Why they didn’t stay in Lake Charles, and the order of events over the next few years, varies with each person telling the story. Some of the stories have enough substance to be told.

One cousin remembers the family moving into a tent on the banks of the Calcasieu River. Granny hung sheets and blankets to section off rooms, and used water from the river to cook and bathe. That story could be true. During and immediately after the depression, it was not unusual to see families living in makeshift homes. Today, multi-storied mansions and private boat docks replace the tents and river boats that lined the river during the war.

Most of the older members of the family also remember a café somewhere in Texas, maybe Odessa.



Granny, Granddaddy, and Mama (c. 1946)

Granny & Granddaddy (c. 1946)