NEWS RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA

January 10, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAM IRWIN DISCUSSES SECRETS OF LOUISIANA'S JAZZ AGE

JEFFERSON, LA – Sam Irwin, a local author and photojournalist, will discuss his latest book, Hidden History of Louisiana’s Jazz Age, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and open to the public. There is no registration.

According to Irwin, Hidden History of Louisiana's Jazz Age is filled with tales of murder, lust and adventure. Clarinetist Joe Darensbourg of Baton Rouge ran away and joined the circus three times before the age of 20. The Martel Band of Opelousas witnessed a legal public hanging of a convicted serial murderer in 1923 Evangeline Parish. Trumpeter Evan Thomas of Crowley could have been a rival to Satchmo but was cut down on the bandstand in the Promised Land neighborhood of Rayne, La. 

Sam Irwin is a freelance photojournalist who lives in Baton Rouge. He is a native of Breaux Bridge, the Crawfish Capital of the World, and spent much of his childhood in Henderson, Louisiana at Amy's Fisheries, his grandfather's fish and crawfish market. Sam is the former press secretary of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry and a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has also been a history teacher, a Cajun music dancehall operator and the owner of a record store. 

His previous books include Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean, It Happens in Louisiana, The Ransom of Red Goat, Louisiana-Christmas, and Love and Death: Two Louisiana Stories. Copies of his most recent book will be available for those who want to purchase them.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

In accordance with provisions of the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, as amended, Jefferson Parish shall not discriminate against individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs or activities. If you require auxiliary aids or devices, or other reasonable accommodation under the ADA Amendments Act, please submit your request to the ADA Coordinator at least 48 hours in advance or as soon as practical. A 72 hour advanced notice is required to request Certified ASL interpreters. ADA Coordinator/Office of Citizens with Disabilities 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Suite 403, Elmwood, LA 70123, (504) 736-6100, ADA@jeffparish.net

The Jefferson Parish Library system consists of 16 locations that stretch from the Lakeshore Branch on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain to the Grand Isle Branch just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. The library system consists of two large regional libraries and seven branches on each side of the Mississippi River. The East Bank Regional Library (4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie) serves as library headquarters. More than 200 employees work for the Jefferson Parish Library including librarians, administration and support staff. For more information, contact the library at (504) 838-1100 or www.jefferson.lib.la.us.

 

For more information about Jefferson Parish, visit www.JeffParish.net Residents can also receive regular updates by following the Parish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@JeffParishGov).

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Jefferson Parish Public Information Office 1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite 1002 Jefferson, LA 70123

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Gretchen Hirt Gendron, PIO