Born in 1933, Louise Hager Hoskins grew up in a cabin in rural Kentucky near Hazard. She was the second oldest of her 6 siblings (Martha, Mary, Edie Mae, Billy, Robert Lee and David Lee). They didn’t have much but they did have an outhouse, a garden, and a cow. Overall, despite the poverty, Louise said she had a happy childhood but she did have a few tales to tell us kids. For example, while going through papers, I ran across a certificate awarded to Mattie Hager for memorizing bible verses. I asked who was Mattie? She told me Mattie was her real name but she hated it and decided to go by Louise. She went on to tell me she got that certificate at a bible camp that was some distance away. It was a rare opportunity for her to attend the camp. She told me that she was interested in a boy who was also attending the camp. In fact, Louise was so infatuated with this boy, that one day she decided to skip school and take the bus all by herself to go all the way back to the camp to see him again. She got caught and got into a lot of trouble for that. She was about 13 and kept that certificate for all these years.
But Mattie aka Louise always had a mind of her own. She was scrappy and resourceful. She left school early to work in town. She held jobs scooping ice cream in the local drug store and as a clerk in Fuller’s Department store. Her love of fashion expressed itself early and she enjoyed working in the department store and being around all the nice clothes. Later in life, she liked going to estate sales and second hand stores to find bargains. She kept a vast collection of hats, shoes, and dresses to this day.
She also loved children and worked as a babysitter for many families and as a nanny for a doctor and his wife. She told me that once she went to visit her cousin Ann who was babysitting at the home of a well-off family. The mother of the family had many nice clothes, including the most beautiful green shoes Louise had ever seen. She talked Ann into letting her try them on and since the family were away, Louise thought to herself what harm would it cause if she borrowed the shoes just to walk down the street and come right back. Well, that is what she did despite Ann’s protests and unfortunately, that’s when the mother, i.e. the owner of the shoes drove by and saw Louise wearing her green shoes and started yelling at her “where did you get those shoes??”. Louise saw her, kicked off the shoes, and ran for the hills. She and Ann had a good laugh afterwards.
It was while she was babysitting for the Hacker family that she met Bill Hoskins. Bill was 8 years older and much more worldly than most of the people she knew. But he had a bad reputation and everybody warned Louise about Bill. However, he was very persistent and she finally agreed to go out with him. Their first date was “frog gigging”. This consisted of Louise holding a flashlight as she followed Bill along a muddy ditch – in the dark – as he drank and harpooned frogs. She wasn’t happy that her shoes were ruined. Her next date with Bill ended when he got into a fist fight that ended in a bar room brawl and a black eye for him. Needless to say, it wasn’t a smooth start. But she persevered. She ordered her wedding dress from the back of Seventeen magazine, eloped with Bill on January 8, 1955 and began a 47 year marriage that lasted till his death in 2002.
Louise wanted to see the rest of the world and with Bill she did. Shortly after they got married, they left Hazard and moved to (Orlando – Pine Hills) Florida to start a family and Mom began her career as mother and homemaker. After a stint as an insurance adjustor, Bill later began a career as an artist and art teacher at Oak Grove Junior High School in Clearwater, Florida. They had 3 children, Edie, Billy, and George. Louise and her family got to see a little bit more of the world each summer when they (including the dog) would pack up and squeeze into a camper to travel the west for weeks at a time.
In 1974, they moved from St. Petersburg to Palm Harbor, a small town on the Gulf Coast. They lived at the top of the hill where they had a view of the main street and the bay. They borrowed money, purchased and renovated a general store and turned it into an Arts and Antique Gallery. They renovated another building and rented it out to local artists. Their vision was to turn Palm Harbor into an arts community. And in 1975, thanks to Louise’s hard work and relation building skills, she and Bill started the Palm Harbor Art and Music Festival, an annual event that continues to this day.
With Louise’s support, Bill’s artistic career flourished. In addition to many local shows, he was invited to show his work in Sweden. This afforded Louise more opportunity to see more of the world and she and Bill traveled extensively through Europe.
Although Louise dreamed of seeing the world, her real love was children. As her children, we were blessed and showered with her love. She thought and worried about us all the time. She was happiest when we and all her grandchildren (Caleb, Cameron, Ashley, and Megan) were with her. Even all the kids in the neighborhood also knew and loved “Mom” and they would hang out at our house. She made a positive impact that is evident to this day. One of the neighborhood boys (now grown up) recently sent this note “She was a fine upstanding member of many communities and will always have a special place in my heart. She was like a 2 nd mother to me.” He continued with these words. “She’s come a long way from Hazard, Kentucky! What a GOOD WOMAN she is… I’m watching a squirrel right now, remembering the 100’s of ‘em she fed me at your table. ” Bill liked to hunt and Louise was a good cook and would cook anything he brought home.
Not sure what she did with those frogs, though.
Louise will always be in our hearts and minds. Her love will sustain us and continue to make us better people. She will be sorely missed.
The family would like to thank the staff at Spring Hills Lake Mary for their care and support to Louise over the past eight months.
A visitation will be on Saturday from 5:00 to 7:00pm, followed by a service. at Loomis Funeral Home at 420 W Main St, Apopka, FL 32712. Louise will be interred Monday, November 19 at 11:30 at Florida National Cemetery near Bushnell in Sumter County.
In lieu of flowers, and in remembrance of Louise’s love of children, memorials may be made in Louise’s name to Save the Children at https://www.savethechildren.org/