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unIGINAL AND UNEDITED CONTINUITY
(LIFE HISTORY)
tallACE mCCUNE 4,e
December
Mrs. Margar.A Davis
193 Nac000hee Ave.
Ataens, Georgia
As you go up a long flight of steps to the tailor
shop, you end up in a long dark hallway, where a light
is kept burning all the time, so that visitors and ous-
tomers can see how to find the doors.
A knock on the door and a very friendly voice said,
"come in.* The room at the top of he steps is the sewing
room, and has two long tables that are used for cutting,
and marking clothes for alterations. A long rack at one
end of the room was hanging full of clothes that were
finished. A smaller table between two large windows had
a machine on each side, one was an electric machine, but
the other was just the old kind with a foot treadle.
A hea-er at one side of the room heats up the room,
and several chairs were placed around it for visitors as
ell as customers.
Mrs. Javis is a large, dark headed, and a.very
pleasant and friendly woman. he was busy with several
men from the different dry cleaning places, and they had
lar6e bundles of clothes to be repair d. t.'rs. Davis ask-
eu the visitor to have a seat that she would be through
in a few minutes. After -lie customers were r,one, nd
the Negro boy, Tat had fixed up the fire, and gone back
to the ro)m whe7.P he does all the pressing, Mrs. Davis
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*My father and Jerome Wallace were the two men that
run the paper machines or "enjines" as they called them
then. Of course, they had helpers, but one of them had
to be on duty all the time. If one of them was sick, or
off for any reason, the other one had to stay on the job
until the one that was off duty returned. Miss Mag Hale
',,as the only woman that they u(v.1 in that part of the
mill and she counted the paper. It was made in large
scuare sheets ready for the printers.
"31d Man Bishop was the man that run the finishing
maohine. I have watched them work many a time when I
was a child for it was all so interesting to see the
machin-s run. Out from the paper mill was the rag
room, where the rags were sortered out and put in
different bins. Each color was put into a separate bin
to itself: They bought old clothes and rags to make the
papers and all the buttons were out off and they sure
watched out for that, for the button would ruin the
machines.
"hen I was six years old, I was sent to school.
It was not like the sohools are now. School then was
in the Old Hall, and was all in one room. Miss Sally
oard was the teacher, and we didn't have but one teacher
for all the children, and she had about one hundred, all
sizes and ages, from Biz years up, and some of them were
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almost grown. Our books then were the Old 814, Bac*
qpelker, arithmetic, and geography. We sure had to
study, but even at that w- had lots fun and good times
in that old schoolhouse which in later years was made
into a dwelling house, and is, I believe, still stand-
ing at this time.
"It was a great thing for the children to work at
the ‘papermill after we were out of school. They were
glad to have us to. Our job was sortering out the raga.
enjoyed this work, and they paid us fifty cents WO
a month, and that was a lots of money to us, but it
wouldn't be much to kids these days. People from all
'round sold their old clothes and rage at the paper mill.
Many times we found niokles and sometimes dimes in bags
of rags. They allowed us to keep the money when we found
it that way, and we would buy candy and hp,ve a big time.
"And one day, I sure do remember that time, as I
think, pleasures and Asappointments in our childhood
days, are better remembered than anything else, we found
a large bag of new clothes, and they were nice ones to
dress for women and children, underwear, stookings, and
some shirts, we dressed ourselves up, and we put these
things aside, :or we wanted to keep them. But the very
next morning a woman fromipOwn was out there hunting her
clothes. Her maid had sold them and kept the money, and
as the old saying goes 'our feathers fell,' for we had to
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give up all our pretty dresses that we had put aside.
"About this time they put in a bag machine to make
paper hags. The machine would out a hundred bags at a
time, and was -a great curiosity to the folks back then.
The bags were folded, and put up in bundles, two hundred
bags to a bundle. This was another job that we kids
could do. It was fun to do this. We folded half of
them one way and half another way, and tied up the
bundles.
"They also used jute to make paper, And this was
bought in large bales. That was another job for us to
co, for we could tare the jute up in small pieces to
have it ready for the machines. One day we found a
lots of paper money in one of the bales of jute, but
two of the women that work -•d there took this money, and
said they would have to send it beak. But folks said
that they kept all the money and bought them a home with
it. Of course, I don't know if that was right or not,
but we id know that we didn't get any of it.
"Diciyou know that they made paper out of wood even
in thole days? well they did, I don't remember what kind
of wood it was, but they ground small Aappling into a pulp
ready for the paper machines. The paper that was made
from wood was a heavy brown paper such as they use for
wrapping paper, and was called manila paper.
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*People was paid once a month then for their work,
and it was the usual thing then, for them to buy a
months supply of provisions at that time at the company
store. All the men liked their tobacco, and this was one
supply that was not forcotten when groceries were bought.
It was something they felt like they could not do with-
out. And kids would slip tobacco out and chew it, the
boys especially. One day some of he kids swiped some
of their dads tobacco, and told me I would heve to hide
it for them, and I had better put it come place, where
it woula not be found. I decided that on the Bille in
the top of the old well would be the best place. I
had to climb to reach the Bills, but I made it, and
laid the tobacco along the sills. It started to raining
that same nic,ht and rained for a week. After the rain
was over, the kids told me to get their tobacco for
them.- I went to the old well to get it, the rain had
come through the holes in the roof ,_nd soaked the tobacco,
and it had swelled unt1.1 it was as thick :;gain as it
should have been, eild ruind. I almost got a whipping
from that crowd of kids, but they chewed itt'and of
course was sick, every blessed one of them. No, I
didn't chew any, for I knew mama would sure tan my hide.
"I had some older sisters and our house was just a
cath-ring place for the young folks. There was a crowd
of them there most all the time, and I could ge, the
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bigest thrill out of watching and listening to them talk.
On night two girls, Jule Lee and Gertrude Richards, oame
to our house to set a dumb super. I was just about seven
then, and I cried because they put me to bed, for they
had these suppers at midnight, just on the stroke of
twelve. They started their supper and one of my sisters
and Cordellia Noells put on pants and was going to scare
them. I could hear them talking, for I wasn't asleep,
if I as in bed, and I slipped up and told one of my
unoles what they :as doing and it was a disgrace in
those days for girls to dress up like boys. So he said
he wouln fix them, and when my sister and the other girl
slipped out to go around to the ki,chen to scare the other
ijrls, my uncle got after them, and did they holler, but
any way it broke up the supper, nnd I was satisfied.
"Didn't you ever hear about them old time dumb
suppers? They were very popular beck in them days.
That was the way girls found out who their future hufmand
would be. I know it s -ems funny now, to look baok on times
as they were then, but after all I think pimple really
enjoyed life more then than they do now. There was not
so many places to eo, and people -were closer together
in every way, but I will 4ry to tell you how they cook-
ed the suppers.
"Two girls did the 000king, set the table, and each
Dne used thF!ir right hand, everything was done backwards,
even to making the tread. They did everything together,
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they only used one hand, and could not ape*, not one
word frpm the time they started, until it was over.
If they 6.3.(a, the spell was broken and no one would
oc,me. 7verything must be ready just at twelve, the
table r;et for fur and also on the table was placed a
?Able nd a pint bottle. Then the wind was suppose
to blow Hiad thT? doors ,-;ome open, so that the men could
4alk in and eat. They ere not supposed to speak either
just at and -;alk out, 3. they picks up the Pible, then
they -iould make a good husband, but eware of the man
that moved the bottle for you would sure get a man that
!culd turn out bad and oe a drunkard sure. If no one
came into r.t, then you was doomed to die an old ma.1(1.
These 'An. pen.; were lots of fun, for most times, the
cirls would get soared and wake everybody in the house
up. Ch, ye, they had to be th- only two people up
in tho hu-e, but they were. god old days._
tow as it is 'most Christmas time, I'm f.z.,oinR to
te 1 you Uout one Christmas when I was still a little
.iri. For Christmas then lasted a weeks from Christmas
4e, 'til Ne Years On this Christmas, mama was
looking for her half-sister, and family from Alabama
to Lij„-' rid 7hristme.,s ith us. 4e hEd never seen them and
were looking forw—d to t.:1, -t visit, and weal having a
su- per on Christmas Xve night, also a dance. 4e
kids were just on tip toe, so excited, just couldn't
;;alt. Of ourse, we were also looking tor Santa Claus.
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Our tree was all ready. Mama had killed turkeys, ohiok-
-ne, and had spoked cakes and pies for two weeks. But
at last they came, now child, I am going to tell you
this, just &a I remember it, and gion't know if you
will care to we it or not, but we have had many laughsr
over this Christmas, so :any years ago. My aunt and
uncle got here several ciys before the children did.
They did not have enough money for all them to ride.
3o they started the children on days befcr.e they left,
..7;n1king part of the way and riding most of the way with
some of their friends. The two girls. and one boy got
in on Christmas 7.'ve, and if they wasn't a sight, one of
the girls weihed over two hundred pounds, and had walk-
ed the soles off her s oes.
4a11 of our folks and lots of our friends were there,
nd one of mama's nittoes, who had married a an named
3tenoile, ale g one of my uncles and his daughter. They
were to furnish the music for the dans, for they both
played fiddles. Tverything was cleared out of two
rooms for dancing. out three o'olook in the afternoll,
the youm; folks started the dance. ve kids were happy
for we could watch them long as we wanted, didn't have
to F.0 to bed on Christmas.
he older women were busy cooking and getting the
supper rf-ady, -verybody as h-ving-a good time, the man
calling for the dance would holler, towing your partner.'
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Oh, it was a grand time, and yet happy as we were, we
kids were so interested in the fat girl from Alabama,
.that we stayed pretty close around her. 3he did not
seem to want, to dance, and we could not understand that.
Alen we saw one of the young men start toward her, we
just had to hear what he said. He asked her if .she
would dance the next set with WAIL Ne held our breath
for her answer, and this is what she said, 'I had jest
as lik) dance with you as anybody else, but I has walk-
ed all the way from Alabamy to see Aunt is, and am too
tired, and aulded from walking to dance with anybody.
"About five o'clock the supper started, for there
was eight tables full, besides the kids like me. we
had to !Jait until the grown folks had all '-at before
we were allow -d to go to the table. And how we watched
that table. The man Stencil, went to the first table,
andj'ioneyy.hat man stayed the' with all eight tables.
I never have seen no one person eat as much in all my
life. Of course, there was plenty to eat, but we was
so afraid that he would at it all, and as the last
table finished eating, he reaohed over and took the
last piece of turkey. I never wanted to say something
as bad as I did then, but I knew better, and with all
we had to eat, we couldn't enjoy it for thinking of
that last piece of turkey.
"The dance lastEd all night. Of course, we kids
had to give it up and go to bed after midnight, but we
were up for the breakfast early on Christmas morning
and to see what Santa had left.. There was not so many
things -for children to get then, as they have now, but
we got many nice things. When it was time for dinner,
mama put some turkey aside for us kids, and I guess it
was a good thing for Stanoile was there. But that was
the way we spant our Ihristmas then, -ating and dancing,
and parties all through the week. But after New Yaars
it was all over, and it was back to school and work.
"I had just about finished school there when the
old PaperaMill olosed down. we moved to Athens, near
the old °Check which is on Broad Street. we
went to work in the mill. I still remember that old
mill very well. It had large pats all through it.
One day my sister was leaning against one of these
post resting. One of the women saw her, and thinking
that she would have some fun, the yelled out at her to
move quick. It soared my sister, and she 3umped catch-
ing her hair on a nail in the post, and pulled a hand-
ful of her hair out. Of course everybody laughed, but
it made me so mad, I hit her so hard that she fell in
the floor. We aere new folks in the settlement, and
4ere in for a lot of teasing, but f.'er that day they
did not tease us any more. we weae soon well satisfied
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there, and had the same good times there as did in
our old home.
Njust.when I was thinking that I was glapvn, I was
visiting my sister, and it was there that I met my present
husband. He came to see my brother..in..law, and had the
prettiest horse and bw-gy. He carried me to ride, but
we just went down the road not far enough to even get
out of sight of the house, but even at that mama heard
about it. She didn't believe much in whipping, but she
sure could rind other ways of punishing, and just for
that little short ride, I had to stay home for three
long months. I mean I was not wren allowed to go to
o-urch and Sundayschool.
"I had a girl friend that I used to spend the
night with real often, and she would visit me also.
.one night when I was spending the night with her, her
father and mother were off visiting their people and
there *k8 just the children at home. Of course, she
had brothers and sisters much older than we were, but
we deciided that when everybotly got to sleep that we
would get up and set us a dumb supper, ror we had alwayt,
wanted to, and they would tell us that we were too little
Sure enough, after everybody was in bed, we got up, yes
we were soared, but was just going to show them that
we could do it as 'Nell e they, and we did get the
supper ready. We didn't even forget. the bottle and
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Bible. Two boys that knew us had been fishing and was
on their way home, seeing the light in the kitchen, they
thotight someone was slat and decided they had better
stop and see if there was anything that they could do,
but when they sew us through the window, and knew whet
ee were doing, they just pushed ,opened the door, walked
in, etokeei 4P he bottle and walked out. Jell, we were
soaree stiff, couldn't move or speak, for sometime4 tat
when we did get to where we could yell it wasn't long
until everything in the heuse W48 up. That was mee
first and only time to try to sot a' dumb supper, eut
strange as it may seem, one of those boys is now my
husband, and my girl friend married the other one.
"I was married the first time, when I was just
about sixt,een. used to have big pionies, everybody
7)
would eo, and we in tally-hoe,filled with straw. There
was ;T4ost times a ball gamy, after we had finished dinner.
That is ahere I met my first husband, at one of these
pionic. It was lust a short time after we met, that
we went with a large crowd of boys and girls to the
old Beeverdam ‘;hureh to one of their footwashings.,
After that was over we eent over to the Jim 3mith
place and one of the guards showea us all around.
There was so many prisoners there, some orippl-d up tn
different ways, some with oneearm, and some had one leg
gone, but they all had to worti It was the way on that
inua-14
To au0
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Frank asked me to mary him, and in about three months
we were marri-d.
":le went to housekeeping, and lived a very happy
life until he died in 1907. After he passed away, I
went back home to stay with mama and daddy, but I was
blue and discouraged. I decided that I would go to
work, and see if that would help me. I went to work
in the Climax Hosiery mill, and worked there for sev-
-ral months.
"Mr. Head start d a tailor shop in town and I
went to work for him in 1908. I had not ever done any
of this kind of work then and I don't think any of the
others had either. But he got two Bohemians to learn
us the tailor trade, and that is how I learned to be
a tailor. I worked there for five years when I went
into ousiness with Mrs. Sally Baughoum.
sOne day as I was walking up Broad Street who
should I meet, but the boy that come to my dumb supper.
He had married also, but he had lost his wife, not so
very long after my husband died, and that meeting was
the beginning of a friendship that later ended in
marriage' He was then, and still is a great teaser.
He enioYit Playing jokes on me. One night he came down
to see me and askAd me and one of my sisters to go to
the show :with him. Shows were only five -,nd ten oents
then. *ell, when we .Nere almost there, he told us, that
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/we could go in and that he would wait on the outsider
as he did not have enough money for all of us.
"I was embarrassed and said we would just go back
home. He insisted that we go on, but I got m. d and told
him that I could pay my own way. My sister just laughed,
it seemed as if she could tell that hp was teasing.,
So she told him to just give her her dime, and she would
buy peanuts and candy. e went on to the show. Oh, yes,
he went too, but I was so mad, I couldn't enjoy it4,\ He
and my sister still tease me about going to the picture
show, but I wouldn't let him come to see me again for
long time after that. One night when one of my
sisters waa fixing to get marri-d, he came walking in,
told mama that it would be a double wedding for he was
going to marry me that night also. I ouarreled and
fu3sed, told them that it wasn't so, that I did not
ever intend to marry him, but the more I fussed, the
more he laughed. He had everybody there beli-ving
him, until the wedding was over. But hP won out and
in 1913 we viez‘e marri,d.
"-e has his '...,arber shop, and I have my tailor Shop.
.e have no children, no one but. purselves. Then we
married we bought a home )n Nacoochee ave., and we are
still living there. e have a nice little home, and
1pyely
some/flowers, but he does most of the work with them.
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I don't have much time to work at anything at home.
Mrs. Baughoum and I ,4ant into business upstairs
on Olaytom ,Ar-et, but in a short time we moved down
here, on Jtakson Street, and have been here ever since.
I have ruM the shop by myself since 1aly passed away
1st year. But it is lonesome without her, for we
were together so long. I have three rooms, this is
my Work rOom, and the next room is the dressing,
There is a large mirror, and a table and some chairs
in there, and smetimes people come in and wait in
there, wAile I fix their clothes. The lst room is
the pressing room, and 7d looks fter that for me.
I don't know hardly what I would do without 7'd. He
has been with me so long that he knows just how I
want everything done.
°I allow th-t I have not been able to te11 you any-
thing that will be of enough interest for you to g.t a
story out of, but I do hope that it will help you some.
I am glad that you came to oee me, and come baclik again.