Minutes: 22 January 2011

January 22, 2011  

Bonjour Cousins,

Our Guédry-Labine & Petitpas Reunion is set for Saturday, 8 October 2011 at the Cut Off Youth Center in Cut Off, LA. The website for the Cut Off Youth Center is: http://www.cutoffyouthcenter.org/

Located in the midst of the region commonly referred to as that of the wetlands or marsh Acadians, the Cut Off Youth Center is at 205 West 79th Street in Cut Off. It is directly behind Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Cemetery on Highway 1 (also called West Main Street). Bayou Lafourche flows immediately to the east of Highway 1. Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Cemetery and the Cut Off Youth Center are on land originally owned by Joseph Guidry Sr.

"After the devastating hurricane of October 1, 1893, many of the residents of Cheniere Caminada migrated to Cote Blanche. By 1899 there were about 200 inhabitants living in this area. On June 17, 1899 Joseph Guidry Sr. donated a ½ arpent plot of land to the Diocese. A chapel was built on the site shortly after that time. Another hurricane in 1909 severely damaged the chapel, which was then repaired. After an outbreak of yellow fever in 1905 the Sacred Heart Cemetery was formed. At that time it was known as the Callahan/Lang Cemetery, later called the Cote Blanche Cemetery then the Sacred Heart Cemetery. It might be noted that a small portion of the cemetery is reserved for infants that died before being baptized a fairly common practice in Catholic cemeteries. This cemetery is behind the Sacred Heart Church at 15300 West Main Street, Cut-Off, Louisiana." - From the Vienici.com website

The small Guidry Canal intermittently flows just to the south of the Cut Off Youth Center and has a rich history with the Guidry family. The towns of Cut Off and Cote Blanche are adjancent to each other and blend together. Cote Blanche meaning "White Coast" obtained its name because many of the families moving there after the hurricane of 1893 painted their homes white. As fisherman traveled up Bayou Lafourche, they were surprised by the "sea" of white homes and called the area Cote Blanche.

REGISTRATION
Attached is a Registration Form for the Reunion. We are keeping the fee the same as for our previous reunions. The fee to attend will be $20 for an individual and $40 for a family that will include two adults and all the kids under 21 that you can fit in your car. The fee covers the cost of building rental, paying our entertainers, renting sound equipment and other items needed, purchasing nametags and other supplies, etc.

It really helps us in planning the Reunion to know how many folks are coming. If you are planning on attending, please complete the Registration Form and return it to me with your payment. (We will give refunds of the fee up to September 1st for folks that pay and then determine that they cannot attend.)

AGENDA
Currently we are working on the agenda for the Reunion at this time. One of our goals is to have more free time during the day for folks to mingle and get to know each other. Tentatively, we'd like to have a couple of presentations of 30-45 minutes each on our family heritage and/or history of the local area, a Cajun band play for 40-45 minutes and a tour at the end of the day to Chéniere Caminada and Grand Isle (about 40 miles distant from Cut Off). (See below for tour). In addition, we'll have displays, posters and information available for folks to browse and read.

We are attempting to arrange a short tour from Cut Off south to Grand Island, LA with stops at Fourchon, LA and Chénière Caminada, LA. On our drive we'll pass through marshes that skirt the Gulf Coast and give us a first hand look at the aftermath of the BP Oil Spill. Fourchon, LA, the southernmost port in LA, services 90% of the deepwater oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and furnishes approximately 20% of the U.S. oil supply through the LOOP offshore offloading facilities and pipeline. Chénière Caminada was a bustling community in the 1890's of fisherman and hunters with their families. In October 1893 a devastating hurricane struck the community killing almost 900 residents (including several Guidry families) and destroying the village. Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier island in Louisiana, was once home to Jean Lafitte's band of men and later a thriving beach resort. We would plan to leave Cut Off at about 3:30 pm on October 8 - immediately after our Reunion - and return to Cut Off at dusk.

LUNCH
We plan to have lunch onsite for everyone that would like to eat at the Youth Center. For those that prefer to go elsewhere for lunch, there are some restaurants within a few miles of the Youth Center. We are trying to arrange having a couple of our family chefs prepare a Cajun meal for everyone that we'd offer for a modest fee. This may include red beans, rice and sausage, jambalaya, gumbo or the like and, of course, for the kids and others that prefer, we'd have hamburgers and hot dogs.

ACCOMODATIONS
There are several nice motels within 20 minutes of Cut Off. In addition, there are several Bed & Breakfast facilities within 40-50 miles of Cut Off. I will send a list of the B&B's in a few days. For those wanting to search the internet themselves here are some useful driving distances to Cut Off from various nearby towns: Lockport (16 miles), Raceland (24 miles), Houma (30 miles),Thibodaux (40 miles), Grand Isle (44 miles) and New Orleans (70 miles), Nearby motel accomodations include:

* Holiday Inn Express

http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/cut-off/giala/hoteldetail?destination=galiano+louisiana&numberOfRooms=1&numberOfAdults=1&numberOfChildren=0&ratePreference=6CBARCnull


* Best Western Inn

http://www.bestwesternlouisiana.com/hotels/best-western-isabelle-court/

* Days Inn

http://www.daysinn.com/DaysInn/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=14642


* Galliano Inn

http://gallianoinn.com/


* Boudreaux's Condeaux

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-12306426-boudreaux_s_condeauxs-i


An RV Park that also has Cabins within 20 minutes of Cut Off is Catfish Lake Cabins and RV Park

http://www.hikercentral.com/campgrounds/125372.html


GRAND RÉVEIL ACADIEN 2011
In addition to our Guédry-Labine and Petitpas Reunion on 8 October, during this same timeframe the Grand Réveil Acadien (Great Acadian Awakening) will occur from 7-16 October 2011 throughout south Louisiana from New Orleans in the east to Lake Charles in the west. The schedule for this is almost final. As soon as it is released, I will send it to everyone. One hightlight I will mention, however, is that there will be an unvieling of the Acadian Monument in Houma, LA on October 9th. This Monument is one of the series of Acadian Monuments being places throughout the world where Acadians landed and settled after the Expulsion. It will be similar to the Acadian Monument at the Halifax, Nova Scotia harbor. In addition, during the Grand Réveil Acadien there will be lots of Cajun music, talks about Acadians, Cajuns, wetlands and other topics, food presentations, genealogy sessions, etc. Major towns where activities will occur include New Orleans (October 7), Houma (October 9), Lake Charles (October 11) and Lafayette area (October 13-16). The Grand Réveil Acadien will conclude with the opening of the Festival Acadiens et Creole at Girard Park in Lafayette on October 15th and 16th.


Les Guédry d'Asteur Meeting - Saturday, 12 Feb 2011 - Reminder

On Saturday, 12 February 2011 we will have a meeting of Les Guédry d'Asteur from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon at the CODOFIL Office in Lafayette, LA.

At this meeting we will plan the activities and exhibits for our Reunion as well as enjoy fellowship and a nice Cajun meal together.

In 2010 we had meetings in Lafayette, Rayne and Galliano, Louisiana In 2011 I would like to continue having meetings in different areas of South Louisiana where Guidry families reside (e.g., along Bayou Lafourche, Houma, Lafayette, Church Point/Crowley/Rayne, Lake Charles and possibly the Golden Triangle in SE Texas). To do so, I need someone from the meeting area to help me secure a meeting facility and advertise the meeting locally. If interested in helping to arrange a meeting in your hometown, please email at guidryrmartin@gmail.com and we'll set up the meeting.

2011 Membership Dues Reminder

I encourage each of you to renew your Membership in Les Guédry d'Asteur or, if you are not a member, to become one. Our dues for 2011 remain very low at $10 for a family and $6 for an individual. I really appreciate the many folks who have sent their 2011 dues already and those who have renewed at one of our Benefactor Levels (dit Jovial, dit Labine and dit Grivois). Your support is much appreciated and needed.

A Membership Application is available on the Guedry-Labine Family website at:

Membership

Here you have the option of paying using PayPal or you can print the application and send it with your payment through the U.S. mail system. I have also included an application at the end of this memo.

No organization can operate without funds and Les Guédry d'Asteur is no exception. The several projects that we do to promote our Guédry-Labine and Petitpas family cost money. These include hosting mini-Reunions and large Reunions as the Bathurst Reunion, donating family history books to key libraries, publishing our newsletter, hosting our two websites, providing family momentos and publishing a family cookbook. We need your help to continue these activities. At this time our treasury is very low - as a major activity such as the recent Guédry-Labine & Petitpas Reunion requires large expenditures. Consider renewing or joining at the dit Jovial, dit Labine or dit Grivois levels or make a donation above the basic membership level. Your help will be appreciated and well used.


We hope everyone has a great year and that we see you at our Guédry-Labine and Petitpas Reunion on 8 October.

Marty


Martin Guidry
6139 North Shore Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70817
225-571-9726
guidryrmartin@gmail.com
Les Guédry et Petitpas d'Asteur, Inc.
https://guedryfamily.guedry.org/
https://guedry.guedry.org/
https://clotiaux.guedry.org/
https://butaud.guedry.org/