I found your information on Joseph Bartholomew quite interesting. What attracted Joseph Bartholomew to Metairie Golf Course? Was he working there prior to H.T. Cottam offering to send him to school in New York? Why did Cottam have such an interest in Bartholomew to the extent that he decided to invest money and send him to school? I am assuming that Cottam was caucasian.

Gwen

Dear Gwen,

For those who missed this column, the man you ask about is Joseph M. Bartholomew Sr., self-taught golfer, golf-course architect, and first African American to be elected to the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

He began as a caddy and then instructor and greens keeper at Audubon Golf Course. He became such a good player that club members backed him in arranged matches. It's on record that he once shot a 62 at Audubon.

However, Bartholomew decided to leave Audubon and take his talents to Metairie Golf Club for better opportunities. It was here that his calling would soon be revealed. H.T. Cottam, a wealthy member of the club -- of course all members were caucasian -- extended a hand to help a talented man regardless of his race. Cottam actually persuaded the members of the club to send Bartholomew to New York to study golf course architecture. Returning in 1922, Bartholomew began work on his first 18-hole course at the Metairie club.

Bartholomew was afraid that someone might steal his ideas, so he often worked through the night to protect his project. This strange behavior disturbed some of the members of the club, who wanted to be sure their money was not being wasted. So one day Bartholomew loaded the doubters into wagons and gave them a tour. All of their doubts disappeared when they saw what Bartholomew had created.

Bartholomew worked for months on the course, but he was never allowed to hit even one golf ball on his creation.

He also built public golf courses: City Park No. 1, City Park No. 2 and Pontchartrain Park in New Orleans, but because segregation was still the case in New Orleans, he was not allowed to play on these courses either. In 1956, however, the Pontchartrain Park course was "unofficially" opened to black golfers, and in 1979 it was renamed Joe M. Bartholomew Sr. Municipal Golf Course. Bartholomew himself became the first African American to be inducted in the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

Hey Blake,

What's the origin of the term "lagniappe"? I thought it came from the French, meaning a little something extra for the sack of the shopper, but a friend says it comes from a Spanish expression. What's the deal?

Eric Glass
Woodstock, N.Y.

Dear Eric,

You are right in the definition. It does mean something given over and above what is purchased, earned, etc., for good measure or gratuity. By extension, it may mean an extra or unexpected gift or benefit. However, your friend is right when he says it is of Spanish origin. The word is Louisiana French from the Spanish la napa, meaning "the gift." And the Spanish got the word from the Quechua Indian language of South America. In this language the word yapay means "to increase or to add."

One of the earliest uses of the word was in 1883 in Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi: "We picked up one excellent word -- a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get; a nice, limber, expressive, handy word -- 'lagniappe.' They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish -- so they said." And in 1884, George Washington Cable wrote the following in Creoles of Louisiana: "The pleasant institution of napa -- the petty gratuity added by the retailer to anything bought -- grew the pleasanter drawn out into Gallicized lagnappe."

Hey Blake,

I am the owner of a cedar chest. It has a label on the inside of the chest that reads "H. Pukof, The old reliable cedar chest manufacturer, 239 Dauphine Street, Main Phone 1044." Do you have any information on the manufacturer, as I am trying to find out the approximate age of the chest? And how long has it been since New Orleans stopped using four-digit phone numbers?

Ruth Ragusa

Dear Ruth,

H. Pukof began making cedar chests in New Orleans about 1915. In 1920 the business was located at 239 Dauphine St. Pukof continued making his chests and wardrobes at this location, and about 1945 added another shop at 531 Dauphine St. By 1960, the only shop was at 531 Dauphine, where the business continued for about another 10 years.

New Orleans was making the transition from four-digit phone numbers in the late 1950s. Most were gone by 1960.