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Minutes of the Louisiana Historical Society
Society Lectures are abstracted and recorded.
Louisiana Historical Society
General Meeting
September 12, 2000
President William Reeves called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. at The Round Table Club, 6330 St. Charles Avenue.
The reading of the minutes of the previous meeting was dispensed with.
President Reeves made the following announcements:
The programs for the coming year were announced, a copy of which is attached to these minutes for the record.
The director of the Louisiana State Museum, Mr. James Sefcik, engaged Dr. Reeves to coordinate an exhibit on the Louisiana Purchase Transfer. The exhibit will open in Baton Rouge.
The LHS is beginning to plan for the year 2003. The society will have a gala "Transfer" celebration. Hopefully, the president of the United States will attend.
Dr. Reeves has commenced planning to place the entire Louisiana Historical Quarterly on the internet. He estimates the size at 31,164 pages. Contributions to defray expenses of this project will be greatly appreciated.
Mr. Tom Favrot has completed plans for the LHS tour, which will be held on November 18 and 19, 2000. Details will be mailed to all members. As there is limited space, paid members will be given reservation preference.
Dr. Reeves introduced the program speaker, Mr. William Detweiler, whose topic was "New Orleans's Participation in World War II." Mr. Detweiler is an attorney and an active member with the New Orleans Chapter of the American Legion. He is a former National Commander. He is vice-chairman of the Louisiana Bicentennial Committee, planning for the 2003 celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Plans include invitations to the Presidents of the United States and France to participate in the reenactment ceremonies.
Mr. Detweiler spoke about conditions in New Orleans shipbuilding, war preparations and activities during World War II. A copy of his speech is included with these minutes.
Dr. Reeves thanked the speaker for his excellent presentation and invited all to the reception which followed.
Respectfully submitted:
Mrs. Nathaniel J. Chesnut Jr.
Recording Secretary
January 8, 1998. R. Dale Olson, President of the Laffite Historical Society, spoke on the current historiography of Jean Laffite. Hediscussed the different theories regarding the authenticity of the Journals, concepts of Laffite's treasure, place of birth, and place of death. He discussed current activity regarding the study of Laffite.
December 21, 1997. Professor Theodore Crackel, editor of Papers of the War Department 1784-1800, spoke on "General Wilkinson and the Historians:The Vilification of James Wilkinson." This paper examines how nearly two centuries of writers and historians have dealt with James Wilkinson as an historical figure. More often than not, Wilkinson has been portrayed as a one-dimensional character--usually to his disadvantage; the complexities of his life and career have seldom been plumbed. Historians have almost uniformly drawn their information about the General from the pens of his harshest critics and most inveterate enemies. This papers examines what writers and historians have said about the General, explores their sources, and attempts to understand why fuller portraits were not drawn. It also looks ahead to examine the potential for future scholarship focused on General James Wilkinson.
May 13, 1997 Professor Christina Vella spoke on Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of the Baroness de Pontalba. Micaela Almonester Pontalba was a wealthy New Orleans Creole who married the son of the overbearing, controlling Baron de Pontalba. Her unhappy marriage to the son was epitomized when the Baron attempted to murder her at the family villa on the outskirts of Paris. Mme Pontalba recovered from her injuries and lived to build the world-famous Pontalba Buildings flanking Jackson Square in New Orleans, as well as her Parisian home the Hotel Pontalba, now the American embassy.
April 8, 1997 Sally K. Reeves spoke on the Works Progress Administration and its contribution to New Orleans in the 1930s. She emphasized the importance of the program to the underlying capital base of the City--especially to City Park. The WPA had a style and a substance. It provided relief and made a cultural contribution to the City. The agency boldly employed not only laborers, but also white collar unemployed. She summarized the various arts programs and suggested that its contribution toward preserving Louisiana's historical records was important.
March 11, 1997 LSU Professor Susan Turner gave an illustrated lecture on her new book, The Gardens of Louisiana: Places of Work and Wonder due out July 1. Professor A. J. Meek of LSU, photographer, provided the illustrations for the book. The book is in 2 parts--an historical development and a set of profiles of 22 important Louisiana gardens. Professor Turner envisions the garden as a place of work where the gardener spends long hours of labor because of the rewards it brings. Ironically, the essential quality of the Louisiana garden is overgrown, luxurious vegetation that inevitably gets ahead of the gardener. She spoke of the frontiers of garden history and noted that American interest in gardens is at an all-time high.
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