Document text
upos ark Logiet_
Written WI:
Um Ina B. dukes
Resiarth mil Worker
Georgia Writers' Project
Atha*. 0.
Edited Bp
Mrs. Maggie B. Freeman
Editor
Georgia Writers' Project
Athens
*PA Area 0. 6
October 9, 1971
Septembor 14, 1939
Mort Sherrew (Negro)
Mate 1
Athens, Georgia
Mrs. Ina B. Nukes
UP'S END DOWN'
It was just a small Negro shanty, :ast off
the highway. I went up to the front door. I noticed
it was open, but I found the screen door shut and
latched.
I mine back down off the porch and walked
around the hour*. I saw an old Negro woman coning
down a little grassy lane. I walked up to meet her.
She lookod a little tired. She had a white cotton
sack on her book where she had been picking cotton
and a big sun hat on. She looked up and appearod
very much surprised to see me.
'Good morning, Aunty. Do you live here?'
she said, "Good morning, Kiss. Yoe, ma, I lives
hors. I tint been here so long though. Is der some..
thing I can do for ye*
I told her thAt I wanted to talk to her a little
while if she had time. She said, "Yoslum, but you see
I don't want to be empolite cause I won't raised dot
pay. But if you will coma in I will talk to you whilo
Noakes
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I fix up a little dinner. I w'rks in the field
all I can.'
About that time I saw a small bey coming
around the house with his cotton sack.
'My name is ladle' she said, 'and die is
my great grandson here. Ilse got seventeen ehillun,
Honey."
'How did you manage with so many children, Aunty?'
I asked. 'By the help of the Laird. We didn't have
such, but you know what the old frog said when he
went to the pond and found jus a little water, don't
you? Well, he said,'A little is better thmn none.'
Dates de may I all'ers felt about things.
was born and raised in Walton County. But
doy is done *hanged things beak over der so such. I
was over der to see my daughter while back and, Lawdy
mussy, chile, doy is tione built a new bridge ah didn't
know nothing about.
"Here, Sammy, make name a fire in de stove while
I gits a few things ready to seek."
The little boy had a kerosine lamp over the blase
and, before I could stop myself, I had yelled at his to
get it away from that blase, Aunt Sadie said, °Dat's
right, Miss. Correct his. Chillun des days don't see no
danger in nothing.
'Back in my day as far book as I can remember
Hawke'
Page.. 3
ny mother and father wus Marie Molt and Mistess
Molt's slaves. 'Coss we ohilluna Inas too, but
slavery times wus over to I wus big nut to know
very nuoh 'bout hit.
*Mut I do knew about *arse Melt and Misted'
Holt. lewd, child, dey wus do best people in de
world I do think. Ole Mistess use to make us go to
bed early. She would feed us out under a walnut tree.
She wouldn't let us eat lak ohilluns do now. We would
have Alia and bread, and dey would always save pot
liquor left over from the vegetables. They put corn
broad in it. Ws little Mkggers she' injoyed hit though.
eonittinos we would get syrup and broad and now and
then a biscuit.
*Mars* and Misted& died, but Ma and Pa and we
oh llun Jul stayed on and inked hard. Pa and Ma both
'us good farmers. Out, Honey, talk 'bout slavery Ulm',
hit's nor ink slavery tinos now with ohillun dan it wus
don. 'Cause us didn't have to go to de fields til we
wus good else chillun. Now de poor things ha* to go tins
dey is big nut to walk and tot* a cotton sack.
Mee Ruth is Mares and Mistess Molt's dsu er.
I wus fortunate to know Miss Ruth. She larnt no to say
my A B C'$. If I didn't know them or say then fast nut
she would slap we and make we do hit right'. Mho got
tic and went over to an old washstand and got an old blue
Hawks
l'age 4
book opoller."Mere," she said, "look at die and
you will see *hut she tau,ht me wid. You oan see
why Illovos dat book. I don't let nobody bother
wid dat.
"I sits and looks at my little book lots of
timse and think of den good old days. I went to regular
sehool two months in my life.
"I thought I wus grown when I hopped up and
married." the stopped talking a moment to weigh her
hands. "Ilse jus gwins fry some meat and make sows
corn bread. Ilse got plenty of good milk and butter.
Sim, der is two ohurns. I got to ohurn to -night when
I comes in from do field. I canned up a good bit of
berries and all do peaohos and apples 2 could git off
of den trees in de yard. I'se got a little garden too.
*I bile vegetables when I has time. Yes, Mono, I
married the nigger dat is coming to eat dis dinner Ilse
got to cook. He went to de atm for do white folks dot
own's die plows. He'll be back in alittle while. 'Cause
he has gotta git in dat field. I'so belivos we is gonna
have a rain in a few days.
"I'se always been a hard wuker. Ah had to wuk and.
Ilse been blessed all along by de Laud with 11000 health.
My ohillun's all healthy too„ Why, Honey, ah got some
sons dat looks lak boxers. Noy is men. Me and Tom tried
to raise our ohillun right, but some of dem has been
Hawke*
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mighty mean and have got into lots of trouble. Hit
looked lak anything sons of den totohod would stick
to doy hands. The girls was all good girls 'crept one.
She was So fast. Lavdy me, I couldn't do nothing with
dot girl. She would run way and stay for days at the
time. We worried so such 'bout her. Hit twont long
after ono of don trips dat she had her fus chile. Well,
I tried to look over dat. But in a little over a year
she had another one. And, Honey, hit looked Ink she
was )as going to ran me crazy about having don babies.
°So her Pa got tired of hit and told her next
time the had a baby she had to git out of our hones.
You know hit is hard for a mother to toll her own chile
to get out. Well, anyway, hit twont long to we say she
sue going to have another baby. But the went off one day
and didn't come back for three weeks. Whorl she did, she
brung in a man and said hit wus her husband. t nigger
was seared to death though. She eaid she and her husband
had come atter the other ohilluns. Yes, me and Tom kept
dam chilluns and fold and clothed 'es. Diu was fine healthy
youngsters.
°Yes, Rose bap done mods her a good home now. She
is nigh fifty herself, too. And has twelve ohilluns. Doy
all smart and don't worry her likes she did no and her,
pa. Atta all, she got more now than the other ohilluns.
*my life, Honey, is jus been ups and downs. Ms and
Hawke. .0
Page 6
pa and the ohilluns always jus had to stay ham*
and work 'eept on Saddam We Would always go to
town and church on :Sundays. We would fix a big box
of eats and get up soon Sadday morning, and Ton and
the boys would hitch up old Mack to the cart. Yes,
dat old cm wus jus as fast as anybody's mule. He would
take us to town and bring us book safe.
*I never will forgot one Sadday we vets in town.
It was a treat to jus go to town for us, ,the lights ems
so pretty, but coming hone dat day a man stopped us. No
and Ton had most of the chilIuns w!th us. He said he
wanted to take our ,pictnres, so he could save it and show
it ot his grandchilluns.
*We jus sold old Buck in 1934. He wus gitting old
and couldn't plow and git 'bout lak he used too. And we
needed a mule too.
fLawdy, dare's Ton now. He *one in the bask door,
a little can not much older looking than tx.°
*Lawdy, gal, it sho has been a hot day. I thought
I would never git dat cotton ready to git away from dat
gin.'
Looking around, he saw no and said, *Good morning,
Miss. I didn't know we had a visitor. I Who wus
won't I.*
*The lady hero las wanted me to toll her about our
life history, but I didn't think dat we poor Niggers wus