| Throughout the week, master musicians performed during
the afternoon. Unfortunately, the work week continued at LSUE so it was impossible to
photograph all of them. However, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2003, one of the performers was
Ethelie Tate Frugé, a legendary musician in Evangeline Parish and grandmother of Nicole
Gil, LSUE associate professor of paralegal studies, so it was a session not to be missed.
Ethelie Tate Frugé is also the sister of the late Paul Tate of Mamou, a major force
in efforts to preserve Cajun culture. In years past, she
performed with musicians like Cyprien Landreneau, but the songs that the family members
who were in the audience that Friday especially wanted to hear were the ones she played at
family gatherings. "Play 'The Old Pine Tree," that song that you and Hazel used
to do," someone said. (Craig Fuselier, a son of her sister, the late Hazel Fuselier,
had helped her tune her guitar earlier in the week.) And, of course, she obliged, bringing
back memories for all of her family members and, as her wonderful smile attests, filling
her with a joy that she readily shared with everyone there.
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