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-caics PROGRESS A-ILINISTRATION
Col. f. C. harrington. Administrator
11j. b. L. harloe, Assistant LdLinistrator
Henry S. Alsberg, Lirector.of the federal 7=riters' Project
Interview with:
Miss Carolyn Bell
Katherine Court Apts.
Macon, Georgia
By:
Annie A: Rose
federalwriters' Project
Macon, Georgia.
WORKS PROGRESS Aiidh
Col. F.C.Harrington, Administrator
Maj. B.M.Harloe, Assistant Administrator
Henry S. Alsberg, Director of the Federal 7riters' Project.
lass Carolyn Bell
Katherine Courts Apts.
Macon, Ga.
written by
Annie A. Rose
Federal Miters' Project
Macon, Ga.
Jan. 9, 1939
Up the two long, steep flights of stairs in the
building used by the WPA in Macon, to the little partit-
ioned off space in which she works, came it:::=.jaunt-
ily this morning. She carries her rather tall, beauti-
fully developed body in a queenly manner. Auburn curls
frame her smiling face, the beauty of which is greatly
enhanced by a complexion any woman would envy. Soft,
large brown eyes, a well shaped mouth and gleaming
white teeth--- all these points add up to make a girl
much above the average in appearance and personality.
"Come on over and have a cigaret,
be-
fore you start exercising your typewriter," I called.
"All right, I guess I can," was her answer. "All my
reports are finished, and r. won't be in till
this afternoon." So fortified by Lucky Strikes and
cold, bottled Coca-Cola, I asked
and she told :de of her life.
"I was born in iL.oultrie," she began, "the young-
est of five children. I have two brothers and two
sistJrs. 'Ihe I was only nine months old, :ay father,
who was educated to be a lawyer, decided to move to
Yacon. "%e liv-d in a house on College street and it's
been on that street that I've lived practically all my
few questions
Larolyn 3ell
life. My mother and 14711.74; father) were always devoted
to each other and ve all had a happy home life as chil-
dren. That is, until my father's serious illness came.
Since then, we've only known privations and hardships.
"Alen I was young, irtrirte- wa jolly and good-natured, but
he's been sick so long that now he's nervous -nd irrita-
ble. I can't get along with him. That's the reason I
don't live at home. As long. as I can go by and spend
an hour or so with hi -r, every few days we respect each
other and things are swell. but I tried living there
after my divorce and he was eternally criticizing me
every time I had a date. i don't do anything wrong,
I only want to have a good time; I'm only twenty-one,
you know, but i guess he's afraid that I'll make a
fool of myself alain by marrying somebods else like
I'm not going to repeat tit mistake, but he
aitx".4.102:.
doesn't trust me, so another :.IDA girl)
and i rent a room together. I'm not at home to irritate
him and we both 'II.: happier."
speaks highly of her father's intelligence,
hrs s ,rat respect for his training in legal matters,
and havin heard her say that he was an invalid, I asked
her to tall me about him.
"Well, it happened when I was a little girl about
IICA*G7.4.
six years old," she began. iiimaosawklin my oldest sister,
was a senior at Lesleyan, the other children were in high
school or grammar school. itot4e desperately ill;
he had a tumor on the brain and no one thought that he
would survive the operation. he did, of course as you
Carolyn Bell 3.
know, but in,performing the operation, the surgeon cut
a- nerve and so he has been paralyzed ever since. That
was when our hard times began. There was my mother
with five children and a sick husband. 4 father had
some insurance but it wasn't enough to take care of all
of us, _alch less pay for the care and attention that
optioailie. needed. ..lother didn't kno what to do; she was
not trained for work outside the home, and if she had
been, she couldn't have made enough to hire a nurse
for ie=6eIrtake care of us. So efter much thought
I A
and worry over the situation, litaeresegot borrowed enough
money to finish her work at sleyan, the boys got
jobs delivering the Telegraph so they could continue
school, ana in some m3.y ,se manawed to live through that
year.
"When igamifigAippe4 graduated at esleyan she got a
position as teacher and was able to help us all. She's
always been fine, never a thought for herself —just
alyays planning how she could h 1 The other chil-
dren aid their 1,;r"u, too, but ,_,A...6,1%/51,'s always been
like another .other to ae. dust as soon as one of us
would finish school, he or she would get work and help
the rest of us.
"When I was about sixteen i graduated from high
school here, ana
her and 4464.6. ided
that should .J;cp to A.nthrop College in iiock Lill, S.C.
Aow?!@,4 was teaching here then still is, in fact,
and I was thrilled to go.
Carolyn Bell 4.
"That was where 1 met the boy I married.
He lives in hock hill; his father is a merchant there.
He was a cUteboY and lots of fun and I fell for him
like nobody's business. e were together lots but
r4d4A#
nearly always there wa5a crowd and "20,141breret didn't
suspect that we were in lov and planning to marry.
lien school ended tandi came to ,lecon where
we spent the summer. But by September i.other and
w1te
blenning to .cove to hock hill, too. All
the other children were gone from home ad they de-
cided th-t it would be cheep r and better for the
four of us to ii e together in hock hill. And was
glad to see when we arrived in hock hill:!
We decided to marry during the ehrist.u,s holidays
but he didn't tell his parents and I didn't tell
,C404.1
mine or mmaiaisa.4 till about the miadle of December.
e delayed telling them because we knew there'd be
plenty of fireworks when they heard the news, and
believe me, we were not a bit wrong. honestly, I
think if _other hadn't been so fat she would have
142
gone up in the air and tceing -aralyzed was
all that saved him, I'm sure. But and were
firm, we just kept saying that we were goIng to be
married and that was all there was to it. They
never did give their consent but at christmas they
all gave me pretty underclothes ane knew by that
that they wouldn't interfer very much.
61-ZoilZa
tt
"Did you run away, I asked. "No,
UILL
wanted me to", she replied, "but I refused.
Carolyn Bell 5.
ie were not doing anything to be ashamed of and i
insisted on being married at home. We married two days
14
after Christmas; father and mother were there,
kekttl^i3O-46
1Lx6414gaZ, ither and *4104e anJ two or three of our
young friends Ciur parents acce te- the situation and
tried to make the best of it. and I lived with his
father and mother. was working for his father,
who was very nice to us but his mother didn't like me
one bit. I think she must have been jealous.
was her only child, just nineteen years Old and I don't
blame her for not wanting him to marry; but do blame
her for making my life unpleasant. I loved he
loved me. I wish things had been different.
"I quit schoo wh n I was married and I had noth-
ing to do all day. mother wouldn't let me help
her with the house and since I have always had too much
energy and intelligence to be contented with nothing
to do all day but fix my hair and my nails, I was
very bored. Bo I decided I'd go back to school when
the new seester opened in iebruary.
and gave me the money for my tuition and books. But
things E0t so unpleasant at home that I told
thought we ought to be by ourselves. e rented two
rooms to live in and moved out. hen I'd come home i
the afternoons I'd clean up and cook supper. But
and I soon -ot to quarreling. he'd be reel late for
supper and if it was cold when he got home he'd throw
the dishes or the floor and march out and perhaps
stay all night. I know a lot of it all was my fault;
414gkis willing
Carolyn bell
6.
my hair's not red for nothing, you know, and I guess
he had lots to take fro-- me. i won't bore you by going
into all that, ne was the most selfish, unreasonable,
spoilt person I ever knew. he wouldn't let me go to see
-other and all; he said their being against
him was the cause of all our trouble. 1aYbe part of
that was true but his _Lother's attitude certainly didn't
help us a bit.
"By the time I haa finished my Junior year at
college I knew we just couldn't continue living together
the way things were bet een us. So I told suologN4dreila I
wanted a divorce. She arrangea for me to go out to
Little xock and live with my brother while I was getting
a divorce. She gave me money and I was down at the sta-
tion reaay to leave when heard about it, so he came
racing down to the station na made a terrible scene.
I was terribly embarras:ed but I didn't op back home with
him. I told him i was through and I meant it. There
was no use in spoiling the rest of our lives just because
we had made the mistake of getting married.
"ell, for a while I was pretty miserable out
in 14-ttle Hock. I kept ondering if I was really doing
the right thing and wrote letters ,_11 the time,
begging inc to come back which kept me upset. But I stayed.
je had already spoiled everything that could have been
beautiful in our marriage by that everlasting quarreling.
my brother and his sweetheart were so good to me; they
never offered advice or interfered. .chey just took me
places ana tried to make me have a good time. And I
Carolyn bell 7.
did. After a while i stopped worrying; I felt that
what i was doing Was for the best and I enjoyed the
rest of my stay there.
dpn't knox now would ever have managed with-
out _All/liel444.4..y thouh.
he gave me money to come on to
—acon. _other and h moved back here then and
I lived with them and went to G.A.B. (business sc#ool.)
ter i finished my course at U.A.1'). i got a job with
Areffettp Iransfer Co. for c;10.u0 a week. I managed to
live o what I was making and would have stayed on with
_r. vi-ef-ga44, if he haa been willing to pay Ae _ore
after I had worked for him long enotigh to expect a
raise. I surely worked hard for that ten dollars a
ek. I was thereat 8.a) in the morning and had to
sty until the trucks were in at night, which was often
as lute as 8 or 9 o'clock. I was supposed to have Sat-
urday aft2rnoons off but sure as I mace some
plans for that time i_r. Ageff-ett would keep me reel late.
.hen I hearriabout this pee at the WPA i went after it
with all my might. r. 1.44414.t raised a commotion about
the ITA hiring someone who had a job, but since he re-
fused to raise my s,lary and the ,PA officials knew that
what he was paying me was not enough they gave me the
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place. I get 111117tt now and have been able to get a
few clothes tht I badly needed. Mx main fear now is
that the .PA will fold up and then where will we all be'?"
Since that ciu.:.stion is the one over which count-
less thousands of :PA workers are worrying, and since
t;g44:46
i was unable to give a satisfactory answer,
U-rolyn bell a.
closed her visit, saying that she must get back to her
job while there is a job there for her.