 |
|
Elephants have been among the Audubon Zoo's most popular attractions since 1924, when Itema the pachyderm first came to New Orleans.
|
Hey Blake,
When I was a little girl (in the '40s), my
grandfather would take me to the zoo at Audubon Park. My favorite animal there
was Itema, the elephant. What happened to her?
Judy Stegall
Dear Judy,
I regret to tell you that Itema, the pachyderm
who brought happiness to you and all who visited her, died on Nov. 14, 1960.
The elephant had been in poor health for three years, and the veterinarian said
she died of toxemia brought on by heart and kidney failure. She was buried that
same day on the Mississippi River batture on park grounds.
Itema came to the Audubon Park zoo when the
New Orleans Item promoted a movement in 1923 to get an elephant for the
zoo. The schoolchildren of New Orleans collected pennies to buy the elephant,
and her arrival in November 1924 was a major event. The park superintendent,
Frank Neelis, declared that "the elephant belongs to the children of New Orleans
... they saved their money to buy her." Her new name -- selected by a special
committee and coming from the New Orleans newspaper that had contributed part
of the funds for the purchase -- was given to her even before she arrived. An
enormous crowd gathered to welcome the new addition.
For 36 years, Itema was a main attraction
at the zoo. I'll bet you and others remember the trick she would do. Folks would
stand in front of her and say, "Up." Itema would put her foot on the iron rail,
throw her trunk in the air and open her mouth to catch a peanut. We all imagined
ourselves to be animal trainers, swearing that Itema was performing just for
us. But as soon as we moved on, she would do the every same trick for the next
"animal trainer" with a handful of peanuts!
On Nov. 17, 1960, Itema would have been 43
years old and a big birthday celebration was being planned. George Douglas,
superintendent and secretary of the Audubon Park Commission, said, "We were
going to bill it as a party for the biggest girl in New Orleans." Her death
made the whole zoo miserable for days. Mary Twinkle, the other elephant in the
zoo, must have sensed Itema's death and became quite unruly.
At the time of her death, Itema was the tallest
elephant on the North American continent and the oldest animal in the zoo. Douglas
called her "lonesome girl" because she never had a boyfriend, but to all she
was "Miss Audubon."
Hey Blake,
My brother-in-law suggested that I write to
you. I'm in Ann Arbor, Mich.
I'm writing a piece for which I need to know
when the St. Charles Hotel -- the old St. Charles where I stayed in 1953 --
opened. It must have been around the turn of the 20th century. I know my grandfather
went from Bowling Green, Ky., to New Orleans just to eat there.
On that trip -- our high school senior trip
-- we went to the Blue Room in the Roosevelt Hotel to hear and see Sophie Tucker
with Les Brown and the Band of Renown.
Bert Hornback
Dear Bert,
I guess you haven't been back to New Orleans
for a while. The hotel you remember fondly is gone, and the Roosevelt with its
famous Blue Room has been known as The Fairmont New Orleans since 1965.
There were actually three St. Charles Hotels.
The one you are asking about was the last of this name and was built in 1896
on the same spot as the first two. This hotel, an Italian Renaissance structure,
was designed by Thomas Sully. For about 60 years, it, like its predecessors,
was a favorite place to go for Mardi Gras balls and fetes of every kind, particularly
debutante parties.
It was demolished in 1974. At the time it
was operating as the Sheraton-Charles and was owned by Louis Roussel Jr., the
very, very wealthy oilman, banker and politically connected businessman who
died in October 2001. In 1975, Roussel said that his biggest mistake was razing
the St. Charles Hotel in spite of preservationists' pleas. "It's a damn shame,"
Roussel said. "It was a beautiful hotel."
