1967 brought Mother, Daddy and Sarah back to Bayou Chicot after eight and a half years. Very little had changed and yet turbulence was on the horizon.
Sarah started ninth grade that year in the building we had watched being built when we lived there previously. Because this is mostly her story, I am going to let her tell about these years.
"Moving back to Chicot meant I was able to renew those family ties I had formed years earlier while also making many new friends in high school. The Whittingtons became my second family again, taking me on vacation trips, and Mr. Delmont helped me write papers for school. Of course, Maw Maw Delia always had me an Easter dress just like her other granddaughters, Sherry, Darlene and Jennifer.
"During my first three years of high school, I played basketball earning All District awards. In '67 we won the District Championship and I was high scorer with 19 points. We also played in the State Championship tournament but lost. In grades nine, ten and eleven, I was selected for the All-District Team for Class B, which was quite an honor. Basketball was the biggest sport in our area schools, regardless of size and always drew large crowds.
"I was also involved in and held leadership positions in several organizations on campus, such as the yearbook staff, Future Homemakers of America and was a class officer. Other than basketball, one of the things I enjoyed most was band where I was First Chair Clarinet. For a small band, we were quite good.
"Moving into my senior year there was concern that our school would not open. It was 1969 and full integration was being enforced. As time approached, Daddy being a leader in the area and being a strong supporter for Equal Rights, asked me if I was comfortable going to school. I had attended school with Black students and had no problem; however, after two weeks, with uncertainty whether the school would remain open, and after much thought and discussion, it was decided I would move to Bastrop, LA with Libby and Dick. I was allowed to enter the 12th grade a couple weeks late.
"When the Chicot school ended up closing for a period of time, we knew this had been the right thing to do. This was a big decision for everyone and not just me. Dick and Libby not only had to learn to be first-time parents of a six-week old son, they gained a 17 year old as well. On my part, it was hard adjusting at first to all the changes. I went from a Class B school and a class of 22 to a senior class that numbered 318 and a 5A school. Neither did I know a soul. I elected to not try out for the band or girls basketball team, although I missed playing both.
"We also were going through integration at Bastrop High School, but there were no serious issues unlike what was happening in Chicot. We learned later that Daddy was being threatened because of the stand he and I had taken about attending school with Black students. The FBI had been observing and following him. At what point this was happening we do not know, but I was so very proud of my dad for taking a strong stand for what he thought was right.
"I made friends quickly both at school and at church. I even made my prom dress which I was proud of and graduated in the top ten of the class. The best part of living in Bastrop was being with family and loving baby John. Lib and I got the opportunity to get to know each other on a whole new level. For them, I will be eternally grateful."
Now, my side of the story: After much chaos the first two weeks of Sarah's senior year at Bayou Chicot, the family agreed that Sarah should move to Bastrop with us to finish her senior year. This was hard on her, but we enjoyed having her with us as our son John had been born in August and she was a tremendous help. I also enjoyed getting to know my little sister better, and that time created a bond we would have never otherwise shared. Besides, John loved her dearly.
After graduation, Sarah attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA and graduated with honors and a degree in Home Economics in 1973.
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In the meantime, Gin had met Thomas while working in Baton Rouge, and they were married in the Bayou Chicot parsonage in January 1970.
It was at NSU Sarah met her future husband and she and Gene were married in Calvary Baptist Church in Chicot in 1973, where her life had begun. After her wedding, she went on to get her Teaching Degree from Louisiana College in Pineville and taught for 33 years.
Being the gifted seamstress she was, she made her lovely wedding gown and used lace I brought her from a trip to Rome. She was a beautiful bride and nephew Eric and niece Christy were thrilled to be part of the wedding.
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| Sarah holding Christy, Mother with Eric and John - 1971 |
As the years passed, a generation of Lazenby grandchildren were introduced to Bayou Chicot and life in the country. Our children spent many visits and every Christmas with Papa and Larla and played in and among the same huge oak trees and woods where their parents had thrived as children.
Days: John & Christy (the only granddaughter)
Whittingtons: Eric & Doug
Bordelons: Chris, Matt & Ben
For several years, we girls made matching outfits to wear for family Christmas in Chicot. We never knew what Dad would come up with for a Christmas tree. One year, he found the best "Charley Brown" tree in the woods. Another year he made one out of wood with electrical lights wired into the frame. Another year he felt sorry for a straggly tree with few branches so he drilled holes in the trunk and stuck branches cut from other trees to fill it in. Another ugly tree rescued and given center stage.
Regardless of the tree, we always knew his traditional fruit salad would be waiting for us when we arrived, and both Mom and Dad would be standing in the door watching for us.
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| Lazenby Grandkids loved Chicot adventures like their mothers had - John, Christy, Eric & Doug |
During these years Mom and Dad remained very busy in the community and on an Associational and State-wide level within the Baptist denomination. Mother served as an officer with the Parish Home Demonstration Club, and was elected to serve as the State Woman's Missionary Union Secretary. In this role she made two trips to Glorieta, NM for WMU Week, and to the most southern parts of Louisiana to visit new church fields. They were both devoted to the people of Chicot and had someone in for coffee almost every morning. They became loving and devoted baby sitters for their busy daughters.
In 1976 Mother took all the devotional thoughts she had collected through the years and compiled them into a book for daily reading and meditation. She handwrote four copies, one for herself and one for each of us girls. It was our Christmas present that year. I still treasure this timeless gift of love. In 2013, when I could hardly read the writing anymore, I typed what mother had written, added some of my own and had it printed for my sisters and my two daughters. I feel sure I am the one who continues to be blessed by it most.
Dad started making furniture pieces, including toddler beds for his grandchildren. Other pieces both Gin and Sarah still have and have passed on to their grandchildren. He learned to do beautiful works of art with pieces of various kinds of wood he found; varieties were plentiful. His friend Dudley Johnson had a sawmill and saved special pieces of wood for Daddy. These treasured items are scattered throughout the family and two pieces even decorate my great grandson's nursery.
In 1987, Daddy retired and was recognized for his 28 years of total dedication to the people of Bayou Chicot, and 48 years of full-time service and given the recognition of "Pastor Emeritus." During those years he had not only served as dedicated pastor and friend, community leader, and a respected leader in the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving on the State Executive Board, but counselor and mentor to many. Their greatest accomplishments though were seeing lives changed when they came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
In one of the local papers, "Chicot Chatter" Contributor, Susan Griffith wrote the following:
"Recently, the community of Bayou Chicot paid tribute to two of the most influential people of the area.
"Why? Because Porter and Laura Lazenby have stood by as many as five generations of area families through thick and thin, good and bad, for over twenty-eight years, as Pastor and pastor's wife of Calvary Baptist Church.
"Porter has retired from his ministry in this area. The Lazenbys reflect on the many rich memories of which they are fond, some being the marriages, births and baptisms of the many grandchildren, children, parents and grandparents of Bayou Chicot. They recall how close their own children grew to the members of the church. Being a small community, established for many years, many members are related. Most of the elders were referred to as Aunt this and Uncle that, by all the younger members of the church, even when seen at grocery stores and school functions. The Lazenby children had more aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas than any other kids around. Even though there was no blood kin in the area, they accepted others as their own."
It was upon retirement that Mother and Daddy owned their first ever home. They never considered living anywhere else other than Chicot. The Lord provided a piece of property that already had a mobile home set up behind the parsonage and they added on an addition. They could not have been more proud of their own place. Dad had the most beautiful garden, rows of Muscadine vines, and blueberry bushes, but God was not finished with this country preacher or his wife.
When Mother was asked what her plans for the future were, she replied, "It is the pastor who has retired, not me." And that was our mother.
The First Baptist Church of Châtaignier, La.(pronounced Sha-tan-ya) soon called Dad to serve as interim pastor. After making that trip every week for about a year, he suggested it was time for them to find a full-time pastor. The chairman of the pulpit committee replied that they had, and it was him. Shortly thereafter, he and mother moved into the parsonage on the Southernmost tip of Evangeline Parish. These were perhaps some of the sweetest years of their ministry. They went back to enjoy their own home every week and to visit with their Chicot family.
Daddy also served the area as a Hospice Chaplain and on the Board of the Acadia Baptist Academy. He was soon a friend to the French-speaking Cajuns in this small community and greatly respected. With many of them who spoke no English, a nod, smile and handshake spoke volumes.
Mother continued serving on the State WMU Executive Board as Secretary, This was her heart. She wrote material and taught children's Sunday School classes, she corresponded with missionaries, had them in their home, and faithfully prayed for them daily. But most of all, she dearly loved and supported her preacher husband and the people God had called them to serve.
Dad was a dreamer. He always had a plan, a desire to do more. Sometimes this was frustrating to Mother, but Dad would say, "When a man quits dreaming, he becomes old quickly." In that respect, our father never got old.
One of the greatest joys and memories for Dick and me was taking Mom and Dad on a two-week trip to Colorado and Glorieta N.M for Music Week. Dad had never been further than Arkansas and this was a trip of a life-time for him. And for us!
One of his dreams had been to climb a mountain. Even with terrible knees, using his walking cane, he did it. We will never forget watching him climb knowing what a thrill that was for him. If not painful. It was when we could barely see him and at Mother's urging, Dick and I joined him. We continued to explore until he was ready to go back down. Climbing that mountain and finding treasures in the woods was another dream that came true. He never tired of seeing new vistas and sights.
While in Chataignier, Mother and Daddy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov 24, 1993.
What a glorious time of celebration not only for our family, but for a host of family and friends who made the trip to love on two of the most lovable and giving people they knew.
On January 18, 1994 Daddy died at the age of 75, following an otherwise ordinary surgery and was buried in the Chataignier church cemetery. Mother sold their place and moved into an apartment in Bastrop, La where Dick and I lived at the time. We had not lived close to each other, so these years were such a sweet blessing to us all. She made new friends and continued to be very involved in WMU, though not on the scale she had always enjoyed among "the heathens" of South Louisiana.
In 2002, Dick and I moved to Shreveport and took Mother with us. Her greatest thrill during these last years was being able to spend time living closer to some of her great grandchildren. Even though they had not been blessed to know their Papa, these children knew and were loved by their Larla.
On July 28, 2005, Mother joined Daddy in heaven at 86, and was buried beside him in Chataignier. Theirs was a true love story in every respect. For 50 years they shared life and ministry, supported and respected each other unconditionally, and set an example for generations to come. Dad never failed to bring a twig, a flower, a feather, whatever he found, to show Mother his deep love for her almost daily.
Someone wrote that "There is something inherently transcendent about relationships and the magical way they elevate us from our material drudgery, if we let them." However, I think Henry David Thoreau perhaps best described our parent's strong individual characters that together created a uniquely strong relationship.
“Two sturdy oaks I mean,
which side by side,
Withstand the
winter's storm,
And spite of wind
and tide,
Grow up the
meadow's pride,
For both are
strong.
Above they barely touch,
but undermined
Down to their deepest
source...
Admiring you shall find
Their roots are
intertwined
Insep'rably."
Our parents left a legacy from the far Northern-most part of Louisiana to the South-Central part of the state, and only God knows how far beyond that. We do know of the impact they had and continue to have in the lives of their three daughters, sons-in-law, and their eight grandchildren. It is our prayer that they never be forgotten and that their legacy continues now to the 5th generation. We will always miss our "Gentle Giant" and his special lady of great wisdom and our prayer warrior.
These are our treasured memories. Thank you Mom and Dad
Following Dad's death, Sarah invited people with whom Dad served, current and former church members, friends and family to write what he had meant to them and send it back to her. She compiled these many letters into a book that each of us treasures. It will always be a reminder that none of us live in isolation, but our lives are like ripples in a stream; only God knows how far-reaching and to what extent our influence will have on others.
Truly, those who came behind them, have found them faithful!
A few years ago most of the Lazenby grands and greats gathered for a reunion. We all agreed Papa and Larla would have loved being there and would be exceedingly proud of the lives they left behind.
The purpose of writing this story is that we do not forget. I want those who come behind to know who we were, and what it was like to grow up in rural Evangeline Parish in the 50's and 60's with parents like Porter and Laura Lazenby. I've told our story by sharing very candidly experiences of our family. I'm answering questions our descendants will not know to ask.
You will learn about the rich history that helped form the character of our Chicot family of Calvary Baptist Church and Bayou Chicot in the next three Monday morning posts.
Amazing.
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