Pearl Rivers

Born in 1849 in Pearlington along the Mississippi River, Eliza Jane Poitevent became the first woman owner and publisher of a major daily newspaper in the United States, the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Eliza began her career as a poet under the pen name Pearl Rivers. In 1870 she was offered the position as literary editor at the Picayune. Against the wishes of her family she moved to New Orleans and joined the male work force as the first woman in Louisiana to make a living at a newspaper. Two years later Eliza married Col Alva Morris Holbrook, the owner and publisher of the Times Picayune.

In 1876 Holbrook died, leaving the paper $80,000 in debt. Eliza's family encouraged her to declare bankruptcy, but Eliza persevered and at the age of 27 she became the editor and publisher of the Times Picayune. Although some of the staff left, the majority remained at the paper showing their loyalty to Eliza. Under her management the Picayune evolved into a family paper which included departments for women, children, fashion and household hints. As a philanthropist, Eliza used the editorial page to speak out against cruelty to animals. Eliza incorporated elements of the modern syndicated newspaper, thereby tripling the circulation of the Times Picayune from 1880 to 1890.

And now a toast to Pearl Rivers!

Cocktail a la Louisiane
1 oz Rye
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Benedictine
3-4 dashes Absinthe
3-4 dashes Peychaud Bitters
Stir in a glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass in which has been placed a maraschino cherry.

Cheers!

The Cradle of the Cocktail and the Women Who Rocked It!

Last night the lovely ladies of LUPEC Boston gathered at the home of Pinky Gonzalez to raise our glasses to the women of New Orleans. We nibbled on Shrimp "Arnaud," fried okra, fried oysters, jalapeno cornbread, and "Bananas in Jackets"/"Nuts in Sticks." And we washed it all down with the following delicious cocktails!

Pimm's Cup
Pimm's No 1
Lemon Juice
Simple Syrup
Ginger Ale
English Cucumber

Obituary Cocktail
2 parts Gin
1/4 part Dry Vermouth
1/4 part Absinthe
Stir and Strain

New Iberia Cocktail
2 parts Brandy
1 part French Vermouth
1 part Sherry
3 drops Tabasco
Shake and Strain

Sazerac
1 sugar cube
7 drops Peychaud Bitters
1/2 oz water
2 oz Rye
Splash of Herbsaint
Muddle the sugar cube, bitters and water in a mixing glass. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add rye. Stir with ic e for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled old fashioned glass that has been rinsed with Herbsaint. Garnish with oil from a lemon peel.

(Shake Your Own) Ramos Gin Fizz
Egg White
2 parts Gin
1 part Simple Syrup
1/2 part Lemon Juice
1/2 part Lime Juice
3 drops Orange Blossom Water
1 1/2 part Cream
Club Soda
Put all of the ingredients except cream and ice into a shaker. Shake. Add the cream and ice. Shake hard for 10 minutes. Strain into a collins glass leaving 1/2 an inch for soda. Add soda and garnish with a long orange spiral.

Vieux Carre
(created by Walter Bergeron, Head Bartender, Hotel Monteleone c 1937)
1/2 tsp Benedictine
dash Peychaud's
dash Angostura
1/3 Rye
1/3 Cognac
1/3 Italian Vermouth
Stir and Strain

Keep checking back this week for posts about the great broads of New Orleans!

The Biograph Blonde

Born in Chicago on June 18, 1895, Blanche Sweet was one of the great actresses of silent film. Although not as well known as her contemporaries, Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, Sweet made over 120 films.

Born into a show business family, Sweet was first carried onto the stage when she was eighteen months. She spent her childhood dancing with the Gertrude Hoffman troupe and made her film debut at the age of 14. Sweet worked for several film houses during her long career, including American Biograph. At that time performers' names were not listed in the credits, so she became known as the Biograph Blonde. She gained a place in history in 1913 when she starred in America's first full length feature film, Judith of Bethulia. One of Sweet's most famous roles was the lead in the first film version of "Anna Christie," the first Eugene O'Neill play to reach the screen. Although she had a beautiful speaking and singing voice, Sweet's career plunged with the advent of "talkies" as movie executives began promoting new performers to draw attention to the new style of film.

Now a toast to Blanche Sweet, the Biograph Blonde.

Soft and Sweet
1 oz Gin
1 oz Orange Juice
.5 oz Amer Picon
.5 oz Curacao
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cheers!

Call Sign Chayka

On this day in 1963 Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space. Out of more than four hundred applicants, Tereshkova was one of five women selected to join the female cosmonaut corp in February, 1962. Tereshkova was seen as a particularly worthy candidate because of her meager upbringing in a small village outside of Moscow and also because her father had died as a war hero during World War II.

The female cosmonaut corp went through rigorous training, including weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge training, spacecraft engineering and parachuting. However, despite extensive training the female cosmonaut corp was never fully integrated into the cosmonaut corp. The creation of the corp and the flights of women in space were primarily used for propaganda purposes by the Soviet leadership.

Khrushchev hand selected Tereshkova to be the first of the five women of the female cosmonaut corp to fly in space. On June 16, 1963 she flew on Vostok 6 under the call sign Chayka as the first female and the first civilian to fly in space. She orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. That was more flying time than all American astronauts combined at that time. None of the other four members of the female cosmonaut corp ever flew and the next Russian woman to travel in space was Svetlana Savitskaya 19 years later.

And now a toast to Valentina!

Russian Cocktail (verbatim from The Savoy Cocktail Book)
1/3 Vodka
1/3 Gin
1/3 Creme de Cacao
Shake well, strain into cocktail glass, and tossitoff quickski.

Cheers!

Amendment XIX

On this date in 1919 Congress proposed the 19th amendment which, upon ratification, would guarantee women the right to vote.

The history of the suffragist movement began in 1848 at the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. In 1840, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Unfortunately they were relegated to the balcony as mere observers because they were women. As a result they decided to hold their own convention "to discuss the social, civil and religious rights of women." At the Women's Rights Convention Stanton presented her Declaration of Principles, a document based on the Declaration of Independence which highlighted women's subordinate status. The Declaration of Principles included 12 resolutions, one of which states "That it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise." This set in motion one of the most important eras in women's history.

As the Civil War began the convention continued on a regular basis. The emphasis, however, was turned toward the emancipation of slaves. The belief was that upon emancipation slaves and women would be afforded rights equal to white men. The war ended and the government perceived the issues as two separate causes. Abraham Lincoln declared, "This hour belongs to the negro."

In response Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass created the American Equal Rights Association in 1866. The goal was to join the cause of sexual equality and racial equality towards the common goal of universal suffrage. Unfortunately the ratification of the fourteenth amendment in 1868, which defined "citizenship" and "voters" as male, and the ratification of the fifteenth amendment in 1870, which granted black men the right to vote, led to a temporary division in the suffragist movement. Stanton and Anthony created the more radical National Women's Suffrage Association in New York. In Boston, the more conservative American Women's Suffrage Association was created by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Henry Blackwell.


With the proliferation of women's organizations such as the National Council of Jewish Women and the National Association of Colored Women the suffragist movement continued to gain steam throughout the 1880's and 1890's. During World War I the movement slowed as women focused their energies on the war effort. However, in 1919 years of dedication came to fruition as the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in both houses of Congress. In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote to all citizens regardless of sex, was passed by President Woodrow Wilson.

And now, the Nineteen Pick Me Up!
1.75 oz Pastis
.75 oz Gin
dash Orange Bitters
dash Angostura Bitters
Sugar to taste
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. (Splash of soda is optional)

Cheers!