Day 11b: Saturday: The Party and Les Cousins

And what a party it was! Bernard had marshalled somewhere between 80 and 100 Daubards for a grand celebration of his 60th birthday, his son Romain's 20th birthday, Elsa's 14th birthday, and our visit. The main focus of the décor was a scroll ten meters long (about 34 feet!) comprising ancestors and descendants of the Daubards.

You may have noticed that the American cousins spell their name Dobard, while the French cousins spell their name Daubard. In reviewing American records, it appears that while the French controlled the Louisiana Territory, the spelling remained Daubard; when the Spanish took it over, the records began to report the name as Dobard.

Bernard gave a lengthy presentation to an interested audience, relating his research and some of the amazing facts he found. He gave us a copy of his speech with a rough translation. [Trust me, Google Translate needs some tweaking!] In any event, he has discovered some interesting Daubard history that we'll share another time.



There were some presentations. We brought a genealogy with the history of the Daubards in Louisiana and a photo album of present-day Dobards. Both were very well received. Bernard reciprocated with a great deal of information about the Daubards of France that we are slowly incorporating into our website. We appreciate his passion and enthusiasm for research and thank him for sharing it with us.

It was an emotional exchange, with tears and laughter.

We met cousins and more cousins. Here is Lloyd with Fabienne and Bernard and Fabienne's parents, Liliane and Marc Exbrayant.

[Note: most of the identification of cousins comes from the photos that Bernard has posted on his own blog, Le Voyage Dubaronnaise. We couldn't possible remember all of these wonderful folks after just one meeting!]

Bernard with his uncle Noel Daubard (his father's brother).

The children of Noel Daubard and their spouses.

Cousins (and siblings) Didier Daubard, Christine Daubard Pascale, and Jean Luc Daubard, with Bernard.

The sons of Didier Daubard, Mallory and Aurélien.

The son of Christine Daubard and Jean-Yves Pascale.

The third son of Noel is Daniel Daubard, a retired baker, with his wife, Christine, and their son.

Bernard and his brother, Michel Daubard.

Bernard with Michel's son Gregory Daubard.

Bernard with Michel's son Anthony Daubard and Anthony's children, Margot and Thais.

Bernard with Natasha Daubard, wife of Anthony and mother of Margot and Thais.

Bernard with Marie Therese Martin Burnichon (her mother was Marie Daubard Martin, sister of Bernard's grandfather, Claude Daubard) with her husband, Georges Burnichon, and their children, Philippe and Francoise Burnichon.

Marie Laure, Frederique, and Patrick, children of Bernard's sister Eliane, who was unable to attend the party.

One of the younger cousins in attendance was Eileen, the daughter of Bernard's nephew, Frédéric Daubard, and wife Audrey. Eileen is held by her grandmother Martine, another of Bernard's sisters.

From left: Audrey Daubard, Bernard, Bernard's sister Martine, Ethan (Eileen's older brother), and Audrey's husband, Frédérick.

Christian Daubard is Bernard's first cousin. Christian is the son of Robert Daubard, who was the brother of Maurice and Noel. Christian is the mayor of Chassigny-sous-Dun, a charming village in the Sâone et Loire region.

Bernard with Christian's brother, Guy.

Bernard with Marie Christine Daubard, the wife of Christian, and Odile Daubard, the wife of Guy.

Bernard with Marina, daughter of Christian and Marie Christine Daubard, her brother Julien, and Julien's girlfriend, Emmanuelle.

Some of Bernard's employees and spouses attended the party.

Dinner was served in four courses and was delicious. It comprised a fresh greens with home made foie gras, an entrée of chicken with morel mushrooms, a local white cheese, and three chocolate gateaux (cakes). The cheese was something like Neufchatel, but a little lighter. Most people ate it plain, with spoon. Bernard revived a childhood habit of dousing it liberally with salt and pepper. Of dessert, more later! All accompanied by wine, of course.

We were entertained by skits presented by family members between courses. The emcee was Beatrice (nicknamed Canou), one of Bernard's five sisters, imitating a comedienne popular on French television. On the night after the party, Lloyd and I happened to see the comedienne on TV. Beatrice's rendition was spot on, from the hairdo to the dress to the voice, posture, and unbridled exhuberance.

Bob Sguich, one of Bernard's friends, is in the foreground.

The main skit was based on Laurel and Hardy, with Fabrienne and Beatrice's husband, Philippe, in the title roles. They chose this skit in part to honor the presence of the American cousins. I'm not sure what the skit was about, but the audience was in stitches throughout. It was obvious that the actors had a good time, too.

One of the characters was a waiter, played by Fabien, one of Beatrice's sons.

The applause girl was Samartine, the girlfriend of one of Beatrice's sons.

A second skit involved a bureaucrat and a civilian. Bernard said it was a traditional piece mocking the complications of French bureaucracy. After our runarounds with the police and a brush with the beaurocratic mentality of rental car agents, we could appreciate the spirit of the skit if not the words. The actors were Xavier and Yohann, two of Beatrice's sons.

Delightful performances with spirited actors!

Bernard congratulates the cast while Michel delivers one of his droll looks.

With the speeches, presentations, skits, and the delicious dinner, the evening stretched into night. Dessert was served after midnight. There were three chocolate cakes --- one each for Bernard and Elsa's birthdays, and one welcoming Lloyd and me. The sparklers were a very festive touch. (Bernard's son, Romain, was not at the party. He is an architecture student and was studying in Venice that weekend. We look forward to meeting him in New Orleans next summer.)

At about one a.m., Lloyd and I thanked the assembled company and excused ourselves. By eight the next morning, Bernard and company were bright-eyed and ready for another round of meeting cousins, even though the dancing had continued until about 4:30 a.m.!