He started out life in West Texas 'where the rattlesnakes are' in 1917, lived through the Great Depression and World War II and ultimately ended up in Bush. Now he spends lunchtime regaling the folks at the old recreation center/senior citizens center next door to the library.
Recently, he shared a taste of his life story with a passer-by and a table full of friends.
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Hodges said he values the time and attention of the adults who worked to teach him 'what to do,' although his actions might not have always seemed appreciative.
'We put snakes in the teacher's desk drawer,' he said, smiling. 'Not rattlesnakes, them old rat snakes. And Daddy was custodian of the high school. When they were putting a new roof on it, we used the rope they used to pull things up with and tied a mannequin to it and sent it up. We put it in cover-alls and wrote the principal's name on it. We got kicked out of school, but we were back the next day.'
Hodges lived through the Great Depression, 'but never had hard times' because his father owned a dairy. The customers sometimes had trouble paying for the milk, though, he remembered, and his father was occasionally forced to 'cut them off.'
Despite the general hardships of the times and his own playful nature, Hodges did manage to graduate from high school.
He even went to college'-for a while.
'I went to St. Edward's in Austin for a year and a half until they kicked me out for having girls in the dormitory,' he said with a devilish twinkle in his eye.
'Then the war came along. I went into the federal service Nov. 20, 1940, and was in the Army until October 1946. I went in a buck private and went all the way up to captain. I fought in Europe and the Pacific both. Won the Bronze Star in Europe for having one of the best records for getting supplies to the regiment. They were never out of nothing. I was sitting on the water in the Pacific when President Truman dropped the bomb.'
When Hodges returned stateside, he got a job as a cattle auctioneer.
'I did that for two years, then I lost my voice,' he said.
Then he became a salesman for the H. J. Heinz Co., and moved to New Orleans, where he was district manager for the company from 1950 to 1962.
Hodges eventually made his way back to snake country, this time in rural St. Tammany Parish. It is from Bush that he now observes the ways of the world. He is concerned about the youth of today.
He also stressed the importance of community.
'One thing is, you've got to remember your neighbors,' said Hodges. 'When I was a kid, when somebody got sick and they needed a field plowed, everybody did it. That would not happen today. I think we need to get back into the groove of relationships. People need to know how to be neighborly. And they need to teach kids how to do something besides running up and down the streets.'
He ended on an ominous note.
'Kids of today and parents of today don't know about a Depression,' said Hodges. 'But they're fixing to find out.'
Words of Wisdom is a regular series in which the rich resource of local senior citizens is tapped and shared. It is said that with age comes wisdom.
No one can live 70, 80, 90 years or more and not learn something.
Maybe it has to do with forecasting the weather or cleaning house. Perhaps it's about love or finding happiness in life. Maybe it's a very different surprise. In this space, the sages of St. Tammany offer their observations and advice.
It is hoped their peers may be prompted to ponder a bit themselves, and that more youthful readers might save themselves some hardship thanks to the gifts of their guidance.
To recommend a senior to feature, call the editorial department at 892-7980 or email stnnews@wickcommunications.com.
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