23 August 2007

Germaine Cazenave (1902-1983)

Germaine Cazenave was born February 8, 1902, in New Orleans, LA, to Arnaud Leon Cazenave and Irma Lamothe.
Germaine married Barkley Wells and they had a daughter, Arnaud Cazenave ().
From the Arnaud's website:
Only New Orleans could produce a Germaine Cazenave Wells. She was lusty, dramatic, loud and headstrong. Her taste and capacity for alcohol, celebration and men were extreme, even by the standards of today. She worshiped her father; the pair were certainly kindred spirits. Everywhere she went, newspaper stories followed, always including accolades for Arnaud's. In New Orleans, a city full of characters, she achieved one-name status. During the Fifties and Sixties (and still, among people of a certain age), if you referred to "Germaine," everyone knew who you were talking about. She took to the mock-royal rituals of Mardi Gras like a fish to water. She ruled over 22 Carnival balls, an over achievement unlikely to be equaled. She instituted a parade of her own on Easter Sunday to show off her latest hats, with her friends following in horse-drawn buggies. That pageant continued after Germaine's death and persists to this day.
Germaine passed away in New Orleans on December 14, 1983, at the age of 81.