MAR. 2002 - RENEE writes…
The other night I was walking home through the Quarter when I saw a person who was a dead ringer for the Lucky Bead Lady. Since she seemed to be about 100 years old 20 years ago, that seems unlikely. Does anyone know what became of her?
MAR. 2002 - LACEY WOOD observed the Bead Lady…
Love your site...what a fantastic concept. I'm a native New Orleanian living in L.A. and as my mom lives on Chartres and I go home a lot, I spend a lot of time cruising those streets. I noticed you have no bio of the "Lucky Bead Lady" and I thought I'd offer what I've heard about her. It's so hard to substantiate but well, my mom heard this from another more longtime resident.
First off, I've only heard her called the Helmet Lady and the Parachute Lady. As you probably know she could often be seen walking between the Quarter and the Garden District...just shuffling, hunched, always on the move. The last few times I saw her...and it's been a long while--she seems to have disappeared--she wasn't wearing the helmet, just the parachute. She'd go from being progressively dirtier to one day being clean with her pretty white hair combed and a cotton print dress. That hair and a deep even tan and blue eyes revealed she was a beauty in her day. She never spoke to anyone and sorry to report, my mom saw her squatting down on Chartres one day, making some business...
Anyway, here's the lore: she's a Swede and came to New Orleans decades ago with her new Swedish husband. They were very happy and in love, but soon after their arrival, he was tragically killed. She had no friends and became so depressed that she ended up on the streets.
I wonder what the Lucky Bead moniker is about. Please write if you know more and can verify any of this. With regards from a fellow character buff - Lacey.
MAR. 2002 - CINDIE remembers boss cooking eggs for the Bead Lady…
In the early 90's I worked at Warlock's Hair Salon, my boss's name was George something or other (I think it may have been a Polish name - I cannot really remember). He lived on Burgundy and would prepare breakfast for her, usually a scrambled egg and bacon sandwich. She would be waiting for him a block or two from the salon. She would never acknowledge him or the sandwich - he would usually just place it on the ground and walk away. We would watch her from the salon window and after about 20 minutes or so she would come and get the sandwich. I think on occasion he even brought lunch for her.
George told us he had colored her hair that platinum blonde color she had for a while in the salon, free of charge of course. He did that before I started working for him. I cannot remember if George or someone else told me they had heard she was a Russian princess (or maybe believed she was a Russian princess).
Her behavior toward him was indifferent; sometimes she would act friendly toward him and other times she would yell and curse and throw the breakfast sandwich back at him. But, she would eventually retrieve the food from the street.
I remember her wearing that silver helmet a lot during that time.
I am not sure if Warlock's still exists; I know for sure it's not located in the same place. If I remember George's last name I'll send it - maybe he could provide some more information. As for why he was so nice to her - really can't say. George was just a nice guy.
SEPT. 2002 - Someone writes about the Curse of the Bead Lady…
In the 70's my mom hung out in New Orleans. A friend of hers declined the Bead Lady one day and fell victim to her gibberish curse. She had bad luck for years afterwards. Car accidents, broken bones, illnesses, you name it. My Mom is a now a strong believer in buying junk from drunk old psychos. www.seabritecounseling.com (Ed. - This website is down.) has a story about her hexing someone. I found it by searching "bead lady new orleans curse" on Yahoo. This "lucky" Bead Lady doesn't seem so lucky to me.
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