Atchafalaya Action
The next day, we were off for Shreveport by way of the Atchafalaya River Basin.
We hopscotched over land, water and swamp. We saw miles of cattails and moss-draped trees, their leaves already budding in late March. The swamp was immense and intimidating.
“You don’t go out in the Atchafalaya without a guide,” said Richard. “This is the essence of Louisiana.”
We traveled through Opelousas in St. Tammany Parish. South-central Louisiana maintains generations-old ties to Acadia in Atlantic Canada. The tourism office there has been placed in a contemporary visitors center that is organic to its surroundings. Reclaimed pine floors, cypress woodwork and outdoor walkways introduce guests to the region.
“This is where the prairie meets the river basin,” Richard said. “Crawfish and rice are grown on the same land here.”
Muni and More
In Shreveport, Mardi Gras enthusiast Dana Wicks greeted us at his Centaur Crewe’s parade warehouse. Shreveport is a metropolitan hub for northern Louisiana and has become a gaming center on the Red River.
“We have 250,000 people turn out for our parade,” he said as we checked out their floats. Someone asked him what the draw of riding was.
“That’s simple,” he said. “We’d rather be part of the show than go to the show.”
We had a native cooking demonstration and lunch at St. Terre in nearby Benton, starring African-American creole chef Pandrino Soumas of Creole Explosion.
“Some people won’t eat gumbo if it doesn’t have okra,” she said. “Okra is a staple here that was prevalent during slavery. I spell it ‘gombo’ because the original word came from okra and was spelled that way.
“For dessert, you’ll be having ‘cobbla,’” she said. “It’s called cobbler somewhere up in Missouri but not here.”
Robin Snyder met us at Shreveport’s Municipal Memorial Auditorium. Known internationally by music fans as the Muni, this gorgeous brick venue was built in 1929.
“In 1948 the ‘Louisiana Hayride’ radio program began,” said Snyder. “Any music buff knows that Elvis played here early in his career, but they might not know that Sam Cooke was arrested here. Some say he wrote his standard ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ as a result.”
Differing Dynasties
While a pop culture dynasty gets the headlines in Monroe these days, a less flashy dynasty is showcased as well in this stately river town.
Dan Chasen, head of security for Duck Commander, met us at the front door of his company’s headquarters. Inside, logoed merchandise from the worldwide television hit “Duck Dynasty” moved briskly.
“Right now, we’re doing 12,000 to 15,000 visitors per week on average,” Chasen said. “[Cast members] Willie, Korie and Alan are here quite often. They all come in for the Make a Wish Foundation once a quarter. They also come in for the Navy SEAL Foundation and for Wounded Warriors.”
We toured the warehouse where they film and the backroom where many calls are still made. Recipes for duck came up, and Chasen set the record straight.
“We don’t pâté in Louisiana,” he said. “We gumbo and jambalaya, but we don’t pâté.”
About a mile down the river, a bit of Coca-Cola history abides at Biedenharn Museum and Gardens. Joseph A. Biedenharn began a career selling Coke at soda fountains in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In 1894, he became the first person in America to bottle Coca-Cola for wider distribution.
Today, his home and gardens are a gracious representation of that era. A staff gardener stopped what she was doing to offer us Cokes from the site’s vending machine.
