Oral History Interview with Helen LaFrance

Partial Transcript: Okay, so we just need for you to give us your full name

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance introduces herself and talks about being born in Graves County, Kentucky. She also gives the name of her mother and father, James Franklin Orr and Lillie May (Ligon) Orr respectively.

Keywords: Family; Graves County; James Franklin Orr; Kentucky; Lillie May Ligon Orr; Parents

Subjects: Famiy

Partial Transcript: And, um, so how many siblings do you have?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance describes her family, giving the names of her siblings, the spouses of her siblings, and her grandparents on her father's side. She has three sisters and no brothers. They are named Harriett, Artie, and Ruth from oldest to youngest with LaFrance being the second oldest. LaFrance's father and his family were from Calloway County.

Keywords: Calloway County; Family; Father; James Franklin Orr; Siblings; Sisters

Subjects: Family

Partial Transcript: Ok, so, we're gonna go talk about your mother now

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance gives the names of her family on her mother's side, including her grandparents (Jessie Dawson Ligon and King Clay Ligon). Her grandparents on her mother's side lived in Graves County.

Keywords: Family; Lillie May Ligon Orr; Mother

Subjects: Family

Partial Transcript: Um, now, King Clay Ligon, was he the gentlemen that went to Canada?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance's grandfather (King Clay Ligon) and his sisters lived in Graves County during the American Civil War. Their great-grandfather King Ligon didn't want to be conscripted into the army during the American Civil War. So, he left to Canada through the woods near their house after kissing his wife goodbye. King Clay Ligon and his family never heard from or saw King Ligon again. LaFrance tells the story of the night that King Ligon left.

Keywords: Army; Canada; Conscription; Graves County; King Clay Ligon; King Ligon

Subjects: American Civil War, 1861-1865; Conscription, Military

Partial Transcript: Alright, um so, now we're gonna come back to you, um did you ever go to school?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance lived close to a white school, but she wasn't allowed to go there. So, instead, her parents taught her what they knew about school using school books. She later found out that those books were from black schools. Her mother wanted LaFrance to wait for her sister so that they could go to school together. LaFrance started going to school in Hickory at eleven years old until eighth grade, because there were no high schools in Hickory.

Keywords: Black schools; Books; Hickory; High schools; White schools

Subjects: Blacks--Segregation--United States.

Partial Transcript: So, when you stopped going to school, what did you do?

Segment Synopsis: After LaFrance stopped going to school, she started working on the farm more. LaFrance's mother taught her how to write the alphabet, draw cats and rabbits, and make paints. LaFrance's mother was an artist, but all of her artwork was put in the smokehouse after she was married.

Keywords: Alphabet; Lillie May Ligon Orr; Mother; Paints; Teaching

Subjects: Drawing & activity; Mother

Partial Transcript: So then, when did you marry and who did you marry?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance's parents didn't let her go to parties, so she only knew people in her hometown. After her mother died when LaFrance was nineteen, she married Elvis Lynn (a man that lived in her neighborhood) at age twenty in Graves County. They split after being married for around four years. After they split, she started working more. She would cook for the Whitmore family.

Keywords: Death; Divorce; Lillie May Ligon; Working

Subjects: Marriage.

Partial Transcript: So, when did you have the first studio, was that school bus your first studio?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance's first art studio was in a school bus. It had good lighting and LaFrance thought it was a nice place, but it was also extremely hot and birds often flew into the bus. Bruce Shelton liked her artwork so he brought a contractor with him (Eugene/Mac Collins) and offered to build her a studio. Shelton told LaFrance that Collins would build a studio for her based on a sketch of what LaFrance wanted. The next week, they brought a truck and started building the studio. The studio was built on LaFrance's property and she moved the school bus to be near it.

Keywords: Bruce Shelton; Eugene Collins; Mac Collins; School bus

Subjects: Construction.

Partial Transcript: So, how did you start making the doll houses

Segment Synopsis: When LaFrance was young, she would make dollhouses out of cardboard for her sister. She even figured out how to light up the dollhouses with Christmas lights. Later, she sold some of the dollhouses and dolls that she made.

Keywords: Lights; Sister

Subjects: Doll-houses

Partial Transcript: So, I'm still trying to understand when you first sold your first painting

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance paid Eugene/Mac Collins for her art studio worth 12,000 dollars with her paintings. Bruce Shelton was a salesperson and would take trucks of her art to art shows. This was when she first started getting paid for her paintings. Shelton would give her some money for each painting, and she did not know how much each painting was getting sold for. This started happening in the early 1940s.

Keywords: Art shows; Art studio; Bruce Shelton; Eugene Collins; Mac Collins; Sales

Subjects: Art show; Painting.

Partial Transcript: So, these two folks from Tennessee, how did they hear about you?

Segment Synopsis: Bruce Shelton and Mac/Eugene Collins were both from Tennessee. LaFrance knows that Shelton heard about her through Collins, but she does not know how Collins heard of her. Shelton and Collins were good friends. One day, Shelton and Collins got into an argument and had a physical fight. Collins put his arm around Shelton's head and drew out his gun. Shelton sold LaFrance's artwork up until he was around 80.

Keywords: Argument; Fight; Friends

Subjects: Friends

Partial Transcript: Is the gentlemen that has your work in the gallery in Cincinnati?

Segment Synopsis: A man named Gus has LaFrance's artwork now. Her art is kept in Cleveland, Ohio. Gus and his wife were from Mayfield originally, but Gus moved around the country a lot. Gus and his wife were extremely close. In around 1890, LaFrance sold her artwork to both Gus and Bruce Shelton. Gus thought it was bad that Bruce didn't tell LaFrance how much the paintings were being sold for. However, LaFrance was thankful that Shelton was paying her at all, because she wouldn't have been able to sell her paintings without him previously. LaFrance later moved to Mayfield.

Keywords: Artwork; Bruce Shelton; Cleveland, Ohio; Gus; Mayfield

Subjects: Art dealers.

Partial Transcript: So, when you married, did you live in Mayfield or did you live out in the county?

Segment Synopsis: After LaFrance separated from Elvis Lynn, she married Lynn Rhydon. They were married during World War 2. LaFrance later separated from Lynn Rhydon and had marriages after him. None of her husbands supported her artwork.

Keywords: Divorce; Elvis Lynn; Lynn Rhydon; Support

Subjects: Divorce.; Marriage.

Partial Transcript: Ok, so in your artwork, we're kind of up to about 1942

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance was living in Graves County when she met Shelton. Since she moved a lot, she bought a lot of houses. She regrets this because she feels that buying houses was a waste of time and money. LaFrance loved painting because she enjoyed creating art and the smell of paint.

Keywords: Creating art; Paint; Smell

Subjects: Painting.

Partial Transcript: When did you start devoting more time to your artwork?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance was over 30 when she started devoting more time to her artwork. She cooked at different hospitals, worked at barns, painted pottery, retouched paintings at Wells studio, and worked at a candle company before she did art full-time. She also did paintings for churches in her spare time. While she was working, she always wanted to paint, and dreamed of saving up for paint supplies and going to art school.

Keywords: Art school; Barns; Candle company; Church; Hospitals; Painting; Pottery; Wells Studio

Subjects: Jobs & careers; Painting.

Partial Transcript: So, this was Wells studio, did they advertise for somebody to touch up

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance worked for Mr. Wells for around two years. She recalls a particular time where she was working while it was snowing very hard. The snow kept on getting deeper and she had never tried to drive a car in snow before. LaFrance has always painted or carved at the jobs that she's had. She retired from working at 65, where she devoted the rest of her life to mostly painting as well as some other artistic crafts. In particular, she started making Cabbage Patch dolls which a school boy sold for her. He also helped her make the dolls.

Keywords: Cabbage Patch dolls; Car; Driving; Retirement; Retouching; Snowing

Subjects: Retirement.

Partial Transcript: So, looking back over your life, what is the one thing that pleases you the most about it?

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance raised Thomas Rhydon's (Lynn Rhydon's brother's) child after their mother died. LaFrance hopes to do something worthwhile with her art. Her and her sisters are always trying new things. LaFrance has worked with many art mediums, including cardboard, wood, clay, and ceramics. But, her favorite was always painting. After reminiscing, LaFrance asks and talks about the layout of the nursing center.

Keywords: Art mediums; Children; Painting; Raising a child; Sisters; Thomas Rhydon

Subjects: Painting.

Partial Transcript: So now, Miss Helen, I know that this is kind of embarrassing

Segment Synopsis: LaFrance is not yet pleased with her painting and does not feel that she has "grabbed the brass ring" yet. This interview took place on February 7th, 2010.

Keywords: Painting

Subjects: Painting.