by Cumi (Lora's daughter)

"Recently, I read two articles in The News-Herald, written by Marlene Womack, concerning Governor Sidney J. Catts. I remember some years ago, a man on the radio (I believe it was) would talk about Gov. Catts every week, one or two times. I wanted to give him my experience with Mr. Catts, but he died suddenly one night so I didn't get to give him my story.

I have wanted to tell my story and haven't gotten a chance until now. I was born Feb. 28, 1919, in Bonifay to Walter and Lora Andrews. There were six of us children and I was the oldest. 

My story began back during the "great depression."  Young people today don't know the meaning of the 'great depression' for in this world of plenty we now live in, young people can't imagine a time when people were hungry and in need of food.

My daddy worked hard to keep food on our table. There were not many jobs back then so my dad made himself a job. He cut and sold fence posts and he would sit by the hour with a "froe" (a lot of people don't know what a froe is. I still have my dad's old froe) splitting blocks of cedar wood to make shingles. After he split the cedar blocks of wood, he would sit all day on a 'draw horse" with a drawing knife and "rive" shingles by the hundreds and tie them up in bundles. There were so many shingles to each bundle and he would sell them to people for "tops" on the houses they were living in. So, my family got along better than a lot of people during the depression period.

My mother always helped daddy, and she was quite thrifty with money. I've seen her take a dozen eggs to town and sell them for a quarter and buy two yards of material to make one dress. You could buy material for ten cents a yard and two yards was all she needed to make one of us girls a dress. Lots of food was rationed back then, such as sugar, you could only buy two or three pounds at a time and I still have a couple of the old "sugar ration books" we used.

I don't really know how my dad came to know Gov. Catts, but he hired my dad to farm for him. Catts moved us to DeFuniak Springs one evening in an old model T Ford pickup truck. We all climbed in and up on top of the beds and my mother's baby sister, Malzie, who lived with us, came with us to DeFuniak Springs so we loaded down. It took us all night to get to DeFuniak Springs because we had to drive so slow with our big load.

The governor sent a man to drive the truck we were loaded on and had to drive slow. We got into DeFuniak Springs the next morning about daybreak and the driver took us straight to Gov. Catts' mansion. We got off and went into the mansion. Catts' maid cooked breakfast for all of us there. I'll never forget what she fixed - pancakes. I had never eaten pancakes before. After breakfast, we loaded up again and drove north down the old Glendale Road out to the farm. We didn't make much farming that "old sand bed." The farm was so sandy that most of the things we planted could hardly grow. This was during the great depression, about 1929, and I was about ten years old.

Late in the evening, Gov. Catts would have his chauffeur, Needium Cumbie, drive him out to the farm, but they never got out of the car. His chauffeur was a short hunched-back guy; his back almost bent slam over.

Needium drove Gov. Catts everywhere he went, but as I said, they came out to the farm and always parked in the "gate yard," just outside the front gate under the great oak trees. My sisters and my brother would play out there in the yard when they would come and Mr. Catts always wanted me to sing. I would stand on the running board of his car and sing and sing for him.

I would just sing on and on and he would just sit there in the car and listen. When I got through singing, he would give me 15 or 20 cents. I almost felt like I was rich and believe it or not, that much money back then would buy several different things...much more than two or three dollars will buy today.

Everything has changed so much now. People have died, and sometimes I think of something I would like to ask someone about. Then, I try to think of someone to ask and there's no one.

Most everyone has died, not many people are living today who grew up with me. I think of the great Billy Graham and the great Oral Roberts, who were both 84 years old this year. People celebrated their birthdays, calling into TBN, thanking each one of them for the great things they had done for God during their lifetime on earth.

I was born during the same year they were born - 1919 - and I haven't accomplished the great things they have but I've lived for God ever since I was 19 years old. I was saved on Friday evening, June 18, 1938. I taught Sunday school for close to 40 years. I taught junior highs for 39 years and senior adults a long time. I still pray for the many children I taught during those 40 years. I'm now retired at last and just looking for Jesus' return which I believe will be soon."

Cumi