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715 15th St.
West Durham, N. C.
September 141 1938
I. L. M.
THE JACKSON FAMILY
The last of the summer petunias lent a splash
of bright color to the small, smoothly -mown yard of
No. 715, 15th St. On the porch, a lazy black cat
curled himself against the leather cushion of the porch
glider. The front door stood ajar end through it a
mild breeze carried the refreshing coolness of an early
September day into the living room to the right of the
small entrance ball. The fresh scrim curtains at the
windows stirred lightly with now end then a flurry
when a cross currant brought a etronger and chillier
breeze into the room.
The day was Saturday of September, 1938. It was
a good day of a good year for James Jackson. The day
was good because only that morning he htd made the
lest payment on his eighteen -months old Plymouth car.
The year wee good because in January he had been made
second hand in the spinning room at $27.50 a week.
The twelve percent cut which came in July reduced his
wage to a little less than $25 but that left enough
for him to live on comfortably. His wife worked in
the mill until two months ago End made $15 a weak.
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-2-.
They have been able to save for their first child which
will arrive within the next month.
James is thirty-two and his straight, well-built
body, clear complexion and bright eyes stand as proof
of the good health he has always enjoyed. He and his
wife now share their four -room house with his mother
and his eighteen -year old brother, Clarence. The young
Jacksons end Mrs. Jackson occupy the two bedrooms and
Clarence Sleeps on a cot in the room which is used as
a combination of kitchen end dining room. This three
purpose room has in it no specs for storing the canned
fruits end vegetables which the elder Mrs. Jackson
prepared during the summer. Consesuently the jars
have been arranged in neat rows across the corner near
the fireplace in the living room and just opposite the
upright piano. There are two hundred jars of beans,
tomatoes, corn, peaches, pickles, and preserves. All
the vegetables were gathered from the Jackson garden
just back of the house.
James Jackson sat in his living room on this
Saturday in September and discussed the company for
which he works. "1 don't know of a better company to
work for, he declared. "The officials here have the
worker's interests at heart. They've furnished us with
a fine Auditorium where a person can find free amusement
if he wants to. They order coal in big lots and sell
it to us without profit for $6.50 a ton. They keep the
houses in good repair and rent them to us for almost
nothing. I pay $1.50 a week for my four rooms, bath
room, and garage. If I didn't live in a company house
I'd have to pay 0 2 week for a house not kept in as
good condition as this.
*There are very few people working in the mill
who make less than t12 a week when they work full
time. Some of the help's sent out now and then as
much as e day out of a week to rest but never more
than that. We make standard goods sheets and pillow
cases, you know and we generally have orders on hand
all the time.
°I feel like people living here at this mill have
as good or better chance for a decent living as most
people working in stores, in offices, tnd such places
where they don't make any more then we do and have a
sight more house rent to pay.
"Of course the company don't have enough houses
for all Ito help. There's some working in the mills
here that's paying $20 a month for rent because they
saint get a company house. But the majority of us
has the advantage over other working people when it
cones to rent."
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There was about James Jackson a spirit of well-
being as be talked of the company and of his own life.
It seemed to spring from his conviction that be had
worked for what he had gotten and had gotten what he
had worked for.
James, one of eight children, was born on his
father's small farm in Sampson County and lived there
until he was ten years old. By that time his father,
who bed Quit farming for railroad work a few years
earlier, had decided that a steady wage was better
than the uncertainties of farm production and farm
prices. He moved his family first to Erwin Cotton
Mill at Erwin, then to the East Durham Mill, and later
to the West Durhem Mill where James still lives. The
elder Jackson died a year after his youngest child,
Clarence, was born. Up to that time all the children
of school age had been able to remain in school. James
completed the eighth grade after which he began a course
in bookkeeping. Convinced that he was not suited to
that type of work he quit the course and went into the
spinning room at the age of fifteen. There he has
remained and availed himself of his opportunities to
learn all he could about his work. He has attended a
number of the textile courses offered in night school
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by the mill ()Mettle and he completed a correspondence
course in textile work from the International Correspondence
Schools.
Six yetre after the elder Jecksonle death his widow
decided to move out into the country, but not too far
for her children to drive into Durham for their work.
She bought on time-peyment a home end six acres at
Bregtown, about five fallen out, end here three of her
children not yet old enough to work in the mill rEised
truck produce. The children who worked in town took
the vegetables end sold them to certein -stores which
could hundle all the small farm could supply.
After eight years the farm wts peid for and the
younger members of the family had secured work in the
mill. Urs. Jackson rented her ferm and moved beck to
the mill villege. Todey all of her children except
Clarence ere married, end half of them live et the
mill while the others live in the country.
Clarence who is now in the tenth grade has
supported himself by working in the mill since be wee
fifteen. He quit school after finishing the ninth
grede and after e lapse of three years he hes decided
to finish high school. He is one of the sixty-five
students attending the Durham High School Co-operative
Claes, a class organised for working boys aMbitious
to complete their high school training. It is conducted
co ail to fit in with the working schedule of all of its
members. Clarence who works in the mill from 3:30 in
the efternoon until 12 at night attends clasees in the
morning from 9 o'clock until 12. NIt's pretty hard,"
he says, "but I'm going to etick it through this year
and two more. After that, I don't know whet I'll do,
but et least I won't be turned down for o job just
because I don't have a high school education. I may
etay right on in the mill and work up like James.
There's not many jobs for the working man that pays
more than $26 a week.
"Ind they don't come by just wishing for 'ems
James told his brother, that Saturday he'd finished
paying for his err.