Newspaper, Profile of Willard Coon, LaSalle Parish La.
Copied and submitted by: Pat Ezell; 
PatEzell@worldnet.att.net




**********************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
**********************************************
 

From the Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal, December 29, 1999,
Section B, Page 7 
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" 
Willard Coon
Profile subject recalls hard times during life
This week's Citizen profile always has a smile on his face and a witty comment
for everyone he meets, guaranteed to bring a smile to your family. Although he
has been through many hard times in his life, you'd never know it by his
charming personality.
He was born, raised and lived in LaSalle Parish all of his life and can
remember the days when Jena was a rough town, known across the state as
"Little Dodge City."
"Back years ago, Jena was known as Little Dodge City because it used to be so
rough," says 80 year old Willard Coon of Jena, "It was a salty dog…especially
on the weekends."
Mr. Willard was born on December 15, 1919, at Galvin's Creek near Whitehall,
where he grew up with his mother, Addie Coon, and older brother, Bennie.
He attended the Galvin's Creek one room school house through the seventh
grade, then went on to Jena where he finished high school, which back then was
the eleventh grade.
"The Galvin's Creek school was a one-room school which went through the
seventh grade with only one teacher" Mr. Willard said. "I can still remember
my first teacher, Ollie Jones."
While attending Jena High School, Mr. Willard had various jobs to help his
family with income. One of those jobs was peddling vegetables across the area
that his family raised at the Whitehall homeplace.
"I would go all over peddling vegetables," he said, Winnfield, Jonesville,
Natchez, wherever I could get a buyer. We raised all kinds of vegetables, but
our money crops, as we called them, were butterbeans, mustard greens and
turnip greens."
Mr. Willard also sold and delivered newspapers to various people in the area
during this time as well. He sold the Grit, a weekly newspaper from
Williamsport, Pa.
"I had about 25 customers and I made 2 cents per paper I sold," he said. "I
would save my paper money and every year before school started I would go down
to G.R. Russell's store in Jena and buy two suits of clothes and a pair of
shoes. Then I'd have to finish paying him out four bits a week. That would be
50 cents per week for you young folks."
Mr. Willard remembers that during those days times were hard for just about
everyone.
"you've got to remember this was back during the Great Depression and nobody
had hardly anything," he said. "Things were different back then than today - a
lot different. It was hard times, but I don't guess I can ever remember going
hungry."
"We raised everything we ate, but everyone did," Mr. Willard continued. "We
didn't starve, but we didn't have a whole lot either. That was just the way of
life back then for everyone."
Back during the early 1900's, Jena was much different than it is today,
according to Mr. Willard.
"Jena used to be a very rough town," he said, "people knew of Jena all over
the state and beyond, it had the reputation of being a rough and tough town.
That's how it got it's nickname Little Dodge City. On the weekend at nights
you'd better be some kind of a man to make it."
"Today, Jena is much milder and I believe it's the greatest place in the world
to live," he said. "We've come a long ways, we've grown a lot, and I think we
are doing as well if not better than most small towns."
While he was still a teenager, Mr. Willard's mother bought a house and a lot
in town on Oak Street, just down from the intersection with Third Street (now
located behind The Jena Times office building.) She bought the house and lot
for $300 while she was working as a janitor for the Jena First Baptist Church.
"I would also help mother clean at the church and she got paid $7.50 per month
for being the janitor, and boy that was big money back then," Mr. Willard
said.
First Baptist was also the church the Coons attended and Mr. Willard was
baptized in the creek located behind the church by the old railroad trestle,
which also doubled as a swimming hole for the kids during the summer.
Years later, after he was married, Mr. Willard and his wife started attending
Pine Grove Baptist Church, which was closer to where they were living at the
time. Today, he still attends church at Pine Grove some 50 something years
later.
After he graduated from high school, he performed various common labor jobs
around Jena, any thing from farming, to logging, until the year 1942 came and
he was taken away from his beloved hometown.
At the age of 22, during World War II, Mr. Willard was drafted by the United
States Army. He served in the 124th Ordinance HM and was apart of the ETO
(European Theater Operation) and the CB I (China Burma India) operations.
"I was a part of the ordinance outfit, which was basically made up of
mechanics, people who could take care of anything from a watch on up," Mr.
Willard said. "I was a cook so I was mostly in the kitchen, I really had it
made."
He explained that his outfit was supposed to stay anywhere from 15 to 50 miles
behind the front line, but several times his outfit found themselves much
closer than that.
"We got into several exchanges, but nothing like those that went on with the
guys on the front line," he said. "Out outfit has the best record over there
in that we covered seven countries in six months and we never lost a man."
In 1944, while on furlow in the states, Mr. Willard married his long time
sweetheart, Ruby Ellard, also of Jena.
"We were married on October 15, 1944, just before I left to go overseas," he
said.
After that overseas tour, Mr. Willard returned home for a six week furlow and
was downtown Jena visiting when the great news of the war ending came.
"I was standing in downtown Jena in front of Nick Edward's Café when they
announced that Japan had surrendered," he said, "it was an exciting time for
all of America and everyone in Jena was celebrating."
Because of Japan surrendering, Mr. Willard did not have to make another tour
overseas, but finished out his time in the Army at a base near Leesville.
In 1945 he was honorably discharged from the service and returned home to
LaSalle Parish where he has lived ever since.
"My wife and I moved into the old homeplace at Whitehall and it was there that
we raised our two children, Johnny Coon and Cherry Lynn Barren, both of which
were ten years apart, just like me and my brother," he said, "although it
wasn't planned that way."
Even as a young married couple, the Coon's didn't have much, continuing to
live mostly on what they raised.
"If I could give one piece of advice to young married couples it would be to
be honest with one another and trust in the Lord," he said. "The greatest
thing of all is to belong to the Lord and trust in Him."
He continued to note that every young married couple will experience some hard
times, but the key is to trust in God, be honest with each other and work
things out.
"Everybody has or will have troubles, there's no way out of it," he said.
"When you take two people, no matter how good they are, and put them together,
they will disagree at times. I don't guess you can set any rules or do's and
don'ts because no one is alike, other than the things I just said."
Mr. Willard worked in the logging woods most of his life until 1966 when he
started driving a truck for J.E. Fowler, which contracted out hauling for
Placid. During all this time he continued to farm and raise cattle.
In 1981, at the age of 62, Mr. Willard retired. In 1985, his mother died and
shortly thereafter he and his wife sold the old homeplace in Whitehall and
moved to his mother's old house in Jena, where he lives today.
One of his biggest concerns today is the moral decay of the nation.
"Kids today, well, it ain't like it was when I grew up, " he said, "they have
everything they want and don't appreciate it. The moral of our nation is down
and it seems that no one cares for anyone but themselves. We're in a heck of a
mess."
Mr. Willard believes that the reason this has occurred is because, for the
most part, people have drifted away from the Lord too far.
"They're doing things now that's immoral and getting our nation in bad shape,"
he said, "we've got to get back to the Lord and doing what is right."
He remembers when the most important things in life used to be faith in God,
family, and honesty, integrity and character.
"People are doing things now that you wouldn't think ordinary people would
do," he continued. "It seems that people are just looking out for number one
and no one else."
Today, Mr. Willard still enjoys gardening and working outside. He loves to
hunt and loves visiting and being around people.
"I've got heart trouble so I'm not supposed to do too much, but I still enjoy
gardening, working cattle and hunting," he said. "I don't do as much now as I
sued to, but I'm still in pretty good health and for that I'm thankful."
"A lot of people ask me, 'do you feel that good all the time?'" he said. "And
I tell them 'no, but why worry about." As long as we've got three hots and a
cot we're doing good."
He is truly one of Jena's most charming men who always has something pleasant
to say to bring a smile to your face.
And it is for these reasons, that we salute this week's Citizen Profile,
Willard Coon of Jena.