Minutes: 16 August 2003

August 16, 2003 Meeting

Bonjour Cousins,

On August 16, 2003 Les Guidry d'Asteur met in Lafayette, LA at the CODOFIL offices from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon. Our agenda was full and discussion was lively throughout the meeting.

2004 Guedry-Labine Reunion

Plans for both of our upcoming Guedry-Labine Reunions in Meteghan and Lunenburg are developing quickly.

The reunion at Meteghan will be at the local Curling Rink preceded by an opening mass and ceremony at historic St. Alphonse Catholic Church followed by a brunch a local restaurant. I'm told that Rappie Pie will be available for those wishing to sample this local treat. Of course, you can feast on eggs, bacon, ham, seafood chowder, a variety of breads, rice, potatoes, etc. We're currently developing the entertainment schedule for the reunion as well as several historic and genealogical displays for folks to peruse and enjoy. Just prior to the closing ceremony we'll enjoy a nice evening meal with BBQ pork and other delicacies.

At Lunenburg we'll meet at the Lunenburg Fire Hall which is beautifully set near the bay and across from the historic French Cemetary. We'll begin the day with a memorable opening ceremony that will center on the roots of our Acadian ancestors' strength during the many years of the dispersion. During the day we'll have two outstanding local historians discuss with us the history of Lunenburg and the Acadians of the Merligueche (Lunenburg) area. We'll also enjoy a local minstrel group playing old-time Nova Scotian music. At this time we're negotiating with a local Louisiana Cajun band consisting of several old-timers (you know, over 60 years of age) as well as three or four younger members (less than 18 years old including a Guidry cousin or two). They'll play a set in the afternoon that'll include both old-time Cajun songs of Louisiana as well as the some fast, foot-tapping Cajun two-steps popular today. We're also working on setting up a Cajun cooking demonstration with a couple of our excellent Guidry family cooks. If successful, we'll not only get to observe a couple of Cajun cooks at work (or is play?) during the day, but also partake of the feast (possibly a nice gumbo with the fixings) at the end of the day. At noon we'll have a catered meal of local specialties. Finally, we're planning to close the reunion with a moving tribute to our Guedry-Labine ancestors in the old French Cemetary. We plan to incorporate the French Cemetary memorial as well as the new Acadian memorial plaque (that we helped constuct) at the Bicentennial Park into our Reunion.

On the day following each Reunion we're developing a guided tour of the Meteghan and Lunenburg regions with a focus on Acadian and Guedry family history. As part of the Meteghan tour we're working to include the Centre Acadien at the Universite-St-Anne. The Centre Acadien has a superb Acadian genealogical and historic collection. We are planning a guided tour of the Centre as well as some time for folks to conduct family research. By necessity each of these tours will be limited as to the number of participants and participants will be assessed an additional fee to pay for the guides and transportation (if we can get a bus). As soon as plans for each are finalized, we'll announce the fee and general agenda.

With less than a year to go it is definitely not too early to pre-register for the Reunion. Remember for only $40 (family) or $30 (single) in the currency of your county you can register to attend both reunions as well as pay your 2004 dues to Les Guidry d'Asteur. This includes all activities at the Reunions except the meals which will cost about $10 per person each and will be paid at the respective reunion. The meals are optional.

To learn more about the Reunion including potential accommodations , click on the website: 2004 Reunion

To register for the Reunion , click on the website: 2004 Reunion Registration

The Guedry-Labine MiniReunion and Louisiana Purchase Celebration

Both the MiniReunion at Vermilionville in Lafayette, LA on May 25th and the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Celebration at Rayne, LA on June 14th were outstanding successes. Thanks to Gayle Guidry of Lafayette, LA and Jeanette Leger of Rayne, LA for organizing these two activities. Sixty Guidry cousins turned out for the MiniReunion at Vermilionville. Not only did we enjoy meeting each other and discussing our families, but everyone got to tour the historic Acadian homes at Vermilionville and visit the outstanding displays at the Acadian Cultural Center of Jean Lafitte National Park just outside the gates of Vermilionville. In addition, folks perused a number of displays on the genealogy and history of the Guedry and Labine families.

At the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Celebration Les Guédry d'Asteur was one of approximately 40 family organizations with booths. Several hundred people visited the pavilion during the day enjoying the entertainment and browsing through the various family organization displays. Many folks stopped to inquire about Les Guidry d'Asteur and review the information that we had displayed.

Guédry & Petitpas Family website

Please visit our websites periodically to learn more about our activities and family. We periodically update the two websites as new information becomes available. Here you can learn the latest about our Reunion in August 2004 ; the Les Guidry d'Asteur Book Project ; the Guedry-Labine Family Quilt ; our Newsletter "Generations" ; the Guedry-Labine Family Cookbook ; stories about our ancestors and other activities that we're doing. The first website below is filled with information about our family and the activities of Les Guidry d'Asteur. The second website below is a genealogical database that our Genealogy Committee is developing on the Guedry-Labine family. Our goal is pull together all of the information known about each of the early Guedry-Labine ancestors and to provide thorough documentation of all facts presented. We're progressing generation by generation through the Guedry-Labine family starting with Claude Guedry - our progenitor in North America.

https://guedryfamily.guedry.org/

https://guedry.guedry.org/

Guedry-Labine Family Cookbook

Jack Guidry, one of the outstanding Guidry cooks, from Lafayette, LA is editing the Guedry-Labine Family Cookbook with a planned publication date just prior to August, 2004. That means we are planning to have it available for sale at our Reunion. This will not be the usual recipe-only cookbook, but will be filled with tidbits about historic Acadian cooking, ingredients used, tidbits of interesting facts, comparison of Guedry-Labine cooking throughout North America as well as taste-tempting recipes submitted by all of us. Jack's received a number of recipes for the cookbook, but could still use a few more - especially from folks outside of Louisiana and southeast Texas. He'd really like to have a sampling of Guedry-Labine cooking from throughout North America and not just Louisiana and southeast Texas.

So folks - please jot down one or two of your favorite family recipes and sent them to myself or Jack. Our e-mail addresses are below. It doesn't matter if the dish is a main course, salad, dessert, vegetable or holiday specialty. Take your best guest at the quantities of ingredients if you measure like many Guidrys down here - "a pinch of this", "a bit of that", etc. Learn more about the Guedry-Labine Family Cookbook at: Cookbook

guidryrmartin@gmail.com (Marty Guidry)

jackgui@cox-internet.com (Jack Guidry)

Below is an interesting website with a connection to the Guedry family. It brings a bit of reality and humility into our family quest.

Texas Slave Narrative

Good luck on your quest into our family history,

Marty


Martin Guidry
6139 North Shore Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70817
guidryrmartin@gmail.com

Les Guidry d'Asteur, Inc.
Les Guédry d'Asteur Genealogical Association
https://guedryfamily.guedry.org/
https://guedry.guedry.org/