Woodworking-Lunch-Acadian Museum

Friday we had a whirlwind day of activities!! Betty had arranged for all of us at Betty’s RV Park to visit Gerald Judice, a woodworker extraordinaire, outside of New Iberia, LA. 

As we drove up you could see all the cypress wood Gerald has drying by stacking it around the trees. This is cypress retrieved from the swamps around this area. He makes beautiful bowls from this recovered wood.

Everywhere you looked you saw cypress wood stacked and drying. Cypress trees were very popular in early Louisiana. It was so plentiful the 100 foot trees were cut down and, because of it’s resistance to rot and insects, the cypress was used for everything from houses to shingles to furniture.  By 1927 most the trees had been cut down.  What was left were the bases or stumps.  As the basin’s water levels rise and fall, parts of the stumps fall off and are available to be gathered, which Gerald does. 

                                 

Gerald was so generous with his time. He greeted us oiling a wooden bowl his son had turned the night before.

 

 

Gerald started by inviting us into the house that he built mostly of cypress he retrieved from local swamps. The woodwork is exquisite.

Inside he has a room with samples of his work.

His adult children also use the wood to make boxes, pens and gumbo spoons.  In fact, Gerald’s daughter completely paid for her college education by making and selling these boxes that look like a log, but lift the top and the bottom is a dug out container for treasures.

               

          
Inside Gerald was gracious enough to turn a bowl for us so we could see the process.

Rough shaped blocks	Initial shaping
More shaping	Finished bowls…they are beautiful!!!

Gerald also has many different types of wood drying on his land.  He has cherry, persimmon, cedar, etc. 

Gerald’s daughter, Loren, showed us how she makes pens from various wood and vinyl blocks. 

Starts with blocks Turned on lathe	Shaping the barrels
This is persimmon wood	This is made from alligator jaw bone

Gerald and Loren had us guess a number they had in mind and the correct answer got the bowl and then the pen that they had turned.  Guess who won?

Linda won the cedar bowl

Terri won the pen

Then we went to lunch at Bon Creole Lunch Counter in New Iberia

Seeing this you wouldn’t think to stop	All walls covered in murals
Inside you order from the counter	We had quite a group eating. Gumbo and po’boys were great!
Huge half a shrimp po’boy	but Linda managed to get it in her mouth!

After lunch we went home to let out the dogs and rest before traveling back to New Iberia to visit the unique Acadia Museum, which also houses the law office of Warren Perrin, who acts as curator of the museum. Warren is Acadian and has a tremendous amount of knowledge and pride in the Acadian history. 

 

 

We learned so much of this wonderful culture and it’s amazing history starting in the Acadian’s expulsion from Nova Scotia in 1750 by the British. Some Acadians came to Louisiana settling in New Orleans and the Vermilion Parish, of which Abbeville is a part. The word Acadian became pronounced Cajun.

This year’s Zydeco & Cajun music Emmy nominated musician, D.L. Menard, was visiting the museum and graciously agreed to play and sing for us.  He had just returned from the Emmy awards were, although he hadn’t won, he enjoyed all the festivities.

This was a special treat for all of us, and one we will long remember.

Then Warren provided us another treat. He opened the locked room which housed the formal apology from Queen Elizabeth II, after Warren, et al sued Great Britain for the treatment and expulsion of the Acadian people from Nova Scotia.

Thanks for reading through this long post. I blog for myself to remember where we have been and I wanted all these photos as memories for when I’m 90 years old, in a rocking chair, parked permanently in our RV somewhere and telling some whiper-snapper what I had done with my life.  It will be quite a tale.

Remember, you are loved.