The Clovis Crawfish children’s book series is to be celebrated in a 61st birthday party from 1 to 3 p.m. April 9 at The Eunice Depot Museum, 220 S. C.C. Duson St., Eunice.
Special guest will be Julie Fontenot Landry, daughter of Clovis’s creator, Mary Alice Fontenot.
Landry, in an email, said “We have been trying to get here for several years but have been prevented by the pandemic. I had multiple book signings set up when the new book came out and had to cancel.”
In September 2019, as the city celebrated its 125th birthday, a Clovis Crawfish statue in front of the Eunice Depot Museum was unveiled.
The creation of the statue was organized by Alderwoman Connie Thibodeaux.
At the statue’s unveiling, Landry said, “I think mama would be beside herself.”
The Clovis Crawfish series was born out of Fontenot’s kindergarten class at St. Edmund Elementary and the characters were from Eunice, she said.
Clovis is named for a former police chief, Clovis Durio. Leo and Laurice Lightning Bulb were named after Leo and Laurice Ardoin, owners of an electrical supply business. The Red Birds are the Soileaus of Eunice.
“Really, Clovis Crawfish was born in Eunice right there at St. Edmund kindergarten,” Landry said.
In her email, Landry stated:
In 1961 my mom was living in Opelousas and writing for the Daily World as area editor. She had started making up stories for children when she taught kindergarten at St. Edmund’s in the mid-1950s. In the late 50s she published some of them in the Lafayette Advertiser when she was on the staff there. It was Dr. Mary Dichmann, head of the English Department at USL, who encouraged her to publish in book form. The first book was “Clovis Crawfish and His Friends.” Reginald Keller of Eunice was the first illustrator. He established the look of the characters for subsequent illustrators. 2021 was the 60th anniversary of that first book, and Pelican put out an anniversary edition, but the pandemic kept me from being here to celebrate it.
Landry added:
I think the books have endured for several reasons. They started basically at the beginning of the Cajun “renaissance” when people here began to take pride in their heritage. Now they have become part of that heritage, with people buying them for their great-grandchildren. Each book offers a good story. The illustrations appeal to children. Children can relate to the characters. Each book contains one or more interesting facts about nature. Each book contains a lesson about friendship, cooperation, diversity, etc. The use of French expressions and the pronunciation guides add cultural and educational dimensions. The songs with simple piano accompaniment allow children to practice still other skills.
For more information about the birthday party, call the museum at 337-457-6540 or email, Eunice.museum@gmail.com.