Mandeline “Manda” Langlinais was born January 6, 1920 to Peter and Frances Skrmetta in Biloxi. At the age of two, she tragically lost her mother and baby sister when a storm caused a power line to fall on them while Howard Avenue. Manda and her sister Perina survived and without a mother, she spent much time with her father “Captain Pete” as he made his living in the Mississippi Sound. She sailed with him as he ferried people to the Isle of Capri and later to Ship Island.
With her home located on the corner of Pine and Howard streets, Manda’s life was centered around the seafood industry. From an early age, she worked in the seafood factories such as DeJean and Dubaz, on the conveyor belts alongside the Yugoslavian and Cajun ladies. Like many early factory workers, Manda would be awakened by the different whistles announcing the boatloads of shrimp or oysters that had to be processed each day. She would also work in the cafeterias of the Biloxi school system gathering skills that would serve her will throughout her life.
In 1940, Mandeline married “the boy next door”, Lewis “Hooks” Langlinais. With her Yugoslavian heritage and her Cajun husband, their home was filled with a mixture of rich ethnic traditions and meals that would be served to anyone who visited their modest home on Crawford Street. Her life centered around her family and being the wife of a commercial fisherman. Though she never learned to swim and rather feared the water, she would assist her husband on the boat, separating the catch as he emptied the nets. Fish, crabs and shrimp were always brought home and Manda would clean, freeze and cook the seafood, often sharing with their older friends and neighbors. As an excellent cook, she worked for some time at The Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant where she had the honor of serving President Gerald Ford and the privilege of granting him a kiss on the cheek!
Like her husband, Mandeline never opted to participate in politics, but in her own quiet way, she exerted her influence on matters pertaining to Biloxi. She cooked for neighbors, cared for those who were sick and helped Capt. Hooks cook for the members of the Fleur des Lis society. The door to their home was open to all, including city officials and over a cup of coffee, they would share the needs of Biloxi’s people with their city leaders.
Manda was a quiet intelligent lady who was capable of much, and chose her life as a fisherman’s wife, loving mother to children and grandchildren, and kind neighbor to all.
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