Take Me to the Rice Paddies: Do They Speak English in Louisiana?

Before you get started, did you read about where we were headed and why?

Before we left home, Cole asked two great questions:

1) Do they speak English in Natchitoches, Louisiana?

2) Do I need dollars or euros for the trip to Natchitoches, Louisiana?

And, he can't quite say "Louisiana." It sounds more like, "Looziana."

So, Cole and I have been having fun trying to emulate a Cajun accent, though Cole sounds more like a character from Sherrif Callie's Wild West. Holy jalapeños!

We met Andy's dad at the airport in Shreveport on Thurday night, hopped into our rental Kia minivan (which is remarkably fun to drive), and made our way to Natchitoches.

Cole helps Grandpa with his luggage.

We are staying at the very lovely Church Street Inn, just a block from the waterfront and the main downtown area and there's no better word for a Natchitoches than, "darling."

On the terrace at the Church Street Inn

Our first full day in Natchitoches was a whirlwind! (Would you expect anything less from me?) Breakfast at the hotel and then on to see if we could get some information about Mr. Willie Clark. We still don't have a street address for the farm, but we do have a lot of great information thanks to several remarkable locals.

The Natchitoches Geneological and Historical Association

I first reached out to the NGHA by phone about a month ago and Ms. Ginny offered a number of tips to help us begin our search. After some additional correspondence by mail, Ms. Ginny suggested we head to the NGHA upon our arrival in Natchitoches. "Go to the second floor of the Old Courthouse" it simply said in her letter. We did (it's a block from our hotel) and we were met with more enthusiasm than you can imagine!

Ms. Shirley met us with a big smile and immediately called (1) Ms. Ginny to tell her we had arrived and (2) Mr. Ficklin to tell him to come to the NGHA immediately. Mr. Ficklin, it turns out, knew Willie's wife, grew up nearby, and knew others who knew about the New Town School. Mr. Ficklin arrived and immediately wanted to take Carlton to see Mr. JC Gay. He had tried to call JC already that morning and reported, "JC must be mowing the lawn. I know he went to the New Town School. We should go over to see him now." And off went Andy, Carlton, and Mr. Ficklin to go see JC. And, JC, who was indeed mowing his lawn, after meeting Carlton said,"Sure, I remember old man Willie!"
This was all before 11:00am!

Mr. Ficklin, JC Gay, and Carlton

Ms. Shirley, at the NGHA, it turns out, was born in Natchitoches, but spent 27 years living in Silver Spring, Maryland, working for Prince George's County, and ultimately decided to retire in Natchitoches. Small world, indeed. Ms. Shirley is remarkable. Not only did she spend time with us that morning, she called when we were at lunch at the Merci Beaucoup Cafe to report she had found even more information. "I'll bring it over. Order me a cup of gumbo and a meat pie to go and I'll be there in five minutes." Then, after returning to the hotel after dinner, we found she had dropped off even more information at the hotel!