Dayna Bowker Lee: “There were a few halls in Cloutierville. One was the White Elephant near the intersection of Hwy 1 and 495 on the west side of Hwy. 1…” ...
Kirkland’s Hall
Dayna Bowker Lee: “Across the river (from the area of the Blue Moon) on Hwy. 119 was Kirkland’s Hall, aka, the Friendly Escape. It stood until the 1990s when it collapsed – it was not too far south from Frenchie’s…” ...
Blue Moon
Dayna Bowker Lee: “Just down from Wood’s (Hall) on the same side of the river, Hwy. 484, was the Blue Moon on the Roque Brother’s property, across from the store.” ...
Wood’s Hall- The Friendly Place
Dayna Bowker Lee: “On Hwy. 484- Also known as “Friendly Place”” From http://winhttp.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/crcc/WoodsHall.html : “Although it is no longer in operation, Wood’s Hall was the most successful Creole juke joint on the river. At various times, there were at least ten ‘halls’ in operation along Cane River. Before Wood’s Hall closed in the 1980s, it was the gathering place for Cane River Creoles. The Hall was open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Admission was free except on Sundays, when the weekly dance was held. Two Creole storytellers talked recently about their memories of Wood’s Hall. ‘They had quite a few people when Wood built that hall and when they saw the business that he had, there were quite a few people along here to build halls, but they never made it. . . . No one ever did draw business away from Wood’s.’ ‘It cost $1 to get in when there was a band – Yuke and Dumah [LaCour] and them.’ ‘But you had your dollar’s worth of fun… You’d wish Monday would never come. It was funny, but they never had a dance on Saturday where you didn’t have to do anything on Sunday, but they had them on Sunday night and you’d be sicker than three dogs the next day.’ ‘You’d be working in the hot sun the next day with a wine hangover. And Daddy would say, “You had your fun last night, now have your fun today.” About 8 that morning you’d say, “I ain’t never going to take another drink.” ‘Yeah, but you couldn’t wait until next weekend.'” ...
Royal Ann’s
Paul Breaux: “This is where the second of the two nice places in Abbeville, was located at and was named Royal Ann’s. During my era, Kaplan and Abbeville, had a hatred for each other, and if someone from either place was ID’d, they became the enemy to the people in that town. Alex’s was a much more cordial and less intimidating place than Royal Ann’s was, but if you really wanted some excitement, Royal Ann’s had it…, just don’t say you were from Kaplan. I can’t remember when the place was removed, but you can still see the foundation it was on, that the trailor is parked on. It was at the intersection where S. State street and Hwy. 82 met up.” ...
Prim’s
Paul Breaux: “This one is known as Prim’s, and is found on Hwy. 14 in Kaplan, next to Church Street, and the Sonic is right across the street from it. Prim’s was an older crowd type, until after my time, when people would go, and play organized card games.” ...
La Chaudier
Paul Breaux: “La Chaudier (the POT) was one of the very best dance places in Kaplan from the 80’s on, until it burned down 5 or 6 years back. A man named Roger owned it, and had bands every weekend, even some from out of state. It was a success, (until an unfortunate event where a drunken underaged driver died after leaving one night and her parents sued the owner). Well, the place was never the same again, and like I said, it burned down some 5 or 6 years back (around 2010). It was located on main street, Cushing, in Kaplan, and right across from it, was the Kaplan Fire Station. Go Figure. The closest side street, was 6th street. ...
Jolly Inn
Paul Breaux: “It was located on Hwy. 82/35, right before the Intracoastal Canal. Coming from Kaplan, it was on the right side of the road and was about 1/4 mile past the Rock-a-Bye. The Rock-a-Bye was a place that was well known for fights, and if hunters or fisherman stopped, they’d better behave themselves. I remember some hunters stopped one night and were from upstate somewhere, and one of them thought it’d get a laugh, if he started blowing on his duck call. Ambulance had to come pick the three guys up, because those inside, felt like they were being INSULTED, and that was a NO-NO. The Jolly Inn, was even worse. If you knew people, you were usually okay, but if not, DON’T GO. One night, the place was packed, as usual, and three big guys, who supposedly were wrestlers who had done a job in Lafayette, came into the place, and because of their size, felt they had nothing to fear. They bumped and jostled folks, until they did it to the wrong guy. They made him spill his drink on himself, and THEY NEVER TRIED CALM HIM DOWN… when the drink was spilled and the three guys ignored him, he made them realize they had made a mistake. He took on all three of them, by himself and knocked one out inside the place. It rolled outside, where he took the second one out, and by that time, he was running out of gas from the fighting. The third guy probably would have got him, if he hadn’t jumped up on the hood of a car, and as the wrestler was reaching for him, gave a kick to the guy’s head, and God knows, it should have killed the guy. (He) was wearing COWBOY BOOTS, so when he planted his kick in the guys face, he did damage. The guy hit the ground and didn’t move. Everyone was yelling and clapping about, until we all realized, this was something the police would come to, and the ambulance, and we better not be around. We all took off at the same time, and had a long line of vehicles, heading towards Kaplan.” From information at the Kaplan Museum: “Jolly Inn: This club was located in Forked Island. It was on the east side of the Forked Island Bridge.” ...
Hideaway
Paul Breaux: “This is a place that has been there for some time. Located at the intersection of Hwy. 14 and Hwy. 13 out of Crowley, it was mostly for the older crowd. Bands did play occasionally, and they had a good turnout, but it wasn’t one of Kaplan’s best.” ...
Hebert’s
Paul Breaux: “To me, this was the very best night spot around the area. Today what you see here, is Hebert’s Restaurant, and that is what killed the night club part. Initially, and for years, it had a small area with some 6 or 7 tables in it, and the food was delicious. But the night clubs side, maybe 3 times larger in area, was where it really counted. Bands did not play very often, but a guy named Charley M., who worked for the city of Kaplan, DJ’d Thursday, Friday, Saturday and most Sundays. Charley had a talent for picking good music, and his thing was ONE slow song, then ONE fast song. ALWAYS, the songs were played in that style. And I have never seen such a demand and response, for Jitterbug music. If you couldn’t dance it, you were really at a loss. Jitterbugging always had people trying to do things, to impress everyone, and when someone did, someone else would try to out do it. The dancefloor was big, but so many people at times wanted to jitterbug, there was hardly any room, to move around… When the owners wife won her way, the lounge part was closed, they remodeled, and the whole place was then a restaurant. Great food…, but a loss to so many of us. It’s located on Hwy. 14, in Nunez, which is half way between KAPLAN AND ABBEVILLE.” ...