My Texas Kitchen

Bunkie saves the day

Part 2

Hope

Next week, I was on the road to Bunkie!

Fabrics, patterns, hand-smocked collars, and buttons filled the back of my parent’s suburban. Directions in hand, I drove from Shreveport to Bunkie, 162 miles south with FM radio playing popular songs of the 80s. I stopped for lunch at Lea’s Lunch Room in Lecompte, Louisiana.

A legendary Louisiana café (established in 1928) with mile high lemon meringue pie. Best in the world and good for the soul. I felt revitalized!

Just a bit to go, I arrived in Bunkie. I spotted Sonic. Took a right turn. As Tom promised, “Bon Cherie was located behind Sonic.”

A new deal

Tom gave a factory tour . . . sewing machines buzzing, a large cutting table stretched from the front to the back on one side of the building. Stacks of various fabrics were cut into pattern pieces for the ladies to sew.

Following a brief visit, Tom gave a $10.00 price to cut and sew each dress, a promise to deliver them by my deadline, we were ready for business. The dresses would be shipped on time. Phew!

Bunkie and Bon Cherie, my home away from home for several years sure were good to me. As I learned the craft of manufacturing dresses from Tom Vincent, Susan Apple was off to a great start!

#ᴛʙᴛ

Bunkie saves the day

Part 1

When Salty’s in Ft. Worth closed, I found Bon Cherie, an apparel factory in Bunkie, Louisiana. Bunkie became my new home away from home as I learned the craft of manufacturing dresses.

A couple of years ago I visited Sr. Margaret Rose in Lafayette. On the road back to Dallas miles of rice fields stretched on each side of the highway.

Bunkie signs along the highway called to me.

Should I take a little extra time to go down memory lane? Yes! I decided to take a detour and take this photo.

Deadlines

1984, Susan Apple dress orders in hand, cotton twill fabrics paid and shipped, I had less than ten weeks to deliver the dresses to the stores. Otherwise, they would cancel their orders. I would be left in debt with hundreds of yards of fabric. Worst of all, let my customers down. I quickly learned that deadlines were the biggest challenge in the fashion industry.

Panick

This was a time before Google. We navigated businesses by word of mouth.

I called my Tandler Textiles’ sales representative. Their beautiful cotton twills, imported from Japan were our primary dress fabrics. (Sadly, they went out of business too).

I asked, “Do you know of a factory to make my dresses?”

He responded, “There is a fellow, Tom Vincent. Bon Cherie is his factory. They are down in Bunkie, Louisiana. They made uniforms for the World’s Fair in New Orleans a couple of years ago. (1984). Maybe he can help.”

Part 2 is on my next post because my essay had too many words for Instagram. 🙂

James, Blessings on your baptism day!
JT, congratulations on becoming at godfather!
🩵🙏🩵