Orleanians care about our history, be it personal or the city’s.  In 1920 we created the Vieux Carre’ Commission to maintain the historical architecture in its French Quarter.  We revere jazz in a simple, what some might call ”run down,” music venue called Preservation Hall, because it seems to keep its authenticity that way.  We nostalgically join in Benny Grunch’s song, “Ain’t There No More” when he sings of the many places, such as McKenzie’s Bakeries, that were New Orleans mainstays but are now gone.

I’m not sure what Mom was thinking when this photo was taken, but the scene in front of her was common at our gatherings for many, many years.

Daniel Entringer bought Henry McKenzie’s Uptown bakery and kept him on as manager ’til his death in 1936.  There were about fifty McKenzie’s bakeries in the area when they finally closed in 2001.

Below Linda LeBon tells us how Orleanians feel now as they see the McKenzie’s brand again at a local franchise of Tastee Donuts:

While working at Tastee/McKenzie’s on Harrison Avenue,  customers come in soooo often

so happy to see McKenzie’s I almost cried.”

True statement. She now lives out of state but had to stop and buy things to bring back to wherever she’s living now.

One man walked in and with arms up to heaven,

Have I taken a  step back into the past?!”

I answered, “Yes, you have. What looks  good?”

Quite a few people come in and take pictures on their phones to forward to other people and then get a call from that person who is not in NOLA, questioning them about how they got those pictures. It takes the photographer a while before the caller is convinced that a McKenzie’s bakery does exist.

Many people have said, “Now, we have to get Schwegmann’s and K&B’s back and the world will be a better place.”

New Orleanians honor their traditions, even stores!

Red beans, rice, and sausage

Christine, I thought you might like to know about the story that I have entered on the “Your Pages” section of my copy of Why People Live in New Orleans. 

Starting in 1972 I took a six-year break from law practice, and during that time I worked as a longshoreman in the Port of New Orleans in 1974, in the course of which I acquired some tools of the trade like a sack hook, a sack claw and a carpenter’s apron full of necessary carpentry implements.  In 1975 I was living in Greece and France, and by 1976 I was living in Pensacola, Florida, but all the while I still had those longshoreman’s implements.  So one weekend when I was back in New Orleans I went over to the longshoremen’s hiring center (then on Race Street) with those tools in a box, to sell them during one of the hiring sessions when I knew it would be crowded.  By and by a black longshoreman asked me why I was selling them, and we had this conversation:
 
JBS:  I’ve moved away to Florida and no longer work on ships, and I won’t be coming back here.
 
Longshoreman:  Was you born here?
 
JBS:  I was.
 
Longshoreman:  I has a daughter in California.  She call me all the time and say, ‘Daddy I wanna come home, it not be the same out here.’
 
JBS:  I won’t be coming back.
 
Longshoreman:  Let me tell you something:  Once you is done taste dem red beans and rice, you ain’t goin’ nowhere.  You be back.
 
He was right.  By 1978 I was back, and, except for trips, I haven’t left since.  The way he spontaneously pronounced that line about the red beans and rice was unforgettable.  It has never left me.       

Joseph B. Stahl          

Note from Christine to blog readers:  Please let us know how you’ve used “Your Pages,” or feel free to comment on Joe’s post, telling of your own experiences.

I live in New Orleans because I couldn’t think of a better place to live.  I have lived in Iowa, Colorado, and Illinois and have visited almost every state in the union, and New Orleans clearly has my heart.  A lady from New Orleans also does and that’s how I came to know and love the area.

 Thirty-seven years ago I married a New Orleans native and came here to visit family.  It was love at first sight.  The history, geography, and culture are like no others I have ever visited.  Read more…

Donald and Helena Midkiff

Donald K. Midkiff is one of the residents I interviewed for Why People Live in New Orleans. When asked why he lives in New Orleans, he replied,

“King Tut! The New Orleans Museum of Art exhibit was a huge success with hours spent in line. Problem? No, not to the people of New Orleans. A spontaneous block party broke out in line with coolers of shared sandwiches and cold beer. ‘Watcha need, darlin’?’ Love, New-Orleans-style, is all about food, family, and events made special by total strangers.”

Gary Wallerman, co-owner of GW Fins mentioned similar thoughts last Wednesday at my book signing that he and co-owner Tenney Flynn hosted:

“At the first French Quarter Festival after Katrina we had a booth at Woldenberg Park. Here we were along the Mississippi River on a beautiful April day with lots of people enjoying the free music that the festival offers. I looked around at the smiles, the food, the music, the shared values, and thought, ‘This is why I came back to New Orleans; this is why we all love being here!’”

Like Gary and Donald, Read more…

Does a book signing at New Orleans International Airport the day after Mardi Gras seem an unlikely illustration of the city’s culture? Actually, it provided the perfect setting for the ordinary interactions that we locals think add extraordinary value to our lives. I sat at the table shown in the photo, with tantalizing books at my back, wearing and displaying beads from the season that culminated the day before, looking at the stream of visitors walking past the bigger-than-life statue of Louis Armstrong on their way back to Atlanta, San Antonio, San Francisco, Idaho, England, Belgium, and elsewhere. Many looked tired, but smiled when I asked the same question of each, “Did you have a good time?” To a person the answer was, “Yes!” Needless to say, that was music to this native’s ears, as was a particular reason mentioned, “the friendliness of the people.”

Throughout the book signing, I experience that friendliness firsthand in the delightful exchanges that come so easily in New Orleans among locals and former strangers, where in a matter of moments, through comfortable conversation, connections are found. “May all of your flights be safe ones,” I tell the pilot who is seemingly in a hurry. He slows down for a few moments. He finds out I used to fly for Pan Am and he for Delta. We reflect on the differences in the industry now, and then he is gone. I ask a policeman if he worked yesterday, and nodding, he happily reports that his beat on Mardi Gras was incident-free despite the large attendance. He moves on, but I recognize him when he passes a little later, because in that short, friendly exchange, he became a person and not a uniform. Two gentlemen walk up and read my author description on the poster. They nod to a young girl with them and say, “She wants to be an author, too.” The girl and I chat about what she currently writes. I mention that she can see children her age in my book, because they were among the people I interviewed to ensure multiple points of view. When her guardians so lovingly buy her a book, the written best wishes with her writing that accompany my signature hold the memory of our connection. A musician from Algiers, just across the river from New Orleans, warmly congratulates me on my book. He asks my opinion on future possibilities in our area and emphasizes the need to develop concrete strategies to build on the positive energy from the Superbowl win and new mayor just elected. He excuses himself as someone else seeks information about my book. During all this time I witness the respect and friendliness Luisa Chinchilla (standing with me in the photo) and her assistants give people who enter Hudson Bookstore, even those simply looking for airport information.

I felt quite at ease throughout the book signing, because these connections and others with airport employees and travelers were easy. There is a culture of openness to each other here. As resident Marilyn O’Connor says in Why People Live in New Orleans, “People are friendly. I can be at a shopping center and hold a conversation with almost anyone.” That obviously holds true for the airport, even the day after Mardi Gras!