Thelma and Lowell's Diary: Feb. 5, 1943

New Orleans has its first surprise black-out; bars urged to "Clean-up or Close Up"

Thelma spent some time with her neighbor Mrs. Weiner today, riding along with her to the grocery store. “We had our first surprise black-out tonight,” she wrote. “Florez was asleep with the lights on.” I don’t know who Florez was, but the next day’s report in the Times-Picayune said the black-out in New Orleans was “very satisfactory” with just a few lights left on by people who had left their homes for the evening, unaware a black-out was planned. The black-out covered all of Louisiana and three counties in Mississippi.

“Clean-up or Close Up” was a self-policing campaign of the brewing industry aimed at bars and retailers To read about this effort, which focused on areas around military bases during the war, you’ll need to be a subscriber. It costs just 16 cents a day to get the full benefit of Thelma and Lowell’s Diary. Thanks for upgrading, by clicking below, and thanks for reading!