French-Accented Spanish Moss - Chapter 3: Cajun Legacy

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Abbeville’s unique and elegant downtown should be an icon for Main Street America. Founded by Père Antoine Désiré Mégret in 1843 as La Chapelle, Père Mégret designed Abbeville with two connected central squares around which traffic flows counterclockwise. The manicured grounds of St. Mary Magdalen church anchor the western square at the center of which is a tastefully designed park with benches, a white gazebo in a corner, a gurgling fountain, and a statute of Father Mégret. Behind the rectory’s framed flower beds and palm plants rests the remains of Abbeville’s ancestors in the Catholic cemetery. It is signposted as an historical landmark; the text reads in English on one side and perfectly constructed French on the other. The names on the gravestones make it unmistakably clear that French was once the common vernacular of Abbeville and its surroundings. The last names of Landry, Hebert, Thierot, and Broussard are omnipresent. A Masonic cemetery is also a short walk away. The fern-coated thick tentacle branches of a live oak provide shade on steamy summer afternoons. The stately white columned parish courthouse is the centerpiece of the other square across from which is the town hall, or Hôtel de Ville. I smile at a chained off engraved granite slab of the Ten Commandments in plain view. No pedestrian can miss it when circling the courthouse. I dismiss the thought of such a monument for public consumption on a town green in Connecticut. There would be outrage, but only from the very few. On their behalf, the A.C.L.U. would launch an injunction against it before the final letter was chiseled. I immediately feel comfortable with Abbeville because of the public display of Judeo-Christian conviction. The sheriff’s office is tucked away on another side, very convenient for arraignments, hearings, and trials. Downtown Abbeville proceeds at a slow pace, with attractive brick façades, cafés, restaurants, small offices, and the feel of a bygone era. But beware: Wal-Mart lurks but a few miles east of town.

Père Mégret would not have founded La Chapelle if it had not been for the fateful orders from Charles Lawrence that expelled the Acadians from Grand Pré Nova Scotia in the middle part of the eighteenth century. For having refused to swear allegiance to the Royal Crown, the British disregarded the Acadians’ neutrality and passivity. They were stripped of all possessions (including the most fertile of land of which the English were envious), rounded up, forced to depart under miserable conditions, and dispersed throughout the Thirteen American colonies. Then they would not be able to regroup to pose a threat to England or join the enemy during the French and Indian War. Approximately 3,000 hearty and beleaguered Acadians managed to arrive in the Spanish colony of Louisiana under the leadership of Joseph Beausoliel Broussard. The acadien term was eventually shortened to the current English word Cajun, and one of the most resistant and resourceful of American cultures began to take root and flourish. The Cajuns set the table for mass immigration from France as a result of a thirst for a new life and economic opportunity or for those who fled the violence of the Revolution born at the Bastille.
Warren Perrin practices law as fiercely as he defends his Cajun heritage. Born in the township of Erath and based out of nearby Lafayette, few have fought more for the survival of the Cajun way of life and the French language in Louisiana more than he has. Warren learned French as a young adult, after which he advocated for Cajun heritage by networking and through his involvement with the Conseil Pour le Développement du Français en Louisiane. As its President, he has attempted to bring French language immersion programs to local schools in the traditionally Cajun parishes, particularly Vermilion. In his Lafayette office, I inquired about the challenges he faces. As far as Warren is concerned, without immersion in Louisiana, the French language faces a perilous future and may well be lost.
“Have school boards welcomed the idea of immersion?”
He offers a pregnant pause. “I wouldn’t say that they are hostile to the idea.” You see, there are four or five big reasons why it hasn’t been successful. The biggest of all is that school superintendents and board members do not see it as critical to their identity.”
Language can never be separated from cultural identity. Warren and I agree on that point, which never had to be said.
“The fact is,” Warren continued, “folks in charge feel that children can take French as a foreign language and it will suffice.” This shortsighted attitude is not only foolhardy, it reflects an ignorance that young people will put forth the effort to learn. The current generation has shown no evidence of such a desire. “It gets worse, Rich. The board members and people in charge, actually speak French! And yet they do nothing to encourage it. You have no idea how frustrating that is.”
Warren’s connections are far and wide. They connections have brought him as far as Nova Scotia three years ago where he received a Royal Proclamation from Queen Elizabeth II. In it the Crown acknowledges the injustices brought upon the Acadians by the British. But in a curious twist, the Crown disavows any legal or financial responsibility and obliges itself to no one. In other words, yes, it’s our fault. Now, get over it. For Warren, it is a moral victory from which he gains a deep sense of satisfaction that he has brought to a proper end an injustice that can never be truly reconciled or adjudicated. Current British royalty caused the Acadians no pain or suffering. Warren has personally suffered and anguished as an Acadian descendent as much as Elizabeth was accountable for the tragedy. Besides, it’s not like Elizabeth ever showed up for the ceremony. As on outsider, a non-Cajun, the Proclamation to me is but a curious piece of trivia. To Warren and like-minded Cajuns, it is the culmination of finally putting to rest a conflict where there was in their minds an absolute right and wrong. Does it change anything at the end of the day? No, not really. But then again, my name is not Hebert, Landry, Thibodaux, or LeBlanc.
The Proclamation is on display at the very tasteful and compact Acadian Museum in Erath, just east of Abbeville. Warren has left his mark on the displays of artifacts, frame pictures, flags, and political campaign signs that retell pieces of Vermilion Parish’s history. To the casual eye, it is easy to conclude that the exhibits are little more than a self-congratulatory tribute to Warren himself; his name and face are well represented. He is, however, a primary force in keeping the museum open and increasing its volume of items on display. Someone seriously needs to break down a wall and expand the premises. He and associate Ron Minguez have been at the focal point of its maintenance and have played a pivotal role in its salvation during Hurricane Rita.
The ad-hoc curator and legal investigator went out of his way to open its doors to me on a private tour. The tall, slender man with a salt-and-pepper mustache and cowboy hat is also a true Cajun, accent and all. Fluent in French, Ron’s name reflects the influence of Spanish colonists who settled in Vermilion Parish before Louisiana’s entry into the Union. Even today, it is hard to determine which is more striking: Ron’s passion for every detail and piece of minutiae on the shelves, or his fiery explanation of how he can make perfect jambalaya without any recipe every time, for two guests or two hundred. To Ron, the number of guests concerns him none. It’s all about the quality of the meal.

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Photos

Live Oak
Thick tentacle branches...

Statue of Pere Megret
Founding "father" of Abbeville....

Unashamed
The Ten Commandments are PROUDLY displayed in public.