By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

VACHERIE – The host and crew of the history program “American Ride” made a special stop in St. James Parish on Thursday to make use of the scenery for an upcoming fall season episode.

The weekly, half-hour program features host Stan Ellsworth, a 6-foot-2-inch, 300 pound, Harley Davidson-riding former football player, coach and high school history teacher. Ellsworth uses his unique character and gruff baritone to bring the past alive as he tours the country on his bike, visiting the historical sites that many

do not have the opportunity to see. The show is now in its fifth season.

The show’s crew wandered its way to Blackberry Farms in Vacherie after a misunderstanding at Evergreen Plantation, the plantation where a portion of Quentin Tarantino’s blockbuster “Django Unchained” was filmed, forced a relocation. Amongst the live oak trees and Spanish moss, they filmed footage of Ellsworth narrating the Spanish-American War-themed episode. The crew also battled a small love bug swarm to get footage of Ellsworth against the back drop of the farm’s sugar cane fields.

Members of the American Ride crew said they were fortunate to work with Blackberry Farm on such short notice. Employees of the farm were equally glad to work with the crew.

Samuel Gravois, 19, an employee at the farm, jokingly said that the filming was great because he was allowed to get out of work. Gravois said co-worker Dickie chose the “cleanest person he could find” to prevent the farm’s dog, Buddy, from biting anyone.

Ellsworth said he loves American history and what the nation stands for. Ellsworth feels his audience is so responsive to the show because he is better able to relate the message because of his background in education. According to the host, he also has one other advantage over other history shows.

“To me, it’s not just telling the kids ‘In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.’ What is the ‘so what’ of that? What happened because Columbus discovered this new world? We try to deal with more of the ‘so whats’ than anything else. How does this make a difference even today?” said Ellsworth.

“To hear the words of the people that watch the show, we’re making a difference. That people feel what we’re saying, it touches their heart. People are touched by hearing our stories, remembering our heritage — that makes me feel good,” he said.

“Normally when you turn on the TV and you turn on a history show, you’re gonna see an elderly gentleman in sweater vest and bow tie, and he’s going to talk to you in very academic terms about what happened. As you witnessed today, our host is wrapped in denim, leather, chrome and steel … I think we have a little more attitude in our show than most history shows.”

Episode 506 of “American Ride” is expected to debut in November on BYUtv. For more information on schedules and air dates, visit www.byutv.org.