almost every man wore a hat in those days. We headed home and watched the sunset. I watched it while riding my bike.

SWAMP POP AND CAJUN MUSIC

Folk Music has an honored place in the music world, but somehow, Swamp Pop is ignored. It came up out of Southern Louisiana, where it was born, and spread unevenly in popularity all over the U.S. The flags show in the millions. As a teen in California I remember many of the songs I saw and heard in the Swamp Pop Music Museum in Ville Platte. Great memories and traditions. I just didn’t know much about the individuals and how it developed.

French Cajuns had some strange-sounding words and names. Tongue twisters for radio announcers, so they developed suitable compilations of their names, shortened, easy. There was also some hesitation from the performers because of their unique language, a blending of English and French and some African lingo thrown in. It suited the community from which it sprung and grew but they were punished for it when they attended school.

Some of these great performers were on the charts along with Elvis Presley. I just look at Dale and Grace and hear “I’m leaving it all up to you.ooh.ooh..you decide, whatcha gonna do…”

“Graduation Night”  TK Hulin. I did not remember his name until I came here. They have a huge collection of 45′s you can listen to.

They sell out a Swamp Pop Reunion every year here in Ville Platte. Wish we had made it. All the living greats return. I hope PBS revives their music like they have the old rock n’ roll groups and folk singers. I’m going to call Sacramento PBS and see if they have plans to do it and point them to Southern Louisiana, the berceau of Swamp Pop.

They have artifacts and autographs and other things to enjoy. It is a small museum. But, it is the music that you remember.  Freddy Fenders, “Until The Last Teardrop Falls..” Warren Storm’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”. Tommy Mc Clain’s, “Sweet Dreams.”  Such fun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_pophttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_pop

Wikipedia has an in-depth  article on the origins of Swamp Pop (above).

We moved on to Mamou to catch Fred’s Lounge in the morning. Jim  just happened to meet Tauntie Sue coming out the back door. Jim asked if it was okay to park on the side street. She said,”No, come park at my house, I just live down the street. I can hook you up with power.”

She is such a sweet and generous soul. We visited Fred’s Lounge in 2010 and Sue was still tending bar in the lounge she and her husband opened in 1946. Fred died in 1992 and Sue has kept it going for all day Saturday, drinking and dancing to a live Cajun band that is broadcast live on radio.  She told us she quit tending bar, but she goes every Saturday, sets up and enjoys the music and the patrons. The popularity of the place started when Charles Kuralt stopped there and made a segment  about the bar for his television show. It has grown and grown ever since.

This historical plaque is posted on the building.

Jim’s visited Mamou several times but had never walked around the town. We found a square put up by the local rotary club, honoring the Cajun Music Capital of the World.

A huge mural lines one wall of the square. This is a wedding scene. I love the little boy clacking spoons to the music on the porch. Very realistic beginnings for some Cajun musicians. Making the table in the yard  ready for the food to follow. (You can double-click pictures to make them larger.)

And, on that same wall, twelve people honored for promoting and identifying the passion and spirit of Cajun music that have made Mamou the Cajun Music Capital of the World. I tell you, Southern Louisiana  is all about good music and good food and friendly people. Taunte Sue is the only woman on the wall.

We walked Main St., which isn’t very long. Manuel’s Bar across the street from Fred’s Lounge started the same year, 1946. We talked to the son of the original owner who we met on the street. This sign was on their window. I liked the “drama” part.

Tauntie Sue’s rules are No Swearing, No Fights, No dancing on the tables. We stayed all day last time, and everyone danced, drank, ate from the jambalaya cooked up out back by some volunteers, and had a great time. No one got drunk and out of line. Tauntie Sue suggested a great restaurant, right across from her Lounge. But, they weren’t open when we were hungriest and we ate Tasso stew at home instead. And some shrimp with Jack Miller’s cocktail sauce for an appetizer. Good stuff!