Newspaper, Profile of Mr. Norman Nelson & Mrs. Luttie Johnson Nelson, LaSalle
Parish La.




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Copied by: Pat Ezell. PatEzell@worldnet.att.net
Submitted by: Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371
From the Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal Wednesday, Oct.27, 1999, Section B,
Page 5
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 
"MARRIED 77 YEARS; LOVE STILL AS STRONG AS EVER"
"He's the only man for me. I ain't looked for another, no I haven't even
thought about another in all our years," states Luttie Johnson Nelson about
her husband, Norman Nelson.
On December 7th of this year, the Nelsons will celebrate their 77th wedding
anniversary, and the only thing stronger than their love for each other is
their love for their Savior, Jesus Christ.
Both were born and raised in the Colfax area, and both worked on cotton
plantations, until Mr. Nelson started working in the logging industry.
They grew up virtually next door to one another and Mrs. Nelson remembers him
as a very good looking young man. "He's 97 now and I still think he's looking
pretty good for his age," she said.
Young Norman Nelson lived with his brother about a quarter of a mile from
Luttie Johnson's house when the two first met. Luttie had three sisters. She
was "next-to-the oldest." They all worked on cotton plantations in the Colfax
area. "We had to work so hard in the fields," she said, "hoeing and picking
cotton."
"Norman used to come to my Mama's house. We could meet boys in the streets and
when he came to the house, he had to take off his hat at the door." Sometimes
they sat and talked. Sometimes they walked together and talked, he on one side
of the road and she on the other. That's how it was with boys, she explains.
She remembered that during those days boys and girls were not allowed to touch
each other, so they would walk on separate sides of the road and talk. "He
stayed on his side and I on mine," she said. "He didn't touch me. Boys didn't
dare touch a girl back then. Wasn't a whole lot of babies born then, either."
Mrs. Nelson laughs long and loud.
Mr. Nelson eventually asked Luttie's mother for her daughter's hand in
marriage, and on December 7, 1922, the two were married at a preacher's house
in Colfax. "I was 16 and he was 20 and he had to pay $3 for the marriage
license," she said. "Three dollars was more than three days wages for him back
then."
After a few years, the couple had their first child, Lelar. Two more girls and
two boys would follow: Helen, Huey P., Creola, and Herman. Herman is the only
child still living today.
They stayed in Colfax for some years, then moved to Zenoria in 1926 to work at
the sawmill there. In 1935, they moved to Trout where he worked at the Charles
Johnson Lumber Company.
"There was a lot of things different back then," said Mr. Nelson. "For one
thing, there wasn't a bridge in Jonesville or over the Mississippi River in
Natchez… we had to cross those rivers on ferry boats."
Mr. Nelson also remembers that work days back then were a lot longer and
harder than today. We started working when it got light enough to see and
stopped working when we couldn't see anymore," he said. 
He also noted that back then there wasn't any time for going to school. "As
soon as you were able, you had to start working to help the family," he said.
And although neither one hardly received a grade school education, all five of
their children graduated from high school.
Family life for the Nelsons revolved around going to church. Mrs. Nelson has
been a Christian since she was 15 years old and it was just a few years ago
that Mr. Nelson was baptized, although he attended church with the family for
many years.
They've attended Trout Creek Baptist Church ever since they came to the Trout
community back in 1935, and all five of their children were baptized in the
pond next to the church.
"Going to church, me and the children and him, those were the happiest times,"
Mrs. Nelson recalled.
Today, they are still active members of the church and are the oldest living
members of the church at 97 (Mr. Nelson) and 93 (Mrs. Nelson).
They remembered many things from the early years around the Trout area. "For
one thing, all you had back then was Baptist and Methodist and nothing else,"
Mr. Nelson said. "You've got all kinds of churches and things today, and some
of these say that Baptist ain't right. But they're the one's not right - I
tell them Baptist have been around long before all these others."
Also, Mr. Nelson recalls that there wasn't much violence in the rural
communities, certainly not like it is today. "The people do things now that we
only read about happening in New York back then," he said. "One reason is
because people are raising their children and letting them do whatever they
want to do. Back then, parents controlled their children."
Mrs. Nelson joins in. "That's right. Back in our day we whipped children…not
only ours but our neighbors too," she said. "If we saw a neighbor's child
acting up we would chastise them and then tell their parents and then they
would chastise them again."
"This is something that was for both colored and white, children didn't act
the way they do today because their mama and daddy wouldn't stand for it," she
continued. "I've always said and still say it today, if you will raise your
children up the way God says to, then you won't have as much trouble out of
them."
"That's the way my mama brought me up, that's the way I brought our children
up, and that's the way God tells us to do it in His Word," she continued. "I'm
so glad my mama taught me those things."
There were many other things about the days of old that the Nelson remember
such as going and listening to Bessie Smith sing at a concern back before
World War II.
"Bessie was famous for singing and I still remember one song she sang that she
was known for," Mr. Nelson said. "It was called 'Uncle Sam Ain't No Woman But
He Sure Can Take Your Man'."
They also remembered listening to the record player by battery. "And when the
battery went out you didn't have any music anymore," Mr. Nelson said.
Through nearly 77 years of marriage, they have faced many tough days, but the
Nelsons said they have never even considered divorce as an option. "When you
marry a man you are supposed to treat him right and don't let anyone come
between you," Mrs. Nelson said. "If you love him, marry him, but stay with him
for the rest of your life."
Both said that husbands and wives need to be true to one another and shouldn't
even think about another person. They both are proud of the fact that neither
has strayed from the other during their 77 years of marriage.
So what is the key element in making a marriage last for as long as the
Nelson? It's simple according to them - trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
"A lot of people have gone from God and not doing what Jesus said to do, and
that's the reason so many marriages are not lasting," Mrs. Nelson said. "But
when Jesus gets a hold of you it is a big difference. If Jesus is not in your
family then you'd better get Him. That's the only way it will work."
Mrs. Nelson loves her church but made it clear that it takes more than going
to church to change a life and make a marriage last.
"It ain't the church house, no, no, you must be born again," she said. "Until
Jesus gets a hold of you it don't matter what you do - it's all Jesus. When
Jesus get s you, you don't have to have the preacher or anyone else tell you
what to do, because he will tell you what to do."
She also said that it is very important that Christians live by the Word of
God, read the Word of God, and keep all the commandments in the Bible.
"There are two things that I make sure I always do," she said. "Every day I
pick up that Bible and read it. Also, Jesus said to give them My Word and tell
others about me. When you come into my house, the first thing I'm gonna ask
you is, 'Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior'?"
And she practices what she preaches. For this interviewer himself was
confronted with that question before he ever got into the house.
Mr. Nelson also said that people today shouldn't look at what other people are
doing to judge how they should live, but rather go by what the Bible says.
"It don't matter what other folks are doing - you'd better just do what God
says to do," he said. "And we shouldn't talk bad about other people too much
of that today. Don't wish a man down, wish him good, talk good about him -
that will make a difference."
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson both said they don't know why God has allowed them to live
as long as they have but both agreed, "God knows what He's doing."
One thing is for certain though, no matter how long God allows them to remain
on this earth, they will always be true to Him and true to each other.
We salute Mr. and Mrs. Norman Nelson - for their dedication to God and their
dedication to each other for nearly 77 years.