Mary Alice Fontenot Riehl was a journalist and author. Her newspaper career has included staff positions at the Rayne Acadian Tribune, the Crowley Post-Signal, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, and the Opelousas Daily World. She has also done feature stories for secular and church papers in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and other south Louisiana communities. Many of her newspaper features deal with the social life and customs, folklore, and history of Cajuns. As an author, Mrs. Riehl is best known for her series of children's books on Clovis Crawfish. She has also written other books for children as well as cook-books and works on local and state history.

This collection focuses on Mary Alice Fontenot's journalistic and literary career. It contains much of her written output. Included are research notes and photographs for some of her newspaper articles; original drawings by Eric Vincent and Keith Graves, and original music by Mary Alice and Jeanne and Robert Gilmore for the Clovis Crawfish series; and text for some of her history books and children's works. Most of the letters in the collection have some connection with her literary work, especially as an author of children's books. She also worked as a researcher for Frances Parkinson Keyes and there are some letters from Miss Keyes in the collection.

Mary Alice has made many appearances in elementary schools because of her Clovis Crawfish series. Frequently the children send thank yous in the forms of notes, artwork, or original stories. Samples of these responses are in the collection. As a student of local history, Mary Alice has collected some materials. Most notable are an account of life along the Mermentau River during the mid-nineteenth century and a history of physicians in Opelousas.