Pictured from left are Jean Kiesel and Bruce Turner, project co-directors; Bill Boelens; Sandy Himel, project director; and Karl Fontenot, 'Dirty Rice' co-host on KRVS.
A rare find. A special gift. Both describe a recent donation to the Special Collections Department at UL Lafayette's Edith Garland Dupré Library.
The first recording of Cajun music - Allons a Lafayette - is the gem in the library's developing Cajun and Creole music collection.
Opelousas native and host of KRVS's "Dirty Rice" program Bill Boelens held the rare recording and decided to give it to the library after reading about the university's new music collection. He first saw the recording while visiting a music shop in New Orleans.
When he spotted the old 78 rpm Columbia record, Boelens said it almost jumped into his hands. He told the shop owner "I'm taking this one with me. You don't know what you have here."
Allons a Lafayette was recorded on April 27, 1928, in New Orleans by Joseph Falcon and Cleoma Breaux. The flip side of the record is The Waltz That Carried Me to my Grave.