Yesterday, Ala took a day off work and we went to an old plantation home in an even smaller town out side of Houma, LA. As we drove up to the home, you can’t help but notice the over 300 year old trees that were planted by someone who would have never guessed this would be a tourist site in the year 2010. It was truly fascinating. Each tree was planted evenly spaced on each side and is considered to be an old way of French gardening.(Side note: Oak trees have a life span of 600 years.)
As we toured the old home, and listened to the history of who lived there and how they lived almost 300 years ago, was truly interesting, and really brought the history I have learned as a child to life. The homes then, were so thought out and every room, door and window served a purpose. Though our history has its dark side due to slavery, it was so wonderful to see something like this in person, to really get a feeling of how it was back then.
The original owner of the house married a woman 16 years younger than him and brought her from New Orleans to this very lucritive sugar cane farm in the middle of nowhere. Her story is that she struggled adjusting to this new life and being away from her friends and family in New Orleans, in those days it was 3.5 hours away by horse, or you could hop on a steam boat on the Mississippi River and get there in about 1.5 hours.
Selena was the original woman of the house. She had 19 inside maids and over 90 field workers taking care of her family, business and home. The home and all its counterparts, like the kitchen, slave quarters, and barn were on acres and acres of land. The grounds were very well maitained and made me wonder how hard it must have been back then to keep all of this up.
I almost felt like I related to Selena. We both have moved from our homes and what we knew of, for love, into a small society where there were hard adjustments due to location and culture. We had all these luxurious amenities, but both understood, that money and a luxurious lifestyle could not buy your sanity and need for a community, friends and family.
After the tour was over Ala and I sipped on mint juleps with crushed ice on the front porch and compared how people from the Middle East live now and how people lived back then, and the similarities. For example, when there were parties, the men drank bourbon, but it was un-lady like for a woman to drink (in public). Selena’s alternative was to take pears and peaches and soak them in bourbon for a long period of time, and serve them to the women, while the men sipped their drinks. (Something I would do, haha…) In the Middle East there are so many things that women do not do in public because it is un-lady like, like smoking and drinking. It was so interesting to compare both cultures and how time has evolved or maybe de-evolved cultures to a certain extent. Back then in American history, everything was about family and hospitality.
Homes were created to be inviting to visitors and everyone room that was created was intended for a potential guest or family member that might visit.
One of the interesting things I learned is that when a guest came, they would serve them a pinapple slice. If the guest over stayed their welcome, the host would take the bottom of the pinapple, place it on a tray and put it at the end of the bed in the guest bedroom. This would politely signal the guest they had over stayed their welcome and it was time to go.
We had such a wonderful time and totally recommend taking a visit to this plantation home or one like it. It was amazing.
P.S. For friends and future guests, next time you come over, beware of the pinapple…lol!
-JESKA*
Filed under: Cultural Awareness & Travel | Tagged: Louisiana, Plantation Homes, Sugar Cane, Tourist Places | Leave a Comment »
