| Page Views: 692 Last Visit to Baton Rouge: January, 2008 | Huey Long's Capitol by grandmaR - last update: Mar 1, 2008 |
When Bob was stationed in New Iberia Louisiana, we lived in Jeanerette and visited Lafayette, Morgan City and St. Martinsville. But we never got to New Orleans or Baton Rouge, or even Avery Island. We remedied the New Orleans omission in 2004. This time we were visiting Baton Rouge and Shreveport. We stayed a little way out of Baton Rouge in Denham Springs. After we visited the capital building in the city, we went to the Rural Life Museum at Louisiana State. On the way out we dropped by the locks at Port Allen, and the old historic lock at Plaquemine. |
When we lived in Jeanerette, I read "Huey Long’s Louisiana Hayride: The American Rehearsal for Dictatorship, 1928-1940" by Harnet Kane. Huey Long (according to what I remember) took care of business by blackmail. If someone, be he a judge or an elected official, did not vote the way Huey wanted, he had a signed and undated resignation ready to use. The resignation was obtained by finding something in the person's past that he didn't want known. Huey was also smart enough not to use the US Mail for his business. Controversial material was delivered by state troopers so he couldn't be touched by the post office. |
After Huey was elected to the US Senate, he got his friend Oscar Kelly Allen (O. K. Allen) elected Governor to keep control of the state. I had heard that O.K. was his nickname because he OKed everything Huey wanted. Huey Long was getting ready to run for President of the United States when he was assassinated. He had already written a book entitled "My First Days in the White House", laying out his plans for the presidency after victory in the election of 1936. So I thought of Huey Long as a corrupt politician. It was a huge surprise to me to find almost all the Baton Rouge literature about him seemed to revere his memory. His name is plastered on practically everything from streets and bridges to schools and public buildings. Huey did do good things for the state, and I guess it is this for which he is remembered. |
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mmacmu1 Sun Feb 15, 2009 18:43 UTC
The food here is really great... I worked in the capital for a while and would eat here regularly. If you are visiting the capital, definitely give it a shot. BTW, it's "Dixon" Correctional Institution, | DEBBBEDB Thu May 1, 2008 01:34 UTC
How weird |
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