{"product_id":"from-sweetening-the-table-to-sweetening-the-deal","title":"From Sweetening the Table to Sweetening the Deal","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Sweetening the Table to Sweetening the Deal: A History of the Billeaud Companies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eBy Lana Henry\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of Billeaud Companies spans two continents, three centuries, and six generations of family leadership. It begins in La Rochelle, France, where a three-and-a-half-year-old boy, Martial Francois Billaud, and his family boarded a ship bound for the United States in the winter of 1839. Billaud grew up to marry Lucile St. Julien, a descendant of Joseph “Beausoleil” Broussard—progenitor of the Cajun people—sire five children, and establish the state’s largest sugar mill in Broussard, Louisiana. Their descendants continue to direct Billeaud Companies today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe journey of both the Billaud\/Billeaud family and the businesses they founded includes many struggles: a risky trans-Atlantic crossing, adapting to a foreign land, wars, economic depressions, disease, floods, droughts, freezes, hurricanes, death, internal conflict, debt, and transformation. In its relentless theme of struggle periodically rewarded with great success, the Billeaud story is a classic rags-to-riches tale and one of endurance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout this journey, the Billeaud enterprises have always derived their wealth from the land, from the contributions of those who labor upon it, and from recognizing and developing new opportunities that arise from the ever-evolving landscape.\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Adobe Garamond Pro',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLana Henry \u003c\/strong\u003eis a writer and editor specializing in local family and business history, memoir, and oral history. She earned her master’s (1999) and doctorate (2004) in English with a concentration in folklore from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her previous projects include writing \u003cem\u003ePassing a Century in the Atchafalaya Basin: The St. Martin Land Company, 1905–2005\u003c\/em\u003e, and managing and editing Dwight Andrus Jr.’s memoirs, \u003cem\u003eGoing My Way\u003c\/em\u003e, published by UL Press. Dr. Henry has extensive experience editing scientific, academic, business, journalistic, general nonfiction, memoir, and other materials. She has taught English and English as a Second Language at the adult, university, high school, and middle school levels in Texas, Louisiana, and the Czech Republic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e© 2026 \u003c\/span\u003eUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette Press (Louisiana Legacies Series)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e978-1-959569-35-0 |\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e Hardcover \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e| \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e10\" x 10\" | 452 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"UL Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42288109813840,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0069\/8132\/0777\/files\/BilleaudFrontCoverforweb.jpg?v=1776780665","url":"https:\/\/ulpress.org\/products\/from-sweetening-the-table-to-sweetening-the-deal","provider":"UL Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}