Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Armando Sanchez Bowling Green graduate student Brooke Hadley wears beads she collected at the last Mardi Gras before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Hadley is the founder of the Western Kentucky Lost Cajuns chapter.

There's always a party going on at the 440 Main Restaurant and Bar.

Bowling Green graduate student Brooke Hadley wore her vibrant purple and gold Louisiana State University jacket and Mardi Gras beads sitting at a table there on Nov. 15.

She's a Cajun at heart, she said.

Hadley is forming a group of people with connections to Louisiana, but the group is having trouble getting off the ground.

The Lost Cajuns of Western Kentucky chapter in Bowling Green is part of a national organization that connects people who no longer live in Louisiana but are still Cajuns at heart.

"I want this to be a way for people to connect to home away from home," Hadley said.

She said she ordered special coffee from Louisiana for a taste of home.

Hadley has been in Bowling Green since 1997. She had to return to Baton Rouge in 1998 because of a car accident. She underwent physical therapy while her family took care of her. She then attended LSU.

She transferred back to Western in the summer of 2002, then graduated in December of that year.

Tom Holmes, a former resident of Monroe, La., and an LSU alumnus, owns the 440 Main Restaurant and Bar.

At 440, LSU and New Orleans Saints memorabilia hang from every part of the walls and ceiling, along with mementos from Mardi Gras.

Holmes calls himself a born redneck.

"I think the approach they have on life is incredible," he said.

The culture is laid back, and Louisiana residents try to fulfill every moment of every day, he said.

Dan Forrest, another Louisianan, has worked for Western libraries for five years. He said Kentucky weather is different than Louisiana's.

Jennifer Johnson of Maryville, Tenn., is the original founding member of Lost Cajuns of East Tennessee, the first Cajun group to form before Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern part of the country in 2005.

Johnson, originally of St. Mary Parish, La., said, "We're not lost," when referring to the name of the group. "We just celebrate the culture."

The founding group started with 10 members and now has more than 1,000. Membership increased by 270 during a three-year span.

Hadley was active in that chapter.

There is also a group in Longview, Texas. It is named the Lost Cajuns of East Texas.

"We had a lot of success in Knoxville, so there are people out there," Hadley said.

Bowling Green's group didn't have a good turnout at a meeting Nov. 15, but Hadley said she thinks that the group will prosper. Hadley said the group currently includes 12 members.

Hadley plans to spark interest among students on Western's campus. She said she might put up fliers and run an advertisement in the Bowling Green Daily News.

Western students can come to the next meeting or contact the organization at lostcajuns@hotmail.com if they're interested in the Cajun culture. The location of next month's meeting is undecided.

Hadley said students should come and "laissez les bon temps roulez," which translates to "Let the good times role."

Reach Randall Rearden at news@chherald.com.