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MARTIN O. BLANCHARD. SR.
1895 - 1994
OLIVIA DUPONT BLANCHARD
1900 - 1982
I know I will have problems writing this piece on Papa. I say this not because I want to make him look good or make him look bad.
I	only hope that I will be able to show everyone who reads this, the real Martin O. Blanchard, Sr. as I knew him.
Papa was a man. First, last and forever, Papa was a man. He was fearless, generous, honest, dedicated and a Mama's boy. He adored his mother, and if you wanted to lose all your teeth instantly, top and bottom, just say something slightly disrespectful about his mother. You might say that Papa raised two families; he helped Grandma with his younger brothers and sisters, and his own. Uncle Bouy once told me that he was sixteen before he knew that Papa wasn't his daddy. Grandpa was away on the boat most of the time, and Grandma would tell the kids when they misbehaved that, "I'll tell Martin when he comes home." So, he had plenty of experience by the time we came along.
Ever since my first recollections of Papa, I've known him to be a strict disciplinarian, and I being the oldest, received more "instruction" than the rest. The first four of us were boys, and from the start, Papa raised us like men. Honesty, integrity, respect for authority were part of the curriculum, along with "Don't let anyone intimidate you." - "Men don't cry." - "Stand up for your rights and fight if necessary." You can visualize the consequences these principles brought us at school. But, somehow it all worked - mostly because of Mama. Mama taught us love and compassion for each other and others. To her, kindness bred kindness and friendliness bred friendliness. She said it was OK to lie a little if it spared someone embarrassment. Somehow she always made adherence to Papa's rigid rules much easier. That old world out there wasn't so difficult to conquer after all - not with what Mama and Papa taught us. They gave us the direction to follow, the education and the work ethics. For two people with limited formal education, Mama and Papa were the smartest parents in the world in my estimation.
In the thirties we lived in rural Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We lived mostly in the old family home on Blue Meadow Road. What a delightful place for young boys - woods everywhere - salt water fishing and crabbing and swimming - Jourdan
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