Ask Blake

Some say the phrase 'Big Easy' became a common nickname for New Orleans when legendary jazzman Buddy Bolden, shown, used to play his cornet at a music club called the Big Easy Hall.

Hey Blake,
My mom wants to know how, when, why, where, and by whom did the phrase "Big Easy" become a synonym for New Orleans.
Son Alan

Dear Alan,

All of Mom's questions will be answered right here!
References to the Big Easy have been around for about 100 years. Around the turn of the century, when the great Buddy Bolden was the king of New Orleans jazz, the legendary musician played his cornet all over town: Rampart and Perdido streets, Uptown, the lakefront and across the river. Some people reported seeing him perform in a club called the Big Easy Hall. A dance hall called the Big Easy definitely existed in the early 1900s; some claim it was in Storyville, but others say Gretna.

In Pop Foster's autobiography, he also makes reference to a club known as the Big Easy. However, because jazz musicians often gave nicknames to people and places, the Big Easy could just as easily have referred to a dance hall, a dance or even someone who did the dance. Over the years, the nickname became associated with New Orleans as more and more people used it to refer to a city with a slow, easy pace and a relaxed attitude about almost everything.

In 1970, James Conaway, a police reporter, wrote a crime novel set in New Orleans called The Big Easy. Later, Dennis Quaid starred in a movie of the same title.

But credit seems to go to Betty Guillaud, formerly of The Times-Picayune, for making the nickname a household word. Betty had a column in the old States-Item, and in it she compared the laid-back style of New Orleans to the hurry-up pace of New York, the Big Apple. She's often given credit for popularizing the phrase "Big Easy" in the early 1970s.

Hey Blake,
The original of this certificate was found squirreled away with some old papers. They are not listed in the phone book, so I assume they are defunct. With our 200th birthday coming up, this may be of some interest. What can you tell me about the organization?
Suzanne Olivier

Dear Suzanne,
For the benefit of the readers who are probably mystified by the question, I describe the copied certificate, originally dated June 5, 1929.

The certificate, issued by the Louisiana Colonials, states as follows: "This is to certify that Pierre De Vezin Olivier is entitled by right of birth to membership in the LOUISIANA COLONIALS, having complied with its charter, made proof of ancestry in the ancient province of Louisiana beyond the year Eighteen Hundred and Three, and having filed said proof with said corporation."

The group was founded in 1917. It is open to people at least 18 years old who are of good moral character. And you must be able to prove that you are lineally descended from a colonist living in the Louisiana Territory before Louisiana was transferred to the United States on April 30, 1803.

There is a book you and others might be interested in -- the Hereditary Society Blue Book. It can be found in the Louisiana Collection on the third floor of the New Orleans Public Library on Loyola Avenue. Here you will find information about hereditary societies throughout the United States. Some, of course, are very famous, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and some are ones you would expect such as Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. But the book also includes groups such as the Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain and the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches.

The Blue Book, published in 1994, also includes names, addresses and phone numbers of the presidents of the various organizations. Of course, information about the most recent president of the Louisiana Colonials can be found there as well, in case you might like to become a member yourself. In fact, I'll bet there are more than a few citizens who might qualify.

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