Cherie Quarters combines personal interviews, biography, and social history to tell the story of a plantation quarter and its most famous resident, renowned Louisiana writer and Pulitzer Prize nominee Ernest J. Gaines. In clear and vivid prose, this original and vital book illuminates the birthplace of a preeminent Black author and the lives of the people who inspired his work. Before he became an award-winning writer, Gaines was the son of sharecroppers in Cherie Quarters, a small Black community in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Drawing on decades of interviews and archival research, Ruth Laney explores the lives and histories of the families, both kin and not, who lived in a place where “everybody was everybody’s child.” Built as slave cabins for the nearby River Lake Plantation in the 1840s, the houses of Cherie Quarters were cold in winter, hot in summer, filled with mosquitoes, and overflowing with people. Even so, the residents made these houses into homes. Laney describes aspects of their daily lives—work, food, entertainment, religion, and education—then expands her focus to the white families who built River Lake Plantation, enslaved its people, and later directed the lives of its Black sharecroppers. The twenty-first century saw the demise of Cherie Quarters. Like many landmarks of Black American life and history, the few remaining structures were razed or fell into ruin. Laney recounts the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of a small, dedicated group to preserve the vestiges of the community—two slave cabins, the church/schoolhouse, and a shed. Engaging and rich in detail, Cherie Quarters highlights the voices of those who called this special place home and shares the story of a lost way of life in South Louisiana.

Interpreting Agriculture in Museums and Historic Sites orients readers to major themes in agriculture and techniques in education and interpretation that can help you develop humanities-based public programming that enhance agricultural literacy. Case studies illustrate the ways that local research can help you link your history organization to compelling local, national (even international) stories focused on the multidisciplinary topic. That ordinary plow, pitch fork, and butter paddle can provide the tangible evidence of the story worth telling, even if the farm land has disappeared into subdivisions and agriculture seems as remote as the nineteenth century. Other topics include discussion of alliances between rural tourism and community-supported agriculture, farmland conservation and stewardship, heritage breed and seed preservation efforts, and antique tractor clubs. Any of these can become indispensable partners to history organizations searching for a new interpretive theme to explore and new partners to engage.

Collected interviews with the award-winning African American author of A Lesson Before Dying, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Gathering of Old Men, "The Sky Is Gray," and many other works

In this innovative approach to southern literary cultures, Thadious Davis analyzes how black southern writers use their spatial location to articulate the vexed connections between society and environment, particularly under segregation and its legacies.<

Learn about the ghosts that haunt Louisiana’s capital city in this collection of spooky stories and photos . . . With yellow fever, Civil War battles, murders, and tragic accidents staining its history, it is no wonder that Baton Rouge is rife with tales of ghostly visitors. Highland Road has had so many reports of Civil War soldier sightings that the local police department sent out an officer to track one down. Spirits crowd about in the stately grounds of the Magnolia Mound and Old Cottage Plantations, the Old State Capitol building and the new, and even the USS Kidd. Unlikely spots like the Guaranty Income Life and Broadcast Building have plenty of hair-raising stories of their own; the cafeteria used to be a morgue. Now you can explore the Red Stick’s eerie past with paranormal investigator Bud Steed—as he uncovers the city’s most chilling tales.

It is universally acknowledged that a good person in possession of a small or large fortune will often be parted from it.There is a spine-chilling resemblance to the praying mantis in human behaviour. The mantis waits for its prey, then quickly dispatches it. The female often eats its mate during or after copulation in sexual cannibalism. Humans don't eat each other but devour through envy, greed, blackmail and extortion. Either sex, like the mantis, preys. This book is classed as fiction but the human interaction is taken from real life experiences. Hatred, seeking revenge, is dramatised.You will see how incidents play out. Anybody could be standing innocently on the edge of a pending disaster not realising it. Your partner could have designs you never dreamt off. Don't be a victim. Protect your mind body and soul not forgetting your wallet. If you get wounded you will live with it forever.William Evans, now under 'witness protection' arrives in Sydney, Australia, as John Williams. He reads a warning but pays no heed becoming welcome bait for the mantis syndrome.Nothing is sacred when the syndrome has you in sight. It's usually too late. What's left of your carcass is fought over by lawyers, accountants and bank managers. All want their pound of any remaining flesh becoming richer at your expense.John Williams still believed in honour. His word is his bond often sealed with a hand shake. I suggest in today's cyber digital world Honour is a relic of ages past. Somebody always wants what you have.Don't become a victim of the Syndrome. Note the warning signs. Learn how to interpret them. A mantis could be sat beside you on a flight, or where you work, at a party, or a recent lover plotting to entrap you. Once snared you are doomed. Don't let it happen. Read on to protect yourself.Life is short. A mantis will make it seem an eternity.