Life Story of Lou Anna Campbell Manning

This is the life story of Lou Anna Campbell Manning, as written in her own words:

Lou Anna Campbell was born January 6, 1893 on a farm near Glasgow, Ky to Isaac Newton Campbell and Belle Marie Wooten Campbell.  My Civil War veteran father was much older than my crippled mother, so we always lived near my grandparents, Thomas and Sarah Wooten.   When my grandfather and five sons contracted to clear a half section of virgin soil of its forest, the two families moved to Dycusberg in Crittenden County, KY in 1898.  This section of forested land belonged to an elderly man, who owned everything on the land; the village store, church (Baptist), as well as the school.  Uncle Sam Dycus as he was called.

My grandfather and uncles built big log cabins for each family, except for my father.   We lived with my grandparents as did a grown grandson.   Everything went well with each family for more than a year; gardens were planted, herbs from the forest were gathered, maple sugar and syrup was made from the sap of the great maple trees, and wild bees' homes were robbed of thier honey.   Grandmother, who was of the Indian culture, knew all the herbs and wild greens for food, and hogs, chickens and wild animals furnished the meat.

The second winter was very cold; school was too distant for children to attend and it lasted for only six months.  As there was no law to demand that children must attend, we children learned mostly just what our mothers' could teach, ABC's and how to put them together to make words and, of course, to count to 100.

 This second winter brought much cold weather but my father thought he needed to work and did, but contracted pneumonia and died that January.  His death left mother and her four girls to the care of her mother's family - which they willingly accepted and we lived in the home of our grandparents for some time.  My mother worked at whatever task she could comfortably perform, such as sewing, nursing, housekeeping, and finally was able to run a machine in a thread and cotton rope factory after our grandparents moved to Paducah, the larger city in far western Ky.   It was at this city that we lived only a few blocks from a small Methodist church and at 9 years of age, I was sprinkled and said to be a Methodist.

It was not very long before the children of my neighborhood experienced the loss of our oak tree shaded pay area just across the street from grandparents home at 1334 Burnett St.  One day we saw men hauling in what seemed to be building material and tools for construction work of some kind and on the next day a group of men begun to break the earth, digging an area for the basement of a large building.  Soon red brick began to arrive.  The brick masons and workers finished in about six months a beautiful red brick home with many large and small rooms; a beautiful home , well furnished inside and outside.  By the time it was finished, we had learned from the workmen that it was a home for disadvantaged children.  Looking at this home from across the street, we often said to each other, my sisters and me, that we would love to live in this beautiful roomy house with its beautiful oak shade in the large yards, both front and back.  We began to think of ourselves as disadvantaged children for the neighborhood children were not allowed to play across the street from our home any more.

The winter of 1903 was not very pleasant for my sisters and me as our mother fell down the steps of the building where she was working and was not able to work there any more.  Our grandmother was diabetic and often ill too and our aunts and uncles would often have us visit them to stay as long as we wanted to or as they wanted us to.

Spring came though and we were all back at our grandparents, but Mother had found work with an orchardist family near Unionville, Illinois.  She had to leave us with our grandparents which really made us think more convincingly that we were disadvantaged children and would love to live in the big red brick home where there was much room to play in both yard and house.  Just before Mother left to go to Illinois, one morning about 10 o'clock, a man driving a covered wagon drawn by two beautiful sorrel horses stopped in front of grandfather's home, got out and came to the front porch where I was playing and asked, "My dear, do you live here, and may I see your mother?"  Grandmother came to the door about this time, saying her mother isn't home today, she is at work a few blocks away and what do you want to see her for?  The gentleman answered, "your neighbor told me a small girl lived here whom I might get to go home with me as a companion to the six year old daughter who will start to school this fall.  She also needs a play companion for the summer.

Grandmother readily answered, I can't answer that question.  You will have to see her mother who is at work about six blocks away.  He said, I'll do that if you will direct me and if she wants to go.  I readily consented to take this trip in this covered wagon drawn by two beautiful horses so he saw my mother and she consented to let me have this experience, as I often took trips alone to visit uncles and aunts as they thought they were helping Mother with her fatherless daughters.   This trip was very pleasant behind these nice horses and the friendly gentleman telling me all about the six year old daughter and the wife who was expecting an addition to the family in September which was just six months away.   One thing he discussed  was school; a two teacher school about two blocks from the home and that his daughter and I would go there every day it was in session for six months, and that in this small country village where he owned and operated a country general store, I would find many friends my age, which I did.  We
arrived there late afternoon and the mother, Mrs. Walton, and Hattie, were a bit surprised to find a 10 year old visitor with the father but happily received me.  On March 10, 1903, I became a visitor in the Walton home which matured into my becoming a foster daughter and the first great blessing of my life. 

Several months before I returned to visit my mother, for in these months she had forgotten the man's name who had taken me for this visit.  In these months she became so concerned about me that she could not do her work very well and when questioned about it by her employer, Mr. R. Byrd Leeper, of Unionville, Ill., she told him she had a "lost" ten year old daughter and she did not know how to go about finding her as she had forgotten the man's name who took her to visit in his home at Briensburg, KY.  Mr. Leeper, being a prominent retired teacher, as well as fruit farmer, said "you should have told me about his before now.  I'll write a letter to the postmaster at Briensburg, KY" which he did. As the postmaster in this small village was Mr. Walton's brother-in-law, my mother got the information she so desired and also got her "lost" daughter back.  But, not for long, as I was willing and happy to return to the Walton's home and continue my schooling, for by now my grandmother had passed away and two of my sisters had become inmates at the Friendly Home for Children, the big red brick home just across the street from my grandparents and the place I saw and longed to enjoy.

The Waltons babe arrived in September on the last day of the month and was named Gola Lee, and she never knew that I was not her sister until she was about seven years old.  One of her school friends informed her, but Gola quickly informed her friend that she knew she was and though she is now seventy-eight, she still thinks of me and loves me as though I were.

In February, 1911, my school days were over, I finished teaching the last two weeks of the term as the teacher lived four miles away and had to walk to school.  The weather became very disagreeable and instead of a student I became a teacher for ten days.  The first of January of this same year, my first training to teach in the school system of Marshall County, Ky., the county seat.  Mr. Walton had mentioned for me to be ready to take the County Teacher's test to be eligible to do this, so I was sent to Benton, enrolled in the student's class who were to prepare for this test.

Mr. Brent Cox was the teacher and the test was to be given the last day of June.  For six months we were intensively coached so as to make a first class certificate and each student's goal was to do that.  I did so, and was qualified to teach four years in the County schools.

The first Monday in September, 1911 at Palma, Ky in Marshall Co., KY, Miss Ruby Little was the principal and I taught the first to 2nd grade.  I taught there for three years, which was the first experience for me.  I enjoyed my work there, but the school board decided as Miss Ruby was getting married, to hire a man and wife to teach.   So, I opened school in a one teacher system at Lone Valley, Ky in the same area.  But, one teacher schools did not satisfy my concept of teaching - too many grades and not enough time to be an efficient teacher. 

The first Monday of September, 1914, I opened school in Lone Valley, Marshall Co., KY with work to end the latter part of February, 1915.  This was my fourth year to teach and I must go back to Teacher's Normal at Benton in February to prepare for testing the first of June.  But, this time I chose to go to Hardin, Ky in SW Marshall Co., where Mr. Will Chumm was principal of high school and also the Teacher's Normal Training School was to be held.

The first of February, I went to Hardin and my gentleman's friend's cousin, Mr. Elhelder Pace and wife boarded me for the time I had to be in school.

I became a Christian at fourteen years of age, and always lived up to vows as one, so every place I went to school or taught, the community as well as the people of my own faith respected my faith as well as my teaching and I enjoyed all aspects of my life in each community.  At the close of this year, while training at Hardin, I found myself with a new gentleman friend several years older than me, but also a teacher and brother of one of my friends.  He was teaching as principal of Big Sandy, Tenn High School and often came to spend the weekend and holidays with his sister's family who lived in Hardin and worshipped at the same place that I did and often taught the Bible Class of which I was a member.

He was a widower, with a daughter 15 and a son 11 who lived with their grandparents in Batesville, Arkansas.  This pleasant dispositioned gentleman was spoken of as "Uncle Charley" by many of the younger people in the church and school, while most of the older people spoke of him as Prof. Manning.  I belonged to the younger group as Prof. Manning had many nieces and nephews who called him  "Uncle Charley" and I did too. 

This training class ended for me when they had the high school graduation but Mr. Chumm had to be away from the city until time for the exercise to begin.  He had asked me to go to the school building to inspect things to be sure they were in readiness for the event as he might be a bit late.  He did not tell me that Prof. Manning was to deliver the main address of the evening.  So at 7:30 I went to the school building and was quite surprised to find that Prof. Manning had come too, knowing that Mr. Chumm might be a few minutes late.   When I asked him "what are you doing here", he laughed and said "same thing that you are, I'm sure.   Also, I have been longing to have some private words with you, as I've only talked with you at church or when others are near, so now is my chance.  Mae, my sister, and I always go fishing on the first day of May.  Would you like to go?  I surprised myself by saying, If Mae is going, I'll be happy to go along.   But, Monday was the first day of May and it rained all day and no one went fishing. 

My boarding home had an old-fashioned front porch with a swing and in the afternoon, Aunt Manny and I would occupy the swing and look at what went on in our street, as it was at the end of the main street of the village.  On this afternoon, about four pm, the main person we could see was Prof. Manning coming our way.  She smiled and said, "I'm thinking he is coming through our gate to have a rest on my porch.  What do you think? And, he did just what she predicted.  She soon found an excuse to go in and left me to entertain Prof. Manning which was the beginning of many visits on the Pace's front porch and swing.

As the Pace's had suggested that I live with them the remaining time of summer vacation, I was happy to do this as the Walton family had moved to Akron, Ohio. 

 In Sept, 1915, I was to continue my teaching of the third, fourth and fifth grades but Prof. Manning had contracted to become organizer and principal of the new high school at Pilot Oak in Southwest Graves County, Ky which was too far from Hardin, Ky for him to make frequent visits to his sister's home and I thought that the friendship with "Uncle Charley" would end as suddenly as it had begun.   But, I was mistaken, for by the time he had Pilot Oak School well on the way to being a well organized school, I received a well written ten page letter from its principal saying how pleased and happy he was to be called to his Christian community to work at his profession and that there was only one thing lacking; he missed our short visits on the Pace's front porch and hoped I would consent to answer this letter, which I did.  It became a daily visit on his part by way of the U. S. Postmaster.

Thanksgiving vacation came and so did "Uncle Charley".  By the time this visit ended, I was as anxious for Christmas vacation to arrive as he seemed to be and before December 20 had come, we had decided that we would be happy to become co-workers in building a home and family as well as being co-workers in the teaching profession.  On Dec. 24, 1916 at five o'clock in the the afternoon, Bro. John White of our faith said the ceremony that let two Christian people become one, at the home of Bro and Sister Etheldar Pace in Hardin, Ky.

When Christmas vacation was over, Prof. Manning returned to his school in Graves County and I continued to fill my contract at Hardin, KY as it was for only six months.  It ended the first of February and I was happy to become a citizen of Graves County with my new husband.

Our next vacation was spent at Mayfield, Ky and our first years teaching in the same system was at Arlington, Ky in Carlisle County during the school year of 1917-1918.  Here our first child, a son, C. L. Manning, Jr. was born on April 18, 1918. 

War was in progress and we decided to try for a larger school and more salary so we went to Morgantown, Butler Co., KY. for the first year of the war and the great epidemic of influenza.   Many people were victims in that community and we lived there from August 1918 to July 1920.  We then decided to go back to West Ky near our families, as our family was growing as we so desired.  Prof. Manning was 46 and I was 27 becoming a mother again on July 28 when our second son, James Edwin, arrived.  We vacationed in Mayfield, and while there a friend wanted Mr. Manning to come to Hazel, a small town on Tenn and Ky state line in south Calloway county.  They needed a principal who could and would discipline some of the older boys who were destroying the building and their principals too.  So the first of August, 1920, we found a home in this small Kentucky village and the boys were disciplined.   Then we went back to Graves County, Lowes, Ky who also needed a disciplinarian for some boys.  We lived happily here for four years and William Lewellyn joined the family group on Oct. 14, 1922.   We had hoped for a daughter to complete the family group, but were happy to welcome another son.

Prof. Manning's college degree begun to be questioned by the Certification Dept. of the Ky. Dept. of Education as he had graduated from Dickson, Tenn college in 1894, but a fire destroyed the buildings and all records.  He had not been able to bring his certification uptodate, which made it difficult to be accepted in the higher classified schools in Ky. 

In August, 1925 he accepted a position in a small highschool in Gates, Tenn, and in this same year at this place, the daughter we had hoped for joined our family on January 23.  Her father named her Charline and we thought our family was complete, three sons and one daughter in nine years.

Being Kentuckians, we were not too happy in Tenn, so back to Ky we went.  The same problems of certification remained and Mr. Manning decided he would become a salesman for Able Motor Company of Paducah, but time proved that this was not his talent or even preference and after much planning and discussion, we decided to move to Murray, Ky.  There, Prof. Manning would enter Western Ky State Teacher's College to update his teaching certification, which it allowed him to do in one year.  He returned to the school room in Sept. of 1927 and followed this beloved profession for eight more years.

On June 14, 1935, another daughter came to let Charline say she had a sister and we named her Martha Mae.  In 1935, Kentucky was to elect a new governor.  Happy Chandler was the Democratic candidate.  Robert Humphrey of Mayfield was Chairman of the campaign in Graves Co and wanted two men to help him campaign.  He selected Prof. Manning and Walter Cleaver to the position and promised each of them work in his department if Mr. Chandler was elected.  He became governor and Mr. Humphrey kept his promise and Prof. Manning worked for the Kentucky Highway Dept for eight years.

December 7, 1941, Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbor, which caused a declaration of war and a disruption of the life of the nation.

Our three sons were eligible for service.  C.L. was in medical school in Memphis.  He was accepted into the Navy and permitted to remain there until he graduated in 1945.  He asked for orthopedic surgery and was sent to the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md for his graduate training and four more years in the Navy at Pensacola and Key West Fla. He returned to Clarksdale, Ms and practiced medicine but passed away at the age of 45 in 1963.  His passing was a great tragedy for the family as he was the elder male Manning.  He left wife, Merle, son, Charles Lee and two daughters, Jean and Edna Lou.

James Edwin finished high school at 18 and went to Murray State for one semester, but decided he would to to Clarksdale where his brother was working for Continental Baking Co.  Before the end of the year, he was married to Wilmary Dickey, who worked as secretary in the office of the same company.  When the war began, this son joined the  Army Air Corps and was sent to Brooks Field near San Antonio, Tx.  He had two children, Mary Anna and Jimmy.  After being discharged, he owned and operated a furniture store in Clarksdale, Ms for several years and then a moving and storage company. 

In December, 1943, we moved to Bryan, Texas to live with our son, Billy and his wife, Bernice, in a new home they had purchased.  Charline had come earlier and was also living with them.  Bill enrolled at A&M in premed but stayed for only one semester as he decided finances and family was too much for him to take time to finish a medical degree.  He tried several attempts at adjusting to private life, lost his health to some degree, and moved his family to New Braunfels where the three daughters finished high school. Bill's wife, Bernice, passed away there.  His daughters married and live there with their families.

 Martha finished high school at Bryan and married Ray Pippin, a local boy.  She had two sons and two daughters and lives in Olathe, Kansas and has lived there for several years. 

In 1951, having been a widow for three years and living with my older daughter, Charline, for Martha to finish high school, I was surprised one day to receive a letter from my home state, Ky, and more surprised when I read its message.  The message asked me to come to Paducah and accept the position of administrator of the Friendly Home for Children.  On March 1, I arrived in my beloved Kentucky, succeeding Mrs. Vonie Young, who had held the position of Administrator for twenty-one years.  I had known her while living at Lowes, KY in 1921. For three years, I enjoyed the work at the Friendly Home from 1951 to 1954, but family called me back to Bryan to help care for three little ones of Martha.  When Ray, Martha's husband, finished college at the University of Houston, I went back to Paducah as the Friendly Home was badly in need of a new manager.  I became a managing resident of this children's home again in 1959 until 1966, and left again as my family pleaded for me to return to Texas as we had lost their older brother, Dr. Manning in Oct. of 1963.  Since April of 1966, I have made my home in Bryan, Texas with my older daughter, Charline and her husband, Dan Dandurant.  In the spring, I take a trip visiting my family, my foster sister in Paducah, and my youngest daughter, Martha and her family, in Olathe, Ks.  In the fall I return to Bryan and enjoy reading, sewing, and keeping in touch with all my family and Kentucky friends by correspondence.  On this day, Friday, January 11, after my 92nd birthday on January 6, I must begin to finish this history of my experience that has produced what I am today. 

My years have passed with much pleasure in my being able to live where I wanted to with either of my daughters or sons.  As my dear husband's body is in Bryan City Cemetary, that is where I will be so.  I regard Bryan as my home.  I have attended church here for many years and have many Christian friends.  

