Cecilia Genova & Mark Emerson's Wedding Website

Pre-Wedding Reception Scavenger Hunt

There are a couple of ideas as to who Cooter Brown was. The first is that he was a man who lived on the line dividing the North and South during the Civil War which made him ineligible for military draft on either side. Due to having family on both sides of the war, he did not want to fight, and he chose to, instead, get drunk and stay drunk through the duration of the war in order to not be useful in the war. This led to the drunkness rating "as drunnk as Cooter Brown" or "Drunker than Cooter Brown."

The other idea is that he was a biracial man from southern Louisiana. He lived alone in an old Cajun's shack, and due to his dislike for people, he didn't want to choose a side during the Civil War. So, he increased his already heavy drinking to avoid the war. Anytime a soldier from either side would show up, he would be drunk and gained a reputation for this over time. After the war, his shack caught fire, and they could never find his body. They concluded that Cooter Brown had so much alcohol in him that he burned in the fire, and his name became a synonym for being very drunk.

Cooter Brown's Tavern is a great place to catch a football game and select a beer from their extensive beer menu.

509 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Starting in the late 1800s in Louisiana, Russian Cake started as a way to utilize mismatched edges of cake, cookies, muffins, and pie crust. Pressed together into a rectagular box and held together with raspberry jelly, this cake is then doused with rum and topped with white icing and rainbow sprinkles.
While the origin of the technique is debated, the Russian part of the name is thought to stem from using the mold of a brandy-laced Charlotte a la Russe cake. Another theory as to why "Russian" is in the name is that a southern United States tea called Russian tea came out around the same time that would often be enhanced with Rum.
The only other place in the world this type of cake can be found is in northeastern England. Today Haydel's uses rum extract rather than actual rum.

3117 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Opening in 1870, Morning Call is the second oldest café au lait and beignet business in the Greater New Orleans area. It opened only 8 years after Café du Monde. An interesting fact is that both Morning Call and Café du Monde offered automobile curb service for decades.

While versions of fried dough can be found across the world in various ways, the term beignet is French. They made their way to New Orleans in the 18th century while the French owned New Orleans.

Café au lait is a coffee served with hot milk and chicory. The chicory addition became common during the Civil War by the French when the Union naval blockades cut off the Port of Orleans which forced coffee supply to be stretched. New Orleans was surrendered to the Union after 455 days of the four year war. It spared battle which allowed the city to be spared major destruction which is why the city still has many of its original buildings.

5101 Canal Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124

Every person from New Orleans has differing opinions on the best snoballs in the city, but Stop Jockin Snoballs is said to have some of the best with every snoball having a gummy bear included.

Typically served at the start of the spring through the end of the summer, snoballs are shaved ice similar to a snow cone. Customizable from the flavor to the toppings, our favorites vary but condensed milk is always a must. Snoballs date back to the 1930s when locals George Ortalano and Ernest Hansen created the first ice-shaving machines separately but almost simultaneously.

3600 Saint Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70122

In the 19th century, more duals were held in New Orleans than any other American city, and most of those duals were held at this location. The weapons of choice were typically Pistols and swords but also ranged into sledgehammers and even poison. In order to dual with poison, both men would draw lots and see who would consume the poison first.
Duelist at this location included noblemen, United States congressmen, and the president of the United States senate.
According to an article written in 1892, a dual happened here almost every day between the years 1832 and 1844. Laws against dueling began to pop up around 1855, and the last duel here is recorded to have happened in 1890.

29591 Dreyfous Dr, New Orleans, LA 70119

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On September 16, 1962, this fountain was dedicated to every Mardi Gras Carnival krewe that has run through New Orleans. It was inspired by fountains in Europe in the 1950's, and it has at least 70 ceramic tile plaques showing the krewe as well as their symbol. It includes krewes that currently run as well as krewes that no longer exist.
Through the many hurricanes it has seen, it has been refurbished several times.
Around March of 2022, the Virtual Krewe of Vaporwave placed their 400-pound concrete plinth with their name and logo at this fountain without permission as a prank as well as to showcase their belief that their first and only virtual krewe belongs among the rest, and by March 11th of 2022, the concrete piece had been removed by the city. The last addition was placed in 2013.

Lakeshore Dr, New Orleans, LA 70124

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While the name may be misleading, this cemetery is actually within the New Orleans city limits. This location was originally a racecourse in 1838 and would later be used in 1854 as a Confederate Camp during the Civil War until New Orleans was taken by the Union. During its time as a race track, a man named Charles T. Howard, the creator of the Louisiana State Lottery, was denied membership. After his denial, he vowed to turn the track into a cemetery. When the race course went bankrupt, Howard saw his opportunity and turned the field into a cemetery. He is currently buried here on Central Avenue which follows the original oval layout of the track. In a twist of fate, Howard died in New York in 1885 by falling off a newly purchased horse.

This cemetery is home to the largest collection of elaborate marble tombs and statues in the city. One of the more elaborate tombs built for Ruth Fertel, a restaurateur, is estimated to cost between $125,000 and $500,000.

Some of the most notable tombs include Tom Benson (owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans), William C. C. Claiborne (first Louisiana Governor), Marguerite Clark (film and stage actress), Al Copeland (founder of Popeyes), Ruth U. Fertel (founder of Ruth's Chris Steak House), Grace King (author), Alton Oschner (co-founder of Ochsner Health System), Mel Ott (Hall of Fame Majour League Baseball Player), Stan Rice (poet) and Anne Rice (author), John Leonard Riddell (inventor of the binocular), and many more.

5100 Pontchartrain Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124

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Built in 1865, a German-born merchant, Florenz A. Luling, put most of his fortune into building his family's mansion. Designed by the same person as the Preservation Resource Center on Tchoupitoulas Street and Gallier House on Royal Street, this home was quite lavish. Built within earshot of the Fair Grounds, this home is filled with arched doorways as well as wraparound galleries lining three sides of the second and third stories. The original design covered 30 acres and included a lake, an island, and a stable with 100 horses.

After the family moved in, at least one, but according to some accounts, two of the sons drowned in Bayou St. John. After the tragedy, the family sold their grand home and left New Orleans just six years after the mansion's completion. The home was sold to the Louisiana Jockey Club to use as its headquarters and visitors would include President Ulysses S. Grant, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, U.S. Army Col. George Custer, and Edgar Degas. By the 1930s, the mansion was sold and divided into numerous apartments.

The owner lost his cotton fortune after the Civil War, and it is believed he would drown in a paddle steamer from New Orleans to New York from a hurricane. Only two years after his passing, his son would pass from the yellow fever epidemic.

1436 Leda Ct, New Orleans, LA 70119

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This mansion was built in 1872. Some of this land, of the two to three blocks purchased, was from the cemetery next-door, Hebrew Congregation of Temme Derech, now called Hope Mausoleum. At the time, the house was surrounded by cemeteries and graves is all you could see from the house.

It was sold in 1905 to a couple, and it is believed that the lady of the house and their daughter died of yellow fever in the home. It would sell again in 1923 and become a funeral home in 1928. It was through this change in hands that this mortuary began its enchanting transformation. Secret elevators were installed to transport the bodies, smoking parlors, private rooms, and dining areas were added. Due to the owner's advanced funeral service abilities such as cold storage for the dead, autopsy room, and embalming room, this funeral home is said to have seen over 20,000 funerals during the 81 years it ran. Unfortunately, it became too much to handle and was closed and sold in 2004 to later become the haunted house and venue that it is today.

Some say you may see a few ghosts walking around Hope Mausoleum cemetery next-door.

4800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119

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Hung by a local artist Jim Hart, this gorgeous tree is filled with wind chimes all tuned to ring in pentatonic scale. Some of the chimes reaching length of 14 feet, this location is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable places to sit and enjoy some time. A little hidden off the road, it can be easy to miss especially since the wind chimes are painted place to better blend in.

This is one of Cc and Mark's favorite places in the city.

Lelong Dr, New Orleans, LA 70124

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