Mildred Henry

Homemaker —

HIGGERSON LANDING WAS A RIVERBOAT landing on the MississippiRiver in New Madrid County established shortly after the Civil War.Mildred Henry was born in that community 86 years ago. Her only education was obtained at Higgerson School, a one-room school elevated eight to 10 feet in the air to protect it from flooding. That school provided an eighth grade education for community children, served as the church on Sundays and provided refuge for several families when the Mississippi River flooded. The area was not a place where opportunities for women were abundant.

During the 1900s, most of the forests in the area were cleared for the rich farmland that lay beneath. Timber harvests provided significant income and the area was flooded with new workers from the logging industry. Henry supplemented the family income by providing room and board to many of the loggers who worked the area. She never knew exactly how many people would be there for the breakfast, lunch and supper meals that she prepared. One of the many skills she developed was the ability to provide large quantities of food in very short periods. No one ever left her kitchen hungry.