News, Citizen Profile, Andrew "Jack" Jackson, LaSalle Parish, La.




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

Andrew "Jack" Jackson - Citizen Profile  

Wednesday, March 14, 2001, page 8A

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

He is one of the most entertaining persons in LaSalle Parish. He tells the
stories that beg for a rocking chair on the front porch on a hot summer day -
and enough time to savor them all. 

He is Andrew "Jack" Jackson, this week's Citizen Profile. For any one who
knows Mr. Jack, the above paragraph immediately caused you to nod your head in
agreement. 

Mr. Jack loves to talk and visit, and talk and visit, and talk and visit. His
never ending array of real life stories and antedates of life are as
entertaining as they are captivating.

He was born on July 21, 1915, to William "Bill" and Minnie Dison Jackson on
the Louisiana-Arkansas state line. The name of his home town is Rum Center,
located about a quarter of a mile from the state line in Louisiana.

"It was called Rum Center," Mr. Jack recalled. "What it was, everybody up
there made whiskey or moon shine. There were stills all over that country, so
many that the hogs even got drunk.

"He remembers that the hogs would come up and eat the husk that had fallen
from the still, which also had spilt on them some of the homemade whiskey.

"They'd eat that stuff until they couldn't walk," he said. "Then they'd squeal
all night long until they sobered up. It was quite a sight." 
  
Mr. Jack's daddy ran an edger in the sawmills which meant he could find work
in just about any town. When he wasn't working in the sawmills, he was
sharecropping. Both occupations called for the family to move many, many times
during Mr. Jack's childhood.

He attended school at different places, El Dorado, Camden and Smackover,
Arkansas, then at Fairview High School, just to name a few.

"We moved every year or two," he said. "Daddy was sharecropping in Camden and
it was there I quite school and helped him out on the farm. This was
during the depression, during Hoover's Presidency, and I followed those old
mules everyday in that hot sun plowing those fields. We lived at many
different places, one time in a tent when I was six years-old."

While at Camden, Mr. Jack recalled that in 1928 his daddy got real sick and
was unable to work. It fell upon him to take over trying to make ends-meat for
the family, working the fields and also running his daddy's traps.

"Trapping was real big back then, and even though prices for everything else
dropped, the price for furs pretty much stayed the same," Mr. Jack said. "He
(daddy) stayed down for seven weeks and after I trapped that winter I went to
town and sold the furs and made $47 dollars. Man, I was rich. I then paid 47
cents for a sack of flour at Camden and packed that heavy sack 9 miles back
home. When I got home I remember my mama cried because for the first time in a
long time we had enough to make biscuits."

Although it was rough, Mr. Jack said that his family actually had it better
than many families he knew of.

"We had a pretty good living back then," he continued. "We had a two acre
peach and apple orchard and raised hogs, cows and always had bacon, eggs and
milk. 

During those "growing up" years, Mr. Jack said that one of the highlights was
the Saturday night dances.

"Someone would clear out a big room in their home and we'd have a dance," he
said. "The only thing was, they'd shut down at midnight, because the next day
was Sunday. When they'd start playing "Home Sweet Home", well, you just as
well let go of your partner and go home. That meant they were shutting it
down."

When he was 17 years-old, the family moved to Lillie, which was located across
the creek from Rum Center. There, they sharecropped again until Mr. Jack
turned 20 and left to join the CC (Civilian Corps) camp in Farmerville.

"This was Roosevelt's plan during the depression," he said. "There wasn't any
jobs, so he had these CC camps for young men to work at. We worked for $1 a
day and at the end of the month $25 would be sent back home to your family and
you got to keep $5. Of course, they furnished clothes, food, medical,
everything - it was actually run by the Army."

While working in the CC camp, he was sent to work out of Camp Swan in the
hills of LaSalle Parish. The camp had a capacity of 220 boys and it usually
stayed filled up.

"When I got there I asked them where the pipeline was that was used to pipe in
the sunshine," he said. "I'm not lying to you, it seemed like we rode in the
back of that old Army truck forever, out in the middle of nowhere to get to
Camp Swan."

When he asked where the nearest town was (because he was thinking of
walking there during his time off), he was informed that Olla was some 20
miles away. He was also told that Jena was just about the same distance.

In reality, Mr. Jack was raised as a "city boy", or as close to a city boy as
they had in those days. Wherever they lived, they were always very close to a
larger town, that had many things other towns didn't. So the experience at
Camp Swan was Mr. Jack's first experience away from "civilization."

While serving at Camp Swan, Mr. Jack remembers doing all sorts of jobs. He
specifically recalls taking part in the evacuation of people from along Old
River during the overflow in 1935.

"The water came up and overflowed Old River that year and we were in charge of
getting people safely out of their homes and to higher ground," Mr. Jack said.
"There's no telling how many people we hauled out of there that year, but
during all of that we only had one accident. One chicken and a cat drown - but
all the people got out okay."


Mr. Jack said that not only did they move the people, but they also moved most
of their belongings, including all of their livestock, chickens, hogs, etc.

Also while at Camp Swan, Mr. Jack said many of the boys would attend church in
the Aimoch community. It was during one of these church meetings that he met a
young Sunday School teacher named Jessie Watson. The two started "courting"
and were eventually married on July 17, 1937. 

After their wedding, he left the CC camp and the couple set up residence in a
"shot gun" house just south of Rosefield.

"I came to Jena and bought a bed, a table and chairs and some other things to
get us started," he said. "One day I came home and Jessie had my 3220 square
barrel rifle. I asked her what in the world was she doing and she said that
she was going to shoot our only cow. She said the cow had eaten our only quilt
and she was going to kill it. Well, another cow would cost $8 or $10, so I
talked her out of it."

Over the course of the next few years, Mr. Jack would find work at a variety
of places, moving up in pay with each job change. 

He worked for the Urania Lumber Company in Urania, La Central in Clarks,
worked as a heavy duty mechanic in Camden, Arkansas, sharecropped in Arkansas,
La Delta in Trout, worked for a tie mill, and finally went to work for
International Paper in Trout.

Mr. Jack remembers exactly how much he made at each job, what he did, and many
hilarious stories concerning each part of his work life.

While working for the saw mill owned by La Delta in Trout, Mr. Jack recalled
that the company bought one of the first lumber trucks in the country, which
was used to haul lumber all over.

Many of his delivers was to Texas, where he became very familiar with the
Weights and Standards Police there.

"That first truck was long, I mean longer than anything anyone had ever seen,
including the weights guys," he said. "The first time they stopped me they
told me I was either going to have to cut it in two or they would ship it back
to Louisiana in two pieces. Well, when I got back to Trout they took off two
feet of the truck. But that wasn't enough for those Texas weight people."

He got so familiar with the weights police that he even became good friends
with one of the main officers who frequently wrote him tickets.

"This weights guy in Texas would catch me, give me a ticket, and then go and
buy me a steak supper," he said. "We got to be good friends but he gave us
heck with that truck."

Ultimately, the job hopping would cease in 1953, as he landed a good job with
International Paper. For the first two or three years, Mr. Jack ran a
bulldozer and hauled equipment for the company. He was making 90 cents per
hour and usually put in 40 hours a week.

"They then made me a Road Supervisor/Foreman, me and Clarence Prudhome, and we
built and rebuilt most of the company roads," he said. "We had Mississippi,
Louisiana and South Arkansas and stayed pretty busy building those roads."

In 1954, Mr. Jack and Mrs. Jessie moved to Manifest, where they lived together
for the next 24 years. They joined Pisgah Baptist Church, where Mr. Jack's
membership is still at today.

In 1977, after a little more than 24 years with International Paper, he
retired at the age of 62.

"They said that if I stayed until 25 years I'd get another $1,000 for my life
insurance," Mr. Jack said. "I said, 'What do I need it for
- I have to die to collect it?' So, I just retired."

The year of 1977 through 1978 was a hard one for Mr. Jack. Just when he was
able to spent more time with his wife of forty years, Mrs. Jessie was
diagnosed with a brain tumor. 

In July of 1977, Mr. Jack lost one of his granddaughters and then in 1978 Mrs.
Jessie passed away.

"It was a bad year, a rough time," Mr. Jack recalled.

After some time, Mr. Jack bounced back and took refuge in enjoying
many of the things he loved to do since he was a child.

"I've done a little bit of everything since retirement," he said. "Mostly,
fishing. I love to fish. I still love to fish and would go right now if I
could get someone to go with me."

He also took refuge with his family. Mrs. Jessie and he had 2 girls and 1 boy,
and today he has 8 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and 1 great-
great-grandchild. He actually has five generations living today.

On June 5, 1981, at the age of 66, Mr. Jack remarried, this time to a Jena
girl. Mr. Jack and Eunice Stringer Eubanks were married and lived in Jena
until a short time ago when Mrs. Eunice had to be moved into Golden Age
Nursing Center.

"Oh we had a great time," he said. "We'd go fishing together, although she
wouldn't fish, she'd just watch. I used to go snagging at the locks in
Jonesville all the time and she would just sit on those rocks and watch. She
was afraid to get out in the boat."

Now-a-days, Mr. Jack lives alone at his home beside East Jena Baptist Church,
although he always has family and friends coming by to visit with him. He also
visits his wife at Golden Age every day, where many times he is the only
person she recognizes.

Here recently he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which sometimes
limits the amount of activities he is able to enjoy. 

For instance, he used to enjoy playing the piano in his home, which was
originally bought so his son could learn to play. Mr. Jack taught himself
how to play and loved to set around and play songs. Parkinson's, which effects
his ability to manage his hands and fingers many times, keeps him from
enjoying this past time.

But Parkinson's does not effect his spirit. At the age of 85, Mr. Jack has the
spirit of a teenager and is still very active.

He loves to work in his garden, and in fact he can't ever remember a time when
he didn't like gardening. It is something that he has been doing since he was
old enough to work.

"I've enjoyed my life," Mr. Jack said. "Oh, sure, I've had my share of
problems, but all in all I don't have no grips about my life...  although some
of it I wouldn't want to do over."

"Somebody once asked me if there is any old people left," he said. "I told
them they ain't left - they're all dead. I've seen a lot of changes in this
world, and I've seen a lot of people live their lives different ways. But I
say live a good life and enjoy it. Whether you have a little bit of money or a
lot of it, it doesn't matter - just enjoy yourself. After all, the Bible says
that the love of money is the root of all evil. That's why people can't enjoy
themselves today, in their life money rules."

Another bit of advice Mr. Jack tells is to register to vote and then go and
vote. He says it is one of the freedoms that we in America have that many
countries do not. To him, not participating in the election process is almost
un-American.

"I've voted every since I was 21 years-old, which was how old you used to have
to be to vote," he said. "If you don't vote, you don't have your say. I've
always said I'm going to vote so I can at least talk about them
(politicians)."

And Mr. Jack is a man that lives what he says. He has enjoyed life, no matter
where it has taken him or what has happened. He's one of those few men left in
America who speaks his mind, but also minds his speech.

He can keep you entertained for hours and yet drop in words of wisdom
that will change your life if you'll apply them.

So the next time your looking for a fishing partner, or would just like to sit
and rock and soak in some great stories, stop by and visit Mr. Jack Jackson -
one of LaSalle Parish's extraordinary individuals. 

Caption under photo:
JACK JACKSON of Jena, sits at the piano in his home that he used to love to
play. Because of Parkinson's Disease, Mr. Jack cannot play like he once could.
The disease does not, however, effect his spirit. This week, we take a look at
one of the most extraordinary individuals in the parish. (See story.)