Authors Dr. Claire Manes and Dr. Marcia Gaudet talk about Carville and Leprosy on Bayou to Beltway (KRVS 88.7 FM) Wednesday at 1:30.Bayou to Beltway speaks with two distinguished scholars about Carville and the long history of leprosy in Louisiana. Dr. Gaudet's book is Carville: Remembering Leprosy in America and focuses on the culture of 20th Century leprosy victims and the history of leprosy in America and at Carville. Dr. Maynes has a more personal focus to her story as her grandfather was a patient at Carville and it was through the exploration of his letters home that she came to know about this condition and gained insight into her family.The focus is on Carville and leprosy as experienced in Louisiana with Dr. Marcia Gaudet and Dr. Claire Manes on Bayou to Beltway at 1:30 Wednesday on KRVS FM (88.7) at 1:30 pm. Or, go to KRVS.org to catch the podcast anytime (after broadcast)
My New Orleans
12/14/2020
Because of COVID, Papa Noel will be on his own this Christmas Eve as he approaches Louisiana’s river parishes. We all know that the reason folks in St. James, and other river parishes, build bonfires on the night before Christmas goes back to an old tradition of Cajun kids creating the pyres so that Papa Noel can find his way to their neighborhood. (In recent years, Noel’s task has gotten a bit more difficult as the fires’ glow has been overcome by the light from the chemical refineries.)
Still, the legend persists. It is a nice story with just the one drawback… it is not true. Not the part about Papa Noel coming to Louisiana, but the part about the Cajun kids and their pyromania.