Bessie Fontenot Jackson Reflections

Tucked away in South Louisiana is the small town of Mamou. It is located 85 miles west of Baton Rouge in Evangeline Parish and is known for its gumbo, boudin, smoked meats, Cajun delicacies, and everything else in between. Named for the Acadian heroine Evangeline, in the 1847 poem of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the name means "bearer of good news." Mamou residents Sidney Fontenot, Sr. and Ella Thomas Fontenot were delighted to receive good news as they welcomed baby girl Bessie Rena Fontenot on March 12, 1947. She was the oldest of three children born to this union in the town known as "The Ca...