Thelma and Lowell's Diary: March 18, 1943

Her parents catch the train for home; General Patton assigned to Africa campaign

Thelma’s parents prepared to leave for Ohio this morning. They “visited" while Thelma’s mother set her hair. After an early supper, they went downtown around 7 p.m. to the L & N station and they departed for him at 8:30 p.m. This postcard, from Wikimedia Commons, is an aerial view of the waterfront in New Orleans at about this time. Writes the postcard owner, “The Canal Street Ferry at the Canal Wharf visible at bottom center. To right is the since demolished Iberville Street Wharf, beyond it the old Louisville & Nashville Station, one of the city's major railway terminals. To left on the river is a paddle wheel ship. Canal Street seen running diagonally, looking like it extends to Lake Pontchartrain-- it looks to me like the artist who modified the photo to add false color has moved the lakefront in a bit closer to the front of the city.”

The L&N station had three tracks and handled six passenger trains a day in the 1940s. It was demolished in 1954 and passenger train traffic was consolidated at the Union Station at 1001 Loyola Avenue. (I’ve arrived there myself on the Amtrak Crescent, which provides daily transportation between New York and New Orleans.)

A major shake-up in the North Africa campaign was announced. To read about General George S. Patton’s elevation, you’ll need to be a paid subscriber. It costs just 16 cents a day to get the richer experience of Thelma and Lowell’s Diary, and also penetrating essays on the economy by Adam C. Smith. Thanks for reading!