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Today in New Orleans History |
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Timeline 1950s P122, #180 and #181 P2, 002 Map 1955 Progress Progress – 1955 On February 18, 1954 ground was broken for Veterans
Highway by parish president John J. Holtgreve. There were few homes or businesses in sight. Although Old Metairie and Bucktown
near the lake-shore were well populated the majority of Metairie was still unsettled. From the late 1950s to the1970s many
suburbs would spring up from this boggy land. (JPYR) 1960s The Fitzgerald's In 1915 Margaret Bruning and Maurice J. Fitzgerald celebrated their wedding at the Bucktown home of her parents. In
1932 they opened Fitzgerald's Seafoods Restaurant and later moved to a larger 7000 square building at 1928 West End Park
(shown on the map of restaurants existing in 1987). Their son, daughter, and their spouses joined the ranks. For a time
there were gambling and slot machines as readily available as the fried soft-shell crabs and boiled seafood. In 1960 the
wide porches were enclosed and a 30 tone air-conditioner was added – gone were the lake breezes. Hurricane Hilda damaged
the restaurant in 1964 but the family repaired it and kept it going strong. Margaret and Maurice celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary there in 1965 at the ages of 67 and 78 years. Margaret passed away in 1966. Maurice died in 1976. Maurice Jr. took over the kitchen and management and ran it very well but by
1989 the glory days of West End had come to an end. Maurice sold the restaurant in 1989 but it continued in operation until
Hurricane Georges (1998) damaged it beyond repair. In 1981 Maurice Jr converted his parents' home at 324 Hammond Highway into “an exquisite, small French Chateau”
he named Le Chateau Phylmar. In 1985 he and his wife Patricia enlarged and renovated it, printed the menu in French, and
continued to serve fine food – he was the first Certified Executive Chef in Louisiana. He also taught in the Delgago
College Culinary Arts Program. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 85. Also in the illustration, labeled in the center, is Maggie and Smitty's Crabnett –
a very casual on-land location for hot boiled seafood and cold beer. Maggie Hemard opened the little place in 1957 after
learning the trade busing tables at Fitzgerald's. Co-owner Lloyd (“Mr. Red”) Hemard said in 1987 while lamenting
the demise of business at West End, “It's very depressing out here. It was a great thing we had. We had good business,
a family trade, we made a good living. But that's pretty much over. I'm burned out, The good days are gone. I'd sell it
tomorrow if it weren't for Maggie but she wants to stay”. (TP) P123, #182 and #183 Cars lined up on the Metairie terminus
(above) to make the first trip across the Causeway on its opening day, August 30, 1956. The bridge is composed of 2,246
spans of concrete with two bascules (draw bridges) for large passing vessels. It reduced a trip across the lake from approximately
53 miles (driving around the lake) to 24 miles. The 1961 aerial view (below) of the Causeway accompanied a public relations
announcement from the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission which included “The 24-mile-long Lake Pontchartrain
Causeway is a magnificent symbol of the continuing progress of Jefferson Parish…it connects busy, booming Jefferson
Parish with St. Tammany Parish’s famed Ozone Belt. Millions of vehicles have crossed the world’s longest bridge
since it was opened to traffic on August 30, 1956”. (Courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Yearly Review.) p20, 016 ShultzFresh Fresh Hardware Here is the artist's 1968 painting of R. Shultz's Fresh Hardware and residence at 1720 Lake
Avenue. Local legend says that Ralph added “Fresh” to his general store and bar sign during prohibition to let
patrons know he had a fresh keg of home-brewed beer on tap. He also sold trawl, crab, and crawfish nets, bait, tackle, boats,
motors...just about anything needed to capture the bounty of the lake. A commercial fisher and hunter, Shultze was also a visionary. During the 1950s he was an outspoken representative against
the banning of commercial fishing in Lake Pontchartrain and for government intervention in improving its ecosystems. In 1962, while the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO)
was under construction he noted that “Surely it can be understood that more water will pour in [into the lake] should
a severe hurricane strike” and called for an additional lock at the lake on the Industrial Canal to prevent gulf water
from surging into the lake. He also noted that “At present Chef Menteur and the Rigolets channels pour water into the
lake”. In 1963 he brought attention to
the Louisiana Department of Wild Life and Fisheries (LDWF) that shell dredging allows lime to “sweeten” the lake
water making it less salty and detrimental to life. He called on the agency to study this issue. In 1965, 1968, 1969, and
1972 he blamed the accidental killing of small shrimp by trawlers on the LDWF's opening the season before the shrimp matured.
Always one to buck the system, Shultz sometimes publicly admitted to ignoring LDWF mandates and spent 3 days in jail in 1960
for killing 11 ducks, 1 coot, and a rail out of season. In 1961 he opposed a proposed 1 mile marina extension into the lake
near Bonnabel Boulevard, saying time and money would be saved if it were, instead 1/2 mile long (it was, in fact, built only
a few blocks long). Ralph had ten siblings including
Mrs. John C. (Grace) Bruning. In 1975 at the age of 76 he was crowned King of the Blessing of the Fleet celebration when he
was one of the oldest men in Bucktown still active in fishing and crabbing. He was a founding member of the East End Volunteer
Fire Department, a deputy sheriff, and member of the Bucktown Fisherman's Association. He died in 1994 at the age of 95.
His home and store are gone. (HNOC) P41, #044 The landmark Bruning home was built in 1893 by
Capt. John C. Bruning. John Bruning was credited with saving many lives as he watched storms from the lookout on the roof
of his house. After a 1910 fire destroyed much of the small community he organized the volunteer fire department. During
the 1950s he served on the Jefferson Parish School Board. Mr. Bruning passed away in 1962 at the age of 91. (Courtesy of
the New Orleans Public Library.) P 17, #012 John C. Bruning Born in Bucktown in 1872
John C. Bruning is pictured here watching out over Lake Pontchartrain which he called home his entire life. He is the son
of Theodore Walter (1847-1917), the son of Theodore Heinrich. He was an honorary captain in the Coast Guard, a commendation
he received for rescuing hundreds of people from Lake Pontchartrain. Captain Bruning passed away in 1962. (JPYR) P 22, # 018 BruningLakefrontProperty1914 Guardians
of the Lake For several generations in Bucktown and West End history the Brunings
were known and loved for their volunteer efforts to save lives along the shores they called home. When Theodore Bruning III
died in 1914 of typhoid malaria the headline included “He saved others, himself he could not save”. The article
included the fact that “father, son , and grandson, all with the same name “Theodore” and John C. have been
heroic life savors in Lake Pontchartrain for years”. When Captain John Charles Bruning died at age 91 in 1963 the news
appeared on the front page of the Times-Picayune, noting his 20 plus years of service on the Jefferson Parish School Board,
the one-day closing of the schools in his memory, and the many lives he and his family had saved through the years. These quite heroics (they did not accept monetary
thanks and seldom acknowledged awards) began in 1859 when several restaurants were opened along the shoreline near the 17th
Street Canal. In that year Theodore Bruning moved his Carrollton restaurant to Bucktown/East End. In 1882 he leased no.16,
Revetment Levee, West End from the city of New Orleans for $150 per year. His son continued the restaurant business and his
grandsons opened a boathouse and fishing supply business. A storm destroyed the restaurant which was rebuilt on the Jefferson
Parish side of the peninsula which jutted out past the canal. The Original Bruning’s Restaurant which, for a time,
featured dancing waitresses and rows of slot machines operated over the lake until Hurricane Georges badly damaged it in 1998.
The restaurant moved to Federico's on-land building next door where Bruning’s served seafood until Hurricane Katrina
decimated the area. Bruning's was the third oldest restaurant in New Orleans; only Antoine's and Tujaques pre-dated it. In 1893 Captain John C. Bruning
built the landmark family home which was also washed away in Hurricane Katrina. This property can be viewed on the map, along
with six other structures (all marked with an arrow) built by members of the Bruning family as of 1914. The jail which the
family operated as sheriffs is also included. From his lookout on the roof of his home, Captain Johnny continued to watch
over swimmers and boaters . During the early 1900s he owned and operated the White Squadron -- 42 white fishing boats (16
and 18 feet long) which he rented for 50 cents per day. After a 1910 fire devastated his community he organized Bucktown's
volunteer department. Note on this 1914 map
that Ralph Shultz home/schoolhouse is included lower left. (LDL) Theodore Bruning arrived in Bucktown in the late 1850s and built what would become the third oldest restaurant in the
greater New Orleans area. He married Mabel Hamilton. Sons John and Theodore were well known and loved as rescuers of people
in peril on Lake Pontchartrain and the 17th Street Canal. News of John's death in 1963 appeared prominently on the front
page of the Times-Picayune memorializing his life-saving heroics and 20 plus years of service on the Jefferson Parish School
Board, his founding of the East End Volunteer Fire Department, and his time served as a deputy sheriff and jailer of his “town”. 1964 Hilda Slams Into Coast West Of New Orleans .Park City Daily News - Sep 30, 1964 Mida Nits Louisiana .Meriden Journal - Oct 3, 1964 1965 The
“famous” hurricanes (Audrey in 1957, Betsy in 1965, and Camille in 1969) as well as assorted minor storms damaged
or destroyed many Hayne Boulevard and Little Woods camps. The U.S. Corps of Engineers completed
the Industrial Canal in 1921. It was the first to actually connect the river to the lake and subsequently to the Gulf of
Mexico. By 1965, the Corps had completed the bisecting Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). This problematic channel provided
yet another short cut between the river and gulf – this one between the Gulf of Mexico and the Industrial Canal but
it was later "realized” that it also allowed saltwater intrusion from the gulf into St. Bernard Parish and the
Lake Pontchartrain Basin resulting in the loss of protective freshwater marshes and wetlands. Due to erosion and lack of maintenance,
by 1989 the MRGO was three times wider than its original 650 foot design. In recent years it handled an average of one vessel
per day. In August, 2005, the MRGO allowed Hurricane Katrina’s gulf surge a direct and amplified path to communities
along its sixty-six mile route, to residences and businesses along the Industrial Canal, into Lake Pontchartrain, and subsequently
to surrounding areas. P48, #058 In 1966 a new marina for Bucktown was proposed. Here we see a drawing which includes a park-like area with landscaping
and foot paths adjacent to the docks. This plan was never completed. (Courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Yearly Review.)
P 23, #019 SwansonsWestEndBusinesses1987 Swanson's
Sea Food In 1922 Frank William Turan Swanson (whose residence appears on the 1914
map in the lower right) opened the Yellow Dog Saloon serving all the boiled seafood one could eat as long as one imbibed in
his ten-cent schooners of beer. In 1926 he opened Swanson's Sea Food Restaurant whose floor was clearly marked with a line
designating which half of the building was located in Jefferson Parish where gambling was illegal but mostly ignored by local
authorities. He fished and hunted to supply the restaurant in which his wife Julia Pfeiffer worked. Frank is seen here preparing
crabs for cooking. A May 1948 fire destroyed
the restaurant and the neighboring My-O-My Club (Bruning's had minor damage). Frank and Julia rebuilt the business which
became so popular that celebrities such as Guy Lombardo dined there. By 1953 Swanson's boasted of “Delicious seafood
in air-conditioned bliss”. Frank passed away in 1956 at the age of 64. As a youth he had been an outstanding swimmer
with the East End Athletic Club and had hunted ducks and snipe for market, bringing large bags of birds to buyers at East
End who shipped the goods far and wide. He was known as one of the best marksmen in the area and widely acknowledged as an
outstanding fisherman – one of the first to catch a tarpon within city limits on Lake Pontchartrain. He also served
the community as deputy sheriff and operated the Bucktown jail. The Swansons had lived at 1849 Orpheum Street. In 1968 Vincent Aiavolasiti took over the restaurant and added “aged
K.C. Steaks and authenitc Italian food”. In 1975 Bill Summers stepped in and renamed it “Swanson's Flagship”.
The restaurant returned to Swanson ownership in 1978 when Danny Mayer, grandson of Frank and Julia, bought the business.
When Danny passed away in 1979 the doors were closed for good – in October 1984 the building burned to the ground. The Swanson family legacy lives on. In 1975 Frank
and Julia's grandson Dennis Lacoste and his wife June opened Dennis' Seafood on Lorino Street, some 4 1/2 miles from the
original Swanson's Restaurant. (LDL) 1969 Camille The claim as “world’s longest” would later be made by The Causeway when it opened in 1956 and again
with the addition of the second, slightly longer span in 1969. p 120, # 164 Schaefer&Rusich and #165 Schaefer &
Rusich "We don't mess with no imports," Merlin Schaefer, told food writer
Brett Anderson in 2008. True to his word, in 2010, while the Deepwater Horizon gushed oil into the gulf he drove ten hours
per day to and from Texas to keep his business going by buying seafood there to bring back home to sell in his Bucktown market.
Merlin is a third generation owner, namesake
and grandson of Merlin Schaefer who, in 1969 opened the shop on Lake Avenue with Johnny Rusich. The men fished, crabbed,
and trawled for shrimp in Lake Pontchartain – Merlin's grandmother sold their catch. The little Bucktown business has
survived storms, economic downturn, drastic changes in the neighborhood, and the oil spill thanks to Merlin and his wife Tracie. Above, J. T. Thonn displays fresh shrimp to a customer.
Below, Amy Lanteigne places her order of 10-12 count shrimp with Rosie Burger. (Courtesy of Chris Graythen.) 1970s1970
P112,
#154 1948 photograph
of the U.S. Naval Air Station just west of Pontchartrain Beach. In 1958 it would become the campus of Louisiana State University
in New Orleans (LSUNO) which would be renamed University of New Orleans (UNO) in 1974. The Pontchartrain Beach amusement park
property is now UNO’s Research and Technology Park. (Courtesy New Orleans Public Library.)
1977
1980sP121, #169
and #170 (shared caption) Typical of most
Lake Pontchartrain camps, Camp-a-Nella included several bedrooms, a large interior room, porches, and piers. The camp once
had a large wrap-around screened porch that flanked both sides and the front. Porches were used for gathering, eating, card
playing, and sleeping. The top photograph shows the side porch circa 1980. In the bottom photo a family reunion is taking
place on the back pier around 1986. Zanca’s Old Glory can be seen the top right P118, #172 and #173 By 1980 Causeway Boulevard
between Lake Pontchartrain and Veterans Highway was packed with businesses, large and small. Above we look over the Lakeside
Shopping Center to the Causeway twin spans. The Clearview Mall, below (at Clearview Boulevard) was the second major shopping
center along Veterans Highway. Some minor history was made there in 2002 when Target took over the original Maison Blanch
location and added German designed Vermaport escalators which transported shopping carts between floors; this was the first
time Vermaport was used in the Gulf South area. (Courtesy of the Louisiana Digital Library.)
p106
#152 The Jahncke name is prominent in City Park
– on the gift shop built in1993 by Jahncke Architects, Inc., on the fountain across from the Casino donated in 1961
in memory of Walter F. Jahncke, on the plaque in the Rose Garden honoring architect Douglass V. Freret by his wife Ruth Jahncke
Freret in 1982, and on the fountain dedicated in 1912 to Fritz Jahncke by his sons. Jahncke advocated developing the New
Basin Canal (it was often called “Jahncke's Ditch”) where he built Jahncke Service, Inc. which hauled Lake Pontchartrain
sand and shells to the city at 81 Howard Avenue (below in 1924 – note the Hibernia bank building in the distant left).
Along with shipping and brick-making businesses on the Tchefuncte River, Jahncke was an original board member of Jax
Brewery, an advocate for the establishment of the Sewerage & Water Board, and member
of the Southern Yacht Club. His sand, and shells built many New Orleans streets and sidewalks.
(LDL) 1983 1983: Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park closes
for good, due mostly to lowered attendance. (Today some remnants of the famous Zephyr ride and other memorabilia are on
display outside City Hall on Williams Boulevard in Kenner). Pontchartrain
Beach Amusement Park moved from its original location near Spanish Fort to Elysian Fields Avenue on the lakefront in 1940.
It closed in 1983.
P21, #015 and #016 (shared caption) The circa 1890 image
(above) of the New Basin Canal as it meets Lake Pontchartrain includes views of (left to right) the New Canal/West End lighthouse,
Mannessier’s Pavilion, and the West End Hotel. The New Canal Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historical
Places in 1985. Below is an engraving featuring a boat race on the canal. (Courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library.) 1986 P121, #169 and #170 (shared caption) Typical of most Lake Pontchartrain camps, Camp-a-Nella included several bedrooms, a large interior room, porches, and
piers. The camp once had a large wrap-around screened porch that flanked both sides and the front. Porches were used for
gathering, eating, card playing, and sleeping. The top photograph shows the side porch circa 1980. In the bottom photo a
family reunion is taking place on the back pier around 1986. Zanca’s Old Glory can be seen the top right. P125, #177 and
#178 Lake Pontchartrain camps were wonderful
places to relax but also required much upkeep and repair. Vincent Campanella Jr. teaches his nephew Andrew Azzarello how
to fish (top) circa 1986. In 2004, Andrew’s grandfather Vincent is working along with Darryl Fury and Tom Munger to
repair the back walk after it was damaged in a storm (below) The Pass Manchac light on the western shore was established in 1837 and replaced with a new light in 1857. It was damaged
in the storms of 1888, 1890, 1915, 1926, and 1931. It was deactivated in 1987.
1989 The U.S. Corps of Engineers completed the Industrial
Canal in 1921. It was the first to actually connect the river to the lake and subsequently to the Gulf of Mexico. By 1965,
the Corps had completed the bisecting Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). This problematic channel provided yet another
short cut between the river and gulf – this one between the Gulf of Mexico and the Industrial Canal but it was later
"realized” that it also allowed saltwater intrusion from the gulf into St. Bernard Parish and the Lake Pontchartrain
Basin resulting in the loss of protective freshwater marshes and wetlands. Due to erosion
and lack of maintenance, by 1989 the MRGO was three times wider than its original 650 foot design. In recent years it handled
an average of one vessel per day. In August, 2005, the MRGO allowed Hurricane Katrina’s gulf surge a direct and amplified
path to communities along its sixty-six mile route, to residences and businesses along the Industrial Canal, into Lake Pontchartrain,
and subsequently to surrounding areas 1990s
P86, #108 Alluding to an earlier time while describing the present, Poppy Z. Brite wrote in Soul Kitchen (2006), “After a
long prohibition that would surely have shocked Mark Twain and his poker buddies…gambling was relegalized in Louisiana
in 1991…Originally all boats had been required to leave their docks and cruise several times a day. None of them wanted
to, since gamblers disliked being stuck on the boat for the entire cruise and would disembark before it set sail. Because
the law allowed them to remain in port if sailing conditions were dangerous, the captains came up with all sorts of creative
threats to their vessels: mysterious debris in the lake, approaching hurricanes as late as Christmas, large flocks of pelicans
and other, even more fearsome seabirds.” The author is pictured with Chris DeBarr at Camp-a-Nella on the lake. P52, #063 and #064 1993
1996
P40, #042 and #043
In 1859 Theodore Bruning moved his Carrollton restaurant to Buctown/East End. There were
no levees and roads flooded from September to April so Mr. Bruning opened his doors from Easter Sunday until Labor Day of
each year. In 1886 Bruning’s moved to the location it remained in until Hurricane Georges badly damaged it in 1998.
The restaurant moved to an on-land building next door where Bruning’s served seafood until Hurricane Katrina destroyed
the West End/East End area. Bruning's was the third oldest restaurant in New Orleans; only Antoine's and Tujaques pre-dated
it. For a time Bruning’s had dancing waitresses and rows of slot machines. During the early 1900s J.C. Bruning owned
and operated the White Squadron -- 42 white fishing boats (16 and 18 feet long) which he rented for 50 cents per day. Below
is a photograph taken at Bruning’s in 1949. (Courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Yearly Review.) The Original Bruning’s Restaurant which, for a time, featured dancing waitresses and rows
of slot machines operated over the lake until Hurricane Georges badly damaged it in 1998. The restaurant moved to Federico's
on-land building next door where Bruning’s served seafood until Hurricane Katrina decimated the area. Bruning's was
the third oldest restaurant in New Orleans; only Antoine's and Tujaques pre-dated it. Over the years “progress”, nature, and changing lifestyles took their toll
on the camps. The Milneburg camps were demolished during the 1920’s and 1930’s to make way for lakeshore land
reclamation. The “famous” hurricanes (Audrey in 1957, Betsy in 1965, and Camille in 1969) as well as assorted
minor storms damaged or destroyed many Hayne Boulevard and Little Woods camps. In 1998 Hurricane Georges badly damaged Fitzgerald’s
and Bruning’s (the last remaining over water restaurants) at West End, wiped out an estimated sixty five Hayne Boulevard
camps, and destroyed five camps in Little Woods. 1999 2000s2000
The Tchefuncte
River Light at the mouth of the river at Madisonville on the north shore was also constructed in 1838. It was replaced in
1868, after being heavily damaged during the Civil War, using the original bricks and foundation. It also survived the storm
of 2005. The keeper’s house (built in 1887) was relocated in 2003 to the grounds of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime
Museum. P123, #173 and #174 (shared caption) A volleyball game takes place in the lake along side Camp-a-Nella during the mid 1980’s. In this
photograph can be viewed the remains of Sonny’s (which had burned), Red Jack’s, Chick-a-Dee, The Duke, and E’s
and B’s among others. In the bottom photograph taken from approximately the same vantage point in 2004 only All in
the Family and The Camp (in the distance) remain. (Courtesy Beth Fury). P125, #177 and #178 Lake Pontchartrain camps were wonderful places to relax but also required
much upkeep and repair. Vincent Campanella Jr. teaches his nephew Andrew Azzarello how to fish (top) circa 1986. In 2004,
Andrew’s grandfather Vincent is working along with Darryl Fury and Tom Munger to repair the back walk after it was damaged
in a storm (below) P45, #053 Previous East End area floods resulted from an 1856
hurricane which brought 6 feet of water to the area as well as hurricane related floods in 1893 and 1915. Pictured is Bucktown
(upper left) in the days following the 2005 post-Katrina break in the 17th Street Canal. (Courtesy of the U.S.
Coast Guard.) P127, #181 Meredith Campanella and her family leave for the
last time on Saturday, August 27, 2005 after “battening down the hatches” as they had done so many times before
when storms approached. Two days later all that remained were the pilings. Much of the camp was found a half mile to the
west. It had been tossed over the levee and across Hayne Boulevard. Camp-a-Nella was eighty years old. The U.S. Corps of Engineers completed the Industrial Canal in 1921. It was the
first to actually connect the river to the lake and subsequently to the Gulf of Mexico. By 1965, the Corps had completed
the bisecting Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). This problematic channel provided yet another short cut between the river
and gulf – this one between the Gulf of Mexico and the Industrial Canal but it was later "realized” that
it also allowed saltwater intrusion from the gulf into St. Bernard Parish and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin resulting in the
loss of protective freshwater marshes and wetlands. Due to erosion and lack of maintenance,
by 1989 the MRGO was three times wider than its original 650 foot design. In recent years it handled an average of one vessel
per day. In August, 2005, the MRGO allowed Hurricane Katrina’s gulf surge a direct and amplified path to communities
along its sixty-six mile route, to residences and businesses along the Industrial Canal, into Lake Pontchartrain, and subsequently
to surrounding areas. On the north-eastern shore, the Bayou Bon Fouca light was established in 1848. The Confederate army burned it in 1862.
It was replaced by the Pointe Aux Herbes Light (farther south near Slidell) in 1875 and deactivated in 1945. The lighthouse
was burned by vandals during the 1950’s but the foundation survives. Also in the east, the West Rigolets Lighthouse
was built in 1855. It was in disrepair for many years until it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. P73, #090 The current West End/New Basin Light
was built in 1890 and moved to its current location in 1910. It was one of the few structures to survive the 1903 Cheniere
Caminada storm when its female keeper Caroline Riddle housed survivors there. It was damaged during hurricanes in 1926 and
1927, after which it was raised on raised on concrete piers. In 1936 the breakwater around the station was filled in, placing
the light on dry land. During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in 2005, the lighthouse was badly damaged and lack of care resulted
in it collapsing months after the storms. At the time of this writing, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation was seeking
funding to restore this historic treasure. P77, #094 The Rigolets connects Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. “Rigolets"
comes from the word French rigole which means "trench" or "gutter." The West Rigolets Lighthouse was
built in 1855. From 1898 until 1912, Anna M. Read served there as one of the many women lighthouse keepers on Lake Pontchartrain.
The light had been in disrepair for many years and was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. P117, #163 In September of 1947 the
17th Street Canal overflowed at several points on the Jefferson
Parish side. Note the fishing camps along the canal. The hurricane which caused this break also resulted in flooding on
the Orleans Parish lakefront and in Gentilly. Compare this view to the photograph of post Hurricane Katrina flooding in September
of 2005 on page 50. (Courtesy New Orleans Public Library.) From the 1800’s until 2005 people lived on the lake in wooden camps built on pilings
over the water. Some camps were small and spare; others large and finely appointed. The original Southern Yacht club could
be considered the grandest camp ever built on Lake Pontchartrain while a small fisherman’s shack in Bucktown might have
been the simplest but all were treasured because to live on the lake was a unique and rare experience. Over the years “progress”, nature, and changing lifestyles took their
toll on the camps. The Milneburg camps were demolished during the 1920’s and 1930’s to make way for lakeshore
land reclamation. The “famous” hurricanes (Audrey in 1957, Betsy in 1965, and Camille in 1969) as well as assorted
minor storms damaged or destroyed many Hayne Boulevard and Little Woods camps. In 1998 Hurricane Georges badly damaged Fitzgerald’s
and Bruning’s (the last remaining over water restaurants) at West End, wiped out an estimated sixty five Hayne Boulevard
camps, and destroyed five camps in Little Woods. In the early summer of 2005 Sid-Mar’s restaurant served seafood to visitors in Bucktown. Approximately twenty five
camps stood in Little Woods with five remaining along Hayne Boulevard. In late August of that same year all were gone but
one solitary camp in Little Woods. P122, #171 and #172 (shared caption) In the top photograph, Eddie Krass shows off his catch but looking over his shoulder we can view some of the
camps that once lined Hayne Boulevard. They include Six Little Fishes, Louis-A, Big Lou’s, and the Port Hole (formerly
Amelia A). In the bottom photograph Helen Generos, a friend, Joan Bienvenu, and Harry Breaux enjoy boiled crawfish on the
back porch in 2005. In the distance we see only Dan and Annette Rein’s Six Little Fishes. The others were destroyed
by Hurricane Georges. P126, #189 p 97 and p98 Chapter 4 – Optimists The grass-roots organization Levees.org, founded by Sandy Rosenthal
and her son Stanford (while exiled in Lafayette after Hurricane Katrina) is devoted to educating America on the facts associated
with the 2005 catastrophic flooding of the New Orleans region. On August 23, 2010 the group installed a Louisiana State Historic
Marker which reads “On August 29, 2005, a federal floodwall atop a levee on the 17th Street Canal, the largest and most
important drainage canal for the city, gave way here causing flooding that killed hundreds. This breach was one of 50 ruptures
in the Federal Flood Protection System on that day. In 2008, the US District Court placed responsibility for this floodwall's
collapse squarely on the US Army Corps of Engineers; however, the agency is protected from financial liability in the Flood
Control Act of 1928”. Before Hurricane Katrina swept through Metairie the community
was placed under a first-time ever mandatory evacuation on August 28, 2005. Most residents sought refuge just far enough
away to return home quickly after the storm passed. p
99, #134 dog p 99, #135KatrinaGirlsonWall Post-Katrina NBC anchor Brian Williams, who sat on Time Magazine's panel tasked with suggesting nominees
for the 2005 Person of the Year nominated Hurricane Katrina. “It has laid bare so many cracks and fissures in our system”,
he said. Fellow panelist Anderson Cooper agreed, "It was government that failed. It was people who stood up."
An unnamed Metairie resident (above) walks her dog along the side of the 17th Street Canal flood-wall about 11 weeks after
Katrina. The water level is over her head and in the center one can see ongoing repair-work on the breaches at the New Orleans
side of the canal. Levees.org installed a Louisiana State Historic Marker there. Below young girls scale the wall for a
peak at the water. (Mario Tama.) P 21, #017 Rapp First Families in Bucktown The artist wrote on the back of this painting
“Ralph Shultz says when he was little he was so bad in school they kept putting him out of Bonnabel School in Bucktown
and when he got big he BOUGHT the School & turned it into a hardware store & filling station & now they can't
keep him out...Mabel [Hamilton Bruning) says Bonnabel was a 2 room school house with windows low enuf on the side that when
the teacher told the Rapp boy to leave he jumped out of the window.” William Rapp and Shultz grew up to serve together as officers of the East End Democratic Club
in 1927 along with fellow Bucktownians Charles Root Jr., Frank Swanson, Jules Swanson, Charles Boutall (the artists father),
and Theodore and John C. Bruning (who married Ralph's sister Grace. Around the turn of the century William Rapp's father John and uncle George took over John's father-in-law's Duffy Trunk
Store on Baronne Street which had been established in 1865 and renamed it Rapp's Trunk Store. George's daughter Estelle married
Anton C. Tranchina (also of Bucktown) who became a partner in the business. The Tranchina/Rapp family has operated Rapp's
Luggage since 1917 with as many as 6 locations including one not far from Bucktown at 3250 Severn Avenue. The Boutall family had long lived in Bucktown in a large home on the water.
Jeanette's brother Edward D. married Bertha Bruning (daughter of Joseph Bruning). Brother Charles Arthur married Lillian
Bruning (daughter of John C. Bruning and Mabel Hamilton) and became executive assistant and vice-president and of the East
Bank Water Works. His son John C. was the judge of the 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson. Lillian's niece Amelia Werner married
Sam Urrate who kept Bruning's Restaurant alive until Hurricane Katrina destroyed it and the Bruning home completely in 2005.
(HNOC) P86,
#108 Alluding to an earlier time while describing the present, Poppy Z. Brite wrote in Soul
Kitchen (2006), “After a long prohibition that would surely have shocked Mark Twain and his poker buddies…gambling
was relegalized in Louisiana in 1991…Originally all boats had been required to leave their docks and cruise several
times a day. None of them wanted to, since gamblers disliked being stuck on the boat for the entire cruise and would disembark
before it set sail. Because the law allowed them to remain in port if sailing conditions were dangerous, the captains came
up with all sorts of creative threats to their vessels: mysterious debris in the lake, approaching hurricanes as late as Christmas,
large flocks of pelicans and other, even more fearsome seabirds.” The author is pictured with Chris DeBarr at Camp-a-Nella
on the lake. P48, #059 Students in the Fall of 2006 senior landscape architecture program at Louisiana State University proposed post-Hurricane
Katrina plans for the lake shore. This particular plan calls for a large expanse of pedestrian pathways and lawns as well
as wetlands, a habitat refuge, and a series of piers. The students’ plans encompassed the area between the Bonnabel
boat launch and the 17th Street Canal. (Courtesy of the Louisiana
State University. School of Landscape Architecture. Office of Sea Grant.)
In 2008, the
US District Court placed responsibility for this floodwall's collapse squarely on the US Army Corps of Engineers; however,
the agency is protected from financial liability in the Flood Control Act of 1928”. p 120, # 164 Schaefer&Rusich and #165 Schaefer &
Rusich "We don't mess with no imports," Merlin Schaefer, told food writer
Brett Anderson in 2008. True to his word, in 2010, while the Deepwater Horizon gushed oil into the gulf he drove ten hours
per day to and from Texas to keep his business going by buying seafood there to bring back home to sell in his Bucktown market.
Merlin is a third generation owner, namesake
and grandson of Merlin Schaefer who, in 1969 opened the shop on Lake Avenue with Johnny Rusich. The men fished, crabbed,
and trawled for shrimp in Lake Pontchartain – Merlin's grandmother sold their catch. The little Bucktown business has
survived storms, economic downturn, drastic changes in the neighborhood, and the oil spill thanks to Merlin and his wife Tracie. Above, J. T. Thonn displays fresh shrimp to a customer.
Below, Amy Lanteigne places her order of 10-12 count shrimp with Rosie Burger. (Courtesy of Chris Graythen.) 2009 2010s
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