the camellia journal

We were intrigued and shocked when Clarke said, “It was a bordello.”

In investigating places that had old camellias, Stephanie came upon, of all things, a Christmas Tree Farm in Pearl River. So on a pleasant winter day, we drove to Shady Pond Tree Farm. It was easy to find, as a large sign on the main highway pointed clearly to the turnoff toward it. As we drove down the oak lined driveway with the Spanish moss draped to the ground (huge oaks, but by far not the largest on the property), we immediately saw the camellias as we rounded a small circle along the pond. We knocked and called out our hellos and finally started walking toward a shed nearby. Clarke J. Gernon, the owner, was working on his noisy tractor. He was engrossed in his repair but immediately greeted us and started sharing his story of the tree farm and the camellias. He pointed out a trimming machine for giving the Christmas trees their traditional cone shape. He said it was a very expensive German machine, but its uniqueness was not that it was one of the first in the United States, but that he had added gyroscopic self-leveling so that no matter what angle the equipment might be on the ground (a wheel in a rabbit hole or on a stump), it would always cut the tree in a perfect cone shape. It was then that we also learned he was a Louisiana State University engineer (BS and MS), who not only taught his skills, but was a forensic engineer,

investigating disasters for their causes. His deep dive investigations created an impressive reputation in this field. That reputation preceded him, and in a recent lawsuit, the opposing side settled the day after they learned he was the forensic engineer. What a resume! Guess he had it in his genes; his grandfather and ancestors were the builders and operators of the Harvey Canal on the west bank of the Mississippi River. A self-sufficient man, after Katrina he cleaned up downed trees, cleared the road, and helped many neighbors while also repairing parts of the houses on his property.

While he understood our interest in the camellias, he first gave us a tour of the Christmas trees. Small and large trees planted in long rows with their conical shapes stood out in the field. Several varieties were available, including Leyland Cypress (originated at the Leighton Hall Estate in South Wales, U.K., and the dominant Christmas tree grown and sold in the South), Carolina Sapphire, Virginia Pine, King William’s Pine, Eastern Red Cedar, a Japanese conifer, Deodar, and his pride and joy, his own unique hybrid of the Leyland Cypress--the Leighton Green Gernon. Now officially registered with the Royal Botanical Society, this version has all the classic attributes of the Leyland but has a slightly blue tone. The plants are both unique and incredible and a special treat as a live Christmas tree.

Returning from the tree tour, we went passed a building in modest disrepair from Katrina damage. Clarke said Shady Pond had been owned by Madam Norma Wallace. “Oh,” we commented, “French-New Orleans aristocracy!” Clarke shook his head no. “A madam,” Clarke said. “It was a bordello!” The property had both an interesting and checkered history. From 1926 to 1949, it was the country home of “The Last Madam.” In fact, Clarke had actually lived in the bordello, but in the winter, the floor would sweat, and he and his brother would step out of bed in the morning into puddles of water. Clarke couldn’t help himself and continued sharing interesting stories. The bordello building was reputed to have had visits from the famous and infamous including the likes of John Wayne and Phil Harris. This property was more secretive than her French Quarter location at 1026 Conti Street. Norma Wallace was known for her knowledge of the seedy underbelly of New Orleans and was well connected with the political, business, and crime leaders of the area. In fact, her love interest for many years was “Golf Bag” Sam Hunt, a top lieutenant in the Al Capone crime family (who actually made four attempts to kill her). Shady Pond was located on higher ground than the neighboring properties, and when neighbors used her land to cross from the road

to their homes, she got on her horse, grabbed her riding crop, and beat them until they left. She wanted her privacy (although she herself was never a prostitute). She sold the property in 1949 to Dr. Eugene Woodward who six years later sold it to Clarke’s father, Edward (Eddie) James Gernon, Sr. Norma continued to be a frequent topic around the Gernon’s dinner table, and Clarke reported that “Daddy knew way too much about her and so did his momma.” One day, when Clarke was 13 and his brother Jimmy was 25, Norma, now 61, visited, driving her pink Cadillac convertible, with her husband, 39 years her junior. Clarke’s mother wouldn’t let them out of the car and chased them away. In the book The Last Madam, which Clarke was interviewed for by its writer, Christine Wiltz, Norma’s end came by her own hand when she learned her husband was having an affair with a young gas station attendant in Folsom (where they were then living).

Edward Gernon was passionate about his camellias. When moving from Lake Vista, he moved the household goods in one day, but digging, balling, burlapping, and moving his prized camellias took nearly three weeks. The new owners were left with a pot holed yard. Clarke recalled the early days of arriving at Shady Pond in a piece he wrote about it—“Going to the Dogs.” While a friendly, helpful person today, Clarke was known as a “tough kid” in his youth. The replanting of the camellias was finally completed, and they were all settled in their new home under pines and oaks.

At age 11, young Clarke came home from school one day and found the camellias had been uprooted by some domestic pigs that had gotten free. They had dug up the newly transplanted camellias, other plants, and damaged other items. All the careful replanting effort was wiped out. Several ultimately did not survive this mistreatment. Before his father came home, Clarke took up his rifle (having learned to shoot fending off alligators at the Pearl River Navigation Canal while his father and brother were fishing), went into the woods and killed the seven offending pigs. Clarke was dubbed a “badass” for this action, but thereafter the neighbor, who finally admitted he owned the pigs, brought over his “hog dogs” to track down and capture the errant pigs. However, on one occasion a well-known professional hog hunter, Ellis Meyers, was asked to come round up a particularly large marauding pig; his “hog dog” was known to be able to take down a cow. He wanted to come right away, but the Gernon’s indicated they needed to schedule for several days later. Ellis’s response was, “What do I tell the dogs?”

So what about the prized camellias? There were over 100 mostly pre-1950 varieties surrounding the old house (Norma’s residence when in the area) and the former brothel building. The camellias were magnificent and have now stood at this location for over 60 years. Although planted in the late 1950s, Edward continued to graft interesting varieties for the collection. None of the camellias had tags when we walked through them, so identification was needed. Stephanie took pictures of most of the blooms and made a photo album which, on a later visit, she shared with Clarke. Unfortunately, most could not be named by many fellow camellians who were shown the album. We obtained tags and numbered all the plants

so as they were named, an inventory could be created for posterity. Some of the varieties we could identify included ‘Pink Perfection,’ ‘Debutante,’ ‘Donckelarii,’ ‘Princess Nagasaki,’ ‘Alba Plena,’ ‘Lady Clare,’ ‘Ville De Nantes,’ ‘Mathotiana,’ ‘Professor Charles S. Sargent,’ and many, many more. One plant, a big blush semidouble, was sporting a single huge peony bloom. We never saw another on additional visits, but we think the plant was ‘Mrs. D. W. Davis’ with its rare peony sport. The branch,

which we had marked, did not produce another peony bloom. Clarke chose one seedling to be named for his father, however, it may not be unique enough for registration. Other seedlings we gathered and have at Camellia Heaven, and others gathered since, might yield the right bloom to bear his father’s name. After all, if Clarke can create and name a new conifer, he can surely develop and name a new camellia.

If any of you want a “real” and really special Christmas tree and can take a few minutes to attempt to identify these fine old camellias, visit Clarke and his Shady Pond Tree Farm. Your assistance will be appreciated. If he’s not too busy, he will show you the former “house of ill repute” and maybe even share a story or two. But always remember, Clarke sells exotic trees, NOT erotic trees!