Your card for October 19, 2017
Lalita
Louisiana Bayou
The world famous "Mardi Gras" is celebrated in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern
Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of
Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice.
The Battle of New Orleans, which made Andrew Jackson a
national hero, was fought two weeks after the War of 1812 had
ended and more than a month before the news of the war's end
had reached Louisiana.
Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV.
Baton Rouge hosted the 1983 Special Olympics International
Summer Games at LSU.
Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the United
States; the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors.
Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have
counties. Its political subdivisions are called parishes.
Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns,
descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in
the 1700s because they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the King
of England.
The Superdome in New Orleans is the worlds largest
steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts. Height: 273 feet
(82.3 meters), Diameter of Dome: 680 feet (210 meters), Area
of Roof: 9.7 acres, Interior Space: 125,000,000 cubic feet,
Total floor footage: 269,000 sq. ft. (82,342 sq. meters),
Electrical Wiring: 400 miles (640 kilometers)
Metairie is home to the longest bridge over water in the
world, the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. The causeway connects
Metairie with St. Tammany Parish on the North Shore. The
causeway is 24 miles long.
Louisiana is the only state that still refers to the
Napoleonic Code in its state law.
Since 1835 the New Orleans & Carrolliton Line is the
oldest street railway line still in operation.
Saint Martin Parish is home to the world's largest freshwater
river basin, the Atchafalaya Basin; the basin provides nearly
every type of outdoor recreational activity imaginable.
Breaux Bridge is known as the "Crawfish Capital of the World".
The first American army to have African American officers was
the confederate Louisiana Native Guards. The Corps d'Afrique
at Port Hudson was sworn into service on September 27, 1862.
In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is
considered a simple assault, but biting someone with your
false teeth is considered an aggravated assault.
The Saint Charles streetcar line in New Orleans and the San
Francisco, California cable cars are the nation's only mobile
national monuments
Jennings is called the "Garden Spot of Louisiana" for it's
rich and productive farmland. Jennings sobriquet {nickname}
became a "Northern Town on Southern Soil".
Baton Rouge's flag is a field of crimson representing the
great Indian nations that once inhabited the area.
Money Magazine has rated Terrebonne Parish, in the heart of
Cajun Country the best place to live in Louisiana for 3 years
in a row.
In 1718 The French found New Orleans and marked "Cannes
Brulee" on maps upriver in the area known today as the City of
Kenner. French for "Burnt Canes", Cannes Brulee was a name
given by explorers who observed natives burning cane to drive
out wild game.
Between April 17,1862 and May 18, 1864 20 major Civil War
battles and engagements were fought on Louisiana soil.
In 1803 the United States paid France $15 million for the
Louisiana Territory. 828,000 square miles of land west of the
Mississippi River. The lands acquired stretched from the
Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of
Mexico to the Canadian border. Thirteen states were carved
from the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Purchase nearly
doubled the size of the United States.
bayou: \BUY-you\ n. a French name for slow-moving "river"
Louisiana's first territorial governor, William C.C. Claiborne
had great admiration for the awkward bird that inhabited the
Gulf Coast region. The pelican, rather than let its young
starve, would tear at its own flesh to feed them. The
Governor's great respect for the Pelican led him to first use
the Pelican symbol on official documents.
The Catahoula Leopard Dog, often called the Catahoula Hound,
is the official state dog.
The City of Sulphur is the 13th largest city in Louisiana and
is named for the chemical and mining industry that helped to
establish Calcasieu Parish in the late 1800's.
The Town of Walker became a municipality under the State's
Lawrason Act (136 of 1898) on July 9, 1909 as a village.
Saint Joseph's Cemetery, the only known United States cemetery
facing north-south is in Rayne.
Incorporated in 1813 under the Lawrason Act, Saint
Francisville is the second oldest town in Louisiana.
The Union Cottonseed Oil Mill of West Monroe was in the
planning stages as early as 1883. By 1887, it provided the
area with many jobs for the laborers of the area. The Union
Oil Mill is the oldest industry in Ouachita Parish.
French speaking Acadians in the mid-1700s settled the
Lafayette Parish region of south Louisiana. The Acadians were
joined by another group of settlers called Creoles,
descendants of African, West Indian, and European pioneers. At
the time of the migration, Louisiana was under Spanish rule
and authorities welcomed the new settlers.
The city of Kaplan is referred to as "The Most Cajun place on
earth".
The town of Jean Lafitte was once a hideaway for pirates.
Winnsboro, the "Stars and Stripes Capital of Louisiana", is
one of the most patriotic cities in America. On Memorial Day,
July 4th, Veteran's Day, Labor Day, and other special
occasions, approximately 350 American flags fly proudly along
highway 15.
The name "Bogalusa" is derived from the Indian named creek
"Bogue Lusa", which flows through the city.
Frances Parkinson Keyes, one of America's best selling
authors, lived in Crowley for more than ten years.
The golden spike, commemorating the completion of the
east-west Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad, was
driven at Bossier City on July 12, 1884, by Julia "Pansy"
Rule. It was the first such spike driven by a woman.
Jim Bowie, the legendary adventurer and hero of the Battle of
the Alamo, lived in Opelousas after moving there from
Kentucky. Opelousas is the third oldest city in Louisiana.
The City of Ponchatoula is the oldest incorporated city in
Tangipahoa Parish. Ponchatoula derives its name from the
Choctaw Indian language meaning "hair to hang" because of the
abundance of Spanish moss on the trees surrounding the area.
Le Musee de la Ville de Kaplan {The Kaplan Museum} is located
in the center of downtown Kaplan. Le Musee at appropriate
times has exhibits centered on the seasonal festivals. Mardi
Gras, Easter, July 4, Bastille Day, Thanksgiving Day and
Christmas.
Rayne is known as the "The Frog Capital of the World".
Notations on the original plats of survey for the area that is
now Ville Platte stated that surveyors had to use pirogues and
flat boats to properly do their work.
Because Covington is in a region referred to as the Ozone
Belt, it has long been known for its clean air and water.
Gueydan is known as the "Duck Capital of America" in
recognition of its abundance of waterfowl.
Mamou bills itself as "The Cajun Music Capital of the World."
Mamou musicians, in particular the musicians who have perform
at Fred's Lounge have been a major force in expanding the
audience for Cajun music far beyond Southwest Louisiana.
The Harvey Canal Locks near Westwego connect the Mississippi
River to the Harvey Canal. Back in the 1800s the locks served
as ferries to transport railroad cars from one side of the
canal to the other. Workers would then reunite the railroad
cars on land. This service may have sparked the name of the
town. According to one local folk tale, trainmen would shout
"West We Go" as the railroad cars were reconnected and pulled
out of the station.
Church Point boasts the designation "The Buggy Capital of the
World". A festival celebrates this designation annually on the
first weekend in June.
The Creole House in French Settlement was built of cypress
wood. It is typical of the dwellings built in the late 1800's
because cypress was so plentiful in the surrounding swamps.
Fort Polk was established in 1941 and named in honor of the
Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of
the Diocese of Louisiana. On March 12, 1993, Fort Polk
officially became the home of the Joint Readiness Training
Center.
Pineville is home to a one of a kind museum called the Old
Town Hall Museum. It is the only museum in the entire state of
Louisiana dedicated to municipal government.
Card by Lalita Rudy
I'm pleased that you have requested my daily
cards, but if
you should ever wish to stop receiving them just reply to
this message or send a blank e-mail with the word remove
in the subject line to: lal...@codelphia.net
|
Halloween is for children and for people who never
grew up. |
