Category: Phenice

Gunnysack Dresses

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1941-Phenice Family

Front and back of photo from circa 1941. Girls in gunnysack dresses?

Ever since I was a kid I remember my mom talking about how she and her sisters would make their dresses out of old flour sacks.  I felt so sorry for her.  I thought that it must have been really uncomfortable.  And it must have been particularly depressing to go to school like that when there had to have been other kids with store-bought clothes made out of real cloth.  How could we possibly complain about anything when she suffered through such depravity?

Then one day about two or three years ago, she was talking about those dresses made out of flour sacks again.  She was saying how she liked to be the one to ride into ‘town’ and pick out the best prints for the dresses she was thinking about making.  I was like, “What are you talking about?  Flour sacks don’t have prints on them.”  She looked at me like I was crazy.

“Why are you asking about that?” she asked, “I’ve told you about that several times.”  I went on to say that I had heard her before, but I never knew burlap bags ever had any prints on them.  Maybe something like “FLOUR – 40 LBS” or some such label.  Then she knew I was crazy.  “Burlap bags?  How do you get that from flour sacks?” she asked.

I told her that that was what I’ve always pictured when she told us this story.  And it wasn’t just me.  My sisters Karen and Jamie also thought the same thing. (They may deny it now, though!)  We all got a kick out of this misunderstanding.  They both shared an article about the topic a while back on Facebook.  It explained the whole phenomenon and talked about how in the early 40s over three and a half million women and children were wearing garments made from feedsacks.

I’m thinking that the photo I’m posting today may be showing a part of that history.  It’s from the right era.  I’m not really sure, but it looks like a possibility to me.  The dresses all look somewhat simple and each one is made from comfortable looking cloth of a single type of print.  I really didn’t notice the dresses when I first decided on using this photo for my post.  When I was editing the photo, the prints of the dresses caught my attention and reminded me of the discussion with my mom.

I picked the photo out because there is that homespun charm about it.  I’m posting the photo unedited at first and including the back of it.  There’s an oil spot on the front that shows on the back also.  I’m not sure what caused that.  But on the back of the photo a child’s handwriting has labeled everyone in the photo.  Then on the top right corner in my mom’s handwriting, it reads “taken by Betty with 1st camera.”  How sweet is that.  Little Betty Lou taking a photo of her mom’s family with her first camera.  On the far left is my grandmother Myrtle AKA Grandma.

1941-Phenice family

Front: Myrtle, Marguerite, Grace, Daisy, and Harry Phenice Back:Warren, Henry, Sylvan, and Orville

I’m also posting an edited version of the photo.  That’s what I do.  Clean it up a bit.  Remove the scratches.  Remove the dust.  Remove the charm.  Wait, did I say that?  Yes, I did.  That’s why I decided to post both versions.  I think the cleaned up version looks better, but the original has more charm.  I don’t think that’s the case most of the time, but sometimes I do wonder.  Not enough to make me stop though.

 

Myrtle the Graduate of 1925

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1925-05-29 - Myrtle Sylvia Phenice H.S. Graduation

In 1925 Myrtle Phenice graduated from Jennings High School

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.

1925 - Myrtle Sylvia Phenice H.S. Diploma

Myrtle Phenice’s diploma

Girls and Their Dolls

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1938-Betty Lou Bucklin and Kara Lee Sowder

Betty Lou Bucklin and Kara Lee Sowder at Christmastime 1938 in Fayetteville, Arkansas

This is one of my mom’s favorite photos of herself.  It was taken in 1938, which was during the Great Depression.  The thing that made it special according to my mom was that it was a photo of her holding a “real doll.”  The thing that makes it special to me is that she was always satisfied with what she had.

Because she didn’t have a “real doll,” but her cousin had two and let her take a photo with one of them.  And that was pretty special for little Betty Lou Bucklin!  As you can see, she was quite happy taking her photo with that little doll.  And with her cousin, of course!

But she’s not really a cousin.  My mom’s mom’s sister was Grace Phenice and she was married to Ray Sowder who was from Arkansas.  The girl’s name is Kara Lee and she is the daughter of Ray’s brother Hugh who was a professional photographer.  Kara Lee and Betty Lou created a lasting memory on that long ago visit in 1938.  (At least for my mom.  She could remember Kara Lee’s name even when she had memory troubles.  I found Kara Lee on Facebook and she had the same photo, but she stated, “I don’t remember who the little girl is.”)

Isabel Crixell Champion on the right in about 1904

Elvira Crixell and her cousin Isabel Crixell circa 1904

I can’t remember when I first saw that photo of my mom with the doll, but I can remember when I first saw the next photo of Girls With Dolls.  It was a couple of weeks ago when I was researching the Patureau side of the family.  Some distant cousins on that line have been living deep in southern Texas for several generations.  The French Patureaus there have mixed more with the Mexican population as compared to our family which has more Cajun heritage.  And the photo of the the two girls with their dolls from circa 1904 definitely caught my eye.  The girl on the right was Isabel Crixell, my third cousin once removed.  She was born in 1900 and lived to be over 100 years old.  The girl on the left is only identified as “a Kowalski little girl.”  I’m positive that she is Isabel’s first cousin Elvira Crixell who was born in 1901.  She later married a Kowalski.

But in this photo, they are just little girls posing with their dolls.  They don’t look quite as happy as my mom was with her real doll, but they do look happier than one particular little girl in the next photo.  This time, instead of going thirty years in the more distant past, we’re coming forward thirty years from that first photo.

1966-12-24 Landry Family Christmas gathering

Landry cousins at Christmas time in 1966

No posting of Girls With Their Dolls in my family could be complete without this next photo.  This is from Christmas of 1966 at my Mee Maw’s house.  Tim was showing off a car, I was showing off my new sniper rifle, and the girls were showing off their new dolls.  Karen looked very satisfied with the doll she was holding.  Lauren and her doll both seem to have gotten something in their eyes.  Jeanne is happy that she and her doll made it into the photo.  Tricia (with the glasses) and Shirley (with the hair) have graduated to holding real children.  Tricia has Colleen, while Shirley has Mona.  Rob is happy to be the center of attention.

And then there’s poor little Jamie.  She wanted a doll of her own to hold.  She had her own doll, but she didn’t get to hold it for the photo.  Maybe she wanted Karen to have a special moment with a borrowed ‘real doll’ like our mom had?  Maybe she didn’t realize that she’d feel lonely without holding her doll when everyone else was holding theirs?  Or maybe something else happened.  Either way – that was long ago and all is forgiven.

Sunday Congregation

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Kathy Jester Mack posted these photos from the Raymond Methodist Church from the early 1950s a few days ago on Facebook.  She scanned them from Thelma Brown Jester’s photo collection.  People, especially Genevieve Compton Nash were able to name a bunch of them, but it was hard to follow with so many people.  So I added numbers and got mom to help fill in a few more blanks.  We still need lots of help filling in the blanks.

Reverend Krumnow in front of the congregation.

Rev Krummow at Raymond UMC Rev Krummow at Raymond UMC-2

1.
2. Judy Litteral
3. Glenn Litteral
4. Mrs. Litteral
5. Darla Litteral
6. Elta Phenice
7. Orville Phenice
8. Paul Phenice
9. Grace Marshall?
10.
11.
12. Maria Dora Koll Compton
13. Anna Compton Jester?
14. Harry “Buck” Jester
15.
16. Millie Derks Compton
17. Ruth Brown
18. Harold Brown
19. Nancy Jester?
20. Dickie Jester
21. Clifford Jester
22.
23. Bobby Compton
24. Charles Litteral
25. Roy Talley
26. Earl Brown
27. Ora Brown
28.
29. Genevieve Compton
30. Effie Whittington
31. Barbara Brown
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37. Fred Bucklin
38. Louise Bucklin?
39. Dora Koll Bucklin
40.
41. Bertha Koll Whittington
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50. Rob Compton
51. Benny Krumnow
52. Lela Mae Jester
53. Claribel Brown
54. Marilyn Phenice
55. Loris Bucklin
56. Alma Bucklin
57. Betty Brown
58. Ada Mae Whittington
59. Yvonne Krumnow
60. Herman Talley
61. Earl Walker
62. Pearl Walker
63. Elsie Talley
64.
65.
66.
67.
68. Harvey Dell Marshall
69. Alfred Marshall
70. Lindy Marshall
71. Donald Marshall

A second picture taken the same day in front of the church where people used to gather after the service to visit friends and relatives.

Outside Raymond UMC Outside Raymond UMC-2

1. Louise Bucklin
2. Dora Koll Bucklin
3. Sally Marshall
4. Joe Tupper
5. Earl M. Brown
6. Herbert Bucklin
7. Lindy Marshall
8. Alfred Marshall
9. Harry “Buck” Jester
10. Lela Mae Jester
11. Betty Jo Koll
12.
13. Claribel Brown
14.

And a view of the old Parsonage, Fellowship Hall, and old Church.

Raymond UMC

I read on the Hathaway Blog that one of Reverend Krumnow’s hobbies was photography.  I wonder what kind of photos he took.  There must be lots of the congregation in his family albums. Since Rev. Krumnow was a photographer, he may have planned this shot. I wonder if they cleared out the center behind him hoping everyone would be in the shot. They did miss a few though. My grandpa, Herbert Bucklin is only visible in the outdoor shot.

Dear Old Grandpa Phenice

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1949 - Harry Clifton Phenice and granddaughter Betty Lou Bucklin

1949 – Harry Clifton Phenice and granddaughter Betty Lou Bucklin

I found this photo recently hiding among some more recent photos.  It looks a little familiar, but the details of it are really charming.  It looks like Grandpa Phenice may have been out working in the yard.  He’s barefoot and it looks like he took his cap off for the photo.  (Betty Lou says, “Come on Grandpa, come take a picture with me without your cap on.  I’ll bring you a nice dessert after dinner tonight.”  He responds, “Well, alright.”)

The year is 1949 and the place is Hathaway, Louisiana.  (It is also called China.)  Mom was a sophomore or junior in high school and Grandpa Phenice was a 75 year old man.  From what I’ve been told he was a very strong man even late in his life.  In fact it wasn’t long after this photo was taken that his strength was his undoing.

Some kind of work was being done on a well and a heavy pump needed to be moved.  Instead of getting others to help or letting younger backs take care of it for him, he decided to move it himself. He succeeded in moving it, yet the strain from the activity led to him having a stroke which left him bedridden for the rest of his life.

So this is one of the last glimpses into the life that he might have considered normal.  Going about his daily business and taking a break to spend a little time with his granddaughter.  The simple joys.

The Swimming Pool

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1929 - Bucklins and Phenices out for a swim cleaned

I love this old photo.  Don’t you just love those old swimsuits?  It’s another old photo that makes you sit back and wonder what is going on.  It’s definitely not one of those staid, studio portraits that you might typically find from that era.  I’d like to know more about this photo.  Mainly I want to know who everyone is.  If you can help with that, let me know.

I’ll start by writing about what I do know.  The first time I saw this photo was two days ago.  Joseph messaged it to me after he had ‘rediscovered’ it on his computer.  He and his mom have been collecting old Bucklin family photos for a while now.  Since the photo also includes some Phenice family, he agreed to let me post it with questions to pool our knowledge.  It’s a swimming pool.

I know that the girl on the far right is my grandmother Myrtle Phenice.  I was estimating that the photo was taken around 1928 or 1929, which is before her 1930 wedding to Fred Bucklin.  There seems to be three distinct groups in this photo, yet she stands alone.  Looking back at the others.  Slightly amused…or grinning to bear it.

The first group on the left are the Bystanders. Most of them are looking at the camera, wondering what to do.  “Are we taking a picture or are we goofing around?”  They seem a bit unsure.  I am more than a bit unsure.  I’m clueless.  I have no idea who any of these people are.  I’m not even sure if the person in the striped swimsuit is a boy or a girl.  Which bathroom would you direct them to?

I think of the next group as the Bucklin Brothers Brawlers.  It looks like they’re fighting over a girl.  If one of them is Fred, I can see why Myrtle is not very amused.  Fred has an identical twin, so one of them could be Clarence (b. 1907).  And Herbert has a similar look and he is close to the same age as the twins (b. 1906).  And who is the girl?

I’ll call the next group the Phenice Fraternity Frolickers.  Myrtle had four brothers:  Sylvan (b. 1901), Henry (b. 1909), Orville (b. 1911), and Warren (b. 1916).  Can you tell which one is which and which one is not present?

So many questions.  Is the Bystander boy standing by the Bucklin Brawlers a Bucklin or a Phenice?  Is Myrtle happy or sad?  Where’s Waldo?  Was Waldo a Bucklin or a Phenice?  Where was this taken?  My guess on that would be on the Ouiska Chitto.  It’s only about 10 miles from the China/Hathaway area that they all lived in and it has beaches and wooded areas like that still.

So if you have a few answers (or suggestion or questions), join in on the swimming pool.  The water’s fine.

Check out Part 2

Mother’s Day Through the Years

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I found an assortment of information a few months ago and decided to group it together for a post for the week of Mother’s Day. The first item is an article from 31 years ago about a Mother’s Day 50 years earlier. So the Throwback is a Throwback. It’s a very interesting article, especially for me and my family. It mentions several family members from both sides of my mom’s family and even quotes them about family and motherhood.

1948 - Addie Hine and Raymond Methodist Adult Class

The first family member mentioned is Mrs. H. C. Phenice, known to my family as Daisy Henrietta Martha Keys Phenice. I’ve posted a few photos of her in this series, most recently was at the beginning of last month. In 1935, she was the second oldest mother present. She was 59 years old at the time.

Mrs. Ruth (Bucklin) Bruchhaus is also mentioned as the youngest mother present. She was Fred Bucklin’s (my mom’s dad) sister and she had a young son Harley (father of Uvonne) who was born Feb. 5, 1933, just a few months before mom. Most notable to me is that in Ruth’s later years she preserved many old photos and labeled them for all of us to enjoy.

My favorite part of the article is the quote by my great grandmother Addie Mae Hine Bucklin (mother of Fred). She was the mother of twelve children, so I enjoyed reading that she spoke of the love and tenderness of a mother as she gazes upon her newborn baby as it lies in her arms planning its little life.

An interesting talk was given by Joseph Connors’ grandfather Herbert Bucklin (brother of Fred). It was questioning whether ‘modern’ mothers meet the needs of the family. I guess every generation compares themselves to the ones that came before. That was followed by a talk by Frieda (Rampmier) Bucklin (Fred’s sister-in-law) and Dora Koll (married Herbert Bucklin 2 years later). Then my grandmother Myrtle Sylvia Phenice Bucklin (wife of Fred) and her brother-in-law Roy Bucklin talked about how young people can show appreciation to their mothers.

The program concluded with my grandmother reading a poem she had written about Mother’s Day (I wish I had that!) and then the youth closed out the event with a song. So interesting to read an article with so many relatives mentioned from long ago. The older generation there were the last of the pioneers who settled that area in the late 1800s. I just realized that my two great grandmothers mentioned were both born in 1876. Daisy was five months older than Addie, so she was able to score the lovely bouquet of sweet pea intermingled with lace fern.

The photo of the group is from 1948. It has many of the same people that are mentioned in the article. Both are about the Adult Sunday School class of Raymond Methodist Church in Raymond, Louisiana.

1948 - Addie Hine and Raymond Methodist Adult Class Photo wNames

The last photo is of my dear sweet Mama from around the same time as the other photo.

1947 - Betty Lou Bucklin2 HealBetty Lou Bucklin

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Phenice DNA at AncestryDNA

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Aunt Loris Bucklin Woolley (my mom’s sister) agreed to submit a saliva sample to AncestryDNA a few months ago. I had myself and my parents tested at 23andMe previous to that, but I wanted to spread my net to the pool of Ancestry.com testers. One of the first DNA matches that I noticed on her results was someone named Henry Oakley Spencer.

I had expected that match because I already knew that he had a good portion of matching DNA with my mom.  I had interacted with him on Ancestry after noticing that his family tree had matching names of Daniel Phenice and Susan Jackson.  Then he had taken a DNA test at AncestryDNA and uploaded his result to GEDmatch.com.  He showed up as having more DNA in common with my mom than anybody else she matched DNA with.  It was actually more than would be expected for 3rd cousins. 

So the match to him was not a surprise.  The surprise that I did find was a DNA match with the Quillen name. My great grandfather Harry Clifton Phenice (grandson of Daniel and Susan) had a sister named Emma Orra that was married to a Quillen, so I assumed that’s how we were related. And sure enough, I was right.  This DNA match was the great granddaughter of Emma Phenice Quillen.  

1921- Catherine Jane Foster Phenice and Samuel Phenice with grandchildren

Circa 1920- Cathrine Jane Foster Phenice and Samuel Phenice with grandchildren (children of Emma Orra Phenice Quillen).  On Cathrine’s lap is Harold, in the middle is Erma, and on Samuel’s lap is Dean.

Actually two Phenice 3rd cousins (to my generation) have tested there and are matches to Aunt Loris. But the best part is that one of them responded to my note to her and ended up sending me a photo of Harry Clifton Phenice’s parents Samuel Charles and Cathrine Jane Foster Phenice with some of their grandchildren!! I love getting new old photos of my ancestors. It’s an exciting reward to the research that I do.

So if you enjoy this photo, you can thank my third cousin Michelle Quillen.

Phenice Cousins

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Sometimes it’s so easy to decide what to post, but other times it is not. Had a hard time deciding this time. I’ll go ahead and post a few of them that are related to this topic.

 

1939 - Marilyn Phenice, Betty Lou Bucklin, and Sylvia Bucklin TopazThis first one is around 1939 in Hathaway. It looks like everyone is having fun spending time with cousins: (from left to right) Marilyn Phenice (daughter of Orville Phenice), with cousins Betty Lou and Sylvia Bucklin (daughters of Myrtle Phenice Bucklin). Simple times in the country.

 

1949 - Marilyn Phenice and Betty Lou Bucklin Topaz

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward ten years to 1949: Marilyn doesn’t seem quite as happy with her cousin Betty Lou.

1950 - Betty Lou Bucklin Fun shots

But how could she possibly be perturbed with Betty Lou?  From these pictures you can see that she is a sweet and carefree young girl.

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