Menard High School

Well, I spent a great four years at Menard, which was also within walking distance to my house. Most of the time though, before I could drive that is, my Mom would just drop me off. After school, I would walk home, sometimes with my friend Pierre Gaucheax (not sure of spelling). He was a grade higher than me but lived in the neighborhood. He also had lots of brothers and sisters, some of whom I knew. He was a terrific guy and I enjoyed talking to him. Sometimes, I would walk home with William Basco, a friend from way back in Elementary school (at St. Rita). Bill was very tall and eventually played basketball at Menard. I went out for both football and basketball (was fairly tall and still am, of course) but just did not have the balance and athletic ability to make it on either team. I think I was closer to making basketball. There was lots of competition in those days due to "baby boomers" but I really was not that sad about not making the teams. I liked playing ball (all sorts) in my neighborhood with friends and that was very enjoyable to me. I had many friends at Menard and will talk about that next time.

St. Rita Elementary School

After Kindergarden, my first experience with school was at St. Rita. It was basically walking distance from my house and after a few years, I was walking there or back every day. I spent my first eight years of school there. Then, elementary school was eight years, then you went to high school for the four remaining. Most of my teachers then were nuns. A few were lay teachers, but most nuns. The home for the nuns was across the street from the school. It was a two story brick building and I have only seen the inside a few times. I had mostly good teachers then although a few bad ones who probably should not have been teaching. One of my teachers, I think for 6th grade, had one false eye. I remember she used to take it out to clean it and everyone freaked out when she did. She was a good teacher though. She helped me when I wanted to play football and I was able to get on the team. The church (St. Rita) was also located near the school (across the street the other way). We used to have to go to church every morning. The boys fooled around a lot too. I remember picking the leather strings off William Basco's jacked when he was kneeling in front of me. He was a lot bigger than me and probably could whip me but he was really just a gentle giant and just would not do that. All in all, it was a great eight years at St. Rita Elementary school....and then on to Menard High School!

Day Street

When I was about two years old, my family moved to Day street in Alexandria (across the Red River from Pineville, where I spent the first two years). My mother and father purchased the house on Day street after looking at another on Elliott street which was also in the "Garden District" of Alexandria. Apparently, the one on Elliott was on a corner (busy one) so they didnt like that, even though that house was nicer. We moved into the Day street house. I don't actually remember that (the moving) but I can now visualize everything about the house, from inside to out. Most people, I think can do this about their own house so it is not unusual. The house is still there, but my mom has moved on to an "independent living" facility. She is on the second floor and has a few "sitters" who stay with her during the day hours. She also gets her meals there. She has now been there for about six years but still talks about her "house" on Day street.
There were lots of kids around on Day street. I already told you about John and his young life and his untimely death at 20 years old. Across the street from my house was Ricky Melder's house. He lived with his Grandmother, and a sometimes Dad who drank too much. His Dad worked for the railroad and now Ricky does the same. Douglas Mahfouz lived around the corner from me. He was about a year older than me but was a good friend. He left school after the eighth grade and eventually worked as a parts person in an auto parts store. He passed away a few years ago. He must have been in his fifties when he died. His sister, Barbara, worked with me in my present job and she told me about his passing away. Not long after she told me, she also died--suddenly. I think she had heart problems. They also had other kids in that family. Angela was one. She was a "girlfriend" for a short time when we were very young. It was a "holding hands" sort of thing then. She is still with us and I see her sometimes usually at the Mall. Chris Burch was another friend. He now lives in Lake Charles (I think)..have not seen him in a long time. He was also a good friend. We all played football, baseball, etc. together either in the street or a local ball lot. We also used a lot across the street from me called "JB's lot". There were many friends then and I will mention some of the others in the next post.

Best Friend

My best friend when I was growing up was John Delaney. I must have been about 3 years old when we first met. I remember it snowed and we were so small that the probably 6 inches or so of snow felt like it was six feet. I don't really remember how we met. John just lived about five or six houses from me so I guess we just came together because we wanted another to play with. For many years we played together (and with others in the neighborhood) and stayed over at each others houses. John had a Mom and Dad and 2 brothers, one older and one younger. He also had a Chihuahua (spelling?) named Peewee. John and I basically grew up together and really never had an argument or fight. We were sort of "Mutt and Jeff" because I was sort of tall and he was small. I remember that his favorite TV show was "Stoney Burke". Burke was played by Jack Lord. Lots of people probably do not remember that show but I felt it was really good. We watched it every week, usually at Johns house. Johns Mom was very friendly and I liked her. His older brother, Milton was very weird, if you get my grift. He is the only one left now. John and I used to play with capes and cowboy hats. One time, we were in a neighbors garage loft and we scared the neighbor kid when he came in. I guess he thought we were really super heroes or something. When John was 20, he and his younger brother, Malcolm Roy, went hunting. (They were never really taught safety). They were trying to cross a ditch...Malcolm handed John the wrong end of the shotgun to pull him over the ditch, and the gun went off, later killing John. Malcolm, even though he could not drive, went to Johns truck and made his way back to town to get help, but it was too late. He died when he was 20 years old, hardly experiencing life at all! A few years later, Malcolm died of a drug overdose.

Very Early Life

When I was about 18 to 20 months old, I got Polio which was prevalent at the time. I was told that I was flown down to New Orleans to Charity hospital which was the biggest and best in the state at the time and was known for its polio treatment. I stayed in the hospital in New Orleans until past my 2nd birthday. I do remember some of it. I remember when I was about to get out, I had to get a shot and I did not like it at all. I was also told that I had treatment here at Baptist hospital in Alexandria for awhile. Luckily, the polio was non-paralitic. I just had to learn how to walk all over again. To this day, my legs seems to get weak sometimes and I feel like it is post-polio syndrome. I also am having some problems with balance which I am told is part of post-polio. At the same time that I had polio, my dad was going out with another woman that he had met at a bar. I remember once when I had to go to the hospital (I guess for a check up), the "girlfriend" was with him in the car. I'm not sure what I knew at the time except that it was not my mother. Not long after, my dad left all of us. I remember it very well. Everyone was crying. I don't know why, but I said "don't cry, he'll be back." He never did come back. For years my mom had us pray that he would return but he never did. This one event affected me for the rest of my life. It was like a chain that broke. It severly affected my confidence which to this day I feel is below par. For many years, I was very afraid to speak up in school and had what I felt was severe stage fright. I doesn't bother me much now. I think I have finally gotten over it or maybe I just don't care so it does not bother me as much.

My sister

My sister's name is Linda. Of course, it was Linda Vance for many years until she married. I think she has been married now for over 40 years to Mike Jarrell. She now lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mike and Linda had three girls, Stacey, Shelley, and Shannon. Stacey is the oldest and now lives near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania with her husband Andrew and two kids, Emma and Aiden (not sure of spelling). Shelley, the middle one, is married to Allen. Together with their two kids, Ellis and Mary Claire, they live in or around Shreveport. Shannon, who is the youngest, now lives near Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her husband, Randy. They have a baby girl whose name is Harper. She is now about 18 months old. Stacey is an attorney, Shelley is a Physcial Therapist, and Shannon is a Veteranarian.
The first thing I remember regarding Linda was being in a store in Pineville and talking about candy bars. I guess I was probably 2 or 3, don't really remember that too well. Anyway, she has always been my older sister because she is about 20 months older than I am. She now works in Shreveport for HUD of the federal government. More about her in coming posts.

Early Life

The first things I remember from my "babyhood" is being in a very dark room/house. I learned later that this was the small "shotgun" extra house located behind my grandparents house on Lakeview street in Pineville, Louisiana. It was a very old house and perhaps the electrical was not up to standards. It could be that only lamps were available for light (and windows). I don't remember the small house having lots of windwos though.
Outside (it was in the back of the main house) was the "chicken coop'...which was just a large, fenced-in dirt yard where the chickens stayed. There was, I think, a chicken coop in the back part of the yard. In front of the coop was a very large (to me) oak tree that had a tire swing. I do remember swinging on the tire swing and liked it very much. I was probably 6 months to one year old at the time. On the right side of the main house (as looking from front), there was a large ditch. I remember being afraid of the ditch. Maybe this is where my daughter, Sarah got her early fear of ditches (our first house had a small one in front). Also, she loved to swing on a tree swing when she was little. More next post.

Born

My name is James Michael Vance formally of Alexandria, Louisiana but now living in Ball, Louisiana which is a suburb of Alexandria. I was born November 13, 1946 in Alexandria. I think it was at the "Texada Clinic" in downtown Alexandria. My mother, who is alive at this date, is Eloise A. Vance. Her maiden name was Eloise Andries from Belgian ancestry. She is from a family of approximately 12 children and is the next to youngest of that family. She is now 86 and will turn 87 in July. The only remaining child from her family is her youngest sister, Joni(may be mis-spelled, will check and correct later). She is about 2 years younger than my mother. I will go into her family more in depth at a later blog. My fathers name is L.C. Vance. The L.C. stands for Lacy Charles. His father was also Lacy, but my dad was not a "junior" so that is not added to his name. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 88. Next blog will add to this history and, hopefully, I can come up with some pictures.