Louisiana

Growing up in rural Louisiana was hard for many. Nolan Fontenot shares his story

Published

2 years ago

May 21, 2024

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.

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Louisiana

How a sinkhole caused a whirlpool and formed Louisiana’s deepest lake

Published

7 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

How a sinkhole caused a whirlpool and formed Louisiana’s deepest lake

While Louisiana’s largest lake, the Toledo Bend Reservoir, spans 1,200 miles of shoreline, the state’s deepest lake only spans 1,125 acres.

Lake Peigneur is the deepest lake in Louisiana, with a depth measuring approximately 200 feet.

Lake Peigneur is a brackish lake, meaning it contains saltwater but has less salinity than seawater, located in New Iberia Parish in South Louisiana.

How did Lake Peigneur become the deepest lake in Louisiana?

Lake Peigneur was not always considered the deepest lake in Louisiana, as it was only a 10-foot-deep freshwater lake 40 years ago.

On Nov. 20, 1980, an oil rig crew was attempting to free a 14-inch drill bit when they heard popping noises and the rig began to tilt. Shortly after the crew abandoned the rig and headed for shore, the crew watched the 150-foot oil rig disappear into the 10-foot-deep lake.

Soon, a whirlpool formed in place of the oil rig. The whirlpool grew rapidly until it was able to suck up nearby boats, barges, trees, a house and half an island.

At the same location of the oil drilling site, there was also a salt mine, and when the whirlpool formed after the oil rig collapsed, the mine began to fill with water. As the whirlpool grew, water was able to enter the mine at such a force that it caused a geyser to spew out of the mine’s opening for hours until the lake was drained.

After the lake was emptied, the Delcambre Canal began to flow backward, marking the only time in history that the Gulf of Mexico flowed into the continental U.S. This backflow continued until the entire mine and lake were filled with water, except now the lake was filled with saltwater, according to an article published on Louisiana Tech Digital Commons.

Can you swim in Lake Peigneur?

Before the oil rig and salt mine accident, Lake Peigneur was a popular spot for fishing and recreational activities. However, since the lake is almost entirely surrounded by private property, visitors will have to enter the nearby Rip Van Winkle Gardens in order to get a closer look, according to Atlas Obscura.

While there are no reports indicating the lake is unsafe, the lake is not exactly developed for public access. However, there are things to do around Lake Peigneur, like visiting Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island, or visiting Avery Island to tour the Tabasco Factory.

Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com

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Louisiana

Officials confirm Pensacola Beach residue is algae, not oil from Louisiana spill

Published

19 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Officials confirm Pensacola Beach residue is algae, not oil from Louisiana spill

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — A local fisherman raised concerns about the substance now coating Opal Beach, citing a recent oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

WEAR News went to officials with the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Escambia County to find out the cause.

They say it’s not related to an oil spill, but is in fact algae.

The Marine Resources Division says they can understand beachgoers’ concerns, and hope to raise awareness.

“You don’t even want to get near it because it’s so gooey and sticky,” local fisherman Larry Grossman said. “It was accumulating on my beach cart wheels yesterday, and it felt like an oil product.”

Grossman messaged WEAR News on Monday after noticing something brown and oozy in the sand. He says it started showing up by Fort Pickens and stretched down to Opal Beach.

Grossman said a park service employee told him it could be oil from a recent spill in Louisiana. So he took a message to social media, sparking some reactions and raising questions.

“it certainly didn’t seem like an algae bloom because I was in the water, I caught a fish and I put some water in the cooler to keep my fish cool and it almost looked like oil in it,” Grossman said. “I know some people think it’s an algae bloom, but it certainly smelled and felt and looked like oil.”

A Gulf Islands National Seashore spokesperson confirmed to WEAR News on Tuesday that the substance is algae.

WEAR News crews were at the beach as officials with the Escambia County Marines Resources Division came out take samples.

“What I found here washed up on the beach is some algae — filamentous algae, single celled algae — that washed ashore in some onshore winds,” said Robert Turpin, Escambia County Marines Resources Division manager. “This is the spring season, so with additional sunlight, our plants, they grow in warmer waters, with plenty of sunlight.”

Turpin says this algae is not harmful.

He also addressed the concerns that this could be oil, saying he’s familiar with what oil spills look like.

He says he appreciates when people like Grossman raise the concerns.

“The last thing in the world we want is something to gain traction on social media that is faults in nature that could harm our tourism,” Turpin said. “Our tourism is very important to our economy, and we want to give the right information out to the public so we all enjoy the beaches and enjoy them safely.”

Turpin says if you see something or suspect something may be harmful on the beach, avoid it and contact Escambia County Marine Resources.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry calls for amendment for teacher pay raises

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry calls for amendment for teacher pay raises

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry proposed a constitutional amendment for permanent teacher pay raises.
Landry’s address also supported an eventual elimination of the state income tax.
The governor’s budget includes an $82 million increase for corrections services following recent tough-on-crime laws.
Landry advocated for doubling the funding for his LA Gator school choice program.

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry advocated for a constitutional amendment that would create a permanent teacher pay raise as well as an eventual elimination of the state income tax in an opening address to the Louisiana Legislature on Monday.

Landry pushed for the passage of Proposed Amendment 3 on the May 2026 ballot to free up money for teacher pay raises.

He said the amendment would pay down longstanding debt within the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana and enable the state to afford a permanent increase in teacher income. The proposed increases are $2,250 for teachers and $1,125 for support staff.

“With a ‘yes’ vote, we can strengthen the retirement system, improve their take-home pay, and guess what? We can do it without raising taxes,” Landry said.

A bill proposing the elimination of the state income tax, which takes in about $4 billion annually, was pre-filed earlier in the year by Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City. Where the money will come from to supplement the loss is currently unclear.

McCormick said in an interview with the LSU Manship School News Service that to encourage more young adults to stay in Louisiana, “we need to do away with the state income tax.”

“This is a conversation piece that hopefully we can figure out where to make cuts in the government so we can get the people their money back,” McCormick said.

But Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said at a luncheon at the Baton Rouge Press Club that if the Legislature “can be disciplined” this session, residents could anticipate a 0.5% decrease in state income tax during next year’s session. He also said bigger tax cuts have to be planned over a longer budget cycle.

Within education changes, Landry commended the placing of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, approved by the Louisiana Supreme Court in a decision handed down last week.

“You have staked the flag of morality by recognizing that the Ten Commandments are not a bad way to live your life,” Landry said. “Students who don’t read them will likely read the criminal code.”

Landry’s budget proposed an $82 million increase for corrections services following 2024 tough-on-crime legislation that eliminated parole and probation, increased sentencing and encouraged harsher punishments.

Landry directed his criticism toward the New Orleans criminal justice system, which he feels is lacking accountability, especially in courtrooms.

“Judges hold enormous power, but they are not social workers with a gavel,” he said. “They are the final gatekeepers of public safety.”

The Orleans Parish criminal justice system relies on state and local funding stemming from revenues from fees imposed on those arrested, according to the Vera Institute. Landry said the state spends twice as much on the Orleans system as it does in East Baton Rouge Parish, the largest parish in the state.

“Being special does not mean being exempt from accountability,” Landry said.

Overall, Landry pushed for fewer and different ideas compared to the sweeping agenda he laid out at the start of previous legislative sessions. Henry mentioned at the Baton Rouge Press Club that the governor would like for this session to be a “member-driven session instead of an administrative session.”

Landry spoke only in general terms about his proposal for more funding for LA Gator, his program to let parents use state money to send their children to private schools.

“We must find a path so that the hard-earned money of parents follow their child to the education of their choice,” he said.

He has proposed doubling funding for the LA Gator program from $44 million a year to $88.2 million. The likelihood of this occurring is yet to be seen, as prominent lawmakers such as Sen. Henry are hesitant to approve an increase in funding.

Landry similarly did not mention carbon capture projects, despite the issue gaining traction from affected parish residents and lawmakers.

House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, told the Baton Rouge Press Club last week that 22 bills have been filed in the House that he would consider “anti-carbon capture.”

Landry also cited data centers and other giant industrial development projects and touted his administration’s success in bringing more jobs to Louisiana and in helping to lower insurance premiums over the past year.

“May we continue to employ courage over comfort, and if we do, there is really no limit to what we can do for Louisiana,” Landry said.

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