A descendant of one of the pioneering boarding house families, Wanda Landrey searched the Big Thicket to find survivors of the boarding house era and to collect their stories and recipes. Wanda Landrey causes me to remember a special day, long ago, when I ate sweet potato pie at the Bragg Hotel in the Big Thicket.
Many photos add to the narrative. . . .
Ducks and geese were counted in the millions. . . . The woods were filled with delicacies like nuts and wild fruit. Peacock Wanda A. Landrey is a historian, writer and researcher who lectures on the culture of the Big Thicket region of Texas. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from Lamar University, and lives in Beaumont, Texas.