Celebrating Black History Month: Lena Richard, first African American woman to host a TV cooking show

Lena Richard, born September 9, 1892 in New Roads, Louisiana, moved to New Orleans to help her mother and aunt working as domestic servants. She helped them prepare food, and the family who employed her, sent her to Fannie Farmer's School of Cookery in Boston.  After graduating she returned to New Orleans.

She started a catering business, serving parties, weddings, and debutante balls.  She started multiple businesses and worked as a cook at the Orleans Club, an elite organization for white women.

In 1937, Richard and her daughter Marie started a cooking school for black students, teaching them how to succeed as business owners.  As interest in her recipes increased, Richard published Lean Richard's Cook Book in 1939,  She travelled across the country to promote her book, and was featured in the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune. 

She returned to New Orleans, she opened Lena's Eatery in November 1941. In 1946, she started a frozen food business, fully cooked packaged meals flown all over the US.

In 1949, Richard opened her second restaurant, The Gumbo House.  From 1949 to 1950, she hosted a 30-minute cooking show, Lena Richard's New Orleans Cook Book, on TV.  It aired twice weekly, broadcast on New Orleans first television station, WDSU. She was the first African American to host a cooking show, in an era where not many households owned television sets.

Her cooking show continued until she passed away of a heart attack November 27, 1950.

ZZ Top performs Halftime at Super Bowl XXXI 1997

ZZ Top performed at halftime during Super Bowl XXXI, January 26, 1997 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The Blues Brothers and James Brown began the performance, and ZZ Top came on stage, with a Ford coupe driving across the field.

The bands combined to perform Gimme Some Lovin' as the finale.  

The Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21.

Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Louisiana Native Guard, first US militia unit with officers of color

In 1861, after Louisiana's secession, Governor Thomas Moore issued please for troops to defend the state in the upcoming Civil War.  At a meeting in New Orleans on April 22 at the Catholic Institute, 2000 people attended and of those, 1500 signed up.  Moore accepted their services.

A new regiment was formed  in May 1861, consisting mostly of French Creoles of color.   Moore appointed three white officers as commanders and company commanders were appointed from the men of color.  The 1st Louisiana Native Guard, as it was called, was the first of any militia in North America to have officers of color.

They offered their services to the Confederate army but were declined.  The Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in February 15, 1862 that reorganized the militia into only "...free white males capable of bearing arms..."  Therefore, the Native Guard was disbanded.  

Governor Moore reinstated them when Confederate forces abandoned New Orleans ahead of Admiral David Farragut entering the Mississippi.  The Native Guards were left to fend for themselves.  They were officially ordered to disband by General John Lewis April 25, 1862.

Celebrating Pride Month - Remembering the victims of the Upstairs Lounge arson attack, 1973

The arson attack on the UpStairs Lounge June 24, 1973 was the largest mass-murder of gay men until the Pulse nightclub attack in 2016.  The UpStairs Lounge was on the second floor of a building on Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.

On the last day of Pride Weekend, the Metropolitan Community Church held services inside the club and then the club hosted a dinner party with free beer for their patrons.  Sixty people were inside when the fire was discovered.  Some people managed to make it to the roof from where they could access the nextdoor building and escape.  Others were trapped on the second floor.

Thirty-two people died from either smoke inhalation or fire.  The only suspect was a gay man who had been kicked out of the bar earlier, but there hasn't been any evidence that the murders were motivated by hate or homophobia.

Afterwards, several families refused to claim the bodies of their relatives.  Three men were unidentified.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Masks" airs 1964

Ida Lupino directed this classic episode of the Twilight Zone, The Masks which first aired March 20, 1964.  It is the only episode directed by a woman and Lupino is the only person to have appeared in an episode and to direct an episode. 

Wealthy Jason Foster is dying in his New Orleans mansion no Mardi Gras, and has his considerably-less-than-loving family to be with him.  He makes them wear hideous masks until midnight or they lose out on their inheritance.  Each mask mirrors their own deplorable personalities.  I won't put any spoilers here but one can see where this is headed when the family is allowed to remove their masks.

The Masks keeps appearing on lists of the best episodes or the scariest episodes of the Twilight Zone.  Interestingly, the son is played by Alan Sues, who plays a sadistic thug, but went a few years later went on to star in the over-the-top comedy Laugh-In.

Celebrating Black History Month - Andre Cailloux, Civil War officer

Andre Cailloux, born 1825 in Louisiana, was one of the first black officers in the Union Army to be killed in combat during the Civil War, during an unsuccessful attack on Port Hudson, Louisiana, a Confederate fort.

After he gained his freedom, he became a successful cigar maker and was a well-respected member of the 10,000 "free men of color" in New Orleans.

When the Civil War broke out, Cailloux was commission as a lieutenant in the Confederate regiment the Native Guard, which consisted entirely of free men of color, but the regiment was just for show and the Confederates never supplied them with uniforms or weapons.  They disbanded the Guard in February 1862, just two months before New Orleans fell to Union Admiral David Farragut in April.

Union General Benjamin Butler, now headquartered in New Orleans, ordered an all-black Union Army, 1st Louisiana Native Guard in September.  Cailloux was comissioned as captain of Company E and his was considered the best in the Guard.

In December 1862, Nathaniel Banks replaced Butler and in May 1863, moved most of his army to surround Port Hudson, a Confederate fort, strategically located on a bend in the Mississippi River.  Banks launched a poorly coordinated attack.  Cailloux was ordered to lead his company of 100 men into a suicide assault against the Confederate sharpshooters.    Cailloux led his troops on several charges, but on the last charge a ball hit his arm and left it hanging by his side.  He continued to charge until an artillery shell killed him.

Confederates granted a truce the next day so Union troops could recover their dead, but the rebel sharpshooters kept them from collecting the black casualties.  Cailloux's body lay for 47 days until Port Hudson surrendered to Banks July 9, 1863.

His body was retunred to New Orleans and he was honored by thousands of attendees.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Cailloux

The Privateer's Cross available now from JMS Books!

Originally published under the title, Soumets-toi a moi, The Privateer's Cross has been published and released now from JMS Books!

Blurb:

Henry meets Cole in a spooky cemetery for a quick hook-up during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  During their encounter, Henry finds a beautiful object in a pile of dirt.  They take it back to Henry’s hotel room and discover they have picked up an ancient and very valuable crucifix.  Suddenly, they are being followed by the ghost of a pirate, wanting his treasure returned.  They seek help for their situation only to find out it is Jean Lafitte, the French pirate who operated out of New Orleans in the nineteenth century.  Unfortunately there is no where to hide from a ghost, even among the thousands of people in town for the celebrations.  What must Henry and Cole do?  If they don’t give it back to him, the ghost has a particularly cruel fate awaiting them

The Privateer's Cross available November 16!

My story "The Privateer's Cross" will be released from JMS Books on November 16!

Henry meets Cole in a spooky cemetery for a quick hook-up during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  During their encounter, Henry finds a beautiful crucifix in a pile of dirt.  Suddenly, they are being followed by the ghost of a pirate, wanting his treasure returned.  Unfortunately there is nowhere to hide even among the thousands of people in town for the celebrations.  What must Henry and Cole do to escape the fate that the ghost has in mind for them?

Excerpt:

A familiar figure crossed the intersection ahead of them.  Henry recognized the tattoos and beefy arms, which now held onto a limp body draped over John’s shoulder. 

“Don’t ask,” Henry cut off Cole’s obvious question.  “You don’t want to know.” 

They passed by a narrow opening between two buildings.  A tall, handsome man in a pirate outfit stepped from the shadows and onto the sidewalk.

“Soumets-toi á moi.”

Cole jumped with a cry of surprise at the sudden appearance. 

Henry heard Cole shout and spun around.  “What’s the matter?  Are you all right?”

“That pirate scared me.

“What pirate?”

“The  one standing right…”  Cole broke off as he looked back down the street, but Henry saw no one.  Cole paled.  He ran back to the opening.  “There was a guy standing right here.”  His voice shook as he pointed to a spot on the sidewalk.

“What did he look like?”

“Cute.”

Henry was beginning to see a trend in Cole’s paranormal sightings but decided not to mention his  thoughts.

“He was dressed as a pirate, I think.”  Cole said.  “Kinda like the guy on the float last night.  I think it was the same guy on the float and the one in the mirror this morning.  Now I’m certain I’ve seen him before somewhere but I can’t remember.” 

“I wonder if this has anything to do with the crucifix we found,” Henry mused.  “Come on.”

They wandered through the abandoned streets to Decatur Street, where the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and French Quarter Visitor Center stood.  The museum employee, whose name tag identified her as Ann, seemed to be pleased and surprised to find someone up and around as early as she was.  She gave them a big smile.

“This is one of the largest museums dedicated to preserving the history of one of New Orleans’s roguish sons, Jean Lafitte,” she announced, the pride obvious in her voice.  She motioned to a portrait on a nearby wall. 

Cole grabbed Henry’s arm.  “I think that’s him!”

“What?”  Henry and Ann said simultaneously.

“That’s who?”  Henry asked further.

“I think that’s the guy I keep seeing.”  Cole paused for a second.

Deadly Night by Heather Graham

Imagine being the recipient of a grand New Orleans mansion, pre-dating the Civil War. That’s the scenario that opens Heather Graham’s excellent ghost story, Deadly Night. Aiden Flynn and his brothers, Jeremy and Zack, inherit the house upon the death of an aunt whom they never knew existed.

It’s been neglected and in dire need of fixing up. Oh, yes. It’s also haunted. A Confederate soldier, his beautiful wife and his Union cousin still walk the grounds, giving the locals a juicy legend of family betrayal and murder.

Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader, lived in the mansion with the again Amelia Flynn until the old woman’s death. Slightly disappointed about not getting the estate, she gladly returns to her apartment in the French Quarter, leaving the Flynn brothers to their inheritance.

Meanwhile, Aiden has found human remains on the property and begins investigating in the face of ho-hum reactions from the New Orleans police department, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina. Flynn, with the help of his brothers, finds a string of mysterious disappearances of young women, dating back ten years. His investigation keeps leading him to Kendall and the jazz bar where her friends play in a band.

Kendall has been experiencing her own strange encounters with the paranormal. She never had any illusions that she could foretell someone’s future by reading tarot cards but, when the death card comes alive and mocks her, she begins having dreams that she is being stalked.

Although they don’t like each other at first, Aiden and Kendall are drawn together as the mystery of the plantation and the disappearance of the young women deepens.

Graham keeps the excitement building as Kendall receives more warnings with frightening and increasing frequency that she is in serious danger. When she moves back into the mansion with Aiden, she is visited by the ghosts of the Flynn ancestors, but are they malevolent or are they warning her of danger?

Graham’s depiction of New Orleans as a dark, gritty and dangerous place does not sugar-coat anything but does the great city justice by painting her as a place of wonder, mystery and magic.

There is a bit of cliché in that Aiden Flynn suspects serious crimes where the local authorities see none. Their excuse is Hurricane Katrina washed up many bodies out of their final resting places and hundreds more are still missing. The bones could be from anyone. It’s easy to see their point of view, but one would think they would be interested in body parts found on land where the flood waters didn’t reach even during the hurricane.

With lackluster response from law enforcement, the story takes a unique twist as the ghosts take matters in their own hands and help Aiden and Kendall solve the mystery but also save Kendall’s life.

Deadly Night is a great haunted house murder mystery for everyone, including those that may not enjoy horror.

Jean Lafitte: Prince of Pirates by Jack C. Ramsay, Jr.

In all the pirate books I’ve read, Jean Lafitte is mentioned mainly in reference to his helping the U.S. and future President Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 against the British. The one event, although heroic, does not begin to attest to the person of Jean Lafitte.

Ramsay’s biography of the famed pirate is an easy read and chronicles Lafitte’s achievements before and after the famed battle. Lafitte and his older brother Pierre played large roles in the history of early New Orleans and her politics during the transition of Louisiana from territory to statehood.

The Lafittes had a base on Barataria, between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, from where they operated a very successful smuggling business. Jean Lafitte’s knowledge of the marshes and bayous surrounding the island and New Orleans gave him a strategic advantage in confounding would-be officials or enemies from ruining his paradise. The British had hoped to woo Lafitte to their side against the U.S., but being loyal to his French roots, he sided with the Americans.

His support in the decisive battle helped the Americans from allowing the enemy to gain a foothold on their continent.

Sometime afterward, the United States began cracking down on pirates and privateers operating in her waters and the Lafittes retreated to Galveston Island which was under Spanish control at that time. They meddled in the affairs of Mexican insurgents while giving the façade of cooperating and giving intelligence to the government of Spain. Lafitte also issued letters of marquee from his ‘country’, making Galveston a nest of privateers the world hadn’t seen since the pirate colony on Madagascar.

A loophole in U.S. law allowed Jean Lafitte to turn a huge profit by smuggling slaves into Louisiana. Ramsay mentions that future Alamo hero Jim Bowie and his brother were up to their necks in the illegal slave trade. Apparently many unfortunate souls met their death at the wrong end of the knife Bowie crafted and bears his name.

Although there is mystery shrouding Lafitte’s death as well as his origin, Ramsay’s sources all agree that Jean was charming, friendly and very handsome. He had an easy-going disposition that even disarmed his enemies.

Ramsay also paints the picture of a gentleman pirate, where other historians depict Lafitte as one of the most bloodthirsty sea-rovers, worse than Blackbeard. Ramsay disputes those claims with historical records, journals and an extensive library of research on the man.

My only criticism of the book is that Ramsay threw in a few sentences here and there that only illustrate the extent of his research but did not reflect on the subject of Lafitte.

These are just hiccups in a great read about one of the most mysterious anti-heroes in American history. Ramsay writes a wonderful piece of work, giving Lafitte an unbiased and deserved portrayal.

Big Time in the Big Easy!

Fuzzy and I enjoyed a weekend in New Orleans! I was in town to attend PittCon 2008 so he came down with me on Saturday.


We started early by grabbing some beers to go! I love New Orleans! One night, I went to Ryan's Pub and ordered a beer. When the bartender handed me my drink, he said they didn't serve food, so I got my beer in a plastic cup and walked away!)

I just adore a penthouse view! (OK, maybe the 25th floor view from the J. W. Marriott, but it doesn't sound as good).

Jackson Square and the Market are beautiful! No sign of Katrina here.

We enjoyed the local music,

local pot holes (oh, here's Katrina. The most compelling evidence of the hurricane that we saw were the dead trees that died when salt water was mixed with the flood waters),

and locals. (Bar dancer at Bourbon Pub on the left, participant in a bridal dress competition at Oz on the right).