Betty Hertzog Collection Place: Natchez, Louisiana Interviewed by: Rolonda Teal Mr. Leslie Vercher is the son of Ellis and Leola Vercher and grandson of John Vercher. Mr. Vercher and his family are associated in many ways with Magnolia Plantation. He has a good understanding of the horse culture on Cane River as his grandfather John Vercher trained horses at Magnolia for the Hertzog family. As a child Leslie lived at Magnolia and Melrose Plantations before his family moved to Alexandria, Louisiana. Descendants of the John Vercher family were the last to move out of the Magnolia Quarters. As an adult Leslie returned at Cane River and worked with Cane River Creole National Historical Park. Q) Tell us who your parents were and what time period you lived there at Magnolia…what age were you when you left…? A) I was about… I guess nine, I guess. Q) About nine. And your parents were? A) Ellis and Leola Vercher. Q) Okay then and you left at age nine because of what? Just moving? Forced to move? A) Naw, better living. Q) And where did you move to? A) I think we moved from there to … you bringing my memory too far back. I think we moved to Melrose. Q) Melrose and what y’all worked there as sharecroppers or what? A) Yea. Q) You worked there as sharecroppers and so what you stayed at Melrose until you were grown? A) Naw, until I was about 11 years old. Q) And then what happened after 11? A) Moved to Alex[andria. Louisiana]. Q) Alex, better jobs, and stuff again? A) Yea, better living. Q) So, when did you come back here? A) I came back here when I was, I guess 25 or 26. Q) And, what brought you back though? A) My wife was down here. Q) Oh, okay so you came back for family? A) Um huh. Q) I know that your father, I believe, if I remember trained horses there at Magnolia. Is that right? A) My grandfather. Q) Grandfather, grandfather. Okay, can you tell us a little bit … what was his name and then a bit about him? A) His name was John Vercher and I don’t know too much about him. Q) Okay, you didn’t know much. Is that off your father side? A) Right. Q) Yes, okay but you knew he did the horse training? A) Right. Both of my grandfathers did. On my mamma’s side too. They did horse training. Q) Would they do it for anybody or just Magnolia? A) Naw, just Magnolia. Q) You do know now about some of the riding clubs and stuff in this area, right? A) Yea, I guess. Turner got a riding club. Q) And anybody else here now that still has one? A) Not that I know of. They have some but that’s the only one I go to. Q) So, what are some of the traditions with the riding clubs? What do they do? A) They had horse races and stuff like that from what I can understand. Like on Sundays. Q) Okay, just racing any time or is it a weekend thing? A) It’s a weekend thing they did. You know, a get together. Q) And how often do you go, every time, almost every time? A) I wasn’t old enough. I was small when all that was going on. Q) So, you’re saying that those clubs don’t happen anymore now? A) Naw, not like that. Not when they was having down on Magnolia. That’s something that they did. Q) So, when they were having it at Magnolia, people came from everywhere to attend or just local folks? A) Mostly everywhere yea. Q) And so, it was betting and stuff going on then? A) I don’t really know. No, I wouldn’t know about that. |
Last updated: December 22, 2023