River Road Rambler: A Curious Traveler along Louisiana's Historic Byway

Preface

vii PREFACE For the past two decades, I have rambled the River Road, which is my definition for making numerous leisurely excursions through this richly historic corridor. On most of these outings, I tried to pack a dedicated curiosity and a sense of humor to help me discover the character of the place. I found some locations and stories that seemed unique or, if not unique by the strictest definition, at least unusual and underappreciated—special treasures that intrigued me for a variety of reasons. So, with apologies to John Irving, this book may have been best titled River Road Rambler: The World According to Me. Let me quickly define what I mean when I talk about the River Road, since my designation could seem a bit arbitrary. I am reclaiming here the definition I use in my book Along the River Road: it is the approximately one-hundred-mile-long corridor that traces the Mississippi River from the Jefferson/St. Charles parish lines up into East and West Baton Rouge Parishes. This cultural parkway, developed over three hundred years of recorded history, is layered with the settlements of many diverse people who have created a rich culture now bursting with local color. I didn’t—and still do not—include the greater New Orleans area in my purview despite its extraordinary history and influence, only because so many fine and detailed books about the city already exist. This book is a collection compiled by sifting through my two decades of rambling and learning about the area. This always came with surprises and the added advantage of an informal education about subjects far beyond my ordinary frame of reference. Many of these also offered almost as much local lore as formal history, which I did not resist. The fifteen stories included in this collection seemed, through my personal prism, worth telling, although admittedly it was very viii Preface difficult to decide what merited inclusion. Every plantation house open to the public is an extraordinary attraction; each small museum and the other diverse facilities that allow visitors to enjoy them are worth a stop. (All of these are identified and described in Along the River Road, third edition.) Some of the places I wanted to write about don’t offer public access , so I was delighted to be allowed escorted entrance after I’d convinced someone in charge about how compelling—and worth telling —their slice of the River Road is. Unfortunately, however, I was forced to omit a couple of subjects I had hoped to include, either because I couldn’t find sufficient detail to present anything new or I was unable to gain entrance. Originally I intended to write an historic essay about each subject , but somehow my observations and opinions intruded. The result is personal musings overlaid on a body of historic information, which may be a successful genre of writing or an utter failure. Nevertheless , it seemed the best way for me to tell these stories. As these pieces reveal, I am partial to preservation: I love the relics of material culture as well as stories and traditions, believing they help define the meaning of the River Road. Through my years of rambling, I’ve been privileged to meet many people along the river who were deeply knowledgeable about their particular areas. They have tried to protect and honor the history and heritage around them and to provoke an interest by a broader public. I have relied for twenty years on these “keepers of the flame”—a term I learned from someone else who revered their dedication. Unfortunately, some of my keepers have died; many others have reached venerable ages and are no longer able to invest their time and energy into supporting the places they hold dear. So it is most gratifying when I’ve seen the work of these keepers appreciated and continued by a succeeding generation . It has been equally distressing when those who might be their logical heirs seem to have no appreciation for the value of the heritage around them, its tangible remains. In these cases, I fear that they expose River Road treasures to certain demise. Beneath my preservationist instincts, however, also abides the Preface ix core of a pragmatist. I know that the River Road is not a museum under glass but has been a place of constant...