 |
|
What's up with the banana in the Tip's logo?
|
Hey Blake,
We were wondering why the Tipitina's logo
has that funky hand-holding-banana thing going on. While we can speculate all
we want, we figured we should ask a true NOLA expert.
The Sisters LaRouge
Dear Sisters,
Tipitina's logo was the clever creation of
designer Kathleen Joffrion, a graduate of Louisiana State University with a
degree in fine arts. It was late in 1976 when she was asked by Hank Drevich,
the club's co-founder, to design a logo.
When Tipitina's opened on Jan. 14, 1977, it
included a juice bar. And for reasons known only to them, bananas held an important
place in the hearts and stomachs of the founders, who also enjoyed doling out
phony money they called "kwazolas." The familiar phrase "In God We Trust" was
replaced with "Eatabananatoday."
Joffrion wanted to use the juice bar/banana
idea in her logo. She has said, "It was supposed to be a logo for a bar that
specialized in reggae music with a juice bar. So I had a banana in the guy's
hand. I combined a hand with the letter 'T' and it looked like a shirt sleeve,
and it was holding a banana."
But in designing the logo she made a mistake,
which remains today. It seems that Joffrion added an apostrophe 's' when she
included the name of the bar in her logo. Since the club was named Tipitina,
the owners demanded that she remove the offending 's.' When she explained that
the logo looked better with the 's,' they allowed it to remain.
Many believe that if Professor Longhair had
not existed, there would have been no Tipitina's. Indeed, the club that opened
at 501 Napoleon St. and named "Tipitina" after a song made popular by Henry
Roeland Byrd, a.k.a. Fess, was meant to be a showcase for a musician who would,
by the time of his death on Jan. 30, 1980, become one of the most popular and
revered musicians in New Orleans. And that's saying a lot.
Hey Blake,
Who was Warren Easton?
Michael Maunoir
Dear Michael,
You are undoubtedly not the first person who
has seen the impressive building at 3019 Canal St. and wondered about the man
for whom the school was named. Opening in 1913, it honors a great educator in
New Orleans.
Warren Easton, the son of English immigrants,
was born here in 1848. After a local education, Easton graduated from Louisiana
State University in 1871. He began his teaching career in Baton Rouge but returned
to New Orleans and taught for several years before becoming a principal.
By 1884, Easton was the Louisiana Superintendent
of Education, and during his tenure he established the State Normal School,
which today is Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
After four years in this position, Easton
became superintendent of the New Orleans Public Schools. At this time the system
had only 21 schools and 414 teachers, and just under 25,000 students. When Easton
died in office in 1910, the numbers had risen dramatically. Then the city had
87 schools, 1,122 teachers, and 38,000 students. In addition, there were also
4,000 students and 105 teachers at nine night schools.
While Easton was superintendent, he inaugurated
classes in drawing, music, and calisthenics as well as fire drills and compulsory
smallpox vaccinations. He also organized the Louisiana Teachers Association
and worked diligently to set regular paydays for teachers.
He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Hey
Blake,
What happened to
the Velvet on Brown's Velvet products?
Mike
Dear Mike,
In 2000, the 95-year-old Brown's Velvet Dairy
changed its name. As you have noticed, like everyone else who grew up in New
Orleans, the name on the label is now "Brown's Dairy," but the smaller logo
"Smooth as Velvet" is right below.
Brown's Dairy is also the lucky owner of the
12-foot-tall and 18-foot-long fiberglass cow that used to tower over Interstate
10 in Metairie for 27 years and was decorated for Christmas and Mardi Gras.
The owners plan to take the cow on the road
for promotional appearances at grocery stores. If you see her, the appropriate
greeting is "How now, Brown's cow?"
