Good Neighbors - Alexanders and Gonnellinis

Natchez Trails

July 8, 2017

1. Good Neighbors - Alexanders and Gonnellinis Marker

Until his death in the late 1940s, Louis Alexander worked at the historic mansion Melrose for George and Ethel Kelly. He died during a trip to California to visit his children, three of whom had earlier died in the Rhythm Night Club fire.

Letters written by George Kelly during the first half of the 1900s document Louis Alexander's talents. His duties included car mechanic, chauffeur, electrician, marketer of farm products, and general manager of Melrose.

After the death of Alexander, the Kellys hired Fred Page, who worked at Melrose over 55 years and ended his career as a National Park Service guide.

The sales tax is now in force and is passed on to the consumer... Louis' housekeeping reports have tax items on them now. [The sales tax was 2 cents on a dollar.] George Kelly, Melrose May 8, 1932

George Kelly gathered employees on the rear steps of Melrose for a photograph ca. 1905. Employees with ties to the St. Catherine Street neighborhood were Ed Barland, George and Celie Screws, and Joe Fisher.

Louis and Helen

July 8, 2017

2. Good Neighbors - Alexanders and Gonnellinis Marker

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Their family lived upstairs, where their living quarters incorporated an older house that stood on the hill behind the store.

The Gonnellinis almost lost their 1930s building to a fire. in 1939 (right). After the fire they repaired the building and added a front porch.

The National Park Service has owned and interpreted Melrose, a National Historic Landmark, as part of the Natchez National Historical Park since 1990.

Prior to the Civil Rights Act, few restaurants in the South served African Americans unless it was in the kitchen or outside the back door. Louis Gonnellini (above) defied convention in serving his African American neighbors but conceded to the unwritten laws of the South with separate "white and colored” entrances and a partial partition wall (above). The jukebox stood sideways in the wall to give access to both black and white patrons.
 
Erected by City of Natchez.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi - Natchez Trails series list.
 
Location. 31° 33.507′ N, 91° 23.747′ W. Marker is in Natchez, Mississippi, in Adams

July 8, 2017

3. Good Neighbors - Alexanders and Gonnellinis Marker