The Filé Man

John Oswald Colson has been making filé most of his life.  His mother and the generations before her all provided the Cane River community with fresh filé, red pepper and other seasonings. His process of making filé is now considered a folk art and the special flavor that seems so rich to his filé is the story in the hands that create it.

He is known by many names and has lived a colorful life to say the least.  He is full of stories of Cane River, the traditions, stories but most importantly the people.  Born in 1937, John lived on Cane River until, like so many others in the area, he left for better opportunities.  He moved to Chicago as a young man, cutting hair and doing odd jobs but mostly following his dream.  He was in Chicago during the magical time of Cadillac Records and sang and played the guitar at local clubs and bars.  He brought swamp pop, an easy smile and his stories to Chi town and later moved on to California for awhile.  He always returned home back to Cane River, sometimes for a visit, sometimes for awhile.

He always found family wherever he was.  Creole communities in Chicago and Los Angeles were large and house parties, him and a guitar was where he could usually be found.  The river always called him back and while living back on Cane River his cousin came home with his wife after finishing his time in the military and her sister came to visit from California.  They were married in short order and lived in Natchitoches with their two daughters.

After battling a long illness and coming back to full capacity he realized how much of the “old ways” and traditions were leaving with each generation.  He put on his straw hat and started finding sassafrass trees and taking their rich green leaves, to dry, process and teach the old way of making filé.  Using a traditional pilon, a large tree hollowed out much like a giant mortar and pestle, he pounds the leaves into the fine, fragrant, bright green seasoning, filé.  Soon, he was demonstrating at conferences, festivals and educational events, teaching and preserving the art.

Midsummer into late fall you can find him pounding away, making his filé, always telling a story, if you’re lucky maybe even singing a song.  He became the filé man, the storyteller and a tour guide.  But to me he’s always just been Daddy.

Next time you visit Natchitoches stop by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum and check out his photo on the second floor!

John’s Creole Filé is only available seasonally and in high demand with a waiting list.  Keep your eyes on our Facebook page for the annual one day only sale!

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