A Lucky Find

by Mary Fonseca

Families who take a Sunday drive to La Trouvaille (a lucky find) make a "lucky find" in more ways than one. They are welcomed by the Dusenbery clan, seated at one of the restaurant's attractive tables and served one of Wylma Dusenbery's homestyle Cajun meals piping hot. Chicken gumbo, rump roast with four-meat rice dressing, Cajun sweet peas and ice cream are usually on the menu.

After dinner, diners relax on benches and chairs assembled in the side yard of the cottage, or in the restaurant if the weather is not cooperative, while the Dusenbery family and friends entertain with Cajun music and song. Gene Dusenbery, father of the clan, pops off a steady stream of Cajun humor in between performances on the guitar with a Cajun trio. Wylma, matriarch of the 13-member Dusenbery family and an accomplished Cajun cook, joins several of the couple's children and grandchildren, to sing traditional Cajun songs - and some of recent vintage - in the mellow harmony that is the trademark of the Dusenbery Family Singers.

In Wylma's La Trouvaille cookbook, she tells how the generosity of friends, family and community helped with the upbringing of their large family, and how their desire to thank everyone led to the formation of the Dusenbery Family Singers.


"Because so many people had given us so much, we wanted to say 'Thank You!' in some way," wrote Wylma. "But we had no gifts to give. A few weeks before Christmas, Aunt Rosadelle came to visit. In our conversation I told her how we wished we had something to give all the people who had been kind to us. Aunt Rosadelle had heard the children sing; so she said, 'I know what you can give. You can give a song!' So, a few nights before Christmas we drove all over town, to the homes of our benefactors. Aunt Rosadelle would knock on a door, and when the door opened, she would say, 'This is Wylma and Gene's Family Christmas Present.' Then, she'd turn to the children and say, 'Sing!' And they did! They sang all the carols they knew. That Christmas was the beginning of the Dusenbery Family Singers and the discovery of our gift of music and song.

Since that first Christmas the Dusenberys have recorded three albums, performed at numerous Louisiana festivals and given concerts in many states and foreign countries.

La Trouvaille is located in Chauvin, Louisiana. To take a Sunday drive to La Trouvaille, take Highway 90 South to Houma. Cross the bridge over Bayou Terrebonne and turn left onto Highway 24 South. Highway 24 South connects with Highway 56 leading into Chauvin. La Trouvaille is on Highway 56 about 11 miles past Houma on the right side of the road. Dinner is served between 11:30 and 12:30 only on the first Sunday of every month between October and May. The restaurant is also open for lunch every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but the Dusenberys do not perform on these days. Reservations, necessary because of the small seating capacity of the restaurant, can be made by calling (985)594-9503. Dress is casual. Cajun crafts, copies of Wylma's La Trouvaille cookbook and Dusenbery cassettes are on sale at the restaurant.

© 1999 Mary Fonseca. All rights reserved.