[The Patent Medicine Vendor]

Document text

February 28, 1939
Mrs. Grace Crowder (white)
250 Baxter St.
Athens, Georgia
Tailor assistant
Grace McCune
THE PATENT MEDICINE VENOM
"I was just about eight when I met my first husband. That
sounds funny, but it is the truth, but I did not dream of such
a thing as ever marrying that old man, but that just goes to
prove that we never know what is in store for us."
A customer came in the shop where Mrs. Cherry works, and
as she waited on him, I looked around the shop which was .a
large room, with several long tables that were used for cutting
and marking clothes. A large clothes rack at one end of the room,
held finished garments. A sewing uable, with a machine on each
side, one electric but the other was just a plain sewing machine
with the foot pea -die.
The large heater at one si'e of the room, and it was very
warm, coming out of the cold wind and rain. Four large windows
furnished a good light to work by. The room was very comfortable
and as the customers chatted for a few minutes about the weather
and to inouire about the woman who owned the shop and was at
home sick.
As the customers left, Mrs. Cherry 3ame back to the fire.
"It is cold," she said, "and all this rain is awful but there
is nothing we can do about it, except grin and get wet.

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"But just where did I get in the story. I believe I was
telling how I met my first husband. We had just moved to that
house, which was near a university, and he was one of the stewards
in the school. The school grounds joined our lot on the back,
and they raised their vegetables. The corn and potato patch
joined our lot. They had cows also and there was a branch
running through their pasture. This branch was a good place
to wade, and all the kids around played in it.
"I was one of the smallest kids in the crowd and he would
pick me lots of times and carry me to keep the weeds and briars
from hurting my feet. I thought he was great, especially as
he ,has always giving me candy, chewing gum or apples. Why,
I just knew he was the best man I knew, and he would tell us
about his little girl. She was a year or so older than I and
lived with an aunt, as her mother was dead.
"He was good to all the children out I was his favorite.
They thought it was because I was the smallest one of them,
and too I played in the pasture lots of times when they were
in school for I couldn't go to school because my eyes were
bad. I got sick, I just caught the measles but I was pretty
sick. He never missed a day coming to see me and would always
bring me something. He told mama one day that he wished she
would give me to him. Mama just laughed and said, 'Why I
couldn't give my baby away; we couldn't do without her.
"He laughed also and said, 'Well, when she gets older I
am coming hack after her. Of course they all laughed and told
him alright, for they didn't think as old as he was he would

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ever thin4, about me, except as a kid. They teased me all the
time about him, and kid like it pleased me, but he petted me as
long as he stayed there which was for several years after I
first saw him.
"When he did leave the university, he came by the house
Mix
to tell us good-bye and that he was going to Atlanta, but said
'I am coming back after you.' I guess I was about eleven then.
Lama just laughed and said, 'alright.' She thought he was just
talking, and I didn't hear from him for about a year. Then
one day I got a letter from him saying that he had not forgotten
and was still coming back for me, and kid like I pelt flattered.
I just didn't have any sense.
"He kept writing to me and when I was fifteen he came
back and said he had come for me. I didn't realize what I was
doing, and thought I was just head over heels in love. Nothing
would do except that I must marry him. We had a home wedding.
The house was really lovely. It was decorated with large
palsm, ferns and flowers of all kinds.
"I waA married in the afternoon.about four o'clock. My
wedding -ress was gray chiffon and I had grey accessories. My
flowe,:s were white roses. I was scared almost to death and turned
his hand lose several times during the ceremony. The preacher
had to keep reminding me that I would have to hold hands. The
were
preacher was an old friend of our family. In fact we then
living in his house and he had married my sister just about a
year before in this same house, and in the room next to the one
he married me. It seemed tio me as if he never would get through
praying.

r-,
4.
"We did not have a reception for we left immediately
after the ceremony for the city where he lived, but there
was a large crowd of people and we received many nice pre-
sents. The man he worked for gave us a check for one hundred
dollars, and when we reached the city where he lived his boss
had our house all furnished and ready for us.
"My husband as I have told you was years older than I,
and he was workin€ for an old Indian medicine company. The
main office or plant where the medicine was made was in this
city. He would stay in the plant until a large supply was
made and ready to ship and then he went on the rciad to advertise
it. This kept him on the road most of the time.
"The office and plant was in a large lovely old home,
that the company had bought, and it was fixed up to be conven-
ient in every way, both for the work and the ones that worked
tnere. Arhy they even had a large swimming pool for the use of
the people that worked for them. They. were mighty good people
to work for.
"I went to work for my husband and started in the labora-
tory to learn the business from the beginning and I started in
at six dbllars a week. My husband was getting fifty dollars
a week. The first thing I did was label bottles. At first
tlis was aone by hand, but business grew so that we had to have
a machine to label as Well as fill the bottles and it wasn't
1.ong until I could label more bottles than anyone else. I was
paid mo-_1.'e. I think it was raised to ten dollars a week.

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"It wasn't long then until I was taken in the laboratory
where the medicine was made, and the doctor in charge of this
department taught me how to make the medicine up. I really
enjoyed this work for it was really interesting and you know
it was really a good medicine. We used it ourselves so you
know it was good. I could soon make it as good as the doctor.
ahen we had a good supply made we were ready for the road work.
was looking forward to this tor I didn't realize what it
meant and thought it would be fun.
"But I soon learned better than that. As I said the
medicine was really good and was in demand. It was sold all
over the United States. Why one man that run a chain of drug
stores bought about one hundred carloads at one time. We had
salesmen on the road to make the sales and then we did the
advertising also giving out circulars and coupons and, for
this my husband carried several crew managers with him. But
the others were hired to work under them in the towns where
we were working.
"As it was an Indian medicine all the people that adver-
tised were made up as Indians. The crew managers went on a
day ahead. Yes they had enough of them so they could do this.
They carried a supply of the Indian suits for the men giving
out the circulars wore the Indian suits also. The medicine
sold for a dollar a bottle and the coupons that we gave away
was good for thirty five cents on a bottle of medicine.
"My job was to advertise at the drugstores while the crew
managers and their men canvassed the town. My husband saw that

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it was all done and the first day or so it was alright. I
thought it was fun. I was dressed in a soft leather suit,
all trimmed up in beads and fringe, leather moccasim shoes
with beads, my face and hands were stained and .1 wore a wig
with corse balck hair and feathers in ,my hair, and hanging
down over my shoulders. You know how it all looked for I know
you have seen pictures of tem. I stood at the door of the
drugstore and gave away coupons.
"Yes, I made go d money for when I went on the road I
was paia tAeaty-five dollars a week and all expenses. My
husband made fiity dollars. The crew managers were paid
fifteen dollars. Of course all our expenses were paid by
the company. The men or boys that he hired in the towns
were paid twelve dollars a week or two dollars a day for it
was a large town if they stayed there for a week. My husband
and I only stayed one day at a town and then we went on to
the next town.
"We dian't travel in Jars but went on the trains. I
soon grew tire of it for standing all day and then getting
the make up off and rushing to catch trains sometiles didn't
have time to eat and very little sleep and very often we could
not get a good place to stay for tills was during war times
and you know how things were then.
"Sometimes we almost froze to death in the winter time.
Maybe we would get in about day light and have to get ready
for the aay's work, probably have to get on the job before we
had time to eat and we had to be on the job for that was in the

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the company Jumixx was to do all the advertising. I was the
only woman on the road, but my husband saw that I did my part.
"We didn't go to the small towns where there were no
trains. The salesmen and crew managers took care of them.
But hard as the work was I would want to laugh sometimes
especially at the kids. They would get off and look at me
just knew they were looking at an honest to goodness Indian
woman, but then some of the grown ups were as bad as the
children and have asked me all kinds of questions. I was not
supposed to be able to talk any English and I even had one to
pinch me one day to see if I was real. She laug4ed and said,
"That is one time I could hardly keep still.
"One time we went into a town to work. It had bee+ain-
ing for days. I was just tired and worn out. The rivers were
all high and especially so at tnis town. The trains were the
only means of getting in and that was dangerous. But we had
to go. It was late at night when we got in. We were both
tired, sleepy and hungry. Ne did not take all of our baggage m
out of the depot that night, thinking we would just wait until
morning to get them.
"But that is where we made a mistake for the river kept
getting higher during the night and by morning was in the
streets and in the aepot also. All of our clothes were ruin-
ed. It was three days before we could get away from that town.
I never was so tired of looking at water, and it was cold and
we both had colds and I was glad to get back in our hometown
for we had to go back and get up anoth-r supply of medicine

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ready. It was just that way all the time.
"We would stay on the road until the medicine gave out
and then we had to come back in and help get another supply
made up. I aid hate for time to come to go back on the road.
I begged my husband to let me stay in the office, but would
not hear to that. I don't know why it was but he was ex-
tremely jealous of me and I had to go with him all the time.
so there was nothing for me to do except keep going.
"We had to keep up with all those Indian suits that were
used by the crew managers for their boys that distributed
circulars. This was not as easy as one might thInk for they
sent in from many different towns at time to laundered and we
had to send out fresh ones. There was always something to
keep you on the move. I did not get very much in the even-
ings ior any past time or pleasure for when we were on the
road I was really too tired to think of it and too I had no
tiae for it was catch a tain by the time I was off so I
could be at another town by morning.
"And when we were at home we worked also and in the even-
ing my husand was old and enjoyed sitting around reading his
paper and discussing the days work, and he was not willing for
me to go without him. I was young and grew tired of all this.
I r-alized then what I had done and every day it grew worse
but I didn't know what to do and I just stood it for three
years and we separated.
"He changed jobs then and went to work as a landscape
gardener on a large private estate. He kept begging until
I finally went back to him but we just couldn't make a go then

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and I finally decided the best thing for both of us, and
after being married three years, we separated for good. He
went to anothe_ town and I went to work there in a paper mill.
"But before I get off of that part of my story I am going
to tell you about one of the doors in the office of the medi-
cine plant. I don't expect you to believe it for I didn't
until I saw it happen myself. But when I first went there to
that
work one of the girls told me about this door. She said every
time it was locked it would come open.
"I just laughed and passed it up for I was a new hand
and thought they were trying to have a little fun with me. I
didn't think of it again for sometime. Then one day I just
happened to think about it and I told my husband about the
joke
girls trying to play a tat on me. He said, 'Haven't you
ever seen that door? Come on and I will show it to you.
"He carried me in the office and told me to lock the
door. I still thought they were trying to play a joke on
me. But I locked the door and took the key out. I then
tried it to see if it was really locked. It was and I
laughed and started to a chair to set dwn saying I guess it
wont come open this time. My husband said, 'Well, what do you
say now? I looked and the door was coming open just as if some
one was opening it, but there was no one there. I tried it
two or three tiF]es and everytime I locked it, it came open.
But if you just pushd it to then it would stay cloxsed. It
was that way all the time I was there. But that was -a real
old home and I am sure it must have an interesting history.

10.
But not so long after we left the medicine company, the
owner of it aied and he had really made money out of it, and
took care of it, but after his death, his brother took charge
of it and just went through with everything and it was soon
oroke and sola to pay up the debts.
"After I had been separated sometime from my husband and
he had left town, I got my divorce. I was still working and so
men
sure that I was through withmax for the rest of my life. The
girl that I roomed with would laugh at me and say just wait
young woman, you are just getting old enough to have a good
time, and to start to thinking of getting married.
"I did not think she was right. In fact, I just knew I
would never marry again. I did have a good time, just went some
where most every evening, shows, dances; or sometimes we would
have a card party for my room mate although a little older than
I was enjoyed a good time also. We always went out together.
It was not so many months before I met my second husband.
"He was so nice and kind all together different from the
first one for we were nearer the same age. I met him in May
and we we'e married in September. He worked in a large rail-
road machine shop and made sixty dollars a week. I wanted to
work on, but he wouldn't listen to me, he said that he didn't
want me to work and we were so happy and got along so good.
"His father run a blacksmith shop in another town. He
got kicked by a mule and was hurt pretty bad. He sent for my
husband to come and look after his shop until he was able to
work again. We went. He gave up his job in the railroad shop.
We stayea at his fathers until he was able to look after his

set up the wheels on the shovels,which
were rulld y two mules.

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shop again. He didn't want my husband to leave, but we wanted'
to get out to ourselves again. He went to work for a highway
construction company that was grading the highway going into
Alabama.
He worked for them as a blacksmith and he also set up the
wheels on the ;steam shovels. I don't know whether you know any-
thing about those things or not, but they have to be adjusted
just right to pick up the same amount of dirt all the way around
or it will tilt it all over. He was the only one that could do
this kind of work and they paid him a good salary.
"We were on the road all the time, following the crew of
workers, but still it was not like it was before for I -didn't
have anything to do. But it was lonesome. For most of the
time, there was only two or three white people with about a
hundred Negroes. We never had any trouble with them. They
all liked my husband and were very nice to me and we stayed
with them until just a short time before our first child was
born.
"My husband settled down in a small town in Alabama in a
small town in Alabama and opened a shop of his own. We did
fine there. He did,a lot of the work for the construction com-
pany as long as they were near enough to him. His boss didn't
want him to quit, said he could send me to a hospital and work
on. He wouldn't do it. He said that'he wasn't going to leave
me. After our baby came we stayed on there until his father
got hurt again and wrote for him to come and run his shop for
hit. He was making good with his own shop and we did hate to

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give it up. His father was old and begged so hard for him to-
come, we decided that we would go, but only until his.father
was able to look after his work again for we did not like to
stay there. His father was really in a bad condition from be-
ing kicked again by a mule. The doctors didn't think he would
ever oe able to work again, but he finally got up and after a
few months he was strong enough to look after his shop again.
And we left. My husband went back to his old job in the rail.
road shop and we were very glad to get back. Of course, we
baby
were foolish over the tatxbut he just thought that he had the
only child in the world just worshipped that little girl.
"We stayed there for a low. time. His old boss kept
wrtting for him to come back to work for him in the construc-
tion company. He did not want to go, he said it was no place
to rear a baby. Then we were expecting another baby. But all
at once they had to put off some of the men in the shop and as
my husband was one of the last ones to gO to work, he felt
,sure he would be one of them.
"He was right. It was not many weeks until he was laid
off. They let him work as long as they could for he was a good
worker and knew how to do it, and they told him that they were
going to put him back just as soon as they possibly could. But
he said he couldn't depend on that with a family to take care
of and we decided t4t maybe he had better go back with the
donstruction company.

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He was worried to death about me and how we could manage
and him away from home, but I told him I could come home and
stay for a while and perhaps by that time I was well again.
We could arrange things so that we could go with him at least
part of the tithe, if not all the time, but he just couldWA,
hardly stand the idea of being away from me and the baby.
"We went with him for a few weeks, rented a room nearby,
where the gang was working on a large dam, and he could come home
at night and then I came home. He came part of the way with
me and said he was just a good mind not to leave us and go back.
He just seemed to feel that he wouldn't see us any more. I
tried to reason with him that we would soon be back, but I don't
know why he felt as he did. But he was right and that was the
last time I ever saw him.
"I wired him as soon as i got here and wrote him the next
day. I had one letter from him telling me to be sure and let
him hear from me every day for he was uneasy aLout me. But
that is the last I ever heard from him-- I knew something was
wrong, for it was not like him to treat me that way and we had
never had any fusses or disagreements. They said at home, 'Oh,
well, he just wanted to get rid of you.'
"I wrote to his boss, but when the letter came I was so
sick they would not tell anything about it. But when my baby
was about a month old they gave me the letter and he wrote me
that my husband was killed in an accident a few days after I
left. He said that he knew amx my condition and didn't know
0
where I was, but thought I was with my husband's people and
that he wired them.

14;
"They didn't let me know anything about it. They didn't like
it because we didn't stay on with them. I wrote to them and
asked them to tell me more about it and they never answered
my letter but one of the men that worked. with him told me later
that he was in one of the trucks and was crossing the railroad
when a train came around a curve and hit the truck, and tore
it to pieces and that my husband's body was. crushed.
"I knew when I didn't hear from him that something was
wrong, for it was not like him to treat anyone that way, and
especially his family. I have thought many times since then
that he must have had some warning that something was going to
happen the reason that he hated for us to leave so bad.
"I have had a tought time since then trying to raise
my two little girls. It has been a hard fight. I am trying
to do the best I can and get them through school and for the
last few years I have had one of my sisters little girls to
take care of since her mother died and she will tell you today
that there is not one bit of difference shown between her and
my children for I do not make any difference. What one has
they 41 have.
But I do the best I can. My eyes are so bad that I can't
work like I need to, but I feel like that if I try and do the
best I an that there will be a way provided for me to take
care of them for I still have my faith.