BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™
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@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com
G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > M AY 2 3 > 2 0 1 7
Hey Blake, On St. Bernard Avenue and North Galvez Street is one of those painted utility boxes with a Mardi Gras Indian in a bright pink suit. Who is the person depicted? KATHERINE
Dear Katherine, That painted utility box is one of 140 around town that are part of the public art project coordinated by Community Visions Unlimited (CVU). Painted in July 2016, it depicts Albert Polite Jr., spy boy for the Fi-Yi-Yi Mardi Gras Indian tribe. The story of his pink suit is as colorful as the artwork. Polite created the suit in honor of his wife, who died of breast cancer in November 2015. Though pink is the suit’s predominant color (since it is associated with the fight against breast cancer), Polite also incorporated colors from other cancer awareness campaigns. He even featured an elephant, to remind people to never forget the importance of early detection. The utility box is the work of artist Linda LeBoeuf. Her 12 other painted boxes include ones showcasing singer Oliver “Who Shot the La La” Morgan at Basin and North Villere streets and Buddy Bolden at Perdido and S. Rampart streets. She also painted the box at Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Clearview Parkway in Metairie. Ten boxes have been completed recently in Jefferson Parish.
The pink outfit of spy boy Albert Polite Jr. on a painted utility box commemorates the fight against breast cancer and honors his wife, who died of the disease. P H OTO B Y K A N DAC E P O W E R G R AV E S
The utility box art project was created by Jeannie Paddison Tidy in 2006 to eliminate blight and graffiti. Volunteers help clean the boxes, then artists are encouraged to submit proposed designs. Those who are selected receive paint as well as a cash stipend. CVU depends on donations to keep the project going. For more information, visit www.cvunola.org. The boxes have become so popular that the group is working on a book highlighting them and the artists who paint them.
BLAKEVIEW SINCE THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND MARKS THE UNOFFICIAL START OF SUMMER, our thoughts turn to snowballs and some of the oldest purveyors
of that uniquely New Orleans treat. Hansen’s Sno-Bliz has earned a national reputation for snowball superiority. The stand, opened by Ernest and Mary Hansen in 1939, is now run by their granddaughter Ashley. Ernest, a master machinist, built the ice-shaving machine still used there. Mary created the original flavored syrups. Just as revered is Williams Plum Street Snowballs, opened by Sydney Williams in 1945. Donna and Claude Black have owned it since 1979 and serve their product in distinctive “oyster pails” (more commonly used as Chinese food takeout containers). In Old Metairie, Sal’s SnoBalls was founded by Sal Talluto in 1960. The business has been owned since 1992 by Steven Bel, who started working there when he was 8 years old. Any snowball story would be incomplete without George and Josie Ortolano, whose nephew Ronnie Sciortino still runs their SnoWizard company. In 1936, George created his own ice-shaving machine. The company that grew from that creation still manufactures and sells snowball machines and syrups nationwide.