Famous Winn People, 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 the September 9, 1938 Winnfield News-American Many of Winn Parish's Favorite Sons Win National and International Recognition in Various Lines of Work Worth of Men of Winn Parish Recognized by World's Greatest Personalities. Cab Calloway Probably Learned Rhythm in Winnfield's Tin Pan Alley There are few visible landmarks to remind the people of this section of the old days. The log courthouse, now nearly covered over with ship lap, moved from its original moorings, now located near the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad depot is one of the oldest, if not the oldest building left in Winnfield. There are a few old homes, but they too, have undergone the changes of time and progress and would be recognizable to old timers were they permitted to return to view the town again. If bereft indeed, is Winnfield of the landmarks of its fathers, it has one great wealth to which can be pointed with pride. And, like Cordelia of old, who when a friend called and asked to see her jewels, triumphantly brought forth her sons and exclaimed "Here indeed, are my jewels," so it is with Winnfield and Winn Parish. Aside from her great natural resources is her brimful jewel case of noble sons and daughters. There is perhaps no single small town in this land so well known as Winnfield. She has produced governors, both of whom have (article is screwed up here and the sentence is incomplete). The late Huey P. Long is a household shrine to many thousands in Louisiana. When he was a youth he showed signs of possessing leadership that even then was not without its showmanship. By a process of seasonal elimination of obstacles, by granting audience to no man whose hand showed the slightest wave of contrariness to the program he determined should be set into motion, Huey P. Long, late Senator of Louisiana did, in a course of years that counted less than twenty, pick up Louisiana by its long ears and set her on a plane that is the envy of the entire nation. There is neither time nor space permitting of a lengthy discourse on the man. Suffice it to say that he was a great man this Winnfield product. Ruthless at times, yes, a clown and a king wrapped up in one skin he was, after all is said and done, a great man. If Huey P. Long was bombastic, a ground worker of the first magnitude, the man who succeeded him to the office of governor of Louisiana, O. K. Allen, was the direct opposite. Mr. Allen shrunk from offending to the detriment of his own good, but he was a good business man. He rose from a small merchant to an oil man of considerable repute, and from that rank to that of highest in the state, governor. And following the death of his lifelong friend, Huey P. Long, was elected to serve as Senator. He did not live to occupy that office. Many Winnfield people remember Clifton Mathews. He lived in this town years ago, and left it due to ill health, for California. There he practiced law and was appointed a member of the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals, second highest court in this country, by President Roosevelt. Dick Merrill, one of the greatest and most daring aviators in this country was a former Winnfield boy. His father was depot agent here for the old L. R. & N. Railroad Company and when Merrill flew Harry Richman of Broadway fame across the Atlantic a few years ago, there were many in Winnfield who probably said "I knew him when..." Thomas Milling and his brother Robert Milling, both living in New Orleans are among the State's number one jurists. They are former Winnfield residents, T. M. Milling is chief counsel for the Standard Oil Company of Louisiana and Robert Milling, who practiced law at this bar and was district attorney during the late eighties, is a senior member of one of the largest law firms in the State. There are many other men and women too, Lieutenant Governor Earl K. Long, brother of the Huey P. Long, was born and raised in Winnfield. It is to this little town that Earl Long retires when he is able to shed official plumage. Here he rides over his farm and hob-nobs with friends and neighbors. George M. Wallace, former first assistant attorney general and at present chief counsel to Governor Leche, is a Winnfield product. Wallace is the son and grandson of early Winn Parish pioneers and before going to the State's capitol practiced law here. He is given up to be one of the best constitutional lawyers of this day. Pat Tugwell, State Treasurer, belongs to Winnfield and A. Leonard Allen, brother of the late O. K. Allen, is the present Congressman. Both men have served their parish and state well in their chosen offices. Arnold Bernstein, late mayor of Monroe, was a native of Winnfield and so is Henry Bernstein of the law firm Hudson, Potts, Bernstein, and Snellings. Their folk came here before the Civil War and closed shop when war was declared to fight for the Confederacy. So from high state officials and great courts, we either jump up or step down to recognize the fame that came to a darky boy raised near Winnfield. Cab Calloway of Harlem fame whose name is synonymous with jazz and swing music was raised near Winnfield. He deserves his place in the sun and no doubt has realized a sizable fortune by his ability to swing the baton. Dr. Roy Wright, son of Mrs. S. A. Wright, was an outstanding member of the medical profession when he practiced in Winnfield several years ago. Leaving this section he went to New Orleans where he occupies a conspicuous place as assistant superintendent of the Charity Hospital there. Another son of Winn Parish, Henry E. Walker, is an executive for the New York Life Insurance Company in their St. Louis, Missouri office. Mr. Walker is son of Felix Walker and Mrs. Lizzie Jones Walker of the Dodson community. (This article was written before Earl K. Long became a three-time governor of Louisiana and it fails to mention Will A. Strong, who served as Louisiana's Secretary of State following the Civil War. Submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana.)