Special Thanks
AARP Prime Time Radio is the distributor for Zydeco Nation. Fiscal sponsorship is provided by Deep Springs College and the International Documentary Association. This project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit www.calhum.org.
Charlotte Lane
Charlotte Lane at her home in Crockett, CA. Photo by John Noltner.
Charlotte Lane is a first-generation Creole Californian. Her mother migrated from Louisiana in the 1950s, and Lane grew up in San Francisco’s Fillmore district. “Every weekend, our house was the house to be at,” she says. “There was plenty of cooking going on, laughing, and they’d sit there and play dominos, cards, Pokeno—old games that they played back in the country.” Throughout her life, Lane has maintained her love for French Louisiana food and music. She now lives in Crockett, California with washboard player R. C. Carrier. In this outtake, she recalls the gatherings of Creole friends and neighbors from her childhood.