•Part 1
In the past I have touched on my family's friendship with Ira Daunton Gibbs, Jr., (1911-1998) and his wife Verna Bennett Gibbs (1915-2015), the parents of only child Ira D.
In that same vein, it is a most worthwhile endeavor to delve into Mr. Daunton, as I knew him, and his passion for history. In my youth he was the Coca-Cola man, but as a young adult I came to appreciate him as a historian.
One would be hard pressed to find someone who knew more about local history than Mr. Daunton. He made it his business. And I thank my lucky stars that my folks saved his writings, material which often appears in this column. So, I was tickled pink to find in my files a feature article (one of my sources for this series of columns) on Mr. Daunton written and published by Don Ferguson of The Era-Leader, who coincidentally was for several years my next-door neighbor. It is a small world.
It appears to me that much of the historical recordation began in 1976 when, in June, Mr. Daunton retired from the Bogalusa Coca Cola Bottling Company after thirty-six years of service.
When Vaughn Cantrell - father of Franklinton resident Terry Seal - was transferred in 1940 to the Bogalusa plant, Mr. Daunton took over the Franklinton route, which territory encompassed western Washington Parish. Notably, the Bogalusa Coca Cola Bottling Company bottled not only Coca-Cola but also Big Chief soda pop, the latter of which was terminated when Pearl Harbor took place. Over his thirty-six-year tenure, Mr. Daunton witnessed immense change not only in the production and delivery of the soda but also in the parish.
From what I observed in my own family, I can attest that there is likely no better way to learn about people, and their history, than making deliveries to area businesses. In the era that preceded the current internet obsession - an old-fashioned era, when news was delivered by newspaper, radio, television, and even in person - folks gathered round establishments for the exchange of information. Digressing, my own grandfather R. T. Ellzey founded a soda pop bottling business in 1911 in Tylertown. It was one of the first soft drink bottling companies in the state of Mississippi. A variety of flavored drinks were bottled before the Triple X root beer and Double Cola line were added. It wasn't until 1955, after my father's brother Wayland Ellzey, bought the business, that the company received the Dr. Pepper franchise and eventually also handled Diet Rite Cola, RC Cola, and Nehi beverages. His son Wayland Alan "Al" Ellzey succeeded him in the business.
But back to the beginning, the very first delivery truck was a Model T Ford. And in the 1930s my father delivered soda pop, from dawn to dusk, before and after school, driving the truck to businesses - mostly country stores - all over South Mississippi. Crossing the state line into Southeastern Louisiana, they delivered as far south as Franklinton. I believe that this is where Daddy, at a very young age, acquired volumes of information - all part of history. And similar to Mr. Daunton, Daddy saved it though, to my knowledge, he never published any. He apparently left that project to me.
But I believe this is why my father identified with and found friendship in Daunton Gibbs. He valued all of Mr. Daunton's writing, clipping a multitude of his articles that appeared in "The Era-Leader" from around 1976 forward. Daddy sagely saved them in what we called Grandpa's (William Frank Ellzey's) desk - I suppose for me because here I am. And I also revered Mr. Daunton, both around town and at church - First Baptist Church of Franklinton where he was a Deacon for decades.
And I even knew Mr. Daunton in Bogalusa where my father worked at the Bogalusa Community Medical Center as administrator (CEO). When in 1940 Mr. Daunton assumed his Franklinton route, Ray Mills was the Bogalusa Coca Cola Plant manager. His nephews Jack and Thomas Mills followed in his footsteps, and Mr. Daunton later worked for them. Ms. Frances Johnson Mills (1926-2020), a Texas native who married John C. "Jack" Mills (1921-1975) in 1946, also served as manager of the Bogalusa Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The loveliest lady one could ever meet, she served on the Board of the Bogalusa Community Medical Center. And she was a founding member of the Bogalusa Community Medical Center Auxiliary, serving as a pink lady for over fifty years, which is how my mother and I came to know her. I was sometimes with my dad when he stopped by the Bogalusa Coca Cola Plant to see his friends, Mr. Jack and Ms. Frances. And there was Mr. Daunton, coming and going.
Upon his retirement, he described for "The Era-Leader" the change he observed, over thirty-six years, in the trucks used to make the deliveries. He drove the last, of the cavalcade of four delivery trucks, for twelve years. And while by 1976 they had advanced to a bay type, in earlier years the deck type was utilized. And while Mr. Daunton acknowledged that the warehouse in Franklinton had changed location three times, during his tenure, he didn't specify where. I am curious.
I also wanted to know more about Mr. Daunton. Stay tuned next week for Part 2, about the renowned local historian.
