oralhistory
-
Works on Water 2025
Thrilled to be part of the Works on Water 2025 Triennial on Governors Island, NYC (Aug 28–Oct 26), curated by Emily Blumenfeld and Kendal Henry with the Works on Water team. I’ll be showing People’s River Stories alongside brilliant artists like Mary Mattingly, Sarah Cameron Sunde, Nancy Nowacek, Marie Lorenz, Eve Mosher, and many more…
-
The Last Second Line Before the Storm
I caught the tail end of a protest by second line organizers pushing back against proposed NOPD crackdowns on parading. Wouldn’t have known about it at all if not for my photographer buddy Sophia Germer, who mentioned she was covering it. I’d all but given up hope of seeing a second line this trip—turns out…
-
Al Sunseri and the Oldest Oysters in America
Yesterday I talked to Al Sunseri, third-generation owner of P&J Oyster Company, the oldest continually operating oyster dealer in the U.S., in business since 1876 and shucking oysters in the Quarter since 1921. We talked about the full arc of New Orleans’ oyster story—from 19th century canals to seasonal availability, to the shift in class…
-
Liz Williams on Food as Story
Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Liz Williams—founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and someone who thinks about food not just as sustenance, but as story, culture, power, and identity. We talked about the rich tangle of foodways in Louisiana—the contributions of Indigenous, Black, Spanish, French, and Acadian communities—and the way race,…
-
Outside the Candlelight
On Friday we stopped by the Candlelight Lounge after Kermit’s, but no live music at either place that night. But outside the Candlelight, there was a lively scene—JJ serving food straight from the streetside fryer, people from the neighborhood loosely gathered around, shooting the shit and getting dinner. We fell into talking to Wayne and…
-
Windell Curole Knows the Coast
We rolled back into Thibodaux the other day to interview Windell Curole, the now-retired longtime general manager of the South Lafourche Levee District—and a literal lifesaver for coastal Louisiana. Windell grew up fishing and trapping along Bayou Lafourche, learning its rhythms before levees even existed. In 1980 he took the helm of the Levee District;…
-
JoJo and the Bistro
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…
-
What Happened in Simmesport
Well, the case has been heard and I can finally tell the full story—a tale of white supremacy, weaponized power, and small-town corruption. June 26, 2025. Simmesport, Louisiana. We tied up at an unmarked patch of riverbank. No signage. No fences. No purple paint. Just a strip of land beside the water, quiet and ordinary.…
-
Word of Mouth in Houma
Great pop-up exhibition this morning in Houma, Louisiana. No museum, no press, no institution behind it—just word of mouth and the power of the socials. And yet… a couple dozen folks showed up, curious and full of stories. They packed into the little boat, asked thoughtful questions, lingered on the dock to chat. A reminder…
-
The Dubuque Visit
Today’s pop-up exhibition in Houma has me thinking of past visits, especially one that’s stuck with me for nearly a decade. Back in 2015, while docked in Dubuque, Iowa, we had a visit from a big family—five kids, I think—but it was two sisters, Lexie and Gracie, who stole the show. They were so curious,…
-
Two Voices from Thibodaux
Today we had the great pleasure of interviewing two incredible folks in Thibodaux: Quenton Fontenot, fisheries biologist and professor at Nicholls, who spoke about the health of our waterways—from phytoplankton to redfish—and how Cajun culture is inseparable from the water it grew up beside. Misty McElroy, photographer and storyteller, shared memories of growing up on…
-
Secret History Pop-Up: Houma, July 26
Secret History Pop-Up in Houma – Sat July 26, 9AM–Noon📍Terrebonne Parish Marina Park, Bayou Terrebonne We’ve floated and trailered our way down rivers and bayous all summer, and now the Secret History shantyboat lands in Houma. For one morning only, we’re throwing open the doors to the public. Come aboard, meet the crew, hear what…
-
Greig Chauvin Knows Morgan City
We were visited by the warm and wickedly smart Greig Chauvin, historian about town in Morgan City. Among her talents: author of a local Black history book, designer of walking tours and historical brochures, and a scintillating conversationalist. She dropped by Dotty bearing stories and unexpected truths—like the fact that in the 1870s, Morgan City…
-
George Arnaud has been pushing water—and community—for decades.
We interviewed George, a descendant of Arnaudville’s namesake, who spent over fifty years working the rivers, pushing long rafts of barges up and down the Mississippi and beyond. A career built on current, steel, and river-smarts. When he finally came ashore, George started as a volunteer dishwasher at NUNU Arts & Culture Collective. These days,…
-
Joe Billiot knows rivers
We sat down today for a wide-ranging conversation that covered his 54 years running tugs all over the country, his childhood on Bayou Lafourche, his Chitimacha and Cajun French heritage, and a lifetime of stories anchored in the water. Joe speaks with the clarity of someone who’s spent decades reading currents, both literal and cultural.…
-
Every River Has a Story. Tell Us Yours.
Peoples River Stories is a participatory new media project, a web-based map where anyone can drop a pin and share a memory, confession, observation, dream, or historical fragment about a river they know. It expands the world of Secret History beyond our shantyboat and beyond U.S. borders—inviting people everywhere to claim space for their own…
-
We just lit the fuse.
It’s getting real. We just launched our spring Kickstarter. We need you on board. The arts are under attack, and projects like ours—focused on memory, justice, and stories from the margins—are in the crosshairs. Grants we’ve counted on for years have vanished. So now we’re turning to our community. To you. Over time, I’ve gotten…
-
Delta Films, Second Line, and Squirrel Gumbo
Once a week we gather at Secret History HQ for the Delta Film Series—a deep dive into the culture, history, and tangled realities of the Louisiana Delta. These films aren’t just movies; they’re waypoints on the journey ahead. This week, we enjoyed a doc about young musicians finding resilience and rhythm in the streets of…
-
Good homes will be furnished these helpless children
While we were in new Richmond, Ohio, I interviewed Beth Dearwester who told me about several generations of her family who lived aboard a shantyboat in a shantytown at the mouth of Mill Creek in Cincinnati and were considered disreputable riffraff, occasionally charged with fighting, petty theft, and “loitering.” It was common place for children…
-
The sprawling discussion with Andrew Feight, professor of history at Shawnee State
I had a chance to interview Andrew Feight, professor of history at Shawnee State University. We had a sprawling discussion about the nature of history, who gets to tell it, and whose history gets told. We also talked about Portsmouth history, its role in the Underground Railroad, labor history, and integration, the Shawnee people who…
-
Interview with our trip angel Evan Clark who lives on a shantyboat
Interview with our trip angel Evan Clark who a) does environmental education and cleanup, b) told us about the effects of post-industrialization and global climate change in PGH, and c) lives in a shantyboat. #interview #shantyboat #secrethistory #oralhistory
-
Michael Swett – Just One Thing at a Time
This is an excerpt of my interview with Michael Swett. Michael talked to us about the homeless encampment along the banks of the river.
-
-
-
