Family Continues Float Tradition

Behind the Mardi Gras magic that thrills thousands in Terrebonne Parish each year are unseen hands who make things happen, chief among them John Poiencot, his family and the workers at Houma Float Sales and Rentals.

“This not boasting,” the third-generation float-runner said during a break from preparing some of the wheeled miracles in his stable. “We have never given the krewes here anything less than what they have always asked for.”

Building floats from the wheels up, overseeing the sculptures that adorn them and overseeing their movements on parade day are among a few of the float-related duties John assumes before, during and after each Carnival season, and he revels in each process.

It all began when he was 4 and 5-years-old, watching his grandpa, Homer McGee. By the time he was 11-years-old John got to work on the floats alongside his grandpa, under close supervision. He remembers vividly the first parade in which he took an active role; his family has a long tradition with the Krewe of Terrenanians.

“I thought I was Mr. Mardi Gras back then and I feel that way to this day,” he said. “It is a true passion, and I have found my channel.”

It was Homer who started it all, building floats from the ground up, repairing them, and refurbishing them year to year.

“He’s doing a very good job,” Homer said of his protégé, then recalled how he beagan patching and building gloats for Terreanians, when he was a plumber by trade. Float work, which seemed to come easily to Homer, became a sideline as he utilized his skills for other krewes.

By 1992 the business was rolling and going, and Homer gave up his Terreanians activities to tend to the work full-time. The floats have iron and wood frames, and what began as simple works back then have morphed into mega-floats. Homer built the first local double-decker float after one premiered in New Orleans.

The family also maintains floats that are owned by krewes, such as those which belong to the Krewe of Hercules. The ones that Houma Float owns are rented, not only locally but in Lafayette and other communities.

Last year the company got a chance to give back to the community, when they donated use and operation of 35 floats for the Houma downtown Christmas parade.

One of the big change that has occurred since the time Homer started building them is choice of materials. Headpieces and other decorations on the floats in the beginning were generally made out of papier mache. Today, John said, the frills are made out of Styrofoam, which he harvests from various sources throughout the year.

Now, with Carnival season in full swing, he is confident that he will help make the magic that local clubs bring to everyone who turns out.

“My job is to help give them an excellent parade,” John said. “And that’s exactly what we do.” •

Homer McGee and John Poiencot bring the magic of Mardi Gras to Life.