Archive Record
Metadata
Accession number |
2003.012 |
Catalog Number |
2003.012.001 |
Object Name |
Audiocassette |
Date |
2003 |
Title |
Oral interview with Lessie Mae Lewis |
Scope & Content |
Audio cassette of an oral history interview with Lessie Mae Lewis, daughter of Wesley and Willie Mae Hubbard Sanders. She married Ambers J. Lewis and lived in Bossier City in the early 1940s through 1950s. Interview with Lessie Mae Sanders Lewis March 18, 2003 by Nita Cole Lessie Mae Sanders Lewis was born in 1919 in what is now the Kisatchie Forest in the town of Coldwater. Her father, Wesley Sanders, passed away before she was born. Her mother, Willie Mae Hubbard, following the oil boom of the 1920's, moved to a boarding house in Mansfield with her husband's family. There she met and fell in love with Thomas Delk, and they married when Lessie Mae was three years old. The family later moved to Cotton Valley where Mr. Delk worked for Standard Oil Company. Then they lived on an oil "lease" at Smackover Arkansas, where Lessie Mae started school. She met her husband, A.J. Lewis at church in Louann, Arkansas. His family lived in Texas and farmed and worked in the oilfields. They married in 1936 and the couple had three sons - Jim, Don and Fred. The family moved to Bossier City in 1942. Their first home was a shotgun house on Watson Street (now destroyed) owned by Mrs. Doyle. In 1953 they moved to the house on 439 Riverside Drive, that E.M. Hoyer built in the 1890s. He later became the first Mayor of Bossier City in 1905. In this interview, Mrs. Lewis talks about restoring the house and life in Bossier City in the last half in the twentieth century. Her mother's sister, Mrs. Donna Hubbard Tate, still lives on Watson Street. TAPE SIDE A [Mrs. Cole]:Why don't you start off Mrs. Lewis by telling us when and where you were born. [Mrs. Lewis]:I was born near Natchitoches, Louisiana, May 17, 1919. [Mrs. Cole]:And how near Natchitoches, north or south? [Mrs. Lewis]:It was more east of Natchitoches, out in the woods. It was about eight miles out, I think, is the distance. [Mrs. Cole]:So is there any town that you could call fairly close to it? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, Robeline is down a ways from that on past where I was born. So that would be…I think what they decided to do would be to just have a little settlement right there where the road left to go out into the residential area. It was called Coldwater. But I don't think that was on the map (laughter). There was a kind of a general mercantile store they called it and I think you could get most anything there… [Mrs. Cole]:Butter. [Mrs. Lewis]:…a small amount of it probably. [Mrs. Cole]:Now were you actually in the forest, what is now Kisatchie Forest if you say you were in the woods? [Mrs. Lewis]: You know, I think it was because it was in that area. So I guess that's what they called it. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you remember was it virgin forest or had it been cut over by the time you were born? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, I think it was the virgin forest. I know later when I got older I remember 'em cutting wood over there. So I imagine that was about when they started. I'm not sure about that but, I think that. [Mrs. Cole]:I've always been curious as to…you know there's so few people who've actually seen virgin forest. I'm so curious as to what it was like and how it was different after they cut over. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well there was really a lot of trees there, I remember. 'Cause then going to where my grandmother lived, there was just a one-way road, just a little dirt road off of the highway which was a gravel highway. But I know we went through a lot of trees (laughing) a lot of forest. [Mrs. Cole]:Big trees. [Mrs. Lewis]:Big trees. A lot of 'em were and of course small ones. And then you came to an opening and there was a big house where my grandparents lived. My father died before I was born. He died during the war. He had, well I think he had the flu, the 1918 flu. [Mrs. Cole]:What was your father's name? [Mrs. Lewis]:Wesley Sanders. My mother told me that he had the flu, but he was better and he decided to get up and go outside and draw a bucket of water out of the well that they used. He relapsed (it was raining) and then died from pneumonia. [Mrs. Cole]:Aw that is so sad. [Mrs. Lewis]:So that was in November and then I was born in May. [Mrs. Cole]:Your poor mother. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. Right. [Mrs. Cole]:Now are you an only child or do you have sisters or brothers? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, actually my mother married again. I do have. [Mrs. Cole]:What was your mother's name? [Mrs. Lewis]:Willie Mae Hubbard and they lived near where the Sanders lived. And naturally she went back there and stayed until I was almost two years old. And her sister-in-law, my real daddy's sister and her husband, decided to go to Mansfield, Louisiana 'cause it was an oil boom there. And they had a boarding house. So she went to help them. Well, naturally I was there also. The boarding houses were just for men, you know, I don't think there were any women. I never heard of 'em. Most of 'em was where the men went to live and eat. 'Course I was all over the place. My mother said that she thought my stepfather fell in love with me before he did her (laughter). But when I was about three, then she remarried and married my stepfather. [Mrs. Cole]:What was his name, your stepfather? [Mrs. Lewis]:Thomas D. Delk. So when the boom was over, then they moved there in a house. Then their first child was born a year later and it was a boy. So then after that they had four more children. So there were six altogether. I didn't know the difference between, you know, my real father 'cause I never knew him and then my stepfather. He was always a good dad to me. [Mrs. Cole]:So now, did you grow up in Mansfield? [Mrs. Lewis]:No. My mother and them moved to Cotton Valley, Louisiana. You know where that is? [Mrs. Cole]:Yes. [Mrs. Lewis]:They moved there because my father was still in the oil business and he worked for Standard Oil Company drilling and just whatever they had to do. I started school there and when I was about 12, we moved to Arkansas; he was transferred to Arkansas, Smackover, Arkansas. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh, ok (laughter). So you grew at the Smackover field. [Mrs. Lewis]:I grew up…yes. We lived out on a "lease" they called 'em. I don't know if you're familiar with oil fields, but the areas where they worked it was called "lease." And all of 'em tried to get near the "lease," you know where they wouldn't have so far to go. I went to school there. I started I think it was in the…I was 12, I think the sixth grade and then we moved to another location which was right there, a little larger house. By then, they had all the children. In this great big house we called it "the yellow house" because it was painted yellow and on a hill, a lot of nice neighbors there. We went to church at Louann, Arkansas, which was not too from there. That's where I met my husband. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh, ok. [Mrs. Lewis]:His folks lived in east Texas, but his father would go with the oil company to Arkansas and work a while and then they would go back to their place. They had several acres of land up there at the old home place. So they would go back there and I guess use what up money they had and (laughing) until they ran low on money. [Mrs. Cole]:So he would farm and then go back into the oil field. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. He really didn't do that much farming; it was just a small place. But that's where we met. We met at church. Then we started going together and when I finished school, he'd already finished. Then we married. [Mrs. Cole]:Did you go to high school together in Arkansas? [Mrs. Lewis]:No. He went to Louann; I went to what was called Crossroads. It was just a school there but it was near where we lived in that yellow house and we rode the bus. But they were all in the area. [Mrs. Cole]:Were there a lot of students? I know it was a boom area so there were a lot of people. [Mrs. Lewis]:There were quite a few. However, the first year that I went to Crossroads, I don't remember what, I guess it was…well I went to one called Standard Ulmsted when we first moved there which just sprung up, you know, due to the oil field actually. And then transferred from there over to Crossroads, which was the high school. It was, I mean, it was in the woods. But it was a nice school. But the first year I was there, I think there were two who graduated. So that way there just wasn't that many people. As time went on, there were more and more because more people moved in. [Mrs. Cole]:And it was a new school. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, it was a new school. [Mrs. Cole]:Ok. So, when you got married, did you live in Arkansas or did you move to Texas? [Mrs. Lewis]:No. We went to Texas. My husband had a job there so I moved with him to Texas, east Texas which is close to Atlanta. The little oil field town was called McCloud because the man who owned most of the land there his name was McCloud. So they gave it that name. [Mrs. Cole]:What year did you marry? [Mrs. Lewis]:1936. [Mrs. Cole]:Tell me what it was like during the Depression in Arkansas and then in Texas. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, you know, I didn't know there was a depression. I really didn't. I knew there wasn't much money, but you could buy a lot of things for a small amount of money. But A. J. always had a job and we were fortunate in that way because a lot of the young boys that he had grown up with there didn't have work. But he did. He had something to do. He worked in the oil field and drove trucks and whatever had to be done. [Mrs. Cole]:Now did you have children? [Mrs. Lewis]:We have three sons. The oldest one was born in 1940 and he was a boy. We had another boy in '42. And then in '44, we had another boy. So we had three sons. [Mrs. Cole]:Ok. Was your husband in service? Was he drafted? [Mrs. Lewis]:He did have to go to the service. From east Texas, we moved into Bossier City. [Mrs. Cole]:What year was that? [Mrs. Lewis]:That was in 1942 that we moved to Bossier. He had to go…when Fred, our youngest (he was born in December) and then in April he had to go to the service. And due to us having three boys, he was let out in December. So he only served from April to December. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh, you were lucky. [Mrs. Lewis]:I felt like I was too. [Mrs. Cole]:Now why did you move to Bossier City? Did he have a job here? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well that's a funny thing too. We had friends in McCloud. There was a lady who owned property here in Bossier City, Mrs. Doyle. They had lived in McCloud. They had a garage there just to work on cars and things, but they sold the garage and moved back to Bossier City. Well, of course we knew 'em and when A. J. was still working for, at that time he was working the Texas company, and they sent him to Louisiana (down south Louisiana) to work. Well, he drove down there and the man told him, he reported to the man he was supposed to, the man told him that he would need to go out on the water for a week and off a week. Well, he knew nothing about that; never had even heard of oil fields off in the Gulf. [Mrs. Cole]:Offshore, right. [Mrs. Lewis]:Offshore. So anyway… [Mrs. Cole]:He wasn't in Terrebonne Parish, was he (laughter). [Mrs. Lewis]:You know, I don't remember where he went. [Mrs. Cole]:That's where I'm from, Terrebonne Parish. So, I grew up with that, that 7 on and 7 off. He didn't like that, huh? [Mrs. Lewis]:They didn't like that. And he ask him again, he said, "What did you say?" He explained it to him and he said, "No thank you." So he left to come home. And when he got to Bossier City, he looked Shorty Doyle up, found him. Shorty at that time was working out at Barksdale (civil service). And Shorty said, "What are you doing here?" And A. J. told him, he said, "I'm not going to work offshore." He said, "I don't know how to do that" (laughter). So Shorty said, "Well, are you looking for a job?" And he said, "Yes." And he said, "Well, I'll give you one if you will work nights." He said, "You can have the same job I have on night duty that I do in the daytime." So that was our introduction to Bossier City. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh, great. So, what did you think of Bossier City when you first moved here? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, I liked it. We moved in one of Mrs. Doyle's little houses. She had three or four; I believe there were four little shotgun houses. You know what I'm talking about when I say shotgun? [Mrs. Cole]:Yes. [Mrs. Lewis]:On Watson Street in the 200 block of Watson Street. And I see now they are all gone. But we moved in one of those and stayed until A. J. was sent to Monroe. He was working for, I can't remember the name of the company, James, yes. It was construction work. So they sent him down there for six months and until they poured runways for the airport there. So he goes down and tries to find a place for us to live. They wouldn't take you if you had children. So he came home one weekend and he said, "Well, we'll just get a trailer and move it down there. I found one in the paper out at the fairgrounds. Some fellow who had lived in it just left it and it was a little 18-foot trailer called a "Covered Wagon." [Mrs. Cole]:Oh my goodness (laughter). [Mrs. Lewis]:We bought that thing, pulled it to Monroe and on the way down, we had about three flats on it. But anyway, we finally got there. We parked it in a yard of a great big home there. The people who owned the place and still lived there just fixed it for people to park their trailers because there was no place and there was no place that you could find to live if you had children. So you had to do something. So that's what we did. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh my goodness. Now, did you have all three boys at that time? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, I just had two. [Mrs. Cole]:You had two, yes. [Mrs. Lewis]:And the middle one was six months old at that time. I just had two. [Mrs. Cole]:In an 18-foot trailer (laughter). [Mrs. Lewis]:Poor little fella. But the yard was beautiful. It had great big old pecan trees in it, lots of pretty shade and all and it was in June, the summertime. So we had one of those swings that you, just a canvas swing that you can jump up in. I hung it on the limb out there and he stayed outside (laughter) the biggest part of the time during the day. But that was some experience. [Mrs. Cole]:I bet it was. [Mrs. Lewis]:But I was so happy when that job was over and we went back to Bossier City. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, I interviewed someone else on Watson Street and I'm trying to remember who it was. I think it was Cooksey Humphrey, maybe. Yes, I'll have to go and look it up. But, either Cooksey Humphrey or the Davidsons, Billy Davidson; I can't remember. But they said that was their first location those little shotgun houses. (laughter) So those things got a lot of use. [Mrs. Lewis]:Mrs. Doyle, I can't remember what her maiden name was, her folks owned a lot of land there, I mean had a lot of property. So she acquired that for herself. [Mrs. Cole]:So she's a Bossier City native. [Mrs. Lewis]Yes. Anyway, when we got back I said to A. J. I said, "If I ever get out of this trailer, I'll never get in another one" (laughing). So happened, we found a two-room apartment with a Mr. and Mrs. Fincher. He was the custodian up at the old school. They had two rooms. Oh, I felt like I was in a mansion. [Mrs. Cole]:Now is that the high school or at the elementary school? [Mrs. Lewis]:Elementary school. We didn't have a high school then. [Mrs. Cole]:Just "the school." [Mrs. Lewis]:That was "the school." So we moved into that and we were there about maybe a year. And 319 Watson was for sale so we bought it there, bought it. We bought it from a lady who owned a lot of property that Barksdale field was put on. So we bought that house and were living in it when he had to go to the service. We rented out part of it so we'd have somebody in the house with me. We kept two rooms and they had the three and access to the kitchen. That was quite a deal, but still this couple who lived with us were really good. But soon as he got back, then they found them a place. [Mrs. Cole]:So it wasn't very long. [Mrs. Lewis]:No it wasn't long. [Mrs. Cole]:And you were probably glad to have company, I imagine. [Mrs. Lewis]:Oh I was. I felt safe with them there. [Mrs. Cole]:Now tell me what Watson Street was like. What did it look like? Shotgun houses… [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, there were three or four of those houses. I just can't remember exactly which ones. Then there was a larger house which was next to Barksdale Boulevard. But it was not owned by her. It was owned by a family and they lived there and I don't remember their name. But, there were quite a few children and it was a big house. [Mrs. Cole]:So, its closest intersection was Barksdale Boulevard? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. Then across Barksdale, they started the 400 block. But we lived at 319 until we bought a house on Riverside. We lived, I can't remember exactly how long, we lived, well I could too because we moved on Riverside in '53. So from… [Mrs. Cole]:About 10 years, '42 to '53. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. Because by then, the children were growing up and that place on Watson was only as wide as the house was plus a driveway. I mean, that was all the yard we had. We had a deep backyard. But, it was just getting too small for the boys. [Mrs. Cole]:And didn't it have one bathroom? [Mrs. Lewis]:One bathroom. [Mrs. Cole]:One bathroom and the kitchen and two… [Mrs. Lewis]:Two rooms on each side. It had, I guess when they built it, it was a living room and dining room and kitchen and then two bedrooms 'cause the bath was back here. [Mrs. Cole]:And do you know when it would have been constructed? [Mrs. Lewis]:That one? No, I don't. [Mrs. Cole]:Was it an old house when you moved in? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, they were not real old. [Mrs. Cole]:So maybe in the 20's or so? [Mrs. Lewis]:I would think so because they were in pretty good shape. [Mrs. Cole]:'Cause it had a bathroom. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, it did have a bathroom. So I would imagine it was. I'm not sure. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, did you have a telephone? [Mrs. Lewis]:We had telephones. [Mrs. Cole]:So you had all the utilities. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. We had a telephone. In fact, the first number we had was a black preacher's number and we'd get calls all through the night. But, we did. [Mrs. Cole]:So you bought the house on Riverside Drive and what was Riverside Drive like in the 50's? [Mrs. Lewis]:It was a pretty place, very pretty. And I had seen this ad in the paper - antebellum home on Riverside Drive. Well, at that time we had been looking for a place and we had even contemplated on building. But we really didn't want to build. We wanted a place but we just hadn't found a place that was suitable for those three boys. So one day I thought, "Well I'm gone drive by there and see that place." Well I did. And of course I saw that it was an old house, but it had a big yard. It had two lots. So when A. J. came in, I told him about it. So then we both drove down. He said, "You know, that might be worth looking into." So the next day after he got in from work, I had called the people and we went down to see about it. And the man who had it was a gambler. [Mrs. Cole]:What was his name? Do you remember? [Mrs. Lewis]:I couldn't tell you right off hand. Anyway, I don't think he had had it very long because he had bought it and was paying notes over in Shreveport. He was about to lose it because of a debt that he owed. She told us that he had. But anyway, A. J. asked him, he says, "Well what, how much do you want for the house?" And he said, "Well I need such and such and then you take up the payments." And we checked into it. We went over where he had his notes and checked. Of course, we didn't take his word for much of it. And poor thing, she had had polio and was crippled. But she had set out St. Augustine grass all in that yard and it was beautiful. She said that's where she got her therapy. I felt so sorry for her. But when she was telling me a few things so I felt guilty even with buying the place. But I knew they were going to lose it. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you remember what you paid for it? Do you remember how much? [Mrs. Lewis]:About $3,200 (laughter). Can you believe that? [Mrs. Cole]:Was that considered high or low for a house in 1952? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, we thought that it was a good buy. [Mrs. Cole]:Ok. [Mrs. Lewis]:He wanted a certain amount of money, which was not much and then get out from under the note is what he wanted. So we thought it was a steal. [Mrs. Cole]:Did you do that or did you get new financing? [Mrs. Lewis]:We went ahead and paid the note on it. We did. We paid him what he wanted and then took up the notes and paid it off. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, had you saved money for that or did you have to go… [Mrs. Lewis]:We had tried. Yes, yes, we had the money 'cause, well I wouldn't say A. J. was stingy by any means, but we did save. We knew that we had three boys to educate. So we kept that in mind. [Mrs. Cole]:Did it need a lot of work? It had a beautiful yard. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, it had a pretty yard; the trees are still pretty. But we thought, well what he thought first he said, "Well, we'll move in and then we'll redo it or we'll tear it down and build here because the lot was beautiful. Well, the more we thought about it and he had a friend who worked with him at Barksdale Field, a Mr. Green, who was a carpenter and he was a friend of ours. In fact, he lived down the street. And he had Mr. Green to check the house out to see. He even he went under the house 'cause it was way off the ground; it is still way off the ground. He had Mr. Green just to check it over top and bottom. And he told A. J., he says, "Don't tear this place down." He said, "This will be here when you're dead and gone." And he said, "Just remodel it if you want to." So that's what we did. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, what's the address on Riverside? [Mrs. Lewis]:439. It had an open porch as you're looking at the house; a long just open porch with a post, you know. And then on the side, it had another little porch that you could come out of. We got a man to come and talk to us about what to do and how to do it and then this Mr. Green too. But, before all that, before we ever moved in, we had hardwood floors put down. The floors were pine, I guess, or whatever they used in those days and they had been painted and, you know, just looked horrible. Well, at that time A. J. knew a sawmill that had a lot of hardwood flooring. So this Mr. Green took the measurements and A. J. took his pickup truck and went to that place and got enough hardwood to floor that house. [Mrs. Cole]:That probably made it warmer too, to put new flooring down because there were probably some gaps in it. Did you ever go under the house and look at it or did Mr. Green tell you…was it log construction underneath? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. He said cypress that's what he said. [Mrs. Cole]:And was it on brick pillars or stone pillars? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, it was on just regular wood. I mean it was just the way they had it fixed. But then later we had it covered, the sides of it covered. [Mrs. Cole]:But, it was on wood pillars. [Mrs. Lewis]:It had to of been. Yes, there wasn't any brick at all. [Mrs. Cole]:That's probably why it stayed up because the bricks generally was soft and it would have… [Mrs. Lewis]:They do, yes. [Mrs. Cole]:Well that's amazing. [Mrs. Lewis]:Anyway, we had the hardwood floors put down. Mr. Green put them down and I said, "Look, I don't know 'bout hardwood because I said I hate to have to wax it." And Mr. Green said, "Well I have a little German man friend over in Shreveport. I'll have him come and talk to you." Well he did. And I said to him the same thing about the wax. He said, "If you let me do these floors like I want to, you won't have to wax 'em." I said, "I've never heard of that." And he said, "Well, you won't." And what he did, he finished 'em and he took our door key. He wouldn't let us move in 'till he told us we could 'cause he said, "I don't want you to mess 'em up." Anyway, he sanded them I don't know how many times and put fillers and whatever had to be done. The last coat was clear shellac and I never waxed the floor. All I did was take a damp mop. [Mrs. Cole]:Right. Oh that's great. [Mrs. Lewis]:And the day that the people bought the house and was looking at it, the man told those guys that had come with 'em, "Don't you scratch up these floors when you're bringing stuff in." And the floors were pretty. [Mrs. Cole]:Now did you do the entire house? [Mrs. Lewis]:We did. At that time we had, until we, there was a little bitty back porch that you had to go into and go to the kitchen. Well, that little bitty porch was the bathroom. So when we remodeled that, of course, we took that down. But, we didn't do anything to the kitchen floor, of course. But we had the living room and two bedrooms and then a big hall and then another room. That was the part of the house that was the original house. When we remodeled it, we took that little bitty bathroom into a kitchen. We took this hallway and just made a narrow hall down through there to that back bedroom and then made the bathroom through there. We only had one bathroom there but it was a big, nice bathroom. [Mrs. Cole]:Now was it originally a dog trot floor plan? You said it had a large hall. [Mrs. Lewis]:No, no. It was a closed in. [Mrs. Cole]:So it was closed in. So was there the living room…alright, if you're facing the house and you go in, was there a central hall? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, you went on that little porch that we closed in… [Mrs. Cole]:On the side. [Mrs. Lewis]:…glassed it in. But it was an open porch at that time. When you went in there, then you turned left to the living room. If you went straight on, you went into a bedroom and then the kitchen. [Mrs. Cole]:Now it was single-story or double-story? [Mrs. Lewis]:It's single but it could have been a double-story because it had a big, big attic. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh it did. [Mrs. Lewis]:But we didn't think we needed that because we had a lot of floor space and it would of caused us to take out part of the little hall that we did have to go back in the bathroom. So we just kind of ruled that out and I was glad we did. [Mrs. Cole]:Did you go up in the attic and look? Was there anything in there? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, there wasn't anything. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you know who originally built it? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, they told us that the first mayor had it built. I don't know who built it. We didn't have anything showing where they, you know, had a building contract or anything. But now Wilna Mabry (Bossier's Clerk of Court) gave me everything that she had on record and I mailed back to Col. Yarbrough. [Mrs. Cole]:On the title. [Mrs. Lewis]:But, we looked and looked and I had wondered. But Mr. Hoyer was the first mayor, Mr. E. M. Hoyer, and we were told, and I don't know who told us, but they said that this lady he married was from up north somewhere and she didn't like it down here so she went back. So I don't know what happened from there (laughing). But they said he built it for her. [Mrs. Cole]:Did he live in it when he was mayor or did you know? [Mrs. Lewis]:I think so, yes. But we enjoyed living there. The boys had more room. [Mrs. Cole]:And what about your neighbors? Who lived on either side of you? [Mrs. Lewis]:We had one neighbor looking at the house on our right. He was E. M. Tipton. He was the old Bossier guy too. He worked for the fire department for years. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh he did. [Mrs. Lewis]:Next to him was Mrs. Cane. She had a pretty house there and she had a flower shop. [Mrs. Cole]:Right. [Mrs. Lewis]:To our left, people by the name of Stevens lived and then Doris Haynes, her family had lived there. Her mother and daddy lived in…there was one lot and one little house was on the front of it and then there was another one on this side. And then at the back of that lot there was another house. But that was the Stevens and the Haynes. [Mrs. Cole]:Were there other children in the neighborhood? So did your boys… [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, there were other children. [Mrs. Cole]:So it was kind of a little community then at that time. [Mrs. Lewis]:It was, it really was. And too, the street, Riverside Drive, was the main street through Bossier City at one time. And most of the houses down there had been there a long time, a lot of 'em had. And it was, it was a nice community. But when they started bringing the boats (casinos) in, then we just lost all of that. It just messed it up (laughing) and far as I'm concerned. [Mrs. Cole]:You can't even, it's hard to even find it now. I can remember before the boats were here that it was still kind of a pretty drive. [Mrs. Lewis]:It was. [Mrs. Cole]:So now, did your boys all go to Bossier Elementary and Bossier High? [Mrs. Lewis]:Right. They all graduated from it. They started and graduated. [Mrs. Cole]:Tell me about Bossier City in the 1950s. What kind of community was it? What was it like? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, I think it was a good community. Now, our oldest son, Jim, graduated in 1958. They had a good school band. You heard of the band? [Mrs. Cole]:Oh yes. [Mrs. Lewis]:Mr. Green and we just loved it. I mean, then Don graduated in '60 and Fred in '62. [Mrs. Cole]:That's when my husband graduated so I'll have to ask him if he knows, I'm sure he does know Fred. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, he might. Fred was in the band. [Mrs. Cole]:Yes, Raymond was too. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well good. [Mrs. Cole]:So I need to ask him about that. Well now, did you work at all or were you a housewife? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, no, I was a housewife. [Mrs. Cole]:Did you have hobbies or did you belong to social clubs or something like that? [Mrs. Lewis]:I belonged to the Eastern Star. My husband made a Mason in 1946. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh well good. Well tell me about the Eastern Star. I've had several people tell me that and we don't really know anything about the Eastern Star. [Mrs. Lewis]:You don't? [Mrs. Cole]:No. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well it's the ladies organization of the Masons and you have to be connected with a Mason before you can join, either married to 'em or your father being a Mason. And it's very active. Right now they're having Grand Chapter, is what they're called, in Shreveport. [Mrs. Cole]:Is it philanthropic? Is it just social or is it a combination of both? [Mrs. Lewis]:It's both. You just…well the Masons I suppose, you know, are very prominent in a lot of things they do - the Shriner's Hospital and that sort of thing. The Eastern Star has theirs also and it's a good organization. It's pretty work when you know it right and we did because during the time I was in the Eastern Star here, we had to know the word "perfect" and we could put on some good work. Of course, I think they are getting laxed on it these days. The last time I went to a meeting I saw that. But we didn't get by with anything. [Mrs. Cole]:Now did your husband stay in the oil field or did he change professions? What did he do? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well after we came back to Bossier, then he went into business with a company that sold and serviced motors for…well they needed different motors like sawmills and things. That's how he found out about the wood for the floors. He did that and then they began to bigger motors and he worked in that. So he had a business over in Shreveport. [Mrs. Cole]:What was the name of it? [Mrs. Lewis]:It was owned…it's Contractors Equipment Company is what it was. It was owned by a man from Monroe, but he ran it. Then he went from that to another business, had of a machine shop. It's now over here in Bossier City. What they did, they machined pipe reducers for the oil field. The company who did the cutting of all that was over in Shreveport. Fleet Davis owned that. And then A. J. would take his pickup and go over and get the reducers and then they finished 'em. Precision finished 'em and lathe and things like that. At one time they had their business down there on the riverfront over in Shreveport. But they had to get away from down on account of the building that they were fixing to do. So they moved over here right close to Elliott, this place over there and A. J. had built it and they had that company until he retired. They sold it. [Mrs. Cole]:When did he retire? [Mrs. Lewis]:About in '80. [Mrs. Cole]:When did you sell the house? Did you just recently sell it? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. Well, since we've been up there. I sold, we moved… [Mrs. Cole]:In Tennessee, you mean. [Mrs. Lewis]:…yes, we moved to Tennessee in '95 and I think it was '97 when we sold it. I hadn't fully decided that I wanted to and 'course I knew we'd have to be up there. So finally, I thought well might as well. And I just knew wouldn't anybody buy it on the account of it being where it was. But, a man that owned one of the boats bought it. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you remember his name? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, I don't know what his…it was a funny name. He was down from down South and, of course, I have it on my records. But, I don't even remember his name. [Mrs. Cole]:And he wants to keep it as a residence. Did he say? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, no. He wanted his employees…and I didn't know that until this he told me if you own one of those boats whether it sails or not, you have to have a full crew of people on it. I did not know that. [Mrs. Cole]:Boat people, right. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. [Mrs. Cole]:I know. Isn't that crazy? [Mrs. Lewis]:So he had to house 'em and at that time he was putting 'em up in one of these motels around here. And, of course, they have hotels built now. But I wouldn't imagine he'd house 'em in those hotels. [Mrs. Cole]:No, no. They probably have families. [Mrs. Lewis]:That's what he said he was gone do, put bunk beds in there for those people (laughter). He wanted me to leave the stuff in the kitchen, you know, and the washroom, the dryer and all that stuff. But I was lucky, I was lucky. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you remember any other homes that were considered older homes at the time in the 50's? [Mrs. Lewis]:Across the street from us was one. I don't know when that house was built, but it was there, of course, when we moved where we were; by the name of Sam Brown. He had a place with horses and a stable. I think it was up on Barksdale Boulevard, but he lived down there. You see, our house faced the river on the land down there that, you know, that people on that side of the street owned back then. [Mrs. Cole]:Could you see the river from your house? [Mrs. Lewis]:You could if you got a certain position, but we couldn't see it. We were, little do you think about it, we were higher than the river but we were. You wouldn't think that until you went down there and looked back. I know I had thought about maybe if it ever flooded you now. A. J. said it would have to come an awful flood to flood us. [Mrs. Cole]:But do you remember any older homes that were here in the 50's? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well at one time there was an old house on Wilhelmina just after you go under the overpass…but it was torn down and that's what made ours then the oldest. But I think there was one up in there. But there were quite a few houses but, of course, I didn't know that much about 'em. [Mrs. Cole]:That wasn't an interest then. [Mrs. Lewis]:It wasn't, no. [Mrs. Cole]:Well, did you like to cook or did you have certain recipes that your children particularly liked? [Mrs. Lewis]:(laughing) Yes, but there were no recipes for what they liked. That's kind of funny. My middle son is not married and he works for the wildlife department in Mississippi. Well, when he first went over and got him a place, once he was home he said, "Mother give me some of the recipes for stuff I like." I said, "Don, things you liked, there were no recipes" (laughter). A lot of it was just take it out and fix it. But, yes I liked to cook. I still do and I still cook. I have to. [Mrs. Cole]:Well what were some of their favorites? What was hot in the 50's? [Mrs. Lewis]:They liked peas and cornbread and potatoes and cake and pies, you know the things that kids do like. But they were never very particular about what they had, it was just the amount they had. But, never had any trouble with my children about eating. Some liked some things better than other, but they all ate and grew up to be big boys. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, when you shopped, did you shop in Bossier City or… [Mrs. Lewis]:Oh yes. [Mrs. Cole]:…almost exclusively or how often would you go to Shreveport? [Mrs. Lewis]:I didn't go to Shreveport very often. [Mrs. Cole]:Did you have your own car? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, oh yes. [Mrs. Cole]:So, your husband had a car and then you had a car. [Mrs. Lewis]:He had a pickup truck. [Mrs. Cole]:So you had transportation? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. And my main shopping was, I don't know if you remember 'em, we had an A&P Store just not too far from where we lived at 319 Watson. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, did you now know the coffee lady, Mrs. Watson, at the A&P because I've talked to her? [Mrs. Lewis]:I sure did. [Mrs. Cole]:She's a pistol, I tell 'ya (laughter). [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, yes. And I was just crying when they closed that store. I said, "Why?" [Mrs. Cole]:Oh, she just loved it, I mean, she could tell me all about everybody that lived in that area. [Mrs. Lewis]:Right. Yes, that was so handy for me. I would walk over there. I wouldn't if I was going to buy many groceries, but I could. And I'd send the children. [Mrs. Cole]:Can you see a change in the town from when you were first here in the 40's to when you left in the 90's? [Mrs. Lewis]:For sure. It's a lot of changes. There are stores that were here closed. Our shopping up here (the first one we had) across the railroad tracks. [Mrs. Cole]:Did it have the name, the shopping center? [Mrs. Lewis]:Crossroads, I think. [Mrs. Cole]:Crossroads. [Mrs. Lewis]:We had a TG&Y there and we had a Sears and several other little stores and a drug store, Mary Moore's Drug Store. It was on the corner. Yes, when that folded it just seemed like that part of town was dead, which it was. Then they begin to spring up with other shopping areas so yes, it was a great change. It's not the little town that it once was. [Mrs. Cole]:No, no it's not. Of course now, it's gonna be reborn I think. They've torn down all that on the riverfront to put in new things. [Mrs. Lewis]:I haven't been by down there. I've got to see that before I leave here. [Mrs. Cole]:Yes, go on over the bridge. That's the best way to get a…'course there's nothing but flat land, they took down all the trees and everything. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, it kills me to see people tear trees down. And I know you have to, but I just… [Mrs. Cole]:No, I don't think so. You could just put your concrete around the trees (laughter). I mean, I don't like all that surface concrete. [Mrs. Lewis]:No, I don't either. [Mrs. Cole]:Particularly down here because it's so hot. [Mrs. Lewis]:Oh yes. I didn't realize how hot it was in Louisiana until I came back a couple of summers ago in August (laughing). [Mrs. Cole]:Now, what is Fred doing now? Is he still in Louisiana? [Mrs. Lewis]:No, he's in Maryland. He is in research. He has his own lab and he works real close with NIH up there. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh he does. So, biological… [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, he has a Ph.D. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh he does. Oh my goodness. And what's his Ph.D. in? [Mrs. Lewis]:Microbiology. [Mrs. Cole]:Microbiology. Oh, that's amazing. And where did he take his Ph.D.? [Mrs. Lewis]:He got most of it from Northwestern in Natchitoches. [Mrs. Cole]:Well good for him. Where is the older son? [Mrs. Lewis]:He's there where I am in Signal Mountain. [Mrs. Cole]:In Signal Mountain. [Mrs. Lewis]:He's in drama and he has his Ph.D. in that, but he's retired. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh my goodness. [Mrs. Lewis]:But he still coaches and teaches. He likes to teach. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, do any of them ever come back to Bossier? [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes. Now, Jim was here last November I think it was. They had a class reunion and he came back and just had the best time. He loves to talk anyway. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh that's great. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, a lot of 'em that were in his class came. So he got to see a lot of the kids. [Mrs. Cole]:Well that's great. And you say Don lives in Mississippi. [Mrs. Lewis]:He's in Mississippi. He comes, he has friends who live here that he knew in college actually. And he went to Tech. But Jim went to Baylor. TAPE SIDE B [Mrs. Cole]:….they would have grown up here and then all the overachievers. I'm just curious as to whether or not they ever come back to visit. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well like I said, Jim came back for that and I have an aunt who still lives here (my mother's sister) and she's 92 years old, lives alone down in the 400 block of Watson Street. And we just cringe for her. She won't move. [Mrs. Cole]:Now, did she grow up here or how long has she lived here? [Mrs. Lewis]:No. No, she was born and raised down around Natchitoches also. But, when she was about 18 years old, she came to live with us. At that time we were living in Arkansas. So she worked up there in a cafeteria at the school for a long time and then they moved to Rodessa, my mother and them did. My father was sent to Illinois for the last part of his oil field work. And he had a stroke while they were up there so they retired him and they moved back. But they moved to Vivian. I don't know why they did that. But anyway, they did. And then my aunt, we call her "Suge," her name is Mrs. Donna Tate, but, she met this guy and married him. He hadn't been married before; they were older then. So they lived there for a while and then they moved to Bossier City also. He worked for T&P Railroad as a mechanic. [Mrs. Cole]:And so, was that during the 30's that she moved? [Mrs. Lewis]:It was later than that. It was in the 40's. Maybe I can remember back when…Mama and them lived in Vivian for a while and then they moved on Watson Street, across from where, well close to where the next block from where we lived. And that was in the late 40's 'cause my Daddy died in '44. [Mrs. Cole]:Well I think that they need to put some kind of historical marker on Watson Street there (laughter) because I think almost everybody in Bossier City lived there at one time. [Mrs. Lewis]:It was a…and I remember when the theater was built. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh do you. [Mrs. Lewis]:That little theater that is now whatever. I don't know what's in there now. I think it's some business has it. But that was the theater, Davis Theater. The lady who we bought our house from name was Davis. Later she remarried and to some other name I don't know. But her name was Davis. She was one of the Davis' that owned a lot of land out there. And she had that built and named it Davis Theater. So I remember when that was built. [Mrs. Cole]:Was that during the 40's? [Mrs. Lewis]:Well… [Mrs. Cole]:Probably your children went to the theater. [Mrs. Lewis]:…it had to have been. They were old enough to go to the theater. They were thrilled to death that it was there (laughing). But it was in the late 40's. [Mrs. Cole]:That's on Barksdale Boulevard. [Mrs. Lewis]:It's on Barksdale Boulevard, but it was on the same side of the street as our house. [Mrs. Cole]:So it was easy for the children to get there. [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes and then it was a Pack 'A Sack built across the street from it. I remember when that was built. [Mrs. Cole]:Now that's, I mean, that's 60's, Pack 'A Sack (laughter). [Mrs. Lewis]:Yes, right. [Mrs. Cole]:You don't call it that anymore. I can remember that. [Mrs. Lewis]:Right. No. But it's been a lot of water under the bridge since then. [Mrs. Cole]:What about church? Did y'all attend church? [Mrs. Lewis]:We did. We went to the Methodist church. [Mrs. Cole]:So many things, so many memories. Well, maybe we can get your aunt to come in and talk to us too. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well it just no telling what she could talk to…she's got a very good mind. She can remember things. I know we question her about people's birthdays, what year they were born, and like that. Well she can't walk very well; she's on a walker and it's hard for her to get around. But like I've said, we've tried to get her to move into an assisted living. [Mrs. Cole]:And she doesn't want to do it. Well, we can always go out there too if she'd let us. [Mrs. Lewis]:Well, she would. [Mrs. Cole]:And she'd let us come over. [Mrs. Lewis]:I bet she would. Do you want me to ask her? [Mrs. Cole]:Yes, if you don't mind! Yes. [Mrs. Lewis]:I'll ask her and I think she would come. She could just, ain't no telling what she could fill you in on. [Mrs. Cole]:Do you come back often? [Mrs. Lewis]: I usually try to come at this time of the year. The Masons have a Grand Chapter in council somewhere. It was in Monroe this year, but a lot of times it's in Shreveport or in Alexandria. I usually try to come at this time of the year on account of that so that I see more people statewide. And then to visit her. And then my sister from California meets me here. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh well great. [Mrs. Lewis]:So she has just gone home. But I get back. We have a family reunion, the Lewis Reunion in Tyler, Texas and I usually will fly here and my son in Mississippi comes by and picks me up and we'll go to the reunion, in fact. [Mrs. Cole]:Oh that's great. [Mrs. Lewis]:So I come two or three times a year. [Mrs. Cole]:Well, because I was thinking that next time you come, maybe we can go and talk to your aunt together. That would be kind of fun. I can always go by myself but you know maybe she…sometimes when you have another family member there, it helps to remember. [Mrs. Lewis]Yes, we can do that. [Mrs. Cole]:I look forward to meeting her. Thank you very much. [Mrs. Lewis]:You're welcome. END TAPE |
People |
Lewis, Lessie Mae Sanders Sanders, Wesley Delk, Willie Mae Hubbard Sanders Lewis, A.J. Hoyer, Ewald Max Tate, Dona Pearl Hubbard Delk, Thomas D. Doyle, (Mrs.) |
Search Terms |
Watson Street Riverside Drive Oral history Bossier City Diseases, Polio |
Lexicon category |
6: T&E For Communication |
Lexicon sub-category |
Sound Communication T&E |
Inventoried date |
2025-06-12 |