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One Life Lived, Many Lives Changed
On May 4, 2020 the world stopped turning for us when my Mother passed away. The past few months have been some of the most difficult and most enlightening as we begin to understand what life without her looks like. We were so fortunate to have our honorary brother, Dr. Andrew Jolivette, to step in to take care of us…
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Introducing Trouvaille
My husband and I have been on a journey for the past several years looking for a space, a spot (as he says) that was just right. We weren’t sure what we were looking for and what we would do with it but we were looking. And we found it. A beautiful piece of the world in the Plaisance community…
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John Oswald Colson Louisiana Tradition Bearer Award
On October 27, 2018 the office of Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser presented my Dad, John Oswald Colson with a proclamation making him an Honorary Louisiana Tradition Bearer. This award celebrates his efforts to remember and honor the tradition of folklife culture. The presentation was at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum in Natchitoches, LA and was followed by a…
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A Creole Love Story…What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t Always Stay There
In 2012, I was a struggling single mom raising two boys, 10 and 7. I was working two jobs, trying to be supermom and definitely not dating. I was 34 years old, divorced and okay with the fact that I would probably never get married again. I was over it and I found true contentment and happiness in the sweet,…
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I Lived in Town…A Sunday on Cane River Story
This is the story of every Sunday of my childhood, told from my little girl memories I lived in town. Even though I was just as Creole and Cane River as the other kids I still lived in town. I hated it, all the good stuff happened down the river and I was nine years old and wanted to…
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I have a therapist…and why you need one too
I’ve gone to therapy off and on for about twenty years. First, that makes me feel old as hell to say that. Second, that’s the only part of that statement I feel blah about. I have a therapist who is the bees knees do you hear me? The bees freaking knees. We are wildly inappropriate and we laugh and…
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Authentic Creole Surname Shirts…All the Craze!
After way more ideas that went in the trash than I care to remember, I finally came up with a simple design that says so very much. The Authentic Creole Surname shirts were a huge hit this holiday season and the names are still rolling in! Every name listed below was requested by a fan so if you don’t…
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The Filé Man
John Oswald Colson has been making filé most of his life. His mother and the generations before her all provided the Cane River community with fresh filé, red pepper and other seasonings. His process of making filé is now considered a folk art and the special flavor that seems so rich to his filé is the story in the…
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The Meaning Behind the I am Creole Shirt
The story behind THAT shirt…yep this one. When my brain first started coming up with the idea of this site and all of the other things that could go along with it I decided to maybe try to design a few shirts. Hoping there would be enough interest in the shirts to help bring an audience to the blog. I…
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Ravard vs Ravare and Metoyer Connections
This will be the first in a series written by Janet Ravare Colson, retired director of the Creole Heritage Center. This series will focus on looking back at some of the over thirty years (30 years!) of projects she has worked on and how much of that information is still relevant or how it has changed as technology has changed.…
