Document text
*MART AN BROWN"
,101110.
Date of 1st writing:
NeJlei
Address;
Occupation:
Writer:
Revisor:
Oct. 13, 1939
Mary ZaneC7utshins
(white)
ladkinville, N. C.
Housewife, tenant
former
Claims Dunnagan
lather Searle Pinnix
MARY JANE BROWN
*Come up an' set a spoil, ma'am. Hits right warm here
in this sunny corner of thor porch. Soo this purty pitcher?
Hits a birthday card from my preacher. Yesla, today's my
birthday. I'm forty eight years old. Oh, I know I look a
heap oldeen that, but hit's hard work and bad health as done
it.
no Pop was a share cropper all his life. He never owned
nothint, not even a mule. There was twelve of us ohillun an'
we come along so fast that Pop an' Mom couldn't do no more
than feed us* They done ther boot they could, I reckon but
we sure had a hard time.
"Therolder kids never had no school/0 a -tall. Thar young-
est ones went ter school a little 'cause sometimes ther truant
officer got attor Pop. But we movOd so often that hit was hard
tor keep up with us ant nary one 0 um went beyond ther third
grad*.
*I was ther youngest 0 titer chillun an' by the time I come
along thing* was mighty bad at home. Mom's health was poor ant
seemed tor grow worse every time another baby come. I had ter
go out an, work in ther field 'fore I was big enough ter go ter
school. I never did have no pretty clogs nor nothin'. I vent
barefoot 'til I was so big I was shamed. As fast as ther other
kids growod up they lit out. Some got married an' some Jest
wandered off, but there never was none at home big enough ter
be real holp to Pop. Maybe that's one raison why he never done
no better at farmin'.
"Finally there was nobody left with ther old folks but ms an'
my oldest sister, Elizabeth. Liz worked in ther field most o' this
time but I was always kinds poorly so they kep' me in ther house
ter holp Mom. When I was Villagsto; years old she had stroke. Hit
was a long time 'fore she could get erbout an' she wa'n't never
much good again.
"That same year a neighbor boy began ter beeline aroun' a little.
He'd walk home from church with me an' take ma ter iceeream suppers.
There wasn't much for young folks ter do in them days. There wa'n't
never a room fitten ter have company in nary one o' our hOuses.
Tenant houses ain't much, you know. Jim was a steady ohap ant holped
his Pop at home. They was buyin" ther own place an' hit was a right
good farm, too, but am didn't have no money o' his own. I didn't
have none either an' I couldn't leave home ter earn none on account
0 MA beint so slain' all ther time.
":im ant ma vent steady together erbout five years. Wavle:et
what you'd call engaged but I always Jest reckoned we'd marry
some day, when we could. That summer I begun ter feel kinds
poorly an' one hot day I fainted clean away while I was Actin'
ther 'Dubin'. I most fall in tiler wash tub an' scairt Mom awful
bad. She couldn't get me up so she hollered for Liz and Pop. We
never called no doctor when sickness come cause we never had no
money, but there was a neighborowoman who knowed jest as much as
most doctors. Liz walked two miles ter get her an' when they
come back Pop had me lyint on ther bed in ther bed ih ther front
room, with a cold cloth on ay head an' MA was tannin' ma with
her old palm.lsaf fan she carried to tharche
*Min Christian (she was the neighbor)X talked to ma ant felt
0 me an' then she called Mom an, 2op into ther kitchen an' shot
ther door. In a few minutes they cams back an' Mom was oryin' an'
Pop looked real stern. Be come to thor bid an' said, 'Mary Zane,
whose ter blew*? Was hit Tim?' Then I knowed they'd found out
I was goin° tor have a kid. I begun ter cry an' Pop said 'Hit
ain't no use oryin' now: You're ther onliest one 0 all my
ohillun that's disgraced us like this. I'm a poor man but I al-
ways held my head up. Tim's got ter do ther right thine'
"That night when Tim come over Pop told no ter stay insido
an' he wont out on ther porch. Thor two o"em talked awhile an'
Pop sounded awful angry. Purty soon I heard Tin go off an' Pop
ems in. gHe's wont ter talk ter his Pe. go over therOX
tomorry an' see what they aim ter do', he says.
*The next day Pop come in from ther fields early an' washed
up an' went off walkine totard Tim's place. We kept his supper
ware an' waited til long after dark. Finally Lie vent tor bad
but Mom an' no set by ther stove jest vaitine. I'd cried ti). I
couldn't cry no more an' Mom jest acted dosed like.
"Long erbout ten o'clock Pop come in. He was walkin' real
slow an' looked all wore out. 'Taint no use', he says. 'Tim's
Pa won't let him marry you. Say's he's got plans for Tim an' no
aint ther kind o' folks he wants for in-laws. Say's he's got
reason ter think Tim aint ther onliest boy that's been with you'.
When Pop says that he got red in ther face an come over to me
'gavial his fist in ther air. 'If I reckoned that was true I'd
beat ther /Arial auto you tho' I aint never raised my hand tor no
4
girl child11 he said.
*I cried then an' said, 'I'll swear on a staek 0 Bibles a
mile high that Jim is tiler onliest one. I done wrong but I aint
a tramp an' no man can say I am ant tell ther truthit
"Poor Han dragged herself oaten her chair an'grabbed Pop's
arm. 'The Lord will provide', she said. 'Mary Jane's still our
girl ant we gotta sten' by her. Mebbe she slut so much tor blame.
The poor kid aint never had nothie but bard work an' hunger. If
Jim's a real man he'll come ter her now. If he gives in ter his
proud Pa when he knows he's guilty, he aint fitten ter be Mary
Janes's man nohow.'
Moll, Zia did like his Pa told him. He never come ter see
ma no more an' I stayed so close ter hop that I never set up
with him. A year later he married a neighbor's daughter that
had sohoolin' an' a farm in her own name. Nobody seemed ter hold
hit against him, neither.
"I dragged along, workie ther best I oould, ant waitint my
time. Pop got grayer an' stooped more but he was always real
gentle ter me after that awful night. Mom never said much but
she Jest seemed ter fade away ant three months before my baby was
due ter come, Morn died one night in her sleep.
"When we buried her in ther little oountry graveyard some
thin' seemed ter die inside o' me. Pop flavor sooldad an' Liz
never said nothin' nohow but Nom had been ther one ter keep up
my spirits. I couldn't think what hit would be like ter have a
baby an' didn't feel no love for hit, jest shame an' sorrow, but
Mom had sewed up SOW little slots an' unit two pairs ol little
soaks an' *he'd say, 'We must do ther best we can for ther poor
innocent lamb.'
5 0,
"After Mom went I jest walked arount like in a dream. Pop ant
Lis was out in ther fields all day an' I was alone in the? house. I
done my chores ant cooked ther Aeals an' washed an' ironed, but half
ther time I didn't know what I was doin'. One bitter cold night in
Yebtrary I woke up in awful pain an' knew my time had some. I Galled
Liz an' she called Pop ter go fer ther neighbor woman. While he vas
gone Liz built up ther fire an' heated water an' warmed blankets.
She was good as could be ter me but I wanted my Mom ant X jest rolled
an' twisted an' *tried, 'Mom, liom,oh, I want my Mom'.
"My little girl come jest 'fore day -light. She was mighty little
an' puny ter make so much trouble. Her skin was real white with ther
blue veins showin' an' her eyes wqs big an' blue. I called her
'Hazel' cause hit was a pretty name ant she was each a pretty baby.
"Pop's health got bad that winter ant Liz couldn't do ther
farm work alone, We didn't own no stook nor tools so we couldn't
rent a good place, jest had ter t'Aku what nobody else wanted. We
didn't have much furnishWS eitheiyest two beds, a stove an' table
an' a couple ot chairs. Pop made ther baby a cradle out o' a old
box but when hit was cold I kep' her in bed with Liz an' me.
"Sometimes Pop tended ther baby ant Liz an' me would go out ter
work for some o' ther neighbors. He was gittin' real poorly an' I
wa'n't well a -tall. Liz was jest like a old nule, ploddin' along,
workin" hard, never sayin' much. Tharonliest time she smiled was
when she petted Hazel. When ther baby was three my stomach trouble
got worse ant I couldn't work. Pop got sick too so we had ter move
over ter his brother's farm. I holped some in ther hc,use an' Liz
worked outside. In five months Pop died. His last words was 'I'm
goint ter meet my Iudge. Your Morals wait in' far as. Take good keer
6
ol little Hanel'.
"HA didn't leave us nothin' an' we didn't know whey', ter go. WA
"4-17 C.trru2-eg 7r44-1.‘" Atit-L4-17-aL- 4A
an' Liz didn't have no school' an/ couldn't read nor wr114. Mole
rented a small shock mew his house ant put us in hit. Liz holped on
ther farm ant he gave us wood an' a little milk for ther baby. I ten..
ded a little garden an' we managed ter live bnt two years later I got
bad sick an' had tor have is operation. Thor county paid my expenses
an' doctor bill ant Liz looked after Hazel.
*When I got better I tried ter get some work but -ther depression
came an, everyfarmer's wife was doin' all her own work. Then ther re-
lief offices opened an' I got work in ther sewint roam. Hit wasn't
much money but hit was steady ant we had enough ter eat. Then I got
sick agin an' had another operation. When I come home I was poorly
an, couldn't do much work even if I could find hit. I don't know how
we pulled through. Liz nioked up odd Jobs an' Uncle helped all he
could ‘N2' milk an' meat an' garden stuff.
"Hazel didn't go ter school til she was noar seven, 'cause she
was so little an' puny an' there wasn't no one ter take her ter ther
school bus. She seemed smart an' was promoted all right when she did
go bu-, ahe was always sickly. Sometimes I'd wonder if Jim could see
how pretty an' sweet she was, might be he'd wart ter holp her some
but he never took no notice an' I reckon aint ncvnr even knowed he,
if he am her face ter face. Her second year in sctool ther teacher
soot her home an' said her tonsils w 91 bad, reg'lar poison factories,
an' I must have 'em took out 'fore she could come back tor school. I
didn't have no money so I jest kep' her hams ter rest o' ther year. I
was still gittin' work at ther relief sewing rooms but that winter they
closed, we sure had a hard time then. Liz was twenty years older'n
me an' gittin' too old ter work much. I oouldn't seem ter git
work 'asp* a day hare an' there. Then I got sick again ant vent
ter ther hospital. This time they took out all my innards an' I
was a long time gittin' well.
"Hanel went back ter school. She felt some better an' made
good records. When I got well I went ter work on W.P.A. Miele
bought our little shack an' gave um ther deed ter hit an' five
acres o' land. I reckon he musta felt he was goinl noon oauss.
he sickened an' died three months later. We sure are grateful
ter him 'cause hit means a home for Liz an' Hazel an' me. Taint
much an' ther house needs a new roof but we oan have a garden an'
nobody °ain't put us off ther place. Sit's tiler onliest time in
all our lives that Liz an' me has ever owned anythin' o* our very
own an' hits ther onliest place we ever called 'Rome*. Maybe some
day we can make out ter buy a cow an* a pig or some chickens.
'I been laid off agin but I git some odd jobs an' now Lis
draws her old -age pension. Taint much but hit buys food. Hazel
is 1.5 now an' real pretty ant smart but kinda puny. I reckon she
aint rally aver had enough ter eat, suoh as milk an' meat an'
wxs, I useta think maybe I'd marry some one that'd be a good Pa
ter her an' give her a ()harlot but nobody seemed ter want me. 0'
course plenty men' ud hang aroun* for no good but hit wa'n't *tat
I hoped for.
"I aint oomplainie ant Ouzo I don't blame nobody but my-
self far my fix but hit don't seam like I ever had much chariot.
Every penny me ant Liz can save we put by for books or clots far
Hazel. We both dons willed our home ter her Ware gall ter give
her all ther seboolint we kin. Maybe she'll have a chariot ter be
somethin, an' marry a good, steady man someday. I sure do hope he
ain't no tenant tamer 'cause Hazel aint out out fer that hard
kinda life. She's more like her Pa's folks."