Dear Patsy,
When we are rolling our eyes in ecstasy and grunting out expressions of delight over these wonderful creations, perhaps we reflect on the creator of these Big Easy institutions or maybe we think just about how good it is to live in New Orleans where we can get one anytime we want? Don't you feel sorry for anyone who can't?

There are several stories about how these sandwiches came to be. According to some, they were created in the 1890s by Madam Begue, one of the greatest cooks who ever made a roux. It was she who sliced open a long loaf of French bread, buttered it, cut it into four parts, and filled each section with a different meat or seafood. The name, it is said, came from the young black lads who came begging, "Please give a sandwich to a po' boy."

Also, there was a sandwich that was popular in the 19th century that consisted of French bread buttered and filled with fried oysters. Called the Peacemaker, the sandwich was brought home by naughty husbands who had stayed out way too late carousing and needed to soften the blow, so to speak, when they arrived to find an irate wife.

However, most believe that the sandwich was an invention of two brothers, Benjamin and Clovis Martin, who owned a restaurant in the French Quarter. The year was 1929, and there was a transit workers' strike. Feeling sorry for the men, the "poor boys," the brothers offered to help. For five cents, a hungry man could come to the back door of the restaurant at the end of the day and buy a sandwich made of leftover bits of roast beef and gravy or sliced potatoes and gravy on French bread.

Before long, the sandwich became known as the "po' boy," and the fillings became more varied. Today, "dressed" or "undressed," they are filled with everything and anything from softshell crabs to fried oysters, shrimp, fish, crawfish, roast beef, roast pork, meatballs, smoked sausage, and just about anything you desire. The only problem is deciding where to go. As you know, everyone claims to have the best.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have made myself hungry.

Hey Blake,
What can you tell me about "Normal School"? Both my grandmother and great aunt supposedly went to Normal School in the 1920s to get their teaching credentials. Both taught in the New Orleans public school system.
Nelson Belou

Dear Nelson,
The name comes from the Latin word norma, meaning "rule" or "standard." Normal schools were modeled after teacher training schools in Prussia, Holland and France, which had existed since the end of the 17th century. The first publicly funded normal school in America, which advocated teaching as a profession, began in Massachusetts in 1839.

Generally, normal schools offered two years of preparation for teachers and were a part of the New Orleans Public Schools during eight decades beginning in 1857. The New Orleans Normal School was founded in 1858 by the state Legislature and had several locations, one at 1532 Calliope St. Another normal school was established in 1870 for young African-American women.

Normal schools became obsolete in Louisiana when the Legislature passed an act requiring college degrees of all applicants for teaching jobs after Sept. 1, 1940.

Hey Blake,
How did University Place in the CBD get its name, and did Tulane University ever own property there?
Carl Bernofsky