Way back when we were in Morgan City, we had the chance to talk with Jo Ann Blanchard, aka JoJo, who owns The Bistro and JoJo’s, two side-by-side restaurants on Front Street. She grew up right there and has seen many decades of changes, back to when the floodwall was small enough for kids to scramble over.
She told us about the days when houseboats lined the riverbanks west of town. I asked, “Did your parents tell you to stay away from those disreputable shantyboaters?”
She said, “Oh no. That’s where my friends lived. They were fishermen, shrimpers, railroad workers.”
Her reflections on the rise and fall of fortune in Morgan City were sharp, funny, and deeply rooted in place.
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