By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

GARYVILLE – San Francisco Plantation offered fourth grade students in St. John the Baptist Parish an interesting look at history during its 10th annual Step Back in Time event Wednesday.
The program, which is funded by Marathon Petroleum Corporation, is free for all students and captivates the children who participate. Students were treated to an in-depth, in-person look at plantation life as the groups toured the plantation grounds and house and watched live demonstrations of trade skills that were vital to life during the time period, such as net making and blacksmithing. The tour guides also threw in bits of interesting information about antebellum hygiene, food storage before the advent of refrigerators and crop growing.
Phil Love said that he has been a blacksmith since 2004.
Love said it is important for the younger generations to learn about the art because it was vital to life in the past.
“Blacksmithing was very important back then because he made the items that were needed out of steel. If you needed a hatchet or an axe or items for the kitchen, those were the items the blacksmith would make. He was also important on the plantation because he kept everything going — if the equipment broke he would repair it or make parts for it,” said Love.
Kim Fontenot, general manager of San Francisco Plantation, said the organizers of the program intended for the field trip to tie in with the fourth-grade students’ curriculum on plantation life. San Francisco Plantation has been around for more than 150 years.
“This way they see all of plantation life, from the big house to the slave cabins. They sit and listen and ask a lot of questions, so I know that they enjoy it and love being here. Each person has something to offer to the kids about the past,” said Fontenot.
James Demattel, 10, a LaPlace Elementary fourth-grader, was enthusiastic about the field trip.
“The scenery is really great, and I like learning about history. I think this is the perfect field trip. I learned about the people who once lived here, and I learned about their lifestyle. I will take the knowledge of how they used to live and be thankful for what I have,” he said.