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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 live down there too. But at least I had my Sundays. Daddy and I went to church on Saturday afternoons at 4:00 in town. That’s when Mama took her nap and I had to be quiet. I hated that too, I wanted to be loud so Daddy decided that was a…
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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 hands that create it. He is known by many names and has lived a colorful life to say the least. He is full of stories of Cane River, the traditions, stories but most importantly the people. Born in 1937, John lived on Cane River until, like so many others in…
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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 had NO IDEA that it would become “a thing” and I’m so grateful for the support! One of the first designs I did was the I Am Creole shirt. About 11pm one night, I was laying across the foot of my bed with my laptop and just started typing. Staring…
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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. Ravard vs Ravare AND their Metoyer connection in France Janet Ravare Colson My family name is Ravare (or is it Ravard?). I am married to a Metoyer descendant. So the connection in France that I found was very interesting. Back to the Ravare vs Ravard controversy. To this…
