The Landry Family Circa 1930
Little Bobbie Landry circa 1930
I always thought this was a funny picture when I was a kid. I always wondered why Daddy was dressed up as a little girl when he was young. Didn’t they know he was a boy?
I now know that it was the way they did things long ago and it doesn’t really look all that funny anymore. It’s just a charming old photo of a little boy in southern Louisiana. He was born Robert Joseph Landry, Jr. on January 31, 1929, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He was a “junior” even though he was the third son.
His parents’ names were Robert Joseph “Rob” Landry, Sr. and Germaine “Erie” Patureau Landry. He would go by “Bobbie” for the early years of his life, and family would continue to call him that till his death. Later he went by “Bob” and “Pluto.” Then he was known as “Daddy” and “Pappy” by us kids and grandkids.
He would call his parents Mama and Papa, but I think his dad sometimes went by Pappy. Is that right? Maybe it was only his grandchildren (my generation) that called him that. Mostly he was known as Pee Paw.
The Robert Joseph Landry, Sr. family of Lake Charles, Louisiana, circa 1930
This other picture shows the family that he was born into. In the middle of the photo and standing directly behind little Bobbie was his sister Marie Therese Landry, who was born in 1923. As I’ve told you previously, Marie Therese is a frequently used name in the Landry and Patureau family and she was one of the only ones to go by her first name Marie.
The next oldest child was little Alcide Joseph, who was born in 1924. That was another common name and he has always gone by A. J. On the other side of big sis Marie is next brother in line Hubert. He was born in 1925. You can barely catch a glimpse of sister Germaine Erie’s dress and hand on the right edge of the photo. At least I think that might be Germaine with the rest of the family. She was named after her mother and was born in 1927.
And there behind her brood was our dearly beloved grandmother that we all called Mee Maw. But she was just a young mother at the time. She still had three more children to go before she completed her family. It’s a cute little family and she was a good mother. I, for one, am grateful to be part of this family.