Mardi Gras Ladder Industry Devastated

With the passing of Twelfth Night, Mardi Gras is just beginning to enter most people’s minds, but for Alton Butto and his Mardi Gras Ladder business, Fat Tuesday is a day that requires year-round preparation.

Only this year, with Katrina disrupting and perhaps even canceling portions of the annual festival, he has hundreds of Mardi Gras Ladders that may go to waste.

“Just ain’t much hope they’re going to move,” Butto said from his crowded warehouse in Bogalusa, LA. “Right now, we’re slowing down production to almost a crawl, really anticipating that very few folks are going to want one this year.”

The production does not involve the actual manufacture of ladders, but rather a small bench (often with a safety bar) that bolts to the top of the ladder. From this bench, children can better view parades and catch beads in the crowds.

With his storage facility completely overcrowded, Butto has forced his employees to store ladders in their own homes.

Butto’s carport, shed, and the boat he has parked on his lawn are filled to capacity. His own children now ride back and forth to day care in a bench secured to the back seat of his SUV.

“They’re all right back there,” he mused of his children’s new car seat as he drove to his warehouse. “Hey, I got to find someplace for these to go.”

Mr. Butto is not alone. Kelly Geauxdais, president of the National Association of Mardi Gras Ladder Manufacturers, says that the entire industry will be hit especially hard this year.

“We’re looking for other possible customers,” she said from her office in Mandeville’s Central Business District. “Right now, FEMA is going to purchase a number of the ladders. So that will help businesses for a while.”

According to the official NAMGLM website, FEMA is actually only interested in the ladders themselves. The agency is still trying to find a use for the child-sized benches.

“Some will be used in waiting rooms,” said agency spokesperson Brownie MacNeil. “This will alleviate much standing-related discomfort for dozens of Americans seeking our services.

“The rest will be burned.”

In the meantime, Butto is trying to find other ways to keep his unique Louisiana business moving.

“Well, I’m trying to see if anybody up North will take some,” he said. “Maybe I can sell them as toboggans or something. There’s got to be a million uses for these damn things.”

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