News, Citizen Profile, Velma Wilson Mancil, LaSalle Parish, La.




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

Velma Wilson Mancil - Citizen Profile  

Wednesday, October 25, 2000, page 3B

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

This 87-year-old lady had a very active life

This week's Citizen Profile has lived most of her life in the Midway Community
and can remember back to when it used to be just a handful of people living in
the area.

Mrs. Velma Wilson Mancil has always called Midway her home but says it has
changed quite a bit since she was a child growing up.

"I used to could count everyone in this community and name them, but my how
it's changed now," she said.

Mrs. Mancil was born on December 4, 1912, to Jake and Ellen Wilson of Nebo.
Mr. Wilson was a carpenter by trade, but when Mrs. Mancil was but a small
child, he moved the family to Summerville, where he decided to try his hand at
farming.

Along with Mrs. Mancil, the Wilson's had two other girls and one boy. The
family would stay in Summerville for about five years or so, before moving for
the final time to the Midway Community.

"I actually started school at the Liberty School in Summerville," she said. "I
went about one year there and then we moved and I started attending Good Pine
High School.

"Mr. Wilson, upon moving to Midway, returned to his trade of carpentry, where
he was employed by the Good Pine Lumber Company. He also contracted out for
carpentry work and helped build many of the houses in the Midway Community
during that time, some of which still stand today.

While attending high school at Good Pine, one of Mrs. Mancil's cousins began
dating a man who was working at a saw mill in Slagle, Louisiana. On the
weekends, the man would come in to date her cousin and at one point brought
along another man, Kelly Mancil, with him. 

Mr. Mancil also worked at the saw mill in Slagle and it wasn't long before the
two had a dating relationship themselves.

"It was called dating, but it wasn't like it is today," Mrs. Mancil said.
"Basically, he'd just come to the house and we'd sit around and talk. We'd
just be together."

At the time, Mr. Mancil was 18 years old and Mrs. Velma was 16 years old.
Despite their age though, the two were married on January 5, 1929, in Jena by
a Justice of the Peace.


One year later, their first and only child, Clyo Mancil, was born. Fifty-four
years later, in 1984, Mrs. Mancil would lose her only child when he passed
away.

Mrs. Mancil and her son were very close, so his death certainly took a toil on
her. The two had endured some very hard times together early on, following
Mrs. Mancil's decision to leave her husband after just a few short years of
marriage.

"Because of circumstances that I'd rather not talk about, I left him after
five years," she said. "Clyo and I moved in with my parents, and I went to
work to help us survive."

Mrs. Mancil started out working for different people in Jena, keeping their
houses, cleaning, ironing and cooking.

"One of the person's I worked for was Mrs. Flowers," she said. "She was a
teacher and her husband was a lawyer, but I can't remember his name."  

Another person Mrs. Mancil worked for was Mrs. Holmes in Jena. She said that
Mrs. Holmes was also a teacher and she would take care of Mrs. Holmes'
daughter's child while she taught school.

She also lived and worked for Mandy Allen in Nebo, until she started having
health problems and had to stop working for a while.

"Then on March 1, 1960, I went to work at the Jena hospital and worked there
for five years," she said. "I did just about everything, starting out as a
housekeeper and then I was trained to give out medications. And I also
circulated in surgery."

Mrs. Mancil explained that circulating during surgery involved getting various
things needed during a surgery for the surgery team, which usually consisted
of a doctor and a nurse.

"Because they were sterile, I get things they needed and bring them to them,"
she said. "When I wasn't circulating, I'd have to look after the whole
hospital by myself, answering lights, giving shots, and so on."

The Director of Nurses at the time was Nadie Barrett, and Mrs. Mancil only had
good things to say about her.

"She was a real good person and a good teacher," she said. "She was just one
of those persons who was great to work underneath. She taught me everything I
knew."

Although Mrs. Mancil enjoyed working at the Jena hospital very much, she was
only making around $100 per month. Having to support herself and her son, she
decided to look for a higher paying job elsewhere, and eventually found one at
the Pinecrest center in Pineville.

"At Pinecrest, I started out in the acute pediatrics department as an aide,"
she said. "After a while, they closed down the Acute PD and I worked in
Pediatrics 1. I retired from Pinecrest in 1977 after working for 11 years.

"After retirement, Mrs. Mancil found solace at the Council on Aging in Jena,
were she was very active in the ceramics classes. She worked with the ceramics
from the time she was 60 years of age until she was 83, stopping only because
of health reasons.

These days, at the age of 87, she still has a very active lifestyle and loves
to work outside in her yard, crocheting, piecing quilt blocks and tops and
keeping her house in order.

The most important thing in her life though has to be her church. From the
time her family moved to the Midway Community, Mrs. Mancil has been a member
of the Midway Church of God.

"Way years ago we didn't have a church house, we'd just meet in people's
homes," she said. "Then we finally got a church house, then a larger one and
so on."

"I've went to the Midway Church of God all my life and it's a good church,"
she said. "It's just a few of us now, but we still have enough to have
services."

Mrs. Mancil said that she was baptized in the 1940's and through the years the
Lord has certainly been good to her.

"He's seen me through my burdens, heartaches and trials - through everything,"
she said. "He has even healed me of different conditions in my body. I thank
the Lord He has let me live this long."

Mrs. Mancil said that her church doesn't believe in going to doctors for their
bodies, noting that we "trust in the Lord."

She did say that they do go to the doctor for things such as broken bones, but
for the most part they simply trust the Lord for healing.

When asked why she worked at a hospital for many years, despite the fact that
she doesn't believe in going to doctors, Mrs. Mancil said it was simply a way
of earning money.

"It was my job, that's all," she said. "This is my way of living and that was
their way of living. Going to doctors was their choice, even though it wasn't
what I choose. It was just part of my job."

Mrs. Mancil said that she has seen many changes in the country since the time
when she grew up, mostly in the way people visit with one another and the
morals of the nation.

"People don't visit like they once did," she said. "Everybody has their homes
and when you live by yourself it's different. Everybody wants to spend time
with their families and has no time to visit others. But I do get calls and
people come by and check on me and visit. I have some real special friends at
the church and other friends."

She also said that the world and America in specific, as seen a decline in
morals over the years that now makes it resemble Biblical sinful cities.

"The devil is just raging in the world today," she said. "So many people are
doing so many bad things. I think, and I've heard other people say, that
America is just as bad as Sodom and Gomorah (of the Bible). There is just so
much evilness in the world today."

At Mrs. Mancil's age, she said that she can't help but think about the day in
which she will leave this world and meet her God.

"I've lived a good life and the Lord has blessed me . . . I don't guess I have
any regrets," she said. "Now don't get me wrong, I've made mistakes and I've
had to go to people and apologize for mistakes I've made. But I felt I had to
do that. That was what God wanted me to do and I wanted to keep a clear
conscience."

Mrs. Mancil said that in her church, living a good life and keeping a clean
record is imperative to going to heaven.

"I don't want anything to hinder me from going to heaven," she said. "I want
to keep a clear conscious so that when I stand before God to be judged, there
will be nothing on my record."

So if you're driving through Midway and see Mrs. Velma Mancil out working in
her yard, take time to stop, say hello and just visit a while. The smile on
her face and the joy she shares will certainly brighten your day. 

It is for these reasons and more that she is honored this week as our Citizen
Profile.

(Caption under photo)
THIS WEEK'S CITIZEN PROFILE has lived in the community of Midway most of her
life and remembers a time when just a handful of people lived in the area.
Mrs. Velma Wilson Mancil also worked at the old downtown Jena hospital for
several years and remembers a wonderful staff. (See story.)