Photograph: The Michel Prudhomme Home in Opelousas, LA. (Photograph by Bobby Ardoin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Contributing Writer
The Preservationists of St. Landry, Inc. will host an annual general membership meeting Sunday beginning at 3 p.m. at the historic Michel Prudhomme home in Opelousas.
Progress reports and efforts by the preservationist groups will be included along with a presentation of the annual Preservationist of The Year award.
Mavis Arnaud Fruge, who hosts a monthly coffee and conversation meeting at La Table Francais in Arnaudville, will be the guest speaker.
Fruge has been instrumental in an effort that preserves French language preservation and cultural revitalization in the Acadiana area.
Also Fruge has been deeply involved with the non-profit Saint-Luc French immersion and Cultural Campus in Arnaudville.
The recently-converted St. Luc campus offers immersion classes in French and instruction in Louisiana Creole and other local heritage languages.
Programs at St. Luc are generally considered to be the first programs of their kind nationwide.
Members of the preservationists will also discuss the urgency of upcoming projects scheduled for the Michel Prudhomme Home, which historians think was constructed no later than the early 1800’s.
Funding for restoration projects at the Prudhomme Home is needed immediately, according to James Douget, president of The Preservationists of St. Landry.
Costs for annual an annual Preservationist of St. Landry membership is $25. Any other donations that can be used to help restore the Prudhomme Home will be accepted.
Members are being encouraged to bring guests to the annual meeting at a suggested cost of $10 each as a way of encouraging individuals to be introduced to the Prudhomme Home, Douget said.
