Eunice

Images of America: Louisiana

by Alma Brunson Reed, Van Reed

Beginning as a real estate venture on the isolated prairie of southwestern Louisiana in 1894, Eunice is now a progressive small city due to its traditions of volunteerism, community spirit, and resourcefulness. In the late 1980s, the city enjoyed a renaissance when a far-sighted mayor capitalized on the dominant Cajun culture to pull Eunice out of the economic crevasse of the decade's "oil bust." It emerged as a picturesque community with an emphasis on its rich history and its newly recognized heritage tourism. The city's unique Frenchness lures tourists and locals to the live Cajun music shows at the Liberty Center and to experience the joie de vivre at a rural Mardi Gras. The historic images found in Images of America: Eunice feature the day-to-day activities of Eunice's people through good times and lean days from 1894 to the late 1980s.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2009

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book features more than 200 photographs of the history of Eunice, Louisiana. You might be surprised that only 6 depict African Americans, considering that they comprise one-third of the population of Eunice. According to this history book, apparently the only black people who ever mattered in the long history of Eunice are:

- Lance Cpl. Alvin Monday, the most decorated soldier from Eunice who died in Vietnam.
- Nolan Anderson, a politician who represented Ward 2, pictured with his wife.
- Rev. Abraham Wilson, a baptist minister.
- Bishop Raymond Caesar, who was born in Eunice but lived in New Guinea.
- Rev. Christopher Arvie is included only because he happened to be in the photo of a van that they wanted to show.
- Black women are shown only in one group photo of the Baptist church's centennial celebration.

I'll just leave you to judge this fact as you may when considering purchase of this book.

[Vita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I worked in Eunice for several years. It was totally cool to see some of the people that I met while working there in this book.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glimpses of the past never told around the dinner table. A treat to be sure.