Pioneer America Society - Eastern Historical Geography
Joint Conference 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
October 16-18, 2008

 Conference Hotel Information:
Baton Rouge Hilton Capitol Center
201 Lafayette Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
225-3-HILTON - 877-862-9800
www.hiltoncapitolcenter.com

Group Rate for the PAS(APAL)/EHGA is $129 (single or double)
Make reservations at either the local or 877 number and request the Pioneer America Society group rate (whether PAS or EHGA attendee) – you must register by September 15 to secure the group rate.

Conference Details:

Standing on the spot where travelers heading upriver first encountered high ground, the Baton Rouge Hilton Capitol Center will serve as the location of the joint meeting of the Pioneer America Society and the Eastern Historical Geography Association, October 16-18, 2008.

The Hilton Capitol Center was the grand railroad hotel during the early twentieth century and is noted as one of former Governor Huey Long’ s favorite haunts. After serving for many years as the place for politicians to be seen and for others to be seen with politicians, it closed in 1981. After standing idle for 25 years, it reopened in 2006 and is the only historic hotel in town. With 290 rooms and a splendid top-floor ball room that overlooks the Mississippi River it can easily accommodate the PAS/EHGA gathering.

The Department of Geography and Anthropology is pleased to host the 40th Pioneer America Conference and the first EHGA since 2005. Fred Kniffen, a long time supporter of the PAS and a mentor to many historical geographers, created a climate at LSU and in south Louisiana favorable to the pursuits of both organizations and the climate remains supportive.

Baton Rouge straddles important divides – it is on the edge of the boundary between Acadian and Upland South Louisiana, on the margins of Catholic and Protestant Louisiana, it is on the edge of the Pleistocene terrace and the Mississippi River floodplain, the city itself bears a French name but has a Anglo, African, and Spanish heritage. Its economy is driven by 20th century petro-chemical industries, with visions of 21st century technologies.

The conference theme will be Landscapes at Risk. Historic landscapes in the lower Mississippi River delta face a host of hazards. As the delta slowly sinks into the Gulf of Mexico, tropical storms pose an increasing risk. Formosa termites have invaded the region and are voracious pests to wooden structures. Urbanization and suburban sprawl threaten other historic structures. We have invited scholars who were part of the FEMA cultural resources - historic preservation efforts after Hurricane Katrina to speak, and we invite others who have studied the various threats to historic properties from other regions to join this discussion.

Malcolm Comeaux, Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University and an authority on Acadiana will be the Keynote Speaker. He will offer his observations on the changes to the landscapes of Louisiana’ s Cajun country since his landmark study in the late 1960s.

We welcome papers on all topics of interest to either the PAS or the EHGA. The two groups will meet concurrently and registration for the meeting will entitle registrants to attend sessions organized by either group.

Travelers can reach Baton Rouge (BTR) by several airlines: American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, or Northwest. Additional airlines serve the New Orleans airport (MSY). We strongly encourage you to fly into Baton Rouge, unless you plan to rent a car and spend time in New Orleans. There is irregular and an expensive commercial shuttle service from New Orleans to Baton Rouge (see www.flymsy.com for more info). It is about 80 miles from the New Orleans airport to the Hilton in Baton Rouge.

Interstate Highways 10 and 12 intersect in Baton Rouge, and travelers from the north can connect with these east-west arteries via I-55, I-57, or I-49. There is no direct train service, but Amtrak’ s City of New Orleans from Chicago stops about 40 miles to the east in Hammond, the Southern Crescent from New York terminates in New Orleans (there is Greyhound service from the train station to Baton Rouge). If you opt to arrive on a flatboat or keelboat, you can tie up at the municipal pier near the hotel – as long as the Delta Queen is not in town.

Thursday October 16 Craig Colten will lead a field trip along the River Road from Baton Rouge to the National Hansens Disease Hospital in Carville, across the legendary Sunshine Bridge to Donaldsonville for a visit to the African American Museum, back up river to Plaquemine and the gateway to Acadiana, followed by a traverse of sugar country.

Friday October 17 will be devoted to paper presentations, the keynote address, and the banquet at the Hilton in Baton Rouge. The schedule will be posted as soon as the paper sessions are finalized.

Saturday October 18 Jay Edwards will lead a field trip to New Orleans on Saturday

October 18 where you will be able to tour the Pitot House, the Treme neighborhood, see areas damaged by the hurricanes, and sample delicious local fare.  Neither field trip will encounter rugged terrain, but you might have to step through some puddles. Wear sturdy shoes that can get dirty. It can be sunny and warm, so those with fair skin might want to wear long sleeves, hats, and bring some sun screen. Sun glasses make you look cool and cause people to wonder if you are a movie star.

Baton Rouge usually enters a comfortable season by mid October – that means 90 degree days are rare. High temperatures average 79 degrees and the lows in the mid 50s.  October is normally a dry month, but fronts begin to pass through and some rain can occur– the monthly average is 3.81 inches.

Preliminary Conference Schedule:

Oct. 15    Board of Directors meeting, 5-7 pm

Opening Reception (downtown) 7-9 pm

Oct. 16    8:00-5:00 River Road Landscapes Field Trip

Conference organizers will assist with dinner arrangements

Oct. 17    Paper Sessions (three concurrent session - 2 PAS, 1 EHGA))

Paper Session 1 8:00-9:30 am; Session 2: 10:00-11:30 am

11:45-1;15 Luncheon (included in registration) - Business Meeting

Keynote Address 1:30-2:30 - Malcolm Comeaux, Arizona State U.

Paper Session 3: 2:30-4:00 pm; Paper Session 4: 4:30-6:00 pm

6:30-9:00 Cash Bar, Banquet, and PAS Awards

Oct. 18 8:00-6:00 New Orleans Field Trip

 Conference organizers will assist with dinner arrangements

 Cautions:

West Nile virus has largely run its course here, but you might check the following web page for details about its prevalence and precautions in fall 2008: http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/?ID= 282 

Hurricane season lasts until the end of November, so the meeting will take place within the season. If a tropical storm comes our way, Baton Rouge is on high ground and not subject to flooding and has never had to evacuate. Any storm that reaches Baton Rouge will have lost much of its punch, and it is unlikely it would still have hurricane strength winds. Hurricane information appears at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.  Cancellation of the 2005 meeting in Baton Rouge was due to the overwhelming demand for hotel space in Baton Rouge by New Orleans evacuees following Hurricane Katrina, not due to damage in Baton Rouge.