Dorothy St. Amant Dufresne considers the Krewe of Lul parade a tradition for her hometown, and more so as an honor for herself serving as its grand marshal.
It’s Dufresne’s first time as Mardi Gras royalty, but it’s also a family tradition with her mother having served as grand marshal.
For Dufresne, the honor comes on the parade’s 40th anniversary and it’s special.
“I was born and raised in Luling … lived here all my life,” she said. “I love the people of St. Charles Parish and I look forward to seeing everyone on the parade route. It’s been a tradition in our family to always attend. We’ve ridden a lot of years in the past on floats and brought up our children riding in the Luling parade.”
Dufrense is the wife of the late Judge Edward A Dufresne Jr. They have four daughters and 10 grandchildren. She’s expecting their first great-grandchild this month, which they’re hoping will come before this year’s parade.
“Krewe of Lul parade has always been a part of our family,” she said. “Eddie and I along with our children and relatives have had floats we built and rode in the parades, which we thoroughly enjoyed doing.”
Dufresne recalled the “Where’s the Beef?” float where they wore hamburgers on their heads with a mannequin representing the woman who said the infamous line for Wendy’s.
“We were farmers one year with crawfish on our hats,” she mused. “We were hobos one years, which was fun, and we had red noses with painted faces and patched coats. One year, we had a live goat on our float with bales of hay.”
Now at age 75, Dufresne said she has many wonderful memories of raising their children, who are in their 50s now, while having years of fun.
Dufresne said they also supported the parade organization with the balls held at the Esperanza Banquet Room, another Krewe of Lul event that she said was fun to attend.
“The ball was quite special since we hadn’t had one in a long time,” she said. “I just really enjoyed it.”
As to her grand marshal duties, Dufresne said she spoke with last year’s grand marshals Martha and Betty Champagne, sisters, who told it was hard to explain. But they added that it was just a beautiful experience.
“I am really excited to be able to participate as the grand marshal,” she said. “Laissez les bon temps rouler.”
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