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Interview with Mr. Jules ?Poss? LaFrance, Age 91 June 1, 2004 Ansley, MS
Interviewer: Russell B. Guerin, Hancock County Historical Society
Though his gait has been slowed, ?Poss? LaFrance?s straight, near 6-foot frame belies his 91 years. He is lean. His memory is keen, his speech is strong, and his dark complexion is a reminder of his many working hours in the sun. He still cuts the grass on his lovely spread in his Piney Woods home, which he designed himself. He takes pleasure in showing a visitor around.
Principally known for the marina at Ansley which bears his name, Mr. LaFrance has been successful at a variety of pursuits. Though having had the benefit of only three years of formal education, he is nonetheless a truly educated man.
Fully respectful of Mr. LaFrance, this interviewer has chosen to report his words as they were heard. Considering his background and long residence in the area, the representation is idiomatically correct; his manner of speaking is part of the man.
LaFrance?s description of a lifetime of experiences discloses no regrets. If anything, a quick sense of humor is displayed in the telling.
We begin with Mr. LaFrance describing how the site that became LaFrance Marina was acquired.
Mr. LaFrance: Oscar Green was never married. My wife, she had married John Schwartz, who died. They was married for ten years, and he died. He was the brother of Charley Schwartz and Henry Schwartz. Mabel [Mrs. LaFrance] was their aunt. I married her in 1939. We started the camp in 1940. She had got the property from him [Oscar Green] because she had taken care of Oscar. Just before he died, they had bought it, for how much I don?t know. This old man, old man Green, he had two rooms. He had a little bungalow. He had two rooms. He lived in one room and the chickens and the cats and whatnot lived in the other room. [Laughter] The chickens would roost on the bed, and he wouldn?t knock them off or anything. He would just turn around. That?s really true, I?m telling you. He would just turn around. And my wife, she?d take care of him; she would bathe him and stuff like that on that last go round. He was just not able to. So anyhow, she and John bought the property from him. And there is where we started, in the little two-room bungalow. We started fixing the house up; it was made of lx 12 boards with laths and stuff. Things were tight. That was back in depression time. Things was tough, so we started off with the camp. We trapped, run cow, raised hogs.
Guerin: How many acres did you have?
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