Thibodaux Rotary Club
Chef Randolph Cheramie – Thibodaux Rotary Club
May 28, 2013
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Our rotary club was visited last week by Chef Randolph Cheramie. Chef Randolph grew up in the family-owned Randolph’s Restaurant in Golden Meadow, which was opened by his grandmother and father. In 1981, Chef Randy took over the business and made his own mark on it by specializing in upscale South Louisiana Regional Cuisine.
For twenty years, Chef Randy enjoyed local and regional acclaim as the hallmark of great food while in charge of Randolph’s. In 1999 he was offered an adjunct professorship teaching Classic French Cuisine at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University. He was asked to join the full-time faculty upon the sale of his restaurant in 2001.
Through the Southern United States Trade Association, Chef Randy has taught some of the top chefs from around the world the art, tradition, culture, and methods of Cajun/Creole, Southern and Soul Food cuisine. He has taught chefs from 38 countries through this program.
Chef Randy coached six American Culinary Federation student hot food teams to five bronze medals and one silver medal in regional competition. He has also coached individual students in the San Pellegrino “Almost Famous Chef” competition in which his students won five consecutive championships and have gone on to the national finals in Napa, California.
Two students coached by Chef Randy have ranked 4th nationally in that competition. In 2011, the American Culinary Federation recognized Chef Cheramie as one of the top 25 chefs in Louisiana, and he is a Certified Food Service Educator. Chef Randy’s knowledge and experience in Southern Regional Cuisine is certainly extensive and focused. He is currently the Executive Director of the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.
Chef Randy shard with us some of his experiences throughout his years in teaching. He also gave us some insight into the impact that the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute has made at a national level. The Chef is very proud of his students and their ability to compete with others from the top culinary schools in the country. It was a pleasure have him speak to us.
Thibodaux Chief of Police, Scott Silverii Ph.D | Thibodaux Rotary Club Event
May 7, 2013
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Our rotary group was visited last Tuesday by Thibodaux Chief of Police, Scott Silverii Ph.D., who informed us first that the Thibodaux Fireman’s Fair was a large success, with great presence by the Thibodaux Police Department.
He then spoke with us on a topic he often discusses with law enforcement audiences – Public Perception and Managing Your Message, or what he likes to call “Media Matters”.
Silverii related to us a story in which he was recently asked about a situation that occurred in a particular local neighborhood. Unfortunately, the Police Chief realized during the curse of the conversation that the information had been horribly misconstrued after circulating through many individuals – a common problem that the Police Department faces as they attempt to relay accurate information to the public and manage public perception.
Sometimes national perception of law enforcement can be a little less than altruistic. Many people believe that traffic tickets are administered to generate revenue for the department, when the reality in Thibodaux is quite different.
These are written with discretion for traffic safety concerns. The department also enforces a high-visibility program which helps to achieve a high level of social compliance in traffic safety
The department does make many traffic stops since they are aware that criminals are vehicular in nature, usually taking a vehicle from point A to point B to commit crimes. Through systematic and methodological analyzing of maps and data, making such strategic stops increases the likelihood of catching these criminals, but more than half of all traffic stops are precautionary in nature and result in a verbal warning.
Even with such a high level of discretion practiced, the department is able to maintain a high level of reduction in social harms related to crashes and crimes. The department also seeks to achieve the optimal level of self-initiated policing activities to maintain crime suppression without going overboard to a level of diminishing returns, or over-policing.
One of the biggest Mayor’s goals over the past two years has been to truly implement community policing. This includes implementing the first ever full-time bicycle patrol. Also, every officer, every day upon arriving at work, patrols on foot for at least one hour, allowing them to meet people, making them accessible and more human to the public.
The Thibodaux Police Department uses social media to its advantage, posting videos introducing members of the law enforcement team to the public and putting us on a first-name-basis with them. The videos are unscripted and allow us to relate to these individuals and understand where they’ve come from and how committed they are to working for us. The department understands how critical social media networks like Facebook are for providing accurate information to the public in a timely fashion.
Crime data is pulled off of the record management system daily and is repopulated visually onto crime maps that are accessible to the public via a Thibodaux Police Department smartphone app that was developed with Apple. It allows individuals to anonymously submit photos and tips to the department and actively assist in keeping the city safe.
YouTube videos are also created and uploaded for all press releases, engaging people from all over the country with the City of Thibodaux. The Department strives to fulfill the Mayor’s mandate of being accountable, transparent, and true public servants by pushing out a consistent message. They try to engage with the humanistic side in headlines in stories while maintaining these essential principles. This allows them to go before local and national audiences and represent themselves and our city well.
Cop Talk is another example of the department’s use of media to reach the public with a positive message. It is a local television program segment explaining various law enforcement terminology, discussing mapping or other technology, or highlighting a unit of the police department. It has been very successful in installing pubic confidence in our law enforcement.
For up-to-date-information, The Thibodaux Police Department can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThibodauxPolice and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ThibodauxPD.
The Magic Of Westley Annis | Thibodaux Rotary Club
March 26, 2013
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Last Tuesday our rotary group was treated to a bit of magic thanks to our guest, Westley Annis. A native of Chalmette, Westley moved to Thibodaux with his family after hurricane Katrina. He is the owner of da-parish.com and his wife is a teacher at St. Genevieve.
Westley spoke with us about Louisiana Magic Weekend, a magician’s convention which takes place at NSU, in Peltier Auditorium on April 12th and 13th. The convention features 7 or 8 magicians from around the country that will speak to amateur and experienced magicians alike before performing a public stage show on the Saturday night.
The role of the magician has changed over the centuries dating as far back as the ancient Egyptians, when magicians were part of the pharaohs’ royal court. During the renaissance, magicians took on the role of gypsies, bringing their magic acts to carnivals and into the streets. But a significant influence on the type of magic we know today came from a Frenchman named Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin in the 1800’s. Houdin, originally trained as a clock-maker, brought magic to the stage and gave it a more upscale appearance through choreographed performances.
Houdini’s acts inspired another magician from Hungary, by the name of Ehrich Weiss, to hone his skills and eventually wow audiences of his own. Weiss, more commonly known as Harry Houdini, become one of the most famous escape artists and illusionists of all time. Houdini stunned audiences for years escaping from shackles, boxes, and various contraptions because of his ability to swallow objects like lock-picks and regurgitate them in order to free himself.
Westley gave us a demonstration of a similar trick when he swallowed a long piece of string and seemingly pulled the end out from his eye! He then engaged the audience in a card trick involving each member pulling four cards that represented their birth year. The remaining cards in the deck were then moved around into and out of various piles. The four birth year cards were put into the mix and seemingly lost in the jumble. However, through strategic pulling of cards, each audience member was eventually left with four – surprisingly, the very same that represented his/her birth year!
Those interested in magic, illusion and other clever tricks can attain more information about Louisiana Magic Weekend at http://www.louisianamagicweekend.com/
Student Government Day | Thibodaux Rotary Club
March 18, 2013
By: Kevin Gros
The Thibodaux Rotary Club is proud to sponsor the 2013 Student Government Day in Thibodaux, LA and Lafourche Parish. Each years students spend one day assuming the role of an elected official. Here they learn the ins and outs on how government operates on a city-wide and parish-wide basis.
The Thibodaux Rotary Club was fortunate to have Louisiana Lieutenant Governor “Jay” Dardenne, Jr as the guess speakers for this year’s student government day. You will find his talk timely, insightful and inspirational.
PART 1 – 2013 Student Government Day
PART 2 – 2013 Student Government Day
Danny Cavelle introduced his friend, Lieutenant Governor and former Secretary of State, Jay Dardenne to speak to the group about Leadership. Mr. Dardenne reminded us of the importance of public service and shred his thoughts about what makes and effective leader. He identified six characteristics that all successful leaders must possess:
Confidence – Those who aspire to be in a leadership position must be confident in what they do. It enables them to step up to a challenge and take it on. It’s important for others to be confident in their leaders and he distinguished between confidence and arrogance.
Honesty – It’s important for those in leadership positions to be honest with themselves to know they really want to step up into a leadership role.
Optimism – Mr. Darden talked about the inspiration he got from his early work with the MDA and told us about a child named Matthew Brown whom he met in Atlanta who showed him what it means to be truly optimistic how it can allow one to overcome tremendous challenges.
Integrity – A difficult word to define but an essential quality in a leader. Thomas More had it and it allowed him to stand up to Henry VIII during the protestant reformation when the King, in his effort to have a son to succeed him petitioned Thomas More the Lord Chancellor to change the law and allow the King to legally divorce and remarry. When Thomas More refused he was imprisoned and ultimately lost his life. What a good example of someone doing the right thing no matter how difficult the consequences are.
Communication – Especially listening is a quality of leadership often under-utilized by important to learning and growth. Good leaders recognize they don’t know all the answers and sometimes they can learn a thing or two by talking a little less and listening a little more.
Enthusiasm – Passion for something is important and leaders who possess this important quality will find it is contagious.
The first letter of each of the six leadership traits above spells C-H-O-I-C-E. We are reminded of the great opportunities afforded to us here in America and that all great leaders must make a conscious choice to offer themselves up for service.
The program continued with introductions of all the students participating in the program by Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete, Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph and Floyd Benoit with the Lafourche Parish School Board. The house was packed and despite running low on chicken and additional tables being set up, the presentation went smoothly and concluded on time.
Special thanks to Justice Weimer, Mayor Eschete, President Randolph and Superintendant Matthews for helping to make this event possible.
Dr. Jim Barnidge – History Of The Catholic Papacy – Thibodaux Rotary Club
March 12, 2013
By: Jamie Gros
On March 12th, 2013 Dr. Jim Barnidge spoke to Thibodaux’s Rotary Club on the history of the Catholic Papacy.
Barnidge is a retired history professor from Nicholls State and has spoken to our Rotary club in the past. In fact he was voted speaker of the year for his wealth of knowledge of the crisis in the Middle East. He is also known for attending Europe trips with students and community members for 40 years now.
Given the Catholic Church is going through a change in the Papacy, Barnidge greeted the rotary club with a brief, but entertaining knowledge of the History of the Roman Catholic Church.
Jesus Christ, only taught his teachings, which the Catholic Church is based on for three years. The teachings of Christ were not put onto paper until 3o years after Christ was dead.
It was repeated by word of mouth at first. He set the foundation for his disciples to spread the Word, one of his main disciples Peter is known to have start the church. He actually started churches in several other areas before coming to the main city Rome, where his is ultimately crucified
Peter is not actually crucified in the coliseum, where most events went on in this day and age, he is crucified in what is known as the Circus, which is what Nero the Roman emperor of the time called it. The circuses were literally graveyards, which is what is known today as THE VATICAN, which was the Roman god of the dead.
During this time in the church, before converting to Christianity Peter wanted an individual to become Jewish, it was not until Paul, who was not a Jew, who changed this for the church.
The church slowly developed, its followers waited and waited for the second coming of Christ before they realized the Church needed some organization. There were no real priest at first, but to take care of the needs of their follows they appointed deacons, to take care of the sick and needy.
They also needed someone to take care of correspondence, which was the presbyter, and then someone need to see over them, which were the bishop, above them were the arch bishop and so on and so forth.
The real popularity of Christianity did not start until around the year 300 A.D. Constantine and Maxentius went to war over the Roman Empire. One group of follows was for Maxentius, were sun god worshippers and the other side were followers of Christ; even Constantine was not a Christian himself.
Constantine wins the war and makes December 25th the birth of Christ to deemphasize the sun gods because this was on the winter solstice, the darkest day for these people by also igniting the Birth of the SUN or SON. In many churches today the Saints are depicted with a ray of light behind them or a halo. This was taken from the sun god worshippers.
Constantine saw all the fighting going on and he came up with the Nicene Council to declare the beliefs of Christianity, which is the Nicene Creed, which Catholics still use today in mass. Constantine remained a pagan his whole life until his deathbed, which then he converted to Christianity.
The Catholic Church has been plagued by controversy for years and years. The voting will be done by a group of 115 cardinals, however it can be more but a cardinal cannot vote over the age of 80. There is however, global in balance.
The Latin Church makes up42% of the church population with only 16% of the cardinals; Europe is 24% of the church population and 53% of the population of cardinals, where Africa is 15% of the church population and only 9% of the population of the cardinals.
There is a language barrier located in this it is population. It is very unlikely for a cardinal from the United States become pope. There are many front runners to become the Pope of the Catholic Church; however any adult male who is baptized in the Catholic Church can become pope. But this is very unlikely.
On March 13, 2013 The Roman Catholic Church announced a new pope, First pope from the “New World”, a Jesuit priest, a man of the poor. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis I! The new pope will replace Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation last month prompted the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals to initiate a conclave, a Latin phrase meaning “with a key,” to pick a new leader for the world’s almost 2 billion Catholics.
District Interact Convention 2013
Dear Rotarians,
Just in case you have missed a few meetings and not heard about it, the HLB Interact Club is hosting this year’s Rotary District 6200 Interact Convention. Since last spring, HLB Interact’ Club’s Sponsor, Carolyn Cowart-Elstheroth, has been working overtime to make this event a reality. She has enlisted the aid of her former co-sponsor Karen Ellender, who has come out of retirement to help her and the students.
The Houma Municipal Auditorium will not allow us to set-up until 8:00 AM on Thursday, March 7. This means we have lots to do before over 350 participants begin to arrive around 9:00 AM! You can earn a make-up meeting by showing up at 8:00 AM to help set out chairs and assist in getting everything ready for our convention guests.
Attached (SEE BELOW) is a list of Rotarian volunteers who have signed up so far to help. (NOTE: There is still always room for more volunteers!) Please consider coming by on Thursday, March 7 (8:00 AM – 10:00 PM), and/or on Friday, March 8 (8:30 AM – 12:30 PM). Not only will your presence reinforce your support of our youth, it will also count as a make-up meeting if you just stay and visit for about 10-15 minutes.
NOTE TO JUDGES: The judging may not take a full hour; however, we need for you to be present at least 5 minutes before your scheduled judging time to receive instructions.
To all who have volunteered so far, THANK YOU!! Your valuable time is appreciated as you support our HLB Interact Club in hosting this year’s convention.
Blessings,
Sybil
Sybil Webb
Cell# 985-856-1723
District Interact Convention 2013
Thursday, March 7 – All Day 8:00 am-10:00 pm
Friday, March 8 – Morning Only 8:00 am-12:30 pm
Hosted by H.L. Bourgeois High School ~ Houma Municipal Auditorium (HMA)
ROTARY VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AVAILABLE
PROJECTS OF THE YEAR – BANNER, SCRAPBOOK & T-SHIRTS
FOUR JUDGES NEEDED ~ 10am – 11am ~ THURSDAY
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NAME/ROTARY CLUB |
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PHONE |
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Yolanda Trahan |
868-5881 – office 209-0982 – cell |
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Shannon Rhodes |
852-0002 |
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Rene’ Williams
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857-0033 |
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Billy Foster |
804-8094 |
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Mary Lynn Bisland |
209-6714 |
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Mike McKee |
860-917-0648 |
SKIT
FOUR JUDGES NEEDED ~ 1:30pm – 3:00pm ~ THURSDAY
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NAME/ROTARY CLUB |
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PHONE |
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Sherri Roach
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381-1863 |
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Monica Monk
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791-3346 |
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Karen Chauvin
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855-3857 |
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Mike McKee
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860-917-0648 |
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District Interact Convention 2013
Thursday, March 7 – All Day
Friday, March 8 – Morning Only
Hosted by H.L. Bourgeois High School ~ Houma Municipal Auditorium (HMA)
ROTARY VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AVAILABLE
LIP SYNC
FOUR JUDGES NEEDED ~ 6:45pm – 8:00pm ~ THURSDAY
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NAME/ROTARY CLUB |
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PHONE |
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Michael Bergeron
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209-0250 |
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Karen Chauvin
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855-3857 |
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Clarke Currie
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850-6304 |
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David Tauzin
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226-6836 |
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INTERACT IDOL
FOUR JUDGES NEEDED ~ 10:30am – 11:30am ~ FRIDAY
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NAME/ROTARY CLUB |
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PHONE |
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Sam Hotard
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Samhotard1@gmail.com |
688-7111 |
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Leslie Cheramie
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438-0514 |
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Jerry Ledet
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jledet@banksynergy.com |
851-3341 |
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Rev. Craig Dalferes
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872-5057 – office 226-2887 – cell |
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District Interact Convention 2013
Thursday, March 7 – All Day
Friday, March 8 – Morning Only
Hosted by H.L. Bourgeois High School ~ Houma Municipal Auditorium (HMA)
ROTARY VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AVAILABLE
BACKUP / SUBSTITUTE
ROTARIANS / FRIENDS NEEDED
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NAME/ROTARY CLUB DATE/TIME AVAILABLE |
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PHONE |
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Michael Bergeron |
michael@mbergeron.net |
209-0250 |
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Jude Lapeyrouse ? |
judelap@yahoo.com |
872-4511 |
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Tracy Schwab |
ctschwablaw@gmail.com |
870-8010 |
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Claiborne Duval |
cduval@ayeee.com |
876-5996 |
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Ken McGowan |
601-4100 |
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Dr. Laynie Barrilleaux -Nicholls State University Updates – Thibodaux Rotary Club
January 29, 2013
By: Jamie Gros
On January 29th, 2013 Dr. Laynie Barrilleaux with Nicholls State University spoke to Rotary on the new updates of the university. Dr. Barrilleaux has served as an active member of Thibodaux Rotary as well as its president. She joined Nicholls as an instructor of management in 1981 and moved through the academic ranks to full professor in 1998.
During her tenure, she served as head of the department of management and marketing, liaison for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and assistant vice president for academic affairs. She has led Nicholls through successful reaffirmations of the university-wide regional accreditation and the NCAA recertification. Barrilleaux has been instrumental in securing various grants for the university and has publications in numerous journals.
Barrilleaux announce several updates on the university. The new master’s program in Nursing is starting off very successful and the university has also launched a brand new user friendly website. However, her main goal of the hour was to talk about Nicholls State University Online. Online learning gives the student the ability to attend school and/or study virtually any place, anywhere, and at any time.
This program is geared towards a more specific student. This is a student who has strong computer skills, time management skills. Can learn independently, but ultimately has conflicts with being on campus for classes and presentations. Nicholls Online is a degree that is offered through Nicholls State in a complete online format.
It is currently offering 7 degrees online in an 8 week condensed class session rather than the 16 week semesters. The program is allows students to complete classes more quickly, focus on fewer classes and graduate sooner. However, with Nicholls Online the student is still paying for accredited programs, certified faculty and education with a personal touch. The student also has the ability the extend class up to six months in the event of time restraints. Courses begin every January, March, June, August and October.
With Nicholls online the student has no additional university fees. All undergrad courses are $250 per credit hour and all graduate courses are $350 per credit hour.
Nicholls Online currently offers these degrees:
- Bachelors of Arts in History
- Bachelors of Arts in English
- Bachelors of Arts in Sociology
- Bachelors of Science in General Studies
- Bachelors of Science in general Family and Consumer Science
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing ( for students who have encumbered RN licenses)
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- Masters of Education in Educational Leadership
For those that are interested learning more about the Nicholls Online Program please visit www.nicholls.edu/nicholls-online/
Mark S. Kearns – History and Mystery of Life – Thibodaux Rotary Club
December 18, 2012 Meeting
By: Kevin Gros
The ninth but not last installation of “Meet My Cousin” Series returned to Rotary on December 18, with Mark S. Kearns, M.A., N.H.D. (Energy Therapist & Life Enhancement Coach) presenting “History and the Meaning of Life”.
Mark was the 2010 Rotarian of the Year and operates the Breath of Life Natural Healing Center on Bayou Road. He was accompanied by his wife Meg and daughter Mary Katherine.
According to his cousin Craig, Mark is a descendant of the late 19th century American Pioneer, Jim Bowie. Aside from his professional accomplishments which are touched on below, Craig expounded on some of his personal achievements during his introduction, which in addition to many similarities with Jim Bowie, including living in a house that looks like the Alamo and cutting a lizard in half with a pocket knife, include establishing the Nicholls student radio station, being an avid base player and drummer, and earning a brown belt in karate.
Mark received his Doctor of Natural Health, NHD, from Clayton College of Natural Health in Alabama. He has his masters degree in counseling. Mark is also a certified master practitioner and trainer in NLP, and is a certified hypnotherapist. He is the developer of the Life Enhancement Process, a dynamic life strategy.
Dr. Kearns has co-authored an NLP practitioner and Master Practitioner manual and has authored manuals for, developed and taught The Power of Self, How to Gain Personal Power and keep It, and Forgiveness (the key to all healing) seminar series. For the past several years, in addition to maintaining a private practice, Mark has taught numerous instructional classes on hypnosis, NLP, relaxation training, linguistic cues and representational systems, life coaching and the techniques of EFT, BSFF and The Life Enhancement Process.
Mark began his presentation with a photograph of an ancient Mayan calendar and being the last speaker before the 2012 winter solstice noted that if things don’t work out he’ll be the final speaker for the Club. Alas the sun came up on December 22 and we are all here to ponder his words. Much has been made of “12/21/12”.
Not only is it the winter solstice, it’s the last date on the 2,600 year old Mayan calendar which many have predicted will be the apocalypse. Many cultures have predicted some sort of event on 12/21. Planetary alignment, collisions with comets, and the second coming of Christ have all been predicted by some and debunked by others. In any event all the hype of these apocalyptic events has caused many of us to ask the question “why am I here?”
To help him answer this question, Mark began his quest for an answer where many of us begin looking for information – the internet. Unfortunately when he Googled his name he found his obituary, in Miami! Aside from now knowing there is life after death, Mark continues his search for an answer.
For most of us reality is external. We react to events. Our brain interprets them and our egos distort them. We are like passengers in a car driven by others. What should we do? We must learn to no longer be the effect, rather be the cause. Be the director in our own “movie” of life. Understand the universe and how it works. Understand our desires and how they can be positive or negative. Have an appreciation for events around us. Thoughts are the formation of things to come.
Most of us go through many thoughtless routines in our lives without considering what we are really doing. We must understand we can take control or our thoughts. Consider miracles, the earth, planets and solar system or many other things not widely considered miracles. How did we go from “nothingness” to this? Understand there are miracles all around us and we are part of a larger world in which we are an active participant. These are profound words and good advice for all of us.
In closing, Mark left us with a few words from an ancient Egyptian inscription, “The greatest power in the universe is love”, an excellent thought to take with us into the Christmas season.
Thanks to Mark for an enlightening presentation. We all look forward to the next edition of “Meet my Cousin”!
Donner-Peltier Distillers – Thibodaux Rotary Club
January 8, 2013
By: Luci Sposito
Dr. Henry Peltier and John Couchot presented at the January 10th Rotary Meeting. They discussed the inception and processes of the Donner-Peltier Distillers (DPD), located on St. Patrick Hwy. in Thibodaux.
Dr. Peltier explained that DPD began as the dream of four friends. About three years ago, Dr. Henry and Jennifer Peltier and Dr. Tom and Beth Donner began researching the industry, attending conferences, and visiting distilleries all over the country. When they had acquired sufficient knowledge, the foursome got serious about the facility and finding the right person to oversee daily operations.
John Couchot, a Master Distiller, also called the mad scientist, was recruited by the Peltiers and Donners. Mr. Couchot has extensive experience in the industry and was willing to leave his Oregon job and home and start a new life in Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Couchot along with two others are full time employees at the facility making distilled spirits. Rum and vodka are currently produced, but more products, including gin and absinthe, are on the horizon.
Dr. Peltier explained, “Initially, the idea was to make rum simply because we live in the heart of sugar cane country and yet nobody in the immediate area was making rum.” Many rum types have to age, so in order to generate more immediate revenue; the idea of producing vodka was entertained. The foursome wanted to continue with the local theme so they decided to make vodka by utilizing Louisiana long grain rice.
Producing vodka from rice is not very common in the United States, but they were able to perfect the process. The rice is milled to the consistency of grits, cooked, and enzymes, yeast, and nutrients are added. In about four days the vodka is ready to be distilled many times until it reaches federal law guidelines of no less than 190 proof. DPD is able to achieve 193 proof.
To produce rum, DP Distillery uses blackstrap molasses and raw sugar. The rum is pasteurized to kill any foreign yeast, cooled; yeast is added, and fermented. In about three days, the product is distilled off to about 170 proof. If it is going to be the white rum, called sugar shine, it is watered down to 101 proof and bottled. If it is going to be dark rum, the product will be aged to give color and flavor, watered down to 80 proof and bottled.
“From cane to cocktail,” DPD makes everything from beginning raw products to the final bottled liquor. Everything is done by hand in the facility which contains a tasting room and bar. DPD hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 12PM – 7PM and 12PM – 4PM on Sunday. Tours are offered Wednesday through Saturday at 4PM and at 2PM on Sunday. You can purchase the products, Rougaroux Sugarshine, Rougaroux Full Moon Dark Rum, and Oryza Vodka at the facility for $28.95 a bottle or product can also be purchased at many other locations including Rouse’s, Go-Bears, and the “Chackbay gas station.”
Thibodaux Rotary Club | Ben Bernard “What They Saw In WW1”
November 13, 2012
By: Ken Gros
Ben Bernard returned to the luncheon Tuesday with another interesting edition of “What They Saw” – World War I. He gave us a very brief history of the war and once again with the help of uniforms, equipment and weapons painted a portrait of the ordinary American and German soldiers.
For those who missed Ben’s previous presentations, “World War II – The German Soldier” and “What they saw – Vietnam”, Ben is a native of Cut Off and now lives in Thibodaux with his wife Lara and son Logan. He is a sales representative from Hyundai of Houma and Living Historian.
Ben is a historian and teaches through living reenactments for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Regional Reenactments, and visiting area schools teaching children about the life of the soldier in wars from the American Revolution, the Civil War, Vietnam and everything in between.
Ben has appeared in several History Channel programs based on World War II and the Vietnam War and assisted with the development of World War II Video games such as the popular “Call of Duty”. Ben’s grandfather was a Major in the Korean War and he became interested in war history at an early age. Ben has spent many hours with our fighting soldiers gaining an understanding of how war feels, and what is life really like for the men on the front lines.
Previously, Ben stressed the importance of detail, no matter how small, for reenactments to be successful. Participants “become” the soldier they are portraying and the more realistic the presentation the more informative it is.
Ben gave us a brief history of World War I. It was the first “Global War” and was different than any other conflict ever seen. It was a complicated war. Multiple nations were involved and were assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies (France, Britain and Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy).
America entered the war with the Allies in 1917 and fought until it’s conclusion in 1918. New technologies including aircraft, tanks, machine guns and chemical weapons were used. Because of these advancements in technology – and lethality of the new weapons, World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history.
Although both sides had plenty of new, impressive weapons, the soldiers in the field looked pretty ordinary. Ben was outfitted as an American GI or “Doughboy” including his brown wool uniform, low booties and a soft hat. He also donned a typical knapsack with usual implements including blankets, shovels and mess kits.
He explained how surprisingly, countries were just beginning to realize it was important for their fighting men to be comfortable in battle. GI’s standard rifle was the Springfield 1903 bolt-action 30-06. Select GI’s were issued the Winchester 1897 12-gauge shotgun which was very effective for trench warfare, however those who wielded it were shown no mercy if they were captured. Ben also showed us a standard issue “turtle shell” steel helmet with a crude camouflage pattern.
Next up was the German soldier. As usual the Germans appear to have one the fashion war. They donned a field grey wool uniform, leather boots with hobnails and a steel stahlhelm helmet – affectionately dubbed the frankenstien helmet by the allies because of two studs on its sides for attachment of a steel shield.
The helmets continued to be used throughout World War II. Soldiers used the Gewehr G-98 bolt-action mauser – the predecessor to the famous K-98, 8mm. Similar to other wars, the quality of uniforms and equipment was diminished by the end of the war as resources became scarce. Ben tried on a crude German gas mask; a grim reminder of the brutality of war.
When asked which soldier he prefers to reenact, Ben said the German soldier and went on a long explanation of why. I think it’s because the Germans seemed to have cooler toys than the Americans. Thank you Ben!
