The column in reference appeared Feb. 5, 1980.
The story starts at a 15-acre campsite along the Amite River. It was established by a group of area business and professional men and included a club house and separate dining hall.
Though the club began meeting in the late 19th and early 20th century, it didn't establish a charter until 1915 under the name of Hoo Shoo Too.
Why this name?
"There are several versions of how the club got its name," Gueymard writes. "One tells the story of an old Frenchman who was caretaker of the club. On occasion the members would take their wives to the club for supper. The old Frenchman knew all of the wives. One day, he spied an unfamiliar face, and in trying to pair her off, he remarked, in his peculiar manner, 'Who she to?'"
Gueymard also cites a second version of the story, which dates back to 1905, when a minstrel show featuring a Cajun dialect was playing at the Elks Theater.
"In the show was the line to this effect, 'Sara Jane Luflow is going to get married,'" he writes. "And the line that followed was, 'Who she to married get?' Out of this twaddle or out of what the Frenchman had said gradually evolved the present name."
Either way, it's apparent that one of the "Who she" sayings amused the club members, and the name stuck.
In the meantime, Gueymard adds an anecdote to his story, noting there definitely was some fun to be had on Hoo Shoo Too Road.Â
"At the site was an old boat landing and a pre-Civil War brickyard," he continues. "Early members of the club took delight in jumping in a buggy, carriage or wagon and heading for cooler, summer breezes on the river for rest and relaxation. … Old clippings point out how the group would halt at a point on the Clark Road, now Hoo Shoo Too Road, for a 'happy hour.' This was when they came to two large pin oak trees. It was against the rule to stop for refreshments anytime sooner — you had to get 'out of civilization' to do this."Â
Gueymard also points out that the club wasn't beyond mischief. During the Christmas season in 1908, the club penned a letter to temperance crusader Carry Nation, signing it "the Rev. Theadore Baltz, chairman of the Anti-Vice League of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÍ¿ª½±ÀúÊ·¼Ç¼."
"He urged the good lady to head down to Ïã¸ÛÁùºÍ¿ª½±ÀúÊ·¼Ç¼ and do her thing," Gueymard writes. "She responded to the invitation and communicated with the letter writer twice. A telegram read: 'Carry Nation will arrive tomorrow on the 5:30 o'clock train from Memphis."
What Nation didn't know was the good Rev. Baltz actually was a local saloon owner who, like the temperance leader, wasn't in on the joke.
Gueymard checked issues of New Orleans' Daily States newspaper, which merged with the Item-Tribune in 1958, to learn what transpired, but no follow-ups were to be found.
"If Carry Nation were living today and paid Ïã¸ÛÁùºÍ¿ª½±ÀúÊ·¼Ç¼ a visit, she'd have a field day in this liquor-laden city, wouldn't she?" Gueymard concludes.Â
As for the Hoo Shoo Too Club, it folded in 1980 due to a lack of interest and changing times, but its name is alive and well on the thoroughfare's road signs.Â
Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate.com.
