Out Moss St  Toward De Saix
Submitted by Maurice Duvic Sr

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During the war the government built "barracks-looking" apartment
buildings in  the undeveloped property by the corner of the Fairgrounds
Racetrack.  After the war these were rented, mostly if not all, to
veterans until l948 or so when the occupants were told to plan on
moving.

A group of them formed an American Legion Post - for identification
purposes - and worked toward building their own "Legion Oaks."  They
recruited other veterans and soon had well over a hundred members -
including my brother and me.

They got an option to purchase what is now four squares of land bounded
by Mithra, Cartier, Rapides and Paris, enough for about l00 homes.  In
order to qualify the veteran had to get approved by a lending agency -
usually a homestead - for a G.I. loan at  4% interest.  Then, all the
necessities for a real estate development were started.

Unfortunately, my brother and I fell just short of being included in the
l00 that got approval, so we recruited another l00 or so veterans and
got an option on another four  squares further out Paris, bounded by
Prentis and Pressburg and started "Legion Oaks Number Two."

When we started the Paris Avenue canal was a big open ditch and the
"road" on its west side was mud.....the side that bordered our property.
We had three or four floor plans to choose from and these were flipped
over doubling the choices, and there were choices of several elevations.
(Since the war's end every one of these homes has  been modified so the
casual viewer would never think of the neighborhoods as being
"projects.")

Our project had hardly gotten under way when I was recalled into the
Army Air Force for the Korean business.  In l942 I had been commissioned
as a pilot for five years in the reserve.  By the time this five years
were up the country was involved in the "Cold War" with Russia, so the
Congress extended these five-year terms six-months at a time until the
Korean "Police Action" started..

Luckily, my brother's work day ended at three o'clock so he was able to
oversee our buildings.  In fact, he ended up supervising the whole
works.  He had been in the "Sea Bees" - Navy Construction Battalion -
during the war and was a machinist-die maker, so he could talk the same
language as the men on the job.  He had many tales to tell about
building Legion Oaks:  One, the houses were on piers and there were to
be sheet metal termite shields on top.  The  company had made shields
for several dozen houses, brought them to the site and placed them atop
the piers.
The next morning a high wind blew them off and, when they had been
replaced, they were nailed to the piers!  Of course, termites would have
no trouble finding these nail holes.  My brother caught this error and
the shields  had to be repaired and replaced.
After I returned from Korea in l953 my wife and I and our four-month old
daughter moved into our new home.  Total cost:   $l2,000.00  -
$57.00/Month notes.

Back to the Moss St. neighborhood for a side-note:  De Saix Blvd had
been built right after the war and a friend, living there, threw a New
Year's Eve party at the end of l949.  I told him that I had seen his
hose running as I walked up his driveway.  He said, "That's alright, I'm
floating one of the piers up to the sill - I'm getting ready to sell the
house!"  Only in New  New Orleans!