Ernie Savoie, director of the Center for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building paddles a cutout cypress pirogue he helped restore. The center is in a fundraising effort to build a new facility in Thibodaux after its building in Lockport was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. (Photo by Jeff Zeringue) Louisiana is home to lots of craftsmen whose goal most often is to create something attractive. The art of boat building is one craft that isn’t just for its beauty but for its function as

If there is an icon of Louisiana, it is the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum). It is as Louisiana as pirogues, crawfish or a fais do do...