The GNOA Newsletter is published three times each year in the Spring, Fall, and Winter.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
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Minutes of the Autumn 2000 meeting
of the Greater New Orleans Archivists
The autumn meeting took place on Wednesday, 13 September 2000, in the Historic New Orleans Collection's Counting House. In attendance were Ray Nussbaum, Siva Blake, Rob Sherer, Carol Bartels, Florence Borders, Cathy Kahn, Fred Kahn, Mark Cave, Wayne Everard, Rebecca Hankins, Buffie Hollis, Florence Jumonville, Kathy Lang, Theresa LeFevre, Rachel Lyons, Norbert Raacke, Rodney Smith, Barbara Vaughn, and Irene Wainwright. The meeting was called to order by GNOA president Ray Nussbaum. He began by passing out handouts for a lecture sponsored by the Newcomb Center for Research on Women for Susan Tucker, who could not attend. The first order of business was the GNOA financial report. The organization now has $3,900 in its account. Since December 1999, the GNOA has collected $599 and spent $116. Rob Sherer, GNOA treasurer, reported that the organization was in very good condition, in part because institutions have not been requiring reimbursement for refreshments when hosting the GNOA meetings, and by the underwriting of the newsletter. Mr. Sherer reminded the members that the winter meeting is the time to pay dues for the coming year. He also discussed the plan to invest GNOA money in a $3,500 CD, hopefully at a 6.5 to 7% one-year interest. He will report on these efforts at the next meeting. Cathy Kahn reported that we are still collecting money from sales of Jews of New Orleans: An Archival Guide and suggested the possibility of a reprint. Carol Bartels reported on the activities of the GNOA's committee to look into the events concerning the appointment of the new state archivist. The committee, consisting of Carol Bartels, Sally Reeves, and Lee Miller, met and sent e-mail to the members of the Louisiana Historical Records Advisory Board asking for assistance and information concerning the Secretary of State's appointment of the State Archivist. Little feedback was received. The matter was taken to the board of the Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association, which said it might be interested in working with the GNOA to introduce legislation that would set some minimal criteria for the state archivist position. Florence Jumonville stated that we "could have done worse" and Rob Sherer indicated that the concern was for future appointments. Carol Bartels clarified that the effort is not to unseat the present appointee, but rather to set standards for the future. Cathy Kahn made a motion to create an official archives for the GNOA papers. Rob Sherer and Rebecca Hankins seconded the motion, which passed. Florence Jumonville volunteered the University of New Orleans' Library as that repository. Rob Sherer expressed concern that GNOA retain the rights to the paper. Florence Jumonville requested a stipulation that, should GNOA become defunct for any reason, UNO would be able to keep the records. Cathy Kahn said GNOA would need to contact anyone who has records of the organization, such as past GNOA presidents and secretaries. Rebecca Hankins pointed out that there wouldn't be many records for the early years, when there was only one business meeting a year. Irene Wainwright suggested someone speak to Collin Hamer, who has collected most of the newsletters. Regarding the GNOA winter party, Rob Sherer suggested someone bring a camera to get images of GNOA members, especially as this is traditionally a holiday celebration. Florence Jumonville said we need pictures of the officers. Barbara Vaughn said that Nunez has moved into its new facility and expressed a desire to host a GNOA meeting there in the future. GNOA secretary Siva Blake announced that the A& E channel produced a documentary on the antebellum chronicles of love among Creoles and Cajuns, which first aired on July 29, 2000. The program features members Lester Sullivan of Xavier and Marie Windell of UNO. Both spoke on the interracial arrangements for plaçage in New Orleans, using evidence from court cases and family papers. There was some discussion regarding the posting of members' e-mail addresses on the GNOA Web page. This feature had been discontinued earlier because of concerns about indiscriminate publishing of the information, but some members wanted to know if the address could be made available to members only. Rebecca Hankins suggested that the Archival Research Repositories in New Orleans brochure should be updated and republished.
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LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
William D. Reeves will address the GNOA on January 17, 2001 concerning a project now underway. Michael Sartisky of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will also speak. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities has secured an emergency grant to inventory selected Louisiana Parish courthouses to assess the existence and condition of their colonial records (until 1820). Dr. William D. Reeves will visit fifteen courthouses in December and January. Following a general meeting with the Clerks of Court at the end of January, Conservator Scott Williams will visit the selected courthouses to complete a facility study and to conserve up to 3000 pages of colonial records. A final report on the emergency grant will be completed by January. Submitted by William D. Reeves LOUISIANA ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS ASSOCIATION The Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association held its annual Fall Meeting on November 3 at Melrose Plantation just outside of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Speakers at this year's meeting included Janet Colson of the Louisiana Creole Heritage Foundation, Carla Cowles of the National Park Service, Cane River Creole National Historical Park, and a representative from the National Center for Preservation, Technology and Training. The meeting concluded with tours of Melrose Plantation and Oakland Plantation. New officers and board of directors were elected at the meeting. This year's officers are Carol Bartels, President; Jean Kiesel, Vice-president; Catherine Jannik, Secretary; and Collin Hamer, Jr., Treasurer. The members of the Board of Directors are Florence Borders, Carol Mathias, Laura Street, Janet Colson, Rebecca Hankins, and Tara Zachary. Please check out the organization's website at nutrias.org/lama/lama.htm for more information on the state organization and how to become a member. Submitted by Carol Bartels JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK AND PRESERVE An exhibit titled, "Scenes of Lafourche," is on exhibit in the park's Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux. It consists of artwork created by local Thibodaux artists and it will be exhibited until January 31, 2001. Submitted by Kathy LangNEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBRARY Beginning January 26, 2001, New Orleans Public Library will once again be open on Fridays. As of that date, normal operating hours for the Main Branch will be 10a.m. - 6 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Sat. Hours are also being extended at a number of the branch libraries (check with your branch, if you're interested in details). Photographs from the Louisiana Division/City Archives collections are being used each week in the "Nostalgic New Orleans" segment of WYES' Steppin' Out program. The Louisiana Division will benefit from a $219,618 grant received by LSU from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create a digital repository of research materials in three languages relating to the era of the Louisiana Purchase, 1800-1815. The project will span two years and digitize materials from City Archives and from LSU's Special Collections. The materials will be part of the LSU Digital Library. City Archives materials to be included in the digitization project include the records of the County Court (Orleans Parish), 1804-1807, Criminal Cases tried by Orleans Parish County Court and City Court (1805-1812), and the minute book of the Court of Pleas (1804). LSU's contribution includes 69 books, 40 maps, and 4 manuscript groups of legal and judicial records of the era. The Louisiana Division's current exhibit is "Algiers: The Right Bank," which provides a taste of the history and life style of the Right Bank of New Orleans. The exhibit features photographs, maps, books, postcards, and other materials from the City Archives and Louisiana Division collections. It will remain on view through the end of the year 2000. An online version is available at nutrias.org/exhibits/algiers/algtitle.htm. Submitted by Irene WainwrightAmistad Research Center at Tulane University
Recent acquisitions at Amistad include: 2. The Arnold de Mille Papers, donated by Valerie De Mille. De Mille served as Director of Press Relations for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Chief of the New York Bureau, Chicago Defender. The papers include NAACP press releases, United Nations correspondent files and interviews with several African leaders, manuscripts, a large collection of photographs of celebrities, and other teaching materials. 3. James E. Blackwell addendum. Along with an outstanding collection of books and periodicals, materials include correspondence, professional publications, reports, newspaper clippings and legal materials. This gift also included two brass tables with Qur'anic Arabic calligraphy acquired in the 1960's during a visit to Cairo, Egypt. 4. Sybil Kein Ph.D. addendum. Donation includes personal papers, poetry, and music, documenting her research and writing on Louisiana Creole culture. 5. Keira William donated transcriptions and audio taped interviews with New Orleans civil rights attorney John P. Nelson Jr.; Perlie Hardin Elloie, a plaintiff in the 1962-63 suit to desegregate Tulane University; and Dr. Addison Carey, professor at Southern University and the UNO, one of the first African Americans to attend Tulane University. 6. Robert S. Green Photo Collection (1954-1970), donated by Mrs. Green. The collection includes photographs and negatives depicting New Orleans religious and social events recorded by Mrs. Green's husband, the late Robert S. Green.
New Staff Michelle Hudson, has joined the IMLS funded digital humanities project as a graduate assistant. Ms. Hudson is currently a graduate student in the Library Science program at LSU.
Other News: The Visual Arts Department received a NEA Heritage & Preservation grant for its "Selections from the Aaron Douglas Collection at The Amistad Research Center" exhibit. The show will be on view from December 15 to February 2001. The grant will allow the Center to restore seven works by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Claude Clark, Malvin Gray Johnson, Albert Alexander Smith, Ellis Wilson and Hale Woodruff. Submitted by Rebecca HankinsUNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Until the original case files of the Louisiana Supreme Court were deposited by the Court at UNO, researchers had available only the selected opinions published in Louisiana Reports. Many other cases were heard by the Court but not cited in the Reports. These unreported case files range in size from a few to around 200 pages, and the opinions, from one page to two dozen. The latest finding aid now underway by Marie Windell is an inventory of the opinions of the many hundreds of unreported cases in the collection. Why would not the Court report such challenging cases? Here is another topic beginning to interest researchers. For one unpublished case, four justices wrote individual opinions. Almost a century later, Henry Plauché Dart, the early legalist, was opposed to the publication of dissenting opinions, which "might weaken the authority of the Court." Other useful current finding aids for the collection include a roster of attorneys, justices, and committees, plus indexes of exhibit items, such as maps, drawings, and newspapers. The major finding aid is an inventory, listing each case file, 1814-1890, organized by record group and docket number, date, and location of opinion, if published. The inventory will be continued as the recent large transfers of files are assimilated. Submitted byMarie Windell NUNEZ To complement the fall library display cases with books with a political theme, we prepared the archives display case with St. Bernard voting ephemera found in the archives. Included was a copy of a completed St. Bernard 1868 voting registration form along with a summary of the numbers, by age groups, of Louisiana registered voters in 1868 by parishes. This was obtained from Louisiana elections and registration office for this display. Also political ephemera from a 1975 campaign of the Rowley ticket in St. Bernard were displayed. Included were bumper stickers, invitation to a political coffee, booklets with pictures and history of each of the candidates. Elections in Louisiana by Coleman Lindsey was displayed with its sample application for registration from Section 22 of Act 122 of 1921. The LeBeau plantation, one of two remaining Arabi plantation homes that have survived to the 21st century, has been the inspiration for two students at Nunez. Sharon Simpson used the Jeanne Tacomi Collection as a starting point to research the LeBeau Plantation. She then asked William Hyland, St. Bernard historian, to accompany her to the New Orleans Notarial Archives. Her research has sparked her to write, with the Chancellor's endorsement, to the Lt. Governor to try to find a way to preserve this structure. Another student, Christopher Price, brought his grandmother (Mrs. Irene Price) and aunt (Ione Francioni) to his Louisiana history class. They both lived in the LeBeau house from 1938 to 1951 as members of the Francioni family. Chris brought them to his speech class to answer questions. They told stories of sitting on the porch and watching the river boats sail by, closets with gun turrets from when the LeBeau house was a gambling place, and the place it played in community life. He also brought a photo album showing family pictures taken at the LeBeau house during this time period showing both the inside and outside of the house. His grandmother, Mrs. Irene Price, donated a copy of Michelle Mahl Buuck's 50 pages, 1991, booklet, The Historic LeBeau House to our Archives. We plan to have a display of archived LeBeau House materials shortly. Submitted by Barbara VaughnOUR LADY OF THE ROSARY ARCHIVAL PROJECT Our Lady of the Rosary Archival Project is entering its fourth year. Concentrating in the Bayou St. John/City Park area, the Project is currently soliciting archival donations from longtime area residents and Holy Rosary parishioners. This has been a slow process but a number of interesting and worthwhile early 20th-century photographs have already been donated. Throughout the year the Project sponsors book readings and signings. In the past year Richard Campanella, Mary Lou Widmer, Kerri McCaffety and Charles Nolan have participated in such programs. Attendance is varied but we are always encouraged by the number of individuals who can't make the event but who still pre-order signed books. Current research projects include the interviewing of lifelong Bayou and Esplanade Ridge residents. These interviews will take place in short sessions, each one concentrating on a particular event, object or person: for example a session on significant fires or Bayou bridges, or Walter Parker. From these vignettes will be written. Another project is research into the development of the Picheloup Tract and Parkview Place (Southern Park), which is the area bounded by the Bayou, Dumaine Street and Carrollton Avenue. Our Lady of the Rosary is currently celebrating the 75th anniversary of its church building. The Archival Project contributed to a special issue of the parish's monthly magazine, Goings On, which focused on this event. Contributed articles included a short profile on the church's architect Rathbone DeBuys. Finally, the Archival Project is continuing with its series of reviews of noteworthy local books which are out of print. Recent reviews included Peirce Lewis' New Orleans: The Making of an Urban Landscape, Edna Freiberg's Bayou St. John in Colonial Louisiana 1699-1803, and Mary Cable's Lost New Orleans. Reviewing the Lewis book led to an e-mail dialogue with Dr. Lewis, which, while most interesting, was painfully too short. Submitted by Mark C. TullisSISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF MEDAILLE IN THE SOUTH In my capacity as Archivist of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in the South, I was privileged to spend two weeks in the Archives of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Bourg, France. The first Sisters of St. Joseph in Louisiana came from Bourg in 1854, and the Sisters here remained affiliated with that Bourg congregation until 1977. In the early pioneering days, there was little time or energy to preserve letters--those received from Bourg, and even less, copies of letters sent to France from the US. In the 1980's, we Americans were given access to the Bourg archives, in which we found some 1600 letters sent from the USA! These letters, which were subsequently translated into English, have provided a wealth of information about the life and times of our fore-sisters. For example, we now have a first-person account of the role Sisters played in preventing a massacre of Native Americans in Charenton, LA in the late 1800's. However, those 1600 letters were only half of the correspondence. We did not have the letters that had been sent from Bourg for much of our earlier history. What I found this year was another group of letters from the US, perhaps 500 more. In addition, there were two large registers of 400 pages each, containing meticulously preserved handwritten copies of letters sent to the American Sisters for the periods 1906-1915 and 1931-1936, plus several copy-books containing summaries of letters sent at other periods. I worked steadily for two weeks, copying as many of these letters as I could. Time ran out, however, so I will have to return next year. The Director of the Archives for the Department of Ain in Bourg was kind enough to copy the registers for me at no cost, since I agreed to let him make a second copy for his Archives. As the Director put it, "It is of interest to the people of Ain that some of its citizens helped to Christianize America." The search continues at the Bourg motherhouse for letters and other documents that will complete the Archives in New Orleans. Hopefully more treasures will be waiting when I return next year. Submitted by Sister Jane Aucoin, csjTOURO INFIRMARY ARCHIVES October and November have been busy months in the Touro Archives. In response to the hospital's preparation for its 150th anniversary, the archive is providing a time line, photographs, and lots more. Our 150th birthday is August 26, 2002, but we plan a yearlong celebration. Some of us have just returned from the Southern Jewish Historical Society's 25th Annual conference in Cincinnati. New Orleans was well represented: Touro's archivist is president. Xavier Archives Assistant Archivist Irwin Lachoff presented a paper on Rabbi Bernard Illowy (1814-1871) Counter Reformer. Tulane University professor Lawrence Powell and Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn of Temple Sinai were also on the program. One of the great joys of the conference was the chance to visit-and research- the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. The team of Lachoff and Kahn will be speaking again in February on the New Orleans community as Paul Tulane saw it for the Tulane University Alumni Association, and again in March on a panel on New Orleans Jews for the Louisiana Historical Association. Submitted by Catherine C. KahnTHE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION An exhibition of works by Marie Adrien Persac jointly sponsored by THNOC and the Louisiana State University Museum of Art will open in the Williams Gallery on January 16, 2001. On view will be the most comprehensive gathering of Persac's work ever assembled, including the rarely exhibited plantation gouaches from private collections and Persac work housed in the New Orleans Notarial Archives, along with paintings and drawings from the Collection's holdings. An accompanying catalogue, Marie Adrien Persac: Louisiana Artist (LSU Press), is available in the Shop. The Historic New Orleans Collection presents the Sixth Annual Williams Research Center Symposium, "Bourbon Louisiana: Reflections of the Spanish Enlightenment," on Saturday, January 20, 2001. For information call (504) 598-7171 or log on at www/hnoc.org. Registration is $30. The Symposium will be held from 8:30am to 3:30pm at the Omni Royal Orleans, Grand Ballroom, 621 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, LA. Submitted by Siva M. Blake TULANE UNIVERSITY Some recent activities related to the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University: Bruce Boyd Raeburn presented an audio-visual lecture at the Salzburg Jazz Festival as an introduction to the European debut of Ken Burns' "Jazz" on October 30. Raeburn also presented a paper, "Stars of David and Sons of Sicily: Constellations Beyond the Canon in Early New Orleans Jazz," at Toronto 2000 and Musical Intersections, a meeting of 15 ethno musicological societies, on November 3. He presented a lecture on "Jazz and American Popular Culture" at the McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont, Texas on November 16. Raeburn and the resources of the Hogan Jazz Archive were used in the making of Ken Burns' "Jazz," which premiers on PBS on January 8, 2001. Submitted by Bruce Raeburn
The Academy of Certified Archivists is pleased to announce a complete redesign and reworking of its website, www.certifiedarchivists.org. The site offers detailed information and application forms for the Academy's certification program, guidelines for maintaining your certification, an introduction to the Academy's Class of 2000, answers to frequently asked questions, selections from the ACA's newsletter, information about the "You Pick Your Site" program (through which archivists anywhere in the world can host the archival certification examination in their home town), and more. Next year's archival certification examination will be given August 29 in Washington DC (site of the Society of American Archivists' annual meeting), Boston, Chicago, Phoenix, and Dallas. The Academy will also administer the exam at additional sites when requested to do so by five or more people. The Academy would especially like to work with GNOA to offer the exam in New Orleans, so if you are interested in becoming a Certified Archivist, please visit the web site, read about the "You Pick Your Site" program, and learn how you can arrange to hold the archival certification examination in the Crescent City. The Academy of Certified Archivists is delighted to proclaim that one of its newest members is Buffie Hollis! As all good GNOAers know, Buffie is the Assistant Archivist at the Notarial Archives and supervises the microfilming of their twentieth-century holdings. She received her MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997 with a concentration in archives and was awarded an MA in history with a concentration in historic preservation by the University of California at Riverside in 1992. Congratulations Buffie! Long-time GNOA member Carol Mathias of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux is program chair for the 2001 annual meeting of the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA). The SSA is the regional archival association for Louisiana. It will hold its 2001 annual meeting May 24-26 in Fort Worth, Texas. The conference hotel is the Radisson Plaza Hotel on Main Street, only two blocks from Sundance Square, which is home to dozens of restaurants, shops, museums, and theaters. In deference to the tornado that visited Fort Worth last year, the theme of the 2001 meeting is "Winds of Change." This is an excellent opportunity for GNOA members to be part of the program, so please send your program proposals to Carol at (504) 448-4621 or el-cam@nich-nsunet.nich.edu. If you are not an SSA member (shame! Membership is only $10 per year and, after GNOA, is the best archival deal around) but would like information about the meeting, please contact Carol Roark, Phone: (214) 670-1444, croark@lib.ci.dallas.tx.us, to be added to the mailing list. For more information, visit the SSA's website at lib-04.lib.uh.edu/ssa/ssa/htm.
The deadline for the Society of Southwest Archivists awards is January 10. The SSA has four
awards: Submitted by Leon C. Miller
NOTES The following should have been included in the last Newsletter: The A&E Channel produced July 29, 2000 a documentary on the antebellum chronicles of love among Creoles and Cajuns. Lester Sullivan (Xavier) and Marie Windell (UNO) were interviewed on interracial arrangements for plaçage in New Orleans from the evidence in court cases and family papers.
Suiza Foods is the Corporate Parent to Brown's Dairy, located at 1300 Baronne St. The Historic Faubourg Lafayette Neighborhood is appealing to the Board of Directors to stop the demolition of 1429 Carondelet St. We have exhausted the City's Appeal System, but refuse to give up the quality of life in our reviving neighborhood. The industrialization of New Orleans jeopardizes the residential status of us all. We will be happy to forward the signed copy of the attached letter to the Suiza Foods Corp. Board of Directors for you. Thank you for your support in preserving our historic neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors:
Suiza Foods Corp. Dear Board Member: As a resident of New Orleans, I request that the Board of Suiza Foods halt the demolition of 1429 Carondelet Street located in the Central City National Register Historic District. The revitalization of this neighborhood has been designated by the White House Millennium Committee as a "Save America's Treasures" official project. Brown's Dairy, your New Orleans subsidiary, has outgrown its Central City location and continues to expand and demolish building after building displacing residents. The building at 1429 Carondelet Street is situated at the corner of a major intersection and helps mask the negative effects of the truck yard located next to historic homes and small businesses. Please do not disregard the community that surrounds your New Orleans facility. Stop the
demolition of 1429 Carondelet Street. Thank you for your support of our efforts to save our
historic neighborhood.
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