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In 193^. the night our cousin Philip Pence was christened, the "house by the pump? burned to the ground.The fire was caused by a faulty Public Service transformer for the pumping station so we were compensated for our total loss of property. Fortunately Daddy had begun construction of the Weber Avenue house but we were forced to move in before it was completed. I remember Mama and Daddy picking me up at school in our brand new, shiny 1935 Plymouth sedan which had cost every bit of $500.00 of the insurance pay-off.
The Weber Avenue house had only two bedrooms so our Grandmother mov&d to Bay St. Louis with Aunt Lucie (Narman) and Uncle Van Whitfield. % memories of Mama in this house are mostly of visiting relatives in Bay St. Louis and Mobile and going to New Orleans for lunch, a movie, and shopping. It was great fun meeting Teen and Mama's friends Hilda Villere, Alice Sinmons, and Madge Kelly under the clock at Holmes.
I would watch while Mama cooked and still remember mar$ little hints she taught me. We had lived in this house only a short time when Mama died. Uncle Van and Nannan moved in to care for us until Daddy and Teen married. Teen was my aunt, Godmother, and Stepmother. We got along well and I loved her but I could never accept her as a	Mother. I think I	always
introduced her as try aunt. I think she	understood...
For many years after Mama's death family and friends would always remark of rny astonishing resemblance to Mama. I haven't heard this for about 25 years now. I guess no one could visualize what she would have looked like had she lived beyond 39'*
"i REMEMBER OTHER RELATIVES
Throughout highschool and college	I concentrated	on studies	and my	own	circle	of
friends (typical teenager) and rarely	visited family	members with Teen	and	Daddy.	After
completing my internship I moved to Mobile to open a medical laboratory and lived for a short while with Aunt Til and Uncle Albert. When Jay and I became er^aged they were not supportive so I moved to the attic apartment above Nannan and Uncle Van and Jay and I lived there for a few months after we were married before moving back to New Orleans. IDach night we were there we played 500 with the Whitfields and still remember the fun in going to the restaurant they and Uncle Martin had at the Alcoa Aluminum Plant.
When Daddy was building the radio station in Mobile during the 1930's he stayed at Mrs. Barns' home in Pritchard. Mama, Andre, and I would visit by riding the LAN there. I can still smell the sweet peas in the ^rden as we would swing in the late evening. I would love to visit Uncle Albert's cigar store and have loving memories of Aunt Lil's nephew, Jinny Adler who was so tradgically killed in a plane crash while returning home from WWII.
I didn't meet Aunt Edna until I was about 12 years old because she had lived in Cuba. But, we were very fortunate to have her stay with us to care for Mark and Shelley from 1955 - 60 while I ran the laboratory for a neignborhood medical center. Shelley Idolized "Nenna" who made some of the loveliest costumes and Barbie doll clothes. She had so many wonderful stories to tell of her life experiences. She was a wonderful cook and could make more interesting dishes with ground meat than you could ever find in any cookbook.
It was only on rare occasions that I saw Bouy and Mary, Zief and Alice, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Margie and their families during these years. I still remember the terrible pain of having to confirm Aunt Margie's original diagnosis of leukemia. She wouldn't believe it until I had done her blood count.
Daddy had always fondly said that Pence was so crazy because he had electricity running through his head al 1 day at work with his earphones. Maybe this is true. He did do some crazy things but we 1 loved him and his craziness. Remember the time he set fire to the pampas grass in the livingroom? One time though he locked me and Andre in our playhouse and pretended he was ore of the gypsies who were camped in the area who were known to kidnap little children. I have never been that scared since!


Blanchards of BSL 017
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