Remembering the Last Christmas on the Old Home Place
By Rickey Robertson
As Christmas time approaches we all can think back to days gone by and of Christmas's of past years. In today's world the Christmas Season is a time of hustle and bustle and is so fast paced we often forget the true meaning of Christmas. People are reaching and grabbing and holding on to things they think is precious to them at Christmas. But Christmas that we remember from years ago was a season filled with the thanks for God's Blessings and for family. Can you remember a Christmas of days long gone? Does one stick out in particular? Let's look at the last Christmas that the homesteaders and sharecroppers of Peason Ridge celebrated on their old home places in 1941.
Beginning in 1940 the US Army held large scale field maneuvers in Louisiana. Due to the success of these maneuvers, the largest field maneuvers ever conducted by the US Army were then scheduled and took place in the Sabine Maneuver Area of Louisiana in 1941. During these maneuvers the army found a scarcely populated area known as Peason Ridge that would be excellent for all types of military training. With the building of Camp Polk, the army decided that further lands would be needed for training purposes. Peason Ridge was the perfect place for an artillery range. After the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941 the army began the process to obtain over 33,000 acres of land to form Peason Ridge Artillery Range.
But on Peason Ridge there were 29 home stead families and 35 sharecropper families. These hardy families had actually settled these lands beginning in 1818 and over all these many years filled with many trials, tribulations, and heart ache, they had survived. They were self- supporting families who farmed and raised large herds of cattle and livestock. During the Depression and hard times these families often joked that they didn't have any money but they were eating better than the folks living in town. They had corn cribs full of corn for the stock, a smokehouse full of hams, sausage, and middlin's of bacon, and the pantry was full of fresh canned fruits and fresh jams and jellies. About the only items these families needed from town were flour, sugar, and coffee. Anything else was a luxury. And at Christmas time there were always special gatherings and parties at the home places. And as you visited these folks they shared their blessings with you. If you stopped at Mr. Coleman Owers home before you would leave there was a dish pan of parched peanuts that you just had to sample, if you stopped at the Foster Dowden place before you left you had to get a pocketful of pecans to put in your overall pockets to snack on, if you stopped at the Bill Haynes place there was always a fresh pie to have a slice of, at the Andrew Bridges place if you came by, you could stop and get a good mess of turnip greens and collards in the patch right by the road, and at the Robertson place Aunt Ted always had a big pan of biscuits with fresh jelly. The Lord had provided and these folks appreciated and counted their blessings.
But the Christmas of 1941 would be their last Christmas on their homes. After the 1941 maneuvers the army had developed a plan where they would invoke imminent domain on these landowners. In other words, the government was taking their lands. But one more Christmas was to be celebrated. At the Bill Haynes home place his family, along with the Robertson, Bridges, Hilton, Westbrook, and Dowden families, and the last black family in Peason, Uncle John and Aunt Viney Love, gathered for one last Christmas. It was a very festive atmosphere, with fresh pies and cakes brought by the ladies, and real home-made egg nog. There were 2 big dish pans filled with this egg nog. One was for the ladies and children, and one was for the men and grown boys. The pan for the men and grown boys had a little extra added to it! All the folks gathered and gave thanks for the Lords Blessings then they had a good meal filled with wonderful desserts and fresh meat. And then the guitars, fiddles, and banjoes were brought out and a lively evening of singing broke out. Good old time foot stomping and hand clapping music filled with Christmas songs. And some of the boys had heard many songs by Gene Autrey on the radio and they broke out with Silver Bells. And they had such a good time! Why don't we have good times such as this in today's world? Children back then didn't get cars and expensive gifts. Some fruit such as oranges, apples, and some hard candy were about all the children got. The girls had corn shuck dolls to play with, and the boys had marbles and other things to play with during the year. All these toys were hand- made and not store bought. But they had something this world needs right now. And that was Happiness!
But this was to be the last Christmas together for these families. By June of 1942 these families had been served by US Marshall's their eviction paperwork for their own farms. From a time of happiness at Christmas to a time of sorrow as they had to leave a way of life and the land they loved. With Louisiana still not out of the Depression, there was no money for these families to purchase new farms with. And to add insult to injury, the US government did not pay these families anything for 1 full year. If not for their friends, neighbors, and other family members sharing the corn out of their cribs, the meat in their smokehouses, and the canned goods from their pantries, they would have starved to death. But they survived.
But these families had one last Christmas together that is remembered to this very day. And yes, these people were my family and neighbors and we have never forgotten this Christmas. We still tell the old stories of our ancestors and keep them alive. Each time I go by one of these old home places on Peason Ridge, I remember these families and their accomplishments. Now as you think about Christmas and the many gifts you will receive, let's look at the gift that these families gave to our nation. These families gave up a heritage and way of life and all their lands so that we would have FREEDOM. Yes 73 years later the US Army is still training our sons and daughters to fight and win against our enemies so that we can be free. Yes, freedom doesn't come free. But these families and their sacrifice ensure our freedom. As I write of these families I try to honor them and their sacrifice through the stories and the heritage that they left us. They lived through these hard times of the Depression and of losing their homes and farms yet they made it and survived. And as an ancestor to many of these folks I am proud of them ! And these families of Peason Ridge were God Fearing and Bible Believing people who gave thanks for the baby that was born in Bethlehem so many years ago. And they worshiped that baby who grew up into a man and who through his sacrifice on the cross, gives us freedom from sin. No matter where you were raised, let's remember the old home place and for the Christmas' we had there, and for what Christmas is truly about. Merry Christmas from way down South in Dixie!
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Bud, Barnie, Bobbie, and Ora Robertson at the old home place at Peason in 1940. Going to Check the livestock on the range. (Rickey Robertson Collection)
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Machine gun position near the Asa Dowden home place on Peason Ridge in 1940. (Rickey Robertson Collection)
The Grant Family had to leave their old home place on Peasn Ridge. J.A. Grant ran a trading post/post office known as Nona, La. (Rickey Robertson Collection)
The US Army first began use of Peason Ridge and Camp Polk in 1940. A group of Army Officers are interviewing a heritage family. Note picket fence and dog trot home. (Rickey Robertson Collection)
Many of the homesteaders on Camp Polk and Peason Ridge lived in "dog trot" or "double pen" houses such as this home. It was hard to leave there homes for the last time. (Rickey Robertson Collection)