“We have been in this same spot for Mardi Gras parades since 1993. Our mother loved Mardi Gras and this was her post. Mardi Gras is family. We go to the parades and then go home and play cards and drink hot chocolate. 

I still think about Mama every day. She was from a little town in north Alabama. She was sent down here to care for a sick aunt and stayed. She met Daddy at a dance, and he asked her out on a date the next Sunday. He worked all week on his Model A Ford to get it running. They went riding around, but the steering wheel came off and they ran up a telephone pole. He said, ‘I guess we need to get married’, and she said, ‘I guess we do’. They were married for over 50 years.

Some of our favorite memories are of Mama bringing us on the bus from Oakdale to the parades. We are still coming almost 80 years later.”

Rosie

“Rosie thinks she is the boss, but I am the oldest and I know better. 

One of my favorite traditions of Mardi Gras was making gumbo with shrimp and crab meat. I had five traps and crabbed from April through August, and pulled in anywhere from 30 to 90 pounds of crab meat. 

My husband died a little over a year ago. It’s been tough, but I am picking up and going on. I am still on this earth, so my job is not through. If the Lord is willing, Rosie and I will be right here at Mardi Gras next year.”

Frankie