Biographies: R. D. "Quack" Bevill, 1976, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: December 1, 1976 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American R. D. "Quack" Bevill Has Retired Again by Russell Terry The October 31, 1976 edition of the First Baptist Church Evangel carried a notice written by Glenn Barnard, Director of Youth Music at the church. Barnard had written, "My dear friend and choir member, Mr. R. D. Bevill, gave me his verbal and official resignation as a choir member October 24. After 60 years of faithful service, Quack has decided that it is best to turn in his choir robe. This tremendous saint has served the Lord and First Baptist Church with dignity, integrity, and faithfulness... "Quack's choral career sets a shining example to us all. He served for 60 years! He was always in his place of responsibility unless illness or travel hindered him. Never have I worked with such a dedicated, warm layman as Quack Bevill..." Quack's career as a singer started when he was six years old and in the second grade. At the school assembly which was attended by his parents, he was called on to sing a solo. This was to his liking and he gave it all he had. When he finished there was considerable applause, but it was all ruined when an old lady in the audience said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "And what do you know, all that, and he wasn't as big as a washing of soap." "This ended my career as a soloist. I have sung with all sorts of groups for the past 60 years but never again did I attempt a solo," says Quack. R. D. was one of the family of the musical Bevills of Winnfield. There were seven children in the family: two girls, May and Carrie Maud; and five boys, James Riley, Jared S., Ben Kay, Joe P., and R. D., Jr. They were all musicians. May and Carrie were professionals. "I'll always be grateful to Mama and Daddy for making us all take music. My sisters were professionals but the rest of us had enough to really appreciate and enjoy good music." Bevill pays tribute to a little Irish telegraph operator for the L. & A. R. R. named Robert J. Seery. He gave music lessons free to the young people of Winnfield and organized an orchestra that usually had 12 to 20 instruments. "We practiced in the big hall in the middle of our house and passers by felt free to join or just stop and listen. We had a piano at our home and I took piano and violin lessons. I saved soap coupons and got a saxophone," he recalled. "In 1927, I was down in Fort Myers, Florida, drilling oil wells and there I joined a small combo orchestra. We played for various entertainments and dances. On this particular night we were playing on the pier when Thomas A. Edison and Henry Ford, with their wives, joined the group. They both had winter homes nearby. "We were playing a waltz when they joined in. The other dancers withdrew, leaving them on the floor alone. At the end of the dance everyone cheered them and they came over and complimented us on our music," Quack reminisced. R. D. got the name "Quack" while living on a cotton farm in Natchitoches Parish, where he was born September 9, 1900. He was about five years old when one of the Negro workers on the farm cut his hand seriously enough to need medical attention which was always furnished by his mother for everyone on the place. As Quack tells it, his mother came with a pan of water and the turpentine to care for the man's wound. "After Mama washed and turpentined it, she began to bandage the cut when I came in to offer my assistance in bandaging the hand. The old Negro said, "Get away from there boy. You ain't no doctor. You is a quack." The family moved back to Winnfield in 1906. Quack's father was a native of Winn. Quack's grandfather had moved to Winn from Alabama in the 1850s. His name was James Riley Bevill. Quack's mother was Maud Allen, the daughter of Carrie Prothro, a member of the Prothro family connected with the Prothro Mansion of St. Maurice. In 1906 when the family moved back to Winnfield the railroads had been built and the big sawmills were operating full blast. Times were considered good at the time. R. D., Sr. put in a meat market and things seemed to be going well until Mr. Bevill had an accident breaking his back. This accident left him paralyzed from his waist down for the rest of his life. He later kept books for the Whitley Drug Store for a number of years. The Bevill children all went to school and worked at any jobs they could find. Times were suddenly very, very hard and it was difficult to make ends meet even with all the children working as soon as they were old enough. Quack, at an early age, got a job of delivering meat for the Lorraine's Meat Market. He got up at 4:30 a.m. and walked across town to the market, saddled his horse and made deliveries. There was no refrigeration. The meat was placed in a bag and delivered to the customers before breakfast. Some of Quack's customers were the five hotels of Winnfield. These were the Colvin Hotel, the Comrade, run by B. W. Bailey, the Imperial, Hatcher, and the Sanders' Hotel. The meat delivery was completed about 8:00 and the delivery boy returned home and got ready for school. He was still in elementary school at this time. When he moved into high school Quack got a job at the W. U. Drewett Grocery Store. His job was to open at 7:00 a.m. and work until 8:30 when he went to school. After school he returned to the store and worked until eight or nine each night, except Saturday when the store stayed open until about midnight. For this Quack received $ 2.50 a week, which went into the family funds. Quack played football during the 1917-18 seasons when Brother Stokes was coaching. The team played Baton Rouge High School for the State Championship but lost. "We lost, but they had a bunch of ringers," said Quack. After graduating from high school in 1918, Quack volunteered for the Army. The U. S. was then involved in World War I. Peace came soon afterward and he was home in time for Christmas. The boom town oilfields began coming in about this time. El Dorado, Homer, Haynesville, Pine Island, and several others were creating the excitement. "I went to Bull Bayou in Red River, where my Daddy had an interest in a lease in 1919," said Quack. "Things were going pretty good until the price of crude dropped from $ 3.25 a barrel to 50 cents. We then went to Lee County, Florida, where we drilled wildcats and in the summer of '24 we moved to San Antonio where we drilled several wells without any luck. "In about '25 the boom started in Tullos and we moved back here. Tullos was one of the last boom towns. Nothing but mud and slush, but there was plenty of that. Everything moved by ox or mule teams, boilers blew up and wells blew out. One well cratered and we lost everything, rig and all." As Quack tells it, he seems to be seeing it all again. The Bevills stayed on in the Tullos field. As Quack tells it, there were both good and bad times. The depression of the thirties dealt them a severe blow but Quack stayed with it. His father died in 1937 and Quack worked the leases alone from that time until he retired in 1968 and sold out his interests. The crowning point in Quack's life happened December 24, 1935 when he married Sue Ballance, a Mississippi girl and former school teacher, who had come to Winn Parish as the Home Demonstration Agent. There were two children as a result of this marriage, a daughter Susan who died at an early age and a son, Dr. Riardon Bevill of Darien, Connecticut. The son, Riardon, received his Ph. D. from the University of Minnesota and is now a stock broker. They have three children, two girls and a boy who must be visited by his grandparents at least once a year. As to memories, Quack says, "I will always remember the beautiful virgin, longleaf pine forests we had in those days. Another thing I remember was the bell tower at the City Hall. It was run at 9:00 o'clock every night as a curfew and all the kids had to be at home. "In my lifetime we have gone from the horse and buggy to the landing of man on the moon but I do not wish to go back to the old days," he said in a reflective manner. Then with that ever present twinkle in his eye, he said, "Mrs. 'B' and I are enjoying our retirement." The Bevills do enjoy life. The are that kind of people.