Louisiana Folklore Society to show “The Mervine Kahn Legacy” at annual meeting
3-10-14
The Rayne Historical District Association is proud to announce that its documentary film project, “The Mervine Kahn Legacy”, will be shown at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Folklore Society on March 22. The meeting will take place at Dillard University in New Orleans.
“The Mervine Kahn Legacy” tells the story of how Mervine Kahn, a French speaking German Jew, settled in Rayne, Louisiana in 1884 and established his namesake general store which grew into a local institution and landmark. The store was known statewide for quality merchandise for over 100 years and the Kahn family played an important part in local society, industry, agriculture, and even had an impact on the development of Cajun music in the first part of the twentieth century.
The 45 minute film which was produced by Wild Productions of Crowley, Louisiana, is being submitted to film festivals across the country. Future showings will be announced as information becomes available.
“The Mervine Kahn Legacy” began as an oral history project with interviews of former Mervine Kahn Company employees with the help of students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Over 30 hours of interviews have been collected so far as well as photos and artifacts from the store. The Rayne Historical District Association plans to preserve all of this material and make it available to the public.