The Saltzman Family

From Our Island Heritage, Vols. 1 & 2 - Compiled by Sophie Haley & Mickie Smith, 1977-78:

Louis Saltzman came to America from the little village of Yenasik on the Devina River in Russia.  He was married through a marriage broker to Lena Mechanic of Riga, Latvia.  They moved to Sicily Island about 1894 where he was a merchant.  He opened a store where the John Knight store was later located, in a building belonging to B. E. Carter.  

After some time, Mr. Carter asked Mr. Saltzman to move as he wanted to use the building himself.  Mrs. Anna Peniston owned a store building across the street from the Blacksmith Shop, where her husband used to have a store.  Louis Saltzman rented the building, and asked Mrs. Peniston to add some rooms on the back for living quarters.  When these were added, Mr. Saltzman brought his wife and children from Natchez.  Their children were Oscar, Maurice Isadore, Charles, Leon, Jennie, May, Lottie, and Ruth.

Louis Saltzman became a successful merchant and built a store on the lot where the above building was located.  This store burned in 1913 or 1914 and was built back. 

Around 1920, Mr. and Mrs. Saltzman and some of the children moved to Bogalusa, Louisiana.  Maurice stayed here and took over the store.  

Maurice Isadore Saltzman was born in Cook County, Illinois on January 1, 1895.  He married Gladys Kendrick on August 25, 1921 in Natchez, Mississippi.  Gladys was born in Catahoula Parish on November 24, 1896 to the marriage of Maude Jeanette Ballard and William Dudley Kendrick.  Maurice and Gladys lived for some time in back of the store before building their home.  They were the parents of one child, Maude Jeanette Saltzman (Gremillion).

During the depression days of the early 1930s, many people didn't have cars and lived far from stores.  Maurice started a wheel store with Mr. Claude Enright as the driver and merchant.  The goods were sold for cash when available, but more often in trade of chickens, eggs, and other farm produce.  Mr. Claude Enright operated this "store" for Maurice for 21 years before it was discontinued as more and more people had transportation and preferred coming to the stores to do their shopping.

Jeanette Saltzman (Gremillion) recalls that on Saturday, all of the stores stayed open until 11 or 12 o'clock at night.  Most of the families came to town on this day to do their shopping.  Late in the afternoon the wives of the merchants had to help their husbands and the children played. Games such as Run-Sheep-Run and Hide-Go-Seek seemed to be their favorite games.   Saturday night supper was always eaten at the store, a sort of picnic.  After such hard play, then eating, they got sleepy before closing time.  Jeanette would crawl up on sacks of feed and go to sleep, only to be wakened when it was time to go home.

Maurice retired in 1967 and Friley Guice, who had worked for Maurice for a number of years, bought the stock and rented the store. 

Guice's General Merchandise - late 1960s or early 1970s