Art In The News: Lake Pontchartrain

Showing posts with label Lake Pontchartrain. Show all posts

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Pontchartrain Beach Bali Hai

Bali Hai Canvas Beach Bag http://ow.ly/1p36s

Vintage style designs from New Orleans Old Pontchartrain Beach by local artist.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Pontchartrain Beach Sign

Vintage New Orleans Old Pontchartrain Beach sign on round madallion, tiles, and posters, http://ow.ly/pTlJ

Friday, September 11, 2009

Folk Song: Lakes Of Pontchartrain- words

Starry Night Lake Pontchartrain by figstreetstudio

Old Pontchartrain Beach Posters For Sale Here
http://www.zazzle.com/figstreetstudio/pontchartrain+gifts

A Folk Song

The Lakes of Pontchartrain
Barry Taylor

Information Lyrics
According to
Ready for the Storm,
the album by Deanta,
this is a "traditional Creole
love song, which
is commonly mistaken
as being of Irish origin."

It is recorded also on
the Planxty album,
Cold Blow the Rainy Night.
(Shanachie 79011, 1989)
The information from
that album states that
the tune was probably
brought back from British and
French soldiers fighting in
Louisiana and Canada in
the War of 1812.

The alternate verse
is from the Digital
Tradition Folk Song Search

Another version of the lyrics
The Lily of the West
was recorded by
Peter Paul and Mary.
The Golden Encyclopedia of Folk Music
states it was an
"English street ballad
(broadside ballad)" about
100 years ago.

Lake Pontchartrain T-Shirts Sold Here-
http://www.zazzle.com/figstreetstudio/pontchartrain+shirts

Pontchartrain Rum Runners by figstreetstudio
design your own t-shirt at zazzle

Alternative Words To Lakes Of Pontchartrain Folk Song

. 'Twas on one bright March morning I bid New Orleans adieu.
And I took the road to Jackson town, my fortune to renew,
I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain, Which filled my heart with longing for the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I stepped on board a railroad car, beneath the morning sun,
I road the roads till evening, and I laid me down again,
All strangers there no friends to me, till a dark girl towards me came,
And I fell in love with a Creole girl, by the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I said, "My pretty Creole girl, my money here's no good,
But if it weren't for the alligators, I'd sleep out in the wood".
"You're welcome here kind stranger, our house is very plain.
But we never turn a stranger out, From the lakes of Pontchartrain."

She took me into her mammy's house, and treated me quite well,
The hair upon her shoulder in jet black ringlets fell.
To try and paint her beauty, I'm sure 'twould be in vain,
So handsome was my Creole girl, By the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I asked her if she'd marry me,she said it could never be,
For she had got another, and he was far at sea.
She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain.
Till he returned for his Creole girl, By the lakes of Pontchartrain.

So fare thee well my Creole girl, I never will see you no more,
But I'll ne'er forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore.
And at each social gathering a flowing glass I'll raise,
And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl, And the lakes of Pontchartrain.

Alternate first verse (from Ellen Stekert)

Over swamps of alligators, I made my weary way
Over ties on railroad crossings, my weary feet did play.
Till at length towards shades of evening, that higher land I'd gain
It was there I met with a Creole girl on the Lakes of Ponchartrain.

Lyrics From Ready for the Storm by Deanta Green Linnet Records, 1994 Look up the Lyrics at link. Lyrics Search

Thanks to the Folk Song Pages for allowing use of this material.
FOLK SONGS

Pontchartrain Beach Prints sold here- http://www.zazzle.com/figstreetstudio/pontchartrain+posters

Vintage style art created at Fig Street Studios, New Orleans La. of old New Orleans sceneslike Pontchartrain Beach. From Alligators to Zoo animals places and things from the Old South and New Orleans. Art prints, note cards, gifts with nostalgic art from the Old South recreated by using current computer technology. Click on an image to view that product. If you see an image you like but not on a product you want e-mail us at Fig Street Studios. Images can be placed on cards, tiles, shirts, posters, or coffee mugs. Just ask, jerryschwehm@yahoo.com .

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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Old Pontchartrain Beach sign on round madallion

Vintage new Orleans Old Pontchartrain Beach sign on round madallion, http://ow.ly/oAon

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lighthouse Christmas Card

New Basin Canal, Lake Pontchartrain Lighthouse, New Orleans Christmas card, http://ow.ly/lhUB #nol #Christmas #Lighthouse #Lakeview

New Basin Canal Lighthouse Christmas Card by figstreetstudio
See more New Cards

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Crawfish Fest Shirt

Lake Pontchartrain Crawfish Fest t-shirt, http://ow.ly/l0HI #nola #lakepontchartrain #crawfish #cajun

Lake Pontchartrain Crawfish Fest by figstreetstudio
See other Lake T-Shirts

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Pontchartrain Beach Clown

Vintage style and comical Lake Pontchartrain New Orleans shirts. Pontchartrain Beach Clown face on magnets, http://ow.ly/jNEb #nola

Pontchartrain Beach Poster by figstreetstudio
See more New Postcards

Monday, August 03, 2009

Bali Hai at Pontchartrain Beach Shirt

New Orleans Old Bali Hai at the Beach design on shirt, http://ow.ly/iVyQ #nola #lakepontchartrain

Bali Hai at the Beach by figstreetstudio
Browse New Orleans T-Shirts

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Point at Lake Pontchartrain

Tuba Head Remembers the Point, http://ping.fm/s8Do2 #nola

Tuba Head Remembers The Point by figstreetstudio
More New Postcards

Monday, July 20, 2009

Old New Orleans Art: Pontchartrain Beach

Memorabilia from the Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park created by Fig Street Studio, see at http://www.figstreet.com/studio/pontchartrainbeach.html

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Fitzgerald's Restaurant

New Orleans old Fitzgeraldshttp://ping.fm/2i5H0 #nola

Growing up in New Orleans it was always fun to go eat at West End at Fitzgerald's, Fontana's, or Brunings. Not to mention the old "Club My OH MY".

Fitzgeralds by figstreetstudio
Make your own Post cards on www.Zazzle.com

Monday, July 13, 2009

Lake Pontchartrain (Okwata) Clams

Lake Pontchartrain Clam Fest by figstreetstudio
More Lake T-Shirts

Early settlers in New Orleans found the Lake Pontchartrain clam shells could be used for roads and driveways. Growing up the service alley at my Lakeview home would get regular dumping of fresh shells and often other things would be found in them like arrow heads and even bullets.
I never tasted the Lake Clams, Rangia Cuneata, but the local Native Americans did a lot as we find shell middens all over the area from them leaving behind the white calcium rich sun bleached shells. I am told they are boiled and the water changed to clean them out and remove a harsh taste. They are considered too small for commercial eateries but locals still dig and boil them especially in Virginia and Mexico. A local dish is made called, "arroz a la tumbada", a rice and seafood soup.
Growing up these small clams benefited the local economy as many material trucks would carry them for construction. That was until the dreding was banned and now we use gravel which is heavier aand more costly.

Lake Pontchartrain Clam Diggers T-Shirt

by figstreetstudio

Lake Pontchartrain Clam Diggers by figstreetstudio
More Lake T-Shirts

From USGS at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-206/env-issues/clam-abundance.html :

"From 1933 to 1990 Rangia cuneata clam shells were harvested in Lake Pontchartrain. According to 1980's estimates, these shells had a gross annual value of $34 million and were used for the construction of roadways, parking lots, and levees and in the production of cement ( USACE , 1987). Forty-four percent of the Lake was opened to shell dredging. Dredging operations were prohibited around the shoreline, bridges and gas pipelines. Shell dredgers used a large suction device to draw up shells, sediment and water, creating trenches 1.5-2 m wide and 0.5-1 m deep. The shells were removed and the sediment and water were discharged back into the Lake ( USACE , 1987). This slurry produced a localized increase in turbidity. Despite the economic value of the shell mining industry, dredging in Lake Pontchartrain was banned in an effort to improve water quality."

Information on Lake from: http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0214360/

"Lake Pontchartrain started forming about 5,000 years ago when North American glacier melts caused the Mississippi River to swell and shift eastward. The river began depositing its sediment into the Gulf of Mexico, which started to form a delta. The delta would slowly grow eastward, and over 2,000 years it would separate this body of water from the gulf to form Lake Pontchartrain. Its Native American name was Okwata, meaning "wide water", we know it as Lake Pontchartrain because the Native Americans led the Frenchman Pierre La Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville through the areas wetlands. He admired Okwata so much he renamed it Lake Pontchartrain after the French Minister of the Marine.
Before the late 1960s, the Lake's shores were prime spots for picnickers and swimmers. But because of the bad pollution in the lake, the shores were closed for swimming and picnicking. Some causes of pollution are urban runoff, and poorly treated and untreated sewage. Some things you might not consider pollution, like saltwater intrusion, or natural forces, like hurricanes also affect the eco-system of the lake. Over the last sixty years there has been a loss of more than 65,000 thousand acres of wetlands. If you think about it, that's more than 1,000 acres a year. One thing that that played a significant role in this is shell dredging (banned in 1991), a process in which Rangia clams (they're those little white seashells) are scraped off the lake bottom and used on roads and driveways. It has literally turned the lake bottom upside down.
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin is made up of 16 parishes (counties) that range from rural to highly urban and support 1.5 million people. The Basin is made up of many different kinds of wetland habitats.
The LPA, the Lake Pontchartrain Area is the area that encompasses the lake. In this area, the draining and filling of wetlands to accommodate the urbanization of the north shore and south shore has greatly affected the water quality of the lake by introducing excessive nutrients and pollutants. Nutrient overloading, which comes from drainage canals or river watersheds, can sometimes lead to algae blooms in the lake."