And a dog named Ole Miss
The Bardwells of Baton Rouge are named after prestigious universities. Big Daddy had big dreams for them.
“Big Daddy” Stanford Bardwell married a woman named Loyola, though the couple had settled on how to name their children before the wedding.
While they were dating in New Orleans, they spotted a flyer for a debate on the Loyola campus, and it struck them that their kids could be named after universities, too. Big Daddy had a playful streak and couldn’t resist.
The kids were Stanford Jr., twins Duke and T'Lane, Harvard, Princeton, Auburn and Cornell. The family dog was Ole Miss.
Older Baton Rougeans know this story the way they know about the Piccadilly on Third Street. It came around again this month, because Duke Bardwell has died.
Duke was the one who went far from home, at least in miles. He got his start playing with the Greek Fountains at LSU and working the college rock music circuit, and he kept going until he became one of the country's most respected bass players, according to Louisiana Voice. He played 181 shows with Elvis Presley. He wrote and sang for José Feliciano and performed alongside James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Browne and Jerry Jeff Walker.
Back home, his siblings made their own names. Princeton became a developer and community activist, a familiar face to anyone who has spent time in Baton Rouge real estate. Stanford was the U.S. Attorney who indicted Billy Cannon on counterfeiting charges, and drug runner Barry Seal as well.
In the summers, the whole bunch hit the road. Big Daddy bought a school bus and turned it into an RV, then had "Collegiate Caravan" painted on the side, with "Baton Rouge" underneath so everyone along the highway would know where all those university-named kids were coming from.
And the family wasn't finished, at least not on paper. Had there been one more child, a girl would have been named Florida. A boy would have been Ellis Hugh, named for his father's alma mater.