Newspaper, Profile of Earl A. Francis, LaSalle Parish La. Copied and Submitted by: Pat Ezell; San Antonio, Texas ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From the Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal January 5, 2000, Section B, Page 1 Thank You to the Times -Signal for allowing the following to be added to the Archives. A Times-Signal Feature...."Citizen Profile" A Very Special Salute Francis remembers virgin pine trees in Nebo region He remembers when the hills of Nebo were filled with virgin pine trees and Hemps Creek had rolling white sand beaches and more fish than one could catch. Yes, this week's Citizen Profile is one of our few parish residents who knows what LaSalle Parish looked like in the early part of the 20th Century. Earl A. Francis was born and raised in the Nebo Community and has lived there all of his life. Through the years, he has taken note of many changes in America, specifically in the place where he was reared. He was born on March 17, 1920, to Charles W. Francis and Susie Smith Francis. He was raised with three older sisters, one of whom has since deceased, one lives in Missouri near the place where their father was born and raised, and the other lives in Nebo next to Mr. Earl. Mr. Earl's father moved to LaSalle Parish in the early 1900's from Missouri before he was married, working with the railroad and following the work South. When he got to LaSalle Parish, he continued working for the railroad and also began working in the logging woods. He liked the parish so much, that he decided to buy some property in the Nebo area and establish his roots here. Mr. Charles soon met his wife and they were married and built a homeplace in Nebo, now located just off of La. Hwy. 127 on La. Hwy. 460 (the Whitehall Road). Some of the 60 plus acres they owned was converted into farm land, and in addition to the railroad and logging, he began farming to meet the needs of his family. While working with the railroad, Mr. Charles operated equipment which built the levee across the Old River Swamp for the railroad. Although the railroad tracks have been removed along with the disappearance of the trains, parts of the levee still exists and can be seen today paralleled with U.S. Hwy. 84, between Whitehall and Texaco Town. Mr. Earl and his sisters attended school at Nebo Elementary, located some two and one-half miles through the woods from their house. He knows the distance well, for all four children had to walk the distance every day they went to school. "We really did have to walk two and a half miles to school everyday," said Mr. Earl, "we never did have any transportation to school." When he was in the seventh grade, Mr. Earl's father took him out of school to help work the family farm. "Back during those days, the depression, we lived off the farm and what we raised," he said. "He (my father) thought he had to have me out of school to help him on the farm, beings how I was the only boy in the family." He helped his father on the farm until 1937, when he entered one of the Civilian Conservation (CC) Camps which were operating at that time." "I believe President Roosevelt came up with the idea of having the CC camps as a way of helping people during the depression," Mr. Earl said. "We were paid $30 a month, and of that $25 was sent directly back home to help the parents." Mr. Earl went into the CC camp located in Chatham, along with three other LaSalle Parish men, who he did not know until they met in Chatham. "At the Chatham camp, I met Moses McClendon, Lawrence Eubanks and Frank Peppers," he said. "Until then, I'd never met them, but we got to know each other real good during those days at the camp." "Different CC camps did different things," he continued. "ours worked mostly for International Paper and we'd cut fire lines, fight fires, build small roads and help preserve the woodland." After coming back home Mr. Earl again helped his dad farm, and then he got a job working in the oil field. "I started out working in the oil field by surveying land and just got further and further into the oil field business," he said. "Eventually, I got a job switching wells which I did for quite a while." Also when he came home from the CC camp, his life changed when a relationship with a Walker girl took on a new meaning. On March 23, 1940, Mr. Earl married Neva Walker Francis, the daughter of M. D. Walker. "I guess we first met at church, but I really don't remember," he said, "all I knew was I loved her and wanted her to be my wife." Through the next few years, three boys were born to the Francis': Lonell, who now lives in Lafayette; Marvin Ray, who lives in Jena; and Lester, who also lives in Jena. In 1946, Mr. Earl and his family moved to Delhi for approximately one year working for an oil company, but moved back to Nebo in 1947 and started up a team which contracted out with Hunt in clearing and making roads to well sites. During this time, he and his wife began a family business by opening a community grocery store, Francis Grocery, which was located at the same location his house is today. "It was a pretty good business," he said. "We had three gas pumps, feed and groceries, and we made many friends." It was that friendly atmosphere that Mr. Earl claims was the success of his grocery store. "We've had good luck in making friends with some good people in the community," he continued. "And at our store, it just had a good friendly atmosphere. When people came in we just knew one another. I believe that's what built our business up." People would come from all over to get their groceries from Francis Store, and as automobiles increased, so did their sale of gasoline. The store, along with the churches in the community, was the center point of society back in the 1960s and '70s. "I had many people tell me that I needed to get a bench or two and put out front of the front of the store so that people could sit around and talk," he said, "but I never got around to doing that." In 1968, Mr. Earl retired from the oil field and in 1985, after 25 successful years of operating Francis Grocery, he and his wife retired from that business also, and the doors to one of Nebo's most successful business's was closed forever. Throughout his life, Mr. Earl has seen many changes in America and specifically, in his own community of Nebo. "One of the things that I think of quite often is the road system around here," he said. "Back when I was growing up, the road in front of my house (La. Hwy. 460) was nothing but an old dirt road, barely wide enough for a wagon to get down." "Then they came in an fixed it up a little and put gravel on it and then they came back years later and black-topped it," he continued. "Then they came in an put the new bridge over Hemp's Creek and straightened it out. It is a completely different road now than when I was growing up, for the better of course." He also remembered the days when he would go a week at a time without seeing a vehicle come by his house, compared to now when cars and trucks are constantly coming by, even at all houses of the night. "Another big change is in the land itself around here," Mr. Earl said. "I remember growing up that all of this land was filled with huge and beautiful virgin timber. This land was so pretty with all those long tall and big virgin pine trees. It was just a terrible change when they came in and cleared all that virgin timber out." The timber companies first came to Nebo in the early 1930s cutting the pines but they did leave several sections untouched. But then in 1937, as Mr. Earl remembers, they came back and cut what they'd left. Then the Hercules Powder Company came in and removed all the stumps and as Mr. Earl remembers, the Nebo land looked pretty bare. "I thought I would never see the woods filled with trees again," Mr. Earl said, "but then IP came in and started reforesting and the trees just shot back up in no time. But still, no matter how many trees they plant, it will never look the same as it did with the virgin timber. Nothing can compare with that sight." One of the other big changes in the Nebo area is Hemp's Creek. Mr. Earl remembers when it was more like a river than a creek, and was the main attraction to people from all over, not just in the Nebo area. "Hemp's used to be a pretty wide creek with many deep holes and rolling white sand beaches," he said. "It used to be wide and beautiful and now it is narrow and barren. If I would have left and came back I wouldn't have even recognized it was the same creek, that's how much it has changed." Not only was the creek famous for it's white sand, rocks and swimming, but it used to be a great place to go fishing. "When I was growing up I loved to fish and there was a lot of fish in hemp's Creek," he said. "People today can't imagine how many fish there was in that creek, especially in some of those deep holes, but it was more fish than anyone could catch." Mr. Notes that the change in the creeks course down stream, near the lake, over the years has resulted in the changing of the creek. "It really is a shame" he said, "that creek was such a vital part of this area for so long and today's generation will never know what it used to be like." Growing up, Mr. Earl and his family attended Nebo Baptist Church for some time, and was going there in 1933 when the Pentecostals came to Nebo and established Shady Grove Pentecostal Church. Some time later, Mr. Earl and his wife started attended Shady Grove, where they have remained members of ever since. "As far as worship services go, they are pretty much the same today as they were back when the church was young" he said. "But the building and additions to it have changed dramatically. It's changed a lot and I've seen a lot. 'We just don't get to go as often as we'd like anymore due to our health problems." There are many other changes that he has seen over the past many years and he said he has no idea of what kind of changes will be in the next few years. "I just don't see how it can change as fast as it has in the last 50 years," he said. "You know, that's when the really big changes have occurred, in these last 50 years. But only God knows what the future holds." Today, Mr. Earl's highest priorities are in God and his family. Both are of importance to him and are what he likes to spend most of his time with. "We have a good family and we like to spend time with our three boys, their wives, and our seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, " he said. He still has many friends in the Nebo area and counts his friendships as priceless. "I really appreciate my friends and the times we have had together," Mr. Earl said. "As we get older, we need to keep those friendships as close as we can so that we can help each other. Mr. Earl said that he hopes that he will be remembered as a man who genuinely cared about other people and someone who has helped in some way to make a difference in people's lives and America. "My thoughts all along was that I would live to see this area become a good country and a strong community," he said. "Thanks be unto God, we have that now, and maybe I've had a part in helping make that." Mr. Earl said that he hopes and prays that people today will get back to considering the ways of Almighty God and walking according to His standards. "That is the main difference and the things that we need most in our area, our nation today, he said. "We must return to the ways of God. Mr. Earl Francis is truly a genuine, sincere man with a heart for people and a love for his community. As we move into the year 2000, let's heed his gentle voice of experience and prepare ourselves for the changes which lie ahead. During this first week of the Year 2000, we salute Mr. Earl Francis, for reminding us of the changes our parish has experienced during the last century and what is needed to survive in the next.