BERRY TALES: From the vault

Published 10:45 am Monday, October 3, 2022

(This is Pam Shensky’s Berry Tales from Oct. 20, 2013. There is a note at the end)

I have a dear friend, an Alabama artist, Lucy Hunnicutt. Her work is in many galleries and it, and she are wonderfully southern. She uses social media to post some of her paintings. Sometimes she will post a painting that has been sold, perhaps, or just something from long ago that she particularly cared for. When she does this, she distinguishes it from her current work by writing, “from the vault”. Well, thank you Lucy, I think I may borrow your idea, your method, not with a painting but with a column. I came across a Berry Tales column from nine years ago, from the vault, that I would like to post again.

“Some nights after supper when I was a child, my family would get into the car and go downtown to “window shop”. My mom would park near J. W. Low’s or Stagg’s Records, and we would walk up one side of Main Street and down the other looking at the artful displays in the big plate glass windows. This was a somewhat common pastime then so the merchants capitalized on it and paid special attention to their windows; I suppose it was a form of advertising, an effective (and free) form I might add. We were never in a hurry and took our time stopping to look at all that was new and make wish lists in our heads. My mother loved to look at the hats in Ackal’s, the dresses in Bowab’s, and the beautiful bolts of fabric in the Wormser’s window. We, my brother, sister and I, enjoyed the echoes our voices made in the large alcoves of the Colonial Theater and Abdalla’s and were slightly amazed at the name “Creims” fancifully inscribed in the marble entrances of that store.

Window shopping was even more intriguing when there was a holiday approaching. I loved the plastic eggs scattered amongst the patent leather shoes in Babineaux’s for Easter and the sophisticated windows of Abdalla’s Department store at Christmas. The men’s department was featured on the left and was not that appealing to me but I did recognize its “glamour” – perfectly suited men in shiny leather shoes and sets of luggage at their feet amongst wonderfully wrapped presents and glistening tinsel. I loved the windows on the right, the ladies’ side. They were decked with beautiful holiday dresses with matching shoes and bags. Towards the back of the large windows near the entrance was lingerie with bottles of perfumes, perfect for Christmas giving. The displays were shimmering and magical at night with the lights shining on all that was there amongst the black and white patterned shopping bags. The smaller stores were wonderful also; I remember the tinsel and aluminum trees in the Mangel’s window and the “snow” covered windows of Morgan and Lindsey.

Main Street at night had a different feel than it did in daytime – it was quiet and almost European looking with its old buildings and their architectural details, beautifully decorated windows and an occasional pedestrian or another family out doing the same thing. It was a stark contrast to the daytime when shoppers were crowding the streets and parking was a problem; it was quintessential window-shopping real estate at night, however.

I bought my first bottle of nutmeg today for the pumpkin pies and apple crisp that the autumn season demands. I loved breaking the seal and smelling “Thanksgiving”. Halloween will be next week with a waning crescent moon hanging above the trick or treaters; I hope there is a bit of a chill in the air and a clear night for goblins.

The mill is going full force by now and its smoke tells us which way the wind blows and sometimes I can smell the sweet smell of its syrup – a fragrance I will always associate with home and autumn. We have all had our first bowl of gumbo by now and there is golden rod blooming every place it can. October Roses are flowering in yards along with Spider Lilies popping out of the dirt in vacant lots where homes used to be. I think South Louisiana is gearing up for the holiday season and fall is in the air. It is a great time to bake pumpkin pies, cook nourishing soups and maybe even do a little window shopping for as F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.

PAM SAYS: I hope this nostalgia gave you a little break from whatever contemporary issue you may be having. I also post this as my way of saying “thank you” to the community of New Iberians who are trying so very hard to bring back our downtown area … wouldn’t that be wonderful?

(You can follow Pam’s blog, “A View From My Garden” www.pamshenskyart.com)