Dianne Frederick

DAY 026 Dianne Frederick photographed exclusively for the 100 Men Hall People Project (100MHPP).

My parents came here, but our time here was short lived. The Hall had something on Monday nights like a dance. I went to see Ernie K Doe, the Meters - they were all based out of New Orleans - and Fats Domino. There were these girls who used to dance, Marcella Laneaux, Brenda Green, and Emmaline McKay. I remember we would stand on the top of the station wagons to see them dancing on stage. We couldn’t see different bands. We were too young. When I was a teenager they had a couple of local bands, like Bo and Dee. He played guitar and she sang; they were good. I remember one of the drummers was Charlie, then it was Tommy, he’s still living, Tommy Powell. It was the bomb! As a teenager, we were waiting for our time. They looked like they had such great fun in here. Then by the time we got in, it was changing, the acts were different. My parents and them had fun and we were waiting, but it changed. Then it was closed. We came here for Mardi Gras. When more bars opened on Sycamore Street, people started going there. The Krack and The Big Five, and the Connection was across from the Big Five, and Sam’s Grocery was on the other corner and it was a grocery and it became a bar also. The 80s had more hip hop instead of jazz, blues, R&B, artists coming out of New Orleans. The Lion’s Den on Railroad Avenue was also there before Katrina. We were working day and night jobs. My father had a bar at the old Ice House where downstairs was the teenage place and upstairs was for the adults. It was across from the Bay Community Center, in the Depot center.

(Photo by: Gus Bennett | The 100 Men Hall People Project)

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