By Mrs. H.D. Premeaux (The Cameron Pilot, Mar. 24, 1957.
Reprinted: December 14, 2001)

​This old picture of the mail boat “Eva” owned and captained by Lucian Miller [Joseph Lucien] years ago, will bring back many memories to some of the older folks around lower Cameron. The "Eva" made the mail run from Johnson Bayou to Port Arthur and carried passengers as well. ​

Who was Joseph Lucien Miller? (Not part of the original article)
Joseph Lucien Miller is the great grandson of Michel Miller and Hiacinthe Lejeune, the grandson of Michel “Micheau” Miller, Jr. and Mary Elena Broussard, and the son of Lize Miller and Mary Anne “Cece” Fawvor.

Joseph L. Miller married Adelaide Broussard in 1896 and married Eva Theriot in 1911. The four children of Joseph and Adelaide are:
Georgia Diana Miller, 1897-1923; married P. B. Petitpas
Raymond Miller, 1899-1981; married Tracy A. Stewart in 1920;
Maria Camilia Miller, 1900-1918;
Wille Ann Miller, 1905-1990; married Henry P. Leblanc
 
Joseph Lucien was the oldest of four children born to Lize Miller and Mary Anne Fawvor. His siblings are:
Mary Lillian Miller, Abraham Alva Miller and Hortence Marie Miller.

Continuing with the original article
​Some of the passengers in this picture are Mrs. Lucian Miller [Eve Theriot], Zulmer Theriot (now Mrs. Mac McCullman), Dianna Miller, Cornelia Miller, Stanville Dupuis, Joe Sturlese, Capt. Miller, Leonard Sturlese, Elodias Theriot, and Numa Theriot.
   The "Eva" was at the J. N. Miller dock at Grand Chenier on an excursion at the time the picture was made. In the background can be seen Capt. Charlie Nelson's schooner with its flag proudly waving.
------------------------------END of Blog ------------------------------------
-------------Reveiw Index (draft) of persons in the 2021 Michel Miller book
-------------Purchase this 2021 Michel Miller Family book at Lulu.com 
-------------Other Blogs - Michel Miller Family---------------------
A Ship Designed to Sink
Schooner E. O. Gladys & Riverboat Winona
Michel Miller's Granddaughter, Nathelie Miller

​Michel Miller descendant Nathelie Miller (1884-1962) is the great granddaughter of Michel Miller and Hiacinthe LeJeune.  She married Lemuel “L.O.” Wade prior to 1909 when their first child L. D. Wade was born.
 
The Michel Miller book is being revised and will be available in 2021.
 
L.O. Wade was a successful business man and his wife, Nathelie Miller, was also contributing in the community well-being. The following appeared in the Eunice News, September 1932:
 
“Mrs. L. O.- Wade Entertains With Handkerchief Shower Last Thursday
   Mrs. L. O. Wade entertained very beautifully last Thursday afternoon with a handkerchief shower for Mrs. C. W. Finley, who is leaving here to make her home' in Crowley. Mrs. Wade's living room was lovely in Rose of Montana and roses. Mrs. L. E. Wade, in her gracious manner, gave a reading entitled, "Our Old Home Town," and expressed regrets of losing such a valuable woman as Mrs. Finley. She was always ready and willing to help any good cause. Miss Eunice Wade sang very sweetly and Mrs. N. J. Amy gave a reading that was enjoyed by all. Mrs. John White presented Mrs. Finley with lovely handkerchiefs given by her many friends. The hostess served a salad course with ice tea and cake.”

​The following was written about L.O. Wade after his death:
   LO. Wade dies at age of 84 Death has claimed Lemuel O. Wade 8 of 401 S. 2nd St., a Eunice man who has played a prominent and progressive part in the community throughout his 60 years of residence here. Mr. Wade died at 10 a. m. yesterday, (Wednesday) June 30, at Moosa Memorial hospital, where he had been admitted for diagnostic surveys. He had been subject to heart ailments for some time.
 
   Wade came to Eunice in 1905. He was a native of Bowling Green. Kentucky. In 1906, he started one of the two first cotton gins, the L. O. Wade Go. In those days 10-cent cotton was viewed as commanding a good price. About 5.000 bales of cotton were ginned yearly in Eunice. Wade ran a farm on which he experimented with cotton varieties and subsequently introduced DPL-4 cotton seed to Louisiana. His cotton gin operations grew until he operated 11 gins scattered throughout Louisiana, at one time.
 
   Progress of Eunice was a prime motive in Mr. Wade's many projects, He drilled the first deep well, installed the first electric plant, and opened the first movie house. He saw Eunice grow from a tiny village of 500 people when he arrived here to a city of 12,000.
 
   Funeral arrangements were pending at press time. Mr. Wade was a member of the First Methodist Church. He is survived by a son, L. D. Wade of Eunice: a daughter, Eunice Wade of Shreveport; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. (Eunice News, 1 Jul 1965)
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Riverboat  Winona
The Winona was built on the Mermentau River in Papa's yard by Mr. Waterman.  A boat builder from some south Louisiana city, I believe it was Franklin.  It took 1 year to build.  It was built parallel to the river and it was launched into the river sideways.  I saw it being launched and was frightened it made such a big splash.  I was seven when it was finished, 1917.
 
The original engines were gasoline, but in the summer of 1922, Papa took the boat to Lake Arthur at Lezay Roy's wharf and changed the engines out.  He replaced them with two, 30 horsepower, 2 cylinder, Callenburg diesel motors.  I was out of school at that time and stayed on the boat with Papa and Mama.  I slept on deck under a mosquito netting, while Papa and Mama slept in the cabin.
 
Papa first worked between New Orleans and Grand Chenier; and hauled cotton and cotton seed.  Bales on deck and seed in the hold. I went on several trips to N.O. on the Winona.  Papa took different routes.  You or John would know the routes better than me.  Sometimes it was in the Gulf to Vermilion Bay, then though bayous to Bayou Black and on to the Mississippi River near  New Orleans.  Other trips were into Bayou Plaquimine into the Mississippi near Baton Rouge.

Patrick Achee is the 3rd great grandson of Michel Miller and Hiacinthe Lejeune. The family book for the Michel Miller and Hiacinthe Lejeune Family can be purchased here.

See another article on this family here. 

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  Norman McCall knows that "Ships Designed To Sink" (submarines) are not everyone's cup of tea, but during World War II he lived in one for three years. Not only that but Norman volunteered to join the Submarine Division of the Navy and was the only submarine veteran from Cameron Parish during World War II.
     Submarines were cramped for living spaces, sometimes hot and dark, sometimes dropped down into the deep like a rock, but when you talk to Norman McCall about living in a submarine, you®ll see a gleam in his eyes as he proudly tells about the accomplishments his submarine, The USS Jack, which sank more Japanese tankers than any other American sub with a total of 30 ships, during World War II.

​EARLY DAYS IN GRAND CHENIER
     Born Mar. 2, 1924, Norman McCall, spent his childhood in a small home on the bank of the Mermentau River in Grand Chenier with his parents Henry and Gladys McCall, and siblings Claude V. "Pete" McCall, Henry "T-Boy", Emma and Oma.
     Norman still remembers two toys that he had as a child, both of them homemade, stilts, and a marsh buggy made with 2 x 4s and evaporated milk cans.
     Those were the years of The Great Depression so Norman had to help the family, including milking cows morning and evening, spending hours every week weeding the garden, and helping with any other chores he could. In between that he attended school at the tiny Grand Chenier High School,
where he graduated with 21 other students.
     Most of his early years were spent on the water, since he came from a long line of boatmen. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather,

Alcide Miller, who operated a schooner, the E. O. Gladys, named for Miller®s wife, Emma, and his daughters, Olive, Oma and Gladys, in which he made
frequent trips to Galveston. Miller would carry passengers, oranges, and bales of cotton grown on the Cheniers to Galveston, and would bring back passengers, merchandise and supplies, for his dry goods store at Grand Chenier.
     Norman's father, Henry McCall, married Alcide®s daughter, Gladys Miller, and he operated a wooden single screw boat, 18' x 55', which
hauled supplies between Lake Arthur and Grand Chenier.

​THEN CAME WAR
     Norman McCall was 18 years old and going to college at Louisiana Tech, when he heard about World War II. Right away he joined the Navy's Submarine Branch. He was sent to San Diego, Calif. and went through Basic Submarine Training, Electrical School, Electric Torpedo School, and Gyrocompass School, which took about six months. From the very beginning McCall was assigned to the Submarine USS Jack.
     "I didn't tell my parents that I'd joined the Navy Submarines," he said, "but having lived on the water all their lives, they probably wouldn't have been surprised."
     Most men who joined the submarines during the war liked the fact that in a submarine they would be right on the front line of the war. They could shoot torpedoes at enemy ships and see the result. This seemed much better to them than being a member of a huge crew on an air carrier, or destroyer,
which were usually too far away to witness the result of their warfare.
     "I can still remember the first time that I went down in a sub," says Norman, "and it was scary! I wasn't claustrophobic, but I knew my life depended on the entire crew of the sub. One wrong move could be catastrophic."
     "In a submarine you lose track of time and since you're underwater most of the time, you don't know which direction you're going, unless you study the instruments on the vessel".

​THE FIRST TIME
     The first day, of the first patrol, that Norman McCall went on, he faced a new life, under water, in his new home in the Submarine USS Jack, where he would live with 83 other men, for the next three years on a submarine that was 311 ft. 5 & 1/2 inches long, and 27 ft. & 1/2 inches in diameter.
     "My job description was Diesel Electrician," said McCall. "We had three shifts, four hours on and eight off. During our work time we inspected and repaired the diesel engines, the electrical equipment on the sub, and made sure the 20 torpedoes were ready to go. The torpedoes were powered by alcohol and air."
     "When we had to make a quick dive underwater," recalled McCall, "it was like riding a fast elevator, but we soon got used to it. Before we went out on patrol, hunting the enemy, our Captain was given sealed orders. He could not open them for 24 hours, so we didn't know where we were going or which Japanese convoy we were chasing, until we got to our designated position.

​PRESIDENTIAL CITATION
     "Our submarine, the USS Jack," recalls Norman, "received a °Presidential Citation of War® for our First, Third and Fifth Patrols, which were in the Pacific, East China Sea and South China Sea.
     During the First Patrol we were following a Japanese convoy of four tankers. With speedy maneuvering, and accurate torpedoes, we were able to sink three tankers, and heavily damaged the fourth. This was a major set back for the enemy."
     "The Third Patrol was memorable because we sank four tankers in 24 hours! This was in the South China Sea. It was a moonlight night and after the battle was over, our Captain surfaced and let the crew witness the tall columns of fire from the tankers, seeming to reach up to the sky."
     "The Fifth Patrol, listed on our citation took place in three different areas - South China Sea, Philippine Sea and Celebes Sea - in which we sank at least two Troop Transports carrying 3,000 soldiers preparing to invade New Guinea. We actually made six more Patrols in the Pacific and in the South China Sea. When MacArthur was getting his troops ready to return to the Philippines, we were sent to patrol the shores around Manila and sink enemy ships that were protecting it."
​
TORPEDOS, DEPTH CHARGES & BOMBS
     "Our greatest dangers were from torpedoes shot by Japanese subs, depth charges from their ships, or bombs dropped by their planes. Japan seemed to have technology as good as, and in some cases better than ours."
     "Whenever we needed repair or supplies, such as torpedoes, fuel, food, or water, we would go to Perth, Australia and stay there for a few weeks until ready to return to battle."

​AFTER THE WAR
     Shortly after World War II ended, Norman McCall returned to Cameron and began a new life. He met Phyllis Donnateli, who was his sister, Emma's, roommate. He began dating her and they married in 1950. Soon they had two children, Doreen and Phillip Alan. But their wedded bliss ended abruptly in 1957 when Hurricane Audrey blasted ashore destroying most of the parish and taking 425 lives.
     Among the victims were Norman's wife, Phyllis, and their two children, Doreen and Phillip Alan. The tragic story of their deaths is told in my book, "Hurricane Audrey".
     After Audrey, the Bishop of Lafayette put Norman McCall in charge of the project of building a shrine in front of the Cameron Catholic Church, "Our Lady Star of the Sea". Pictures of Phyllis and daughter, Doreen, were used by the Italian sculptor as guidance for the statue of the Virgin Mary and the little girl standing beside her on the front of the church.

​BIRTH OF MCCALL'S BOAT RENTALS
     After the war Norman McCall went to work for Pure Oil Company as captain on an ex-minesweeper. When Union Oil bought Pure Oil, McCall bought a 50-foot crew boat and a 65-foot utility boat.
     In 1967 he started his own company, McCall's Boat Rentals, Inc. and gradually bought boats to build his company. While it was expanding, Norman ran for Police Jury and served one term as a juror. He also purchased a large farm in Longville and stocked it with cattle.
     As his boat business continued to expand, he built the first 4-engine crew boat in 1970, then a 5-engine crew boat in 1984, and the first 6-engine crew boat in 1989. The next year he built the first 185-foot crew boat ever delivered in the world.
     In 1996 McCall's Boat Rentals merged with Seacor Marine and now McCall boats are sent all over the world, as far away as the African Coast,  South America, Central America, Mexico, Quatar, Azerbaijan, where they support offshore oil and gas exploration and development projects.
     After his first wife's death, Norman married Joyce Colligan and they have three children, Alan, Phyllis and Joe. Norman has been, and continues to be, active in many organizations, especially the U.S. Sub-Vets of WW II, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Lions Club, Farm Bureau, American Legion and Wildlife and Fisheries. He also took up Stock Car Driving and enthusiastically pursued this hobby for a number of years.
     Since Hurricanes Rita, Gustav and Ike when he again faced destruction of his home and business, he has moved his home and business to south Lake Charles but his heart is still in the land of his birth, in Cameron Parish.

Another article on this family here.

The family book for the Michel Miller and Hiacinthe Lejeune Family, which includes this family, can be purchased at www.Lulu.com