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Albert Latiolais in his Bateau Putt-Putt
Albert (nicknamed Gouyou) Latiolais (d. 1993) is here motoring along in his bateau putt-putt, near his home in Henderson. Albert was born and raised in Happy Town, an extinct community once located on the west bank of the Atchafalaya River, above Butte Larose. His love for wood working was influenced by his father, Lionel Latiolais, a fisherman, boat builder, and carpenter who moved his family to Henderson during the1940s. Albert became a master builder of local traditional fishing craft, designing and building outboard-motorized flat boats of exceptional performance and quality. He also developed a type of wooden hydroplane racing boat that became famous in local races, and he built competition racing dugouts which he occasionally paddled in the Lafitte pirogue races.
Along with his brothers Tony and Darrell, Albert was invited to demonstrate boat building skills at the 1985 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. The bateau pictured in this image was built on the National Mall in Washington, D. C. Bateaux of this type were very popular in the Atchafalaya Basin throughout the first half of the 20th century. They were used for a wide range of fishing activities, but also provided basic travel and transport for many swamp families in the Atchafalaya. Well over 20 feet in length, these cypress displacement hulls were powered by early-20th century single- or double-cylinder inboard gasoline motors. The peculiar sound of these early gasoline engines inspired the boat’s local name: “bateau putt-putt.”
-- C. Ray Brassieur,
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
South Louisiana
Cajun
Photo: Adrian Gauthier
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