It's interesting what we remember. How well I recall the late 1980s when I attended many a Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church in Franklinton with my Rodney. Ours was a mixed marriage - that of a Protestant and a Catholic - which we entered in 1988. Today, folks don't think anything of an interfaith union, but in an earlier era, this wasn't the case. Intermarrying, between spouses of different religions, was not as accepted.
Remnants of this early notion lingered, even in the late twentieth century. During my youth in the 1960s and 1970s, my father (1919-1999), a staunch Southern Baptist who hailed from Walthall County, Mississippi, failed to see much beyond his faith. During college, when I dated an LSU classmate, from McComb, Mississippi, my dad declared, "Cecily, I do believe you found the only Catholic in Pike County." While certainly untrue, Daddy - like many of his era - wanted me to date and marry within the confines of his church, a desire that spanned the denominations.
After this fellow, from the finest of old Mississippi families (the Crosbys) and I parted ways, I began dating a Catholic from my hometown. After a two-year courtship, I married Rodney - a prince of a man. And my father never said another word, about religion. In fact, after Rodney and I eloped to Lake Tahoe in late September 1988, Daddy was a witness, formally registered as such, for our holy sacrament of matrimony on November 19, 1988, in Holy Family Catholic Church. And it was with this memory that I accepted, with alacrity, the task of relaying the church's history.
Holy Family Catholic Church came about through the perseverance of devoted Catholics determined to establish a place of worship in Franklinton. The original six Catholic families (from the original secretary's booklet) were those of Mrs. Howard Zerangue, Mrs. George Dick, Mrs. Robert Shaw, Mrs. J. H. Ulmer, Mrs. L. O. "Ted" Terrogrossa, and Mrs. R. W. Magee. Though not Catholic, Mrs. Terrogrossa generously hosted meetings in her home when it was her husband's turn. It was this devout group who, in the 1940s, formed the first "Ladies Altar Society," renamed "The Catholic Ladies Society" which has a nice ring to it.
Just two short months after the appeal of The Catholic Ladies Society in Franklinton to the Most Rev. Archbishop, a most promising letter dated May 24, 1945, written to Mrs. R. W. (Winona Schexnayder) Magee was received from Rt. Rev. Columban Thuis, O. S. B., Abbot. His most kind letter to Mrs. Magee informed that he had placed the proposal, for Mass to be offered one Sunday per month in Franklinton, with the Archbishop. Abbott Thuis agreed, "It appears that there is real need for this measure…." He further promised, "If the Catholic people of Franklinton respond well over a period of time to the opportunity to hear Sunday Mass once a month, we hope to arrange, with His Excellency's approval, to have Mass said there more often."
Abbott Thuis appeared at the meeting held on July 13, 1945, in the home of Mrs. R. W. (Winona) Magee. The Most Rev. Archbishop Francis Rummel of New Orleans had granted permission for a priest to be sent to Franklinton every Sunday and for feast day so that Holy Mass could be celebrated. Progress to meet the needs of local Catholics was being made. Soon approval was given for services to be held in Mrs. J. H. Ulmer's home on Bickham Street. Accordingly, the first Mass in Franklinton was held there on August 15, 1945, with Father Charles Villere, O. S. B., saying Mass, after the first Mass officiated by Abbott Columban Thuis. Twenty people attended both masses held that day - the beginning of Holy Family Catholic Church. But baptisms, marriages, and funerals were to take place in Bogalusa where the records would be kept.
Records from Father Charles Villere's diary indicate the collection on the first Sunday amounted to four dollars, but contributions increased as did attendance. On August 20, there was a deposit in the amount of $24.50 made. Fr. David Melancon, O. S. B., substituted for Fr. Charles from June 3, 1946, until late August. Then, after Mass on the first of September, Fr. Charles introduced Fr. John O. LeBlanc, O. S. B. - his successor.
The historical information herein came, in large part, from a beautiful, lengthy, handwritten document entitled "The Story of Holy Family Mission Chapel," the compiler of which was identified therein as Father Malachy Burns, O.S.B., Ph.D. The information derived from the diary of Father Charles Villere which was continued by Father John LeBlanc. It was my dear friend Anita Magee Nicholson who shared with me this mountain of material on the formation of the Catholic Church in Franklinton. And she had authored her own work - mesmerizing stories of the early days of the church - entitled "A Little Kid Without a Church."
The only child of Robert Wellington "R. W." Magee and Winona Marie Schexnayder Magee, Anita has fond memories of growing up in Franklinton from 1939 to 1957. While she initially travelled with her mother to nearby towns - Bogalusa, Covington, or Amite - to attend Mass, she recollected Mass held in the home of Mrs. James Hunter "also known as J. H." Ulmer who generously volunteered the dining room and living room of her home. Anita affectionately called her "Miss Anise."
The Catholic Ladies Society gathered there at the Ulmer abode to clean and polish in preparation for Mass. Tagging along with her mother Winona Magee, Anita was front and center during both the preparations and the Mass. As Miss Anise had chickens, dogs, and cats, in addition to six precious children, there was always excitement. Once when Fr. John LeBlanc was celebrating Mass, he encountered three chickens, who raucously made their way up onto the dining room table/altar. Unfazed, he continued with Mass. And another time, Miss Anise's Irish Setters joined the celebration of Mass.
In addition to Mrs. Ulmer's home, Poole and Simmons Funeral Home was also used for church services, and when it wasn't available, Mass was held in other family homes, including Gladys Newman's. Back to the funeral home, Anita explained, "If no one was laid out in the viewing room, the priest celebrated Mass." As a six-year-old, her first communion and first confession was at Poole and Simmons Funeral Home. Though no one had been laid out on that particular day, Anita - "in her pretty new white dress, white veil and white shoes" - was unprepared to see the twenty to thirty caskets as she entered the confession area. She reminisced, "They were in all sizes and colors around the room. Whoa! I was not prepared at all for what I saw. I had not rehearsed this. I froze. The caskets were not a bad thing; I simply was not prepared to see them." But in the far back, Fr. John Leblanc coaxed her forward. Having momentarily forgotten what she was to do and to say, Anita poignantly penned, "By the grace of God and the help of a very kind priest I made it through confession."
•Stay tuned for next week's column which continues with the building of the Holy Family Catholic Church.
