Webster’s Bar

Status: Closed

Parish: St. Martin

Location: Cecilia

2685 Grand Pointe Highway: Included in Emily Ardoin’s 2014 thesis “Fais do-do to ‘Hippy Ti-Yo’: Dance Halls of South Louisiana”: “Webster’s was a Cajun hall located on the parish highway. It opened in 1947 and closed in 1969. After it closed, it became Webster’s Meat Market. The building is of frame construction, has a side gabled, metal roof, no parapet, and has a concrete pier foundation. The dance floor is constructed of wood strips. The hall is in fair condition. Cut in half, change in use. Dancehall cut in half when converted to meat market. Traces of original dance hall might be visible inside the business.” Opened in 1947 or 1948 and was open for 20 years. It was very popular- for some time, it was the longest bar in Louisiana! When it opened, it was mainly hillbilly music, Jimmie C. Newman, Vin Bruce, Al Terry, Fats Domino. Jimmie Newman started playing there on Sunday afternoons. My son Marshall Calais would go pick up all the Cecilia people in a 57 Chevy and bring them to the dance. Originally, it was all wood with a double door at the front. Men would pay and Marshall would staple a ticket to their collar- every week a different color that we’d cut from construction paper- those men would have to lean over so he could reach! We had many political suppers there- for every election there was always something. We had a BBQ & dance for the high school seniors every year. We sold hamburgers for a quarter. For holidays, we’d have all the family come to the dancehall so they didn’t mess up our house! When the drinking age became such a strict thing, the crowds started to thin some and be lots of trouble so we decided to close. Before the dance, we’d play the jukebox and play cards and gamble. The night life was hard- we always had another another business- dairy, crawfish, meat market- he liked to stay busy. All the people who worked at the hall was family- it was so fun. It was the only thing for entertainment in Cecilia. Popular beers were Blatz and Goebel. ‘Tee Gee’ Dougat ran our jukebox and nickel and quarter slot machines. I got to keep all of the records when they changed them out! People from Catahoula and Bayou Portage would come in and want to fight for entertainment. Billy Cannon and Johnny Robinson from LSU football dropped in one time because they had heard abut Webster’s- they had a couple of beers but had to leave because people were trying to pick on them because they were outsiders. Bar would open during the day- cook food and brew coffee for anybody who wanted to stop and talk. There was a room on the side where blacks would come in and knock on a window to buy liquor and would take it home to drink. You had to go buy your ice and bring it back and break it up. We sold setups and liquor and mixers. We had a phone and people were always coming in to use the phone or get a call. All day Sunday, we’d have free food and people would play Bouree. During Lent- no dancing- but we’d cook and sell crawfish to have some money coming in.” also called “Shookta’s”- Johnnie Allen & Cookie & the Cupcakes played there- JA 1958-59: Owners were Webster & Mildred Calais- daughter Glenn Guidry- “My father made a great living with his dancehall. I grew up in there. Everybody played there- Fats Domino, Jimmy C Newman, Rod Bernard, Johnny Allan, TK Hulin, Bobby Charles- you name it! The building is still there- it got cut in half and is now Webster’s Meat Market. You walk in and you’re on the dancefloor. It’s owned by Leo ‘Pope’ Huval who plays in the Basin Brothers.”

Gallery:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Photo Credit: John Sharp