Winn Parish As I Have Known It, Winn, Louisiana Thursday, November 22, 1956 Enterprise News America Article # 8 by : H. B. Bozeman Submitted by Kathy Kelly. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Winn Parish As I Have Known It, by : H. B. Bozeman In my opinion Dodson reached its all time prosperity peak in 1903. This was the last year, before the Mexican boll invaded the parish. In 1903, the sawmills at Dodson, Wyatt and Tannehill were in full operation, with several thousand employees drawing regular monthly paychecks for work at the mills and in the woods. Throughout Wards 3, 4, and 7, there were few roads you could travel and get out and get out of the sight of a farm house. Both public workers and the farmers were prosperous. All Dodson merchants and the Dodson State Bank did a thriving business. In 1903, Dodson had as large a population as both Jonesboro and Winnfield combined, and did more business than both. Dodson was the trade center for all of Winn Parish north and east of Dugdemona and the southeast part of Jackson Parish. During 1903 I continued to work for "Uncle Jake" Grisham at the Kyiche store and go to school. In the fall of 1903 Mr. C. L. Shell became the principal of the Dodson Graded School. To these two men, I owe a lot. From "Uncle Jake", I learned sound business principals that have been valuable to me all my life. Mr. Shell was the first teacher that I ever had, that inspired in me a real desire for knowledge. He taught me how to study. What to study and read. He impressed on me the difference between good literature and "trash". While in the fifth grade he loaned me a set of Edgar Allen Poe's works. I read them all. Today, Poe's works and other classics are definitely reading for upper college classmen. My work at the Kyiche store gave me an opportunity to learn much about the different kind of farmers in the Dodson trade area. The biggest farms and the most fertile land around Dodson was on Big Creek and in the Gansville community. The Big Creek black lands in good seasons produced as much as a bale of cotton to the acre and 80 bushels of corn without the use of fertilizer. The red limey deep sandy soils of Gansville produced almost on a par with the black lands in cotton and 4, there were a number of big farmers. Several with more than 1,000 acres, worked by their families and share- cropers. These Ward 4 farmers all had big work stock horses and mules to do their farm work and plowing. They raised fine crops, cattle, horses and hogs. Among the prosperous Ward 4 families in 1903 that I can recall were the Milams, Wassons, Morris's, Stinsons, Moffets, Jones, Walker, Taylors, Temples, Machens, Higgs, Vines, Mixons, Stones, Burnums, Gatlins, Lewis', Peddys, Radescichs, Scholars, Fallins, Puckette, McGinitys, and the McDonalds. Also there was Willis Walker, who was rated the largest Negro cotton grower in the parish. Cotton and corn were the staple crops grown by all these farmers, except Gus McDonald of Gansville, who operated a stock farm. He raised and sold more home grown horses and mules, than possibly any one ever has in Winn parish. The land east of Dodson, except along creeks such as Kyiche, Beech and Flat creeks, was less fertile, more hilly and sandy than lands west of Dodson. The farms were smaller, one family farms of 40 to 160 acres. These hill farmers of Wards 3 and 7 had a harder struggle to make a living off the farm than the Ward 4 people did. Their mules and horses were generally small animals. Many of these farmers used oxen to plow their fields and haul their cotton and produce to market. These hill farmers of Ward 3 and 7, were hard working, thrifty men and women. They were frugal in their habits. Independent in thought, ambitious for their children and believed in paying their debts to God and man. Their homes were clean and comfortable. Many of these Eastside farmers built homes equal to or better than their more prosperous neighbors in Ward 4. Many of the sons and daughters of the 1903 farmers living east of Dodson have today become prominent men and women of our parish and state. Many of the descendants of these Ward 3 and 7 families still live in these wards. Their family names are familiar to most of our present day Winn parish people. Here are some I learned to know while working at the Kyiche store. The Kellys, Simmons, Sikes, rts, Terrals, Hammonds, Erskines, Peppers, Warners, Foxes, Peters, Faiths, Whites, Adams, Thorntons, several Smith families, Sanders, Hendersons, Boyetts, Allens, Bristers, Willis, Hintons, Hattens, Thigpens, Herrings, Wallers, Houses, Jordons, Rolands, Mayes, Underwoods, Thompsons, Emmons, James, Sowers, Gates, Crains, Meyers, Newsomes, Paynes, Creels, McCartys, Womacks, Jeters, Davis, Snows. The people living east of Dodson were a serious minded people, seeking few worldly pleasures. Almost every one was a church member. Singing conventions attracted the largest crowds, except the annual Hudson Holiness camp meeting. Every community had a big summer revival. The three leading Christian denominations were Baptist, Methodist Protestant and M. E. Methodist. The Ward 4 people were more fun loving. They too, mostly were church members, but tolerated dances. Both square and round dances, were held in various homes in Ward 4. Gus McDonald and his son Henry, of Gansville were the best "fiddlers" and in demand for all dances. I do not remember a dance ever being held in Dodson or east of Dodson. There may have been, but I cannot recall such an event. Our Thanks to Winn Parish Enterprise, Winnfield, LA. and Mr. E. Bozeman for allowing the use of this article. Copied and submitted by : Jimmy, Jr. & Kathy LeMay Kelly P.O. Box 219 Trout, La. j_k_kelly@centuryinter.net