Susan Roach and Maida Owens, editors

Delta Pieces: Northeast Louisiana Folklife is the compilation of research conducted over 20 years by a team of researchers and community scholars coordinated by Susan Roach and Maida Owens. Most researchers were involved in the Delta Folklife Project or the Regional Folklife Program at Louisiana Tech University, but some previously published their research elsewhere and have granted permission to include it here. Together these essays offer a view at this fascinating region of 12 northeast Louisiana parishes running south down the Mississippi River from the Arkansas state line though Concordia Parish, Louisiana. 

Introduction to Delta Pieces: Northeast Louisiana Folklife

Introduction to Delta Pieces: Northeast Louisiana Folklife – Susan Roach – Susan Roach

Map: Cultural Micro-Regions of the Delta, Northeast Louisiana

Map: Cultural Micro-Regions of the Delta, Northeast Louisiana – H.F. Pete Gregory

The Louisiana Delta: Land of Rivers

Musings on the Louisiana Delta from a Native Son – H.F. Pete Gregory as told to Dayna Lee

Reflections on the Delta – Delta and the River – H.F. Pete Gregory

Reflections on the Delta – The French Delta – H.F. Pete Gregory

Reflections on the Delta – Places – H.F. Pete Gregory

Reflections on the Delta – An Owl Calls – H.F. Pete Gregory

Cane Brakes, High Water, Drought: The Mississippi Delta – Tom Rankin

Ouachita River Mounds: A Five Millennium Mystery – Lori Tucker

Noms de Bayou: French Place Names in North Louisiana – Kelby Ouchley

The Flood of 1927 and the Great Depression: Two Delta Disasters – Betty Jo Harris

Ethnic Groups

Reflections on the Delta – The Delta is an Indian Place – H.F. Pete Gregory

Reflections on the Delta – Indian Mounds – H.F. Pete Gregory

Choctaw Heritage of Louisiana and Mississippi – Deborah Boykin

The Invisible Population: Mexicans and Central Americans in Northern and Central Louisiana – Lisa Abney

Italians in the Delta: "Pioneers of Monroe" – April Honaker

Delta Folks – Sausage Maker M. J. Varino – Stephanie Pierrotti with Susan Roach

The St. Joseph's Day Altar Tradition In Monroe – Stephanie Pierrotti and Madelyn Boudreaux

Delta Folks – Guy Serio: "They Had a Rough Go": Italians in the Delta – Madelyn Boudreaux

Delta Folks – Qin Lin: Chinese Paper Crafts – Susan Roach

Jewish Folklore in Northeastern Louisiana – Ben Sandmel

Working in the Delta

Working in the Delta – Susan Roach

Nets and Net Making in the Delta – Sheila Richmond

"Willing to Take A Risk": The Folklore of Cropdusting – Susan Roach and Janet Ryland

Big River Traditions: Folklife on the Mississippi – Ben Sandmel

Delta Folks – Hunter And Fisherman Kenneth Hebert: "Love It More Than Anything" – Sylvia Frantom

Traditional Boats of Catahoula Lake – Dayna Bowker Lee

Reflections on the Delta – Traditional Boats in the Delta – H.F. Pete Gregory

The Rolling Store – John L. Doughty, Jr.

Delta Folks – Judge Alwine Louise Smith Ragland: Louisiana's First Woman Judge – Betty Jo Harris

Delta Folks – Ike Hamilton: From Rodeo Clown to Auctioneer Colonel – Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Whitey Shockley: Mississippi River Fisherman – Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Oren Russell: Mississippi River Boat Pilot – Susan Roach

Homemaking in the Delta

Making a Home in the Delta: Women and the Domestic Environment – Deborah Boykin

Delta Folks – Jelly Maker Maye Torrey: "Berries In The Winter" – Sylvia Frantom

Delta Folks – Hazel Dailey: "To Make Something Each Day That I Am Here" – Sylvia Frantom

Delta Folks – Helen Lyke: Passing On Family Traditions From Needlework To Stories – Sylvia Frantom

Delta Folks – Folk Medicine Remedies Of Virginia Roberts: "For Tummy Aches" – Sylvia Frantom

Reflections on the Delta – Christmas Customs – H.F. Pete Gregory

The Fabric of Family: Preserving the Parker Family's Quilting Heritage – Kerry Davis

Worshiping in the Delta

"Like a River Flowing with Living Water": Worshiping in the Mississippi Delta – Joyce Marie Jackson

Delta Folks – Penola Caesar: Maintaining Old Gospel Singing Traditions – Susan Roach

Sacred Music in the Delta: From Shaped Note to Quartet Singing – Susan Roach

"Take Me to the Water": African American River Baptism – Annie Staten and Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Lucille Stewart: Making Baptismal Gowns – Susan Roach

"Everyone Rockin' Together": Continuity and Creativity in the Louisiana Delta Easter Rock – Susan Roach

Asserting Tradition: The Building and Maintenance of African-American Baptist Rock Ceremony in Northeast Louisiana – Janet L. Sturman

Making Music in the Delta

At Play in the Delta, From Memphis to Natchez – Michael Luster

Delta Folks – Thomas Edison "Brownie" Ford: Cowboy, Storyteller, and Ballad Singer – Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Po' Henry and Tookie: Delta Blues Duo – Susan Roach

Brownie Ford: Lifelines of a Woods Cowboy – Nicholas R. Spitzer

Since Ol' Gabriel's Time: Hezekiah and the Houserockers Liner Notes – David Evans

Delta Folks – Performer and Songwriter Kenny Bill Stinson: "Mixing Country Music with the Blues" – Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Instrument Builder Hilton Lytle: "I've Always Worked with Wood" – Susan Roach

Delta Folks – Vidalia's One-Man Band, Gray Montgomery: "Several Different Musicians Rolled into One."– Ben Sandmel

Delta Folks – Laymon Godwin: Pedal Steel and Dobro Master – Susan Roach

Playing in the Delta

Reflections on the Delta – Hunting and Fishing: Delta Life– H.F. Pete Gregory

Reflections on the Delta – Gigging – H.F. Pete Gregory

Delta Folks – "Horns and Dogs Just Go Together": James LeCroix's Revival of the Hunting Horn Making – Marcy Frantom

Delta Folks – Moses Poole on Pen Hunting in Catahoula Parish: "You've Got to Know Your Dog's Mouth" – Marcy Frantom

Delta Folks – Blowing Horn Maker Nalda Gilmore: "The Horn Man" – Sylvia Frantom

Gambling Money Don't Have No Home: Playing Poker and Shooting Dice in the Louisiana Delta – Don W. Hatley

Reflections on the Delta – Night Clubs in the Delta – H.F. Pete Gregory

Telling Stories in the Delta

"The Big One": Deer Hunting in Northeast Louisiana – Janery Wylie

The Hub Lake Gold: An Analysis of A Legend – John L. Doughty, Jr.

Landmark of the Koroa – Sam Dickenson

Delta Archival Materials

Delta Archival Materials: An Inventory

Bibliography

Selected Bibliography on Northeast Louisiana's Delta

The Educator's Guide for Delta Pieces includes 12 units. Each Guide unit relates to a unit within the Delta Pieces: Folklife in Northeast Louisiana essays. The Educator's Guide units correlate to the Common Core State Standards, particularly those in English Language Arts and are for grades 3-8.

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