"Ten Flags in the Wind"
I first discovered Charles Dufour for his newspaper articles in the Times-Picayune. He was known as “Pie Dufour.” I was studying the rebellion of 1768 and stumbled across one of his articles. I did some research on Dufour – he’s almost as impressive as many of the historical characters he wrote about. According to various Times-Picayune articles, Dufour wrote over 9,700 columns, 19 books, more than 50 scholarly articles; taught history at Tulane University; gave countless lectures; was one of the founders of the Civil War Round Table. He was also an avid Green Wave fan (he played second base for them in the 1920s) and would drive around the country to catch their games since “Pie and airplanes did not get along.”
He did all of his writing on an manual typewriter, refusing to switch to electronic. He worked as a reporter for the New Orleans Item and attended law school until the dean told him he had to chose between making a living or getting a law degree. Dufour said, “Since my appreciation of Louisiana jurisprudence was at irreparable variance with the legal doctrines then promulgated by the state legislative and judicial authorities, I could make no valuable contribution to the existing body of law. I quit.”
Arthur O. Schott said about him “Pie was the most versatile writer to appear in our midst. He was at home in a sports press box, an opera, with an encyclopedia, a dictionary, at a weather station, and writing about any subject of history, especially the Civil War, Mardi Gras, religion and world travel, to mention only a few.”
Dufour once said, “All my life, I’ve contended that every reporter should be able to interview Jack Dempsey in the morning and Toscanini at night.”
Dufour wrote Ten Flags in the Wind, which included a chapter about the 1768 rebellion. Published in 1967, it was engaging and accessible, written in a very friendly and easy manner. I first checked it out from the library – but my book purchasing fetish has hit an all-time frenzy with my book contract. After flipping through the chapters I decided I needed to get a copy.
Because of my book-buying addiction, in the last year or so I tend to buy used books whenever I can. Imagine my surprise when I found an autographed library copy with Dufour AND John Churchill Chase’s signature and doodle! Kismet!!!
Chase, an illustrator and author, basically started the interest in the history of New Orleans street names with his 1949 book Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children, which I use frequently as a reference point in my work.
SCORE!!!!
Autographs by Dufour and Chase!
And a doodle by Chase!
Dufour died in 1996 at the age of 93, still active in the community he loved.
Of course, now I could not bear to highlight one section, or write notes on one single page. So it’s off to buy another copy of the book! But this one will be a treasured part of my collection.
Thanks Pie and Chase!
For reference see the following Times-Picayune articles: May 28, 1996; May 31, 1996; June 11, 1996; June 20, 1996.