LaFargue ran the Calcasieu-Cameron Parish Fair until 1977. He served as president of the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals for two years and was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame. He has worked closely with the agriculture commissioner and the commissioner of tourism to promote Louisiana’s fairs and festivals. “Louisiana has more fairs and festivals than any other state,” LaFargue boasted. The best festival, in his opinion? The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The best fair, currently? The Franklinton Fair, with its dairy barn, cracklin’ cooking demonstration, sugar cane syrup making and a large number of educational exhibits for adults and children.

After he had finished the “fast track” at Tulane Law School, LaFargue was in the U.S. Army JAG Corps around the time of the Korean War and then spent 20 years as a private practice lawyer in his hometown of Sulphur, Louisiana. LaFargue also served as chief of litigation for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, for 10 years and was Louisiana assistant attorney general for six years. LaFargue, now a retired lawyer living in Lafayette, Louisiana, has collected memorabilia, including ticket stubs from Green Wave football games he has attended over the years and a piece of AstroTurf from the old Tulane Stadium.

His heart still bleeds green. LaFargue and three cheerleaders from the 1954 squad (Lavinia Brock Bircher (NC ’58), Connie Stewart Green (NC ’57), and Julia Cherry Sipple (NC ’55), were recognized on the field during the Memphis vs. Green Wave football game on Nov. 15, 2014 in Yulman Stadium.
— Fran Simon