Ellen Elizabeth Wainwright
Ellen Elizabeth Wainwright was born August 24, 1894, to George Henry Wainwright and Rose Bourgeois. She married Sylvan (Jack) Ladner on May 29, 1912. They had four children: Hester, Lillian, Rose Mary and Kenneth Lavern.
Ellen was the Relief Society President of the Bayou La Croix branch for many years. She is mentioned many times in a booklet called Society of Sisters Waveland Ward.
The 1950 census shows Ellen and Sylvan living in Bayou La Croix across the street from Ellen's father, George Henry Wainwright.
A notable event in Sylvan and Lillian's life was their 50th wedding anniversary. They celebrated on May 22nd, 1962. The newspaper carried a short article describing the event:
"Celebrate Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary. Sunday, May 22. Mr. and Mrs. Sylvan (Jack) Ladner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sunday, May 27th with open house at home of their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Sones. A large wedding cake centered the table which was trimmed with white and yellow blossoms. Mr. and Mrs. Ladner have two children, Mrs. Sones of Bayou La Croix and Hester Ladner of Bay St. Louis. They have 16 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A large number of relatives and friends attended the celebration.
Later in life Ellen was known as Mammy. She died at 9:20 am on Monday, July 16, 1969, at Gulfport Memorial Hospital.
Memories
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Ken Ladner, Ellen's grandson, collected folks' memories of Ellen and Sylvan, and put them in a document called Memories of Ellen Elizabeth Wainwright Ladner and Sylvan “Jack” Ladner Jr. “Mama” and “Papa.” Following is the content of that document.
Dalton Sones
I remember when I was about 12 or 13 years old, Pappy had a sheep to butcher, so we could have fresh meat to eat. He told me when I came from school that I should get off the bus at his house and get started and that he would be home in time to help me finish up. He said that the sheep to be butchered was locked up in the lot. By coincidence, Pappy had also just bought two or three high bred male sheep, which unknown to me, had been castrated and were in the same lot. These were his pride and joy. When I got to his house after school I looked for the sheep to butcher and I picked the wrong one because, since the males had been castrated, I didn’t see anything “hanging down” so I assumed the one I choose was a female. To make a long story short I caught and killed the wrong sheep, and when Pappy got home, I had the sheep hanging with her throat cut and was starting to skin her. When he realized that I had killed the wrong sheep he had a fit, and threw his old felt hat down several times. Mammy had to rescue me and blamed Pappy for not separating the sheep. The fresh meat however was very good.
Another thing I remember was that Pappy once had a ram in the pasture, and told me not to go in there because he was real mean. Of course I went into the pasture because I was hardheaded back then. I didn’t see the ram until it was too late. He came at me full speed and butted me down. Every time I would get up he would butt me down again. When he butted me both of his front feet would come off the ground. He knocked me down three times and had me up against the fence when Mammy came to my rescue. She reached through the fence and held the ram by his wool until I could escape to safety.
Irma Sones Day
Mama was a very faithful and spiritual woman. She once told me that when she was a young woman her health was very poor. After having several miscarriages, she prayed to the Lord and promised Him that if he would make her well she would dedicate the rest of her life to Him and to service to others. She kept that promise. We all know how strong in the church she was and how she unselfishly served others; family, friends and strangers alike.
I remember once she and I had visited a lady by the name of Bea Cospolish. The lady was very rude to Mama but yet Mama spoke kindly to her and treated her with respect. It upset me so much that later I asked Mama “Why were you so nice to Mrs. Cospolish while she was so mean to you?” Mama replied, “Well you know that we are Heavenly Father’s children.” That episode pretty much sums up Mama’s outlook on life.
I remember walking down the road often with her to visit Uncle George. She would bring fresh baked biscuits wrapped in a dish towel. Those visits were just to check up on him and make sure he was doing ok.
She baked a rice pudding with raisins and lots of eggs. She did this on Saturday as she never cooked on Sunday.
I was a very young girl and don’t remember the year but the military had a bombing range on, I believe, Tony Lott’s property off of what is now highway 603. It was late one night when someone out by the front gate was calling “hello, hello…” It was a soldier who was part of that base who had become lost. I don’t remember anything beyond that but it has stuck in my mind.
Mama sewed a lot. I use to help sew quilt tops for her. She also was excellent at sewing button holes and as a result I would bring dresses that I had hand made for her to sew the button holes.
When I was young I came down with phenomena. Mama and Papa walked through the woods one night, using a fat lighter torch for light, to treat me. I remember Papa rubbing my back with a type of mustard plaster then putting a hot wool pad over that.
I also remember riding often in Papa’s horse and buggy down the Bayou LaCroix Road.
George Day
Nothing would get Papa more upset then to tell him that man had actually landed and walked on the Moon. One day Papa was sitting on a log down by the Branch when Dalton and I walked up and said “What are you doing Papa?” “Just chewing tobacco, it’s the only friend I have right now.” He replied. “Well you should be watching television because they are showing a man actually walking on the Moon,” one of us said. Papa’s face turned blood red and he said angrily, “What’s wrong with you two, are you that stupid to believe that nonsense.” He went on to explain to us that the government was lying to us so that they could justify spending the taxpayers money in a wasteful way.
Papa had a quick temper that could come out without warning. When Papa was older he stayed at the home of Earl and Lil Sones. One day I had just driven up as Chris Lucish had arrived. Chris asked Papa from outside the front gate where Hester was at and was complaining about something that Hester had done. Papa was on the inside of the gate but began to go toward Chris with his fist drawn and yelling at Chris, “Chris don’t you be talking to me like that, you don’t think I’ll lay one on your jaw.” Papa was getting madder by the second. That’s when I told Chris that it would be better if he left right away. Luckly he did.
Papa told me an interesting story related to the 1915 hurricane. The story went something like this: One time daddy had an old ox that he used to work the garden and also to pull the wagon when he went wood cutting. The 1915 hurricane hit and the ox disappeared. We didn’t know where he had gone but figured that the hurricane had taken him. One day several months after the storm I was walking along the edge of the marsh by the bayou –Papa pointed toward the Bayou La Croix- when I happened to look up and saw the ox high up in a big oak tree. He was dead and his horns were wedged in the fork of two limbs of that oak tree about 15 to 20 feet above the ground.
Elaine Sones Forrest
As you age in life you tend to think about the past and the first time you tried to learn something. My very first sewing lesson was at Mame’s house. I remember that I sat at her treadle sewing machine in the kitchen in front of the window facing the old church building. I tried many times to get the rhythm of my feet on the treadle so I could continue to go forward. If the treadle went backward it would unthread the needle. The needle would then have to be rethreaded before you could continue.
I don’t remember how many times I rethreaded the needle or what I was trying to sew. Maybe I was only practicing on a small piece of cloth. But I do remember that Mame was very patient and long suffering with me. I don’t remember how old I was at the time; perhaps eight or nine years old. But the important thing was that she took the time to teach me and gave me that experience for the first time.
Lavern Sones
I remember walking to Mama’s house a lot and I don’t ever remember her just sitting down and resting. She was always busy doing something. Furthermore, she always wanted to know if you wanted something to eat. I remember her plain flour biscuits and also that there was a pomegranate tree out back just off the porch and when they were ripe she would pick some and cut them up for us.
One day my momma and I walked to het house. I think she may have been going to Relief Society. My momma was carrying a little bundle which she placed on the bed. I began to jump up and down on the bed and happened to land on the bundle. There was a crochet needle in the bundle and it stuck in my butt. I remember screaming and hollering as Mama pulled the needle out.
At some point in his life, Grandpa Wainwright became too feeble to care for himself and so he moved in with Mama and Papa. I remember how after church Mama would feed everyone, but she always fixed Grandpa Wainwright’s plate and served it to him first.
Sometimes Aunt Liza would pull up to the front of Mama and Papa’s house in her car and begin to blow the horn. She would blow and blow it until Mama would go rushing out to see what it was that she wanted. That would irritate Pappy and he would fuss about it.
I remember going to church and being taught by Mama in Primary and Sunday School. It seemed that she always went to church real early and then Papa would come along a little later.
Pappy once worked for a man by the name of Lidoff who raised and raced horses. I remember that one day Pappy brought home a mare by the name of Miss Patsy that Lidoff had given him. Pappy hooked Miss Patsy up to a “Two Wheeled Jumper” , a type of buggy, and gave us kids rides up and down the Bayou La Croix Road. I remember that the buggy was painted a yellow color. Patsy must have been bred because she soon gave birth to a little stud colt. Pappy tried to use the colt as a farm horse but he could never do anything with him.
I remember Pappy taking me, Daniel and Thomas with him in the horse and wagon to gather firewood. We would usually go up the Junior Road, located close to Gum Branch, and collect fat wood. Fat wood was the only kind of wood that Papa burned.
One day Pappy and Uncle Hester took a hog and washed his neck with soap and water then stuck a knife in the hog’s neck to bleed him. They collected the blood in a pan, added some salt so that it wouldn’t coagulate, and gave it to Mama to make blood sausage with. I remember eating the sausage.
Daniel Sones
When I think of Pappy there are several things that come to my mind-- The "dentist"- Many times when I had a loose tooth he would get some strong sewing thread and with his own technique while he talked the whole time he was positioning the string around the tooth with the help of a hair pen and without any warning or statement that that he was ready, he would yank the tooth right out. I can't remember how many times that experience was repeated. The "shoe repairman"- when a shoe heel came off, he would get his show lass out and re-nail the heel on. I have his shoe lass today. My earliest memory of him was sitting on the front porch when Uncle Vess {Aunt Laura's husband} came to visit, they would speak with each other in French. They got big kick out of the fact that we couldn't understand them. They would talk and laugh as we tried to figure out what they were saying.
Mame had a great impact on my life as my primary teacher most of my life and taught me many gospel principles. I remember some of the trailblazer lessons and even though I can't remember any specific stories she told us many pioneer stories. I can always remember and still hear her voice singing "Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?" That one memory has had a great impact on my life. When I went on my mission, she wrote me letters and I was told that as she grew sick, she said she wanted to live to see me finish my mission, which she did. I guess these are my fondest memories of Pappy and Mame. I hope these thoughts will add to everyone's memory of them. Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on their lives.
Thomas Sones
I recall from long ago an incident in Pappy Jack’s yard. I was about fourteen years old at the time. He and Chris Luxich had been arguing about some tin that Uncle Hester had used to repair a dog yard at Sylves’ old house. Pappy told him that the tin was no good for anything and to work it out with Uncle Hester. Chris continued complaining about it so Pappy lost his temper and told him he better leave before he got his gun. Pappy left fighting mad and went inside. George Day and I convinced Chris that Pappy was absolutely serious and he had better leave before he came out with his gun. He had just left when Pappy came out with his 22 rifle in his hand. It took quite some time for George and I to calm him down.
An old woman that lived with the Waltmans’ named Bea Swalls or Cospelich ( I can’t recall which) was coming down the road to see Mammy. Mammy was in the kitchen and when she saw her pass in front of the church she said to me, “ I better get some biscuits in the oven because she is always hungry.” She then put some wood in the heater and water to boil on top of the wood heater. She made some biscuits and gave them to Bea. Bea’s shoes were wet and soaking wet. Mammy took bread bags and put them in her shoes so her feet could stay drier. Mammy then fixed Bea some real rich cocoa to go with the biscuits. After eating Bea left. This kind of compassionate service was apparently something that occurred frequently.
I know that I inherited Pappy’s temper in some ways; I just hope that I inherited some of Mammy’s compassion.
Linda Sones Gill
As circumstances now allow, I often sit on my front porch and, looking across the road to Mammy and Pappy’s old place, reminisce about times long ago. Time goes back to memories of them.
I remember picking blackberries and putting them in old syrup cans. We picked the berries from bushes which grew on the fence along a road that never seemed to end. We picked those berries all the way to the end of Grandpa and Grandma Sones’ road.
I remember many times when JoEllen, Barbara and I would lay on our backs on the ground and imagine animals and other objects in the clouds passing overhead. We always seemed to do this next to a pecan tree located in the front yard of Mammy and Pappy’s house.
Mammy’s biscuits and cakes and hot coca were always a treat.
I suddenly feel the need to start a personal journal!
Ken Ladner
I would like to relate a story about a lesson on tithing that I learned from my grandmother, Ellen Elizabeth Wainwright Ladner, when I was a very young boy. She was a kind, generous and compassionate lady and all of her grandchildren affectionately called her “Mammy” although she signed her name “Mama”. The lesson I learned from her, centers on a tithing envelope that she kept on a shelf in her kitchen. I had seen it there often but thought little about it until the day that this event occurred. Mammy’s father, George Henry Wainwright, owned a small grocery store next to his house located just a short distance down the Bayou La Croix Road from Mammy and Pappy’s house. The highlight of many a hot summer school vacation day was when I, or me and my brothers and sisters and cousins, walked barefooted down the dirt road to Grand Pa Wainwright’s store to buy a treat. For a penny one could buy a handful of candy pieces. Better yet, a nickel would buy a box of Cracker Jacks complete with an enclosed surprise toy.
One day I asked Mammy if there were any chores that I could do to earn a nickel to buy some Cracker Jacks. She explained that she didn’t have any money then, but when Pappy got home he would give me the nickel and I could do a chore the next day. To say that I was very disappointed with her response would be an understatement. Waiting that long seemed next to impossible, and to make matters worst, just thinking of the Cracker Jacks was making my mouth water. I quickly responded, while pointing up toward the shelf, that I knew there was some money in the envelope and asked why couldn’t she give me a nickel from there. “Oh no,” she replied, “that money doesn’t belong to me. That’s my tithing and it belongs to the Lord.” I think she must have sensed my disappointment because she explained to me that whenever she and Pappy (Sylvan “Jack” Ladner) received money she would immediately put the Lord’s ten-percent into the envelope. It would then be given it to the Branch President the following Sunday. She went on to tell me that the Lord had commanded us to pay an honest tithing, and had promised us that in return, we would always be blessed with the things we needed.
I was still disappointed however, and felt let down, because in the past I could always count on Mammy to be my champion. I literally believed that she would do anything for me. Besides, it seemed very reasonable to me at the time that the perfect solution would have been for her to give me a nickel from the envelope, and replace it as soon as Pappy came home. In my childish mind I reasoned that at the end of the day the nickel would be back in the envelope and the Lord would go to bed happy and content, as would I.
Many years have passed since that day and I don’t even remember if I ever got the nickel when Pappy came home, although I suspect that I did. One thing I haven’t forgotten however is the lesson that I learned from that experience. Mammy loved her family and would do whatever she could to demonstrate that love, even if it meant going without important things that she needed for herself. She exemplified the principles of unselfishness, charity, and compassion and had a firm testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she lived her life based on that testimony. Her testimony was built on bedrock; strong, unshakable and not subject to compromise. Her faith was just as strong. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord would always bless her and her family as long as she kept His commandments.
The lesson that she taught me was one of obedience to the Law of the Tithe. She loved me and would give me just about anything I asked for, however when it came to the issue of the tithing in the envelope she would not compromise her testimony. She simply and humbly drew a well defined line in the sand of her life, beyond which she would not cross no matter the circumstances. I don’t believe there could have been any earthly need that would have compelled her to remove the money from the envelope and spend that tithing. She believed that once the money was placed into the envelope it no longer belonged to her; it belonged to the Lord. This was the most effective sermon on tithing I have ever heard in my life. I won’t ever forget it.
I have many other memories of Mama and a few more are as follows:
I remember that she was the chorister for the Bayou LaCroix Branch. I can see the image of her standing inside the church up front and to the left of the congregation leading the music just as clearly as if it had been yesterday.
I remember one time she took Irma and me fishing. We carried long cane poles and we walked all the way to the Bayou LaCroix Bridge and fished off the bridge. The bridge was narrow and made of wood and every time a car drove by, the bridge would shake and she would tell us to press up against the side railing to get out of the way. That day we caught a nice mess of perch which she later fried- heads and all.
I remember that she had a milk cow. She would get up before daylight, milk the cow then bring the milk inside where she would strain, and boil it. By the time we ate breakfast the milk was slightly warm and tasted delicious. Sometimes, for a treat, she would let us skim a little cream off the top of the milk and eat it.
Mama always had a productive garden. I remember helping her plant seeds, pull weeds, and help with the harvest. One year she asked me if I wanted to make some money selling some of her tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, squash, and green beans. She said that we would split the money fifty-fifty. I was somewhere between nine and eleven years old at the time and readily agreed to the offer. I got vegetables from her three times a week; Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. I remember loading my wagon with vegetables and peddling them to houses in the neighborhood. Soon I had a large number of regular customers who looked forward to buying my produce. I always sold out within a matter of only three or four hours. She never accepted her share of the sales, telling me instead to give her half to my Momma. Don’t forget to pay your tithing she always reminded me.
One of my favorite memories of my grandfather, Sylvan “Pappy” Ladner, occurred around the time when I was somewhere between seven and nine years of age. On Sunday mornings my family would drive out to Bayou La Croix so that we could attend church. As a young child, the highlight of those Sundays was not so much going to church but the lunch at my grandparent’s home that would follow. After services, we kids would walk to their home located only about a hundred yards down the dirt Bayou La Croix Road from the church. Walking down the road, and even while sitting in church, my mouth would water as I thought about the feast that was soon to come. Mama would serve a large dinner consisting of things like fried chicken, potatoes and gravy, green beans, turnip greens, roast beef, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and hot homemade rolls. There was also desert to look forward to, perhaps a cake, or my favorite, some delicious apple pie.
My first strong impression of the Book of Mormon occurred one Sunday a few hours after lunch when I went outside and saw Pappy sitting on the front porch reading his scriptures. ”What are you doing Pappy, I asked. “I’m reading about Nephi,” he replied. Curiously I walked over to where he was sitting and sat on the porch beside him. I asked him what he was reading about Nephi. He then related some of the events that occurred when Nephi returned to Jerusalem with his brothers to obtain the brass plates. He told me how Laman and Lemuel didn’t want to do as their father had asked them to do, but Nephi did, and that caused some friction between him and his brothers. Nephi was faithful however, and was able to obtain the brass plates as his father had requested. Because of his strong faith and obedience, Nephi became a great prophet.
It is interesting to think about the things that make strong impressions on us during various times in our lives. That particular event made a strong impression on me, and I can visualize today the image of Pappy sitting on the front porch and reading the scriptures as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. I’m not sure how often he read the scriptures but I can remember seeing him do that on a number of other occasions as well.
Another strong memory I have of Pappy involves his stud horse. My brother Roy told me it was the colt of a mare named Miss Patsy that a man by the name of Lidoff gave to him for his loyal service. The colt was of thoroughbred lineage but Pappy was determined to make a farm horse of him. Between some of the grandchildren teasing the colt and his racing genes, he never did become that calm plow horse that Pappy had hoped for. I remember one day when he was trying to cultivate between the rows of corn in the field located between his house and the LDS Church. As I watched from behind the fence, Pappy placed the plow between a row of corn and then tried to get the colt to start pulling. But the colt would back up, twist one way and then another, and stubbornly refuse to go forward. The more the colt refused, the madder Pappy became. Soon he was yelling various insults at the colt and slapping him with the straps of the plow. The angrier Pappy got the louder he yelled and the harder he hit the colt and the more agitated and stubborn the colt became. It was a contest of wills. Soon Mama who had been listening to the commotion from inside the house called for me to come in. I think she anticipated that things were not going to get any calmer. Anyway, just as I was turning to leave, the colt took off running. I can see it as clear as if it had happened yesterday: Pappy was holding on to the reins and the plow handles and yelling at the top of his lungs for the colt to “Whoooa”. Unable to hold on any longer he let go of the reins and plow, and the colt raced back and forth across the field pulling the plow behind him, with Pappy running trying to grab hold of the reins and yelling at the horse to “Whoooa.” By that time Mama was calling frantically for me to come inside right away. I didn’t need any more encouragement. I remember running in as fast as I could. It was a traumatic experience for me at the time. Later when things calmed down I went back outside. The colt was too tired to run any longer and Pappy was too tired to whip him any more so they both stood there; Pappy was standing on one side of the field breathing heavily, and the colt stood on the far end of the field. They stared at each other with contempt. I remember looking at the corn field in disbelief. It looked as if a tornado had torn it up. Some corn was left standing but a lot of it was broken down by the runaway plow. Pappy walked over to the colt, and just as if nothing had happened, picked up the plow and placed it between two rows of corn. He then commenced to cultivate the torn up corn field with a horse that had probably decided it was time to cooperate. When Pappy came inside later that evening, Mama had the table set with supper and we all sat down to eat a delicious meal. Not one word about the earlier episode was mentioned.
Another story I remember about Pappy was the time my dad was trying to teach him to drive a car. There had been several lessons over a few months before I was invited to go alone with them. On this particular day, Pappy was in the driver’s seat, my dad on the passenger side and I sat in the back seat. I remember us taking off in a jerking motion with Pappy as the driver. The car veered sharply to the right and just as we were about to hit the ditch my dad grabbed the wheel and straightened the car out. We traveled straight for a few feet then started to veer sharply to the left side of the road and my Dad took the wheel again and straightened the car out. Soon however, Papa seemed to be getting the hang of it as we zig-zagged down the road. About a hundred yards past Mr. Jessie’s road we started to drift over to the left. My dad kept telling Pappy to turn the wheel to the right but he didn’t and before my Dad could grab the wheel, the car was in the ditch. I remember that as the car was sliding down into the ditch Pappy was pulling back on the steering wheel with all his strength yelling “Whooooa…whooooa..whooooa…” I don’t remember Pappy trying to drive a car after that.
Diane Ladner Bradford
I have many loving memories of Mama and Papa. They had a strong and positive influence in my life. As did they, in all of our lives. Mama was a very caring and genuine person. If anyone needed her help, she was always there to help. I can always remember that of her. She gave 100 per cent of herself.
My most memorable memories, was going to their house on the weekends. I looked forward to those times. Mama would spent her Saturday’s cooking for Sunday Dinner. We would go to Sunday School in the morning, then after, we would all gather for dinner. Family and friends, everyone was always welcomed. We would sit around talking and visiting until it was time for Sacrament Meeting, after which, we would make our journey back home to Bay St. Louis.
This was a constant in our lives, that we so looked forward to each and every week. Going to Mama and Papa’s and going to church. I know Mama loved each and everyone of us. We were all treated with much love and caring.
One of my fondest memories was staying there in the summertime. Mama would buy her flour in fifty pound bags, which had flowers and pretty designs. After saving these bags all year long, she would make me a whole new wardrobe for the new school year. I was always so proud of my new skirts and blouses.
We were poor as far as money goes, but we didn’t think of it in those terms, because we were so rich in the most meaningful aspects of life.
Having loving and caring grandparents like Mama and Papa was truly a blessing.
Gerry Ladner
I remember that I could hardly wait for the weekends to come because I would get to stay with Mama and Papa out in Bayou La Croix. I stayed out there most every weekend when school was in session and then during the summer vacation week days. During the winter their house would get very cold as it had no insulation. The cold wind would blow in through the cracks around the windows and doors making the house even colder. Mama would heat up bricks on the stove then wrap them in towels and put them under the covers by our feet. That simple technique kept us warm for a long time.
I always looked forward to helping her in the garden and around the house doing various chores. Helping her kill and clean the chickens for Sunday dinner was an interesting experience. She would take a knife, quickly cut off the chicken’s head, then throw it in the yard where it would flop around for what seemed forever before it finally ceased to move. I can also remember going to their house on Sundays to eat dinner. Mammy always had fried chicken and the best light bread. She served about a ten-course meal. After we ate, we would all go and sit on the front porch and Pappy would tell us stories of things that had happened many years earlier.
Many of my shirts were made by Mama from flour sacks. She also made shirts for my brothers and dresses for my sisters.
I remember with fondness the many evenings when we lay in bed with Pappy while he told us stories. The wood heater was in the room so in the winter it was always warm in his bedroom. Sometimes his stories were scary but exciting. One I remember well was about when he was walking down the Bayou La Croix road and he could hear something in the woods, just off the road, following him. He felt certain that it was a Panther.
Pappy always burned fat lighter knots in his wood stove. He never used pine, oak or any other kind of wood. I remember riding with him in his wagon to collect the wood. Those fat lighter knots burned hot. I can still see his cast iron stove glowing red because it was so hot.
Pappy worked for the county and one of his duties was to light the lantern on the Bayou La Croix Bridge at night and turn it off in the morning. He usually did this on his way to and from work, but on the weekends he had to make a special trip to light the lantern and turn it off. I remember walking with him on the weekends to and from the bridge to do this.
Once LaVern and I were suppose to do a chore for him but we forgot to do it. He asked me why we hadn’t done it and I told him to “Hush Up.” “I’ll show you how to hush up,” he said as he went inside to get his whip. Me and LaVern took off and scooted underneath the house. Pappy would swing the whip under the house trying to reach us. I remember the loud popping noise. Mama, as usual, saved us by telling Pappy to leave us alone.
Pappy had a thoroughbred horse that he tried to use as a plow horse but it usually ended with Papa yelling at the horse and the horse tearing up the garden. I remember once when Pappy got really mad at my Dad because my Dad had tried to plow with the horse and the horse wouldn’t cooperate so he punched the horse in the forehead knocked him down to his knees. Pappy would often take the whip to the horse but would become mad if anyone else abused his horse. However, the maddest I ever saw Pappy, was the time he came home and discovered that Dalton, who was suppose to butcher one of his sheep, had butchered the wrong one: His prized sheep.
I was with Pappy the day he saved the life of my cousin James Wainwright. We were on our way in the horse and wagon to get some wood, and just as we passed by my Uncle George’s house, Aunt Nora came running out to the road screaming that James was burning up. We looked and saw that the shed was on fire. Pappy quickly got a blanket, wet it, and ran into the shed and a short time later emerged carrying James who he had wrapped in the blanket. I remember seeing that James was almost completely black from being burned. He was badly burned but lived thanks to Pappy.
Retelling of the Hush Up story
When I was about fourteen or fifteen years old Pappy was fussing at me and I told him to “Shut Up.” Pappy said, “Boy, I’ll show you how to shut up.” He went inside and got his whip. I ran and got under the house, and then he got down on his hands and knees trying to hit me with the whip. Mammy came out of the house and said, “Jack, leave that boy alone.” I told Pappy that I was sorry and he stopped popping his whip.
I also remember going to Mammy’s and Pappy’s on Sundays to eat dinner. Mammy always had fried chicken and the best Light Bread. She had about a ten-course meal. After we ate, we would all go and sit on the front porch and Pappy would tell us stories that had happened many years earlier.
JoEllen Ladner Strong
Where do you start with a favorite memory of Mamie? There are so many of them, and they all hold a special place in my heart; from picking blackberries to gathering vegetables from the garden, and all done in the early morning before the sun got hot.
After the chores were done we would sit on the front porch and comb Mamie's hair while she told us stories. Every Sunday after church, we would gather at Mamie& Papa's house for dinner. The menu always included fried chicken. This was not chicken picked up at Popeyes. This was a chicken Mamie had killed and cleaned herself the day before. Mamie always cooked Sunday dinner on Saturday so that she wouldn’t have to cook on Sunday. She always kept the Sabbath Day holy. After dinner everyone headed out to the front porch where we spent the rest of the day just visiting.
Of all the memories I have of Mamie the one that stands out the most was her unwavering faith in prayer. My brothers and sisters and I stayed with her on a lot on weekends and during the summer. Each day started and ended with us kneeling by her bed for family prayer. Mamie's whole life was about family and church and she taught us by the example she lived each day.
Roy Ladner
Mama was always easy going and I don’t remember ever hearing her raise her voice or fuss at me. Her faith in the Lord was really strong. When we stayed at her house she always had us kneel and say our prayers before we went to bed and the first thing after we woke up in the morning.
When I misbehaved and received punishment and got grounded at home she would somehow make her way to our house and I would end up going back to her house out in Bayou La Croix.
Mama had a special chair for me in her house and I was the only one she would let sit in it. If anyone else sat in it she would make them get up and let me sit in it.
I remember staying with her during the summer school vacation and helping her work in the garden. We would start early, and when it got hot we would sit on the front porch and snap beans or peel tomatoes and things such as that. Later when the temperature cooled in the late afternoon we would go back to work in the garden pulling weeds or hoeing grass. We did this every day and I remember enjoying it a lot. She taught me a lot about working hard and taking care of my stuff.
I think I got my love for animals from her encouragement to me to have my own animals and take care of them. I remember having rabbits, goats, dogs, chickens and even turtles. I aways looked forward to going to stay with Mama and Papa because I could be around my animals and the animals that they kept.
Under her guidance I even make my own quilt which I still have today.
Mama always looked after me and took me under her wings so to speak. I could always depend on Mama to help me with anything that came up, especially when I needed to be rescued. Several times when I was outside and Papa would get mad at me for messing with his stuff and start fussing at me or threaten to get his Bull Whip on me she would call out “Roy Honey, come here inside and help me.” She probably saved me from many spankings which I, of course probably deserved. I loved her very much and miss those carefree days when I would stay with her.
I loved Papa and he taught me a lot about animals and taking care of them, but he and I had an interesting relationship. He came from the “old school” way of discipline that taught “spare the rod, spoil the child.” The first example I can think of involved a Standard Bred colt that he had. Papa worked for a man named Lidoff who trained horses for buggy racing. Mr. Lidoff owed a mare named Miss Patsy Guy. This mare was an outstanding racer but when Mr. Lidoff quit the business he gave the mare to Papa. The mare subsequently gave birth to a colt. As far as I know the colt didn’t have a name but I do remember that he was real mean. Papa claimed that Dalton made the him mean by poking him in the ribs with sticks when ever the colt was in his stall. Wayne was also known to do this as well. But anyway, I was always kind and gentle with the colt and he in turn allowed me to ride him. I was the only one who could ride him. Papa always told me that I could ride the colt but that I was not to race him or run him hard.
One day while Papa was away to work I rode the colt down to the Wainwrights’ house and raced against their horses. It may have been because of the sharp spurs that I was wearing that I beat them all. I had just returned to Mama and Papa’s house when he got home from work. “Roy, why is the horse so sweaty,” he asked. Then Papa walked over to the horse and rubbed his hand along the side of the colt then looked at his hand and saw that it was covered with blood. He asked what had happened to the horse and I replied that I didn’t know. He knew that I was lying and in an instant he had grabbed his Bull Whip and I knew that he intended to use it on me. I took off running as fast as I could with Papa running after me. I ran to the house, slid under it, and hid behind one of the cement block supports. Papa’s Bull Whip was approximately 14 feet long and he kept swinging it parallel to the ground trying to reach me. I can still hear that Bull Whip popping. It sounded like he was shooting a double barreled shotgun at me. By this time Mama had heard all the commotion and yelled from inside the house, “Jack, you leave that boy alone.” And he did.
Speaking of whips, Papa made some beautiful whips. He made them out of cow hide and could make a four braid, or a six braid or an eight braid Bull Whip.
Papa also kept pieces of chewing tobacco and cigars hidden in various places around the farm. He didn’t dare use tobacco in front of Mama but would when he was working outside and out of Mama’s sight. I think that he really believed that she didn’t know he used tobacco, but to us grandkids it was always a game of trying to find where Papa hid his cigars or chewing tobacco. One day me and James Wainwright stole one of Papa’s cigars and went off in the woods and smoked it. When we got back Mama and Papa was sitting on the front porch and as soon as we got in the front yard Mama said that she smelled cigar smoke. Papa glared at us with hate in his eyes but didn’t say a word. It was apparent that he knew we had taken some of his cigars and smoked them. We knew that we had gotten one over on him. We knew that he couldn’t say anything without showing his guilt as well. We thought that we had gotten away with it free and clear. But Papa had an ace up his sleeve. Later that day Papa told my dad that I had been smoking cigars. Without saying anything, my dad walked across the road and cut a big oak switch and I ended up getting the “ass whupping” of my life.
Barbara Ladner Mollere
During my first year in the Beehives (A Young Women’s group in the LDS Church) we had to fill the requirement for our honor badges. One of my fields was “Honor Womanhood.” I chose my grandmother (Mammy) because she was a good example of womanhood and so I wanted to write about her. I think I was 11 years old when I wrote this:
“My grandmother Ellen E. Ladner (Mammy) is truly a great woman and is an honor to womanhood. She was born August 24, 1894 near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Her father was George Henry Wainwright and her mother was Rose Nixon Wainwright. She was the oldest child and had three brothers and four sisters. She lived in the Bayou La Croix, Mississippi, Community and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint on January 25, 1902. Her mother died on July 28, 1944, and her father died on January 19, 1958. All of her sisters and brothers are living now except the younger sister, Aunt Veda, who died February 17, 1933.
On May 29, 1912, she married Grandpa Sylvan Ladner in Bay St. Louis by the Justice of the Peace. She and my grandfather were married for time and eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple on June 14, 1955.
My Grandparents have three children. Aunt Lillian Ladner Sones was born December 13, 1914. My daddy Hester Ladner was born on March 29, 1920. Kenneth LaVern Ladner was born on August 11, 1931 and died on January 29, 1934. They lived most of their lives in the Bayou La Croix Community in the house they are now living in.
My Grandmother has always been a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and has always loved working in it and going to church. Her father George Wainwright and his half-brother were the first ones in this community to join the church. Her father remained faithful to the church until his death. When she and her sister Laura were small, their mother and father would each carry one of them and walk about five miles to and from church. She remembers that after her brother was born her father would row a skiff the five miles to, and from, church every Sunday. The church then was in the Edwardsville Community. My Mother told me that from 1934 to 1950, Sunday School and evening meetings were held in Mammy and Pappy’s house. My Grandmother was president of the Relief Society for many years and President of the Primary for at least 10 years. She was also a Sunday School teacher. She loved working in these organizations.
My Grandmother (Mammy) told me that her mother was always sick, and she took care of her and her sisters and brothers.
She believed in praying often. She once told me that many years ago the Relief Society was putting on a play and some people were supposed to come from Gulfport to play some parts. It was past time and the people from Gulfport have not come yet, so the Relief Society members all knelt down and prayed. Just as they finished praying the people from Gulfport arrived.
Her favorite foods are fried chicken and salad. Her favorite hobby as everyone knows is quilting. You can always see her either cutting quilt pieces out, or quilting a quilt. Her goal now is to make a quilt for each of her grandchildren. She has 17 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren, so she has plenty more to quilts to make.
I know that our Heavenly Father is pleased with her life. She has lived a great life, and I hope that I will be able to follow in her footsteps.
From doing this Honor Badge I learned that when you help others it makes you happy, and also I would like to learn more about my family.”
Terrell “Squeaky” Ladner
Hi you all. A little about what I can remember about my grandmother, mame and Grandpa Pappy, is very small because I was a young boy when pape and mame passed away. The most that I can remember about Mame was Her great cooking after church every Sunday. We would go eat with Her and Pappy. She made the best fried chicken, and home made bread, and pies.
Mame was a great quilter. She had the A- frame for quilts in the dining area with all her small pieces of materials and cotton. As she sewed, she told stories about when she was a little girl. As most of you all know when we were young kids those stories didn’t seem all that important at the time. All I wanted to do was to go outside and get into stuff. This is when I usually got into trouble with Pappy.
Pappy had approx. thirty laying hens. While he would be in the garden, we would be in the hen house getting into trouble. If discovered that if you tuck the chickens heads under their wing and swing them back and forth they would go to sleep until you would take their heads out. After we had put all the chickens to sleep Bryan and I would lay them all out on the ground. Later that afternoon when Pappy would go to gather up eggs he would find the chickens all laying on the ground fast asleep. While they were supposed to be laying eggs they were sleeping. Pappy would get really mad at us and start chasing us with the whip. Mame would hear the whip cracking and him yelling and would yell “Jack leave them boys alone.”
I remember another time when me, Bryan and Randell found his chewing tobacco inside of the out-house when he kept it hid. It was Days Work chewing tobacco. Not knowing any better we tried some. Boy was that a big mistake. We got sick and began to vomit. Then as we were vomiting the chickens began to peck at the vomit. That made us more sick and we vomited even more.
Jon K. Sones
Prior to the time Mammy passed away my memories of the time are somewhat sparse; bits and pieces here and there. One of my earliest and fondest memories of Mammy; I was in the kitchen with her and she asked me if I wanted some cake. She gave me the piece of cake and kindly asked that I go outside to eat it so I would get crumbs on the floor. I remember walking out the side kitchen door and sprinkling some of those crumbs for the cats to east since they were begging for some. What stands out to me about that memory is the kind way that she spoke. I never remember any cross or angry words from either Mammy or Pappy.
The first time I shot a gun was in front of Pappy and Mammy's house in the parking area. I the can't remember what year it was but was later told that it was a marriage anniversary gathering and recall in was on a Sunday after church; I may have been about 6 or 7 years old. It was a .22 rifle and I remember pointing it at a board that was propped up with sand across the road and when I shot, the board fell down. Jerry, Wayne, Roy, Bryan, Squeaky, my brothers and I were there as well as many others but I don't remember all those particulars. I watched Roy shoot a shotgun from the kneeling position and his front foot leaving the ground when he shot. Now as I look back, don't know if it was from the recoil or he was just doing it for show but with Roy it was probably the latter and not the former.
One time I remember walking out to the barn and Pappy was working on leather strips that he had cut in preparation for braiding. There was a time when we were going to see Grandma and Pappy was walking down Bayou La Croix Rd toward his house. Mom stopped the car and we gave Pappy a ride the rest of the way home.
The outhouse was both fun and frightful for me. I wanted to use the outhouse as much as I could because of the novelty and because it was there, outside. It was a larger outhouse with 2 sitting places. I would look down and see the "mess" as well as the wasps, bees and flies that were flying around down there. The frightful part was not wanting any of those insects to sting me while occupying the outhouse. Then one day I noticed tha the outhouse no longer there, and asked Uncle Thomas what had happened to the outhouse and he said that it had been torn down.
There was one time I was watching Pappy plowing the field using the cultivator while Anthony & Randall were walking beside the cultivator so when it would get full of grass, Pappy would stop and have Anthony & Randall pick up and shake the grass from the cultivator tines.
Many memories of being at their house are with Bryan and Squeaky playing with the kids from the nanny goat, pushing in the fields behind the house a homemade cart which was made with either bicycle or wheelchair wheels. Having watermelon fights, pulling a little one man boat down the road from Aunt Liza'a pond after Roy was fishing.
I remember when Mammy passed away; several events that happen during those times stand out. Being teased by uncles to put me inside the casket box while it was being made under the oak tree behind Grandpa and Grandma's house. and the funeral service at the Bayou La Croix chapel; seeing the casket in front of the podium while we sang hymns that I assume now could have been some of her favorite hymns. Aunt Elaine came down from Idaho and during the service, Jimmy and I were playing with Catherine who was a toddler at the time. I remember there was lots of family there and that the chapel was full which didn't happen much in those days. As a young boy, I knew what had happened but did not yet understand why there was weeping. I had never before or since seen or heard Grandma and Pappy weep so outwardly. Grandma was weeping loudly as she was escorted from the chapel to the car for the funeral procession but don't remember her weeping once the burial service was over. I always would look at the grave and see the smooth shovel marks on the wall and wonder who had dug the grave and when. Now I know that it was family who had dug the grave.
Later after all was over, Pappy was in Grandma's living room weeping and holding a white handkerchief. This went on for a long time and it seemed that he could not be consoled, even with Grandma's kind and reassuring words.
Sometime after Mammy's death, Pappy lived at Grandma & Grandpa's house until his death in 1976. Many times we would sit with him on the backdoor steps and talk. Sometimes it was joking, sometimes just to be with him and kill deer flies, shoot the birds out of the fig trees, laugh at our early attempts of riding when we had a Shetland ponies out there. We had just become accustomed to having Pappy there. Being a young teenager, there was not much asking questions of how it was when he was young but for me it was always relaxing to sit with Pappy. There are pictures of Pappy with us doing different things. Now as I look back, I wish I would have asked more questions about his childhood and upbringing.
Randall Sones
As I look back now it seems we spent a lot of time at Mammy and Pappy’s. I can remember watching Mammy roll her hair down and comb it before going to bed. Her hair was long and white.
I remember that Pappy kept his chewing tobacco in his horse feed barrel. One Sunday after church, Bryan, Squeeky and I found it. We were all given a good dose of Castor Oil.
When at their house we always had somewhere to go and something to play with. The old cars could take us on an imaginary ride or race. When we knew that Pappy or Aunt Josie weren’t looking we would chase the cows all the way to the back of the field.
I shot my first gun at Pappy’s. It was a 22 caliber rifle. Everyone was there that day: Bryan, Squeeky and me. We all took turns shooting the gun.
Pappy always enjoyed a good fight, as did Roy. So Bryan, Squeeky and I were always willing to please.
I, like most of us, miss those special days with special people. Their memories occupy a part of my heart visited much to little.
No boys could be as happy as Bryan, Squeaky and me. We always had each other.
David Henry Wainwright
The following song was written by my sister, Ellen Elizabeth Wainwright Ladner, in 1941. I made a copy of it on August 23, 1982.
The O-ri-ole with joy was sweetly sing-ing, the little brook was bab-bling its tune.
The village bells at noon were gaily ringing, the world seemed brighter than a Harvest Moon.
For there with-in my arms I gently pressed you, and blushing red, you slowly turned and walked away.
Oh, I can’t forget the way I once caressed you.
Chorus:
I only pray, we’ll meet another day. In the shade of the old apple tree, were the love in your eyes I could see.
Then the voice that I heard, like the song of the bird, seemed to whisper, sweet sweet music to me.
I could hear the dull buzz of bees, in the blossoms as you said, to me with a heart that is true.
I’ll be waiting for you, in the shade of the old apple tree.
I’ve really come a long the way from the city, although my heart is breaking, I’ll be brave.
I’ve brought this bunch of flowers, I think them quite pretty, to place upon a freshly molded grave.
“If you’ll show me, father, where she is lying. For if it is, just point it out to me.”
Said he, “She told us when she was dying, to bury her beneath the old apple tree.”
Chorus:
I only pray, we’ll meet another day. In the shade of the old apple tree, were the love in your eyes I could see.
Then the voice that I heard, like the song of the bird, seemed to whisper, sweet sweet music to me.
I could hear the dull buzz of bees, in the blossoms as you said, to me with a heart that is true.
I’ll be waiting for you, in the shade of the old apple tree.
