Meeting and marrying Samuel "Sam" Harrell Smith, Jr., in Minden, Louisiana, the town where her parents Grover and Mattie Danner Lytle had settled, Juanita Lytle Smith soon moved south with her husband. Following a period of time living and working in several places in the South, the couple landed in Franklinton. By this time, Grover had passed away (in 1940), and widow Mattie had moved in with Sam and Juanita and their family. She would remain with them, in their home, for the rest of her life. In Franklinton, they resided in a three-bedroom home constructed from lumber from an old Army barracks which Mattie's brother Henry disassembled in Mississippi. Grandmother Mattie had her own private area.
Though, to my knowledge, I never had the honor of meeting Ms. Mattie - most everyone called her Granny - she appeared from the description in Sylvia Kelly Smith's book "Baywood and Beyond - Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Harrell Smith, Sr. and Lillie Mae Pennington" to have been the heartbeat of the family. As my own mother lived with Rodney, Betsy, and me for eleven years, I identify with the blessing of a multi-generational home - a loving, generous grandmother in residence. But I liked the way Ms. Sylvia put it, "Mattie always carried her own weight." Striking the perfect balance - so did my mother. It was American journalist and author Suzanne La Follette who once said, "No one who has not known the inestimable privilege can possibly realize what good fortune it is to grow up in a home where there are grandparents."
Back to Mattie, donning a handmade apron, she cooked for the family, using greens and other ingredients she gathered from the wild. She cooked chicken, raising and preparing them for the pot herself. Mattie used feed sacks to sew garments for the family, and she hand pieced beautiful heirloom quilts, gifting them to family members, new and old. What an honor it must have been to be born in or marry into the Smith family; the award of a quilt made with love by Mattie awaited. She was also an avid gardener. And she enjoyed her stories - like the "Guiding Light" - as my grandmother, who also was enthralled, called them. I bet Ga-ga knew Mattie (1893 - 1976). They were of the same generation.
The unvarnished truth is I identify with the Smiths. From what I gleaned, Mattie was Juanita's best friend. Certainly, Mattie was by her side as Juanita, a homemaker, together with husband Sam raised their sons Phillip Harrell, Kenneth Wayne, and James Qua Smith. Juanita also had a legion of friends in Franklinton through the prestigious Order of the Eastern Star, diligently working her way up to Grand Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star for the state of Louisiana.
Then, around the 1970s, Juanita opened her lovely gift shop in Franklinton. It was situated on Ellis, what we called "the one-way street." With beautiful merchandise ranging the gamut from china and crystal to the finest of fabrics, Juanita had a loyal following of local customers. My mother and I were among them, with that grandfather clock - gifted to my dad - probably our largest purchase from Juanita's. I can still picture the shop's interior; it sparkled.
The death of Sam Smith in October of 1993 and then Juanita in 2007 was a great loss to Franklinton. Son Phillip Harrell Smith, prominent local Certified Public Accountant, and his wife, retired educator Sylvia Kelly Smith, who hailed from Denham Springs, are long-time residents of Franklinton where they raised their children Shanda Leigh Smith Addison (Byron Wayne) and Matthew Harrell Smith (Monica Rene' Valenti). And today they have grandchildren Cody Wayne Addison, Daniel Garrett Addison, Marley Elene Smith, and Mattie Claire Smith, together with great-grandchildren.
Sam and Juanita's son, the late Kenneth Wayne Smith (known as Wayne and in his youth "Smiley") and his late wife Amy Jo Crowe Holliday Smith were well known in Franklinton. Amy Jo not only worked with Wayne in construction for Sharp Construction Company, but she also enjoyed her job at Ace Hardware in Franklinton. A man of many talents, Wayne was a jack of all trades - horse training, dairying, horse shoeing, glass work, windshield business, construction, and chicken farming. Amy Jo's daughter Shannon Holliday (a fabulous photographer) and her daughter Brittany Barber Milton (spouse Drew) and her children gave the couple great joy.
The youngest son, James Qua Smith, known as Qua, married Judy Spencer, daughter of Joe and Eloice Dickerson Spencer. A licensed insurance agent, Judy has worked in the insurance business locally and beyond while Qua has not only raised livestock on a large scale but also worked for Boh Brothers and other businesses. The couple's children James Doyle "Jim" Smith and Marcus Lane "Mark" Smith were raised and educated in Franklinton. Jim married Janae Thomas, first, with whom he had daughter Tera Smith. Then, he and wife Tammy Walker had daughter Aimee. Mark married Dianna Pierce who gave the Smiths granddaughter Jonna Jenkins. And the Smiths also enjoy their precious great-grandchildren.
