Day 7 – Time in a bottle

Hi Ma'am. Please Ma'am. Goodmorning Ma'am. You have to get used to it. In the South they know their manners. Doors and elevators are kept open by men for women and men are happy to give up their seat. Refusing to take is, is almost regarded as an insult. It is far from our emancipated world, but it is also fun. Welcome to the South.

Natchitochez is one of those beautiful towns in southern Louisiana. It is clear why  Robert Harling chose this town as backdrop for his beautiful story 'Steel Magnolias', based on the illness and the passing of his sister. A film about a generation of strong women, strong as steel but also delicate as a beautiful magnolia flower. The movie of the same name was later filmed here. 

Front Street resembles Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or what I imagine Bourbon Street to be. But smaller and therefore also cozier. No mass tourism but quaint shops and cute restaurants overlooking the Cane River. Perfect to spend a few hours, especially now that the city has wrapped itself in her Christmas blanket. But it is also nice to stay in the lush green surroundings with beautiful, white wooden houses including the Steel Magnolia House (which was used in the film as a home for the Eatenton family) and now serves as a B&B.

But there is also a dark side to Natchitochez. It is here that singer-songwriter Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash in 1973. Time in a Bottle is one of his best known hits, posthumously. And how happy I would be to put time in a bottle here, so that Natchitochez can keep its timeless appearance.

That Hi Ma'am, Please Ma'am, Goodmorning Ma'am, is of course a sign of  elementary politeness, fueled by the very conservative environment in which people grow up in the South. The conservative South was the area where black slaves were employed, among other things, on the many cotton plantations. Who does not remember the compelling 'Roots', which tells the story of Kunta Kinte, who was taken by slave traders in Gambia and sold as a slave in the United States.
One of those plantations in Louisiana belonged to the Prud'homme family and dates back to 1785. After being used as a tobacco plantation, it became one of the first plantations to grow and harvest cotton on a large scale

Where first slaves were employed, later the work was done by the so-called 'freedmen', freed slaves. It became a success. Prizes were even won for the quality of the cotton. The plantation house itself dates from 1821 and the domain became a Historical Landmark and is part of the Cane River Creole National Historic Park. It is one of the best preserved and most intact examples of plantations throughout the United States with no fewer than 17 original buildings. 

For that reason alone it is more than worth a visit. Cotton is no longer harvested, but because of the excellent condition of the buildings, you can vividly imagine life on the plantation. From the plantation house, Mr and Mrs had a nice view of the domain. Especially from the rocking chair on the porch. The work was overseen by the supervisor who owned his own house. The slaves were housed in smaller houses with some comfort. But there was also room for animals, witnesses the dovecote and chicken coop. Even the shop that was run by the Prud'hommes on the site has been preserved. How old would the trees, overgrown with the so-called Spanish moss, be? 

Today they provide the perfect framework under a clear blue sky. But perhaps in the past they brought shade for the hard-working slaves or maybe a freedman rested against one of the tree trunks. Time in a bottle. Slavery is, of course, a pitch-black page in the history of the Southern states. How hard the United States is currently trying to change the past, this page should not be forgotten. More than hundred years after the Civil War, the black people are still not regarded as equal in society. Time in a bottle? Maybe.

If you are in the vicinity of Alexandria, Louisiana, you should definitely drop by in Hotel Bentley. Joseph Bentley (no family of car builder) was a wealthy man who had made a fortune in wood. On a Sunday morning he wanted to eat something at the hotel accomponied by his dog. The entrance was him denied because he was wearing an overall. At that moment he decided to build his own hotel so that he could never be refused entry again. 

The result is the super deluxe Bentley hotel. Beautiful cornices, specially designed tiles, a beautiful ballroom, ... But even more impressive than the hotel is its history. The hotel played a crucial role during World War II. This is where the famous Louisiana Maneuvers were held, a kind of war game in which 400,000 American soldiers were trained to participate in the war in Europe. Amongst others Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton discussed the tactics in this hotel.
And oh yes, in the Bentley hotel you will never be refused entry if you want to eat something wearing an overall.