Etienne Caroline "Monk"

"Monk" was a true entrepreneur, an excellent carpenter who could build a house from a plan in his head and nothing written on paper.  He was also a blacksmith and horseshoer.    He built a dance hall in Verdunville where he served wine and bootlegged whiskey for 10 cents a shot.  Later, when the dance hall closed, Monk added a bedroom and a kitchen turning the dance hall into his home.  The house Monk built still stands today.  If you needed help building your house, Monk was the man to go to.

For many years Monk was the only person in Verdunville who owned a car - a Model T Ford.  The only way to get to the closest store was by going across the Bayou by boat, so Monk would purchase bread, vegetables  and other groceries wholesale and sell them to the people from his car.  He traveled frequently between Verdunville and Texas and was known for taking people to the doctor, church, or wherever else they needed to go.

When a local family lost their farm  Monk,  invited them to stay in his home until they got back on their feet. While living in Houston, he helped build Mother of Mercy Catholic Church.  He was a member of Knights of Peter Claver, at one time serving as President in his area.

When his son, Etienne, Jr. was about 5 years old  a man made him cry.  When Monk found out , he took a long braided whip, threw it over his shoulder, went across the Bayou to the  man's store and told him if he EVER made his son cry again he would whip him all over the Parish.   The man never bothered his son again.

Clothilde Caroline "Batty"

"Batty" was small in stature and an extremely intelligent, cheerful and eccentric woman who was a Private School Teacher  and  taught Catechism classes in New Orleans.  Some referred to her as the  "the cat lady" because she loved cats and had quite a few...actually, they were all over the house!  The mama cat ran the crew, her name was Cadonia.  Batty would cook for her cats!

Batty was raised in Verdunville, but spent her later years in New Orleans.  She went back to Verdunville often, many times to care for  someone who was sick, visit her family, or to teach Adult Education Classes.  She and her brother Muck were extremely close.  Batty loved children and many of them stayed with her  when she lived in New Orleans.    She had 1 son - William Francis Cook aka "Gut" who had an extremely close relationship with his cousin, Etienne Caroline, Jr.   William "Gut" Cook passed in 1976 and is buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.

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