Story by Kristen P. Townsend
NATCHITOCHES – At a time when artists such as Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish are household names, a trio of ladies, reminiscent of The Andrews Sisters, are capturing the hearts of audiences worldwide, especially those with military ties. The Victory Belles are stationed in the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, and call BB’s Stage Door Canteen their home. On July 20, they will be making their way to an assignment in Natchitoches, as part of the entertainment lineup planned for the 44th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival.
The Victory Belles perform in rich three-part harmonies and serve as one of the Museum’s “living’ exhibits and are the official Ambassadors of the National WWII Museum. They lovingly refer to each other as “War Buddies,” and embody the ideas of sisterhood, hope and joy. Each Belle goes through extensive training “Showgirl Bootcamp” to perfect the 1940s image of femininity, voice training, musical stylings and period correct choreography. Hours are spent perfecting the coifed hair, makeup and fashion necessary to bring the style to life, exactly as it was during the times that the music they sing so beautifully offered support to the military members and families to whom the songs they sing were meant to inspire.
The Victory Belles began as a living exhibit of history for the Museum, but have traveled across the globe, their voices even reaching the shores of Normandy on the 6th of June for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy. The trio travels bringing their patriotic tunes to veterans, families and the public keeping the spirit of patriotism alive and celebrating with their salute the brave soldiers who fought so valiantly throughout all five branches of the armed forces.
Courtney Andersen, one of the original Victory Belles who still performs with her troop, spoke about some of the honors she has experienced in her service. She stated regarding the Honor Flights, during which WWII Veterans are brought into the Museum for special performances,
“We get to perform for World War II veterans, and let me tell you at this rate, the World War II veterans are leaving us very, very quickly,” said Andersen. “Any opportunity we can have to perform for them, the music of their generation, is super special. It is super special when we have World War II veterans in our presence.
“I think the best thing we can do is to keep the music of that generation alive. The fact that we’re even singing this music is a testament of how beautiful not only the melodies of these songs are, but what they symbolized—hope, the idea and the notion that we will overcome this together through solidarity on the home front, through solidarity on the front lines, and just to kind of emulate the solidarity as a nation is really special and we get to do that through music.”
Mandi Ridgdell Mueller, an original Victory Belle who is also still performing with her troop, is a Northwestern State alumna and 2008 Miss Northwestern-Lady of the Bracelet, echoes Anderson’s sentiments. She shared her treasured memories of meeting and developing a friendship with a special World War II Veteran. Following a performance, Mueller was honored to sing “I’ll Be Seeing You” with the young-at-heart war hero. From there, the two continued to keep in touch frequently. When he was placed under the care of hospice, the two would often sing together by phone. Mueller speaks of the impact of this musical friendship and shares,
“On one of his last days, his family called me and asked me if I could sing because he was asking for me. That was one of those moments that, this is why we did it. This is why we spend hours on our hair, to make sure that we are perfectly 1940s, taking on that era and bringing those good memories back. There are so many awful memories about war, but what we get to do is bring back the good ones.” Mueller understands the power of the song and the extra layer the period accurateness plays in recreating another time for U.S. Veterans. She posits, “Music of the 1940s is like no other, it told stories and touched your heart, and it still resonates today, the music hasn’t gotten old. So, bringing that back to life has been really incredible.” The music lives on through the songs and the memories, the Belles strive to continue and bring to life the good memories and feelings of the era.
Two shows are scheduled for the festival, a musical performance as well as Expressions of America, which includes a scripted performance that explains life on the home front and how that life was important and inspirational, along with a song tribute. They will also be serenading audience members throughout the day and are sure to plant a few red lipstick kisses as they interact. Songs such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)” are sure to be in their repertoire. The girls living history represents the theme of this year’s Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival, “The Old Songs Live Forever.”
The 44th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival is held inside the air-conditioned Prather Coliseum on Northwestern State University Campus. The festival features three stages of music, over 75 crafts persons, a multitude of Louisiana food vendors and a jambalaya cook-off. Dance lessons, informances, narrative sessions, on-site crafts demonstrations, a kid zone, the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship and more are in store for festival goers. Admission to the family friendly event is $10 for an all-day/all event pass, with children 12 and under admitted free of charge. The event is handicap accessible. ASL interpretation, assistive listening devices, and audio description for the narrative cultural discussions will be made available upon prior request. For a full schedule of events, as well as registration forms to participate in the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship and the Jambalaya Cookoff go to louisianafolklife.nsula.edu or contact the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332 or email folklife@nsula.edu.
Support for the festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, and the State of Louisiana. The festival is sponsored by Buddy Wood State Farm, C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, the Harrington Law Firm, International Paper, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company and Young Estate, LLC.
