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Mrs. Melvin (Spain) Freeman, 78, a native of Oaklawn and a resident of Franklin, died Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 12:14 p.m. at Franklin Foundation Hospital.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Otis Mortuary Chapel, with burial rites read at 11 a.m. at the chapel. Interment will follow at the Franklin Cemetery.
She is survived by her brothers Eugene “Johnny” Freeman and his wife Gertrude of Franklin, and Eddie Freeman and his wife Diane of New Iberia; sisters Victoria Vining, Leotha Butler, Carrie Jean Madison, Elder Catherine Williams and Minister Ruby Griffin all of Franklin; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, two sons, five brothers and four sisters.
Rev. James F. Otis is officiating.
The Otis Mortuary of Franklin is in charge.

July 27, 1972 – March 12, 2018
Brent Carl Spangler, age 45 years, was born on July 27, 1972 and died on March 12, 2018. He was the son of Catherine Viator Spangler Alleman and the late Carl John Spangler. He is survived by his daughter, Zoe Elizabeth Hamlin, his mother, Catherine Spangler Alleman and step-father, Herman Alleman. He is also survived by his sisters, Laura Spangler Faucheux and her husband Derrick and Rebecca Rene’ Spangler Randall and her husband Eric. He is also survived by his step-sisters, Michelle Quibodeaux and husband Brice, Carolyn Ridge and husband Eddie, Suzanna Mire and husband John, and Melissa Louviere and husband Michael. He also leaves behind to cherish his memory, his god-mother Carolyn Judice and her husband Bobby, his god-father Wilson B. Viator, Jr. and his wife Sandi, and his uncle Reid Spangler and his wife Jackie. He was blessed to have several nephews and nieces, Laine Faucheux, Konner and Kyle Randall, Sydney and Eryn Randall, Alexia and Mason Louviere, Kelsey and Fisher Mire, and Skipper Ridge.
Waiting to meet him in heaven are his father, Carl John Spangler, his maternal grandparents, Wilson and Frances Viator and his paternal grandparents, Warren and Shirley Spangler. He was also preceded in death by his baby cousin, Derek Spangler.
Upon graduation from Hanson Memorial High School, Brent attended Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. During his freshman year at Texas A&M, he was a member of the award-winning Fish Drill Team. While at Texas A&M, he was also selected to be a member of the Ross Volunteers, the official escorts for the governor of Texas. Brent graduated from Texas A&M in 1995 with a degree in bio-medical science, he then attended the University of Louisiana Lafayette where he received a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was previously employed as an engineer at Citgo in Lake Charles and Valero in Beaumont, Texas. He was most recently employed by Shell at the Norco Refinery.
Brent’s first love was his little girl, Zoe. He was a wonderful father and loved her dearly. He spent lots of time teaching her how to hunt and fish. He was a good father, son, cousin and uncle.
Donations can be made in his name to Hanson Memorial High School 903 Anderson St. Franklin, La. 70538 or the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at Ibert’s Mortuary in Franklin on Thursday, March 15, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. and will resume at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Centerville on Friday, March 16, at 9 a.m., with a Memorial Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Father William Ruskoski will be the Celebrant. Brent will be laid to rest with his father in the St. Joseph Cemetery at a later time.
Family and friends may view the obituary and express their condolences online by visiting www.iberts.com.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1007 Main Street, Franklin, La. 70538, (337) 828-5426.

Brittany’s Project’s 7th Annual Fundraiser will take place Saturday at La. 323 Oaklawn Bridge Approach Road, Franklin, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The schedule of events opens with Maimie Winters and Scott Metrejean at 9:30 a.m.
—Rat rod rides for kids from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
—Kid Zone with horse rides, petting zoo and barrel train from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
—Rat rod races from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
—Easter egg hunt with kids up to 8 years old from 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m.
—Band: Tetdur will play from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
—Magic show by MLR Entertainment at 12:15 p.m.
—Face painting & balloons with Frank & Tammy from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
—Band: Ma Deuce will play from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
—Truck pull at 4:30 p.m.
—Burnouts from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission at the gates will be $5 per family vehicle, plus $1 per spectator for waiver bracelets and a $5 fee per ice chest.
All proceeds go toward the in progress construction of the activity center and toward ongoing activities for individuals with disabilities.
Event organizers ask that no glass containers be brought into the event and that if pets must be brought to the event, they be kenneled or leashed.
A silent auction will take place at the registration area and St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department food tent will serve jambalaya, fried fish by Keith Clements and family, hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos and pulled pork, all prepared by volunteers of the Lemoine family.
Private camping for the event is available on request with most electrical hookups on reserve for past event attendees. Past attendees are asked to please reserve their spots for availability. Call Sandra at 337-828-2284.
A cruise downtown will preempt Saturday’s activities, and will take place Friday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. The cruise begins at the Oaklawn Bridge Approach Road event grounds and will conclude back at the grounds, after visiting downtown. O’Reilly Auto Parts invites attendees to stop in for free giveaways.
For those who wish to participate and compete in scheduled events, as opposed to spectating, the categories are: rat rod races, burnouts, tractor display, air boat display, 3 wheeler display and mini bikes. Registration opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 10:30 a.m.
There will also be a truck tug-of-war competition, the entry fee for which is $25.
Gate fee for car show participants is $30.
Awards for competition winners will be presented from approximately 2:30 to 3 p.m.

By CASEY COLLIER
Author and Historian Shane K. Bernard spoke with Franklin Rotary Tuesday concerning the subject of his latest book, Teche: A History of Louisiana’s Most Famous Bayou.
Bernard holds a Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University, as well as degrees in history and English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
His address included a brief history of the Bayou Teche from a cultural anthropological viewpoint, and how Franklin played into such a history, as well as touched on the future of the Teche, if not kept in proper stewardship.
Bernard said he wrote his book about the Teche based on three points that make it historically important to Louisiana.
“One is that it was a primitive superhighway leading into Central and South-Central Louisiana,” Bernard said, which aside from being invaded three times, was also “an incubator for settlers,” insofar as a first generation of settlers would settle on the bayou, with subsequent generations “spreading out from there.”
The third anchor-point for Bernard’s research he said was, “It (the Teche) was a center of commerce and wealth, especially during the period from 1830 to the Civil War.”
In discussing the “strange and interesting things” about the Teche which he observed through his research, the first thing Bernard mentioned was the history of the name of the bayou: Teche.
He said he could not find concrete evidence supporting why the bayou was named Teche. But, he traced its first reference back to the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, who referred to it as “Snake Bayou,” based on an oral tradition in which tribal warriors fought a giant serpent, and slew it; the bayou being created by the serpent’s death throws.
However, Bernard stated that the Chitimacha word for Bayou Teche sounds nothing like “Teche,” nor could he find any regional tribe with a word that did sound like “Teche.”
He said, “Who knows? I’m completely agnostic on the origin of the name Teche. I don’t know where it came from and we may never know.”
Yet, he went on to say the first record of the name appeared in a document dated July 16, 1765.
According to Bernard, a settler living near New Iberia wrote a letter to the French caretakers of the region. In the letter, the settler expressed displeasure at having had squatters, who called themselves Acadians, settle on land on which he was also, in effect, a squatter, but which was where he had made his home, nonetheless. He requested a letter from the caretakers that would formally recognize him as the owner of the land, thereby granting him authority to evict the Acadians.
Bernard said the response from the French contained the word "Teche" for the first time, in description of the bayou, though they spelled it: Teiche.
In reference to the course of the bayou and the commerce which it conveyed between 1830 and 1940, Bernard pointed to “steamboats up to 150 ft. long, to ply up and down the Teche.”
He said some of the steamboats were longer than the Teche is wide, for much of its length.
“So, these steamboats couldn’t just turn around anywhere,” he said. “They had to wait until they got to an artificial turning basin at towns like Franklin, St. Martinville and New Iberia.”
He also said the locals of these towns called the basins, “demi-lunes,” or “half-moons” accounting for the shape the basins usually took.
In discussing the cultural heritage of Franklin as it pertains to the Teche and European settlement, Bernard said, “If you drive your boat along the Teche, from its origin in Port Barre, to Patterson, where it ends, you’ll notice that the culture becomes less French and Spanish, and more English and Scotch-Irish. Even the architecture changes a little bit.”
According to Bernard, that cultural differentiation could be estimated to take place in the area just south of Jeanerette.
This was also an area of extensive agricultural potential, which gave rise to workforce necessity, which was met with slavery.
Bernard commented that during the Civil War, Union troops found the Franklin area along the Teche to be of particular significance due to the trade value of the commerce along the bayou, hence their three invasions of the area from 1863- 1864.
He told a story of going to church with his wife last year in Franklin, and finding a Civil War projectile wedged in plain sight, between the church walkway and the lawn, which turned out to be traceable to the Union utilizing case shot through Franklin during a pursuit of General Taylor’s rear guard.
As the hour rounded to an end, Bernard closed with a cautionary passage from his book, “It’s time today to decide how much of the Teche should be spared from the advance of modern sprawl; else like the proud, ornate steamboats that once commanded the bayou, the duty of the Teche might exist only in memory.”