Thelma and Lowell's Diary: Sept. 16, 1943

A rainy day in NOLA; Higgins Industries hollers for more workers

It was a rainy day in New Orleans and much cooler, Thelma wrote, perhaps ushering in the beginning of fall. While Lowell slept — he had worked third shift again — Thelma spent time with her friend Vangy and Vangy’s sister-in-law. She also cleaned and waxed (!) the refrigerator, and after Lowell got up they saw a show at the National Theatre before he left for work.

Articles in many Louisiana newspapers announced that Higgins Industries, one of the major ship builders in the war effort, had gotten the go-ahead for a major expansion. The company placed a large display ad in today’s Times-Picayune letting “Men! Women! Colored Men!” know it would be hiring thousands of workers. The location of Higgins in New Orleans is the reason it is the site of the National World War II Museum. The picture above of Andrew J. Higgins is from the website of the musuem.

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