A Myth Debunked - The Story of a Fake Picture

       This picture has been found in several places on the web that state it is a scene from the 1918 Tarzan movie shot in Morgan City, Louisiana.  There are two main reasons why this is not so.  First there are no Bald Cypress trees and no Spanish Moss in the trees present.  Parts of the movie were shot on the west end of Lake Palourde, an area that is now known as Lake End Park.  That area was full of Cypress trees filled with Spanish Moss at the time and well into the 1950s.  This particular still evidently came from a travelogue film made in Africa inserted into the move.  A practice that was common in both films and television series. 

Pelican Motel and Restaurant - Eunice, Louisiana

In the years following World War II the returning servicemen enjoyed a new prosperity with excellent job opportunities coupled with a higher standard of living in the newly constructed city and town subdivisions called suburbs.  Industries quickly converted to the production of civilian goods and services.  Automobiles became plentiful and more affordable to the populace who as a result became more mobile traveling further distances for leisure and vacations. 

To meet the needs of these travelers, tourist courts, restaurants, service stations and motels sprung up along many major highways that had been greatly improved during the late 1930’s with government paving projects as part of the Better Roads program and the work of the WPA. 

Along Highway 190 on what would have been at that time the outskirts of Eunice, Louisiana one such place was the Pelican Motel and Restaurant.  It offered 46 air conditioned rooms with a tub/shower, television and phone to the weary traveler and a spacious adjoining restaurant.  And, like other such establishments offered picture postcards of the business and covered matchbooks for the smoking customers.  This postcard is just one of those issued and the matchbooks are a sampling of those provided. 

Today, all that remains is the Restaurant.  In the intervening years it has changed hands, operating as a Mexican restaurant and recently reverting to it's old name with a menu of Cajun food items.