On Feb. 10, 2024, people were yelling. Others were throwing things. And some were laughing.
Down St. Charles Avenue, there were colorful beads swinging from oak trees and loud bands marching. Natalie Seeboth stood amongst the chaos. While the date on her iPhone said 2024, her eyes only saw 1984.
In her eyes she is 6 years old. She is standing with her parents watching the floats, five times her size, roll past.
It felt like she was at home. Wrapped in the rich culture, listening to the bands play, and children yell, she was 6 years old, home and perfectly complete.
In her eyes she is 10 years old being allowed to wander through the streets of New Orleans at Mardi Gras for the first time with just her friends.
In her eyes she is 12 years old dancing in the street with people from all backgrounds, embraced by the culture.
In her eyes she is 14 years old going to the night parades, surrounded by all the other teenagers feeling the freedom.
In her eyes she is 17 years old, spending the last Mardi Gras in her home city before leaving for college. She is watching the floats roll by, watching her childhood roll by, and her home with them.
She didn’t know she wouldn’t come back; in fact, she assumed she would. Her family was there, her community.
“I felt like my family was New Orleans.” she said.
But she met a guy from another state. She found a little house in another city. She got a good job and adopted a dog.
She decorated a nursery twice. And soon, her family became somewhere else.
Of course she went back to New Orleans to visit. A tourist in her own city. But it didn’t feel like that. It felt like she was at home. Wrapped in the rich culture, listening to the bands play, and children yell, she was 6 years old, home and perfectly complete.
In this photo Natalie Seeboth, 5 years, stands in her Mardi Gras mask and costume.
She is prepared with a plastic bag to hold all the throws that she catches.
Stories with a touch of New Orleans
![This is Paul Pews high school graduation photo. The 2023-2024 school year marked his 34th year of teaching. He began his career in Washington, then came to McCallum where he has taught for the past 17. At heart though, he’s really a musician. One that grew up in many different places, including Chicago and California, who took interest in teaching from a young age. His high school choir experience, along with some international singing in college, persuaded him that teaching was his path. He knew he wanted to be able to help create works of art in the fine arts department as well, so he joined McCallum. He’s worked on many of the musicals over the years, even before Joshua Denning, the former theatre director of the fine arts program arrived. Before him was a different director: Tatum.
“I was the music director for all the musicals,” Pew said. “[Mr. Tatum and I] worked very hard, and I just got to the point where I was satisfied with it.” Although he may not be as prominent of a member in the musical theatre community at McCallum anymore, he still plays piano. “I still do a lot of music down at the Music end of the building,” Pew said. Photo courtesy of Paul Pew.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Paul-Pew-1974-888x1200.jpg)
![DANCING QUEEN ONLY 15: The Mccallum quinceañera took place Saturday May 18 in the cafeteria. Students who danced at the quinceañera practiced for weeks during lunch and after school with the help of Señora A to perfect this special moment. “I signed up for fun and for the dress originally, but I actually made a lot of friends, and it helped me want to come back to practice,” said Elizabeth Peables, a freshman quinceñeara. “It’s been stressful, but it always works. We stayed very late yesterday [the day before the event], but today it feels like everything came together.”
Caption by Nellie Eschberger with reporting by Beatrix Lozach.
LA REINA DE BAILE, SOLAMENTE TIENE 15 AÑOS DE EDAD: La Quinceñera de McCallum fue el 18 de Mayo en la cafetería. Estudiantes que bailaron en la quinceañera practicaron por semanas durante el almuerzo y después de la escuela con la ayuda de la Sra. A para perfeccionar este momento especial.
“Originalmente me inscribí para divertirme, y por el vestido, pero actualmente hice muchos amigos y me ayudó a querer regresar a la práctica.” Dijo la estudiante de primer año Elizabeth Peables. “Ha sido muy estresante, pero siempre funciona.” “Nos quedamos muy tarde ayer el día antes del evento pero hoy se siente que todo está cayendo en forma.”
Leyenda por Nellie Eschberger con reportaje de Beatrix Lozach. Traducción por Maverick Palacios.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/53732328578_3ee2526f55_o_53769409497_o-1200x675.jpg)
