The Yellow House

In March 1961, an advertisement for a home at 4121 Wilson Avenue runs in the Times-Picayune newspaper. This is the Yellow House. 1961 is three years before Simon and Ivory Mae merge their families. At this time, New Orleans East is primarily a cypress swamp. The ground is soft, and the area is home to nutria and muskrat. The 40,000-acre tract of swampland goes by many names: Gentilly East, Gentilly, Chantilly, Orangedale, Citrus, Pines Village, Little Woods, Plum Orchard, east of the Industrial Canal, Orleans East, or eastern New Orleans. It was bought by a Texas based company called New Orleans East Inc., and the name stuck. The developers plan to drain the ground and develop the land.

New Orleans is booming in this period. In 1946, Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison is elected on a reformer platform. He initiates massive infrastructure projects including the construction of glass buildings, paved roads, and bridges. The mayor calls the new city hall “glass-and-class” while working class neighborhoods are called “slum cancer” (82). The population grows and reaches its peak in 1960, when it becomes the 15th largest city in the United States. New Orleans East is a new frontier that is celebrated in the press. NASA builds facilities in New Orleans East where Simon works.

In 1961, Ivory Mae is eight months pregnant and a widow. Webb’s stepfather encourages her to buy a home. Ivory Mae wanted to live in the city, but she is drawn to the house at 4121 Wilson Avenue. It is a light green shotgun house—a narrow, rectangular domicile—with a screened-in porch. Although the grass around the house is wild, there is room for kids to play. She buys the house for $3,200, making 19-year-old Ivory Mae the first homeowner in her family. They fix up the house and buy new furniture. 

In 1965, there is a mild hurricane season. The yard between the houses floods, and the water stands for three days before draining, a standard occurrence during hurricane season. Just before the end of the season, a massive Category 4 storm named Hurricane Betsy hits New Orleans. Simon goes to NASA to pile sandbags but expects to be back home soon. No one is worried. Suddenly, the hurricane hits. The water rises 20 feet in 15 minutes. There is no attic in which to take refuge. As the water reaches the waists of the adults, Deborah becomes hysterical. Eddie, Michael, and Darryl swim, while Uncle Joe and Ivory Mae carry the other children. The water moves so quickly it is like a river.

When Hurricane Betsy hits, the storm surges in the man-made canals, flowing over the poorly built levees. The navigation canals, called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO), were built to increase commercial activity. However, the MR-GO is an environmental catastrophe. Trees are uprooted, saltwater enters wetlands and lagoons, and the natural storm surge barrier erodes. There are rumors that the levees were blasted with dynamite to divert the damage from richer neighborhoods. In reality, the dynamite was used to dredge MR-GO, but the story nevertheless circulated that the levees intentionally destroyed.

Betsy’s impact is so devastating that the name Betsy is removed from the list of names for tropical cyclones. Images of the flood shocked the country. More than 75 people died and there was $1.2 billion dollars in damage. An $85 million protection plan to rebuild the levees and strengthen flood protection systems is promised in the aftermath. 40 years later, in 2005, these systems fail during Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Betsy damaged the homes in New Orleans East; the foundation of the land was too soft. The flood makes the sinking of the Yellow House worse. Nevertheless, people continued to move to the area. In 1968, the National Flood Insurance Program reduced the rates of flood insurance. 

After the flooding caused by Hurricane Betsy, the Broom family tries to restore order to their house. Everything is ruined. Using wood salvaged from torn-down buildings, Simon decides to renovate the home by adding more floors. Simon used wood salvaged from torn-down buildings. This bothered Ivory Mae; Simon was imprecise, a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, and for Ivory Mae, detail was important. Although Uncle Joe is a perfect worker, Simon thinks he works too slowly. Simon decides to finish most of the renovations himself to save money, but they are never fully completed. The rooms became multipurpose rooms, and people use all parts of the house. There are parties and frequent guests.

The bathroom window has the reflection of a cross on it from the lights. This scares Carl. Congregants from the Divine Mission of God come to see the window. Dr. Martin says it was a sign that God had blessed them. Eventually, it was discovered that it was a default in the material of the glass. Nevertheless, it retains its magic. While Ivory Mae desires beautiful things, Simon is practical and favors affordability. His life revolves around work. They spend two years fixing up the house. Then Ivory Mae gets pregnant with Troy, which makes the other children unhappy. Eddie, Michael, and Darryl go to private school, paid for by Webb’s mother. Valeria and Deborah go to public school. Eddie struggles in school, but Michael stands out. Two years after Troy is born, Ivory Mae gives birth to Byron Keith.

In 1971, a newspaper headline announces that the biggest land opportunity is in New Orleans East. However, the dream of New Orleans East never comes to fruition. Though the original goal was for 250,000 residents to live in New Orleans, only eight thousand live there as of 1971. NASA reduces its staff from 12,000 employees in 1965 to 2,500. Simon keeps his job.

Deborah wants to go to college, but Simon says they can’t afford it and that she should work. When she refuses. Simon beats her with a sugar cane. She leaves home and enrolls at Southern University of New Orleans. In the third grade, Karen is hit by a car on her way to school. Karen has to get skin grafts and her muscle is badly damaged. Michael, Eddie, and Darryl transfer from their private school to Jefferson Davis, a public school. It only recently integrated and there are few Black students, which is traumatic for the children. Gangs develop in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Michael has to wear a body brace for scoliosis. Because he rarely wears it, doctors put a metal rod in his back. Although the rod is supposed to be temporary, it is never removed. Ivory Mae and Simon have a tenth child, Lynette, and Deborah marries.