|
Today in New Orleans History |
 |
|
|
October 19
She married Hypolyte Begue, a bartender, and changed the
restaurant's name to Begue's Exchange. Her "second breakfast" was served promptly at 11 a.m. (until 3 p.m.) to
30 people in a second-floor dining room, without a menu. It included a variety of red wines, French bread, soup, meats,
fish, cheeses and café noir into which brandy was poured and burned. In 1885 "the French Market breakfast"
gained national attention when tourists visiting the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition (held at what would
become Audubon Park) dined at Bégué's and returned home praising its notable cuisine. Sunday at Bégué's
became a meeting place for intellectuals, poets, statesmen, scientists and businessmen from New Orleans as well as from
other American cities and abroad. Tourists wrote months in advance for reservations and Begue's was one of the first restaurants
in New Orleans to install a telephone to accommodate diners. In later years, rheumatism forced her to use crutches but she
continued to supervise all food preparation. Her meals became known across America as "brunch". After Hypolyte's
death in 1917, the property was sold to Tujaque's.
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu was elected State Representative for the 89th Representative District on October 19, 1991. LSU's tiger mascot Mike V was born on October 19, 1989. The 7-pound baby tiger
was introduced to LSU fans at a basketball game in February 1990. In his 17-year reign, Mike V saw an LSU football team
win another National Championship (in 2003) and received both a new trailer and a massive renovation of his enclosure.
In March 2007, Mike V officially began a three-stage retirement. His personal veterinarian, David Baker, cited his age and
health as reasons. Mike V retained his mascot status and lived in his on-campus habitat until his death by renal failure
on May 18, 2007 at 2:23 AM, which coincided with the undergraduate commencement ceremonies. He was considered to have had
the best personality of all the tigers that have served as LSU's mascot. Originally named Stevie, he was donated by Dr.
Thomas and Caroline Atchison of the Animal House Zoological Park in Moulton, Alabama. (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Tiger)
The New Orleans Jazz Club presented "Pete Fountain Day" on October 19, 1959, with celebrations honoring the pride of their city, concluding with a packed concert that evening.
Eight years earlier, on February
10, 1934, the airport opened with great fanfare. More than 10,000 visitors from around the world attended the dedication
of what was coined "the Air Hub of the Americas". Built at a cost of $4.5 million, the airport's 3,000 foot-long
field qualified it for the U.S. Department of Commerce's highest rating of AA-I. The architecture was considered a modern
marvel. Everything about the airport was state-of-the-art and first class. It was the first major airport
in the region and the first combined land and seaplane air terminal in the world. And it was named Shushan Airport. Architect Leon C. Weiss designed it (as well as the state capital, the governor's mansion, the Louisiana State
University buildings, and the LSU Medical School. Inside the terminal building were/are beautiful Art Deco appointments as
well as murals by artist Xavier Gonzalez, friezes by Enrique R. Alferez who also carved the Fountain of the Four Winds which
stands out front. Shushan Airport, which had been under construction since 1929, sits adjacent to the
Industrial Canal on a man-made peninsula jutting into the lake. To make land available for this elaborate project, the Orleans
Levee Board drove a 10,000 foot retaining wall into the lake and pumped six million cubic yards of hydraulic fill to raise
the field above the water. It was this project (and others) that landed Shushan, the levee board president, in hot water. On March 27, 1934 he submitted his resignation, citing health reasons. In the letter of resignation to Governor
O.K. Allen he noted accomplishments during his tenure which included a five-and-one-half long "levee" (along what
is now Lakeshore Drive) with an average width of 3500 feet (over one-half mile) for eventual use as residential and recreational
development (this became a part of the Lakeview post-WWII subdivisions of Lake Vista, Lake Terrace, etc.). Shushan was
indicted on October 19, 1934 for eight counts of personal income tax evasion, was tried on October 8, 1935, and acquitted
later that month of those charges. He remained the levee board president, however, because at at subsequent meetings
of the board there were no quorums, therefore, no means of accepting his resignation. He was a slick operator, to say
the least. He said, regarding the tax evasion charges, that he was being persecuted politically. In October 1941, the Orleans Airport Commission discussed removing the cornerstone of the Shushan Airport
which included not only his name but the names of other former levee board members convicted of misdeeds during what became
known as the "Louisiana Scandals". The cornerstone was reported to be "the only place where the name
Shushan remains at the airport (which doesn't lend credence to the oft-told urban legend that his name was on all doorknobs,
flooring, etc., including plumbing). The commission decided to keep the stone in place for "historical significance"
and a matter of record which should be preserved. Shushan was released from prison on parole in September
of 1942. On February 28, 1947, President Harry S. Truman granted him a full and unconditional pardon. Born on January 12, 1894 in Reserve, Abraham Lazar Shushan on died on November 3, 1966 at Touro Infirmary
and is buried in Chevra Thilim Cemetery. He was educated in New Orleans and began his career at Shushan Brothers, a whole-sale
dry-goods firm owned by his father and uncle, and later became its president and principal owner. He had served as
levee board president during the terms of four governors (Parker, Fuqua, Long, Allen) who had all appointed him to the position
beginning in 1920. He was a close personal friend of Huey P. Long. Shushan's political clout enabled constitutional
amendments calling for the development of the lakefront to be enacted.
Civil engineer Benjamin Henry Latrobe II, born on December
19, 1806, was the son of Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the United States Capitol and the
Basilica of the Assumption. Around 1820, he worked with his father to establish a water supply for New
Orleans. He died on October 19, 1878.
Born in Natchez, Mississippi on October 19, 1842, Adolph
Meyer was a member of the Louisiana U. S. House of Representatives who served
nine terms as a Democrat from 1891 until his death in office on March 8, 1908.
During the Civil War, Meyer served on the staff of Brigadier General John Stuart Williams of Kentucky and attained the rank
of assistant adjutant general. General Meyer Avenue in Algiers part of is named in his honor as a tribute to his efforts
to lobbying for the U.S. Naval Station which was located there. |
||
|
To receive an update for each day in New Orleans history,
join our facebook page - Today in New
Orleans History.
Analytics |
The man behind the construction of the lakefront airport and the massive lakefront "land reclamation" along the
New Orleans lake shore (see October 29) is pictured here walking out of his office alone on October 23, 1941, after learning
of his impending arrest for defrauding his fellow citizens. He had no comments for the the news reporters gathered there but
with a forced smile, said the the photographers, "TAKE A GOOD ONE, BOYS". The mandate for his arrest had been
filed at 11:20 a.m. He was in federal jail by 4:00 that afternoon.
On August 21, 1939, Shusan (and five others) were indicted for mail fraud. He had allegedly been aware of a bribe which
led a levee board member to pursue fellow members not to submit the job for public bid, resulting in Orleans Dredging Company
netting the deal. In 1931 he also allegedly received $130,500 for his part in extorting exorbitant fees from the government,
far in excess of services rendered, in a bond refunding deal and for using the U.S. mail to do so (mail fraud). But all that
seemingly escaped notice for several years until until the indictment.. He was convicted on December 22, 1939 and sentenced
to 30 months in federal prison on January 2, 1940. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the case on May 12, 1941
and declined to reconsider its decision on October 3, 1941
