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Concord, N. C.
oeptember 14, 1938
k. L. 4.
FANIRA RBK1:.
avir Berbee hsd never seen the inside of It
cotton mill until efter she was married; then the rent
through es e sightseer. "kr. rbee mede good money
working for the telephone compeny," avire says, sand
we never wanted for E thing; we lived well and hed
just k, plenty of everything." But when Elvirt wee
thirty.two, Mr. Barbee died leaving her with A500,
three children to support and another one coming.
The 1510C lasted several ye(rs, then Elvira went to
work in the mill. "I wasn't reised to work in the mill,
but 1 wasn't ebove doing it to support my children,"
she will tell you pertly.
be is e plump little women, pretty end healthy
looking in epite of her constent chetter ebout how
td she hes felt all summer, how nervous c -he is, how
she is "just fretting her life wty on account of
4;arie her oldest child.
Yhen Aerie wee ebout thirteen, 'sivire mantged
A
to get the onild into the megnificent Junior olm.
Orphenrge et Tiffin, Ohio, and there ohs stayed for
six years. avira say, she worked aacrificed to
keep Lexie there and the thought surely the girl would
help with the testily, but she vre to be greetly die.
apointed. I3uring the six years she bed been ewey,
kerie lad forgotten whet it wee like to live on hill
hill. 61vire figures thrt 41',arie got used to having
stea hest, herdwood floors, end tll oloh luxuries that
I just couldn't give her. There we plenty of young
men paid attention to her, but she wouldn't heve nothing
to do with them. It looked like she thought Ctie Wee
too good for them.4
..erie got t job it f, smell orfe, but she refused
to help the lemily, S irrituble unhappy. This
summer ..he .vent to stey with 4er cunt near liaAet end
she 'rote her mother thvt she musast beo7. home.
Hex Punt then helpe her to get into the Fletaet osjitel
for nurses treining. ilvir be ieves thn,t 111 time
grrie will. "come to her senses nd help with the
family. Out it hurt me more than enything that's
ever hit moo° the woman repea s rgain Erld egrin, 4I
laid in the bed End cried for two peeks.
letr ugene, the oldest hoy, will be sixteen
en.:; he go into the All to bel support the femily.
is: terribly rok,u, of iler eaildreh ani she is
ElGatiail2 for them. he will not let the two younger
ones go to the mill greTmer echool although it is
clop,er. They go to the sohool dovntovn. The reee
to it, too, thet they look es rioe ,ny other children
there. 'der ten yerr old deuFhter, Helen, he r parlament
z.rie her nal:. rre expertly poliehed by e neighbor. Helen
Le the pride of her mother'r life. Besides being oprimpy,s
she cen cook, c,'sb, end houeeksep FF good re t grown up.
Ance ryirr wee irie; off from the mill severel
yeers rgo, she hr s bid F bird time euporting the children.
:Ile goes out rs crectiorl nurse, but never often enough
to bring in t eterdy income. Yer principel income hrs
been the YX, Fhe receives every Imonth from the :Art'
lqothers iid fund, but tte. iF not enough. -ale hrn tried
to et tor} in the mill in spite of the frot thet she
"fe:710 too rwr OUP to etencl mill work." She vents to
get in the APA mewing room.
»Aviv, nnd her threr children live in three roome
of r Locke 411 haute. They rent the rooms from the
.rlter olotere, rnd pry 4.00 r ,Aont11, vhich iE hrlf
of th,, rent end telephone bill. lyirt roved in to
nure.Lottie A'elter he he broke her pelvic bone,
end aha steyinc in the little house becruse rent
rF:e onerp. it for week e nor the 1ter girls heve
been tryinff to put her out, they insult her end try
to *pica e fuss.* Slvira doesn't know whore she eon
go; rent is so high in most places.
Religion is a great eases in Elvirs's life. She
if sn ardent follower at the Concord Tabernacle. This
sect, founded by 'rather Meyers, does not have members
in the usual sense of the word; you just go end believe.
/t is E. religion based on the "true Gespel,6 faith ourso
and the giving of gifts. The preacher eon *give the
gifts* at any time, but the annual camp meeting is the
than when most ere given especially the gift of
speaking in the unknown tongue. Once tivire was given
the gift of faith, which she had prayed for, but she
scarcely hopes for the gift of perfect love the
higheat of them all.
Elvira can tell of marvellaua cures by faith.
when we asked what the charch thought of her =rein
work, she thought a mommet, then said *Well, if you
don't have faith then they believe you need doetere
end nurses."
alum Av. Barbee's death, %liars has had many
beaus and several *Uwe. to remarry. Tor the pest
three years she has been *sporting" with Jake lieges=
*Nays not good looking except when you see him in a
oar," she will tell you, *because he's got a crippled
leg, lit be is ass of wealth; he owns valuable property
around Cloaeord and has plenty of money; he owes a taxi
Ile hes lest her mousy to help her many times, but Slvira
is fraid ehe oan't get him beams* he had an unhappy
first earriage.
Once Elvin wrote a letter to President Roosevelt,
ead she got results. when IRA first ores in she was
working co a winder at the Locket kill. The boars had
been out to sight a day, but "l'a telling you they made
us do just as leach work in eight boars as vs had dame
in eleven," glvire declared. °Tom wee supposed to slake
a certain production a day, and if you fell below that
they would tell you about it, then if you didn't get
no better they'd lay you off. I dose the best I weld,
but I couldn't make production and sue day they laid
lac and thirteen others off. I went is to Mr. Webb,
the head nano end I told hie hov I just had to have
work so I could feed lay young'aus. he was real aloe
and said he would give as another chenot„ but that if
I didn't nate produotiou, in six weeke they'd have to
ley me off again. I was drawing asound 42.00 a week
for mg rpoduction and be said there was seas in the sill
who aEs drawing about 18 or 11:8 a week. I went beak
to work, sad I seen just why &ONO was drawing so mash.
They had folks in their frAilies who had been laid off,
standing there helping to do the weak. Course the
Emperinlendent end them didn't acre if them people
worked for nothing, just so long as they got prodaction.
"Tbet midi, me fighting med. Jo I set down end
wrote t letter to rresident hoosevillt telling him just
how it was. I said I wss e widow women tryinglto stoke
e living for me and my youngluns end hit didn't seen
right for folks to come in, without pry, to help rum
up the production of some. I told him I didn't hes*
nobody to cone in end help me 6n4 that I just couldn't
keep up with 'en.
"Two or three weeks went by end I didn't bees a
word. Then one dry 6 government men coma in meld sees
bow two w, working in the place of me just like
I told them and he pat r stop to it right then.
I kept right ealet stout writing that letter, tut it
sure did tickle me the wsy nobody klbow'd why that
oval:wont sta come.*