Recently, I posted a blog entry about a very special departed grandmother, and it got me thinking about other memories that deserve to be shared.
I was so lucky to grow up with my grandparents and to hear the experiences of their lifetime. My father’s parents were like no other!!! Milford and Alma Theriot deserve their story told.
My dad’s parents were unconventional, to say the least.
Milford came from a long lineage of Theriot people that long originated in Nova Scotia, Canada. There’s a story, with quite a bit of accuracy, where the Theriot patriarch’s village in Nova Scotia was burned to the ground. The entire village of French survivalists were forced to flee for their lives, and luckily, that Theriot ancestor ran his happy ass all the way down to Cameron, Louisiana, to begin a new and exciting civilization. He had a few sons, who had their own sons, which ultimately lead to Milford. His parents spoke primarily Cajun French with limited English, and they passed it down to Milford and my dad.
Alma came from Hackberry, so there, I’m willing to own up to the fact that some of my blood comes from the west side of the ship channel. She came from humble roots of a close knit group of Cajun Irish people. She spoke some of that Cajun French and learned more once she joined the Theriot family.
There are some pieces of the past that should remain in the past, but here’s where we’ll begin the story. Their house was situated basically directly in the marsh of East Creole. These people knew how to live off the land. So, they had two kids, my dad and his sister, and they were an active family business.
Alligators. There’s still a thriving alligator hunting business down in Cameron Parish to keep the population under control, but in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, the alligator population was basically out of control. There’s a special season set up in Louisiana where alligator hunting is legal to keep the angry monsters under control. During that time, skilled alligator hunters are given a set number of tags and they go out into the marsh collect gators. In their hay day, the Theriot family would get some of the largest alligators, bring them home, skin them up and sell the hides to market for designer handbags, shoes, belts, and other accessories. It may sound like a PETA violation, but I’m telling a story and it was a different time in history! The business slowed eventually, so they had to stop, but it was a great quick money maker during the season.
Nutria Rats. This is going to seem a bit bizarre, but when life hands you nutrias, you make a fur coat. During the 50s, 60s, and 70s, nutria, aka coypu, were terrorizing south Louisiana marshes. A little background, nutria rats were brought up here from South America because their fur was perfect for fabulous fur coats. Nutria rats reproduce at an extremely rapid rate, so there were farms created in south Louisiana to raise them. The farmers eventually released their stock, which fled into the marshes. Nutrias damage the terrain of marshes and cause major drainage issues. Nutria hunting became a giant way to counteract the marsh issues. The Theriots revolutionized the way nutrias were trapped and how their furs were collected. These people had an amazing methodology of getting the nutria furs from the marsh, to the skinning shed, and into the hands of market reps to make top dollar. I’ve heard stories of the top notch skill level of the Theriot furs. Milford’s father, Alfred, could stitch a damaged fur and sell it to the buyers without them ever seeing a single seam. These people KNEW what they were doing! Again, no PETA violations here, it was a different time! The money was amazing for this business, bringing in enough in one season to buy a car, cash! The business eventually died out, and now nutria are tolerated in the marshes, but I heard there some sort of bounty if you turn in tails.
The Church. Milford and Alma were always heavily involved in the Sacred Heart of Jesus catholic church parish in Creole, Louisiana. Milford was an altar server during mass, and Alma was a personal assistant to several priests of the parish over the decades. Milford also would go around to the ill and home bound parishioners of the parish and offer them the church service. He was so devoted to his faith that he would travel to prisons to bring faith back to prisoners that were incarcerated. Until their death, both Milford and Alma constantly worked to increase their relationship with the church.
Milford did this really cool thing where he would collect the lotus bloom pods from the local marshes. The pods contain hard seeds. He would bring the seeds to the prisons and the prisoners would create large rosaries with the seeds as the beads!
I have vivid memories of going to their house before catechism, and MawMaw Alma would prepare a little meal for us. It was a weekly experience where we got to connect with her on a beautiful level. She knew how to coooooooook!
Popcorn Balls. Y’all! Someone reading this better be able to remember this part of the story. You know how people hand out candy for Halloween to trick or treaters? Some people even hand out satsumas or pecans in Cameron, but there was always a very special situation at Alma and Milford’s house. Alma would make popcorn balls, hundreds of popcorn balls, to hand out. The kids liked them, but the ADULTS would line up all the way down East Creole Highway to pull in and walk up to collect their popcorn balls! These weren’t just any old popcorn balls. She would use Steen’s Syrup, and they were addictive! If you were lucky, and called ahead, she would set enough aside for you and your family. They always ran out. It was tradition!
Alma loved all holidays, especially Christmas. She would go to the dollar store and pile up tons of small, cheap gifts for us to open because she just loved watching the opening.
There were so many memories. I’ll always remember how their house was in Creole. Milford had a giant catholic altar in the living room, with candles and religious statues. He even had a kneeler. It was legit. Since he had a pacemaker, the microwave had to be in the back bedroom, just in case. They had a humble home, but it was always so comfy and inviting. Unfortunately, Hurricane Rita floated their house across the marsh, so their life shifted a bit. They never met a stranger, and if they did, it didn’t stay that way for long.
They both passed way too soon, but their lives were very influential on me and the rest of our family. We had some great times, great food, and they definitely still live in our memories! Comment your favorite memories!