Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

Amelia L. Alexander (d. 1959), also called Mrs. Sam Alexander, worked as a volunteer coordinator providing support to American soldiers during and after World War II.  Her primary affiliation was the National Jewish Welfare Board, and she also worked on behalf of the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and particularly the United Service Organizations (USO).  Mrs. Alexander chaired the Religious Services Committee of the USO Club at Camp Plauche in the local area.  She and her husband, Sam Alexander, lived on Milan St., and later on Louis XIV St. LaRC Manuscripts Collection 1087 holds the personal papers of Amelia Alexander, spanning the years 1939-1960.  (A posthumous paper documents the planting of a tree in Israel as a memorial in her honor.)   She collected her keepsakes and records relating to homeland work during World War II.  Included here are handwritten and typed correspondence, post cards, Christmas and Hanukah greeting...

LaRC Manuscript Collection 1082 is a combination of organizational records and personal papers. The Louisiana Iris Society was established in 1941; in 1948, its name was changed to the Society for Louisiana Irises, which continues into the twenty-first century. An early name variation was the Mary Swords DeBaillon Louisiana Iris Society.   Biologist and nature photographer Percy Viosca, Jr.  (1892-1961) lived in New Orleans and ran plant nursery businesses named Southern Biological Supply Co., Delta Iris Plantation, and Delta Iris Farms.  He was a member of the Louisiana Iris Society, but why his personal, professional, and business papers were included in this archival collection of the organization is somewhat mysterious. The collection includes handwritten and typed correspondence, post cards, financial documents, items of social ephemera, photographs and negatives ascribed to Percy Viosca, text of radio interviews, drafts and research notes, school ...