The great thing about getting (a little) older is that you get to do things with older folks. Fun things! The Sage Series, through McNeese State University's Leisure Learning program and geared to the senior set, is an example. Each semester, they offer a handful of interesting lectures, usually on some aspect of Louisiana culture or history. And there's a bus tour to some fascinating destination. This semester, it was Melrose Plantation and Natchitoches.
I always get excited to explore places I've never been before; and while I had been to Natchitoches numerous occasions from 2010 to 2013 while our son attended high school there (see posts here, here, and here) I had never been to nearby Melrose Plantation. It is definitely worth a visit!
The history of Melrose is intriguing. It was built by Louis Metoyer, the son of freed slave Marie Thérèse Coincoin (pronounced quA-quA) and her partner Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer, beginning in 1810 with the construction of some of the outbuildings on the property. Construction of the Big House began in 1832.
After a 34-year ownership by the Hertzog family, the plantation was purchased by the Henry family, where John Henry and his young wife Cammie made their home in 1899.
This plantation is very much in the boondocks, and I suppose Cammie longed for companionship. She was known for inviting artists and writers to her home for extended visits, sometimes years at a time. Melrose became a center for creativity. Cammie herself was a gifted quilter and weaver. While strolling the grounds, I imagined what it might have been like to spend time there for a writer's retreat.
Melrose's greatest claim to fame may be that it was home to renowned folk artist Clementine Hunter. From the age of 12, Clementine worked on the plantation, first as a field hand and later a housekeeper and cook. Exposed to the talents of visiting artists, Clementine discovered discarded paints left by the artists and began painting. She painted what she knew -- namely plantation and rural Louisiana life in the mid-20th century. Her paintings tell the stories of her life experiences and the people in her world. She claimed to have known the names of every person portrayed in her extensive collection of paintings, occasionally inserting herself into the scenes. She painted on anything she could find -- cardboard, wood, clothe, and canvas, when she could get it. Her large murals in the "African House" on the property are especially fascinating.
Today, Hunter is recognized internationally as one of the most famous African American folk artists in the United States. She died in 1988, at age 101, after completing thousands of works of art. Her work is viewed by over 15,000 visitors annually at Melrose Plantation.
After Melrose, the busload of us ate lunch at the quaint Cane River Commissary.
Once in Natchitoches, there was an hour or so to explore the Front St. shops and then we enjoyed a pleasant river boat cruise on the Cane River Queen. Some may not know, the Cane River is technically the 35-mile Cane River Lake, an oxbow cut off from the Red River in the mid-1800s by the removal of a 100-mile long logjam north of Natchitoches.
So, funny story . . . on the drive back to Lake Charles, we made a pit stop at a Love's gas station. As we filed through the door, we heard over the loud speaker, "Attention, Code Orange, Code Orange!" Curious what a Code Orange is, we asked an employee in the ladies' room. She said it signals the arrival of a tour bus! Ha, ha. All hands on deck!
I always get excited to explore places I've never been before; and while I had been to Natchitoches numerous occasions from 2010 to 2013 while our son attended high school there (see posts here, here, and here) I had never been to nearby Melrose Plantation. It is definitely worth a visit!
The Big House
The history of Melrose is intriguing. It was built by Louis Metoyer, the son of freed slave Marie Thérèse Coincoin (pronounced quA-quA) and her partner Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer, beginning in 1810 with the construction of some of the outbuildings on the property. Construction of the Big House began in 1832.
After a 34-year ownership by the Hertzog family, the plantation was purchased by the Henry family, where John Henry and his young wife Cammie made their home in 1899.
This plantation is very much in the boondocks, and I suppose Cammie longed for companionship. She was known for inviting artists and writers to her home for extended visits, sometimes years at a time. Melrose became a center for creativity. Cammie herself was a gifted quilter and weaver. While strolling the grounds, I imagined what it might have been like to spend time there for a writer's retreat.
Cammie Henry
Melrose's greatest claim to fame may be that it was home to renowned folk artist Clementine Hunter. From the age of 12, Clementine worked on the plantation, first as a field hand and later a housekeeper and cook. Exposed to the talents of visiting artists, Clementine discovered discarded paints left by the artists and began painting. She painted what she knew -- namely plantation and rural Louisiana life in the mid-20th century. Her paintings tell the stories of her life experiences and the people in her world. She claimed to have known the names of every person portrayed in her extensive collection of paintings, occasionally inserting herself into the scenes. She painted on anything she could find -- cardboard, wood, clothe, and canvas, when she could get it. Her large murals in the "African House" on the property are especially fascinating.
(from Gilley's Gallery)
Today, Hunter is recognized internationally as one of the most famous African American folk artists in the United States. She died in 1988, at age 101, after completing thousands of works of art. Her work is viewed by over 15,000 visitors annually at Melrose Plantation.
After Melrose, the busload of us ate lunch at the quaint Cane River Commissary.
Natchitoches is known for meat pies. And most all of Louisiana is known for gumbo!
Once in Natchitoches, there was an hour or so to explore the Front St. shops and then we enjoyed a pleasant river boat cruise on the Cane River Queen. Some may not know, the Cane River is technically the 35-mile Cane River Lake, an oxbow cut off from the Red River in the mid-1800s by the removal of a 100-mile long logjam north of Natchitoches.
So, funny story . . . on the drive back to Lake Charles, we made a pit stop at a Love's gas station. As we filed through the door, we heard over the loud speaker, "Attention, Code Orange, Code Orange!" Curious what a Code Orange is, we asked an employee in the ladies' room. She said it signals the arrival of a tour bus! Ha, ha. All hands on deck!
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