About the Site: The New Orleans region has an eclectic history and heritage like nowhere in world. Have you ever wondered who Claiborne was? Or, why streets change at Canal Street? Stay tuned every week and you’ll find out! The story of New Orleans and its surrounding communities is not a simple story, so I have decided to compose this weekly blog of brief pieces of the puzzle. If anything, I enjoy delving into it. So, if you enjoy learning interesting facts about New Orleans history, please share with or tell your friends. Also, I try to use that historical perspective to better grasp the present-day and, more importantly, the future of New Orleans.

About the Author: Originally from Metairie, I recently relocated to Mandeville, LA, to work as a brewer/cellarman for the Abita Brewery. I am a retired bartender and educator (my how the lines blur at times). I have previously lived in New Orleans neighborhoods such as Lakeview and the Lower Garden District/Irish Channel area of Uptown. I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the New Orleans region, and learning about unique street names is a great way to expand our understanding of our history and culture.

I have published several articles in Where Y’At Magazine, New Orleans Citybusiness, Louisiana Conservationist, and Cigar Magazine. Occasionally, I’ll do some freelance work for The New Orleans Advocate. I am currently drafting a science-fiction/dystopian novel set in New Orleans, which has been distracting me from this blog.

I’ve worked service industry jobs in the French Quarter, Uptown, Old Metairie and Metairie, Harahan, and River Ridge from anything from bartender to dishwasher. I worked as a legal courier for a Mid-City company for a short while before Katrina. I also delivered cigars and magazines (not the same company) throughout the NOLA metro area. I’ve worked as a light laborer and later as a GED/Microsoft instructor on the Westbank. I also taught English composition at Dillard University in Gentilly for a semester. I’ve helped restore several houses that were damaged in Katrina, while I worked as a trim carpenter in areas like Lakeview and Gentilly. I’ve been active in community service over the years for organizations/causes that include Habitat for Humanity, Christmas in October, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the Deutches Haus of New Orleans, and the Historic New Orleans Collection. For several months I volunteered in the history galleries of The Historic New Orleans Collection when I found myself unemployed for a duration. If you’ve visited this blog, you’re probably into this kind of thing, so I highly suggest going to visit the free museum of the HNOC in the French Quarter. I mean: handwritten documents from Iberville? Yeah, they got dat.

I received a bachelor’s at LSU in Baton Rouge and a Master’s in English from New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM. You read that right. That’s actually the original Las Vegas. While in New Mexico, I immersed myself in New Orleans culture anyway I could. My master thesis’s introduction included extensive research into New Orleans literature. I also had a weekly college radio show that featured New Orleans music.

Please feel free to post comments or make inquiries/suggestions on this blog. Or, you could send an email to dailycalle@gmail.com.