This week, another giant of Acadiana’s Cajun French Music tradition was buried. I was surprised to learn that like other Cajun Music greats, Leo Soileau and Mayeus LaFleur, he descends from the Noel Soileau family like them, and has a close connection to one branch of the Vidrine Family. Merlin’s

Today – January 15 – is the 229th anniversary of the death of Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines, the father of the Vidrine family in LA. It’s because of his courage as a French Marine and the first from the Védrines family to leave France and to come to the

This is an interesting website. It looks like it collects public information and produces statistics. These are the Vidrine name’s stats. It’s interesting that it shows an “American” name, that is, that it’s prevalent in the US. Of course, Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines came to LA from France before

Today (January 13) is the feast of St. Hilary (c. 310 – c. 367) Bishop of Poitiers (France) and Doctor of the Church. While there were several men named after him in South LA, there are at least a few from the Vidrine Family with his name. Interestingly, they all descend

Like black-eyed peas and cabbage, cornbread is nearly just as much of a necessity in LA on New Year’s Day. But while that’s the case in South LA and has been for some time, it was not always the case – neither in Upper LA (the Illinois Country) nor in