Catahoula: Beloved Lake
A term paper presented to Dr. Benjamin Kaplan,
Southeastern Louisiana Institute,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for credit in Sociology 371G
—Marie D. Eastin—
May, 1960
Front cover of term paper
Chapter 1—Introduction
Many, many times a little girl (the writer) wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat for protection against the burning Louisiana sun sat fishing in a chaland¹. Seated at the opposite end of the small boat was her companion, her father. Occasionally the quiet was broken by the splash made by a fish as it snapped at an insect and fell back into the water of Catahoula Lake. Or, perhaps a barely audible drip made from drops of falling water from the oar of a native fisherman approaching otherwise silently in his pirogue² caught one’s attention. “Ca mordent?”³ might have been his greeting as he continued on his quiet way. Then again, the sound of a motor boat entering or leaving the lake suddenly shattered the calm of the summer day.
Into a wire cone-shaped net attached to the side of the boat and hanging below the surface of the water the two fisherman, the man and the little girl, dropped each fish after removing the hook. When the time should come to prepare them for frying or courtbouillon⁴ they would be perfectly fresh. The hook was baited again with a worm kept with many others in a tin can partly filled with soil and before long one felt a tug on the pole. After a time satisfied with their catch, the fisherman rowed to the shore where they had left their car and drove home to St. Martinville, the parish seat ten miles away.
Once in a while during the summer on Sunday family photos were held under one of the beautiful giant oaks near the shore of the lake. Early in the morning after mass two or three of the men went before the others to catch the fish which were to be fried in a black iron skillet over an open fire. The women who arrived later with the children brought such food as potato salad, fried chicken (in case the fish weren’t biting), an d bottle or two of homemade blackberry wine. For the children, or those who didn’t like wine, there was lemonade or iced tea with chunks of ice chipped off from a ten cent block purchased at the ice factory in St. Martinville. During the crab season the huge blue Catahoula crabs were boiled and consumed by dozens.
Other families from St. Martinville or even New Iberia and Lafayette, small cities of adjoining Iberia and Lafayette parishes, spent their day in the same leisurely manner. If the children begged hard enough, they were taken for rise in a pirogue or a chaland rented from a local fisherman. Older boys and girls danced at the open pavilion under a huge oak tree on the property of one of the local citizens.
A few years later in the early 1930’s the writer enjoyed other picnics at a “camp” on the north shore of the lake. This time her companions were her date, usually the nephew of the owner of the camp, and other couples from St. Martinville. Looking back, it seems that family picnicking “au lac”⁵ did not go on as much as before.
Between the years 1945 and 1948, the writer in the capacity of a Welfare Visitor employed by the St. Martin Parish Department of Public Welfare had occasion to do social work in the village of Catahoula and its vicinity. The native inhabitants often identified her as the same little girl who used to come fishing with her father, a strict game warden, whose work was remembered with admiration (mostly in retrospect) by some who understood his attempts to preserve the wild game and fish of the area upon which much of their livelihood and subsistence depended. Another great asset in establishing the proper rapport with the client was the writer’s ability to speak fluently the Acadian French and the Negro dialect which the inhabitants were adopting more and more with each generation.
Having returned to the teaching profession, in 1949 the writer received and accepted an appointment to teach in the Catahoula Lake Elementary School where at the time of this writing (1960) she is still employed as a sixth-grade teacher.
Purpose of the study. With this background, no better subject presented itself for a term paper as part of the requirements for a course in rural sociology to obtain graduate credits for a degree of Master of Education through Southwestern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette, Louisiana. The purpose of the study is to attempt to learn how one relatively isolated and still “backward” American rural community clings to some of its traditional ways of living, while modern influences are infiltrating bringing about changes in the culture and everyday lives of its inhabitants.
Importance of the study. This paper is not intended for publication, but those who read it may find “food for thought”. It is possible that to the reader, or readers, it may become an incentive to encourage the young people of the Catahoula Lake community to settle there. It is true that opportunities for employment in the area are scarce, but if the traditional occupations hold no appeal for them, jobs may be found within commuting distance to towns or small cities within the parish of St. Martin or adjoining parishes. Through such avenues as the school and the church the younger generation may be enlightened regarding the advantages and of the desirability of living in a small rural community with it close personal contacts. Such a point of view may be supported by presenting in contract life in the city with its impersonal relationships and other problems as they affect the life of the individual and his family. According to the rural sociologist, America urgently needs its small communities.
Sources and limitations of the study. Because there was no literature to review for this paper much of the information is as the Acadians say “On m’a dit.”⁶ That is, one source of the material and that obtained by informants whose names are withheld to avoid the risk of offending. The authenticity of this source therefore cannot be verified. Time did not permit more intensive study than that which the writer was able to do through personal interviews and observation in addition to background and experience as presented in the ensuing chapters. An effort was made to obtain information from the Census of 1960. Correspondence with the area office of the Bureau of the Census located in Lafayette, Louisiana produced no results as the writers’ purpose was concerned. The 1960 Census figures will not be completed until December 1960.
St. Rita’s Chapel
Chapter 2—The Catahoula Lake Village
The place. Catahoula Lake is located in the third ward of St. Martin Parish, State of Louisiana, ten miles from the city limits of St. Martinville, the parish seat. To reach the lake one travels on Highway 96, an asphalt road, which branches off to the east in front of St. Rita’s Chapel, the Catholic Church. From there the highway continues and comes to a dead end at the levee, part of the Atchafalaya levee system. (Figure 1) On the gravelled levee road one can go on to Henderson, another small community to the north.
According to Edwin Davis¹, Catahoula is an Indian name for “Beloved Lake.” One informant believed it was named by the Chitimacha Indians to mean “Lake of Sacrifice.” This tribe lived east of Bayou Teche in the Charenton Lake area in St. Mary Parish. They were primarily fisherman and for that reason were attracted to Catahoula Lake. Legend tells that they offered human sacrifice to their gods by casting a young maiden into its waters. Evidence of the life of the Indian inhabitants has been obtained from their mounds on the northeastern shore of the lake, but these have not been thoroughly explored.
The writer was told that some geologists are of the opinion that the lake, the depth of which is ninety to one hundred feet at its deepest parts, was formed by a fault. Since its banks are steep, this formation supports such an idea. It has been noticed by the present inhabitants that sudden unexplained drops and rises of the level of the water occur. For this reason some people believe there may be a subterranean channel connecting Catahoula Lake to the Atchafalaya River. If the reader will examine the map (Figure 1) it can readily be seen that this is not a true lake for it is fed by tributaries — bayous with interesting names such as Bayou Mercier and Bayou Garofier² — and a drainage canal.
Figure 1
After the memorable flood of 1927 the need for a higher and stronger levee became apparent. Construction of the Atchafalaya levee began in 1934 at which time it was expected that the work would be completed within ten years. Interrupted by World War II construction has been resumed. In 1959 work was underway to remedy a settling of the levee which obviously weakens its structure.
Cut off from some of its tributaries as a result of the levee, fishing in Catahoula Lake itself immediately began to wane. Thus it naturally followed that the resort atmosphere also became a thing of the past. Meanwhile the villagers witnessed one attempt at a modest sort of grandeur. A well known restaurateur from St Martinville had built the Catahoula Lake Inn, a combination night club and restaurant specializing in seafood. In anticipation of a future flood it was built high from the ground on pilings. For a while this establishment enjoyed a thriving business. People came from miles around, but toward the end of the first half of the nineteen-thirties the proprietor closed shop. In due course the building was torn down and the lumber sold. A few of the light fixtures in the present school building came from there.
There is much natural beauty around the lake and levee area. The humid subtropical climate (average temperature for July and August is 80 F.)
promotes luxuriant growths of many varieties of vegetation of which the live oak is the most spectacular. Only a few cypress trees remain scattered in the swamps beyond the levee, once plentiful, the demand for the durable and beautiful cypress timber led to its depletion. The sight of these moss-draped trees is not easily forgotten. Even though it is man-made the levee assumes a natural beauty of its own in the spring. Buttercups seen from a distance provide the effect of a pink rug laid against a green background.
Because of the climate and rich soil—not often does the winter temperature drop to freezing—the wild life abounded. Hunters could boast of a much greater “limits” thank they do, game such as quail, doves, wild ducks, geese, rabbit, and deer were so plentiful that a hunt seldom proved fruitless. Never, in the writer’s opinion, will members of the present generation be able to claim ownership of pillows, such as the writer treasures, stuffed with the down and fine feathers of the wild birds.
In the lake, nearby bayous, and swamps are many varieties of fish: catfish, buffalo, gaspergoo, brim, saccalé, bass, perch, chicopin, and others. Crabs and crawfish may be fished from shallow waters and in the swamps frogs and alligators are caught. The skin of the latter is still in great demand for leather, while some people prepare the flesh of the tail for cooking. The trapper finds muskrat, mink, otter, and raccoons; now there is a newcomer, the nutria.
Woodlands and swamps yielded timber for fuel and building to the early settler who found tupelo, wild pecan, ash, oak, cypress, willow, and others. Wild plum, wild cherries and muscadine as well as dewberries and blackberries could be gathered to add to the family’s subsistence. Moss came into commercial use to stuff furniture, automobile seats, to use as fertilizer and in explosives. It is still used by some people who cannot afford better to make mattresses when it is dried.
Early settlement and growth. Before the turn of the century two men from St. Martinville’s “aristocratic” families moved to Catahoula Lake to adopt a way of life of their own choosing. One of them, a Mr. Olivier, educated at Harvard, was the “black sheep” of his family. While his partner went into the timber business, Mr. Olivier chose to make his living fishing and trapping. Although both men married late, they reared large families. Many Olivier descendants live in Catahoula and have maintained a sort of community of their own by restricting much of their family and social contacts to their kids. Another family known to the writer has also kept this clannish custom.
As St. Martinville and other Acadian communities grew and expanded other people of Acadian descent moved there attracted by the natural resources or perhaps to marry someone who spoke the same language. Common family names are Borel, Latiolais, Laviolette, Theriot, Courville, Doucet, and, of course, Olivier. There are a few others strange to this list such as Smith, Buford, Higginbotham, and Johnson. Many of the former have followed the traditional occupations namely; fishing, trapping, moss-picking, farming.
In the present village of Catahoula which is not incorporated, the homes are clustered rather closely a little away from the shores of the lake, but less so on the north side since it was difficult to reach before a bridge was built. Natural growth of trees have been cleared away from the immediate surroundings of the houses the reason for which will be explained later.
Besides its residences, modern Catahoula can now boast of a lovely little Catholic Church, St. Rita’s Chapel, a small Baptist Mission, an eight-grade elementary school with a gymnasium and cafeteria. Business places include five small grocery stores where one may also make other limited purchases to meet personal and household needs. Two bars with dancing space are located in the village proper. There are no restaurants or industry, furniture store, lumber yard, movie theater, or other types of businesses except those named.
Technology and communications. When cord wood became too expensive a decade or so ago, the residents turned to butane gas which was more convenient to use for heating and cooking than the kerosene which had already begun to replace the use of wood for these purposes in addition to lighting. A natural gas line was complete in 1959 so most families have converted because it is much cheaper than butane.
Electricity was brought to Catahoula in 1939 and radios naturally followed. When the writer began her first year of teaching there in 1949 no one had a television set, but since 1955 the number of antennae has grown like mushrooms so that one is attached to the humblest home. Electricity also permitted the acquisition of washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, and other appliances.
Although there may be several to a party line, a fair proportion of the families enjoys the use of a telephone.
Before the automobile came into use and even up to fifteen years ago some of the people of Catahoula lived in virtual isolation from other communities. The horse and buggy was no longer the fashion, so they remained at home.
Early in the 1950’s a bus line attempted a route there but it did not prove profitable because there were not enough passengers so it did not last very long. (In 1949 the writer found that among the school children there were some who had never travelled to any place further than St. Martinville. Some had no conception of the size of an elephant, for example, and their interests were largely restricted to those of the community. To some of the younger children a Negro person was an oddity. Little attention was, and still is paid, to anything that came over the radio except weather forecasts and the programs which specialized in “cajun” music.) Television and ownership of an automobile by most families changed all of that.
In 1955 the asphalt road between St. Martinville and Catahoula was completed. The writer does not know in what year the gravelled road which it replaced was first laid. Unless memory fails, it was there well before 1927. Since most of the families own a car, much use is made of the new road to go shopping and to do their marketing in St. Martinville or the New Iberia and Lafayette where department and chain stores offer better prices and a wider variety of choice of goods than do the small Catahoula stores.
For over thirty years until 1959 residents of Catahoula and those who live on Highway 96 and side roads have received their mail by rural free delivery. Quite an argument against the establishment of a small post office, the Catahoula Rural Station, was put up by some of the villagers — the older ones especially. (They resented losing the convenience of having mail and packages picked up and delivered at their front gate. Now they must go to the post office to send off their money orders to Sears and Roebuck and other mail order houses. Among the school children it is quite evident that newspapers and magazines do not form part of the family’s mail, nor are any purchased as far as the teachers have been able to determine.
Although the Catahoula Lake community is served by a bookmobile from the St. Martin Parish Library located in St. Martinville, there are only one or two adult borrowers of books or magazines in the village itself. During the school session, from September to June, the bookmobile stops at the school once a month. Only a few of the children do not borrow from it. Teachers also are able to order resource books to supplement the material of the school library. During the vacation months the children continue to borrow twice monthly.
While farming is not done in the village proper a few families — two especially — who reside there cultivate sugar cane on surrounding lands. Some corn is grown, but not as a money crop. In the 1930’s introduction of mechanized equipment changed the picture of sugar cane production quite rapidly. Until then the plowing, planting, cultivation and harvesting was done by animal and hand labor. The cane was hauled to the mills in wagons drawn by mules. It is still necessary that a farmer own at least a wagon or two and a team of mules to haul the cane from certain parts of the field where the soil may be too soggy for heavy machinery. For the same reason a small amount of hand labor must be done by the farmer and his sons or a hired hand or two. Trailer trucks haul the cane to the nearby Levert-St. John Plantation mill or to Builliard’s in St. Martinville. The greatest part of the work is now accomplished by the use of cultivators, cane loaders, tractors, cane cutters, and the like. With mechanization went the gala atmosphere which had prevailed in Louisiana from the slavery days during the roulaison³ when field gangs sang as they worked swinging their cane knives to cut the leaves away from the stalks.
Occupations, subsistence, and money. A survey of school records for the years 1949 and 1960 was made to compare the occupations of the parents of the school children for those two years to observe whether changes had taken place in the past decade. For 1949 the findings clearly revealed that the occupations of farmer and fisherman — trapper were definitely the two more important. While farmers and fisherman-trappers are still important in 1960, two others, employees on dredge boats in varying capacities and men employed by oil companies, are of relatively equal importance. It was interesting to note the trend that has developed. The greater number of the fathers of the younger children are employed in the last two occupations. Other occupations were boat pilots, grocer, carpenter, school bus driver, mechanic, butcher, welder, and well digger. In 1960 there were no moss pickers, loggers, woodcutters, or boatbuilders as had been recorded in 1949. However, a considerable amount of moss picking is now going on owing to several factors: (1) unemployment, (2) the price of cotton is high so moss is used as a substitute for stuffing furniture and the like, (3) crabs and crawfish, at best seasonal, are now scare. The moss is purchased by a broker in St. Martinville and bought to gins elsewhere in the state.
According to information available to the writer, the incomes of farmers and fishermen-trappers range from two to three thousand dollars a year, that of the oil company and dredging employees average between four and five thousand annually. It may be mentioned here that only a few of the wives among the younger married couples are employed in small cities within commuting distance or in adjoining parishes or seasonally at the Evangeline Pepper and Food Products Company in St. Martinville. Buying of electrical appliances, automobiles, furniture, and storm fences is done on the installment plan.
It may be pointed out here that those in farming as shown by the school records, in general live away from Catahoula village proper. This leads to the conclusion that the principal occupations of those who reside in the village of Catahoula are the traditional trapper-fishermen, and dredging and oil company employees.
After visiting or working in the Catahoula lake community for a while, one is struck by the fact that few of the people make an effort to add to their subsistence. One does not see gardens, a cow, or poultry. Some pleasure fishing by those who do not pursue it as an occupation may be done, or perhaps a little hunting.
There are, of course, always exceptions. The writer obtained permission from the father of one of her pupils to secure information regarding their economy. This family is of special interest since they produce much of their subsistence. Although they grow sugar cane as a money crop the rest of the farm produce meets the food needs of the family and livestock. Ninety acres of land are cultivated under the tenant system on the three-fourths share (three-fourths of the crop income is received by the tenant and one-fourth goes to the landlord). In 1959 approximately 900 tons of cane were sold at $7.75 a ton. Seven children and parents form the family group, yet only two to three hundred dollars a year is spend for groceries which are purchased mainly in chain stores. The family owns eighty head of cattle which are in pastures near the levee or in woodlands near the village. Thus they are assured of milk and meat which is kept in a freezer. Vegetables are grown and consumed fresh and the surplus frozen or preserved. Corn is ground into grits and cornmeal for family consumption and the rest fed to poultry and livestock. The father owns most of his farm machinery, but is now making annual payments on a cane loader and on a cane cutter which he is buying in community with five other farmers. No laborers are employed because the older sons work with the father until they are old enough to leave home to seek employment and to marry and rear families of their own.
In regard to crawfishing a unique little industry was well underway in Catahoula in the last half of the past decade. Two fishermen separately set up the business of selling shelled crawfish tails. This turned out to be quite a trade. The demand by individuals and restaurants was so great that several hundred pounds were cleaned and sold daily during the season. In 1958 the season was especially bountiful for it began in early spring and continued well on into mid-summer. Seven or eight women were employed to do this work. Sanitary precautions are taken in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Public Health and the shelling is done in a small screened structure on the shore of the lake. Into a chute made of corrugated tin and attached to the building the waste shells are thrown and running water helps them to slide down into the water below.⁴
Structure where crawfish are cleaned
To the left of the little house is a small shed made of corrugated tin and blackened by the smoke of many wood fires over which the crawfish were par-boiled before being shelled. On the right (not shown in the picture) is a large walk-in freezer where packaged crawfish tails and fat are kept.
Crawfish are parboiled under this shed
Great expectations on the part of the citizens of Breaux Bridge, a small city fourteen miles north of St. Martinville, stemmed from the crawfishing and shelling business. In the latter part of 1958 preparations began for the celebration of the city’s centennial anniversary. Then something happened which resulted in near-catastrophe! A major part of the plans for the week-end events involved the serving of crawfish “en masse” to visitors who came for the occasion. Much advertising was expected to bring hundred of people to “The Crawfish Capital of the World”. What happened? No crawfish! That is, in comparison to the previous year, the supply was meager indeed.
No one seemed to be certain what has happened to the crawfish even though the state biologist was asked to make a study of the situation. Several factors may be involved, based on theories offered by experienced fishermen of Catahoula and the writer’s own opinion. Briefly these are: (1) Over-fishing extending into the reproductive season in 1958; (2) poisoning of fire ants in the area which may have killed other insects as well and so poisoned the crawfish which consumed them; (3) a variety of small catfish has become extremely plentiful and feed on the young crawfish. The writer is inclined to believe that the first is the primary factor such is so often the case when man abuses nature’s bounty.
A question regarding the activities of the Catahoula fishermen may have arisen in the mind of the reader by now since it has been mentioned that fishing in the lake itself declined after it was cut off from some of its tributaries. It should be understood that the principal catch had never been from the lake itself. The fishermen have “camps”, rudely built little cabins, along the bayous where they remain for several days at a time, going out to check their nets daily, A boat equipped with ice picks up the fish and brings them back to Catahoula where they are brought by truck and sold at the fish dock in St. Martinville.
Homes. Most of the houses in Catahoula are small frame structures with peaked corrugated tin roofs so that rain water will swiftly flow downward into gutters connected to a cistern, or more often, a rain barrel. Trees are not permitted to grow close to the house so as not to clog the gutters when they shed their leaves.
Windows and doors are screened to keep out flies and mosquitoes, but in general porches are not. The latter serve several purposes; (1) a place to sit and relax while entertaining a neighbor; (2) a cool spot to do the family ironing; (3) a place to do the family wash. It isn’t unusual in Catahoula to find a wringer-type washing machine on the front or back porch whichever is more conveniently placed where the wash water is allowed to drain into a ditch. Dish water is disposed of in the same way. While there are a few modern homes built in the last decade and others which have been repaired and improved, there are still many very shabby unpainted or, at best, white washed ones.
Very few homes have complete bathrooms although many families now seem to be able to afford them and have deep wells on the place. Apparently, no real need is felt for these conveniences. In general, however, the cost of bathroom equipment, a septic tank, a deep well, plumbing, and so on is prohibitive. Some homes contain the bathroom where one may take a sponge bath from a lavatory piped from a cistern and drained through a pipe under the house leading to an open ditch. In others, one bathes in a corrugated tub in the winter time, and in the summer in the tub kept in the “wash house.” In the old days a weekly bath was taken in front of the fireplace or near the wood stove in the kitchen where one had a little more privacy if the family were settled in another part of the house.
Although, as had been said before, electricity has been enjoyed in the village of Catahoula for the past twenty years, some families away from the main line must still use kerosene for lighting, cooking and heating. Even where there is electricity a lamp is kept low throughout the night as was the old custom when no light switch was within one’s reach from the bed.
A typical home in Catahoula
As shown in the snap shots the usual arrangement of a family place is to have a cistern next to the house and to the rear a privy, perhaps a small tool shed, and a “wash house.” The latter appears to be a must. If the house is modern, the wash house is modern if the house is shabby, so is the wash house, but there is one back of practically every house in Catahoula. Its purpose is to serve as a place for bathing, storing clothes, canned and preserved foods, and odds and ends. The visitor is also struck by the storm fence which surrounds almost every property. One place in particular stands out; it is a tiny three room shot-gun house⁵ on a lot measuring about one hundred feet by two hundred fifty. At a cost of ninety cents a foot the fence is of greater value than the house. This “fad” began in the past decade when somebody who could afford to buy the fence on the installment plan got tired of chasing out of the yard a stray cow, horse, mule, or dogs soiling clothes on the line and ruining flower beds and lawns. Incidentally, it is extremely doubtful that any fence-owner bought his cash.
Chapter 3—The People of Catahoula Lake
Population. Most of the inhabitants of Catahoula are of Acadian descent, but during World War II a few of the young men who went to war met and married young women form other lands or states. Some of the children of the present generation are half Polish, German and Mexican. A very close approximation of the population, since 1960 census figures were not available, is six hundred, all whites, for the village proper. No Negroes have been permitted to make their homes there; the primary reason is that they may take part of the white people’s subsistence. Family groups range in number on the average from seven to twelve.
The writer had hoped to break the total population of 1960 into age groups according to the census. A poor second best is offered by the following information. The school membership at the time of this writing (May,1960) is two hundred thirty, but included in this figure are the children who are taken to school by bus and does not include those who attend the St. Martinville High School or the Convent of Mercy School. According to the St. Martin Parish Department of Public Welfare the number of recipients for the village is as follows: Old Age Assistance, 18; Aid to Dependent Children, 6; Disability Assistance, 5; General Assistance, 2.
In addition, several families live on social security payments in cases where the father died and left his widow with dependent children.
Many of the young people migrate to areas where occupational opportunities are greater; this is true especially of the young men. The school membership at its highest during the past decade was 265 as compared to the present 230. The pastor of St. Rita’s Chapel informed the writer that the number of families in his parish used to be 300; now it is 275. These two facts point to the conclusion that migration is definitely taking place.
The family. Papa is head of the household not in name only in the Catahoula Lake families. There is no question who wears the pants because he is the boss; that is, until the children are considered old enough to make decisions for themselves. The wife usually submits to her husband’s way of thinking and it is he who handles the money.
Both parents are affectionate and indulgent toward their children who feel that they are loved in most cases. It is the exception when the children return home from school and the mother is not at home; if she isn’t, then they are instructed to go to the grandma’s or some other relatives to wait for her. The parents don’t carouse as a rule and if they go out to dances, for instance, the whole family goes. Because of the close family ties one may conclude that the children feel secure and for that reason there is no real delinquency among the teen-agers. From the time that he or she is quite young each child is assigned chores for which he is responsible daily. He or she may be required to haul water or empty tubs, help with the care of the younger children, perform certain household task, help Daddy (or Papa) with his fishing or farming and so on. Family solidarity is maintained, and because he feels needed, the child feels wanted. The verify the assignment of chores at home the writer asked her class about it and immediately most of the thirty-six pupils raised a hand.
Another sign of indulgence on the part of the parents is the amount of money given to even the poorest children for spending money. They rank among the world’s highest candy-eating group, beyond a doubt; The school candy and cold drinks stand is a thriving business. Consequently a child with good teeth is the exception, and many are wearing dentures in their early teens.
There have been cases of real neglect and even abandonment on the part of one parent or the other. When this happens the usual feelings of insecurity and bitterness in the children become evident. Some turn to their teacher for affection they lack at home and demand a great deal of attention.
When one is invited as a guest to have a meal or coffee, the visitor is made to feel that he is doing the honoring by his presence, rather than receiving it. The writer has actually experienced this on several occasion when the mother of a member of her class invited her for dinner (the noonday meal). Such training the children receive at home in hospitality, kindliness, and courtesy toward the stranger or visitor is reflected in their attitude toward a new child who enrolls at the school. Not once in the past eleven years has the writer seen a newcomer (one of whom became a delinquent after he left Catahoula) made to feel that he was an outside. On the contrary, the children of both sexes shower him with attention, share their candy, vie for his (or her) attention. The new pupil immediately feels accepted and is soon well adjusted to his age group. It is no wonder that without exception new pupils have remarked that the Catahoula school is the best they have attended.
To leave this topic without describing one family situation is too great to resist. For the sake of convenience, the writer will refer to the couple under consideration as Mr. and Mrs. C. This is the story: Mr. and Mrs C. were married twice; the second marriage was to each other. Each was widowed after the first marriage. By his first wife, Mr. C. had eight children and by her first husband, Mrs C. had five children. Thus, when the couple were wed, thirteen step-children were brought together. Mr. and Mrs. C. then had three children of their own, which brought the total number of children up to sixteen. Of the original group of children who were not related to each other a marriage resulted. This latter group has been described as the farming family under the topic Occupations, subsistence, and money in Chapter 2.
Neighborhoods. Solidarity among neighbors is a significant trait of neighborhood groups in Catahoula. The ladies especially visit one another daily which is one of the favorite pastimes of the people of the village. One seldom is in a home but just a few minutes when someone arrives with a tray on which are steaming cups for hot, black, French drip coffee. At least the neighbor is offered a cup of coffee.
A good deal of borrowing and lending goes on between neighbors particularly the women — a cup of coffee, a cup of sugar, or flour, an onion or the like are among the usual items. A mental note is made of what is borrowed, and a little extra measure is added when the item is returned. Among two neighbors who know and understand each other well there may be a mutual arrangement that small loans and not be returned. In such cases the neighbor is expected to borrow of equal value when she runs out of something. Only when it is absolutely necessary do the men borrow from each other, but if it can possibly be avoided borrowing of expensive tools or equipment is not done. The borrower takes great care to return the articles in as good or better condition than when it was received.
Sharing of “boucherie”¹ of a hog goes on among neighbors who help one another on such occasions. The work of the men involves killing and bleeding the animal, scraping the skin, and cutting the carcass. Women cut the layers of fat into small pieces so that it can be melted and kept for home cooking; the residue from the fat and pork skin is called “gratons”.² In the old days they scraped the intestines to make sausage, boudins³ and andouilles⁴ but now the casings are store-bought. Smoking or salting of meat is not done to preserve it as in past; freezers have eliminated the need for it. Although home slaughtering of hogs or calves forms part of the subsistence of farm families, some people in Catahoula keep a hog penned in their back yard until time for slaughtering. This the writer is sure of because next to the school yard there is strong odoriferous evidence of such.
Neighborliness comes to the fore especially during times of illness and death in a family. Neighbors call on the sick person, bring good things to eat, and offer their services. The writer will not dwell here on the people’s customs in relation to death because this subject will be discussed later.
The Catahoula Lake Elementary School. In the writer’s opinion, one of the strongest features of the Catahoula School is a stationary faculty. The principal received his appointment in 1937 and the most recent teacher, a young man, became a member of the faculty in September,1959 when a limited industrial arts program was launched. He also teaches seventh and eighth grade science and mathematics and in this respect replaced the principal who had a full teaching schedule until the 1959–1960 session. The other teachers are women, a congenial group, among whom only one has been there for five years; the others have been teaching in Catahoula an average of twelve years. All are fully qualified and hold a B.A. Degree. The industrial arts teacher, however, must earn credits in science and mathematics to become certified if he continues to teach these subjects. He is the only teacher whose age is below forty.
From the time they are in the first grade, the children and their backgrounds are well known to the next teacher as they progress, thus a deeper than usual pupil-teacher relationship is effected. Discipline is not a major problem; it is safe to say that there is not one pupil among the 230 who may be termed “uncontrollable”. When one “acts up” beyond the teacher’s and principal’s patience, and all else fails, two or three whacks on the seat of blue jeans with a thin flat paddle usually changes the culprit’s ways overnight. This is not intended to mean that the teachers nor the principal condone harsh corporal punishment by any means. Only those who witness the effect of the loud (but hardly painful) whacks can believe their remarkable effects. Twice during the present session when the writer had exhausted all her disciplinary skills, two of her male pupils just entering the age of puberty and “feeling their oats” were taken to the principal; result-two nice boys back to normal. Perhaps a psychologist could help analyze the mental processes which on during and after the noisy whacks. Incidentally, the parents support the principal in this disciplinary measure because they have known him long enough as a kind, charitable person and as a resident of their community for several years. They feel certain that a child will not be mistreated.
Older parents, some of whom are illiterate, have a “laissez-fair” attitude toward the education of their children. They do not concern themselves with seeing to it that the children prepare their school assignments for the next day, nor is a teacher ever asked about their progress. Notes to this group of parents regarding failures of lack of effort produce little results. If a son or daughter decides to quit school at sixteen when the compulsory school attendance law no longer applies, permission is granted. Again, there are exceptions. The younger parents, on the other hand, show more interest and their children probably will at least graduate from the St. Martinville High School or Convent of Mercy in greater number than before. This is a safe prediction to make judging from developments in education in Catahoula within the past decade.
When the second half-century began the number of high school graduates in the village of Catahoula could be counted on one’s fingers. Now their number is much greater, in addition to those who have migrated because of employment or who have married young men from elsewhere. Some have achieved high academic averages, a few have been valedictorians and salutatorians, others have represented the St. Martinville High School at district and state rallies, and a small number have entered Southwestern Louisiana Institute or Spencer’s Business College in Lafayette where they are presently attending. Most of this group of students have participated in extracurricular activities and attained recognition in club work and athletics. One member of the St. Martinville High School Faculty remarked to the writer that among her best students in social studies are those from Catahoula. Other members of the faculty have voiced their praise of these boys and girls particularly in regard to their attitude toward their work and their teachers.
Of those pupils who dropped out of elementary school or in their first year or two of high school, some have become quite successful in their field of endeavor. It is often a source of wry amusement to the Catahoula teachers that some young men whom they had taught and had considered “hopeless” as far as learning ability was concerned are now earning much better salaries on dredges and in oil fields than their own maximum pay.
All of this is accomplished by these young people without compulsion. The obstacles which they overcome would be quite discouraging to many other younger generation Americans. The family income is limited, and in many instances, they have endured actual poverty. In their homes there has been a great lack of what educators term as incentives to education — educated parents, reading material, encouragement toward higher education, not to mention a language barrier. Most of the speak French or to a larger extent a dialect. The following quotations from the speech of the pupils and their parents were noted, not for the purpose of being facetious, but to offer proof of the speech problems involved in bilingually which does not include the difficulty in enunciating certain blends most common of which is “th” pronounced “d”.
“The sharpener doesn’t want to sharpen.”
“Who’s for that?” (“Whose pencil is this?”)
“The dog barked after the lady.”
“After while I finished my work.” (“I finished my work a while ago.”)
“The shack had a lamp not like us.” (“There was a lamp unlike ours in the shack.”)
“My grandma used to make coffee in the fireplace until she got the electric gas.”
“My little boy had an operation for his Illinois.” (“Adenoids”)
“I have a good souvenir of your papa. He gave me some shit (sheet) rock.”
“I stuck me a nail.”
“My little girl won’t eat her shoes.” (Choux, French word for cabbage)
The school plant, as stated before, consists of the school building, cafeteria, and gymnasium. The school is constructed of cement blocks, has a cement floor and walls, and composition roofing. Six of the eight classrooms house the third through eighth grades. One of the other two rooms serves as a sort of library where the books for the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades are kept on shelves. The teachers, all of whom commute, are able to use the other room for a little relaxation and where they may run off class exercises on the duplicator. This room also provides space to store science equipment, the 16 millimeter projector, and other odds and ends. A basement is at each end of the hall which runs the length of the building.
School gymnasium
First and second graders are housed in two classrooms back of the gymnasium. In this building is a stage where annual graduation exercises are held for those who finish the eight grade.
The cafeteria where three women are employed as cooks holds modern equipment, and serves excellent meals to all the children.
School cafeteria
Plans are underway to begin improvements in each of the buildings. Included in these plans are improved lighting, a teacher’s lounge which will afford the teacher’s some privacy during their noon hour or in case of illness, a new floor for the cafeteria, and enlargement of the gymnasium. The last idea is mostly the result of pressure on the part of the community which need a larger place to hold its annual Mardi Gras dance.
Religion. There always was a little Catholic Church in Catahoula where a priest came to say Mass on Sundays, or, in the earlier days, as often as possible which sometimes was once a month. The people therefore, though Catholic, received little religious instruction. Since so many were and still are illiterate, they could not teach themselves. Consequently, while it cannot be said that they were immoral, there were this who for lack of religious training may have been considered unmoral. This is true of those in the lower strata of Catahoula society. While there are not many divorces or separations now, there were cases in which a man “ran away” with a woman and then lived in common-law until it may have become convenient to legalize the union. Some illegitimate births occurred. One hears less now of such cases perhaps for three reasons: (1) the establishment of a parish church, (2) better education, (3) an hour of religious instruction is provided weekly by the teachers.
St. Rita’s Chapel was built in 1952 and the same pastor has been in charge ever since. The latter agreed with the writer that there has been an immense change in the religious attitudes of the people in the past decade owing to the reasons listed above. However, the villagers as a whole are not very religious and many do not bother to have their children attend services; they decide pretty much for themselves. The same “laissez-faire” attitude prevails here as toward education.
Marriage is held in high regard, however, and is usually entered into early. The average age for girls at the time of marriage is eighteen and for boys, twenty. As elsewhere, there are quite a few teen-age marriages. The number of Catholic families in the parish has dropped, as previously stated, because the young people move away. Those who remain are held to the community principally by their wives, girls from Catahoula.
One family is served by the Baptist Mission. There were two, but the mother of the seance family was a Catholic before her civil marriage and is turning again toward the religion of her birth. Her husband is indifferent. When the Catholic children have their class in religion during the last hour on Friday afternoon, the Baptist children return home. This is done by choice, since one member of the faculty is a Methodist and offered to provide instruction for them.
Politics, law, and order. Everybody who is a registered voter is a democrat. If asked why, the inquirer might be told republicans are for the Negroes. Anybody who feels kindly toward Negroes, according to an informant, is not well received in Catahoula. In the last gubernatorial election it was feared that the Negroes would sway the majority vote. Other than this, there is little interest in state of national politics, but it is quite the contrary when local campaigns are going on. Sometimes there are “hot” arguments, but after election all is forgotten.
Contented with their freedom, uninhibited by law because of their isolation, the early inhabitants of Catahoula did pretty much as they pleased. Game and fish were hunted and caught within thought of the future or of future generations. No wonder a strict game warden was resented, and at times, threatened. Even though there is now no great lawlessness among the people — as shooting, stealing, fighting, vestiges of past disregard for law still remain. Driving at high speed by both young and old has resulted in many series accidents and death. Hunting and fishing laws are not strictly observed unless fear of getting caught creates an awareness of regulations.
When an attempt to incorporate the Catahoula community, the younger citizens voted for it realizing the advantages and better conditions it meant for the village. The older residents, not wanting to pay the taxes which would naturally follow, voted against the plan. Yet no one seems to realize the thousands of dollars spent on storm fences. for a while longer the edge of the lake and the coulee (Fig. 1), will continue to be a garbage dump, waste water and sewage will continue to run in open ditches, and the children will continue to be tormented by intestinal parasites.⁵
Organizations and community activities. The three principal organizations in Catahoula are: (1) The Ladies’ Altar Society, (2) The Home Demonstration Club, (3) The American Legion Post.
Seventy-five ladies of varying ages form the members of the Ladies’ Altar Society. This group is very active and it was largely through their efforts that St. Rita’s Chapel was built. By various means such as selling suppers, gumbo and coffee, they raised money until enough was accumulated to begin construction. The ladies were instrumental in getting the men of the parish who were carpenters to give in part freely of their services, or to wait to be paid until the church parish funds became available.
After Mass on Sunday the Altar Society sells hot coffee in front of the church. Besides serving as a fund-raising activity, this provides members of the community an opportunity to meet socially and chat for a while. The money from the sale of coffee is used for the upkeep of the church and to buy incidental needs such as brooms, mops, cleaning substances, and the like. Every week some of the members take turns to clean the church building.
The Home Demonstration Club meets once a month in the home of a member whose turn it is to receive the ladies. Through the club’s activities a great deal is learned concerning the social graces, serving and planning of meals and refreshment, food preservation, home improvements, and so on. In addition to visiting in each other’s home for the monthly meeting, the ladies occasionally are invited to visit a model home in the parish. An annual tour within the state is taken by chartered bus during which members of other Home Demonstration Clubs become acquainted with one another; points of interest on the route are visited as well as such establishments as creameries, bakeries, and the like.
Reactivated after World War II, the American Legion Post devotes its attention to matters which affect the whole community. If a road or bridge needs repair, for instance, the matter is presented at a jury meeting by a committee. A few improvements in the community resulted from their efforts. The asphalt road near the church property was widened to permit more parking space as well as to improve the appearance of the site.
Together the Ladies’ Altar Society and the members of the American Legion Post sponsor an annual Mardi Gras dance which is held in the school gymnasium. Everyone, young and old, is encouraged to attend in costume. This is the biggest social event of the year and on this occasion a special group is given recognition whether it be large families, fishermen, trappers, or farmers. The benefits from the dance go in part to the church, thus community and church are close.
Another big annual event is the church bazaar. The principal source of revenue is from the noon meal which is sold to those from the community and to people from St. Martinville and other settlements within a few miles from Catahoula. Not only do the members of the organization mentioned above work cooperatively for the success of the bazaar, but other villagers give of their time and make donations as well.
On these occasions the gay fun-loving traits of these people become evident. Love of dancing and music is innate, and most of the people sing quite well.
Recreation. In the Catahoula home the principal form of recreation is watching television and listening to the radio which have replaced much of the story-telling that used to go on. While Mamma is busy watching T.V., if she is a fisherman’s wife, her hands are busy crocheting a net for her husband, or perhaps, to earn a little extra money.
One of the local grocery stores which has a porch is selected by a group of the old man as a place to gather daily to visit and talk. Matters of current interest are discussed as well the retelling of old tales, adventurous hunts, or even going over the details of a character one had portrayed in the filming of the movie “Evangeline” and “The Buccaneer”. Scenes for these two films had the Catahoula countryside as their setting.
Younger groups of married couples get together often to gamble which is a favorite pastime. Beurré or “la beurré” is the game most often played. If anyone should happen to drop in, he is invited to join the group. It is probably safe to assume that the amount of the stakes depends on the income level of the participant.
Leisure time is spent by the younger children in watching T.V., doing a limited amount of reading and also a limited amount of preparation for the next day’s classes. A playmate can always be found in the neighborhood when weather permits outdoor play.
Teen-agers have week-end dances either in Catahoula or Henderson to look forward to the year round. Too much drinking and wild driving on the highway and levee road is part of the fun and many serious injuries and deaths have resulted. Depending on the seasons the boys especially may turn to hunting, fishing, and swimming.
Regarding the dances, one does not hear very much that baby-sitting is a way to earn pin money in Catahoula. People of all ages from “six to sixty” attend the dances. The writer has been an onlooker several times at dances after the graduation exercises, and has thus been able to observe these festivities. Lacking partners, girls dance with one another.
During the 1959–1960 school session, the industrial arts teacher has devoted much of his personal time to training a group of boys in baseball. Some of them are part of a team in Breaux Bridge. Competitive games are held there and elsewhere in the parish.
Customs. Many customs peculiar to the Catahoula Lake community still persist in the traditional manner. These are numerous, and could be discussed with considerable detail; therefore the writer has selected those which appear to be the most significant as they relate to the way of life of the greater number of people.
Marriage customs are unusual, although modern ways are entering more and more ninto the pricture, in the form of showers, modern bride’s costumes, receptions, and so on. The groom pays for the bride;s wedding costume and goes shopping with his fiancée to help with the selsection of the various articles. He himself wears gloves and a flower in the buttonhole on the lapel of his coat.
Many preparations are made in advance tpo get food and refresehment s ready for the wedding day. Relatives help both the brief and groom’s families in doing the cooking. One may make rice dressing, another roast chicken or a pig, many bake cakes. On the wedding day the bride and groom remain with their respective families. Guests eat and drink (sometimes a little too much) the wine that is placed on tables usually under trees in the yard. Children have soft drinks. The groom’s family and friends go to the bride’s home at about two o’clock in the afternoon for more drinks and refreshments until the time for the wedding which is held usually at four. After the wedding, guests go again to both homes where cake and more wine is served. A wedding dance is the climax of the day. After the bride and groom dance the first dance together, the guests then take over. After a while, if it is possible, the newlyweds will slip away for a brief honeymoon during which they may go as far as New Orleans. Meanwhile, pranksters have had their moment; the couple’s clothes may have been hidden, their car marked, or other “niches”⁶ played.
Wakes and mourning are not as solemn as they used to be; nevertheless much of the traditional ways continue. Friends and relatives stay up all night for the wake held usually in the family home because their is no funeral home in Catahoula. It is too inconvenient to have the wake at one of the funeral homes in St. Martinville, have the body brought to St. Rita’s Chapel the next morning for funeral services, then returned to the cemetery in St. Martinville for burial. To attempt to tell in detail here the community’s discussions regarding a funeral home and cemetery in Catahoula would involve a topic in themselves. Since time does not permit, suffice it to say that those plans have not matured for the present, at least, because no real need has been felt.
Mourning customs are on the wane. In the past the women members of the immediate family wore black from head to toe for as long as six months to a year. Nor did they attend, during those intervals, activities where gaity prevailed. Music in any form was not listened to during that time. Even at school the children rigidly observed these mourning customs. They would not participate in class singing, nor watch a film, associating the latter with movies or T.V. However, they are becoming convinced by teachers that these are learning activities and not entertainment.
Another religious custom which is peculiar to the community is one that takes place on Good Friday. On Holy Thursday people bake many pies — blackberry, custard, lemon, and the like. Then on Good Friday morning at ten o’clock they are served with coffee or some other beverage; until them no one has had breakfast.
The end of the sugar cane harvest on a farm is marked by placing a flag on the last wagon load. Laborers and farmers gaily meet at one of the local bars for a few beers or other drinks. They don’t over-do, because one can’t successfully perform the farm chores such as feeding livestock, milking cows, and putting away tools and machinery while inebriated.
Marie D. Eastin
Chapter 4—Conclusion
Much more could have been said, much could have been better said, and perhaps some things might have been better left unsaid. Nevertheless, the writer feels that the purpose of the study has been rather satisfactorily accomplished insofar as it points to how an isolated community has met and is meeting changes from traditional ways of living. Certainly a more intensive study could produce a great deal more in this respect than has been done here.
One hesitates to make predictions in this rapidly shrinking world. In regard to the Catahoula Lake community, however, the writer ventures to predict that it appears this settlement will remain untouched for a long time, and perhaps for all time, by industrialization which has so often changed almost overnight some parts of America’s countryside. So far as is known at present there are no mineral resources unless further oil discoveries are made, but that is a vague possibility since the area has been well explored. The village is situated away from main water and transportation routes and there is no skilled labor force among the inhabitants. Another prediction which appears safe to make is that mobility of the young people will continue; of necessity they must seek a livelihood elsewhere. If the present generation does not plan and adopt better methods of conservation for future generations, the traditional occupation of trapper and fisherman will offer littler in providing the means to meet the demand of higher standards of living. The reader has learned in this study that the crabs for which Catahoula Lake was once noted are practically extinct and fishing of crawfish has declined to the extent that the catch is not sufficient to provide for a family even for a season. Wild game and timber also have been depleted; therefore it is to be hoped that the streams will continue to yield fish so that this traditional occupation, at least, will continue to provide a living for some of the people. Gathering Spanish moss can at best bring in a very little amount of money because even at its highest prices is worth only a few cents a pound.
The future of this little village, then, is doubtful. It was briefly stated that many of the young men who remain in Catahoula are held there by their wives. These men are able to commute to work or to find employment on dredge boats or with oil companies. Should the latter two occupational fields decline, the community will suffer and again migration to places where occupational opportunities are great may be the only answer.
In conclusion a suggestion for further study may be offered, besides more intensive work than this paper was able to offer. It should prove worth while to make a study of what has happened to Catahoula’s high school graduates who left the community between 1950 and 1960. A trend may be found which would point to more definite predictions regarding the future of the “Beloved Lake”.
Notes
Chapter 1
¹ One definition of this French word is “barge” which in turn is defined as “un canot de parade” which means a small pleasure boat.
² A dugout
³ “Are they biting?”
⁴Acadian name for a kind of fish soup.
⁵ “At the lake”
⁶ “They say.”
Chapter 2
¹ Edwin Adams Davis, “Louisiana the Pelican State” (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959), p. 335.
² Bayou of Thorns. “Garofier is commonly used in St. Martin Parish to mean a thorn tree, but this word does not appear in a modern French dictionary.
³ Harvest season
⁴ Note the man and woman fishing near the end of the chute. Fish come to feed on the crawfish waste.
⁵ So-named because it is built one room following straight to the other in such a way that if a gun is shot at the front door the pellets or bullet will go right through the back door.
Chapter 3
¹ Slaughter
² Cracklings
³ The word is listed in a French dictionary, but is not defined as used here. According to Acadian usage, there are boudins of two types: (1) Casings are filled with a “blood pudding”; (2) Casings are filled with a rice dressing containing a mixture of pork liver and meat ground fine, well seasoned, to which parsley and onion tops are added.
⁴ The spelling of this word is doubtful; the writer’s French dictionary did not list it. It is made by stuffing large casings with larger pieces of meat, salted and to which preservatives are added; it is then smoked and dried. If the writer is not mistaken this kind of preparation is not made anymore.
⁵ A study was conducted in cooperation with the St. MArtin Parish Health Unit by the teachers a few years ago. Stool examination revealed that most of the children’s stoold contained parasitic ova. Seventeen of the twenty-eight children examined in the 1960 pre-school round-up were found to have parasitic ova in their stools.
⁶Pranks.