News, Citizen Profile, Mary Ann Keene Meyers, LaSalle Parish, La.




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Submitted by: Craig Franklin of The Jena Times, Jena, LaSalle Parish, La.

Wednesday, January 31, 2001, page 15A

A Times-Signal Feature "Citizen Profile" A Very Special Salute

This East Jena woman never meets a stranger.

Mary Ann Keene Meyers - Citizen Profile 

This week's Citizen Profile is a woman who never meets a stranger. She has
lived in many different places during her life, but for most of her life Jena
has been home. Her out-going attitude and zest for life has served her well,
and the list of her friends because of this is too many to name.

Mrs. Mary Ann Keene Meyers was born in Good Pine on March 16, 1933. Her
father, Lee Keene, worked at the saw mills as a saw filer.

"This was actually one of the better jobs back then," Mrs. Meyers said. "But
he could do just about anything. Later in his life he worked for Hunt for
several years and then when he retired from that he repaired gas and water
meters for towns.

"Mrs. Meyers' mother, Maggie, was a part of that generation many years back
who actually enjoyed being a stay-at-home wife and mother.

"She was an all the way housewife," Mrs. Meyers' said of her mother. "Cooking
was her hobby and she was very possessive of her kitchen.

"With six children, five boys and one girl (Mrs. Meyers), Mrs. Maggie had her
hands full and had to stay in the kitchen most of the time. But according to
Mrs. Meyers, this was more of a joy than a burden.

The Keene's, like most families during that day, moved around a lot, mostly
anywhere Mr. Keene could get a good job.

Mrs. Meyers started the first grade at Good Pine Middle School, but finished
the first grade at Jena. She then started the second grade at Jena, only to
finish the second grade back at Good Pine.

When she was in the third grade, the family moved to Rochelle, between Tullos
and Georgetown, where Mrs. Meyers started attending Rochelle School.

The family would stay in Rochelle for some five years, and it would be
Rochelle that Mrs. Meyers would later associate with "home".

"I guess because that is where I really remember a lot from growing up," she
said. "It was the place we stayed at the longest when I was growing up, so I
kind of think of it as home. I have a lot of fond memories of living at
Rochelle.

One of the most exciting things that she remembers about Rochelle, occurred
when she was 11 years old.

Because of World War II going on, the entire nation was on rations for even
necessity items such as sugar and other groceries.

"When we had the opportunity to get ice cream, it was a real treat," she said.
"It didn't come into the drug store that often, so when it did, people would
line up to get some.

"She said that on one of these occasions, she was standing in the long line
behind a woman wearing a blue print dress with white high heel pumps.

"I can remember her just as if it was yesterday," she said. "Because Rochelle
was a little town, everyone knew everyone, but nobody, including me, knew who
this woman was.

"Mrs. Meyers said that while standing in the line, she noticed that the
woman's stocking fell down to reveal a startling surprise to the then 11-year
old child.

"When her stocking fell down I saw the longest black hairs on those legs I
ever did see," she said. "It scared me so I ran and got the store manager and
told him what I saw. Of course, I was so upset, he couldn't even understand
what I was saying.

"After settling Mrs. Meyers down, the store manager listened as she told him
about the incident and how she believed this "woman" was actually a "man."

"He then went and got the town marshal and they went and pulled the woman out
of line and questioned her," she said. "And after checking, they found out
that the woman was indeed a man, and in fact was a German prisoner who had
escaped from Camp Beauregard in Alexandria. And that's how I helped capture a
German prisoner during the war.

"Also at Rochelle, while attending the local Baptist Church, Mrs. Meyers was
saved and baptized when she was also 11 years old.

Her family attended church wherever they moved to so church life was very
important to her. She has been in church all of her life and says there is
nothing more important in life than having a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ.

"When she was in the seventh grade, the family moved to Tyler, Texas for about
a year, and then they moved back to Jena. Although Mrs. Meyers was able to
transfer to the tenth grade, she decided to quit before graduating so that she
could get married. Later in life, she would obtain her GED and even attend and
graduate from a Vo-Tech school.

In March of 1948, at the age of 15, Mrs. Mary Ann married Horace Meyers of
Jena. Mr. Horace was the friend of one of the young men Mrs. Mary's friend was
dating. For several months the two would date, mostly attending church
together or going to the movies, before deciding to get married.

"At the time we got married, he (Mr. Horace) had his own truck that he used to
haul gravel," Mrs. Meyers said. "At that time the gravel industry was very
big, but after a short time the gravel business went down just like the oil
did several years ago.

"When this happened, Mr. Horace went to work in the oil field, and it was then
that the "gypsy" days really began for Mrs. Meyers.



"We moved about every three months when he was working in the oil field," she
said. "We really were like gypsies, we had a trailer and we'd just pack up
everything and pull it to the next place. By the time we moved the last time
back to Jena, we had so much stuff in that trailer that we actually broke the
tongue pulling it down the highway.

"During this time, The Meyers lived in Orange, Texas, Jenerette, Hackberry,
Algiers and Morgan City, just to name a few. This all occurred during a space
of time between 1949-1952.

"It really didn't bother me (all the moving)," she said. "I always made
friends everywhere we went and I'd find an elderly woman at every place and
take her in for a mother. 

I also learned a great deal more about cooking from these women as well."Also
during this time, the Meyers had two boys born into their family and then in
the early 1980's, they took in a girl and raised her as well. Today, they have
two grandchildren.

"I am a cause fighter - I believe in children and old people being taken care
of," she said speaking of their adopted daughter.

While Mrs. Meyers takes after her mother in many respects, such as her love
for staying home and tending to the house and children, she did decide to work
outside of the home for several years.

"I worked for a finance company for a while, and then I worked with the Humana
Corporation in Marksville before working at LaSalle General Hospital," she
said. "I worked in the accounts receivable department and set up a system that
we'd used in Marksville with the Humana Corporation.

"She worked at LGH for about five years, until her husband decided to buy a
shoe shop in Jena. She worked with her husband for a short time until she got
really sick and the doctors told her she'd have to give up working.

"This really was a miracle of God, because they told me I'd never be able to
work again, yet nine months later I was back working at the hospital," she
said.

Around 1980, Mrs. Meyers joined with Mrs. Sherry Joubert, of whom she is dear
friends with, to purchase and open a flower shop in Jena.

"We found out real quick though that this was more than we wanted, or more
than I wanted," she said. "I didn't realize it was that much to running a
flower shop, but anytime there was a funeral we would be swamped.

"After the flower shop, Mrs. Meyers resigned to simply doing volunteer work at
Golden Age Nursing Center. She would spend countless hours with the residents,
helping them with crafts which including everything from churning butter to
making homemade, hot biscuits.

"I really enjoyed my time at Golden Age," she said. "I loved all the residents
and enjoyed helping them with the crafts. We always had a lot of fun."

Three years ago though, she had to stop her volunteer work due to severe back
trouble. While she has good days and bad days, most of the time she is
confined to a wheel chair due to her back problems.

But don't think for a minute that her limited physical abilities has slowed
her down. She still keeps very busy around the house, although the says she
can't do near what she once could.

"Horace has really helped during all of this," she said. "At one point, I
couldn't do anything and he had to take over everything. He's been great and
has really worked hard, keeping everything around the house going."

Mr. and Mrs. Meyers have been married for 53 years and it is very evident that
their love for each other continues to grow.

When they moved back to Jena, they started attending East Jena Baptist Church
once again. Mrs. Meyers would teach Sunday School and Bible Study off and on
over the years, mostly to teenagers.

Having the Lord as the center of their life is one of the reasons Mrs. Meyers
believes their marriage has endured over the years, but noted that most
marriages of their generation do last.

"In my generation, when you committed yourself, you kept that commitment," she
said. "Whether it was working in the community or marriages, we kept our
commitments. Younger generations don't know about that."

She also said that arguments are going to occur in marriages but are not a
reason to get a divorce.

"You have to work those out," she said. "We've had our share of disagreements
but we just work through them. Now-a-days, when a couple fusses or fights,
they separate. I still firmly believe that children need both of their
parents."

Mrs. Meyers also said that while she does believe that everyone is equal (men
and women), mothers must have a role to play at home. She said that unless it
is absolutely necessary, mothers should stay home and nurture their children.

"I know that there are certain circumstances where a mother has to work, but
I'm a firm believer that many either don't want to stay home or either they're
too materialistic," she said. "It has gotten to the point that material things
matter more to them than nurturing their children."

She also said that she has had some younger women tell her that they get bored
staying at home. But for Mrs. Meyers, this concept is hard to understand.

"I don't understand this," she said. "Really, there is so much to do you can't
get it all done. I loved staying home and there was never enough time in the
day to get everything done that I needed to get done around the house."

Mrs. Meyers has many hobbies, one of which she takes after her mother in her
love for cooking.

"I love to cook and spend time in the kitchen," she said. "Most of the younger
women do not cook and they've never cooked anything from scratch. That's a
shame, they really don't know what joy they are missing."

Along with cooking, Mrs. Meyers loves to sew, crotchet, all types of crafts,
and really loves to paint.

Her home is filled with master pieces she has painted, all beautifully colored
and extremely detailed. 

"I really and truly enjoy doing all of that," she said. "In fact, I don't
think there are many things I don't enjoy doing."



Besides her Lord, her husband and family, Mrs. Meyers other wealth comes from
the amount of friends she has in her life.

"I thank God for all of the friends I have made along the way," she said.
"They have really enriched my life. Some I don't see as often as I used too,
but they are still here in my heart."

Because her love for life is only matched by her love for others, Mrs. Meyers
has touched the lives of many people during her 67 years thus far. She truly
never meets a stranger and goes out of her way to help someone when she sees a
need.

This week, we salute Mrs. Mary Ann Keene Meyers as our Citizen Profile, and
hope that her example of unconditional love and a positive attitude will be a
source of strength for all of LaSalle Parish to look to.

(Caption under photo)
MRS. MARY ANN KEENE MEYERS, this week's Citizen Profile, holds a beautiful
painting that she hand painted herself. Painting, cooking, crocheting and all
kinds of crafts are all hobbies of hers that she has become known for.
However, the most important thing she is known for is her unconditional love
for other people. (See story.)