New Iberia report

[carpetman]

Heard there was severe tornado in New Iberia Louisiana. Some of our posters from that area. Could we get report? Hope all of you are well.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Hope all the New Iberians are OK, and how about the McIlhenny's Tobasco Sauce Plant? It would heart my heart if genuine Tobasco was to have hiatus in production. I wouldn't want to have to use the Mexican brands that are starting to take over the stores.

[carpetman]

NVCurmudgeon---My crs is attacking me and I cant recall the handle of the fellow from New Iberia--anyways he told me the peppers are no longer grown in New Iberia---grown in South America. So maybe their production wont be hutr. BTW I like those green tabasco's that come in the skinny bottle---do you like that kind?

[Urny]

Can't speak for NVC, but I sure do! Usually keep a half dozen bottles or so on the shelf, the 6 ounce size I think. Also like the Louisian Gem dollar store brand, and use both brands on eggs, biscuits and gravy, soups, aw you get the idea.

Best wishes for any in the tornado area.

[carpetman]

Urny---Yea I buy 2-3 bottles at a time. Use em about like you describe--well ok several other things too---about everything except maybe ice cream. When I was a kid,couldn't figure out how anybody could possibly eat one,just a drop of the juice would set me on fire. But developing a taste for them saved me some severe pain. When I had gall bladder problem,before they diagnosed it they thought maybe an ulcer. They wanted to go down my throat and look in my stomach. Sounded painful to me. I asked the Dr if I had ulcer would I be able to eat hot peppers? He asked if I could? They had me starved at that time. I told him to bring me a couple hamburgers and a bottle of those peppers and I'd eat the whole bottle of em. They didnt look in my stomach.

[Scrounger]

NVCurmudgeon---My crs is attacking me and I cant recall the handle of the fellow from New Iberia--anyways he told me the peppers are no longer grown in New Iberia---grown in South America. So maybe their production wont be hutr. BTW I like those green tabasco's that come in the skinny bottle---do you like that kind?

Would that be McIlhenny??? I think they're on Avery Island in the Mississippi River but what do I know...

Or maybe this:
http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/schweid_hot.html

[btr-cj]

Avery Island is a high point in the upper marshes of south Louisiana in New Iberia parish. It is not in the Mississippi.

I think it is surrounded by a canal system but is accessible by road year round. The last time I was there they were still growing some peppers on the site but as stated most are grown in South America.

Has anyone tried the Chipotle sauce they make? I like it but it will never totally replace plan old Tabasco on my table.

[NVcurmudgeon]

My choice is the traditional red Tobasco. You have to remember that I am very old, maybe even older than carpetman, and that when I was learning to read, McIlhenny's was located in New Iberia. Guess the river flooded and they had to move to Avery Island.

[wills]

The Habanero is good too. Here is what they say about Avery Island
http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_history/avery_island.cfm
and the peppers
http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco%5Fhistory/hot_pepper.cfm

[Texasflyboy]

My choice is the traditional red Tabasco. You have to remember that I am very old, maybe even older than carpetman, and that when I was learning to read, McIlhenny's was located in New Iberia. Guess the river flooded and they had to move to Avery Island.

We don't have rivers. No such thing. We have Bayou's. (By You's)...:-D

The McIlhenny Plantation has always been located on Avery Island as far as I can remember. From time to time during strong economic periods, there were satellite facilities located in New Iberia to support the Avery Island facility, but these are long shut down. All production of the sauce takes place at Avery Island. A small amount of non sauce related activities (bottles, bottle caps, packaging, labeling) takes place off the Island.

As far as the tornado last week:

The tornado touched down on the East side of Iberia Parish. There were fatalities (edited: thanks to Frank46 for the info). Google "Daily Iberian" for the local newspaper. Lotta turned over trailer homes. It’s been classified as a F1, borderline F2 tornado. Scared the beejesus out of a lot of folks.

I don't live in New Iberia, but I was born and raised about 11 miles away in another small(er) town on Bayou Teche. I live in Texas with 150,000 other expatriate Cajuns.


I think it is surrounded by a canal system but is accessible by road year round. The last time I was there they were still growing some peppers on the site but as stated most are grown in South America.

Avery Island is an Island, and privately owned. There is a guard gate and guard to access the Island for tourism or business. Most folks who don't live or work there have to be off the Island by 6PM local time from what I recall during my visits there.

I didn't know that about Tabasco peppers being grown in South America. One of my family members works at the Salt Mine that is located on Avery Island, where the Tabasco plant operates. They used to grow the peppers on top, and mine salt underneath, as Avery Island is actually a Salt Dome that protrudes out of the marshes. It was mined for salt by the confederacy during the war of Northern Aggression. Ahem.

Anyway, here is more trivia about New Iberia, Tabasco, than you will ever hear here or anywhere else:

1. There is a McDonalds Hamburger joint on the corner of St. Peter and Lewis Street in New Iberia. Trappeys Fine Foods (a local mfg of food stuffs) used to bottle their version of Hot sauce right next door to that McDonalds in the late 70's and 80's. Whenever they were bottling hot sauce, no matter what you ordered at the McDonalds, everything smelled or tasted like Hot Sauce. The smell made your eyes water it was so strong. To this day, I occasionally shoot a dash of hot sauce (Tobasco) into my coffee when I am homesick. The smell of those big oak barrels of Hot sauce is one of the best memories I have as a kid.

2. The Salt mine on Avery Island is operated today by Cargill, the giant food conglomerate. They mine salt for industrial and road use. Years ago, there was a very nice Christmas tradition established between the Salt Mine and the McIhenny family, which owned the Tabasco plant. Each Christmas eve, a dump truck of Salt would be decorated with Christmas decorations, and the bed would be full of salt, which the pepper plant uses as a sealer on top of the oak barrels of fermenting pepper sauce (Tobasco). The Tabasco plant reciprocated this gift with a wagon full of Pepper products, which included Tabasco sauce, from the tiny bottles as seen in MRE's, to the GALLON size honkers I always wanted to own. They also threw in many other local pepper products (mash, chow-chow, Tabasco peppers in vinegar, sweet Tabasco peppers, etc...).

3. There is a very lush tropical garden open to tourists with a very large whitetail deer herd on Avery Island. The deer there have a somewhat unique flavor ifyouknowwhatimean...;-)

4. Years ago there was a small farmers marker on Avery Island that sold produce grown on the Island. Due to cross pollination with the pepper plants (that’s what I was told anyway) you sometimes got real interesting flavors out of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages, etc… It just all tasted…better, from what I recall. I remember they used to grow tomatoes there that were e nor mous. And I mean enormous. They hung over the edge of a standard hamburger bun.

Breakfast heaven on earth for me was two or three medium eggs with Tabasco red sauce all over them. That is until Chipotle brand Tabasco came out...then I was hooked. ca c'est bon!

The finest meal on God's green earth:

Freshly butchered Round steak soaked for about 1 hour in Tabasco pepper mash (you get this from the Tabasco plant, it's what's left over from the pepper process). Cooked over low heat for about 6 hours with a nice thick gravy. Trappey's white beans (http://www.bgfoods.com/trappeys/trappeys_products.asp) with jalapeno peppers. Ellis Stansels Gourmet White Rice (http://www.stanselrice.com/) from Gueydan Louisiana. French bread from Lejeune's bakery in Jeanerette (http://www.theind.com/feature2.asp?CID=427241158). Put white rice on the plate, put some gravy from the steak on the rice, place a big dollop of white beans next to the rice, and next to that some big slices of smothered steak. Shoot about three or four good shots of Tabasco red pepper sauce on top of the white beans. Mix a little of the rice and beans when you take a bite. Mop up as you eat with big pieces of French bread.

Excuse me, I have to get in my car and go somewhere...:-D

[encoreman]

Hey Flyboy, That Stansel's rice is fine, smells like popcorn when it's cooked. A friend gives us a bag for Christmas every year. Ya Boy Dat's sum good cookin!!

[carpetman]

NVCurmudgeon---Want something to make you feel old? I know you had a service station. You realize there are a lot here that never used an oil spout?

[walltube]

Frank46 lives in the New Iberia area.

Hey, Frank, you doing OK there Buddy. Tell us, please.

Walltube

[NVcurmudgeon]

Flyboy, your "finest meal on God's green earth" makes my mouth water just to read about. Thanks for the rundown on all things Tobasco.

Carpetman, not only are there a lot of grown men who never used an oil spout, but nearly the same number have never seen a service station.

[Frank46]

Carpetman, I live in New Iberia. There was an F1 or F2 that touched down about five miles or so from where I live. Trailers that had tie down straps were not flipped over. Ones without were. Some homes suffered serious damage. There were some pics in sundays paper. They said that houses with attached garages suffered more damage than houses with separate garages. There were some fatalities, I think there were two deaths and numerous injuries. They estimated the wind velocity of at least 110 mph. We heard the noise but with the bayou in the back its hard to figure out where it was coming from. Our house was not damaged. Red Cross and Sherriff's dept were on scene as soon as it was safe to go into the area. Walltube, thanks for your concerns, we were truly fortunate. And to all of you thanks for your thoughts. No problems with the tabasco sauce for those of you with cast iron stomachs. So rest assured your favorite brand is still being made. Frank

[SharpsShooter]

NVCurmudgeon---Want something to make you feel old? I know you had a service station. You realize there are a lot here that never used an oil spout?

C-man,

It will put a date on me, but I do recall using those.

SS

[carpetman]

Here we are talking service stations on a new Iberia thread---someone hijacked my thread. I never used one,but I can remember the old gas pump that was tall and had a clear tank on top. The tank was marked with graduated lines for gallons. It had a long handle and the attendant used that to pump up however many gallons the person wanted. People requested by the number of gallons not the $ they wanted. You could see the gas once it was pumped to that tank. It was then gravity fed into your vehicle. Yes I remember that,but I aint so old as to remember EVER seeing gas that was not priced ending in .9. Has anyone EVER seen gas not priced ending in .9? I dont think they ever made such.
Oh and yes Frank46 glad you and yours are well and did not suffer any loss.

[Texasflyboy]

Carpetman, not only are there a lot of grown men who never used an oil spout, but nearly the same number have never seen a service station.

I grew up punching oil cans with an oil spout. I still remember in the late 70's when they started to transition to cardboard cans with metal tops, and I was not happy. If you didn't puncture the can *just* *right* it had a tendency to collapse. I was really bummed when the first plastic jugs came out, just wasn't the same.

I've lost count over the years what we used the empty cans for at my dad's service station. Repairing leaking tailpipes, banding them around swollen radiator hoses (for armor), patching holes in floorboards, the list was endless. I think I even tried to use them as ingot molds until I realized that a quart of lead would weigh about 40 lbs or so, not very practical.

Ah, the good ol days...:coffee:

[NVcurmudgeon]

Ray, right after the 1979-80 gas shortage "crisis" I tried a couple of experiments that kind of backfired on me. People were sure I was pulling something shady in both cases.

First, when the state of CA stopped limiting how much gas we could sell, and Exxon stopped limiting how much we could buy, I had my place all full-serve. It was full-serve with a price one cent lower than the lowest price of the three other stations on the corner. One slow afternoon, a bewildered-looking motorist drove in and asked if we had self-serve. I told him that we had all full-serve, but the lowest price on the corner. He then drove across the street to sit in line at the Chevron self-serve island and pay two cents more per gallon. I guess in his little mind, full-serve just HAD to cost more! I had to bring back self-serve and put up with the damaged pumps as part of the cost of doing busness.

About that time, I reasoned that with gas over a dollar a gallon, how could 1/10th of a cent be significant? So I made my prices all end in even cents. I set the prices to be at least 9/10 cent lower than Tony's Mobil, and therefore several cents lower than the Chevron and the Shell. Sales immediately declined, and I had to go back to prices such as 103.9. Apparently, the 9/10 is invisible to the average customer.

These and many other happenings convinced me that most people lose about fifty IQ points as soon as they get in their cars.

[Frank46]

Tex, the tabasco place on St.Peter & Lewis used to be open up until about two or so years ago. Now its closed and I seem to remember someone saying that they are to convert the site to furniture manufacturing. They had ads in the Daily Iberian looking for finish carpenters. I have a buddy with whom I have shot with and according to him most if not all finish carpenters all have very good jobs and there is no way they'd leave to start over. But the tabasco production at Avery Island keeps truckin along. In the local Superone market they sell various items like coffee cups, soup bowls, and other goodies with various tabasco related scenes. I have two of the cups for making tea. Frank

[carpetman]

In 1961,thereabouts,Gulf came out with a cheaper gas called Gulftane. Normal gasoline price in my area of Texas was around 18.9 per gallon(I know gasoline was higher in Colorado for example). Gulftane would be around 16.9. This caused lots of gas wars. Stations lowering their price to spite the others. One day in 1962,July in fact I was headed to the lake for a week and was going to come back and get my obligation to the United States Naval Reserve started. I went down main street and 3 stations were in a war. A Fina,Gulf and Hudson. The Fina guy got tired of things and lowered his gas to 10.9 (dime a gallon+.9). He had a long line and I went to the Hudson and filled up for 15.9. Went to the lake and my bro came home on leave from the Navy. He told me he thought the Air Force was a better deal,I listened to him and went to the Air Force recruiter to see if he could get me in. He did and I received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy through the mail while at Air Force Basic Training.

[floodgate]

Tom:

I can top that! As a kid in the 1940's, i remember taking a pair of oil cans, laying them on their sides, and stomping in the middle. If you did it just right, the ends of the cans would fold up over your shoes and you could go stomping about on the sidewalk making a horrible clatter!

Doug

[carpetman]

Floodgate---Doug you ever punch a couple holes in a can and attach a bailing wire loop that you held with your hands. You placed your foot on top of the can through the loop sorta like a stirrup and it was a pair of mini stilts--made you the height of the can taller.

[walltube]

You gotta stop hi-jacking this thread.....there's a big time Tabasco discussion under way here..

Frank, good to know you're ok. Avery Island too.

W'tube

[redneckdan]

Breakfast heaven on earth for me was two or three medium eggs with Tabasco red sauce all over them.



excuse me while I go scramble an egg or three and try to find some tabasco.:drinks:

[carpetman]

I like the tabasco sauce ok,but what I speak of are the actual tabasco peppers. In sauce,I prefer the red over green. I think Trappeys was also from New Iberia. The bottle now says New Jersey(atleast it aint NEW YORK CITY) but it also say product of Louisiana??? I do know I have seen new Iberia on other brands of pepper.

[walltube]

don't stare folks, but those old men are re-living the 20th Century again.

Imagine that?! Engine oil in a paper can. Gasoline @ $.10 per gallon. Dyna-Flow transmissions. I mean, what the...

Next thing we know they'll be trying to convince us the engine starter button was on the floor boards next to the gas pedal. Just what the heck is a 'floor boards' anyway??

Ice man?? isn't that the guy somebody found hanging out of glacier in Austria or something?

Hee-Hee,

W'tube

[7br]

And the darned dimmer switch was on the floor.

Iff'n you wanted a five speed, you had a three on the tree and a two fifths under the seat.

[Texasflyboy]

I like the tabasco sauce ok,but what I speak of are the actual tabasco peppers. In sauce,I prefer the red over green. I think Trappeys was also from New Iberia. The bottle now says New Jersey(atleast it aint NEW YORK CITY) but it also say product of Louisiana??? I do know I have seen new Iberia on other brands of pepper.

You can actually buy the peppers when in season (Mid-July) at many roadside stands in and around New Iberia. I've had the best luck buying peppers along LA 31 between New Iberia and St. Martinville, where many small farmers, or retiree's grow peppers on small plots for extra cash. Last time I bought Tabasco peppers, it was $20 a brown grocery bag. I purchased two, and put them up in vinegar quart jars. I ate a pickled tabasco pepper po-boy (bread and peppers only) at least twice a week for 52 weeks. I occasionally put a slice of roast beef in, but it was hard to taste. That was 1997, and it was a very good year.

The Bernard F. Trappey family heirs sold the business and it ended up with the B&G Food company years ago. Really made a lot of us Cajuns sad, Trappey's was a Louisiana home brand that we were all connected to in one way or another. I attended USL with a great granddaughter with a last name of Trappey. A lot of my friends families made money growing vegetables that were sold to BF Trappey's. The heirs just wanted to move on with their lives, or so it seems. The link is the concise history of the rise and fall of the B.F. Trappey Brand for those interested:

B.F. Trappey & Tabasco (http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/reminiscing093004.htm)

Today, Tabasco = McIlhenny Tabasco. Everything else is hot sauce. Accept no substitutes...by the way the green stuff is made from Jalapeños. Tabasco sauce has always been red...:-D

The following are hot sauce brands I know personally to be made in the heart of Cajun Land:

McIlhenny Brand Tabasco sauces and other products.
Bruce Foods Brand Hot Sauces (Made in New Iberia)
Cajun Chef Hot Sauce (St. Martinville).

I am sure there are others I've missed...

For Cajuns, there are certain brands that evoke strong emotions: B.F. Trappey's canned vegetables, Blue Plate Mayonnaise (New Orleans) (http://www.luzianne.com/template_category.cfm?ID=6&), Popcorn Rice (Ellis Stansel), Jack Miller's Bar-B-Q Sauce (http://www.jackmillers.com/), Poche Bridge Boudin & Cracklins (http://www.pochesmarket.com/poche_prod/cajun_seasoning.htm), Frey's meat products (gone),Savoie's Dressing mix (http://www.savoiesfoods.com/products_dressing.html) , Steen's Pure Cane Syrup (http://www.steensyrup.com/), Lejeune's French Bread (Jeanerette) (http://www.theind.com/feature2.asp?CID=427241158), Evangeline Maid Sliced bread. I could go on, but I am already starving...and homesick...:coffee:

[carpetman]

Texas Flyboy---Your list of Cajun cuisine seems very believable---got the syrup in the mix. Only thing I know of a Cajun doesn't put syrup on is syrup. But you left out the main ingredient,but you were just listing brands. Roadkill doesn't have a brand.

[castalott]

Frank 46...I'm glad you are ok. Those storms can be terrible things. Dale

[redneckdan]

And the darned dimmer switch was on the floor.




Yup, my '78 f-250 has the dimmer on the floor. I want to find another switch so I can have a floor mounted switch for the KC light bar.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I remember and liked floor-mounted dimmer switches. Ditto separate wiper switches, light switches, and directional signal switches. With today's all-in-one dimmer, headlight, wiper, and turn signal switches, you need to take out a second mortgage to buy one. And buy one you must, when any one of the four functions fails. Actually, my '01 Dodge PU only has three functions on the one switch. There is a separate headlight switch, wonder how that slipped through?

[MT Gianni]

I remember and liked floor-mounted dimmer switches. Ditto separate wiper switches, light switches, and directional signal switches. With today's all-in-one dimmer, headlight, wiper, and turn signal switches, you need to take out a second mortgage to buy one. And buy one you must, when any one of the four functions fails. Actually, my '01 Dodge PU only has three functions on the one switch. There is a separate headlight switch, wonder how that slipped through?

I just replaced the headlight switch in my 98 Dodge. They have it seperate because the circuit breaker is internal to the switch. If it overheats and cuts out on Hi Beams you need to replace the switch because you are in the dark. That is another fun time on mountain roads at highway speeds. Gianni.

[drinks]

I take it none of you che-uh, frugal varmits descended to the level of a Rambler, the starter switch was under the clutch pedal.
I have bought "Genuine Virgin Motor Oil" in mason jars with the tin pouring spout, that was refilled from 55gal drums in the back.
Tempus fugit!
;D

[Slowpoke]

Hmm I was able to repair my headlight turn signal combo switch on my Toyota pick-up. The high beam's quit. The best price I found on a new switch was a $117, luckily I was able to clean the contacts and tweak one arm that was fatigued, (248,000 miles) and she works again.

Here in Eastern, VA the deer are so thick along with the traffic that if you do much night driving the OLE dimmer switch gets a real work out. Right now there are nine road killed deer on the first 4 miles of road after you leave my driveway.


Gianni, that's a sure enough a bad feeling when the lights go out at speed. Almost as bad as a tie-rod end braking in a corner at speed.

Makes me think back when I lived in AZ I would do a lot of trail-bike riding at night in the summer, I had a nice headlight on my scooter but most of my friends didn't have any and sometimes there would be as many five bikes jamming on old switch back mine roads at night all trusting in my headlight, sometimes I just couldn't help myself I would wait for a real hairy spot and reach up at turn my light off, it would get real quite kind of quick and all you could hear was cussing, brakes locking up and tires sliding in rocks.

good luck

[carpetman]

Slowpoke---"Here in Eastern Virginia the deer are so thick if you do much night driving the ole dimmer switch gets a real workout". I know what you mean those inconsiderate deer with their bright lights. The state owns the game animals--stste should be required to obiedience train them.

[Frank46]

Thanks for your concerns. Now how the heck did we get from tornadoes to tabasco sauce to oil cans, then dimmer switches and all others in between???. My 65 dodge coronet had the old style "toilet paper roll" type filters. The 70 dodge had the dimmer switch on the floor and the pump for the winsheild washer was foot operated. Always went through at least a gallon of washer fluid coming back from Honesdale PA to new york pumping all the way as the roads were always heavily salted. Frank

[Shepherd2]

Drinks - I remember the motor oil in the glass jars with the metal spout. I don't remember the brand name but the price was 10 cents a quart back in the mid 50s. All my high school buddies bought it. I borrowed a quarter from my mom once to buy gas to get to school. It was all full service back then. The attendant didn't bat an eye. He pumped 25 cents worth of gas, checked my oil and cleaned my windshield.

I had a part time job in high school. I would pick up my paycheck on Friday and go to this one filling station. When you pulled in the manager would blow a whistle. Four guys would come running. They'd pump your gas, check your oil, check your tire pressure, wash all your windows and the manager would cash your paycheck. Saqdly that station didn't last too long. I don't know if it was the high cost of labor or too many bad checks but it was nice while it lasted.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I just replaced the headlight switch in my 98 Dodge. They have it seperate because the circuit breaker is internal to the switch. If it overheats and cuts out on Hi Beams you need to replace the switch because you are in the dark. That is another fun time on mountain roads at highway speeds. Gianni.

Thanks for the tip, Gianni. My previous Dodge was an '86. First thing I did was take a ballast resistor out of stock and put it in the glove box, so that the most likely to break part was covered. Months later I found out that Mopar had finally discontinued that Achilles heel. (Wonder where carpetman is while we are happily hijacking this thread?)

[Scrounger]

Thanks for the tip, Gianni. My previous Dodge was an '86. First thing I did was take a ballast resistor out of stock and put it in the glove box, so that the most likely to break part was covered. Months later I found out that Mopar had finally discontinued that Achilles heel. (Wonder where carpetman is while we are happily hijacking this thread?)


Wondering what CarpetMan is getting into is very dangerous territory; it can only lead to trouble. Believe me, if you could see the email I just received from him, you would never again want to know what was on his mind.....

[redneckdan]

Here in Eastern, VA the deer are so thick along with the traffic that if you do much night driving the OLE dimmer switch gets a real work out.

Thats why I put a light bar on my truck, there is a short cut from the pistol range over to my apartment, a gravel road that runs behind the cemetary. The deer like to come eat the grass along the road. Hit two of them this fall. Now I just cruise up the road with 400 watts of KC glory and easily avoid everything on 4 legs. Too bad you can't legally use them on the roads.:roll:

[walltube]

[QUOTE=Frank46;136024]Thanks for your concerns. Now how the heck did we get from tornadoes to tabasco sauce to oil cans, then dimmer switches and all others in between???.


AADD

[Shepherd2]

That's one of the great things about Cast Boolits. A thread can wander anywhere and no one really cares except maybe Carpetman. No OT police around here.

[btr-cj]

I grew some Tabasco pepper plants one year. They were fun to grow and produced a lot of peppers! Very ornamental plants too.

I need to do that again.

C.J.