Obituaries: Governor Earl Kemp Long, 1960, 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: September 8, 1960 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American Three-Time Governor Dies Of Heart Attack Earl Kemp Long, 65, came home today to the gently sloping hillside lot on Maple Street where he was born and reared. But it was the last trip for the three-time former Governor and Congressman-elect from Winn who carved a unique niche in Louisiana history. Monday, the undisputed king of country politics suffered a third and fatal heart attack while in an Alexandria hospital. This morning he was buried on the old family homestead. The ceremony started slightly before 11 a.m. this morning when the old warrior's casket was carried down the steps form Winnfield's First Baptist Church and into the waiting hearse as a large, quiet crowd looked on. Long's body lay in state in the church overnight, with thousands viewing the remains. With a cordon of motorcycled state troopers leading the way, the procession proceeded down Main Street. At Pineville it turned right, went around the block, then returned west on Maple Street to the family estate. Here the crowd, estimated at between two and three thousand, spread out over most of the lot. As the 11 pallbearers solemnly shouldered their burden between the double row of purple, white and yellow floral wreaths, the people packed in tight around the funeral tent. The sun beamed down out of a hazy blue sky. It was hot. PALLBEARERS Pallbearers were Abe Harris, Jr., Ruston; O. C. Smith, Baton Rouge, secretary to Senator Russell Long; Fred Goldman, New Orleans; Judge Harwell Allen, Winnfield; Robert S. Hunt, Shreveport; Senator Russell Long; John Cucournau, Natchitoches; Palmer Long, Shreveport; Robert Parrott, Alexandria; Jerry Menefee; Fred Myers; James Long, Shreveport. Names as honorary pallbearers were Gov. Davis; former governors Robert Kennon, Sam Jones, Richard Leche, and James Noe, in addition to all state senators, representatives, and U. S. Congressman from the state. Long's caravan arrived here early yesterday evening from the funeral in Baton Rouge. His body was placed in state in the chapel of the First Baptist Church. No estimate was possible as to the number who came to see. But they came, in groups and alone. Form early after the arrival until late that night there was a steady stream up the long steps fronting the church and down the aisle. Many came to pay homage to their "King", some because they were curious. Long lay behind a glass in the flower decked casket. In death he looked better than he had recently in life. His cheeks were fuller. His face had lost its tired look. He seemed peaceful. The grave was in the center of the lot and close to the top of the slight rise. The grass, which had been cut for the service, was a somber brown. Two trees, a cedar and a pin oak provided shade. FINAL WORDS "He was the only three-time Governor in Louisiana; a man of determination," said Rev. W. L. Holcomb, pastor of the First Baptist Church in delivering his burial message. "He went down fighting...God's inscrutable ways are beyond our understanding," Rev. Holcomb continued. "Some day we will know; God's way is just, right and best." "The Lord is my shepherd..." A Negro woman standing toward the rear of the crowd repeated the psalm. At 11:14 a.m. Rev. Holcomb finished with an "amen". At 11:22 a.m. the casket was lowered into the grave. Part of the crowd slowly dispersed. Many stayed to look, others to take pictures. "He was the best poor man's friend we ever had," said one man. "We lost an old buddy," another stated. Out toward the edge of the lot a woman fainted. Many who attended the burial ranked high in the state. Among the state officials and other prominent people present were: Jimmy Noe, Monroe, recent candidate for governor; Alvin Stumpf, ex-senator from Gretna; Re. Alvin Dyson, Cameron Parish; Rep. Frank Fulco of Caddo Parish; Ashton Collier, Atlanta, former representative from Winn Parish; C. H. Downs of Rapides Parish; Rep. Curtis Boozman, Natchitoches; F. E. Cole, an ex-senator; State Senator Speedy O. Long of Jena; Mayor Jim Stire of Hammond; Former Representative A. R. DeNux, Avoyelles Parish; Charles McHenry, ex-representative from Rapides; Rep. Paul Foshee, Natchitoches; John "Nick" Brown, former head of the state police; A. A. Fredericks of Natchitoches; Ernest Clements, Public Service Commissioner; Attorney General Jack Gremillion; Senator Wendell Harris of Baton Rouge; Rep. Reeves Morgan of E. Feliciana; John Coons, Fire Marshal; Sen. B. B. Rayburn, Bogalusa; former Senator Arsene Stewart, DeRidder; Gove Davis of Jena; D. M. Riddle, ex-representative of Avoyelles; Wayne Gaudin, Baton Rouge; Rudolph Easterly, ex-state senator from Livingston; ex-senator Jimmy Sparks of Monroe; Rep. Lawrence Gibbs, Monroe; Edgar Coco, Marksville; Joe Arthur Simms, Long's attorney; and Vic Bussie, State Labor Council head. Long's death came following his greatest rise to glory. Counted out after placing a poor third for Lt. Governor, Long made trips to three mental hospitals and gained wider notoriety on a whirlwind vacation in the West. He was through, the experts said. But the willy stump veteran returned to his native hill country, the Eighth District. Here he waged what may have been his bitterest, hardest fought battle. Behind the incumbent Harold McSween by 3,000 votes in the first congressional primary this summer, Long vowed he could "whip the boy." He did. By over four thousand votes to win nomination for his first congressional post and become the first candidate to defeat an Eighth District incumbent for the House of Representatives. But the victory was dear. On August 22, Long, standing on the back porch of his beloved "pea patch" farmhouse, deeded the land on which he was buried to the City for a park. As though perceiving his fate, however, the shrewd political genius incorporated a provision in the papers allowing burial room for himself and family on the lot. Fourteen days later he was dead. Ironically the hard laboring campaigner died on Labor Day. It was early in the morning. Long turned in his sleep, coughing a few times, and died. It was a heart attack, the doctors said, but many have assigned the blame on overwork. Strangely enough it was not the first time death has robbed a Winn nominee of his post. In 1936, the then Governor of Louisiana, Oscar K. Allen, who was a U. S. Senator nominee, died before the general election and was buried in the Winnfield Cemetery. Earl Long or "Uncle Earl" as he was known to his faithful following was born here August 26, 1895. He helped his brother, Huey, through school by selling shoe polish, baking powder, and the like. Attending La. Tech, LSU, and Loyola night school, he passed the bar examination in 1926. His first taste of politics came when he was appointed tax attorney for the Parish of Orleans in 1928. In the political upheaval that followed Huey's death he found himself in the Lt. Governor's shoes. When scandal forced Gov. Leche to resign, Long was the State's number one man. In 1948, he rolled his own political bandwagon into the capitol and was elected again in 1956 on the first ballot. A hard fighter, both physically and mentally, Long seemed a paradox of traits. He was the poor man's friend yet his foes claimed he was rich. He loved buttermilk and a ragged farm here in the poor hills yet he courted flashy night club dancers and horse flesh. He could dish it out, but he could take it, too, be defeated and come back even stronger. SURVIVORS Surviving the fiery, unforgettable Long are his widow, Mrs. Blanche Revere Long; one brother, Julius Tison Long of Shreveport; four sisters, Mrs. Robert Wesley Davis of Ruston, Mrs. Olive Long Cooper of Natchitoches, Mrs. Milton Knott of Many, and Mrs. Stewart Hunt of Ruston. He also had six nieces, four nephews, nine great nieces and ten great nephews, and several of these were pallbearers. For those who wish to read meanings into dates and natural phenomena, the signs were there. Earl was lowered into the grave this morning, 25 years to the day after his brother Huey was assassinated. The moon eclipsed, it is rumored, the night Huey died. Monday night after Earl's demise, the lovely orb again shyly took refuge from view. Now the two brothers, who more than anyone else put Louisiana in the minds of the nation, are gone. The final act of one of the most colorful sagas in Louisiana history has ended. EDITORIAL (same issue) Earl K. Long is dead, but his name, like that of his famous brother, Huey, will long remain a legend. The exhausting final campaign of his up and down career cut short his vigorous life, but he must have taken comfort in those last days from the realization of that great last-ditch triumph in the beloved political arena, where he was as much at home as on his rustic pea patch farm. It was a high price, but Earl probably would do it again if he had the chance. He could no more stay out of politics than a gambler can turn his back on the card tables or roulette wheel. He had boundless energy and would have wasted away like a fish out of water if he had retired. Earl, like Huey, was the product of his environment, a politics-loving Louisiana, rich in resources, and with lots of poor folks. Earl, just like Huey, employed this natural combination to win votes by promising a better lot for the old, the sick, the needy, and the oppressed. Paved highways, massive bridges, charity hospitals, free school lunches, and textbooks, state aid for local projects, higher salaries for teachers; these and other projects influenced people and garnered votes. While he was not as brilliant or as ruthless as Huey, Earl was a master of politics. He was shrewd, ambitious, forceful. Earl has been worshiped by many, condemned by his opponents. History will weigh his efforts, giving credit no doubt for some worthy accomplishments as governor and touching kindly on his forced treatment in mental hospitals following an unexplained breakdown during his final year as governor. And not that the last of the really colorful Winn Parish Longs "hot papas" as he called them, is gone, it makes one wonder whether this is an end of an era in Louisiana. Earl K. Long was one in a million, yes, ten million. That's why they are writing millions of words about him right now. (Separate article, same issue, regarding the Earl K. Long Memorial Park): Long's Burial Plot To Be Shrine; No City Obligation Since the deed to the Long Estate on Maple and Pineville Streets had not been formally accepted by the City Council, at the time of the death of Representative-Elect Earl Long, it was learned this week that a new deed would have to be drawn because Mrs. Blanche Revere Long is now a part owner of the plot. Mayor Mary Doc Allen, who met with members of the Long family in regard to the deed and the burial plot for Earl Long, stated that specifications in the original deed would not be contained in the new deed. The original deed specified that unless weeds were cut and grounds kept clean the land would revert to its original owners and in addition a rectangular 40 x 100 foot area would be reserved for burial of members of the Long family. Mayor Allen stated that members of the Long family assured the City Council in a special session with them that no other members of the Long family would be buried on the plot. The family plans to create a shrine of the plot with an appropriate monument to Earl Long; walks, flowers, and a rest house for tourists. It was also said that a trust fund would be created to provide funds to care for the plot and that upkeep of the site would be no obligation to the City of Winnfield.