#1 - Gambit - 1-13-12
Blake PONTCHARTRAIN New Orleans Know-it-all Questions for Blake: askblake@gambitweekly.com
Hey Blake,
Family legend has it that my granddad Patrick Markey used a false passport to leave Ireland for America. He was a wanted man. He also was the only known Markey to leave County Armagh in Northern Ireland — ever. So who is this Mickey Markey guy, and why did New Orleans name a park after him?
Picayune for 43 years. During that time he took on a variety of jobs at the paper, including library assistant, Sunday book page editor, general assignment reporter, feature reporter and — for his last 12 years at the paper — police reporter. Goldstein retired from The Times-Picayune on Dec. 31, 1974. Shortly after his retirement, Goldstein was honored at a ceremony in which Po-
HARRAH’S THEATRE
Brian Markey
Hey Blake,
In 1962, as a rookie cop in New Orleans, I knew the two local police reporters, Jack Dempsey and Albert Goldstein. In addition to reporting police news, Goldstein wrote a series of columns called “Albert’s Noo Orleans.” Can you provide information about how to locate copies? Jerry Dear Jerry, You can go to the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library (219 Loyola Ave.), where you can read all of Albert (pronounced the French way, “al-BEAR”) Goldstein’s pieces — including “Albert’s Noo Orleans,” which was published in the 1960s — on microfilm, and you can make copies of them. The columns featured Goldstein’s wonderful take on the local dialect and had a strong local following. I’ll bet a lot of folks remember Goldstein, who worked for The Times-
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > january 10 > 2012
Dear Brian, There must have been another branch of the Markey family, perhaps hailing from outside County Armagh, who made it to the United States. On Tuesday, July 28, 1970, a large crowd gathered for the ceremony dedicating the New Orleans Recreational Department’s Mickey Markey Playground located at the intersection of Piety and Royal streets. The man for whom the park was named — Michael “Mickey” George Markey Jr. — was a civic leader who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children. Markey died three years before the dedication ceremony, but his parents, wife and children were in attendance, along with Mayor Moon Landrieu and several City Council members.
Play structures are located at one end of Mickey Markey Playground, while the rest of the park is used mostly as a dog park. lice Chief Clarence Giarrusso appointed him an honorary police captain and gave him a lifetime police press card and a key to the city. Besides working at the daily newspaper, Goldstein, Julius Friend, Basil Thompson and John McClure founded The Double Dealer in 1921. They wanted to publish good literature by Southerners and writers who were lured to the climate, relaxed lifestyle and low cost of living in the South. The founders were angry about comments from people who claimed that nothing of literary significance was produced in the South. To show the error of such claims, during its six years of existence, The Double Dealer published the works of Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Mark Van Doren, Robert Penn Warren, Thornton Wilder and others. Goldstein died June 1, 1978.
A LIVE, ACTION-PACKED, OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD EVENT The Graphic Novel Tour you have been waiting for! Saturday, January 28 – 8pm Tickets on sale now at 800-745-3000, Ticketmaster.com or harrahs.com. Must be 21 or older to enter casino and to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® ©2012, Caesars License Company, LLC.
15 V1_66431.1_4.729x10.833_4c_Ad.indd 1
1/6/12 3:22 PM