It’s barely daylight when Sue Vasseur begins her Saturday morning ritual: stocking the bar and mixing a house favorite at Fred’s Lounge in Mamou.
"It’s, uh, cinnamon Schnapps and Apple Pucker Schnapps. I mix half and half."
Vasseur, who goes by the name Taunte Sue - that’s Cajun for Aunt Sue - will drop a bottle into a leather gun holster and trade shots with her customers.
"I’ve shot many for many years. When you hit 78, something’s got to give," joked Vasseur.
Taunte Sue manages the lounge, named after her ex-husband, Fred Tate, who died in 1992. Fred’s Lounge is located a block away from the only traffic light in Mamou. And the sun hasn’t quite cleared the treetops on Saturday morning when customers arrive.
"It’s the best place on a Saturday morning to have a good time," observed customer Tom Douget not long after 8 a.m.
Today, it’s the Lafayette Rhythm Devils who get the crowd on its feet.
The music that drifts across the Cajun prairie over the local AM radio station has been drawing a crowd to Fred’s for more than 60 years. These days, the lounge is only open on Saturday’s from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
"When you open in the morning you don’t need no floor bouncers, you don’t need hardly anything. Everybody’s friendly. They done slept all night, they want to come here to have a good time," said David Guillory, owner of Fred’s.
And the rules spelled out by the original owner still apply today.
"I don’t allow any kissing in here. That’s a no-no. I don’t allow any vulgarness. The only four letter word I allow is love or beer," said Vasseur.
This 78-year-old great grandmother shows no sign of slowing down, whether behind the bar, or behind the microphone singing her favorite Cajun song.
"My favorite to sing is the Bolfar waltz," she explained. "It’s beautiful… the words are beautiful. I probably should point out to you it says if I had five days left to live in my life, I’d give up three of the five to live the other two with you and die in your arms."
Everyone who comes to Fred’s is asked to sign the guest book. They’ve been filling up the pages for years. And today, about half the people are from Louisiana - from Jennings to Lake Charles, New Orleans and Bossier City. But the other folks come from places like San Juan; Texas; Atlanta; Jacksonville, Florida; Homewood, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. They’ve all ended up playing Cajun for a few hours at Fred’s.
Ron and Pam Williams are from Chicago. They discovered Fred’s 30 years ago when they heard a Cajun band at the Grand Ole Opry.
"I said ,’ hey honey, why don’t we take these kids to Cajun Louisiana, wherever that is," said Ron. They found it and this is their thirtieth return trip.
What’s so special about this place?
"Cajun jois de vivre, Cajun jois de vivre, the job of life. It’s the dance, the food, it’s the music, it’s the people," answered Ron.
And the musicians who play Fred’s appreciate the worldwide attention.
"It really makes me feel good. It really gets me right here. For so long we just took it for granted what we had here," said musician Donald Ray Fontenot.
Fred’s is also famous for the revival of courrir du Mardi Gras, where Cajun Mardi Gras riders in Mamou celebrate the day on horseback.
You don’t have to understand French to understand this place or the music. It’s a feeling, a genuine joy of life, that Louisiana’s Cajuns love to share with the rest of us.
