It was an actual cannon ball, and it was fired from all the way across the Mississippi River, from the front gallery of one of New Orleans’ most notable landmarks—the Presbytere. A prankster, whose identity remains unknown, had loaded a Civil War-era cannon on display in front of the old building on Jackson Square with powder and a four-pound ball. The blast, which sent the ball sailing over Gen. Jackson’s head and over the river, was reported to have knocked out 60 windows and knocked down a night watchman nearby.

This might be the quirkiest story coming out of a building with thousands of stories to tell. It stands on ground set aside in the city’s earliest plans to house the clergy of the cathedral standing next to it and is the fourth building on the site that was called the Presbytere, or priests’ house. Construction on the present building started under Spanish colonial rule, after the fire of 1794, but was halted after the first floor was built in 1798 when Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, the philanthropist whose fortune financed its construction (along with the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral), died. It remained a one-story building until 1813, when the second story and roof were completed. The third floor and signature mansard roof and dormer windows were added in 1847.

The present building, while called “the Presbytere,” was never used to house the clergy, but was leased out by the church first as storage and retail space. Around 1822, it was leased to the city and became the home of the city’s civil courts, where they stayed until 1910. At that time, the Presbytere was turned over to the Louisiana State Museum. Following extensive renovations, it began telling the stories of Louisiana and has continued to do so ever since.

The first floor, once the home of two courtrooms, the Orleans Parish sheriff’s office and the Supreme Court’s law library, now houses the exhibit Katrina and Beyond.
But, as Al Johnson famously sings, “it’s Carnival Time, and everybody’s having fun”—and it’s time to take a look at Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana, the comprehensive exhibit on all things Mardi Gras housed on the Presbytere’s second floor.

The old courtrooms are now “krewe” rooms. Rooms where lawyers argued and judges judged and fortunes and liberties were won and lost as clerks furiously wrote down every word of it (for a time, one in French and one in English) now display costumes, masks, floats, doubloons, ball favors, invitations and beads—the trinkets, treasures and ephemera that represent the history of Mardi Gras, one of the many things earning New Orleans a place among the most interesting cities in the world.

The Presbytere. Photo by Jay Rosenblatt, courtesy La. State Museum.

Why do we have all these seemingly frivolous items, these souvenirs of passing parades and remnants of secretive and exclusive societies, housed in such a grand building that was built for a sacred purpose?

“The New Orleans Carnival is descended from ancient religious rites of the Greek and Latin World. Ovid described the Greek shepherds of Arcadia who, five thousand years ago, celebrated a spring festival in hopes of better pastures and the remission of sins.”
—Henri Schindler, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, 1997.

As Schindler points out, Mardi Gras is a very deeply rooted tradition. What’s celebrated in South Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday has its roots in ancient culture and is celebrated in some form or another in almost all parts of the world that are predominately Christian, particularly where Roman Catholicism prevails.

Carnival, from the Latin carne vale (farewell to flesh), is the season just before Lent, the religious period of penance and fasting during which the church in its earliest days forbade the eating of meat for the 40 days before Easter Sunday. The last day of the season became Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, because on that day the Boeuf Gras, or fattened beef steer, was led through medieval towns and slaughtered for a final “farewell to meat” feast.

What are the things that set Louisiana’s Mardi Gras traditions apart from those in the rest of the world? The items that hold the answer to that question are on display in the Presbytere.

Prior to 1852, Carnival here was celebrated haphazardly, with a combination of public and private balls held throughout the city, and a tradition had arisen of street thugs throwing flour, or worse things, at passers-by on Mardi Gras day. Starting in 1852, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, the first organized krewe in New Orleans, held a public parade on Mardi Gras evening and a very private ball after the parade. It served as a model for future organizations.

The Twelfth Night Revelers and Rex were organized after the Civil War. Although at the time Rex was merely 10 years old, a British journalist visiting the city observed:

“The first essential in the successful conduct of the Southern carnival is an entire and unswerving belief in the personality and supremacy of Rex…[R]egal edicts…are not only implicitly believed in, but as implicitly obeyed.”
—George A. Sala, America Revisited, Vol. II, 1882.

Sala wrote several volumes about his travels around the world. He observed Mardi Gras in New Orleans at a time when organized revelry was but 30 years old. Rex’s proclamations, declaring Mardi Gras a holiday and inviting all of his subjects to participate, were printed up and distributed throughout the country in hopes of stirring up interest for travelers to visit the city. Sala had seen one at the train depot in Atlanta.

Preparations underway for a ball in the old French Opera house. Courtesy La. State Museum.

Rex’s early proclamations, along with hundreds of other items of printed Carnival-related items—ball invitations, admit and dance cards, sheet music and parade bulletins—are in the museum’s vast collection, only a fraction of which can be displayed. Krewes seemingly tried to outdo each other in the golden age.

Examples of the elegance and splendor of those bygone days grace the Presbytere’s display cases, which are filled with the jewels, costumes and gowns worn by the kings and queens of various courts, as well as smaller items such as ducal badges and ball favors.

Wayne Phillips, the curator of Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana, says the Louisiana State Museum was founded in 1904 and began its Mardi Gras collection right away. “It’s significant that in the 1900s people realized its importance and began collecting items related to Mardi Gras,” Phillips says. “Mardi Gras wasn’t that old then; several krewes were brand-new and the oldest were only 50 years old.” He says the first items collected were ball invitations because they fit well with the museum’s system of archiving documents. Ball invitations are highly collectible for another reason—many are individual works of art, which Schindler refers to as “These beautiful messages from the gods…”

In 1873, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, known for satirical social commentary through its allegorical parade and tableaux ball themes, reached an infamous peak with its representation of carpetbaggers and occupying troops through the theme “The Missing Links to Darwin’s The Origin of Species.” The despised Gen. Butler, who led the Union occupation of New Orleans during the war, was depicted as half man, half hyena and President Ulysses S. Grant as a tobacco grub. A booklet printed by the krewe with drawings of the 100 animals and their satirized counterparts is on display.

Comus Ball 1873. Courtesy La. State Museum.

Parade bulletins, poster-sized depictions of the floats that were to appear in the parades, were handed out or published in newspapers. The earliest Phillips knows of was printed in 1874. “Their importance was not imagined at the time; they offer the only record of what the parades looked like,” he says. The museum has about 350 bulletins, and Phillips says, “What’s unique about the 1874 bulletin is that it’s not printed locally but by an illustrated weekly on the East Coast.” In the 1880s, local printers, notably Walle & Co., printed color lithograph bulletins, which often had advertisements for local business on the back.

The crown jewels of the old-line krewes like Comus and Rex are in display in a room reached through the last vestige of the Presbytere’s role as courthouse—a massive steel vault door that entered what was a fireproof room where court records were stored.

“Crowns and scepters represent a real important collection for us. The crown represents what it means to be a monarch more than anything else,” says Phillips. “A lot of the time, the crown and scepter would survive, but the rest of the costume would not. They’re really hard to collect because, until the 1960s, the krewes gave the jewels to the king and queen, who would donate to us. Now they keep the jewels to re-use every year.”

His favorite story involves Elizabeth Nicholson, who was Rex’s queen in 1948. “The early crowns and scepters that were going to be worn by the king and queen of Carnival would be displayed in a jewelry store window on Canal Street before Mardi Gras,” he says. The public did not know who the royals would be, but Nicholson knew months in advance that she would be queen. “She would go stand in the crowd of people ogling her jewels, because she knew she was the one who would get to wear them. No one else knew that secret yet. And we now have that crown and scepter in our collection for everybody to see.”

It’s funny how things don’t change. Nicholson’s story echoes the observation Sala made more than 65 years before:

“Crowds have been gathering, evening after evening, before the window of a jewelry store in Canal Street, in which Rex’s ‘Crown jewels’—his diadem, his scepter, his orb, and his ring—have been displayed. A leading hardware man gravely advertises that he has been appointed to construct a fireproof safe for the custody of the Royal jewels.”
—George A. Sala, America Revisited, Vol. II, 1882.

Phillips strives to acquire and maintain artifacts from all over Louisiana. He recently acquired a small collection of ball gowns from Morgan City krewes that had been displayed at a museum there.

Of great interest are the costumes and masks collected from the Acadian Mardi Gras tradition, the Courir de Mardi Gras. Towns in Acadiana, such as Mamou, Eunice and Church Point, host celebrations far removed from processions on city thoroughfares and masquerade balls.

“Rural communities don’t have a float-based parade tradition,” Phillips says. “It’s based on visiting households on horseback, trucks and wagons pulled by tractors. Participants perform music, working for ingredients for the gumbo.” Masked revelers travel on horseback or truck from house to house in the Acadiana countryside, dressed as clowns, thieves or demons.

“One thing that is really important is the extent of the disguise, because they are performing acts of mischief. Cajun Mardi Gras mask-makers have devised a variety of ways to make sure the wearer can see out of them but no one can see through to identify the wearer. As a result, you have a group of well-known mask-makers that people regularly go to for Acadian-style masks.” Fifty or so masks are on display from the museum’s collection of over 100.

Acadian Courir de Mardi Gras masks.

Many more items observing Carnival from different cultural perspectives are found at the Presbytere. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club’s traditions are celebrated, as are the Twelfth Night Revelers, modern “super krewes,” marching bands and costumes from gay carnival clubs. Modern costumes made post-Katrina out of the then-ubiquitous blue-roof tarp material are displayed in the Presbytere’s Katrina exhibit.

Another item in the collection that’s become common at the parades is a ladder that’s been converted to have seating for children at the top (there’s no indication of whether its owners prefer the sidewalk side or the neutral ground side, though). We might think this is a new invention. But Robert Tallant observed in his 1947 book Mardi Gras that as he wandered from the French Quarter to view a parade on Canal Street, “Fathers held small children on their shoulders, or they held them high above adult heads in particular contrivances that appear in New Orleans only at Mardi Gras time—boxlike seats at the tops of long poles.”

So it is true that, at least with Carnival time in Louisiana, the more things change, the more they stay the same—but I’m guessing today’s ladders are safer.

The iconic Friendship Oak has held court in Friendship Circle for over a century. According to history professor emeritus and Southeastern lore connoisseur C. Howard Nichols, the tree earned its name when it served as campus courtship central.

“The women’s dormitory across the street (Senior Hall at the time and now Campbell Hall) may have contributed to the name since the tree’s spreading branches provided a somewhat secluded ‘courting place’ for male suitors who called upon the female co-eds,” he says.

Friendship Circle at Southeastern. Photo by Randy Bergeron.

The Kenelly family can attest to this. According to Ken Kenelly (’75), his parents began their courtship beneath the oak’s languid limbs. Pat (’47) and Bert (’47) Kenelly attended what was then Southeastern Louisiana College in the years following World War II. Pat was a Hall of Fame inductee for football, baseball and distinguished service as both a coach and an athletics director; Southeastern’s baseball diamond is named in his honor—Pat Kenelly Field at Alumni Stadium. An inductee in his own right for distinguished service as a football player, coach and administrator, Ken says there were countless memories from the baseball dugout and Strawberry Stadium, but Friendship Oak held a special place in his parents’ hearts.

“I remember my dad saying that Friendship Oak was the special place on campus because they didn’t have cars, so that is where they dated,” says Ken. “He used to say, ‘If that oak ever starts talking, I’m going to have to chop it down.’”

So while the name may only refer to friendship, it’s understood with a wink and a smile to mean romantic friendships, not the BFF kind.

State Senator A.G. Crowe (’73) is quick to point out that not only were he and Linda (’73) sweethearts in their college days, they’re still sweethearts today. “We stood under Friendship Oak, and I let her know she passed all the tests,” he says, jokingly. “I proposed and let her know that if she would have me, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”

It was also beneath the canopy of Friendship Oak’s branches that Brad Bendily (’96) proposed. According to the former Erin Buratt (’96), he couldn’t have picked a more perfect place. “We both lived on campus, so lunches and quiet walks under Friendship Oak were a regular occurrence, in addition to the numerous student events we participated in near Friendship Circle,” she says.

Friendship Oak was also a favorite nighttime stop after performances in Pottle Hall and Student Union activities for the couple. “The moonlight shining through the oak’s branches was a beautiful sight,” she says. “It always set the stage for a romantic kiss good-bye.”

One fall night in 2001, following a dinner to celebrate her job, Brad made a detour to campus to retrieve something he “forgot” in his office. “He parked in front of Friendship Oak, which didn’t seem unusual, given that his office was in nearby McClimans Hall,” says Erin. “But when we got out of the car, instead of walking toward McClimans, he led me under Friendship Oak, knelt down on one knee, told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him.”

She said yes—and nine years ago, they were married.

Erin currently serves as deputy superintendent of the Office of Developmental Support for the Louisiana Department of Education and Brad is systems administrator for Administrative Computing Services at Southeastern. Once upon a time, however, they were both student workers on campus who met through their involvement with the Student Government Association. Apparently, during the mid-1990s there were quite a few “computer issues” in the Office of Career Services where Erin worked that required “fixing” by a certain student worker in the Office of Administrative Computing Services.

“Brad’s employment at Southeastern keeps us even more connected to the campus, still participating in various activities, enjoying the return of football and hanging out with our Southeastern family,” Erin says.

Their two-year-old son, Gavan, has already been introduced to the Southeastern scene—as evidenced by one of his first photo sessions that featured a Lions football helmet, a stuffed Lion and a Southeastern shirt. Erin says, “He’s made several trips to campus, including to our beloved Friendship Oak, getting to know the campus of possibly his own future college home.”

Friendship Oak in the 1930s.

In the case of Ellie Schroder (’83), her future husband could have been called for a blatant offsides penalty when they first met on Southeastern’s intramural flag football field—John (’84) was the coach of Ellie’s opposing team.

“I was editor of the Le Souvenir yearbook, and my office was on the top floor of East Stadium,” says the former Ellie Daigle. “I used to watch him walk across campus from my window.”

The couple dated on and off throughout their college years. A wrong mailing address threatened to thwart their long-distance courtship, but it was overcome, resulting in 26 years of marriage.
“John left for basic training after graduation. I was not happy that he signed up for the military and I didn’t know about it. When I started getting calls from him at basic training, I refused them. I didn’t know that he had been sending letters,” she says. “And then one day, either Scott Perriloux (’84) or Jay Barsenick (’84), who lived in the apartment next to me, brought me a stack of letters and told me that I needed to give Schroder my correct apartment number.”

“After reading the letters, she started accepting my calls,” says John, with a grin.

There was mention of a parking lot in what is now the Lions’ baseball stadium right field where students would go for “quiet time,” but the Schroders also found some time to actually go to the library and study in between courting and canoodling, as many college sweethearts tend to do. They credit Southeastern for providing them with excellent educations and have established an athletics scholarship in their names. Ellie is a technology resource teacher at Bayou Lacombe Middle School and has her bachelor’s-plus-30 and supervision certification, all from Southeastern. John received his bachelor’s in criminal justice from Southeastern, serves as State Representative for District 77 and is a small-business owner. “We love Southeastern for many reasons,” he says, which is fitting, since Southeastern happens to be where they met and fell in love.

Socializing in the circle continues a tradition that dates back to the 1930s, when Friendship Oak’s much younger branches sheltered a popular student hangout. At one time, wooden benches sat at the base of the landmark tree’s trunk, and a small frame structure housed a refreshments stand that dispensed coffee, soft drinks and hamburgers that cost a nickel each. Dubbed the “Pop House” by students, it was razed once the War Memorial Student Union was constructed in the early 1950s, according to Nichols.

By the 1980s, a circular bench that wrapped around the massive tree’s trunk had been installed. In 2004, a wooden deck was constructed to protect its root system from further compaction and damage.

Since the return of football in 2002, the Lion Walk has become part of the Southeastern game day tradition.  As the team makes its way to Strawberry Stadium two hours prior to kickoff, players and coaches are greeted by loyal Lion tailgaters who flock to Friendship Circle on game days. Students have also begun hosting Live @ The Oak on evenings before home football games. Plenty of music and food set the mood to kick off tailgating for the next day.

Registered with the Louisiana Live Oak Society, Friendship Oak reigns with arboreal authority over Friendship Circle and beckons passers-by to socialize in its shade.

Whether you believe in the legend of a kiss beneath its branches is up to you. However, the next time you stroll through Friendship Circle with your sweetheart, be sure to glance at the Spanish moss that graces the oak’s branches. When the breeze catches it just right, it can easily be mistaken for a bridal veil made of heirloom lace. Perhaps it’s trying to foretell many kisses yet to come.

Beverly is the owner of Planet Kids Academy, a preschool for children ages 1 to 5. As we talked, her passion for children was evident, as was her philosophical approach to beauty, life and parenting.

MD:        As an educator, I know you always want to convey professionalism and set an example. How is your style influenced by what you do?

BMc:        I would describe my style as classic but comfortable. The classic look of a starched white shirt with something as simple as a pair of jeans is always appropriate to me. Of course, I always walk around with a fish hook in my mouth.

MD:        A fish hook?

BMc:        That sounds so funny doesn’t it? I was a local model for some time. You are taught to hold your head up as if a fish hook were pulling you. It just sort of stuck with me, and I do that every day as a practice. It keeps my head up and my shoulders back!

MD:        If you say that, then you must have had a slouchy phase.

BMc:        I did at one point. I think we all do. When I  was in high school, I dressed sort of punk, with short hair, piercings and really baggy clothes. What can I say? It was the ’80s. I didn’t really pay attention to what I wore until after my kids were born because I went through another slouchy phase having babies back to back. I think I was trying not to accent my body, but hide it.

Riller and Font dress, $332; crystal bead necklace, $138; long gold beads, $302; gold chain bracelet, $655; all from Izabella’s Villa. Blue oval topaz ring, $435, Champagne Jewelers. Chinese Laundry shoes, $89, Fleurt. Copyright 2012, Abby Sands Miller, abbyphoto.net.

MD:        At what point did you just “get it” about dressing better?

BMc:        I have to say my mother-in-law deserves a lot of the credit. She showed me how to put things together, and she is an inspiration. Also, I saw friends and the way they dressed. I just started paying more attention.

MD:        Has being 6-feet tall ever hindered your style or made it hard to find clothes? I would imagine you have never had to hem a pair of pants!

BMc:        You’re right. And if something does fall a little short, then it looks like a cropped pant, which is fine with me. Actually, I had a harder time finding a man tall enough for me! Luckily, he is 6-foot-4, so I can still wear high heels.

IN Fashion with Beverly McQuaid. Blouse, $194, and shorts, $198, from Izabella’s Villa. Crystal bead necklace, $138; long gold beads, $302; all from Izabella’s Villa. Pearls, $1,150, with Swarovski enhancer, $175, Champagne Jewelers. Jeweled handbag, $129, Three Divas and a Sugar Daddy. BCBG shoes, $89, Shoefflé. Copyright 2012, Abby Sands Miller, abbyphoto.net.

MD:        Beverly, no one can say you don’t look amazing now. I know you work out very hard.

BMc:        I do, and I credit my gym for helping to reshape my body. I do circuit training three times a week, and I try to run 3 to 4 miles at least twice a week. I do love to exercise—it is sort of my time to myself.

MD:        Earlier, we talked about taking time for yourself and how that influences your life.

BMc:        I am firm believer in finding balance. I am always trying to balance my family, my business and myself. I truly believe that comes out of taking care of yourself first. It is almost counterintuitive to think that, but it is so true. I feel I cannot be better at all the things I do if I have not fueled myself and taken care of me.

Roy’s artwork has graced the pages of Inside Northside for almost a decade. His watercolors, cartoons and caricatures have been a unique contribution to the magazine.

A product of the Midwest, Roy was born in Ohio in 1921. A lanky gent with a warm smile and mischievous eyes, he’s got an all-American Hal Holbrook quality about him, and his midwestern drawl makes you feel comfortable in his presence.

During the Great Depression, he lived and worked on his aunt and uncle’s farm in Indiana. His job as a boy was to take water on horseback to workers in the field, carrying two gigantic clay jugs hanging from each side of the saddle horn. Once, his playful uncle snuck up behind him in a cloud of dust, gunned the motor and honked the horn. “It spooked my poor horse, which ran like the wind as I held on for dear life. He ran full tilt for two miles till we finally reached the barn, both exhausted. I felt lucky I wasn’t thrown and killed. The clay jugs were still intact, I was happy to realize, but I always kept an eye peeled for my uncle from that day on.”

Roy’s Aunt Lulu raised him “mostly like Aunt Polly did Tom Sawyer, except Lulu didn’t have a heart of gold and was the main reason I decided to leave home.” He got the wanderlust, so he hitchhiked out West, grabbing odd jobs and life experiences along the way.

Roy Robinson. Copyright 2012, Heather Burbrink, kristinandheather.com.

In Los Angeles, Roy joined the Army Air Corps (forerunner to the U.S. Air Force, for you young whippersnappers out there). Though mostly self-taught as an artist, he had the gumption to send cartoons to Yank Magazine, the official service weekly. Yank was distributed to G.I.s all over the world during World War II. “I was thrilled to have some 30 cartoons published, which started me on a career in art.”

All of Roy’s World War II cartoons in Yank were lost through the years. His wife suggested he write a blurb in a magazine called Reminisce asking readers for their old copies. “I got about 50 replies! People sent me bundles of them. I was touched. The cartoons were kinda crude, and I like to think I’ve improved since then.”

In 1949, at the suggestion of friends, Roy moved to New Orleans to work as a graphic artist for the Louisiana Health Department. However, Gov. Earl K. Long scrapped the program in his first year in office.

Roy's Mike the Tiger cartoon.

Undaunted, Roy did a stint at painting Mardi Gras floats for Blaine Kern the year Kern started designing and building parades. “I answered an ad and met Blaine, who handed me a pad and pencil and said ‘Draw me a shoe.’ I did, and he hired me on the spot.” That led to designing the artwork for carnival paraphernalia like cups, doubloons, programs and ads.

After teaching graphic arts at the Newcomb Art School for two years, Roy became art director for a number of television programs. He then tried out Philadelphia and Chicago, but in 1968, he came back and put down roots “way down yonder” for good.

“I was a staff artist at Mouton Art Associates, and we serviced ad agencies and clients directly with advertising art.” Roy did artwork for the city under the Landrieu administration (that’s Moon—Mitch’s daddy, kids). He did the “Pride Builds New Orleans” logo back then and tried to resuscitate it for Mitch’s campaign as “Pride ReBuilds New Orleans.”

One of the principals at Mouton Art Associates was Frank Sciortino, a wildly creative Irish-Italian artist who had been my mentor at an ad agency where I worked as a copywriter and broadcast producer. Roy and I excitedly swapped stories of Frank’s energetic creativity, vigorous temper and fondness for martinis at lunch. We both shared respect for his imagination. Mouton was a hot, creative shop in those days, and Roy was on his way.

A Roy Robinson cartoon.

“When I started at Mouton, I had to do a little bit of lettering, a bit of layout, photo sizing, cartooning, whatever. But for the 25 years I was there, I did caricaturing on the side. I worked conventions, trade shows, charity events and parties. I continued that work after the art agency closed and my wife and I moved from the French Quarter to the northshore. We’ve lived in Abita Springs for some 30 years now.”

In addition to caricaturing, Roy continues to paint watercolors. His favorite artist is Winslow Homer. “He was a great American watercolorist—and the most diverse. He started out during the Civil War doing illustrations for Harper’s.”

Roy’s watercolors are in the collections of local notables such as Angela Hill, Diane Winston, Ron Swoboda and John Preble, as well as at Inside Northside. (His watercolor of a Mardi Gras king’s float appeared on the cover of the January-February 2007 issue.)

The Art of Caricature

The word “caricature” comes from the Italian caricare: to load; exaggeration by means of often-ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the earliest caricaturists. “He drew what he called ‘distortions’ of people with very bizarre prominent features,” Roy reflects. “Dick Van Dyke did caricatures at WDSU-TV before he left for Hollywood. And popular actor George Clooney is a caricaturist. I would advise him not to quit his day job, though. There are a few wealthy caricaturists in the world, but most of us simply enjoy the work.”

Since a caricature is an exaggerated portrait, I asked Roy if he ever got into trouble for magnifying a physical trait that the subject was sensitive about. “Once I got a phone call that shook me up a bit. The voice said, ‘Mr. Robinson, this is Carlos Marcello.’ But before I could pick my jaw off the floor, he added that he had the same name as his uncle, but that he was in the catering business. Turns out he had a large function at Le Petite Theatre and wanted to hire me to do caricatures of his guests. I gladly obliged,” he laughed. “Had I done a caricature of the Carlos Marcello, you can bet it would’ve been flattering.”

Roy deals with people’s egos when he caricatures them, so he’s often on thin ice when he’s trying to amuse and not insult them. He says women are far and away more willing to be subjects of caricature than men. When he works conventions or parties, he typically sketches 80 percent more women. “I think the ladies seem to have a more honest appreciation of what they really look like, though I must say they sometimes lift their chins a bit too high (for obvious reasons).”

The request most often made by his subjects? “Don’t make my nose too big.”

Celebrities he’s caricaturized include actor Caesar Romero, comedian/presidential candidate Pat Paulsen, Laugh In comedienne Jo Anne Worley, columnist Art Buchwald, TV personality Dr. Joyce Brothers, opera star Marguerite Piazza, clarinetist Pete Fountain, “and so many other stars of yesterday that few folks remember today. I drew just about every star that played at the Beverly Dinner Playhouse in those days.”

At 90, a New Venture

I asked Roy what his secret was for being in such good shape and still working at age 90. He showed me a cartoon of himself with lines drawn to parts of his body with explanations like cataracts, hearing, rosacea, sinusitis, etc. The cartoon is entitled Over at the clinic they call me the Medical Marvel!

“My wife’s probably the reason I’ve lived as long as I have.” Roy divides his life in half, relating that the first 45 years were real screw-ups, especially the last 25 years of that period. “Then, one morning I woke up on a park bench in Chicago and realized my portfolio was gone, and so was my future. That turned my head around.” The past 45 years have been sober ones. His wife has helped him every step of the way. “Martha, she’s my rock.”

Today, Roy still does his famous caricatures, but he is focusing on his newest venture: home and business portraiture. His business plan includes not only home and business owners, but also real estate professionals wishing to give their clients a unique gift, a watercolor illustration of their home. His pricing is ridiculously low, but he wants to establish his new enterprise quickly. “Heck, Webb, I’m 90—and burnin’ daylight,” he chuckles.

Open since 2005, the Mandeville store is the third location, and the first outside the southshore, of this long-established business. Martin Wine Cellar started as a neighborhood wine shop in Uptown New Orleans 60 years earlier, when David Martin opened a storefront in half of a shotgun house at Baronne Street and General Taylor in 1946.

Cedric Martin now helms the business started by his father, whom generations of New Orleanians may remember from TV commercials as “the steely-eyed wine merchant.” Cedric’s daughter, Hope, who represents the family’s third generation in the enterprise, is in charge of marketing and promotion.

Cedric and Hope Martin, Martin Wine Cellar.

By 1953, business had grown so much that Martin bought the other half of the house, demolished it and built a large store on the site. This started a trend that would continue for Martin’s: outgrowing itself and expanding its physical operations. Locations now include the main store, which opened in Metairie in 1989; a store on Magazine Street; the Mandeville shop; and one in Baton Rouge. The landmark Baronne Street store was put out of commission by Katrina. Its construction prohibited simply raising the structure to the new flood elevations, and it was demolished. The foundation has been poured for the new store on Baronne that Martin’s hopes will be up and running for the 2012 holiday season.

The Mandeville, Baton Rouge and Magazine Street stores came about as a way to both establish the business in new markets and to retain employees after the Uptown store was closed. “I had so many qualified people working for me that I couldn’t promote them in one location,” Cedric says.

Cedric recalls that his dad’s biggest challenge in getting the business off the ground was simply introducing the city to fine wine. “People back in the 1940s drank a lot of spirits. His goal was to educate them on wine,” he says. Educating customers—and the sales staff—plays a big part in Martin’s success today.

While in college, Cedric had spent summers working in some of the great wine houses of France and in some of the best restaurants in New Orleans. After graduating from LSU, he attended the Viticulture and Enology program at Fresno State University, where he was classmates with some of the country’s top winemakers. He brought his experiences home to help his father expand the business and establish its food operations.

The company began its deli Uptown in 1977, serving customers who could now enjoy lunch while they shopped and purchased otherwise unavailable gourmet cheese and other food items. It proved very popular, and the demand at the Metairie deli—now bistro—prompted a total renovation of the store. Dinner is now served Monday through Friday. Of course, customers can buy any of the beverages available in the store to have with their meal. “It’s the best wine list in the city,” Cedric says, with a grin.

Martin’s long-established relationships with its suppliers all over the world are a great benefit to its customers. “We get great allocations each year and buy futures,” says Cedric. It’s not uncommon for Martin’s to buy stakes in wine futures, locking in prices while grapes are still on the vine in years when growing conditions indicate an exceptional vintage is in the works.

David Martin never stopped educating his customers and Martin’s continues the tradition. Product tastings and wine classes are held throughout the year. Cedric says samples of many of the wines and spirits are available; customers at the Metairie store, for example, can try virtually any of the spirits in stock before buying, including a large selection of single-malt Scotch whiskies.
All of the locations carry a custom selection of wines called “Cedric’s Six-Packs,” a box of six different bottles of wine for the price of five—white or red, each with tasting notes, a history of the wine maker and food pairing suggestions.

Rayborn says the Mandeville store features complimentary tastings every Friday. “We always sample some type of spirit and some type of wine.” A recent tasting of 24 Cabernets drew 90 people. “It was our biggest event all year. Also very popular is our beer tasting. We have it the same day every year, the Friday before Father’s Day. It’s 80 beers, plus food, for $20 a person. That’s a deal!”

Martin Wine Cellar is located at 2895 Hwy. 190 in The Village Shopping Center in Mandeville. Call (985) 951-8081 for more information. MartinWine.com.

Prior to her recent inauguration, Pat’s transition team orchestrated a smooth changeover from Kevin Davis’ leadership. The team was directed by Howard Daigle, managing partner of the Daigle Fisse & Kessenich law firm. He says, “I think we’ve been blessed with very good leadership for the past 12 years with President Davis and the members of the council that have served with him.”

Howard believes that with this solid foundation, residents won’t see many dramatic changes under Pat’s guidance, but there will be a new focus on economic development. He explains, “We will see a far more robust economic development effort supported by a realignment of the administrative organizational structure to support that mission more clearly and better align the administration’s efforts to provide the services that residents are expecting and need from their government today.”

Shortly after her election, Pat spoke at a St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Following that event, we asked her to tell us more about what we could expect to see under her leadership as parish president.

IN:        What do you see as the most important issues for St. Tammany Parish in 2012?

PB:        Just as in other parts of the country, the economic downturn has hit St. Tammany. While we have not been as negatively impacted as most of the country, it has caused our revenue to shrink. One of the most important things we will face in 2012 is finding a way to provide the services our citizens want and need with less money. We will look very closely at how our tax dollars are spent while we develop a more pro-active economic development plan that will bring more jobs to our area. In addition, we will always have infrastructure and drainage issues with which to contend and will have to find efficiencies in those areas also.

Pat Brister. Photo by Thomas Growden.

IN:        Are there specific barriers to economic development that you will focus on in the short term? Can you elaborate on the pro-active economic development plan, including partnerships with the chambers, Northshore Business Council and Economic Development Foundation?

PB:        It will be necessary to look at all issues affecting our economic development, including planning and zoning, taxing and impact fees. We will pull together the different organizations in St. Tammany to come to the table with their wealth of knowledge, ideas and resources. One of my strengths is the pulling together of ideas from many areas and coming up with an overall program of work to best use those ideas. In my conversations with leaders of the organizations mentioned, I have learned that they are willing and excited to work with my administration to accomplish our economic development goals.

IN:        You’ve mentioned the importance of film production jobs for St. Tammany’s economy. How will you help the growth of the technology sector?

PB:        There has been a lot of work done in this area already, and we will expand on what has been started. In this regard, regionalization will be even more important than ever. I have a great working relationship with the leadership of our neighboring parishes. I will work with GNO, Inc. and the Louisiana Economic Development department to make sure we are at the table when decisions are made to go after the companies in the technology and film industries. The move by Globalstar to St. Tammany has given us a very good entrée into the Silicon Valley companies that are looking to move to a more economical area of the country. We must also make sure we have the educated and trained personnel that these companies will need.

IN:        How do you plan to communicate and work with local government leaders, leaders of the business sector and other community leaders in St. Tammany?

PB:        I have already started an outreach to other government leaders in St. Tammany. Those with whom I have spoken have agreed to meet regularly to discuss issues that are important to all of us. The municipalities are eager for us to join forces in attracting new jobs and businesses. Before being elected, I served as executive director of the Northshore Business Council for four years. This organization is made up of CEOs from 50 of the top companies in our area. I have already built a relationship with them and will continue to foster that relationship while reaching out to other companies to be a part of our vision of job growth in St. Tammany. I have been involved with numerous organizations over the years and built relationships with community leaders through that involvement. But, as with everything else, continued effort will be put forth to make sure these relationships grow.

IN:        How will your experience with the U.S. delegation on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women play into your role as parish president?

PB:        The experience I gained during the four years on the U.N. Commission will certainly be put to use when working with different groups to come to a compromise on issues that separate us. I understand how to negotiate for the most important parts of an agreement while realizing every stakeholder has a strong opinion on what is important to them. I know how difficult it is to get everything you want in negotiations and I have learned you often have to take a step at a time to reach your goal. While there will never be issues as divisive as the ones I faced at the U.N., the techniques are the same when trying to reach a conclusion that benefits the residents of St. Tammany Parish.

IN:        How will your experience as chairman and vice-chairman of the St. Tammany Parish Council help you in this position?

PB:        I was very fortunate to have been elected by my fellow council members to serve as chairman of the council for two years and vice chairman for two years. The experience I bring from those years helps me understand the working relationship between the council (the legislative) and the parish president (the administrative) sides of parish government. The charter spells out responsibilities of each of these arms of government and gives a good roadmap as to how St. Tammany should be run. That will be the basis of my administration—the Parish Charter and what responsibilities are given to each.

IN:        Please elaborate on your plans for working with the legislative delegation in Baton Rouge.

PB:        Over the past several years, I have sought to develop a good working relationship with our delegation. We have a dedicated group of legislators who have come together to form a very powerful bloc. I have already begun conversations with many of them to continue that relationship. I also will work to have a location where members of our delegation and parish leaders can meet whenever necessary to discuss specific legislation in a timely fashion. It is vitally important that the parish administration and our delegation work together to ensure that we are on the same page when it comes to helping St. Tammany achieve our legislative goals. That can be done more effectively if I spend as much time as possible in Baton Rouge during the legislative sessions. Other parishes have been very successful by using this method of communication.

IN:        With the many demands of official duties, how do you juggle family responsibilities as well?

PB:        I have been so fortunate to have the full support of my family—particularly my husband. We are at a time in our lives that affords me the freedom to pursue this job fully. Our children are grown and married with their own families, and my husband is totally retired. He was wonderful during the campaign period, making sure everything on the home front ran smoothly. He has worked most of his life to give our family the freedom to make the most of our opportunities, and he continues to do that for me today. I will never be able to thank him enough for his love and support. I will always strive to make him proud of my actions as parish president.

Stephanie Cerise left Louisiana for the bright lights of Los Angeles to train with hair and makeup professionals. “Producers would call for help with hair and makeup on the set,” says Stephanie. “I was fortunate to work with people like Minnie Driver, Swoozie Kurtz and Steven Webber.” After five years in LA, she followed her heart—and the movie crews—back home to Louisiana, working on local movie sets until her daughter was born.

Stephanie Cerise. Photo by Thomas B. Growden

A year ago, Stephanie’s family moved to Mandeville, where she joined Kent Jacob Salon as a stylist. When asked if she had tips for a great carnival ball or Valentine dinner look, Stephanie had plenty to share. On hair, she stressed that natural colors are in, and one color in a box doesn’t create the dimensional look offered by the blending of three or four shades in the salon.
“I use lots of neutrals on the eyes for everyday, punching up color on the outside corner of the eye for evening, perhaps a touch of glitter for a formal occasion,” Stephanie says. “For lips and cheeks, go soft and subtle, using neutrals. False lashes are definitely in; individual lashes are soft and natural, but a strip gives you a big evening look.”

Stephanie is the hair and makeup stylist for Inside Northside’s IN Fashion series. She says, “I love working on IN Fashion. It feels like the old days of lights, camera, action.”

Although the beginning of summer was rough for the national economy, the parish economy was expanding, albeit modestly. For the 12 months ending with the close of the 2nd Quarter of 2011, five important elements measured in the composite index were up. They are: commercial building permits, up 4.6%; employment, up 0.2%; number of electric customers, up 1.1%; single-family construction permits, up 0.7%; and retail sales, up 2.6%.

Family Housing
2Q11 parish single-family building permits were 5.6% higher than in 2Q10, a net increase of eight units. May and June single-family permits were 39 units higher than for same months last year. Sales of existing homes in the parish in 2Q11 equaled 2Q10, with 748 properties sold. Year-to-date housing sales in 2011 were up 6.1% over last year, but still low when compared to 2006 levels. Average apartment rent remained strong, with 2011 year-to-date average rent 4.4% higher than in 2010.

Business Performance
In a continuing entrepreneurial spirit, five of the first six months of 2011 saw an increase in business startups compared with the same months last year. The year-to-date number of new businesses was 11.3% higher over 2010. Retail sales for the quarter were 6% higher than in 2Q10 and rose 6.3% in year-to-date comparison. Retail sales were actually higher than last year in each of the first six months of 2011, and purchases indicate a much higher consumer confidence than shown nationally for the second quarter. Our unemployment rate of 6.4% remained considerably lower than the state (7.9%) and the nation (8.9%). In fact, the number of initial unemployment insurance claims was 7.8% lower in the second quarter of 2011 when compared to 2Q10.

As the STEDF, the local chambers of commerce and parish government work to expand the economy of St. Tammany, it is good to see efforts reflected in these numbers. All signs point to a good new year!

Sources: St. Tammany Parish Economic Trends, Vol. 9, Issue 2; and St. Tammany Parish Economic Growth Index; both published by the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, November 2011.

1 3 lb chicken
1 12 oz can Budweiser beer
1 sprig rosemary
Cajun seasoning

Preheat charcoal grill over high heat. When coals are hot and glowing, push them to the sides of grill, leaving an open space in the middle. Wash and drain chicken, then coat inside and out with Cajun seasoning.

Insert sprig of rosemary into beer can, and place beer can into chicken’s body cavity starting at rear of chicken. Carefully place chicken on center of grill, facing one of the banks of coals, making sure not to spill beer. Cover grill and cook until chicken is done, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning chicken as necessary. Chicken is done when the juice runs clear. Serve chicken with favorite BBQ sides.

Champagne Beverage,
champagnebeverage.com.

WOW Café and Wingery
Kansas City Orange-BBQ Sandwiches

1 boneless pork shoulder (3 lbs) or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bottle WOW Kansas City Sauce
1 10 oz can tomatoes, diced or chopped
Juice from 1 medium orange
12 sandwich rolls, split, toasted

Place meat in slow cooker and top with WOW Kansas City Sauce, tomatoes and orange juice. Cover with lid. Cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-6 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker and shred on cutting board between two forks. Return meat to slow cooker for 5 minutes. Stir until meat is evenly coated with BBQ sauce mixture. Add more sauce to desired taste. Toast rolls under broiler. Fill rolls evenly with BBQ for serving.

Wow Café and Wingery, wowcafe.com.

VooDoo BBQ & Grill
Jambalaya

Whether it’s five or 100 coming to watch the BIG GAME, owner Roger Mitchell suggests one of VooDoo’s one-stop party packs. Choose three delicious meats—pork, brisket, sausage or roasted or jerk chicken. Add a few sides like corn pudding, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni and cheese or gris-gris greens. Utensils, plates, napkins and ice can also be included. Roger adds his own touch with his famous jambalaya.

1 2 lb box of Uncle Ben’s white rice
2 cans French onion soup
2 cans beef broth
2 cans tomato sauce (half cans)
1 bundle green onions
1lb smoked sausage
1lb shrimp (uncooked)
1 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients except butter into a large pan and add salt, pepper and your favorite seasoning to taste. Mix. Cut butter into pats and place on top of mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, then stir and bake an additional 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.

VooDoo BBQ & Grill, 2999 Hwy. 190, Mandeville. 629-2021. voodoobbq.com.

If this scenario sounds familiar to you, we hope the following fitness trends will pique your interest and give you motivation to move. But remember—if you want to work out and get fit, you have to get up and go!

Train Together
Group personal training is becoming more popular not only because it’s more economical for the clients, but also because it provides peer support, says Mark Bascle, fitness director of Franco’s Athletic Club in Mandeville. “It builds relationships and encourages people to keep working out by providing group accountability,” he says. Franco’s offers a variety of group classes, including senior fitness programs and dance workouts, as well as their popular Lose Dat weight-loss program.

Up The Power
If you’re looking for an in-house cardiovascular workout that’s easier than running and that burns more calories than a workout on an exercise bike, the elliptical—the fastest-growing category in exercise equipment—is the answer. “Younger people are getting exposure [to ellipticals] in health clubs, and that’s what they want,” says Jennifer Duebler of Fitness Expo in Mandeville. Precor, the inventor of the elliptical, now offers a more affordable, cost-efficient machine without sacrificing the quality. For those who have trouble standing, seated ellipticals are also available.

Mix It Up
A specific type of workout that is becoming popular is high-intensity interval training. People are going back to basics, doing more pushups and pullups and other short-duration exercises, says Erica Alexander-Leeling, fitness director of Stone Creek Club & Spa in Covington. One example of HIIT is Tabata intervals—eight sets of the same exercise for 20 seconds at 100 percent, then a 10-second rest. “It’s a great workout; it burns calories and helps you lose weight,” Erica adds.

Don’t Resist Resistance
For those looking to gain strength through resistance training, the Pilates Plus/SPX Fitness experience offers anaerobic resistance training without going catabolic. “It’s a great full-body workout—the newest thing in resistance training,” says Lee Credeur, co-owner of Pilates Plus in Covington. The combination of Pilates, strength training and cardio elements helps strengthen, tighten and tone the body. “It’s a hard workout for anybody, no matter what shape you’re in,” Lee adds.

Shake It Off
Popular West Coast dance exercise methods using a ballet bar have recently debuted on the northshore. These workouts combine interval training, dance conditioning and isometrics to increase strength and flexibility. Without impacting the joints, the ballet bar exercise works each muscle of the body to exhaustion and then stretches it out, toning the body instead of building a lot of bulk, and creating a long, lean look. “I think the reason it’s a trendy workout is because it works,” says Jennifer Thomas, owner of Pure Barre in Mandeville. “I was a cheerleader with the Saints, and I’ve never seen results so quickly!”

Full Service—24/7
If time management is your problem, visit Gym 24/7, located behind Associated Physicians Group in Madisonville. It’s open any time of day or night, so there’s no excuse! The 3,000-square-foot fitness center offers Zumba classes, cardio equipment, weight machines and equipment that is unique to the healthcare industry. During business hours, members can ask a doctor any health or nutrition questions. “It’s a warmer, intimate setting because it’s smaller,” says Dr. Nicky Nicaud. “It’s a workout facility that allows people to get healthy and not be intimidated.”