January 1947

New Orleans, Louisiana

 

 

Hello you all –

 

            Well, we have cold weather again, but there’s one consolation: it hasn’t rained the last few days.  Down here it’s a damp cold that’s penetrating.  It must be agony for those that are afflicted with arthritis or rheumatism.

            Business people are making preparations for next month – that’s the time for carnivals and the famous “Mardi Gras.”

            I feel they will be disappointed from the money standpoint.  The people just are not spending like they used to.  I noticed it during New Years celebration.

            Most of the vendors were caught with plenty [of] stock on their hands.  The people did a little drinking but they steered away from the high priced joints.  It didn’t make much difference.  The other spots are clip joints anyway.

            Mardi Gras is supposed to be the big day.  In French it means “Fat Tuesday,” the day of feasting before Ash Wednesday – [the] first day of Lent.

            There’s one week of joy and fun I think, [and] it [goes from] Feb.13 to the 18th.  That’s the time when most everybody dresses in costumes and masks, makes merry and forgets their troubles.

            From what they say, this carnival must be worth seeing – the costumes and settings: the balls, parades, floats, the Kings and Queens, and the good looking creole babies. 

            Everything that is good in New Orleans is ‘creole.’  That term applies to the Louisiana born negro also.  There’s quite a difference in the [edited for content].  The creole [edited for content] speaks French, dresses better, and their features are different.

            In some parts of the French Quarter, there are [edited for content] [that] still practice Voodooism – snake worshipping.  They’re Queen used to be a big fat winch.  She’s dead now, but ever so often they visit her tomb and do a little jitter buggin’.

            After the dance they ask for favors, and if the Queen favors them she grants their request.  It can be, love, fortune or death.

            If she would tell me who would win the 5th race in Tropical tomorrow I’d do the snake dance and the strip tease.

            Well when the Mayor closed up the gambling in New Orleans, he closed up 920 bookie joints and put 12,000 people out of work, [and] that’s not counting the poker games.

            He said crime decreased 30 percent, [but] I think it increased.  A few days ago the police department issued a new order: stop any person at night, and if they can’t show proper identification, book them for loitering or vagrancy.

            Right now the vice squad is busy closing up the disorderly houses, and they’re bringing in the prostitutes from 18 to 80.

            The road houses and tourist cabins are next.  Too many complaints, [and] too many of the bobby soxers have been losing their pants lately.

            According to the paper some food prices dropped again.  Butter [is] 5 cents less –[it] was 80 cents a pound.  Sliced bacon [is] 55 cents, and sugar [is] 8 cents a pound when you can get it.  They say if they take the price lid off it will go to 40 cents a pound.  You better stock up if you can.

            Liquor is cheap here: bar whiskey and hi-balls [are] 10 cents a shot.  Bahrets, Three Feathers, Five Brown and Shenley are 10 cents a shot.  Luckies, Camels and others cost 25 cents a pack – how are the prices up north?

            Those whiskies I mentioned cost $3.69 for a 5th.  Is that cheap compared with prices at home?

            That’s all for now.  I’m going to quit using them big words – it takes to long to look it up in the dictionary.  You guys gotta come down to my level.

 

                                                                                

                                                                                                So long,

                                                                                                    Pete

 

P.S. – Best regards to all.