2008 | Page 2 of 2 |

Louisianans are as diverse as the geographic regions that make up our great state.

While some may claim to be of French, Italian, German, Irish, English, or African ancestry, the truth is many, if not most of us are descendents of some combination of these and other ethnicities.

The merging and blending of our people can be seen in our architecture, music, food it is what gives this region such a unique and culturally rich flavor.

We all have a personal story of how we find ourselves in Louisiana at this time in history.

My American Dream started two generations ago with my grandfather, a man I would never meet. He came here from Italy at the age of 16 and he chose to call New Orleans “home” because he believed it to be a thriving land of great opportunity.

My grandfather owned a small fruit, meat and fish market on the edge of the French Quarter. He spoke very little English but through thrift and hard work he did his best for his family.

Jazz Fest Anne Dale_1.jpg

I will for the first time this summer visit Contessa Entellina, the small village in Sicily where his journey began; his name is Severio Ferrara.

“The American Dream is Alive in Louisiana”
Thank you Severio (Grandpa) Ferrara

Anne Ferrara Dale

What is your Louisiana American Dream story?

You can find “New Orleans” on a map bordered by the 17th street canal, Lake Pontchartrain, the mighty Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.You will also find New Orleans in the hearts of the Louisiana people and those around the world who have experienced it … Jazz, Mardi Gras, The French Quarter, Creole and Cajun Cuisine.

But My New Orleans is more. It is bigger.

The Big Easy goes beyond the borderlines of this great city. It is always a part of me wherever I go.

My New Orleans goes north up the Mississippi River to Natchez, strung together by mighty Oak Trees, Spanish Moss and a path of majestic plantation homes from an era gone by.

My New Orleans goes east where my family vacationed on the sandy white beaches of Waveland, Gulfport and Biloxi.

My New Orleans goes south through the bayous and swamps, where as a young girl my father would take me fishing, down the Mississippi Delta and to the Gulf of Mexico.

My New Orleans gets its spice from the west through Baton Rouge and to the heart of Acadia (Cajuns)……….Lafayette.

My New Orleans is like a good gumbo with necessary ingredients to a recipe rich in culture.

A gumbo that is stirred by the people where our southern hospitality welcomes each ingredient to melt into the other, to give it the flavor of something you will always take with you wherever you go.Once you taste it… You will know what it means to love New Orleans.

That’s my home… that’s My New Orleans.

That’s why I have created this design to remind everyone in our surrounding cities including the coastal region and beyond, much like the Mississippi River, our bloodline flows beyond the borders of this great city.

It is Our New Orleans.

It belongs to everyone.

by Anne Dale

The “lucky bean,” the symbol of “abbondanza,” the abundance of sharing in the blessings of faith, hope and love.

The tradition came to New Orleans with the Sicilians in the 1800s and flourished among the prolific celebrations of Louisiana.

During a famine in Sicily, this humble fava bean was the life-saving crop.The New Orleans “Lucky Bean” has found its way into the purses and pockets of many and is kept as a treasured memento of the St. Joseph’s Feast Celebration.

A Saint Joseph Altar is presented at Anne Dale Jeweller store each year the Saturday before the Feast of Saint Joseph everyone is welcome.

May it fulfill for you its promise of bountiful blessings.

The St. Joseph’s Altar was a way of giving thanks for, and sharing of, the blessings of a bountiful harvest.

Year: 2008

My Sunshine Louisiana

New Orleans

New Orleans Lucky Bean

Self-esteem

The Self-esteem pendant