James Akers *
Museum curator, tour guide, and player in the role of Samuel de Champlain.
Inducted on July 28, 2022
Born on December 8, 1941, and raised in St. Martinville, his parents were Clyde and Estelle Oubre Akers, with James the youngest of their four offspring, Donald (Shirley d’Albor), Clyde, Jr. (Patsy Delaune), and Audrey (Ivan John “P.G. Viator).
In 1971, James and newly-installed Pastor for St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, Rev. Kenneth Morvant, found common ground in their interest in the history of St. Martinville and together created Le Musee Du Petit Paris de l’Amerique upstairs at the Parish Hall, itself an over one-hundred-year-old building. At the time, James also worked as a tour guide in what was then the Gabriel House [now Maison Olivier] at Longfellow-Evangeline State Park and he saw the Petit Paris Museum in the Parish Hall as a counterpart to the Acadian Museum in the State Park offering different aspects of St. Martinville’s history to visitors. Petit Paris Museum opened on November 11, 1971, with James as curator and operated until 1980.
Although the Acadian Memorial opened in 1996, it was in 2006 that James found his special niche representing Samuel de Champlain at the first L’Ordre du Bon Temps event – that same year saw the beginning of the Acadian Memorial Festival at which time James became the official Keeper of the Family Name Flags.
* Asterisk after a person’s name indicates that the person is deceased.