Nostalgia Series

Hi, Friends and Readers,
Let me tell you how the notalgia series (New Orleans in the 20s, 30s, 40s etc.) got started. I never intended it to be a series at all. Like most writers, I wanted to record the memories of my childhood. I wanted to share recollections of the City Park swimming pool, which seemed so gigantic to me as a child; of the concert stage where dancing schools performed in glittered costumes and Ruby Keeler tap shoes on Sunday nights; and of roller skating in the Peristyle. I wanted to tell those too young to remember how shopping downtown was a dress-up affair, and how the now cold, forbidding hotel exteriors that stand shoulder to shouder on Canal Street were then beehives of activity, with stores like Maison Blanche and D.H. Holmes offering everything from ladies wear to sewing notions to haircuts, Heavenly Hash, toys, and books. "Dime stores" like Kress and McCrory's sold ladies' underwear, cosmetics, and instant photos, four for a quarter. The "Thirties"book was a hit and I was asked to do "The Forties" and so the series was born. Today, there are six in the series: New Orleans 1900-1920, N.O. in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. They are available at retail stores, Amazon.com, and through me at mlwidmer@cox.net. $24 + postage. All liberally illustrated. Email me. I'd love to hear your memories.