Louisiana
Growing up in rural Louisiana was hard for many. Nolan Fontenot shares his story
Editor’s Note: On writer Melinda Rawls Howell’s trips to the East Feliciana Council on Aging she’s spoken with many who have shared stories of growing up in and around the Felicianas. While not a Feliciana native, Nolan Fontenot’s stories of his early childhood growing up in another parish are similar to those told by many who grew up in the Felicianas. Here is the first of a two-part series on Fontenot’s life.
Nolan Fontenot’s stories are full of readily recalled dates and memories of family, places, other people and events. They are also glimpses of local, Louisiana, American history and of personal challenges that many families may have experienced.
When listening to Fontenot tell who and where he came from, why he settled in Jackson and went to work at institutions in East and West Feliciana parishes, his reminiscing is tinged with humor and compassion — reflecting his personality and character.
He recalls days of struggle and hardships, kindness and opportunities, growth and change, finding God and ministering to others. He still speaks with a lingering Cajun French accent and sprinkles French expressions/words in his conversation with a slight smile.
A large family in rural America
Fontenot, 86, is one of 16 children born to Feranand Joseph Fontenot and Threase Charles Fontenot. He was born April 26, 1938, during the Great Depression, into a French-speaking, Catholic family on a cotton farm in Tate Cove off Wabash Road north of Ville Platte, in Evangeline Parish.
There were three sets of twins in his family, of which Fontenot is one, and his parents “lost one child at 8 months,” he adds. The first child, Abel, was born in 1918 followed by Lee in 1919, Melton in 1921, Clamie in 1923, by Ethel who was the infant who died, then Eula in 1926, twins Harris and John in 1928, Rosella in 1931, Aline and Louise in 1932, Eva in 1943, Irene in 1936, twins Enola and Nolan in 1938 followed by the last child, Edison, born in 1939.
Growing mostly cotton, the hardship payment and more
The farm was owned by Dr. Arthur Vidine, who Fontenot describes as “very good doctor.” As a sharecropper, his father had “to give one-third of his profits from his cotton and sweet potato crops to the landowner,” he explains. In addition to those crops, he says, they raised some corn, soybeans and rice.
“We were very poor … Evangeline Parish was a poor parish“ and “then came the Depression,” he says.
Except for farming, the only other regular source of income for the family was an $8-a-month “hardship” payment. This was because they lived near “the Cabot carbon-black plant” which “had no filters” and dropped airborne pollution onto everything, he says.
“The closer your farm was to the plant the more money you were paid” and “the carbon affected the color and price we got for the cotton,” he adds.
His father plowed the cotton fields behind one of two horses they owned — Honey or Bella. As a child, Fontenot says he “couldn’t wait until he was big enough” to help plow.
He says father “walked his life away.” His father, Fontenot says, “never owned an automobile … he had a wagon and a buggy.”
For meat they had some chickens and ate “coon” sometimes, he says. They ate crawfish but his mother “did not like to cook them,” he adds.
The cattle on the farm belonged to the landowner but the family could milk the cows in exchange for taking care of them, he adds. There were two barns on the site — one could hold “1,600 bales of hay for the cows in winter, “ he says. The other one was the stables and housed the buggy and wagon.
In the town of Ville Platte, they got store-bought necessities on credit at the store of Henri Vidrine, the brother of Dr. Vidrine. He remembers his sisters’ dresses were made from the cloth from flour sacks.
The mud house, chores, siblings, school
Fontenot’s family first lived in a one-bedroom house but they eventually moved into a three-bedroom house nearby on the same farm. He calls it the “mud house.” The wood-frame structure “had walls made of mud, twigs and Spanish moss that were whitewashed inside and covered with shiplap outside,” he says.
The house had a two-sided fireplace, he adds.
Drinking water came from a cistern and a small amount of “coal oil was added” to discourage mosquitoes. The water was also “strained through cloth to remove mosquito larvae.” There was “an outhouse for the girls to use and the barn for the boys,” he says.
Like most children growing up on a farm he helped with chores. After moving to town as a youth, he briefly worked at a creamery and was hired out to dig sweet potatoes and pick cotton. As for picking cotton he “wasn’t very good at it,” he says, shrugging and tilting his head slightly and that he was “slow” and, of course, “didn’t like the heat.”
As children they “went barefoot unless it was extremely cold,” he says. One of his older sisters, Irene, who he remembers as having a ready laugh, was the one who would defend them, when needed, on the school bus. Another sister, Rosella, was in charge of washing the kids in the evening but conditions were very basic — a shared bowl of water and cloth.
He remembers one of his older brothers, Melton, married at 16 and moved away to farm a place south of Ville Platte. Another older brother, Lee, was in the United States Army for eight years serving in the military police during World War II from 1941-1945.
Lunch during the school year was often “milk pudding sandwiches made on homemade bread” and “it was good,” he says.
He remembers that his only younger brother, Edison, did not want to go to school when it was his time. He says his little brother cried and cried and, arriving at school with several big pecans in his pocket, tried to give them to the teacher so she would let him stay with his big brother. “She probably didn’t even understand him” and that his prized pecans were an attempted bribe, he says.
The radio and electricity
The family had a box-shaped radio, which was powered by a large free-standing battery and connected to a tall antenna. They listened sparingly and mostly to the French programs and music, he says.
His parents did eventually get electricity on the farm in the 1950s.
It wasn’t too long afterward that they all moved into town, he says. Fontenot’s father died at 70 in 1969 and his mother lived to be 76 and passed away in 1977.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — For the fifth consecutive year, the Louisiana Children’s Museum hosted its annual environmental festival, Mud Fest, on Saturday, March 28.
From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., parents and their little ones had the opportunity to have fun in the sun and enjoy the “highlight” of the museum’s spring season.
This event was inspired by the iconic New Orleans festival culture which includes good food, live music and a nice, high-energy atmosphere. Mud Fest is tailored for the “youngest environmental stewards” to have fun and make all the mess they want with mud.
Due to the Crescent City being surrounded by wetland habitats, we interact with water daily in both our rural and urban communities.
The festival generates positive associations with our region and also builds critical thinking skills for future educators, engineers, fishermen and farmers. According to LCM, engaging with nature, water and plants “builds a child’s confidence and fosters a lifelong connection to the Earth.”
“As the Louisiana Children’s Museum celebrates its 40th anniversary, events like Mud Fest reflect our long-standing commitment to hands-on learning that sparks curiosity and connects children to the world around them,” LCM CEO Tifferney White said.
This year, Mud Fest had performances from young musicians of the School of Rock, the Louisiana Sunspots and more. There were also a storytelling stage and various family-friendly activities for visitors to engage in.
Mud Fest partnered with Pontchartrain Conservancy, STEM NOL, Whimscapes and Sugar Roots to put on the event.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
Latest Posts
Lana Del Rey has enjoyed a low-key life with her gator tour guide husband Jeremy Dufrene in Louisiana and the talented singer recently gave an intimate peek into their relationship.
The 40-year-old Young And Beautiful hitmaker (born Elizabeth Grant) took to her Instagram to post a gallery celebrating the swamp guide’s 51st birthday.
The couple looked just as in love as ever following their wedding in September 2024.
Del Rey shared several recent videos from their modest life together including a cute selfie of the couple by the ocean while she let her natural beauty show by going make-up free.
She also posted a cute video of Dufrene loading up the truck with plants they had just purchased from Home Depot and when he realizes he is being filmed, the Louisiana native flashed a big smile and proudly posed with a Jack-o’-lantern pot.
Del Rey also shared a snap of her hand gripping his wrist as her massive engagement ring could be seen in full view.
Lana Del Rey has enjoyed a low-key life with her gator tour guide husband Jeremy Dufrene in Louisiana and the talented singer recently gave an intimate peek into their relationship as she shared a tribute to him on his 51st birthday
Another snap showed Del Rey wearing one of Dufrene’s tour guide shirts featuring his name embroidered above the pocket.
Weeks ago the musical artist gave what appeared to be a glimpse into her married life in her new video.
Del Rey’s Insta Stories video opened with footage from the 1933 Betty Boop cartoon Snow-White, though it focused on a section starring the character Koko the Clown as he’s turned into a ghost.
Then the video abruptly cut to shaky handheld footage of Del Rey dancing with an ecstatic smile plastered on her face.
The two have kept a relatively low profile since their wedding day but did make a notable appearance last month at the pre-New York Fashion Week Ralph Lauren show on February 10.
The happy couple even stopped for a romantic kiss as they walked the red carpet for the iconic designer.
The couple first met in 2019 during one of Dufrene’s swamp excursions and reconnected years later, before tying the knot in September 2024.
In August, Del Rey revealed how she fell for her husband, a Louisiana bayou tour guide who spends his days surrounded by alligators.
Join the debate
What do you think Lana Del Rey’s choice to marry a swamp guide says about fame and real love?
She posted a cute video of Dufrene loading up the truck with plants they had just purchased from Home Depot and when he realizes he is being filmed, the Louisiana native flashed a big smile and proudly posed with a Jack-o’-lantern pot
Del Rey also shared a snap of her hand gripping his wrist as her massive engagement ring could be seen in full view
Another snap showed Del Rey wearing one of Dufrene’s tour guide shirts featuring his name embroidered above the pocket
Del Rey also posted a video of the cover of their wedding album
‘Like many people who work with large, dangerous beasts, Jeremy has a calm, strong presence,’ Del Rey told W magazine.
‘When we met, I realized pretty immediately that I loved him, but that it might get difficult because of what I was bringing to the table,’ she continued.
Del Rey added that Dufrene reassured her from the start: ‘I work with alligators — I have tough skin.’
And true to his word, he listened through all the drama: ‘All the things that made me upset — and there were so many! — he would just listen and say, “You be you — and I’ll just love you more.”’
Weeks ago the musical artist gave what appeared to be a glimpse into her married life and her new video
The two have kept a relatively low profile since their wedding day but did make a notable appearance last month at the pre-New York Fashion Week Ralph Lauren show on February 10
The happy couple stopped for a romantic kiss as they walked the red carpet for the iconic designer
The couple first met in 2019 during one of Dufrene’s swamp excursions and reconnected years later, before tying the knot in September 2024
Tying the knot in 2024 didn’t make the spotlight any gentler.
Del Rey recalled the intense scrutiny they faced, with drones reportedly hovering over their home to snap photos of their wedding and early days as newlyweds.
‘If I was him, I would have been nervous — my emotions were more overwhelming than usual, and my usual emotions can be quite overwhelming!’ she said with a laugh. ‘But Jeremy was fine. He told me, “Don’t worry about me.”’
And when it comes to music inspired by love, fans have already heard a peek. ‘Stars Fell on Alabama. I open my show with that song — that’s it, so far,’ she revealed.
‘Jeremy is the most impactful person in my life. He’s quiet in public, but around me he talks all the time.’
Louisiana
Meta orders 10 gas-fired power plants for its Hyperion AI campus in rural Louisiana—more than triple the initial plans | Fortune
Meta will pay for a total of 10 gas-fired power plants—enough to power more than 5 million homes—to electrify its rapidly expanding plans for its massive AI data center complex in northeastern Louisiana, dubbed Hyperion.
Meta’s agreement with New Orleans–based Entergy, announced March 27, is to build and finance seven new power plants in Louisiana. That comes on top of plans approved last year to build three gas power plants for the sprawling AI hub. The 10 power plants with 7.5 gigawatts of capacity would represent a more than 30% increase to Louisiana’s entire grid capacity, not even counting up to 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, that Meta also agreed to help fund.
Meta initially announced plans for a $10 billion investment in December 2024 for a 2,250-acre data center campus in northeastern Louisiana in rural Richland Parish. But Meta recently, and quietly, acquired an additional 1,400 acres, as Fortune reported in February. In October 2025, Meta entered a joint venture with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital to finance, build, and operate the Hyperion campus with up to $27 billion in total development costs, seemingly ensuring the mega-campus will serve as a long-term, multiphase AI hub.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Hyperion would cover a “significant part of the footprint of Manhattan.”
“Our Richland Parish data center serves as a symbol of the ambition and scale of next-generation AI infrastructure,” said Rachel Peterson, Meta vice president for data centers, in a statement. “We are building foundations for the future of AI innovation right here in the United States. We’ve been working closely with Entergy since early on-site planning to ensure our power needs are met and, importantly, so that Entergy’s other consumers aren’t paying our costs.”
The Louisiana Public Service Commission will still need to approve the projects. The previous three power plants received regulatory authorization last year.
Entergy’s stock jumped 7% on March 27, lifting its market cap to a new record high of about $50 billion. The stock has risen almost 125% in two years.
Entergy is emphasizing that Meta is paying for the projects, rather than shifting the costs to other ratepayers. Entergy argues that the deals will save Louisiana taxpayers billions of dollars over several years.
The 10 power plants are estimated to cost nearly $11 billion. Critics contend ratepayers could be stuck with the bill after 15 years, which is the length of the contractual terms, if Meta no longer requires so much power after that span.
“This agreement reflects what’s possible when strong partners align around long-term growth and value,” said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, in a statement. “Working with our customers, regulators, and state leaders, we are making targeted investments that strengthen reliability, support economic development, and deliver meaningful benefits to customers—all while keeping energy rates affordable.”
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