seeking names and comments from people who once lived at Rochelle
We are currently seeking names and comments from people who once lived at Rochelle. Thie saw mill town was once located on the MOP railroad near Georgetown, LA., about 40 miles north of Alexandria, LA and 60 miles south of Monroe, LA. The mille closed in 1945 and reopened at Joyce ,La., near Winnfield, LA.
Hi – I have never lived in Rochelle but remember the town well, having
been born and raised in Urania. But my reason for writing is that I have
downloaded most, if not all the names of members of Little River Masonic
Lodge andthe Royal Arch Chapter there. A lot of biological information is contained.
Write me and let’s see if you can use any of the infoprmation.
E. Forrest Cook efcook71480@yahoo.com
Hi Joe: In your article about Son evans, JD Laseon was the cab driver that was hit by the train.
My brother Jr. Griffin was asked to ride with them But was busy , the drove to the crossing and
was Killed. I hope this helps to sat the records straight.
Lyndal Griffin contact me at cajunjim1@ yahoo.com
my greatgrandmother was Granny Carter the postmaster at Rochelle.I have the type writer she used at the Rochelle post office.I would like to know more about her if anyone knows
I was born in Rochelle in 1930. My dad (Wim Tooke) was a a bookkeeper for Tremont Lumber Co. and worked in the General(?) office. We moved from Rochelle to Jena in about 1939 or 1940. We lived in a house on the street where the Catholic Church was on the corner. Some of our neighors on the street were: the Giteaus(?sp) and their grand-daughter, Pat, the Letsons (he was manager at the office), Vera and Lawrence(I may have never known their last name–at that time friends of our parents were just called, “Miss Vera†or “Mr. Lawrenceâ€, etc.) For a period of time, Mr. Lawrence would sing on a radio station in Alexandria on Sunday afternoons. Also, there was a time when my aunt, Hazel Butler, who lived in Jena would whistle on the radio station. Other neighbors were the W. E. Moores, the Abels (Mrs. Abel was my fourth grade teacher), and I remember there were two Moss families (father and son). Later Fred
Neal lived on the same block. One of my classmates, Fred
Downs and his family lived at the corner and another,
Earl Killingsworth and his family lived nearby.
Killingsworth’s family lived near the corner.
My Father in Law grew up in Rochelle. His Father worked at the saw mill. I have been trying to gather as many photos of the mill as I can for him. He is now in his early 80’s and lives in Hodge, LA
My Father was born in Rochelle on June, 1906…I don’t have the day of the month of his birth. If anyone out there knew John Thomas White please send an email to teefrtwo@yahoo.com. I just want to say “Happy Father’s Day” DAD even though you are no longer with us, we remember you always. Love You
My name is Wanda Jones Batiste, my family and I are researching our family background. Our great grandparents were Stella and Oscar Jones. My grandmother’s name was Gloria Mae Jones. Her and her siblings moved to Alexandria, at a young age and we do not have much information about Rochelle La.. If you all can point us in the direction of anyone with the information please do. It is very important to introduce our children to their family history. thanks.
My father, Carl Phillips, was born in Rochelle on May 19th, 1927. My grandfather, Lannie Phillips, was from Eros but had moved the family to Rochelle when he got a job at Tremont. Daddy said that he thinks they moved back to Eros when he was about four. I would love to hear from anyone who knew my grandparents, Mattie and Lannie Phillips and their children, Gene, Wilda and Carl.
Several years back, Daddy and his sisters drove back to Rochelle to see if there was anything there that they might recognize. They didn’t find any buildings but were able to locate the cemetery.
Please, if you have any additional information about Rochelle and the people who lived there, email me at i20east@gmail.com.
My father was raised in Rochelle. His name was Lonzo Bruce. He took us out there a few times when I was a kid and he could remember just where everything used to be. I have always been interested in finding out mor about the town. Hi sister Mary Bruce Smith lived in Winfield and I had no idea that the saw mill there had been moved there from Rochelle. Most of my dads family including my grand parents are buried close by n the Georgetown Cemetary. Thanks for posting.
Used to live in Winnfield. I wish I had heard about this back then, I love exploring places like that.
I would like to find out more about Rochelle also. My grandfather, Fred Bandy, married a woman with the last name of Arrington there, before he married my grandmother. Her name was Mary Arrington, and she died in childbirth, along with the baby. I also found something from the Little River Lodge, #341 that shows my grandfather joined there on May 18, 1912. I’d like to find out more about the area, and the woman’s family if anyone knows who the family might be.
Thanks, and you can email me at Nancye1962@gmail.com.
My grandmother was born at Rochelle in 1933.
Her name is Mable Self. Her father was David Self, and he worked at the mill, and moved to Joyce when the mill did.
We lived in Rochelle in the early 1940s. My mom and dad worked in the commissary, and my granddad was night watch man at the sawmill.
I live in Lafayette,La. I was born in Rochelle in l937. My grand-father was E.C. Johnson with Tremont Lbr. Co. My uncle was C.D. Johnson, my mother Ileene Johnson and aunts, Pearle, Edwina and Jewell. C.D. was married to Edith Whatley from Zenora,La. Uncle Eddie C. Johnson. I recall names, Graceland Gates with R/R. Dr. Scott, Jimmy and Leo Day. Harold Smith, Vera ? Johnson.
My e-mail, hemphill0@yahoo.com. cell, 337-278-3431
Born Rochelle,La. 11-18-27. Left Rochelle around 1943. Wondering about anyone, particulary, Harold Smith, Leo & Jimmy Day, Rogers, Graceland Gates family, Tom Carr, Vera May johnson family. Would like to converse with any persons that recall my family. Thanks, Harvie
On July 2, 2016, I erred, D.O.B. ll-l8-37(not 27)
the sheriff , one Tom Carr devised a scheme to poison peoples dogs, so he had the butcher make a lot of hot dogs with poison in them my brother was playing with the butchers son and ate one of the t dogs with poison in them. he died the next day nothing was ever done about the murder.
My great-grandfather was an engineer at Enterprise Saw Mill in Rochelle. In 1907 he fell 22 feet off a platform and did not survive. His name was George Arthur Southwick. His wife, Mary, died at age 35 in Rochelle in 1896 from Typhoid leaving her husband with six children. My grandfather told me that when he was 6 he and his father took his mother’s body on a railroad handcar to Mt. Olivet cemetery. George had been a clerk of court in Pineville and hand once run a ferry there with his father, George Wescott Southwick, who was the publisher/editor of the Rapides Gazette until his death in 1870.
Would love to see photos of Enterprise Lumber Company in Rochelle–or at least the sawmill–and learn anything I can about Rochelle, a town that has totally disappeared.
My Dad was born there. His name was Robert Wiggins. And my grandfather Bob Wiggins worked at the sawmill there. The Griffin’s and the Bruce’s and the Wiggins are all my kinfolks.
i lived in the last remaining house in Rochelle from 1949 until 1973 (after which my parents continued to live there until my father’s death in 1977, & the home subsequently burned);it was the large Craftsman bungalow between the hotel & Dr Scott’s office; when the mill relocated, it was the only company-owned residence too large to move; it was built circa 1919 by the owner of Tremont Lumber Company, James Stanley Joyce, supposedly for his bride, actress & showgirl, Peggy Hopkins Joyce (the book about her life is Gold Digger); however, they never occupied it before their infamous divorce & she moved on to other millionaires; it was reportedly featured in Life, or Look Magazine, but i have never located any pictures; the Postmistress, Mrs Carter, had in her home, a long photo of the entire town taken from a biplane; my father was born in Rochelle in 1912, & the home remained unoccupied until my parents’ purchase in late 1949 or early 1950; my father, all of his brothers, his sisters’ husbands, & other relatives were members of Little River Lodge # 341 at Rochelle, which merged with Georgetown Lodge # 298 after the mill closed; i am looking for any Rochelle pictures or Lodge records; Georgetown Lodge says that their old Lodge had a leaky roof which may have destroyed Rochelle records; i have the proceedings of the Grand Lodge; however, all of the Minute Books, Petitions, Pictures of Masters, etc. hopefully still exist? i would like to communicate with the descendants of the Post Mistress, Mrs Carter, as i knew her well; thank you for any information
I am looking for any information on John and Maude Wheat. I know their children’s names but can’t find much information on them. I have been told John may have owned or ran small logging or lumber company possibly associated with the big sawmill in Rochelle. I know John and Maude and several family members are buried at Zion. Just trying to find any specifics their life in Rochelle. Thank you
I am looking for any information on John and Maude Wheat. I know their children’s names but can’t find much information on them. I have been told John may have owned or ran small logging or lumber company possibly associated with the big sawmill in Rochelle. I know John and Maude and several family members are buried at Zion. Just trying to find any specifics about their life in Rochelle. Thank you
I was born in Rochelle in 1945. My father Clifton Deas worked in the ice plant there. My mother’s sister Kathleen and her husband Thomas Dew and their daughter Joann lived there at the time also.
My great-grandfather Allen Adams was a supervisor at Tremont. His three sons Winzel, T.J., and Valrus all worked for Tremont. Valrus was a very good pitcher on the Tremont Baseball team. As a result he was recruited to the paper mill in Hodge to pitch for their team. Allen, T.J. and Winzel moved to the Tioga-Pineville area after the mill moved.