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town of then about 1500 population, located about seventy miles south of New Orleans and about one mile north of Leesville. I moved in with Blackie, Macon Crawford, and the new deckhand, Tony Perre, on the BUSTER. John rented a small house and moved his family to Golden Meadow.
John and I built a platform on top of one of the test-piling after bracing it to several other test-piles. A 500 gallon tank was centered over the pile, on the platform, and filled with water to complete the test. It was necessary to swim under the platform with a crowbar in hand to remove the braces so that the full weight of the watertank would rest on the pile. There was a danger of the tank toppling over so I volunteered. I knew I could move faster and swim better than John. Besides he had a family and I didn't. After several anxious moments the braces were removed and the test was successful.
I used to borrow John's old Chevy every weekend and drive to New Orleans to see Fran on Saturday and Sunday, then drive back Monday morning abut one o'clock. Several times I fell asleep but awakened in time to stay out of Bayou LaFourche. One Sunday I told Fran that when two persons loved one another as much as we did it was time to marry. She agreed, so I went in and asked her father for her hand in marriage. He said he would be pleased to have me for a son-in-law but thought we should delay until the Depression ended. I told him that we were very much in love and felt that any lengthy delay would rob us of precious time together. I told him not to worry about the Depression - I would take care of her come hell or high water! Six months later we were married. We were wed at the Holy Rosary Church on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, on the fifteenth day of January, 1932. Because the bridge job at Leesville was not completed at the time, I rented a small cottage from Mr. and Mrs. Perrin, who owned a local grocery store. After our wedding reception, which was held in Fran's home, John and his wife drove us to our honeymoon cottage. The solid foundation of our marriage began there in our tiny home in that little fishing village on Bayou LaFourche. And even now, after more than forty four years of marital happiness, we relive those initial days of delicate intimacy, respect, and understanding love, as we built that foundation!
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Three weeks after I brought Fran to Golden Meadow, the State closed down all contracted jobs and began issuing script for money. Of course our job was included. Blackie and his crew had already departed, so I hired a man for $1.00 per day to watch the BUSTER and other marine equipment. Next day Fran and I boarded the daily bus to New Orleans. John and Vic followed a few days later. We spent one night with Fran's family. I learned that Bill Moore would be in his attorney's office so I went to see him and asked to be released. Reluctantly he gave me two weeks pay I had coming. That afternoon Fran and I rented a cottage on Rosemary Street in Lakeview.
Our landlady lived next door and was very nice to us. I paid her thirty-eight dollars in advance for two months' rent. After we unpacked our personal belongings and tidied up our new home, we walked down to a grocery on Canal Boulevard and purchased a two weeks' supply of staples. Nothing was in short supply during the Depression except money. One could purchase a picnic ham for eight cents per pound, butter thirty cents, bread ten cents per loaf, and a good rump roast for twenty cents per pound. Fran's mother drove by next morning and we made several trips to her home to pick up the rest of our belongings. Before we were married, Fran had been on the staff at WSMB radio station. She had a fifteen minute program, five days a week, and was the most popular lyric soprano in the listening area. Her voice was warm and beautiful and she sang ballads mostly, songs like, "Trees", "Ave Maria", "I Love You Truly," "My Buddy", and the like. She was chosen as guest soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra when they performed in New Orleans. When the WSMB manager learned we had returned to New Orleans he offered her two fifteen minute programs each week which she accepted. This turned out to be a real stroke of luck because it took me almost a month to land a job. I finally was hired to help build the new road along the Lake Front. Ford Sewes, a former Tulane football star, was the engineer on the job. Ford apologized to me because all he could offer was a laborer's job at twenty-five cents per hour, ten hours a day. Fortunately after only a week, I was promoted to a heavy equipment operator at twice the pay. Later, I operated a ten-ton roller on the twelve hour night shift. When we completed
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