There is no other place as colorful and interesting as Louisiana, and nobody describes the state’s flavor and uniqueness better than Jay Dardenne, its Commissioner of Administration.
Dardenne has been bringing Louisiana’s rich history and diverse cultures to life for audiences across the state for years with a program he calls “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi.”
He has a boiled down, 30-minute version of the presentation for civic clubs and others with time constraints or a two-hour rendition complete with music and video. It’s better to get the whole shebang.
Dardenne starts with the arrival of Native Americans at Poverty Point in the northeast corner of the state 3,500 years ago and touches on captivating facets of life in these parts from then until now.
He offers tidbits on the plan by the United States to buy New Orleans from Napoleon that led to the entire Louisiana Purchase and on the establishment of Natchitoches by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as the first settlement in that 828,000-square-mile territory.
Louisiana is the only state where a single ethnic group does not make up a majority of the population. Dardenne details how immigrants from across the world ended up here to create this state’s patchwork population.
The “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi” presentation focuses on Acadians immigrating from Nova Scotia to create the “Cajun” population and how French, Spanish, Germans, Sicilians, Italians, Irish and others formed communities here with names that still reflect their ancestry.
Our population retains its diversity, Dardenne said, because such a large percentage of people born in Louisiana stay in the state.
Dardenne, a political force in Louisiana for decades as a former senator, secretary of state and lieutenant governor before becoming commissioner of administration, also touches on the state’s music, foods, sports heroes and other highlights during the presentation.
His stories on some colorful Louisiana personalities are priceless. He talked about Huey Long’s tenure as governor. The Kingfish from Winnfield paved 8,000 miles of dirt roads, built dozens of bridges and provided free textbooks, but he also had 23 of his family members on the state payroll.
Long created the “deduct box” by taking 10 percent of state workers’ salaries to fund campaigns for himself and his cronies. The governor insisted no coercion was involved. “We make them pay it voluntarily,” he said.
The state capitol in those days was beautiful, but Long wanted a new one. It was built for $5 million in 14 months. He wanted the tallest capitol in the country. At 34 stories, it was the tallest then and still is. Long was assassinated in the building and is buried on the capitol grounds.
Francis T. Nicholls was a Louisiana Confederate general. He lost his left arm and part of his left foot in battle. He was elected governor running on the slogan, “All that’s left of him is right.”
Dardenne said A.O. Rappelet of Houma, who claimed to have voted 17 times for Huey Long the same day, faced heavy criticism when he was running for the Senate. Rappelet told crowds, “If you think I’m so bad, just put an “X” by my name when you go vote.”
St. Landry Parish sheriff Cat Doucet had a heavy Cajun accent and struggled with English, Dardenne noted. Doucet said at a political rally that he would “win by a landscape.” He said his opponents used written notes, “but I’m speaking out of my head”
Dardenne said Doucet was asked about juvenile delinquency. “I don’t know much about it, but if it’s good for the kids, I’m for it.” Questioned about the Civil Rights bill, he said, “If we owe it, we ought to pay it.”
One of Dardenne’s favorite characters was Dudley J. LeBlanc, a long-time legislator who created Hadacol, a concoction of ingredients that included 12 percent alcohol. LeBlanc said it cured cancer, tuberculosis, paralysis, high or low blood pressure, tremors, migraines, arthritis and other things.
It was also an aphrodisiac, according to LeBlanc. He had Hank Williams record a jingle called Hadacol Boogie to promote the product. Some of the words were, “I went down to the farm to rest about a week; but the farmer’s wife started walking in her sleep. She had the Hadacol Boogie.”
He made millions selling the elixir before the government shut him down.
Dardenne’s “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi is an informative, spirited history lesson on our state. Don’t miss it if you ever have a chance to see it.
REPRINTED FROM THE NATCHITOCHES TIMES