I’ve realized that some of what I’ve done over the last two years with my historical stories has been covered in the Lagniappe section. However, with the recent passing of my grandfather, I’ve wanted to focus more on other things history related.
My grandfather liked to tell stories. A lot of them were tales of the past that had a historical basis that is information that is very interesting. He knew things about famous figures from World War II to governors. My grandfather was even related to one governor of Louisiana (you’ll have to stay tuned to learn about that).
So, this space will feature history lessons and some Patreon only content for a book I want to write not just my grandfather’s story, but the century plus history of the small community where he lived most of his life. Patreon content will also include small glimpses of the story.
It Ain’t Easy Being Cajun
Paw (what we called my grandfather) told my daughter a few years ago, “you’re very fortunate that you got to meet your great grandparents and you have grandparents who you can communicate with. I couldn’t communicate with, because they didn’t speak English.” In the 21st century, we often thing of a language barrier such as that being due to illegal immigration or because young people fled to make a better life for themselves in a different place.
The truth is that just like with efforts to keep immigrants from obtaining work in the late 19th and early 20th century and putting Native Americans on reservations, the American government “Anglicized” as much of the country as they could. This could be seen as late as the 1960s just with the suppression of certain types of music.
Being Cajun wasn’t always cool. It wasn’t easy. The truth is that my grandfather and my grandmother’s father made some very brave choices after going to college and choosing to return home or close to home to make a life and ultimately make a difference in their respective communities.
My mom and her sisters grew up in a small, close-knit community in southwest Louisiana. They were raised with a sense of the importance of education. But being Cajun wasn’t part of their identity, because they were taught that educated people suppress their accents and use perfect grammar. I can remember being three or four years old and having my grammar corrected. We were taught these things not out of cruelty, but out of a sense of class.
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