Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

http://www.poboyfest.com/history

The History of the Po-Boy

Be sure to check out the panel discussions on po-boy and New Orleans history!

Poor boy sandwiches represent bedrock New Orleans. The shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine, Po-boys are familiar but satisfying. The sandwich is as diverse as the city it symbolizes. The crisp loaves have served as a culinary crossroads, encasing the most pedestrian and exotic of foods: shrimp, oyster, catfish, soft-shell crabs as well as French fries and ham and cheese. Comfort food in other cities seldom reaches such heights.

As with many culinary innovations, the poor boy has attracted many legends regarding its origins. However, documentary evidence confirms that your grandparents' stories about one particular restaurant were right.

Excerpt from Streetcar Stories documentary with info and interviews about the history of the Po-Boy [1min 45sec].
View longer excerpt covering the entire transit strike [13min 30sec]
Bennie and Clovis Martin left their Raceland, Louisiana, home in the Acadiana region in the mid-1910s for New Orleans. Both worked as streetcar conductors until they opened Martin Brothers' Coffee Stand and Restaurant in the French Market in 1922. The years they had spent working as streetcar operators and members of the street railway employees' union would eventually lead to their hole-in-the-wall coffee stand becoming the birthplace of the poor boy sandwich.

Following increasingly heated contract negotiations, the streetcar motormen and conductors struck beginning July 1, 1929. The survival of the carmen's union and 1,100 jobs was in question. Transit strikes throughout the nation provoked emotional displays of public support, and the 1929 strike ranks among the nation's most violent.

When the company attempted to run the cars on July 5 using "strike breakers" (career criminals brought in from New York) brickbats and jeering crowds stopped them. More than 10,000 New Orleanians gathered downtown and watched strike supporters disable and then burn the first car operated by a strike breaker.

A highly sympathetic public participated in greatest numbers by avoiding the transit system, which remained shut down for two weeks. Former New Orleans Fire Department Superintendent William Mc Crossen experienced the strike as a teenager: "Dare not—nobody, nobody would ride the streetcars. Number one, they were for the carmen. Number two, there was a danger [in riding the cars]." Brickbats greeted the few streetcars that ran. Small and large businesses donated goods and services to the union local.

The many support letters included one from the Martin Brothers promising, "Our meal is free to any members of Division 194." Their letter concluded: "We are with you till h--l freezes, and when it does, we will furnish blankets to keep you warm." Martin Brothers Letter courtesy of Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University Libraries.

Read the Martin Brothers' entire original letter

In order to maintain their promise, the Martins provided large sandwiches to the strikers. Bennie Martin said, "We fed those men free of charge until the strike ended. Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming, one of us would say, 'Here comes another poor boy.'"

The traditional French bread's narrowed ends meant that much of each loaf was wasted, so the Martins worked with baker John Gendusa to develop a 40-inch loaf of bread that retained its uniform, rectangular shape from end to end. This innovation allowed for half-loaf sandwiches 20 inches in length as well as a 15-inch standard and smaller ones. The original poor boy sandwiches offered the same fillings as had been served on French bread loaves before the strike, but the size was startlingly new.

By the start of the Great Depression, the carmen had lost the strike and their jobs. The continuing generosity of the Martins as well as the size of the sandwiches proved to be a wise business decision that earned them renown and hundreds of new customers.

In 1931, the restaurant relocated to the 2000 block of St. Claude Avenue—just two blocks from Gendusa Bakery. A couple of years later they expanded their building into a much larger restaurant with an attached billiards hall. As the Depression worsened, many New Orleanians enjoyed the opportunity to feed themselves or their families using the famously oversized poor boy sandwiches.

Clovis and Bennie parted ways by the late 1930s. Bennie held onto the St. Claude location, and Clovis developed several other restaurants throughout the city known as Martin and Son Poor Boy Bar and Restaurant. Their locations on Gentilly and Airline Highways lasted the longest. Clovis died in 1955, and Martin Brother's St. Claude restaurant survived into the 1970s. By then the sandwich name had spread far beyond New Orleans.

Left to Right: Clovis Martin's grandchildren, 2007
Lester Otillio, Necha Otillio Murphy, Marilyn Martin Marino

Want to learn more about Po-Boy history? Take a peek at the Po-Boy Pop Quiz.

Download the History of the Po-Boy in brochure format

Michael Mizell-Nelson teaches in the University of New Orleans history department. He also oversees the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank project, an online database documenting the impact of Katrina and Rita upon the Gulf Coast:www.hurricanearchive.org.

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Festival Date, Time, and Location

Sunday, November 22, 2009: 11am - 6:00pm
Oak Street at South Carrollton

The 2009 New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival will feature two stages with live music, arts and crafts, a children's section with games and prizes, panel discussions covering the history of the po-boy (starting at 11:00 a.m.) and, of course, the best tasting po-boys in New Orleans.

2009 History Venue

Panel Discussions and Exhibits

History Venue panels and exhibits are researched and organized by University of New Orleans History Department graduate students and faculty. All panels feature rare photographs and fascinating stories complemented by lively audience participation. Please grab a po-boy and join us for one or more of this year's enlightening panels.

8128 Oak Street is the site of the 2009 History Venue

11:00am Oak Street Family Reunion

Session #1 "WWII Comes to Oak Street"
Oak Street's Historian, Buddy Adams, steps out from the Family Barber Shop to share his renowned memory for all things Oak Street. Today he describes his1930s childhood on Oak Street and the effect that WWII had on him and his childhood friends.
Featuring: Buddy Adams and UNO history graduate students Stacy Meyers, Amber Nicholson, and Shawn Ryder

Session #2: "Bohl, Engelbracht, & Geier Family Histories"
Descendants of some of the neighborhood's earliest settlers tell stories about Carrollton in the late 1800s and early 1900s as well as Oak Street childhood in the 1930s. Some of the earliest photos of 19th century Oak Street survived thanks to the Engelbracht family.
Featuring: Merlin "Mike" Engelbracht and Carol Engelbracht Adoue

Session #3: "Oak Street's Foot Fetish: SPIRO'S, One of Oak Street's Several Shoe Stores"
Featuring: David Silverstein, Kenneth Schmitt and UNO history graduate student Paula Fortier

12:00pm First Families of the Poor Boy: Martin and Gendusa

Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Poor Boy with the two families responsible for its creation following the 1929 streetcar strike. Family members tell stories about the founding fathers of the poor boy sandwich and the poor boy loaf: restaurant owners Bennie and Clovis Martin and baker John Gendusa.
Featuring: Martin and Gendusa family members

Free Tasting Samples: Gendusa Poor Boy Bread (Donated by John Gendusa Bakery)

1:00pm Art and Craft of Streetcar Maintenance

Master Craftsmen from the RTA's Carrollton Shop discuss their roles in maintaining the St. Charles Line's fleet of 1923-24 Perley Thomas cars and creating the new Canal Line cars. Elmer von Dullen, recently retired after more than 50 years of service, will be celebrated for his work in designing, building, and launching a fleet of 24 environmentally friendly, hybrid streetcars for the Canal Line.

Featuring: Elmer Von Dullen, Retired Supt. Of Vehicle Assembly; John Fourcade, retired Rail Technician; Joey Held, Rail Technician Mechanic; and Bruce Godfrey, Rail Technician Mechanic

1:30pm Ultimate French Bread Fighting

Jared "Limp Loaf" of Subpar Sandwich versus the Spirit of John "Poor Boy Loaf" Gendusa. Carrollton Stage. Fight for your right to poor boy loaves in a world of substandard bread.

2:00pm Muskrat Love: Fur, Food & Family Tradition

Learn about the rise and fall of Louisiana's muskrat industry and the trapper lifestyle while snacking on the swamp rat's tasty South American cousin: nutria. Featuring: Jared Boscareno, UNO History graduate student, and Liz Havrilla, UNO History undergraduate student

Free Tasting Samples: Muskrat Chili Po-Boys (Nutria captured, skinned, and donated by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and prepared by Liz Havrilla)

3:00pm Lost Poor Boy Shops: Battistella's French Market Restaurant

Second in a series. Representatives of the Battistella family discuss their family’s famous French Market restaurant. Some argue that Battistella originated the poor boy sandwich only to see the Martin Brothers garner the credit. Explore the history of a New Orleans working class restaurant lost but fondly remembered.
Featuring: Walter Battistella, Battistella Renovation, Inc., and Gary "Koz" Gruenig of Koz's in Harahan & Lakeview (formerly The PoBoy Bakery in Gentilly)

4:00pm Danny Barker, Musical and Cultural Icon

Fifteen years following his death, Danny Barker's influence on the city's musical heritage resounds. Many people tell tales of Danny and his wife, singer Blue Lu Barker; unfortunately, New Orleanians seldom have the opportunity to hear the Barkers share their legacy in their own words. Rarely seen performance and interview footage from throughout Barker's acclaimed career will be presented by local filmmakers Matt Martinez and Eddie Kurtz, co-producers of the documentary film "The Danny Barker Show."
Featuring: Matt Martinez and Eddie Kurtz

5:00pm Oak Street: Punk Rock and Comic Art Mecca

Session #1: "Jed's: Punk Rock Glory"
A punk rock hotspot in the 1970s and 1980s, 8301 Oak Street's present state as the headquarters for a restaurant management chain would lead few to believe that the building once hosted leading international, national, and local punk rock bands. Explore the days when Jed's, Jimmy's and the Maple Leaf served as Uptown's version of Frenchmen Street.
Featuring: Bruce Boyd Raeburn, musician and Hogan Jazz Archive Curator; James Lien, UNO Special Collections; and Megan Franich, UNO history graduate student

Session #2: "More Fun Comics: An Animated History"
A fixture on Oak Street since 1991, the comics store serves as a cultural touchstone for local musicians as well as comic artists and collectors. The owner and manager discuss the shop's almost two-decade presence on Oak Street.
Featuring: Steve Thomas, More Fun Comics owner, and DC Harbold, store manager, plus artwork by Caesar Meadows. Moderator: Lauri Dorrance, UNO history graduate student

History Exhibitions

WWII Comes to Oak Street
Curated by Stacy Meyers, Amber Nicholson, and Shawn Ryder, UNO history graduate students

More Than a Church: Prayer Tower Church of God In Christ
Curated by Hannah Francis, UNO history graduate student

Growing up Near Oak: the Cassara Family
Curated by Nick Cassara, UNO Film student

Krewe of Carrollton: 85th anniversary Year
Curated by Lissa Capo, UNO history graduate student

Oak Street Family Histories
Jennifer Navarre & Joanna Tabony, UNO history graduate students

Children's Po-Boy Fest Activity Book
Created by Stacy Meyers with original artwork by Lissa Capo

Ultimate French Bread Fighting Events
Featuring: The Poor Boy Players. Starring: Jeff Shyman as Jared "Limp Loaf" of Subpar Sandwiches and Dustin English as the Spirit of John "Poor Boy Loaf" Gendusa. Directed by Emily Manger. Conceived and coordinated by Jim Elliott, Dustin English, Drue Hardegree, Christine Horn, Emily Manger, Michael Mizell-Nelson, and Jeff Shyman. Bread donated by John Gendusa Bakery.

Documentation of History Venue Activities
Jennifer Navarre & Joanna Tabony

Special Thanks to Drs. Molly Mitchell and Madelon Powers of the UNO History Department. Stacy Meyers deserves special recognition for serving as the public history graduate assistant during the Fall 2009 semester. The history venue also wishes to acknowledge the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Fur and Refuge Division, Edmond Mouton, Tod Baker, and Cassidy Lejeune, and others who trapped, skinned, and gutted the nutria. Chef Liz Havrilla was assisted by Aimee Ashe, Anne Dirriwachter, and Bonnie and Sal Deicedue.

Blue Cypress Book Shop: new and used culinary and local history books

Videotaping of the History Venue events is sponsored by the Ruth U.
Fertel Foundation.

Food Music Art Shop History Events & Schedule Fest Map Sponsors
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