C.W. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Clyde W. Thompson, known as C.W. Thompson (November 9, 1890 – May 30, 1951), was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
who served from 1944 until his death in office. He was briefly succeeded as representative by his widow, Lizzie P. Thompson
(1894–1973).
Thompson was a native and lifelong resident of Doyline
, a village
in northwestern Louisiana
located in south Webster Parish
near Minden
. He was a farmer
and businessman who operated a store and a cotton gin
. In 1930, Thompson was elected to the Webster Parish School Board. He became the board president in 1936 and was thereafter president of the Louisiana School Boards Association. He left the school board to take his legislative seat in the spring of 1944. Jimmie H. Davis
of Shreveport
was the incoming governor. The outgoing representative, James E. Bolin
, later the district attorney
and a district and circuit court judge, was also a Doyline native. Bolin was away with the military in World War II
and did not seek re-election. Thompson won the position without opposition in the Democratic
primary
.
In 1948, Thompson was only narrowly reelected to the Louisiana House when by 83 votes he defeated a furniture dealer named George Foster, 3,887 to 3,804.
In 1950, Thompson joined State Senator
Drayton Boucher
of Apringhill
to move through the legislature a $175,000 appropriation to establish a vocational school in Webster Parish, one of the pledges of the 1948 Earl Kemp Long gubernatorial campaign. The school was thereafter established adjacent to the Griffith Stadium ball park on Constable Street in Minden but is pending relocation to a site off Interstate 20
.
Thompson died in the last year of his second term in the House. Governor Earl Long appointed Mrs. Thompson to finish her husband’s term. She did not seek a full term, and the position was won by E.D. Gleason
of the Evergreen Coummunity near Shongaloo
in central Webster Parish. Gleason also died in office, and in 1959, Earl Long, in his last term as governor, named Mrs. Gleason to finish her husband’s term under the same circumstances as he had with his designation of Mrs. Thompson eight years earlier.
The Thompsons are interred at the Doyline Cemetery located on College Street across from the First United Methodist Church. An unnamed infant Thompson is marked in the cemetery by the date July 21, 1926.
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
who served from 1944 until his death in office. He was briefly succeeded as representative by his widow, Lizzie P. Thompson
Lizzie P. Thompson
Lizzie Price Thompson completed the term of her husband, C.W. Thompson, in the Louisiana House of Representatives, having served as the Webster Parish lawmaker from 1951-1952. Thompson died in the seventh year of his legislative service, and Governor Earl K. Long appointed Mrs. Thompson to finish...
(1894–1973).
Thompson was a native and lifelong resident of Doyline
Doyline, Louisiana
Doyline is a village in southwestern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
located in south Webster Parish
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
near Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
. He was a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and businessman who operated a store and a cotton gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...
. In 1930, Thompson was elected to the Webster Parish School Board. He became the board president in 1936 and was thereafter president of the Louisiana School Boards Association. He left the school board to take his legislative seat in the spring of 1944. Jimmie H. Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
was the incoming governor. The outgoing representative, James E. Bolin
James E. Bolin
James Edwin Bolin, Sr. was an American jurist and politician who served as a judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal and Louisiana Supreme Court as well as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in the northwestern part...
, later the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
and a district and circuit court judge, was also a Doyline native. Bolin was away with the military in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and did not seek re-election. Thompson won the position without opposition in the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
.
In 1948, Thompson was only narrowly reelected to the Louisiana House when by 83 votes he defeated a furniture dealer named George Foster, 3,887 to 3,804.
In 1950, Thompson joined State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Drayton Boucher
Drayton Boucher
Drayton Rogers Boucher was a Louisiana state legislator from Springhill in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, affiliated with the Long faction of state Democratic politics. Boucher represented Webster Parish for a single four-year term in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940...
of Apringhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
to move through the legislature a $175,000 appropriation to establish a vocational school in Webster Parish, one of the pledges of the 1948 Earl Kemp Long gubernatorial campaign. The school was thereafter established adjacent to the Griffith Stadium ball park on Constable Street in Minden but is pending relocation to a site off Interstate 20
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...
.
Thompson died in the last year of his second term in the House. Governor Earl Long appointed Mrs. Thompson to finish her husband’s term. She did not seek a full term, and the position was won by E.D. Gleason
E.D. Gleason
Ernest Dewey Gleason, known as E. D. Gleason , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the Evergreen Community near Minden in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Gleason served from 1952 until his death at the end of his second term...
of the Evergreen Coummunity near Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
in central Webster Parish. Gleason also died in office, and in 1959, Earl Long, in his last term as governor, named Mrs. Gleason to finish her husband’s term under the same circumstances as he had with his designation of Mrs. Thompson eight years earlier.
The Thompsons are interred at the Doyline Cemetery located on College Street across from the First United Methodist Church. An unnamed infant Thompson is marked in the cemetery by the date July 21, 1926.