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A member of the Opelousas Tales Facebook Group page recently asked about Ford Day that was held in Opelousas in 1922. It was one of the biggest events in town during that time.
Let’s talk about that.
The coming of the automobile to Opelousas was a big event. Local lore tells us the first automobile rolled into town at the turn of the 20th century when Allie B. Pickett drove his machine from Wisconsin to Opelousas. Many were delighted to see it; others were afraid of the horseless carriage. But it wasn’t long before some in town wanted to own one.
Soon Bea Boagni and Andrew “Jack” Moresi each had one. By 1909 Opelousas had an automobile business when H.E. Estorge and John Lewis started the Opelousas Automobile and Garage Co., Ltd., which became the Estorge and Lewis Automobile Company that sold Buicks.
The automobile fast became a popular mode of transportation in St. Landry Parish. But some people did not like that. It seems many had a problem with the speed of the new device. In just a few months, the St. Landry Parish Police Jury took action and adopted an ordinance on Feb. 7, 1910, regulating automobile speed on all public roads to 15 miles per hour.
As the demand for automobiles increased in Opelousas, other auto companies began to open including the Teche Auto Company in 1911, and the Ford dealership opened by Joseph Bordelon and L.J. Dossman. This later became Bordelon Motors. The Ford fast became a popular auto.
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Auto racing became a sport in Opelousas during that time with races held at the Haas Race Track. Other recreation activities were created that revolved around the automobile. And people started making automobile excursions to other towns, just as a way to ride around in this new machine.
By the end of the 1910, decade much of these social events slowed down when the Spanish Flu infected the area, killing many. Also the Great War interrupted life as many of the area’s young men were called to fight in that conflict.
As the 1920s decade began, there seemed to be a new hope and enthusiasm for good times to return to the old village. The town was moving forward and those difficulties and illnesses of the previous decade and the devastating droughts that were plaguing the area were part of the past. The Great War, later known as WWI, was over and local soldiers who defended the U.S. were back in Opelousas.
1922 was finally a good year for Opelousas. New events and activities were being organized, and business was booming in the downtown. In July, the town celebrated with a giant Ford Day Parade, organized by Aaron Jacobs of Jacobs News Depot and members of the Opelousas Trade Extension Bureau.
Ford Day was something that Henry Ford with the Ford Motor Company promoted as a way to get publicity for his new cars. Jacobs saw this as an opportunity to not just promote the Ford automobiles, but to promote the town. He encouraged the local Bordelon Motors Ford dealership to call attention to Ford Day, and he offered to help.
In May, he got the Opelousas Trade Extension Bureau involved and the organization committee for Ford Day went into action. Publicity about Ford Day in Opelousas made its way across the United States. Members of the committee set up teams to spread the word about Ford Day to other South Louisiana communities.
Invitations were sent to state political leaders, plus to national celebrities of that time including Henry Ford himself. Ford had a prior commitment and was not able to attend but did send a letter of support to the committee. Local and area newspapers promoted it, and before long everyone was talking about the big event planned for July 22 that year.
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The front page of the Daily Clarion-Progress newspaper on Saturday, July 22, 1922, stated: “Every road leads to Opelousas today. All railroads are sending their engines, with crowded passenger coaches towards Opelousas, all in a united effort to make Ford Day the greatest day in the history of Southwest Louisiana.”
The Ford Day Parade led by Parade Marshall Leon S. Haas, rolled down Landry Street at 12:30 that afternoon. It included local, parish and state political leaders, civic organizations, schools, musical bands, horses and a large selection of Ford cars from all around Southwest Louisiana as well as Shreveport, Houston and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Thousands of visitors entered the city to witness that parade on Ford Day. Among the fifteen thousand plus were 111-year-old Auguste Jeansonne and his 92-year-old daughter Celenia (Mrs. Jean Batiste Fruge). Jeansonne drove himself into town from his farm in St. Landry Parish in what was called a flivver, defined as a small, old, inexpensive automobile. It was also a slang name for the Ford Model-T, the first mass-produced automobile in the U.S. He won the prize for being the oldest person in the parade.
Jeansonne fast became a real celebrity on that day. Everyone wanted to meet him. The press wanted to interview him, and several reporters did including a writer from the New Orleans Item newspaper. The Jeansonne article also ran in the Literary Digest for Oct. 21, 1922. Titled “Opelousas’ Record Aged Pedestrian, Lover, and Philosopher,” it is an interesting read that can be found online by googling Jeansonne’s name.
More than 27 prizes were awarded that day including awards for the four prettiest girls, the four heaviest men, the Ford with the oldest engine, the ugliest Ford, the car coming from the longest distance, and for the best essay on Opelousas.
Besides the grand parade and all the awards, another highlight of the day was the drawing for the 1922 Ford Touring Car. Little Marie Beah Andrepont, daughter of newspaper editor L.A. “Pete” and Mrs. Beah Andrepont pulled the lucky ticket giving the car to Daniel Fisher, a popular young farmer who lived between Opelousas and Lawtell.
Ford Day ended with a dance at the Knights of Columbus hall on Main Street, right next door to Bordelon Motors.
Ford Day drew 15,000 visitors to Opelousas. In a letter sent to the American Stationer and Office Outfitters Magazine following the event Aaron Jacobs wrote: “How the city held so many people is perplexing. The big advertising began; the celebration grew larger day by day when nearing the end, which came off Saturday, July 22nd when everybody in Southwest Louisiana pulled into Opelousas.”
The July 27 issue of the New Orleans Item newspaper had a full two-page spread of photos of Ford Day in Opelousas. Needless to say, all the copies of that publication were sold out in Opelousas. Publications from around the U.S. ran stories on the successful event as well.
Jacobs was the person who really made the event successful. He promoted it not only in Louisiana, but across the nation and internationally as well. Publicity about that Ford Day parade and the celebrating that went along with it was spread in newspapers, magazines and even on film.
Opelousas got a wealth of free publicity from the event. People from Bogalusa and other towns who saw write-ups in their local papers began contacting Opelousas citizens for help with having their own Ford Day. As a result of all the positive publicity, more people began arriving in town, and new businesses were started.
Because of Ford Day’s success, Opelousas wanted more of the same for the community. A committee was organized to plan a new harvest festival to honor cotton as the king of agriculture in the area. In October, the first Cotton Carnival was held in Opelousas. That festival continued in 1923 and 1924.
Let’s talk Opelousas again.
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