History of Cypress Lake Branches In Two Different Directions
History of Cypress Lake Branches In Two Different Directions
LOUISIANA La. - Cypress Lake has reinvented itself many times over the University of Louisiana’s 104-year history but has kept its identity, remaining the nucleus of student activities ranging from graduations prior to World War II to today’s canoe races.
The two-acre swamp is a vibrant ecosystem teeming with turtles, fish, birds and 5-foot long alligators. The wildlife mingles with the lake’s Spanish moss-draped cypress trees, purple and yellow irises and other indigenous plants.
Although the cypress trees are hundreds of years old, the swamp itself was created during the 1940s. Before the university was founded, the area was home to a different type of wildlife.
“Geographically, it was originally a buffalo wallow, going back to ancient times,” said Bruce Turner, a history professor and head of the special collections at Dupr Library.
Once the university opened its doors in 1900, the area, called Cypress Grove, served as a pigpen for the university farm in the 1910s and as an outdoor theater for Shakespearean productions, marching band practice and graduation during the ’20s and ’30s.
Two different opinions of how the grove became a lake are prevalent, but both could be correct. Some said the university created the lake as a precautionary measure taken during World War II; others said it was just to save the trees, which badly needed water.
Two women who devoted their lives to the university, Maria Mario Mamalakis and Vesta Bourgeois, participated in the oral history project and recorded in the mid-’80s their memories of Cypress Lake.
“People didn’t realize that we were so near the gulf and had a lot of German submarines in the gulf area,” said Mamalakis, explaining why the university decided to create the lake. “It was a worry that we could even be bombed. It was Cypress Grove for many years, but they were afraid that we might need extra water in case of fire if a bomb had been dropped on campus.” Bourgeois concurred, adding that female students filled the swamp and conducted fire drills.
“They realized that if the Germans came to the gulf south of Abbeville, they would bomb not us, but the vulnerable place, Baton Rouge,” Bourgeois explained. “If they had to come back with bombs (in their airplanes), they would not go back to the ship, but would drop them at some vulnerable place, and Southwestern would have been one.
“So they began preparing for this type thing, and they saw that there was no water. So they put water (in the grove), and we began teaching girls at the gym bucket brigades. So we had ladders, and an obstacle course for the girls to run, realizing that all of our men went into the service, and the others were in the National Guard or volunteers, so that the women would have to do these sorts of things. That’s how Cypress Grove was filled. Not many people knew that.”
Although the grove was a popular gathering place and was even used as a “lovers’ lane,” Turner said students accepted the swamp because it was part of the war effort.
“I’m sure if they made the case that it was being done for war preparedness, then for patriotic reasons, people would accept that,” Turner said. “It was right in the middle of World War II, and everyone was concerned. Everybody was willing to make sacrifices for the war.”
The other theory of why the swamp was created was that the trees were dying and needed water. Turner said this is likely because the university president had a background in agriculture.
“The person who was president (of the university) then actually came out of the college of agriculture, Joel Fletcher, so he was probably very attuned to the forestry aspect of it, because that was his academic background,” Turner explained.
Another unknown part of the lake’s history is when the wildlife arrived. The swamp had a pair of swans, an unnamed male and his mate, Claudia, in the early ‘70s. However, it is unknown when the alligators arrived.
“The alligators certainly had to be there by the ’70s, or the swans wouldn’t have been eaten,” Turner concluded. “I’ve heard various stories, like people in town would find alligators close to their house, and they’d come over and dump them in the lake. I would assume it would’ve happened fairly soon, because if they consciously wanted to create a swamp situation, that’s how to do it.”
After its creation, Cypress Lake has remained a student gathering place. Although students rarely gather in the swamp, it has happened. In 1962, Life magazine photographed students ice skating on the lake when it froze over. Lagniappe Day activities sometimes include canoeing and other water activities.
Turner said the most exciting thing to happen lately in the swamp was a student’s close encounter with an alligator.
“The most interesting story recently that I’ve heard coming out of the swamp is every once in a while, they hire students to go in there and clean it up during the summer,” Turner said. “One of them got whipped by the tail of an alligator. I imagine that was a very interesting workman’s compensation case.”
Through its long and colorful history, Cypress Lake has mellowed to become a place for students to draw, to read and to reflect on life.
“It’s one of the prettiest sites on campus, without a doubt,” said Kathleen Thames, author of “100 Years,” a book celebrating the university’s centennial in 2000. “Every time I pass there, I think it looks a little bit different than the day before. I think people are drawn to it because it’s a place to sort of relax and maybe step back.”
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Jennifer Reinert - News Editor
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