Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

The Villa Phi-Phi

Here is the house we lived in in Fouras over fifty years ago. It is located on Rue Marguerite and was named Villa Phi-Phi. In reality it was never a Villa but rather a seasonal residence that was rented to a vacationing family. After WW2 it was very hard to find a house to rent and my Dad had a hard time finding a place for his family. For the first couple of months we stayed in Rochefort in a Hotel called the Grand Basha.

The owner of the “Villa” was Mr. Vernu. He lived next door and was glad to rent it on an annual basis charging the seasonal rate. Since it was not intended for winter habitation there was no insulation or heat. Thus the first challenge was to find some. Dad acquired a big potbelly coal burning stove and we moved in. I remember how cold it was that winter and how we huddled around it in the morning. In the kitchen was a gas range for cooking. It was really primitive however, my mother, raised in poverty during the depression in Northern Wisconsin was right at home. She was delighted with the whole arrangement and unlike many American families took to the adverse conditions like a duck to water.

After getting my brother and I fed and off to school a host of her shivering friends would come by to share her warm kitchen and living room where she set up a galvanized tub that was used for washing and weekly baths. All her friends would come by for the hot tub and to wash their clothes in the winter. My mother had one of the only electric washing machines with a ringer and it was in constant use during that winter. Surprisingly, as cold and miserable as it was, my brother and I never had a cold in the three years we lived there.

My mother loved the market and the town and soon learned the language. My father was a skilled card player and taught mom how to play bridge. This got them into both American and French card playing circles and as mom became more fluent they played and partied every weekend. It was the high point of my mother’s life and while many of the other wives wrung their hands and couldn’t wait to return to the States, my mother lived in a state of euphoria and dreaded the day when we would be reassigned back to CONUS. (Continental United States)