Bruce's Field Notes

Being from New Orleans, I already have an idea of what Chalmette is like. Many of my friends and teachers from high school are from Chalmette. Many people refer to natives of Chalmette as "Chalmations," and the whole town as "Da Parish," referring to St. Bernard Parish. Many people from "Da Parish" have a distinct accent, and I think that that means something about this comunity.. Before visiting down there for this project, I had my views about this part of New Orleans, and after visiting, I found that my views were pretty accurate. From my experiences with Chalmations, they are some of the best people that one would ever meet. Chalmations are humble people who are proud of their town. No matter what it looks like to an outsider, it is a very strong community internally. I do feel that there is a decent amount of people in the parish that are racist, but there are people like that everywhere, so I don't think of racists when I hear Chalmette. 

Sunday, me and a few of my group members went to Chalmette, and we visited a few places. Our first stop was at RC's Tavern, a bar on Paris Road. The place was extremely empty for its size; there were only 2 people at the bar. The bartender asked for our ID's, but we told her what we were doing, and she let us stay and talk to them. We asked the bartender about Chalmette, and she said that "down here, its pretty much bars, nail salons, and coffee shops."

She told us that most places are closed on Sundays, but she told us that we should go to one of the coffee shops that are open. We made it a point to stop at one on our trip. Our next stop was the fire station on Judge Perez Highway. There were a few fireman at the station, and they were really insightful. They told us stories about Katrina, and how the city was completely, 100% devastated, and that Chalmette is the only county/parish to be completely annihilated . They told us how life was right after the storm, and I remember one guy mentioning "perfecting the 20 oz shower," because they had no resources after the storm hit.  They told us that 50% or less of the parish's population is back after Katrina, and they are still feeling the effects of the storm. We asked what things do they miss the most, and they kept mentioning "no Walmart and no Taco Bell. It may seem funny, but these are some of the things that many people take for granted. They also told us about the natural resources that Chalmette provides. It provides 25% of the nation's oil, and 4 of 33 of the nation's oil refineries are located in Chalmette, Exxon being one of them. Our next stop was the Chalmette Battlefield, where the War of 1812 took place. The security officer that was there didn't have much to say, only that he was "puttin' in his 9 to 5." We took a few pictures then stopped at Da Parish Coffee House. A few of our group members got some coffee, then we stopped at Wendy's, and headed back home.

Tuesday, we went to Rocky & Carlo's, a famous restaurant on St. Bernard Highway. I wasn't hungry, but I was told that the food was very good. After that, we went back to RC's tavern, but tere was a different bartender, and we didn't receive the same treatment as before. Leaving shortly after arriving, we went to Brewster's, another hangout spot.  

It was a good experience, and I am definitely going back. There is an Irish/Italian parade this weekend down there, and I am in it. I'm DJing for a dance team. I did it last year, and it's really fun. People in the parade throw fruits and vegetables, along with beads and trinkets. The people who catch the food actually go home, clean off the food, cook, and eat it. Pretty much everybody in Chalmette goes to this parade, and I think that it's something that one should try to go to.