Archive for the ‘Lake Lawn Metairie’ Category

Despite being only 15 when the Civil War broke out, Captain James Dinkins served in the Confederacy under several commanders (most notably Bedford Forrest). He was the youngest commissioned officer in the Confederacy, fighting in 27 battles over the course of the war.

Born on a Mississippi plantation, Captain Dinkins returned home from battle to find his family’s fortunes had fallen. The first thing he did was scrape up cotton to sell so the women of the house could have bolts of cloth to sew clothing as theirs was badly tattered. For several years he farmed the family’s land to get them back on their feet before travelling the rails as a railroad-man. Eventually he settled in New Orleans to become a businessman, founding the Bank of Jefferson in 1900.

The Captain is buried alongside his wife, Sue. They fell in love not long after they met at age 10, and he knew immediately he wanted to be wed. Her family said she was too young, but he continued to ask, dozens upon dozens of times, for her hand in marriage. Her parents finally allowed the match when they were both 21, and they remained devoted to each other until she died a month before their 68th anniversary.

His final birthday- his 94th- was held at his St. Charles Avenue mansion and was marked by his annual party. The press attended and asked him his opinion of the world’s pre-World War II tensions. He said “No, we are not going to war. The last one was too devastating.” It was noted that he still read the papers every day and kept up with current affairs, being in generally good health.

Sadly, two months later, while visiting his daughter in South Carolina, he slipped and fell, becoming bedridden and entering his final decline.

At the time of his death in 1939 he was the oldest ranking member of the Confederacy, and the last remaining member of the Army of the Tennessee. The Captain remained active in Confederate causes up until the end, attending reunions and writing a book about his years in service called “1861-1865 by an Old Johnnie.”
Captain Dinkins was buried in his Confederate’s uniform and the grave is watched over by two sad-eyed German Sheppards.

closeup of the spectacular Clapp tomb:

The author Anne Rice has always had a love affair with New Orleans. Born and raised here, she and her husband Stan returned to the city in 1998, moving into a sprawling Garden District mansion, setting one of her long running series, The Mayfair Witches, in the house. Even though she’s been gone for many years the house is still a popular stop for tourists out seeing the sights.

On a lighter note, she also had her own shop in the nearby Rink shopping center, which was either a hoot or the most egocentric thing you’d ever seen, depending on your point of view. They sold tee shirts with images of her CAT scan, captioned in her flowing script: My Brain. There were pairs of her autographed used sneakers. Wines with her characters names on them. Photos of her house on First Street, which was the setting of her Mayfair Witches book series…oh, so many crazy things, but my absolute favorite was a white dress- plain, unadorned- no lace, no sequins, no layers, nada. The pricetag? $600- it was Rowan Mayfair’s wedding dress…Rowan being a fictional character in her books. (Books never made into films, by the way, so it’s not that it was a movie prop worn by an actress. Nope.)

was also a corner dedicated to her husband Stan Rice’s poetry and artwork, which were always strange and haunting.

Sadly, Stan died in 2002 and a tomb was commissioned in Lakelawn Metairie cemetery. The couple’s first child, Michelle, had died of leukemia in 1972 and was moved from the west coast to be with her father. The tomb is made of modern stone, simple but with an elegant rose door and stained glass. On the side are several pieces of Stan’s eerie poetry:

Living in the house alone proved too painful for the writer and she eventually sold her properties and moved out to California. Click here for more photos of the tomb and Stan’s poetry.

The cost of building a new tomb has always been significant, and far out of reach for many. For those for whom the idea of a wall vault didn’t appeal could join a ‘society’ that owned a tomb for its members.

These societies had any number of themes- profession (firefighters in particular have many society tombs around the city), nationality, or club/benevolent association. As part of your dues you were eligible to be buried in the organization’s tomb.

From a practical standpoint, it was not that much different from a wall vault; your name was not engraved on the outside of your vault, and after the mandated year and a day another of your fellows could displace your coffin.

But the tombs are more elaborate and at least you could feel like your remains would spend eternity with like-minded people instead of strangers.

The Christoforo Columbo (Christopher Columbus) society tomb is one of the larger examples (complete with a lifesize model of the man on top) though, sadly, it’s gone largely to ruin now that the group is no longer active in New Orleans.

Sorry, just couldn’t resist.

A crow flies from the Duvic tomb in Lakelawn Metairie.

Louis is one of those New Orleans icons who goes through a resurgence every few years, and I confess that I just love the guy.

A larger than life personality, he’s remembered as much for his movies and his Vegas act as his music. Prima was born and raised in downtown New Orleans, working in the pit of the Saenger theater before moving onto Bourbon Street’s Red Door and the big time after Benny Goodman had him write several songs for him which became hits.

Five wives and several fortunes won and lost later, he fell into a coma due to a brain tumor in 1975, hanging on for three years before his death. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery briefly before moving into this fabulous tomb, with the Angel Gabriel atop it to welcome him home.(EDIT: Thanks to the fabulous Kim, we know the sculptor was Alexei Kazantsev and it was placed in the mid-90s.)

The inscription reads:

Dec. 7 1910-Aug 24, 1978

A LEGEND

When the end comes
I know
they’ll say,
“Just a Gigolo”
As life goes on without me.

Lovingly, your little family
Gia
Lena Ann
and Louis Jr.

Gia was his last wife, and although he had five children only those they had together are on the inscription. She now manages LouisPrima.com, and keeps his name alive.

Sadly, there aren’t many videos out there of him performing live, but here’s one of the song from the inscription. The sound doesn’t quite match the action, but it’s a lot of fun anyway.

So naturally, since I was out and about yesterday I had to take advantage of the unbelievable clouds. This is one of my favorite tombs in Metaire Lakelawn.

If you look closely, you’ll see that it shows two angels clinging to each other and weeping as they stand on the anchor of a sinking ship. Read the rest of this entry »