 Ruthie Grace Moulon Origin of the Duck Girl The Ducks Mr. & Mrs. Moulon Henry Moulon Mary Louise Moulon Gary Moody Ruthie's Friends Birthday Bash 2000 Birthday Bash 2001 Articles The ENO Store
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Ruthie the Duck Girl is the
most famous eccentric the French Quarter has ever known. Born and raised in New
Orleans’s Vieux Carre, Miss Ruthie has been known to millions of tourists and
locals as "The Duck Girl," or "The Duck Lady."
Ruth Grace Moulon was born in New Orleans on January 19th, 1934. Ruthie graduated from kindergarten, and never went back to school. She never did learn to read or write, although Ruthie was able to scribble her first name sometimes followed by a "G" for "Grace" for official documents and autographs.
In the 1950s, Mrs. Moulon
explained to writer Robert Wagner of the Times Picayune that Ruthie has always
been in poor health, especially since an accident when Ruthie was 6 years old
that injured her back and spinal cord.
Ruthie’s cousin Lorraine claims Ruthie was treated for rickets at Charity Hospital as a child. Lorraine says her mother, who is the twin sister of Ruthie’s mother, would pick up Ruthie to be treated at the hospital, but Mrs. Moulon did not want her sister’s help and put an end to the visits.
Thelma Nickens, another cousin
of the Duck Girl, acknowledges that Ruthie was indeed a sickly child, and that
her mother was very protective of her and did not want her around other
children. Rather than trusting medical institutions, Mrs. Moulon put her faith
in the Lord to heal Ruthie. In 1963, when Ruthie was 29 years old, Mrs. Moulon
wrote a letter to "Patroness of
Sufferers." Here are excerpts from the
lengthy letter:
"Dear Father and Sister of National Shrine of St. Dymphna. I’m writing to you and asking you all if you still have the Seagull of St. Dymphna Novena booklets and statues and metals as stated on the National Edition of the Register Catholic newspaper, and I’m writing… asking you please to send me one… I wanted this for my daughter whose not feeling so well and wanted to get her health and strength back again… and as for myself I been sick and suffer with sinus pain trouble and not feeling so good and well. Sometime I feel a little better, but not very much at all because in winter it rains and it’s very wet and damp and also very cold that we get a bad cold in our body and I wanted to pray to her to help us to get well… Many thanks to you and god will bless us and hope that you all is in the best of health and well and feeling fine. I will close hoping to hear from you all.
From, Mrs. Grace B. Moulon"
