Hello everyone. I 've decided to share my father's story.

I 'd like to briefly introduce who he was before he joined the life of crime.  

 My father's family had a tomato farm in northern Louisiana. It was a small farm, half committed to tomatoes the other for subsistence farming with a few pigs, cows, 2 workhorses and a bunch of chickens.

He was born in 1910, his family was already poor and told him they barely noticed a change when the depression first hit.

10 kids altogether, 6 still at home as he grew up. (Some from his fathers first wife, who died young in childbirth.)

Subsistence farming meant they would team with 3-4 other farm families and prearranged when large animals (calf, pigs) would be slaughtered and divided for the months beef and pork. Everybody had their own smoke house but would trade smoked meat as needed, there was no refrigeration.

They also prearranged annual trades of x number of canned vegetables and fruits. They had 2 milk cows, lots of chickens for regular meat and eggs plus hunting for small game. (Deer were almost hunted out by the end of 1900's)

Fish was also part of their regular diet . Starting at age 7 until age 12 my dad was in charge of walking a mile to a neighbors farm lake. His father had spent most of his down time for two years helping a friend hand dig the lake many years earlier. His job and joy was fishing a couple of times a week for bream (bluegill). He said on most after school trips he could catch a couple dozen in time for supper.

When I asked how he regularly caught so many so fast he said his dad raised in mass thousands of bugs, worms and caterpillars??? to help feed the fish through out the year, so the fish were quick to bite when caterpillar/ bugs/worms were attached to a hook.

With proceeds from the tomato crop they would buy salt, sugar, flour, books clothes and "luxuries". Some side work was usually done when available with sawmill, roadwork, sewing or lumbering. My grandfather drove the school bus in mornings for many years for a few dollars a month.

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Part 2-The Mafia..Coming soon.