402. Thomas Ruys Smith on Sam Clemens at Mardi Gras

402. Thomas Ruys Smith discusses Sam Clemens and Mardi Gras. "On March 8 1859, a 23 year old trainee steamboat pilot named Samuel Clemens, a month away from getting his full pilot’s license, arrived in New Orleans after a week’s voyage down the Mississippi from St. Louis.

But when the young man who would soon become Mark Twain stepped off the Aleck Scott, looking forward to some rest and recuperation in the South’s premier city, he was unprepared for the spectacle that met his eyes: he had alighted in the middle of Mardi Gras." 

   Here is the start of Clemens' letter to his sister: "[It’s the be]ginning of Lent, and all good Catholics eat and drink freely of what they please, and, in fact, do what they please, in order that they may be the better able to keep sober and quiet during the coming fast. It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (Clemens).

1. This week in Louisiana history. January 31, 1966. Centenary College admits first black students in its 140 year history.  
2. This week in New Orleans history. Dedication of Pontchartrain Park, January 31, 1955. Pontchartrain Park was developed in the mid-1950s by the Park and Parkways Commission (now the Department of Parks and Parkways) on the lakefront land adjacent to the Industrial Canal. The 190-acre park, initially constructed for use by African Americans, provided a 9-hole golf course (expanded in 1957 to 18 holes), a picnic area, playground and lagoons. Several years later a baseball stadium and tennis courts were added. In 1979, the golf course was was renovated and renamed in honor of Joseph M. Bartholomew, Sr., the course's designer and first golf pro. The playground, stadium and tennis courts are now administered by the New Orleans Recreation Department.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   5 Reasons to Go to Landry Vineyards in West Monroe
   There's no better place to be on a North Louisiana Saturday afternoon.
   On the edge of West Monroe sits a 20-acre plot of land home to North Louisiana’s only vineyard, Landry Vineyards. Vineyard and winery tours and tastings are just the beginning of the experience at this winery.
   
1. The Gorgeous Venue
2. The Live Music
3. The Delicious Food
4. The Community
5. The Wine

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