Dear Julia,
Is it true that there was a mayor of New Orleans who just disappeared and was never found?
– Ralph Lucciam, New Orleans
Yes Ralph, sort of. I think you are referring to Charles Waterman who was the city’s 17th mayor serving from June 1856 to June 1858 when he was impeached for reasons that are still not totally clear. The Waterman family was fairly well known nationally including Charles. There is not much preserved from his administration except for a brothel license he signed in 1857 allowing a certain Emma Pickett, after having paid a tax, to operate her business regulating “Lewd and Abandoned Women.”
In 1860 Waterman suddenly disappeared. What happened is uncertain however his hat was eventually found near a ferry landing at the river. Speculation was that he may have committed suicide, though a body was never found. No other mayor has ever been removed from office. To the contrary since 1954 when the city charter allowed mayors to run for two successive terms every mayor has been elected twice.
Hey Julia,
In your April issue column, you have a brilliant answer to the question about which is proper, “poor boy” or “po-boy.” You are correct in a historical sense of course, but this raises a similar question about another New Orleans Sicilian-style sandwich that suffers from multiple spellings. You know what I mean. What do you say?
– Doug Ramford, Kenner
You are, of course, talking about the sandwich famous for its layers of olive salad and with sliced meats and cheeses. People always seem to get the fifth letter wrong. It is not muffAletta, or any other variation, but muffUletta.
According to Julia’s (ahem) rule the spelling with the U is correct because that is the version used by Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the Quarter where the sandwich was popularized. The store’s original owner created the sandwich by slicing a Sicilian bread loaf, that was topped with sesame seeds, called the muffuletta and then piled on meats, cheeses and olive salad in-between. The sandwich, which was often served warmed, was named after the bread loaf. There are several theories about the origins of the loaf’s name, one being that the rounded bread resembled a mushroom. A nearby Sicilian store, Montalbano’s, created a similar sandwich though on a different bread. As the sandwich became more popular other stores probably tinkered with the name and altered the spelling. But we defer to the spelling used by the place of origin, Central Grocery. And if you haven’t been there lately you should. It is as close as the city has that suggests an authentic old-style Sicilian bakery.
