Blaine Salvadore Kern

A very belated condolence to Blaines families.

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending an afternoon with Blaine in the late 80's in New Orleans while planning new attractions for the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

During our conversations Blaine shared his passion for New Orleans and Mardis Gras and left me with a wonderful book outlining the history of what he was known for.

Regards

Ken Glen
Vancouver BC, Canada

Let's not forget about his legacy - his children - All are perfect examples of the acorn not falling far from the tree. They love their community and the people in it. They dare to dream big. They dare to make the dreams come true. They dare to enjoy them with everyone. They dare to share their dreams with others and make our community a better place to be. God bless Mr. Mardi Gras and may the Krewe of Angels march him and his second line (brass bands, motorcycles, flashing lights and all) to the Gilded Throne. Amen!

My deepest prayers and condolences to The Kern family.

Condolences to Thais and family in the passing of your father. May all of you hold on to all the good memories of a long and productive life lived to the fullest. God bless each and every one of you left behind who knew and loved him.

r. Kern was not just a wonderful person, He was extraordinarily capable, genuinely generous and giving and beyond a doubt christian in his ultimate behavior and caring in his personal behavior.

So sorry and my prayers and thoughts are with the Kern family. Mr. Blaine has been part of my familys life for decades and he will be missed.
Heidi Nungesser Landry

Gone but never forgotten
Rest-in-peace

This has to be said for the record- Heap See but Few Know! From The 1st ever NOLA Martin Luther King, Jr., Planning Commission, we say Thank You Mr. Blaine and Barry Kern, his son! To Barry Kern, his son- Please accept our sincerest of Condolences.

While we were planning the 1st ever Citywide Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration, The Kerns reached out to us and suggested we approve of a Specialized Float designed to Honor Dr. King! We had limited funding and Float Insurance for us was cost prohibitive. This was our 1st Citywide Celebration! Ms. Elonia Ramsey was our point person and she and Barry had developed a strong working relationship. Ms. Ramsey told us about how the Kerns were strongly committed to the success of our Celebration and had therefore decided to pick up all associated cost if we could secure float insurance and only at a Negotiated cost for our March/Parade Committee. The Kerns would pick up all building of float cost and Tractor Driver Cost at Time and ", because MLK Day was now a National Holiday! Every Year following, Ms. Ramsey and Barry expanded from 1 float to several at no cost to our Committee! We Chaired this committee for a Decade while Mrs. Ramsey was our CoChair and Kern Contact!

Thanks for all your support over the years Mr. Kern and son!!! You demonstrated via your support what the term Community is all about, Rest in Peace Sir!!!

Respectfully,

Former Chairman, MLK March/Parade, The Lower 9th Ward, Macarty Transitional to Chair of The Citywide Celebration for nearly a Decade

I remember Mr. Kern from my childhood when his old float warehouse was on Press Street near our neighborhood on Port and Chartres. my siblings and I along with the other neighborhood children would watch the floats leave for the parades. Mr. Kern would visit my father's small corner grocery store. I was impressed with how he was so well-dressed, articulate, and compassionate when he talked to me, a young child, with so much respect. He is Mr. Mardi Gras!
Prayers for his family and friends!

mr. kern and his sister betty worked at the float house on architect just off of port street. they were so very kind to the children in the neighborhood. he allowed us to climb on the floats returning from the parades so that we could collect all of the trinkets that krewe members dropped on the floor of the floats. he and betty often had sandwiches from my daddy's little grocery store on the corner of port and chartres. i will always remember him for his sweet disposition and generosity.