June 8- Cameron Dupuy & The Cajun Troubadours

June 22- Chris Miller & Bayou Roots

The siphon Every spring above New Orleans in Parishes bordering the Mississippi, farmers irrigated their rice fields with water from the River (le fleuve). Large cast-iron pipes, arched over the levee, and vibrated to touch as they spilled thousands of gallons of fresh water into the irrigation ditches that nourished the rice fields. Children swam and played in water where fish appeared overnight, as if magically; wading birds fed their hatchlings with whatever they could catch, and youngsters with baited strings caught crawfish by the bucket full, and gleefully chased stranded catfish with dip nets (carlets) after the River receded and siphons ceased to flow. Where rice grew – sugarcane and soybeans now flourish. The siphons have long been removed, and industrial pipes that carry chemical products to waiting vessels are mindful of what used to be. . . Editors Note: A much larger, Government financed, Fresh Water Diversion System of canals and pumping stations now uses River water to mitigate the damage that has been caused by Salt-Water Intrusion in the marshes south of St. Charles and nearby Parishes.

Maurice

May 11-Coobie Joe

June 8- Cameron Dupuy & The Cajun Troubadours

June 22- Chris Miller & Bayou Roots

Nostalgia: La Petit Pierre, the little stone of Vacherie. The Gravois family has owned a healing stone for over 200 years. Originally about three inches long, thick as a man’s thumb, black in color, mineral in composition and porous in nature; it has been used to treat hundreds of spider and snake bites, stings, infections and even the bites of animals suspected of being rabid – which may explain why such stones have historically been called mad stones. When applied to an affected area, the stone mysteriously clings to the skin until it fills with fluid, then falls off – after which it’s rinsed, dried and saved until needed again. The story goes that the stone came from the heart or liver of a white deer, and was given to the Gravois’s by an Indian who was nursed back to health by the family. The stone now exists in four pieces – having been broken by Doctors from Charity Hospital where it was taken in 1949 to determine why it had supernatural powers. They said, “there’s nothing mysterious about it, a dry porous stone will absorb and cause fluid to flow into it . . .” many were upset by the breaking of the stone, and some still believe that it was broken intentionally, just for a look into its make up ! ! !

Maurice

Jan 6 – Kira Viator & Bayou Beat

Jan 20 – Drew Simon & Friends

Feb 10 – Jesse Brown & Choupique (MARDI GRAS DANCE)

Mar 9 – Wallace Trahan & Rice and Gravy

Maurice Lasserre