Preserving the Poorboy: a history of its desecration and road to preservation

New Orleans culture is under attack from those of many demonyms not New Orleanian. One can travel to Houston to Seattle, from Denver to Chicago, from Miami to Boston and supposedly find something called po-boy. National chains and local delis alike have under our noses attempted to plunder our heritage. Evildoers and outlanders try to masquerade hoagies, heroes, subs, and sandwiches as our cherished gift to the world.

Unfortunately, the demise of the poorboy began from within. Within 15 years of its creation from a labor strike, locals started besmirching the nation's great Labor inspired food. The two culprits? Parkway Bakery and Schwegmann's Grocery. The first example of local torpidity with the term was 1945. However, the bastardized term did not become popularized until 1947 when Parkway Bakery began selling the misnamed "po-boy." Schwegmann's Grocery followed suit in the coming years and before you know it, by the late 1950s, the poorboy was largely lost to the city's vernacular and conscience.

Lost was the great history of its birth in Labor. It took a great many decades and a hurricane for the masses to rediscover the poorboy. There are still some unlettered and uncouth who will use the term "po-boy", ah it pains me even to type those letters together. Thankfully, those numbers are diminishing daily as more and more people use the correct poorboy. In my circles nary a one will use the ghastly abbreviation.

As we embark on the poorboy's restoration, we must first ask what makes a poorboy a poorboy. It's not the filling or the toppings. It's the bread. Perhaps you have a better criterion. If you do, inform us.

I am moving to organize the International Poorboy Commission (IPC). If you would like to join, post here. Include your credentials and your motives for membership. Together, we will protect the great name of the poorboy by certifying bakeries. Only those who have the stamp of the IPC will be permitted to advertise that they sell poorboys.