From ancient bayous to beloved old businesses, Metairie has changed dramatically over generations. Many of those landmarks are lost to time; the lake, railroads and a beach resort were popular features in the early days. A streetcar ran through the short-lived City of Metairie Ridge, where gambling houses and dog tracks contributed more tax dollars than did the few residents. Old Bucktown was famous for its seafood. Fat City, once notorious for its nightlife, has seen better days. Author Catherine Campanella takes a look back at the schools, shops, bars, restaurants, alligator farms, bowling alleys, drive-ins and movie theaters from a bygone era.

Humans first inhabited Metairie after the Mississippi River flowed through it, leaving behind natural levees--as well as Bayou Metairie--along Metairie Road. After the surrounding swampland was drained, other areas were developed, and in 2020, Metairie became the sixth-largest census designated place in the nation.

Pleasure seekers have visited Lake Pontchartrain destinations for more than two centuries. From grand resorts like the Pontchartrain Hotel to simple camps at Little Woods, these shores welcomed visitors by steamboat and train to dance, dine, drink and gamble. Milneburg was home to a noted hotel and bathhouses, while Mandeville was a popular spot to escape the heat. Entertainment included the contortionist "Happy Frog" Holman, the Great Wallendas and Armand Piron's Jazz Orchestra. Join author Catherine Campanella for a fascinating look back at the camps, restaurants and amusement parks lost to nature, neglect and changing times.

A six-months' summary is included at end of June and Dec. issues, 1963- .

In the wake of the 1919 White Sox scandal and the suspension for life of eight players, baseball saw a precipitous decline in popularity, especially among America's youth. To combat this, a group of World War I veterans who were members of the newly formed American Legion created an organization to promote teenage interest in baseball. Led by John L. Griffith, who became the first commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, the Legion undertook the revival of baseball. In the 1920s and through the Great Depression and World War II, Legion baseball grew steadily. By 1950 it had become the principal training ground for major league players, boasting at its peak more than 16,000 teams across the country. Tracing the long history of this uniquely American institution, this work details each year's American Legion World Series and the ups and downs of participation over nearly a century.

A mixture of history and geography, this entertaining book provides anecdotes about some of the people whose names are memorialized on street signs in this Louisiana parish. The naming process and name changes are covered as well. Inspired by John Chase's classic book Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children . . . and Other Streets of New Orleans, this light and funny read both informs and amuses.

Micky Knight, a bayou-bred and out-of-the-closet New Orleans private investigator, takes on the cases of a widowed mother looking for her daughter and a tough gay boy hunting for his biological mother. When a young woman patient is murdered at Dr. Cordelia James’s clinic, it seems to be just a bizarre coincidence. But when another woman, also a patient, is murdered, these events reveal the frightening possibility that the crimes are more than just random chances. Even more alarming, the killer seems to know too much about the victims. As the killer circles ever closer to Micky—and the lost daughter she is trying to find—the coincidences become a grisly reality: the one characteristic all the victims share is that they dare to love other women. The fourth book in the Micky Knight mystery series.

While New Orleans is recognized the world over for the French Quarter and Mardi Gras, Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, is not as well known. However, Metairie does have a rich history all its own. What was once described two centuries ago as "a tongue of land to lend pasturage" has become the second largest unincorporated city in the nation. The explorer La Salle noticed the river bend that is now Metairie when he descended and ascended the Mississippi River in the Spring of 1682. Almost simultaneously with the founding of New Orleans in 1718, John Law's Company of the West began granting land to European investors and to a handful of Canadians struggling to survive along the Gulf Coast. The settlers helped feed the city, provided it with critical building materials, and enhanced its value as a port. As with many colonial frontiers throughout the history of the world, missionaries stood in the vanguard of Metairie's evolution. French and Spanish friars, then European priests, and finally native clergy provided leadership and stability as a progressive community began to emerge from the marsh and swamp.

Metairie is often considered the dull stepchild of New Orleans--a concrete "Anywhere, USA" lined with shopping malls frequented by fast-food eating, drive-up-daiquiri-drinking, cultureless suburbanites. Despite stereotypical misconceptions, sons and daughters of New Orleans who call Metairie home are every bit as colorful, talented, devious, and gracious as their relatives in the city. Johnny Wiggs kept New Orleans jazz alive. Verne Tripp invented "perma-press" and pioneered use of the electron microscope. On Atherton Drive, David Ferrie plotted a Cuban coup. Peter Gennaro left his father's bar to become a Broadway star. Shirley Ann Grau raised her children here while writing novels. Al Scramuzza built a crawfish empire and coached Metairie children. Ellen Degeneres found national fame, while Becky Allen won our hearts at home. Those who may not be widely known but have impacted lives in the community and afar are also included in this book, which is a tribute to the people of Metairie.