Louisiana Alive!; Dennis McGee & Lady Jockies

Tonight Louisiana live presents time fiddling and newfangled horse racing as we visit with 87 year old Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee. And Lady jockeys at the fairground. In the past Louisiana live has sampled the unique fiddling style of Dennis McGee whose early recordings of Cajun music helped give a definition of respectability. Tonight we return to units for a longer visit with his grandfather of Cajun music. As we head for the third oldest racetrack in the country the gracious fairgrounds track in New Orleans where we enjoy horse racing's newest phenomena lady jockey. Who. Despite generations of being hampered by heavy skirts tight corsets and the precarious

side saddle American women persisted in pursuing the sport of horseback riding. It was a scandal when the first daring equestrians of nineteen hundred and one chose to ride a stride instead of a saw. And it was 70 years before when it completely broke out of their confinements to ride competitively and races even though they had long worked at the betting windows the concession stands and on the back side as group homes in the mid seventies. Women jockeys were finally given a shot at the money the day their numbers and their winnings are growing quickly. We recently visited the fairgrounds racetrack in New Orleans where we talked with Debbie barters on Robben Island speal and Debi Shryock three lady jockeys who raced tracks around the country. We were most interested to find out how Louisiana ranks in its hospitality to women jockeys go up to them taking them time to. I couldn't believe the first time on the. Phone you just get snow off. That. They look. Different.

Now. That it's a whole different. Atmosphere about racing with all the ladies come Heidi. No little heads and I just think that they think that the girl should. Be out there. You know. They should be. Calm and dressed up. But here. Is Fromelles. We asked each jockey how she broke into race riding. She was out walking the track. And Perry and I was really taught myself a lot less than other people's work. I enjoyed that. I made enough money to save up to go to New York. I started. To grow. When I tried it I only got out there but it was at the time when. They wouldn't give you a shot there you know. There was a couple of girls jockeys there but they had their fathers behind them and I got on the horses

they ran off with me and jump rails. So this man that I was going for he told me if I was really interested in riding go to a farm somewhere. So I got this gas in my home and. The man that I was sure horses for thoroughbreds all central to his farm where he was going to go out on a break on a two year old that winter. So I went to work to Georgia at the Florida doubtful Tampa. And. Afterwards I came to Jefferson. It was just. A freak accident and I came here. I got a phone call from some friends. So all we're all going to Jefferson is share. I'll give it a try. Is a better now and Michigan said all the more because everybody was afraid of you know. Me everytime I came on the racetrack. You know she's on the fire watch out because that was bad. But I enjoyed it when I said I'm going to do this. I've got to prove to

myself I will do this. I was a dental assistant. I had a dream one night that I was out 13th still wearing white collar white shoes. And so I called my mom who told her that I wanted to quit my job. So for my father and my youngest brother work out the track and windows she said she'd get me a job out there the day before the meet started. I was supposed to have a meeting of all the people that worked in the Mitchell department and that's what she got of this class and did I want to work that track. And she gave me a great big long lecture about. People on the back that are just not the kind of people that you want to get make stuff with that you want to work with the horses back there. So she had an agent friend of hers and he came and talked to Mike and Mike said that he hired me and I came out here and. Told horses on the west wrathy. Just a hop walking

doing odds and ends. So I told my kid I wanted to start gallopin and he kept telling me that I just wasn't strong enough to get a. Thoroughbred. Thoroughbreds. So one day a bunch of people after the races were back at the barn drinking beer and everything and. Started r.m.r. So I told Mike if I could date him arm wrestling could I start out. So I just sat back and just laughed at me. And I did non-wrestling and I won. It was two out of three and I beat him two times. And so the next morning he put me on a horse set me off the track. And I started to go and I didn't want to do this since I can remember my. I was born into the sport. My daddy he down the ride when he was younger. And he's been a trainer. He goes trainer's license down here I believe in 67 I think. And he's been training like most

of my life so that's where I've been brought up. And I've known a lot of jockeys and when I was little and everything and they showed me some things when I was little. And I just caught right on to it and. Told that I wanted to ride and started working out it when I was about 14 I'd walk around the farm galloping horses about a mile down route to my house. Naturally we wanted to know what they liked best about their job getting up in the morning and coming out here and getting on a horse when it's just dark outside and no noise except when the church bell there rings you know just gone and when the sun comes up how many people get to see that every day seven days a week. And it's. Gives you a good feeling inside. It doesn't matter if you went three or four like you know because every time and when you get a boost you know who will exploit it and look to. It's it's discouraging now and then when you don't you know like if you write.

Every day. For your four day in the room and the scourge of it you get to go out there and say well forget the last race. Continue with this race will go on. And. You just have to forget about what happened last year. But. I like to read. It gives you that extra charge. Right light. But there's more to it than just winning. Pretty sunrises. And. There was one woman that I went out with me in one day and. She says I'm just going to go get nice little cells. He put me on two little cells. Now I could dance and go out in the polls pray. And. He said. This just turn my stomach. We think it's all fine and fine glamorous get out there and ride in the mud and come back and. Have mud all over your face and just covered in mud. And. Glenn I should think it.

Was. Last year when we were here. We had 12 horses and it was just me and my boss that we're taking care of the squirrel us so we get here like at four o'clock in the morning to get them all out. And that's when. I. First. Got them. And he put me on one horse. And sent me out the track. It was just dark and. Its. Track was kind of froze and it was cold. And I started off on his horse and she just took off with. And ran off with me for three miles and Mike was out here on the pony just laughing at me. I had tears running down my face and I was crying and the wind was so cold I couldn't breathe. And he says I'm quit now. That's it. I'm. With. Robin and Debbie describe an average day for us get here about 5:30. Get on my horses. And get through maybe walk one or two and clean the tag take care of all my

kids go home and take a shower and change clothes and come up to the round whatever time I have to be in the way. You usually get done back there. About. 4:30 or 5:00. And going then go home and go to sleep get up in the morning. Don't have much time to do anything. You know you get to go out more. She'd always come and take a shower or go home. So all of that is quite a distance away from here so I just come in here and take a shower. And. Lay down you know I Lake Research Center where we can go on. For the race. Get you know the cars all. Go one way. Or come back and put a helmet on downstairs and wait. Till we get. It. What do you do in the paddock. You listen to the trainers instructions. Very carefully. A lot of them get. Into what they're saying are really

though they just they are just taking you to do best give you a lot of instructions even though they share the same unusual occupation. Jockeys are very different from each other. For example Robin rides for only one stable. Salmon Sycamore Hill and how many horses are involved in this. And it all depends. It's got eight right now. Will probably have maybe 15. Going to Chicago after get King will pick up a female more get three babies that will pick up when he gets there. Go on to Chicago to claim some love of Chicago and it can tathata. How many jockeys does the stable. Join. Me. So the other jockeys come from agents. Day to Day. That. Day. You know after they learn stabil. Has. They. Don't. Come in. So you do all of the riding stable. Then you follow the races

with your stable. Yes. Come. To New Orleans in the summer. After the New Orleans meets over. I go to Kentucky to the king and the last three weeks up there. And after that it's over they. Go to Chicago then left Kentucky and then back to here. Debbie Barazan and Debbie Shryock hire out each day to different stables. When I came to Jefferson everybody gave me a shot. There was no. Cuong. I enjoyed getting a lot of horses. Oh I got 20 a day. What trucks do right. Oh right. I ride. Fairgrounds Jefferson once while ship over the delta and Shreveport. And abash long. And I have went to Chicago at Hawthorne sportsmen and St. Louis I've been the Fairmont Cahokia and I've been to West Virginia. So I do a lot of traveling. Do you date men from the track or do you keep your social life going on. A. I went out with a guy for

about two years. He was the guy I was going to get married to and he's a junkie. But lately I've been going out with guys that aren't on the track. I just look for new faces. I know almost everybody out here. So I just I find some people. A. Little bit of interest you know to find out what's going on in the world. How do men outside the track react to your job. I you know they say what do you do or something or they say my helmet and I say wow you're a jock. They don't believe it you know I think all jockeys are men you know it gets comical sometimes they tell you all kinds of things and ask you all this stuff you know whether they think you get dressed with the guys and everything. Well we've got our own separate quarters mirror thing you know and they want to know all kinds of stuff what goes on behind closed doors I guess you could say. It sounds really funny. They ask you all kinds of stuff and I guess we're the same way. You know we asked them about their jobs and Robert is too busy for much social life. But when she does go out she chooses men who are not associated with racing get also full

time right here track. For me anyways how does the outside world react when they find you a lady jockey. A lot of guys don't particularly like it and I don't know they feel intimidated or what. Because I'm. Dropping you know they just don't happen to be a jockey. I don't know that. A lot of. You know. Just kind of turns them off or something that is straight for all my friends at school. They just go crazy. They really like it. Debbie Barbara's on found time to marry and have children for her children. I have two boys. Michael's two invoking before in July. April 26 for is old enough to realize his mother has an unusual job. I don't know. If. He asked me questions you know. Last year we took them out a couple of times so tracking. All these stories and he laughed and said a couple of pictures whenever we'll ever

get a fair share last year he was here. They got pictures of that. And. He enjoyed it. What about your husband is he supportive of your occupation. He doesn't think I right enough. He goes and hustles himself for me. At this time. Robin has no plans for marriage and family. My mom asked me. When I. Retire I want a car and have babies. I told her that I'm retiring. When eat would be a professional either you know. Think of the. Thing. Which brings us to the heavy question such as. Is it easier for women jockeys to maintain racing weight than men jockeys and jockeys have any tricks for shedding those extra pounds. The older we get. I think it's the hard lesson that for a small pilot like Steven consolers Shumaker somebody. But. Some days like if I don't ride it three or four days I have to watch this off because you know you

get just galloping doesn't burn up all the calories. You have to. Stairstep not really a strict diet but you watch it you don't much all day. There's a hot box up and know. When you go in like maybe 10:30 or so and getting hot baths and sweat off a couple of pounds before 11:30. You have to report your weight at 11:30. And so they did that. And then. Some people take water pills which. I took a lot of pill one time. It's maybe we'll set this for us. But. Don't there are many little tricks she just don't eat. That. A lot of people have tried time because they just get too big and they just can't stay on a diet. Will. Go down. To. One of them. How big is to be. Tools. All right.

Have fun. How much do you weigh. For. Finally we wanted to know just what makes the difference in a good jockey and a great one. BLOCK. I think that's the last five. To. Be successful. Sometimes. Sometimes it's not. Last year I had some good luck that I had to do this. Last year. More times than I have never in my life. And. All that sort of. Luck. For. Me inside. Was. A stretch. Yes. Banned from.

The. Courthouse a place of happiness sorrow business pleasure a place that affects all of us and indeed in some areas particularly smaller towns and villages. The hub of activity. Every passage of life. Birth Marriage financial security divorce death winds its way through the noble halls of the courthouse. Traditionally it's located on a large downtown square surrounded by stores restaurants and offices and it's frequently the most interesting architectural expression of the parish seat. The Parish Courthouse is built in the waning years of the antebellum era reflected the national trend toward the Greek Revival style of architecture. Perhaps Louisiana was a natural setting for this stylistic interpretation. Since Greek Revival forms easily translated into would a seemingly limitless natural resource in 19th century Louisiana the new courthouse design of the ERA was based on the classic revival and its

correct architectural orders East Feliciana St. Martin Claiborne and parish courthouses are for these Antebellum structures still used as courthouses today. The second period of Courthouse building began with the end of Reconstruction and the start of political redemption and continued until it was interrupted by World War One interest in the Greek Revival style of architecture for Louisiana's public buildings waned and was replaced by a new interest in the Romanesque Gothic and the new Baroque style as is found in England and France as elsewhere in the nation. Eclecticism became especially evident in Louisiana architecture. Third period of courthouse construction. The years between the two world wars reflects the erratic economy and social circumstances of the era characteristic of public attitude in the early years of this period was the pattern of response by taxpayers to proposals for construction. The allocation of building funds sufficient only for immediate needs with little consideration for future expansion.

New Louisiana architect sought to have their work regarded as modern art deco manifested itself in Louisiana. There was a tendency among local architects to combine certain aspects of the Greek Revival style with a modern Caddo Parish Courthouse is an excellent example of this unusual marriage courthouses in Louisiana endured a decade of purposeful neglect during the war and its immediate aftermath. Many of the older buildings fell into a state of disrepair while others deteriorated beyond the point of repair. From the beginning of courthouse construction in Louisiana about 1812 into the 1930s the police jurors and their designers ran the gamut of historical styles on the classic to neo baroque in the history of courthouse construction in Louisiana to world war 1. The functional requirements of such a building remained basically unchanged. The function of the building had little to do with the form it

took beginning in the 1950s architects were no longer concerned with clothing their structures in the dress of a past period and therefore began to move in new directions by the decade of the 1960s. The eclectic method of selecting what appeared to be the best in various architectural styles was still practiced by police you ours and our architects to determine the design of courthouse buildings. But by this time all reference to historic styles such as classic Romanesque and baroque at all but disappeared. Instead there was a borrowing from the mainstreams of 20th century architecture in Europe and America. You might think that a retired barber from us would be impressed at having his son play lead guitar for Kris Kristofferson. But Dennis McGee wasn't That's because Dennis himself was touring and making records over 50 years ago in 1928 Dennis McGhee made the first

recordings of Cajun music along with other pioneers such as Ahmadinejad wife and usually Dennis helped define and stabilize the music that we recognize today as Louisiana French in his native Cajun dialect. He tells us about those early days more and more. I reckon they were nearly all you know India of the Soviet Union. So when you a moment by when you get off my 5 year old I'll be life is more here on TV at all. Know you've got a real one here. Come on. Where did you get up. I who we were so named

we. Should not be mad don't look for me to show you up. Yeah. Real by your boss to New York Jack Kemp. So annoyed Jack. Jack Kemp don't play well with our family again. You don't mean to but I'll read about you and Jack Cafferty. That's pretty tough. Can I do it. I'm not who he said he did. I'm not really that whole deal. I know we only would tell those who are out there. See I reckon new albums say a record number and I want you on one side and those that you know who had money on me on a quilt Momoa thousand to do it the way it.

You go. By who A good about what it might do say laughy a television producer and an instructor of French folk music turns often to Dennis for help in researching the origins of Cajun music. He is going to be 87 this month and it's now really good buddies in it. I've just learned so much for him it's like also grandfather figure to me but he's the grandfather of the music. I mean the cage of music that we we understand today was first put on wax in 1928. Before that it could have been anything. In 1920 and went down. The song began ended three minutes after it started and. Within. People said they played on the phone and back you said well this must be it. This is the story line for this is the this is the format we go on the plane on. Well just when he was one of those pioneers was still around to tell us how it works and through people like Dennis and do we Balfa and his brothers will and Rodney. I've come to learn and gather a sense of what the music is

more than just the music as a as a two dimensional object sort of which is what this is like a four dimensional object is that it's not only is it's got mass it's got got meaning and it's got another kind of spirit to say no. You might say I think he didn't prove me wrong that I'm out of it. He said he's dead. And then I thought I would get out because he did get one more than me and Maggie. Maggie you who in Miami put out a song Andrea found when you don't know that no I'm not any more my mother and brother and he and he would be meeting because he'd be where you ended up. You got a rare. Yeah I agree with you. Yeah. Well you Mike. Mike I'm

going to verify. You say you don't want to do that. Yes. You are then. What do you have me up in the red. I remember that just like it yes. And he put on a new tune and you start doing that. You don't mind it you don't mind properly I. Don't feel well. I don't what he's doing. And you know when you're only doing

a really funny way they are ready you know what you hear and don't so I don't know what you. Have to teach. How we all grew on really how we all are who we are today. You cannot argue but do better. Don't be an upgrade per say you put it up and you be. Ready. We are discussing Monty. Music is more than music in your opinion on a dad and I agree that that really cut him off. Why do you piss off. In other words you will die meaning me. We are all going to die.