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The granite elk in Greenwood Cemetery is guarding the tomb of Lodge No. 30 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
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Hey Blake,
On a recent visit to New Orleans, I noticed a deer on the top of a hill in one of your cemeteries. What's this all about?
Abby
Dear Abby,
I've always wanted to write a "Dear Abby" letter, but I never thought I would be the one with the answers.
The creature you ask about is not a deer at all, but an elk. And the grassy mound is not a hill, but a tumulus.
Near the entrance to Greenwood Cemetery at the end of Canal Street is a landmark that is well known to us locals. However, not all may know that it is the tomb of Lodge No. 30 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. The granite elk standing guard on top is the major symbol of the organization. And over the granite entrance to the tomb is another Elks' symbol -- a clock with the hands set at 11. Inside, under the tumulus, is a marble chamber that contains 18 burial vaults.
The tomb was erected in 1912 by Albert Weiblen, a German immigrant who started from scratch and built his business of creating tombs and cemetery memorials into one of the largest firms in the South.
The Elks tomb is an excellent example of a phenomenon that occurred in New Orleans well over 150 years ago.
In the 19th century, it became the custom for people to come together to form mutual benevolent societies. There were groups of every kind: ethnic, religious, trade, profession, and social. One of the purposes of the societies was to provide assistance in the form of doctors and medicine, burial insurance, and a place to be buried. In the mid-19th century, there were about 50 of these societies in the white population alone, as well as slave societies that erected their own tombs.
There are many of these society tombs in Greenwood. You probably noticed the Firemen's monument next to Elks tomb, and maybe you saw the Confederate monument that stands in the left corner near the Interstate entrance. This one, erected by the Ladies Benevolent Association of Louisiana, marks the mass graves of 600 Confederate soldiers. And, of course, there is also a tomb constructed by the Police Mutual Benevolent Association.
Near Greenwood are two other cemeteries that were founded by benevolent societies: Cypress Grove, founded by the Firemen's Charitable and Benevolent Association in 1840, and Odd Fellows Rest, established by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a secret benevolent society, in 1849.
In fact, if you take a tour, you will see society tombs in cemeteries all over our city, each one a tribute to the groups that provided for their own.
Hey Blake,
I was told that Lake Pontchartrain was named after a Frenchman who first mapped it. Is this true? And if so, what was the Native American name for the lake?
J. Edward Basha
Dear J. Edward,
Lake Pontchartrain was named by Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville, elder brother of Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. He tactfully named the lake after the French Minister of Marine and Colonies, Count Pontchartrain. Another nearby lake he named for the count's son and successor, Jerome Maurepas.
Before Bienville decided, in 1718, on the river location for the settlement he would call La Nouvelle Orleans, his brother Iberville set out to search for the entrance to the Mississippi River. They had arrived at Mobile Bay in February 1699, and a month later, on Mardi Gras, Iberville and a small party began their ascent up the river. Their journey took them to the present site of New Orleans and as far as the Red River. There they turned around and made their way back by way of the two lakes.
When the brothers Le Moyne arrived, the region of the lower Mississippi Valley was the domain of the Choctaw Indians. A once powerful tribe of the Muskhogean family, they were the first major tribe to form an alliance with the French in Louisiana. The Choctaw called the lake "Okwa-ta" or "Ok-Hata," meaning wide water.
I wonder if they ever considered building a bridge.
