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20 SOUTHERN SENIOR MAGAZINE | Fall 2020 “A big reason we are in this situation today in our country is people don’t feel that way and they don’t always do that. They might be worried about what others think. People may question them,” Henley shared on why he thinks people should express the good feelings they have inside about oth- ers. As for hobbies, Fred said bird hunting and squirrel hunting brought him enjoyment when he had time to go. But for the most part, education was more than a job, it was what he loved, especially athletics. Over the years, Henley has been a fixture at Picayune sport- ing events. His son-in-law, Dean Shaw (married to Stacey), who is the Superintendent of the Picayune School District, had a long tenure as Picayune’s boys basketball coach before moving into administration. Henley always enjoyed watching Shaw’s teams play, and his grandson Dylan Shaw, also played basketball for the Maroon Tide. His granddaughter Caroline’s husband, Evan Nichelson, is the head coach of Picayune’s baseball team. Fred also enjoyed following Kaye’s son, Kurt Smith, when he played baseball at Picayune. His granddaughter, Jessica Smith, has been a cheerleader coach at Picayune Jr High and High School for 10 years with this upcoming year being her first as the varsity coach. Fred said he also enjoyed watching Dodd Lee’s football teams as they played for championships year after year. “I love to go to sporting events, and I hate to think that we may not have a football season this year,” he shared about the current COVID-19 pandemic impact on athletics. When asked about his secret to living a long life, Fred, who is 94 years old, responded quickly as if there was no secret. “My mother was 102 when she died, and her sister lived to be 108,” he chuckled. Fred lived through the Great Depression as a young boy, and that experience made him appreciate what his parents did during that time. “I am thankful to God that I was not a parent back in the days when they were parents. My dad worked for 25 cents an hour with Crosby down on the Pearl River Valley Railroad as a member of that crew,” he recalled. His dad, Boyd Henley, died when Fred was 9 years old. Boyd was working on a trestle that went across Boley Creek one very rainy day in February, and his boss told the crew they would just work through the rain. At the end of the day, Boyd was soaking wet from working in the cold rain and walked home as it was still raining. The next day, Boyd de- veloped pneumonia and they took him to the hospital on Canal Street, but he did not overcome it. Boyd Henley died at age 42. Fred was the youngest of three boys. Earl was the oldest and was ten years older than Fred. Pearl was the middle boy and he was seven years older than Fred. Fred did all he could do to help his mother. At age 13, he took a job delivering the Times Picayune paper. The job paid Henley $1.25 a week, as in seven days a week, for the deliv- ery of 100 papers every day. Fred remembers his mother going to the grocery store with 25 cents and with that money she would buy a bag of red beans and a bag of rice and make meals with it 3 to 4 times a week to put food on the table for her three chil- dren. One time that stands out in Fred’s recollection of those times was somewhat funny, but it also showed the serious-