By Staff
Senior Living
(This week The Atmore Advance spotlights Louise Day. She is 80-years-old. )
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Uriah on April 5, 1926 at our family home.
A midwife was there to assist with my delivery. I don't remember anything about the house other than where it was located.
Q: Who were your parents?
A: My daddy was Claude W. Watford from Uriah. He worked in public work and then started farming later in life.
My mother, Recie A. Gulsby Watford, was from Jedo, which is on the other side of Uriah.
Q: Did you have any brothers or sisters?
A: The first three children my mother had, all boys, either died at birth or within a couple of days of being born.
After that she gave birth to six children – four girls and two boys.
My oldest sister, Elizabeth Mills is no longer living and my next to the oldest sister, Genise Franklin, lives here in Atmore. Then one of my brothers, Carl W. Watford, is also deceased.
I was the next in line – the fourth out of six children. My younger sister, Kathryn Stanley lives here in Atmore and my youngest brother, the baby of the family, James Watford, lives in Bay Minette.
Q: Where did you attend high school and college?
A: I went to elementary school in Uriah from the first to sixth grade.
I had a lot of good friends at school and enjoyed going.
My family moved to Huxford after that and I went to school at McCullough where I graduated in either 1945 or 1946.
My favorite subject in high school was English. I had a lot of friends at McCullough as well and was involved in a lot of school activities.
After graduating from high school, my family moved to Atmore. My daddy had quit farming due to being disabled and went to a business college in Atmore for six months.
Q: How did you travel when you were younger?
A: We walked to school most of the time. It was a good two to three mile walk one way.
When I was in the third or fourth grade we were able to start riding a bus to school every day.
The first memory I have of how our family traveled was with a horse and wagon.
We went to town every Saturday on the wagon to get groceries and if it was a good week we got a quarter to buy an ice cream cone or even enough cloth to make a new dress.
My daddy did get a car when I was about 12 or 13 though.
I bought my first car when I was living in Atmore and working at Swift Lumber. It was a 1935 Plymouth Coupe. I bought it from an individual for about $250.
Q: What jobs did you hold?
A: Right after high school, when we first moved to Atmore, I went to work in the office at Swift-Hunter Lumber Company.
A short time after working there, I quit to attend the business college in town.
Once I graduated from there, G.R. Swift helped me to get a job at First National Bank in the bookkeeping department.
I didn't stay there too long because it was not the kind of work I like to do.
So, I left there and went to work at Graham-Brooks Grocery Company on Trammel Street.
It was a wholesale grocery company and I helped customers as they came in to purchase their groceries.
I worked there long enough to get pregnant and quit to have the baby.
After having all my children, I went to work with the City of Atmore in 1957 assisting the city clerk.
I retired from there in 1998 after 32 years. I started in 1957 working under the clerk, Mr. Roland, then Marshall Robinson and Howard House.
After they all left, I was named as the city clerk, where I remained until I retired.
During my years there I worked with several different mayors – Hub Deese, Oris Davis – in two separate terms, Tom Byrne, Patricia McKenzie and Howard Shell.
I thoroughly enjoyed my job at the city. I just have so many wonderful memories from working there. I miss the people more than anything when you leave a job like that.
Q: Did you ever marry?
A: I married Joel Day from Huxford.
One Saturday, my sister Kathryn and I went to visit a friend in Huxford. We were sitting outside and this car loaded with boys came along and Joel happened to be in it. They stopped and started talking to us and that is where it all started.
We started dating and dated for six months before we married on July 5, 1947. 60 years together-I never thought I would stay with him that long!
Q: Do you have any children or grandchildren?
A: We have three children – one daughter, Sybil who lives in Fairhope and two sons, Sammy and Randy who live in Atmore.
We have four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
All of our grandchildren live here except for the two in Fairhope.
Q: Where do you attend church?
A: I have gone to Brooks Memorial Baptist Church since I was two or three years old. We go to Sunday School and church there.
Q: What keeps you busy these days?
A: My husband and I are involved in the VFW and we do a lot of yard work, weather permitting. And I cook. Every Sunday when we get in from church I cook lunch and the kids start drifting in with their families and we ask them if they want to eat, and they usually do. We love it.
Our daughter, Sybil comes up often to visit and we do whatever we can to help out with our children and grandchildren.
Then almost everyday we come to the Atmore S.A.I.L. Center for lunch. Which I tell them that I don't come for the food, I come for the fellowship.
Q: Have you traveled much?
A: .We have done a lot of traveling. We always went on family vacations when our children were growing up.
And then for a long time we went every year to a reunion of Joel's army buddies, the 265th Field Artillery in different states.
Q: What's your favorite television show?
A: I like Sanford and Son, but it doesn't come on until 10:30 at night and I have a hard time staying awake for it. I like to watch the news and weather as well.
Q: What advice do you give to people on staying healthy?
A: I would just say to not drink or smoke and work hard.
Do what you can to help your children and grandchildren out. Family is important and we are a close-knit family.
(If you would like to recommend a senior to be spotlighted please contact Adrienne McKenzie at 368-2123 or e-mail her at lifestyles@atmoreadvance. com))