479. Katy Morlas Shannon, part 2.

<div> 479. Part 2 of our <a href="http://archive.org/download/479-katy-morlas-shannon-part-2_202207/479--Katy_Morlas_Shannon--part_2.mp3" target="_blank">interview</a> with Katy Morlas Shannon.Katy is returning to the podcast to talk about her new book, <a href="https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781455625758" target="_blank"><i>Antoine of Oak Alley: The Unlikely Origin of Southern Pecans and the Enslaved Man Who Cultivated Them</i></a>. We also talk about here research into the portrait of Bélizaire and the Frey Children, which had the young black man Bélizaire painted out and then restored.<a name='more'></a> Katy and Jeremy Simien have been investigating the story behind the picture. "The story of Antoine is emblematic of countless enslaved people whose lives and contributions have been overlooked. Antoine, the enslaved gardener of Oak Alley Plantation, was the first person to successfully propagate the pecan tree yet he exists only as a footnote in the bigger story of Oak Alley Plantation.<a name="more"></a> His pioneering work enabled large groves of trees to be planted creating a lucrative commercial crop and though his horticultural achievement has long been legend, virtually nothing is known about his life. Historian Katy Morales Shannon utilizes extensive research and period documents to expose his story and explore the lives of the enslaved community in which he lived." Katy’s first book <i>The New Orleans Bee: Dispatches from the first year of Louisiana’s longest-running French-language newspaper</i> is available via Kindle on Amazon.com. Her work&nbsp; investigates the enslaved man who first cultivated pecans. .<span></span> <ol type="a"><li>This week in Louisiana history. July 24, 1704. <i>The Pelican</i> arrived bringing 23 girls to the Louisiana Colony. </li><li>This week in New Orleans history. Disnelyland's New Orleans Square opened in July 24, 1966. New Orleans Mayor Victor H. Schiro participated