Dump Hatter - Claiborne Parish - photo by Neil Johnson
On January 12, 1932, Dump Edward Hatter was born into a family of entrepreneurs in the black community of Haynesville, Louisiana, which is located in Claiborne Parish. Dump had a most unusual and interesting childhood, which led to a life full of accomplishments and service to others.
Dump was born three years into the Great Depression. The only remark he remembers about the politics of the time is that President Hoover may have caused the Great Depression or just did not do anything about it. Later, he remembered in his studies that FDR was known to say that the mistake the Republicans had to make in order for the Democrats to take over the country was the Great Depression. However, he always felt secure and did not suffer any economic hardships during that time. His family owned a ten room hotel with a café. One side of the hotel opened into a theatre for dances, movies, and exhibits and behind the hotel there was a baseball field. During that time, most of the folks were farm hands. On Saturday nights, they came to the hotel to enjoy good times such as dances held in the theater. Baseball teams would come from surrounding towns for playoffs, with the winning team receiving a tub of iced-down beer. Dump had his own room at the hotel which was most unusual in those days, as most children had to not only share a room but also share a bed. His room was very comfortable, with a gas heater and a fan. Even though Dump had a nanny to care for him, he still had chores. His job was to empty and rinse the chamber pots from each of the rooms in the hotel. He also waited on customers in the café. Since he had trouble with math, running the cash register and making change helped him get a grasp on numbers. He still has the cash register from the hotel as well as a mirror and some furniture. The beef used in the café of the hotel was purchased from a wholesale grocer, the Holtz Brothers Store. The vegetables were purchased from truck farmers, and Dump’s family raised their own chickens. As you can tell, it was as if Dump was an only child raised in a crowd. Everyone looked after him. Once someone grabbed him and saved him from a gunshot and left him looking at the hole the bullet made in the floor. The only major problem Dump had was eye problems. Fortunately, his parents were financially able to take him to an eye doctor in Shreveport, even though they had to wait in a storage room in order for the doctor to see him. His parents went to great lengths to save his eyesight, spending two to three days a week at the doctor’s office. Dump has worn glasses since he was five years old.
As well as wearing glasses at the early age of five Dump began school, even though there were not any rules for attendance. Children entered school at the convenience of parents, and children attended school for only eight months out of a year. The school did not have a lunchroom, so Dump walked home for lunch. Many days Dump would bring his friend James to the hotel at lunch to eat a meal of vegetables and meat because the lunch pail of his friend was sparse. He enjoyed school, but his reading suffered due to his eye problem and he never wrote clearly or put words together well until he attended college. Before the school system became integrated, the black children were not allowed to walk on the same side of the street that the white school was on, and they were never allowed to enter the white school. Dump’s aunt worked in the cafeteria of the white school and she would sneak him in and hide him in the balcony of the school auditorium when there were programs for the white children at night. He remembered seeing a magician performing a levitation trick on the stage of the auditorium. Later, when the schools were integrated, there was a big talent show and Dump was asked to sing on that very stage. He could not believe he was performing on the stage of the school that he had never been allowed to enter. He sang “I Believe” and he brought the house down. Can you just imagine what an awesome moment that must have been in the life of this young man?
In addition to singing, Dump loved to watch movies at the hotel theater. Occasionally, he would enjoy a movie at the uptown theater, even though they were not allowed to laugh loudly in the town theater. Also, his social life included many church picnics. He picked plums and chinquapins with his friends. They would ride their wooden horses and roll a wheel down the streets of the town. They also played pick-up sticks. His parents would not allow him to have a bicycle because they felt it was too dangerous to ride on the highway were the hotel was located. However, he did learn to ride one that belonged to a friend. Since the family was in the hotel business, holidays were scarce because the family had to take care of hotel guests. At Easter, he did enjoy egg hunts with friends down by the railroad tracks. Christmas was big as he received an electric train, a small movie projector, and a doctor’s kit. He would set the projector up in the hallway of the hotel and show Mickey Mouse movies to his friends. Life was good!
In conclusion, Dump Hatter still resides in Haynesville. He received a master’s degree from college and served in the United States Army. He has worked in education as a teacher, a principal, and a supervisor. He is officially retired at the age of seventy-seven, but he hopes to have a new contract to teach this fall. I recently met Mr. Hatter at Homer Middle School where he was teaching. I was much honored to meet such an incredible, wonderful man who is still at the age of seventy-seven giving his wisdom and time to help educate our children. Bravo, bravo, my hat is off to this dear, genteel man. He is a great role model for children, and his advice to young people of today is “early in life develop a faith even though it may be fanciful. Be thankful to God. Work hard to develop your intellect and abilities, apply yourself, soak up learning, and do not let attitudes about gender limit you. Let your ambitions take fire.”
