Myrtle the Graduate of 1925

The woman I knew as “Grandma” was born December 19th, 1906 to Harry Clifton Phenice and Daisy Henrietta Martha Keys Phenice.  She was the third of their seven children and she was named Myrtle Sylvia Phenice.  The family lived in an area known as Hathaway.  I’m not really sure what the ‘borders’ of Hathaway are, but it’s just down the road from China and Raymond.  A few miles to the west is Kinder and a couple of miles to the east is Elton.  And all of those places are about ten miles north of Jennings.

I’m not sure of the details of her early life.  That’s kinda sad now that I think about it.  And there are no early photos of her to give me a clue.  At least none that I know of.  I have photos of her parents from before she and her siblings were born, but then none until this photo.  Maybe they didn’t take many photos during that time.  Maybe my grandmother didn’t like any of the photos of herself as a child and destroyed them.  If anybody knows more about this, please let me know.  (See update.)

This photo is her high school graduation photo.  She graduated from “the Jennings High School, an Authorized State High School” on May 29, 1925.  I think it is a lovely photo of  her.  She continued her education at Southwestern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette and graduated there in 1928.  This all led to a long career as an elementary school teacher at Hathaway High School.