The Spiritual Backdrop: Thibodaux Churches
treneice cannon video editor
Circuit’s Soundtrack
gabrielle chaisson staff A song list made up of 10 notable Chitlin’ Circuit artists from the ’50s and ’60s and their highest-rated Billboard R&B hits, which tracked the success of Black artists among Black audiences. Billboard charts have measured radio sales and jukebox successes since the 1940s. The “Race Records” chart highlighted music targeted at black audiences until 1950, when Billboard renamed it Rhythm and Blues, aka R&B. Source: https://exhibitions.lib.umd.edu/fatsdomino/legacy/charts Popular circuit performer Guitar Slim released his hit “The Things That I Used To Do” in 1953. In 1954, it spent 21 weeks on the Billboard R&B charts and 14 weeks at number one on the “Most Played in Juke Boxes” list. Ray Charles, another popular circuit performer, played the piano on this record. Source: https://blues.org/blues_hof_inductee/the-things-that-i-used-to-do-guitar-slim-specialty-1953/ Following the success of Tutti Frutti in 1955, Little Richard released “Long Tall Sally” the following year. This record peaked at number one on the “Billboard Rhythm and Blues Best Sellers” chart. This song became Little Richard’s first number-one R&B hit. Source: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/little-richard-biography-and-career-timeline/27612/ Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/little-richards-best-moments-songs-movies-9374735/ Fats Domino’s 1956 version of “Blueberry Hill” dominated the R&B charts for 11 weeks and held the number two spot on the pop charts for three weeks, making it a hit with both black and white audiences. Source: https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Blueberry-Hill_DeWitt.pdf Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/fats-domino-12-essential-songs-116967/aint-that-a-shame-1955-117550/ Ike and Tina Turner’s 1960 Billboard hit “A Fool In Love” held the number two spot on the “Hot R&B Sides” chart and peaked at number 27 on the “Hot 100” chart. It served as the duo’s first Billboard charting single. Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/tina-turner-hot-100-hits-favorite-song-poll-1235340447/ Sam Cooke released his Billboard hit “Bring It On Home To Me” in 1962. It spent 18 weeks on the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at number two. He received a Grammy nomination for “Best Rhythm and Blues Recording” with this record. Source: https://www.billboard.com/artist/sam-cooke/ Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammys-2022-sam-cookes-music-nominated-1235010070/ Ray Charles’ 1962 hit “I Can’t Stop Loving You” spent 16 weeks on the Billboard R&B charts. It peaked at number one and held that spot for 10 weeks. Charles released this song as part of his country album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Source: https://www.billboard.com/artist/ray-charles/chart-history/hsi/ Source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ray-charles-tops-charts/ Slim Harpo released his hit “Baby Scratch My Back” in 1966. It peaked at number one on the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks and stayed on the chart for 18 weeks. His music’s impact expanded beyond blues into rock n’ roll with remakes of The Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead. Source: https://www.billboard.com/artist/slim-harpo/ Source: https://westbatonrougemuseum.org/277/James-Slim-Harpo-Moore Aretha Franklin’s 1967 reimagining of Otis Redding’s song “Respect” stayed on Billboard’s R&B charts for 15 weeks and spent eight of those weeks at number one. It became an anthem for women’s empowerment and appealed to black and white audiences during the Civil Rights Movement. Source: https://www.billboard.com/artist/aretha-franklin/chart-history/bsi/ Source: https://www.biography.com/musicians/aretha-franklin-respect-meaning James Brown released his hit “Cold Sweat” in 1967. It peaked at number one on Billboard’s R&B charts and held the spot for three weeks. Credited with creating a new genre of music, Brown blended soul with funk. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/oct/28/james-brown-10-of-the-best Otis Redding’s 1968 (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay posthumous album remained on the Billboard R&B charts for 37 weeks and held the number one spot for three weeks. His song of the same title became the “first posthumous number-one record in chart history.” Source: https://www.billboard.com/artist/otis-redding/chart-history/blp/ Source: https://americansongwriter.com/the-dock-of-the-bay-otis-redding-behind-the-song/
Recreating the Circuit: The Sugar Bowl
jaci remondet staff
The Lost Bayou: Chitlin Circuit – new
sarah kraemer features editor The 1930s to the 1960s were the height of blues, jazz, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll music. It was also the height of Jim Crow segregation in the South. In a time when Black musicians could not perform at popular, career-making venues, these musicians had to find unique ways to play for audiences. Because of this, performers and venue owners created an “underground” network of live entertainment locations now called the Chitlin’ Circuit. Small venues on the circuit were located everywhere from Texas to Florida to Massachusetts to the small Louisiana town of Thibodaux. Thibodaux “was like a base on a baseball field” for black musicians, says Jeff Hannusch, author of “The Soul of New Orleans: A Legacy of Rhythm and Blues.” Thibodaux was home to various stops on the Chitlin’ Circuit, like the Sugar Bowl, that were kickoffs for musicians’ careers — impacting the musicians, the residents, and the culture of the area itself. “The music was unpolished, but that’s what made it so good. It was the real thing. It was reality.” Jeff Hannusch https://youtu.be/2TVGVIyw1F0 Thibodaux is in the heart of Bayou Lafourche, that area south of New Orleans that most of the U.S. believes sits in the water. This Cajun town has a community that fosters a unique music culture. These characteristics made Thibodaux a prime area for African American musicians to perform during Jim Crow segregation, especially with the financial help and moral support of the Sugar Bowl Owner Hosea Hill, Hannusch says. After The Great Depression, the Great Migration of Black Americans from the South to the North corresponded with a migration of rural black Americans to cities like New Orleans. “Between 1920 and 1940, the New Orleans black population swelled from 100,000 to 150,000,” according to “A Closer Walk,” a non-profit website focusing on New Orleans’ music history. Among those migrating to the Crescent City were young people from small towns, like Thibodaux, who would become some of the most influential blues and R&B artists of the time. This migration led to venues owned, run, and visited by Black Americans in these cities and their rural feeder towns. Hannusch, a New Orleans resident, says people would get dressed up to “raise hell” and listen to these musicians. “The music was unpolished, but that’s what made it so good,” Hannusch says. “It was the real thing. It was reality.” This music and these venues became a part of the Black culture of the time, especially in an era before entertainment media like TV and the Internet. 93-year-old Mary Anne Hoffman says she remembers her friends attending circuit performances. “At the time, it wasn’t proper [for white people] to go into those places, but a lot of my friends went and participated in that,” says the Thibodaux native. Those stepping over the segregation lines could face serious consequences. “You would have to take a chance,” Hannusch says. “A lot of those guys ended up in jail for the night.” Because of the fear of crossing segregation lines the circuit had an air of secrecy and the stories of the musicians and their impact have also stayed hidden. The Circuit with Dr. Jason Ladd | Today Thus, today the essence of the Chitlin’ Circuit is mostly lost and unspoken. Hannusch says that’s why he began his research. “It was ignored by a lot of people at the time…and now,” he says. This, along with the normal passage of time, means those who experienced the Chitlin’ Circuit firsthand are gradually taking those memories to their graves. “I had several friends that I know would know so much, but… they’re either dead, or I can’t reach them,” Hoffman says. The music and the memories of the circuit’s culture can be told, however. Like a vinyl record created by musicians with accuracy and care, the story of the Chitlin’ Circuit can be recorded by those who experienced the music and by those impacted by the culture of the musicians who created it. This issue of Garde Voir Ci will do just that. “It was ignored by a lot of people at the time…and now.” Jeff Hannusch Hosea Hill’s Sugar Bowl in Thibodaux Invitation to the Sugar Bowl Tina Turner performing in Thibodaux Eddie Jones, Thurston Hill, and Hosea Hill
By the Decade
For the more than 900,000 teenagers and young adults in South Louisiana’s Bayou Region, much of the thriving youth culture scene of past decades has disappeared. Bars, clubs, entertainment, and hangouts are now few and far between. “My friends and I would always go to the skating rink for lock-ins to have a good time; but now it has been converted into some apartment buildings and a church,” says Rebecca Davis, who grew up in Morgan City in the ’80s. “There isn’t much now for our grandchildren to do.” 50s-60s Top Hangouts 70s-80s Popular Youth Culture Places Youth Culture Places Today Popular Youth Hangouts
South Terrebonne High School
By hannah robert, guest contributor A school campus with the lights on but empty. The school doors barricaded, still keeping students out. The school cafeteria not holding food but instead debris. The school parking lot with no cars parked but instead dumpsters. The building is closed, and yet, school continues. South Terrebonne High School is a school in lower Terrebonne Parish that was devastated when Hurricane Ida hit on Aug. 26, 2021. Since then, the students have not set foot within the main school buildings. They platooned at H.L. Bourgeois High School last year and now attend classes in trailers, and yet they are an A school and have successful sports and band programs this year. Through it all, they have maintained their culture through sharing in community, giving without expecting anything in return and having hope. When the hurricane hit, it changed the South Terrebonne area for good. Katy Ledet, activities coordinator at the school, says that everyone talks about time in terms of “before and after Ida” because that was when time and reality changed. South Terrebonne had 970 students before the hurricane, but after it hit, the numbers went down to 826. The students were out of school until Sept. 28 and off their campus for one year. When they went to school at H.L Bourgeois, students attended their classes from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Students would often not get home until 7:30 p.m. or later because of traffic and problems staffing buses. The problems with platooning didn’t end there. There were also deeper problems of being away from home. Hayden Robichaux, student council and cheer sponsor, says “It was a traumatic experience for all of us. It felt like we were in survival mode. We were able to have class thanks to HLB, but we kept our heads down and didn’t realize how big what we were going through was until it was over.” Ledet says that it was all about being in a blue school. They had prom in H.L. Bourgeois’ gym with their mascot, the Brave, looking down at them. She says that everywhere she looked it was their colors and she just wanted to be back in a green school. “Not being surrounded by our colors, traditions, mascot, community and culture was so jarring. We were so far removed from our community and our green school. We needed to be back on the bayou” Ledet says They had to pause their traditions because they only had 35-minute classes and one football field for all of the parish’s schools to use. St. Ann Catholic Church in Bourg helped South Terrebonne during that year by giving them a place to hold events. The church gave them a key to their community center with no strings attached. They didn’t have to pay for expenses or book days to use the building. It was open to them. The South Terrebonne baseball team’s journey to the playoffs gave the community hope for the first time after the hurricane. No one expected the team to do anything because of the struggles they had to deal with, but they did it anyway. Ledet was live streaming the semi-final game for dozens of students at H.L. Bourgeois during recess. As she watched the team make the play to win their spot in the finals, Ledet broke down. She cried, hugged, laughed and cheered for the Gators. “It was the first time in this very blue school that we had such a perfect, green memory,” she says. The players played for their community and dedicated the school’s first state championship win to them. The team gave hope to the community for the first time since Hurricane Ida hit. “For a moment, nobody was worried about how far away school was. Nobody was worried about insurance,” Ledet says. “Nobody was worried about the tarp on their roof. Everybody was just watching baseball.” The community’s mindset shifted from focusing on the rebuilding to celebrating with the Gators. The community honored that throughout this year by making them captains of the Hercules parade and throwing banquets. The South Terrebonne baseball field is being repaired in time for the baseball season in the spring, so the Gators can play at home. This school and its community has helped each other, asking for nothing in return. The students have given the community something to celebrate and hope for during the long process of piecing their lives back together. The community has donated money, equipment and buildings to use to the school. “That is the essence of not only being Cajun but being a Gator,” Robichaux says. “It’s like when we were gutting my mom’s house after the storm. My neighbors came over and helped out just because, and while they were there, we fixed them dinner.” On Aug. 4 2022, the building of the trailer classrooms was finished and teachers got access to the buildings. The next day was their scheduled open house. Open house at South Terrebonne is normally a scheduled event with parents moving from classroom to classroom on a bell schedule to meet teachers. Because there was no time to prepare, the school hosted a different kind of open house. They unlocked the doors of the new campus and just let people walk around and take it in. Robichaux says that it turned into a “Where are you now?” talk. Everyone could finally see what progress has been made on the school, so they talked about what progress everyone had made at home. Who was back in their houses, who was still living in campers, who still had nothing and how everyone felt. Robichaux says that everyone breathed a sigh of relief that they were finally back home at South Terrebonne. They didn’t have to drive their kids across Houma every day for school. School would finally take place back on South Terrebonne’s campus. Just because they were back on campus didn’t mean all of their problems were solved. The teachers had
Schools in Progress
By Alexis Casnave, features Editor Despite it being over a year since Hurricane Ida, schools across Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes are still recovering. Golden Meadow Middle School suffered entensive damages due to Ida including flooding, damaged roofs, and outside benches reduced to rubble. Principal Hennessy Melancon says it took days for anyone to get out there to assess the damages. Once he was able to set foot on school grounds, he was left in shock. “To see the school in dismay, mangled, and twisted; it was like something out of a horror film,” says Melancon. “It was devastating.” “To see the school in dismay, mangled, and twisted; it was like something out of a horror film.” — Hennessy Melancon, Golden Meadow Middle School principal Golden Meadow Middle School was forced to move to Golden Meadow Upper campus while students from the upper and lower campus have combined together at the Golden Meadow lower campus. Melancon says the students and faculty will remain at the temporary location until the school is completely repaired sometime in the next year, but the exact timeline is currently unknown. “I am very proud of how our school community pulled together to get us back to something somewhat normal,” says Melancon. “This year has been amazing, but in all honesty until we are back on the other campus, we will never be totally normal.” South Lafourche High School is also still waiting for repairs, though the school is up and running. The school had a lot of internal and external damages that made the school uninhabitable for the several months after Ida. Maggie Punch, who teaches at the school, says it’s hard seeing the hurricane’s impact on her students. “I still have students coming to me and expressing their worry about completing school work because of the conditions they live in at home due to Ida,” says Punch. “I mean, I can’t imagine the stress of trying to get an education with a school in this condition and also if they’re going home to a cramped trailer.” Melissa Bagala, principal at St. Mary’s Nativity School in Raceland, also says it has been difficult. “My heart goes out to all my students, especially since they’re so little, so young.” ” — Melissa Bagala, St. Mary’s Nativity School principal “My heart goes out to all my students, especially since they’re so little, so young,” says Bagala. “I just hope my students, their parents, and my faculty keep faith as we navigate through these trying times.” PODCAST SERIESA look at school experiences after Hurricane Ida. a parent’s story Dr. Rachael Marchand Marcello Garde Voir Ci · Season 7, Episode 1 – School Stories with Rachael Marcello a teacher’s story Dr. Michael Martin Garde Voir Ci · Season 7, Episode 3 – School Stories with Michael Martin student stories Olivia Giddens Garde Voir Ci · Season 7, Episode 2 – School Stories with Olivia Giddens Kaylen Authement Garde Voir Ci · Season 7, Episode 4 – School Stories with Kaylen Authement Golden Meadow Middle School The common outdoor area at Golden Meadow Middle School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave Exterior damage at Golden Meadow Middle School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave The entrance is still boarded up at Golden Meadow Middle School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave School cafeteria at Golden Meadow Middle School Photo by: Alexis Casnave Damages to the art room at Golden Meadow Middle School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave Damages to the outside of Golden Meadow Middle School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave South Lafourche High School Front of South Lafourche High School building damaged by Hurricane Ida. Damaged cheer building at South Lafourche High School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave South Lafourche High School damaged ROTC building that is no longer in use. Photo by: Alexis Casnave Equipment parked for repairs at South Lafourche High School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave Band students practicing during construction at South Lafourche High School. Photo by: Alexis Casnave
Environmental Impacts
By Tyrese Lee, Podcast Editor While the natural areas look like they recover quickly from hurricane damage, the effects of Ida to South Louisiana’s environment is still evident. “They’re very resilient to things like this but if you look at it before and at the aftermath of how much marsh we have versus how much water, there is a lot more water than marsh now after the storm,” says Quenton Fontenot, head of biological sciences at Nicholls State University. “…there is a lot more water than marsh now after the storm.” — Quenton Fontenot, biologist Fontenot says Hurricane Ida’s strong winds churned up the Barataria estuary taking large chunks of marsh and pushing them north. “Imagine the waterway you normally drive the boat down is completely clogged up with marsh and mud and things like that,” says Fontenot. “It was a big change.” Thankfully, the levees held so there was no flood, but the water came up near the top of the levees, he says. The most significant impact seen in the area was the marsh’s redistribution. A lot of that marsh turned, rolled, and moved up north. Fontenot says that if you were to go out into the canal now, people wouldn’t be able to tell that any of the damage from Hurricane Ida happened. One thing Fontenot and his team are doing to mitigate the damage is re-dredging out the canals so that they can start getting their boats back and forth. “We still need to bring sediment to rebuild areas where the marshes were lost,” says Fontenot. Terraces, which are like little levies in the middle of open water, are being built to reduce the wind action, so the waves will not get churned up as much, and reduce the harm to the marshes. “By having those terraces, we get more vegetation in these habitats which is more beneficial to the organisms that live out there,” says Fontenot. Others, like Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary (BTNEP), are also working to restore the marshes. “All of these native plants are put out and grown in the estuary and planted in different areas where we’ve lost or tried to restore habitat,” says Ashleigh Lambiotte, the native plant nursery coordinator at BTNEP. Saltwater intrusion is a massive issue, and planting native plants helps hold all the soil in place, so it doesn’t erode or wash away. These native plants also act as a permanent physical barrier so that saltwater can’t get back into the upper marsh areas. “We really focus right now a lot on woody vegetation so some of the trees that we have are hackberry, the native red Mulberry, live oaks, French Mulberry, and yaupon holly,” says Lambiotte. Lambiotte also does a lot of work with native birds, monitoring and making habitats, and putting out nesting for some of our native or migratory birds affected by hurricanes like Ida.These native plants are all important to provide habitat, fruit, and sheltering places for local animals. Lambiotte believes that we need to work more on restoring this habitat along the coast and inland to prevent saltwater intrusion and rising tides. Some of BTNEP’s funding for these projects comes directly from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Shell, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). While people who live on the lower side of these bayous around Chauvin, Montegut, and the eastern part of Lafourche are still struggling to get repairs done, nature is well on the way to recovery, says Gary Lafleur, professor of biological sciences at Nicholls State University. “Things made by humans are much more susceptible to wind than a marsh. If something gets torn up in places like Montegut, Chauvin, and Isle de Jean Charles, it would take them longer to recover than the marshes would,” he says. “Some of my students and I are working in a marsh right here pretty close to Chauvin and we saw that the nutria, hogs, deer and the bobcats are all still there because natural systems often do OK in hurricanes.” “Things made by humans are much more susceptible to wind than a marsh.” — Gary Lafleur, biologist Mud lumps from Hurricane Ida at the Chauvin marsh. Contributed: Quenton Fontenot
Booming Construction
By Tyrese Lee, podcast Editor While Hurricane Ida damaged homes and businesses in South Louisiana, one industry is booming as they work to rebuild the region. Troy Brown, a contractor from Assumption Parish, says Hurricane Ida’s created so much work due to the massive amount of damage that it caused. “Because there was so much damage and work to be done, it created a backlog of contractors being able to get their work done,” says Brown, who is working in the parishes like Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James and St. John where Ida did the most damage. The amount of work drew construction crews from all over the country, but local residents preferred local builders. “I’m a well-known local contractor and because of my reputation of the quality of work that I do here in the area, I’ve ended up being on a positive note because it generates so much business for me locally,” says Brown At first, the focus was on fixing roof damage, says Brown. And area building supply companies like Home Depot and Lowe’s were quick to stock up on roofing material due to the need. One difficulty in rebuilding quickly was the impact Hurricane Ida had on supply chains and workers. Doug Gregory, president and CEO of Morrison Terrebonne Lumber, says, “It was difficult getting employees back to work, especially those who lost their dwellings. We all worked around the clock at our stores and worked on our own homes after work through the night. It has been an exhausting process for all of us.” Ida’s impact on the supply chain was better than Gregory thought it would be because many of his vendors knew Ida’s impact and prioritized him by working with him as soon as possible. Morrison Terrebonne Lumber works in the homebuilding, remodeling, and repair business. Gregory says they had to turn down work for various types of jobs because the company was so busy with the business from Ida. Even more than a year later, they are still busy. Gregory hopes Morrison Terrebonne will complete most of its building projects from Ida by late spring of 2023. Another construction business, The Brick Yard, also struggled to keep up with the demand. “The customers were lined up at the door waiting to get materials as fast as we got them, and things started to get very hectic,” says Christian Page, a warehouse operator of The Brick Yard. “The customers were lined up at the door waiting to get materials as fast as we got them, and things started to get very hectic.” — christian page, warehouse operator at The brick yard The Brick Yard had to increase vendors to get a lot of materials from outside by meeting with sources outside the state. Most of the Brick Yard’s business after Ida was in roofing shingles, delivering those materials to areas like Cut-Off, Napoleonville and Gray. “It [Hurricane Ida] definitely helped out but at the same time it was overwhelming for a small business to try to maintain such a very high-frequency amount of customer service,” says Page. To meet the increased business, the Brick Yard is in the process of building a new, larger building across the street from its current location along with hiring more employees. Construction companies are now focusing more on getting materials in time for repairs to people’s homes so that the victims of Ida can finally move on. Contributed: The Brick Yard Contributed: Morrison Terrebonne Lumber
Businesses Rebound
Kajun Twist restaurant in Galliano suffered major damage from Hurricane Ida. Contributed by: Anthony Goldsmith Anthony Golsmith in front of the Kajun Twist restaurant’s temporary food truck while they rebuilt. Contributed by: Anthony Goldsmith Kajun Twist’s popular po’boy. Contributed by: Anthony Goldsmith By Alexis Casnave, Features Editor Despite the hardships Hurricane Ida has caused, it has not stopped the local businesses of Louisiana from prospering. “I believe Houma and other parts of Southeast Louisiana will be bouncing back very soon,” says Sondra Corbitt, executive director of Explore Houma. Corbett reports more businesses have reopened than have closed. From restaurants to local movie theaters, Houma is on track to be fully functional in the next couple of years. Local flower shop, The Blooming Orchid, has been doing extremely well in the past year. The shop has been owned by Angela Adams since 1987 and Ida did little to slow down her business. “During the shop’s repair, me and my crew worked from my house,” says Adams. “I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.” “I was so grateful to still have business after such a horrific event.” — Angela Adams, owner of The Blooming Orchid Adams’ shop sustained water and wind damage causing holes in her roof and loss of electricity for a few weeks. She salvaged what she could in equipment and flowers and continued to work from her home and took business calls from her personal cell phone. Adams sells dozens of flower arrangements weekly with the number increasing into the hundreds during busy seasons like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. “A hurricane’s mess will be temporary, but the love and want for my flowers will stay constant,” says Adams. Farther south in Galliano, family-owned restaurant Kajun Twist reopened for business on October 10, more than a year after Ida struck. “Cooking this food is in my blood so I’ve been doing whatever it takes to share my talent with people,” says owner Anthony Goldsmith. Unfortunately, the damage the restaurant sustained was enough to close it indefinitely, but by December 2021 the business was able to continue working out of a food truck offering Louisiana favorites like shrimp po’boys and gumbo. Goldsmith says, “People are going miles out of their way to get a taste of our food and it’s truly a blessing after everything we’ve been through.”