Document text
Approximately 3,000 words
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TITLE*
SOUTH CAROLINA WRITERS' FaUJECT
LIFE HISTORY
DARING TIM DEVIL
Date of First Writing January 16, 1939
Name of Person Interviewed Reverend T.L. Snyder (white)
Fictitious Name William Wiley
Street Address Second Avenue
Place West Columbia, S.C.
Occupation
Baptist Preacher
Name of Writer Attie T. Jones
Name of Reviser State Office
"Well, I declare, if it isn't Ars. Jones. Come right in," said fr.
Wiley, a tall, erect, frail -looking man of about fifty years of age.
"It's a lovely day to be gadding around, isn't it? Let me see." And his
thoughts oame fast, as he pondered just where we should sit. "I know, we'll
go to the kitchen. Ars. Wiley and a bunch of worn are having some sort of
a meeting in the study where we always sit, and I think the kitohen is still.
111=14 Honestly, you won't mind a bit?
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"You'll please excuse me for meeting you in ay shirt sleeves and with-
out a collar and tie. I was just fixing to shave when the dooraell rang,"
Mk. Wiley continued, as he informally took his coat from the hack of a chair
and put it on.
As a short, plump, teen-age girl, with a lovely complexion, soft brown
eyes, and wavy brown hair passed through the hall, she called,"Daddy, the
telephone."
"Yes, I'm going in about an hour," we heard this pastor say to the parish-
ioner. "Glad to have you and Mrs. Smith go with me. I'll be by for you about
four o'clock. Good-bye."
When he was seated again, he explained, "That wee Mabel, our second
daughter, and she's a whole team, a regular chip off he old Clock, I declare.
"Lord, woman, you don't want to know nothia: about this crowd. You bet-
ter go find somebody who's done something. You see we were tarheels. I was
born in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, back in 1890. My father owned a 200
acre farm there. He taught school when he wasn't busy with the ferm work.
Taught the three Res, you know. Those were blue -back speller -aye. He start-
ed me off in that good old book we hour so rnqe, aoiit, but I didn't get to
'baker'. my mother had only a common school education.
"Farming in those days who a pretty up -hill sort of lAsiecais, and making
a decent living for eight children wasn't so easy. ao ny fr,ther wasn't nuking
ends meet, and ho gave a little mortgage on the farm. Finally he decided he
could do better if he moved to a cotton mill and let the it,rm go. 3o we mov-
ed to Henrietta, North Carolina. That was thirty-five yeare ago.
"I began work in the mill when I was about fourteen yurs old. I earned
twenty cents a day. Yes, ma'am, twenty ce s. T1y aother wove, spun, and made
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the cloth, and then the made the pants for us oys. The old loom is in the
attic in my sister's home now, where my father livfle.
"But mill folks rust wont stay put. We moved down o Lockhart, South
Carolina, and I earned sixty cents a day there, _;uess I made as
much as twelve dollars a week before I left the mill."
As he stroked his gray hair, which fairly stood on end, he said, "my
daughter has just washed my hair. No, you missed the guess, no beauty p r.
Hannah has bad eyes and likes to do things like that because they don't re-
quire close vision. When she was only two yours old, she accidentally fell
down two flights of stairs. Oh, it was awful. Her optic nerve was complete-
ly shattered. She has heen totally blind several timts and has had three
hospital experiences. Oh, yes, she finished hi4h 3clool, thanks to Dr. Harden.
I declare I can never forget Doc. He was so interested in -Ale cb)e and watch-
ed her with so much concern. 3aw her regularly every week and assured u 3 if
he found study was against her, he'd let us know. She mana;nd to .;et thro•1:h,
though, and is a grand girl
"There the ladies go now. They finished their war!, in r jiffy. I ,et
their gossip is marked 'to be continued,' though. Let's mov over o tl%0
study now; it will be more comfortable, i'm sure."
Habil cane blustering into the room tcmtit the same time, and, throwing
her books on the table with a bang, stood before he mirror combing ht,r hair
and applying lipstick. After an exchan e of greetine, said in a sort
of soliloquy: "Boy friends? You should see ny lest. He's six feet three
inches. 4, look like Putt and Jeff. Do I liko school? Yeah, crexy 'bout
the holidays. tvhet am I pin; to do when I finish? Nothin, lilo the rest
of the family." And she exchan-ed nnders-andinr glances with her f,ther,
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who replied in an undertone, "Lord, is there no hele in Gileed?"
"If you want to know about our ferny tree," Mabel contin ed, "I can
telllyou the limbs are all dead. Don t see why you didn't come on a Sunday.
We're all dressed up that day and look a little better. You went to ielow if
we're struggling. 7fe just are, though. Been strueeline indefinitely, and
we're about to have to end it all new. I've got to e) steely for those old
exams. Gee, but I hate 'em."
Mr. Wiley moved over nmerer to the stove and resereettu store,"I hyven't
told you about me job exneriences. I wee mak:IA.1e the cline to the bill to
which we all go sooner or later, when I was about sixteen peers old. One day
a bunch of us boys bou ht a can of dynamiee powder and wont eut in an old
field to experiment a little. I was eonding over the ctee when one of he boys
lighted a piece of paper and threw it near the keg. Fowl The whole thin; blew
up, and I got the butt end of it. Great day in the eorn1.n I eas sure in a
bad fix. All my clothes were -.utnt off me fron my eaist en. Only thin that
saved me was my fleece -lined undereeat. I was a mile from nny doctor. and had
to walk to him. It was a bitter cold day. The fellows put some of their
coats on me, and off I went. rven my finer nails droned off as I walked
along. My hair cane off on sheets of skin. The doctor said it was a miracle
that I closed my eyes. For six weeks I suffered agony, -lay end night. The
doctor cut holes in a riece of cloth for my eyes, ose,
eeeth and applied
it to the burnt surface. The next morning he'd null that piece off and aeply
another. by mother begged him to let her erevee it 'nit he allured her I'd
have seers if she did. There wese t a siegle scr, but er skin is still v.ry
tender. One of ry friends said, 'Some men die eo to poll, but i he -dog
if you didn t make you a hell without. deine.'
"Well, about a year later, I was jerking soda in a drug store, and
the peanut parcher exploded. It, too, got me in the face. Knocked these
four side -front teeth up two inches into my face and cut this gash on my lip.
"You) vssibly noticed I'm crippled. When the explosions got over, I
decided I'd go to Charleston on an excursion. That night I slept on a
chair in the open and, when I raked up, I couldn't tell whether ;was black
or white. Honestly, 1 was covered with mosquitoes. went down with high
fever. Doctor called it malarial. I had one convulsion after another.
Then I woke one morning and discovered I couldn't move hand or foot. For
six months I MA more helpless than a baby. Infantile paralysis. Finally,
I learned to walk on crutches and used them several months. But I was still
a good sport. I'd ride any kind of a wild horse. I did ovary thing anybody
else ever did. One day I remember was 'riding up a storm' and the horse
threw as on the edge of town. While he was running, I lost both my crutches,
and there had to lie on the wet cold ground till an old Negro man came
along in a wagon and picked me up. I always called him 'The Good Samari-
tan' after that. My, I've had some experiences. Swimming? I'm crazy about
swimming. I d like to swim the Atlantic Ocean, if I dared. But I can't
swim ten feet. I have cramps so bad.
"it's nearly four o'clock," Hr. Wiley 1;,lid as he lookbd at his watch,
"and I'll have to be going pretty soon. Trust lay reputation to my wife?
No, sirree. Wife'll tell the truth on me. I'm going to stick closer than
Grant did around Richmond, till you leave. I didn't marry till I was twenty-
six, and Alice doesn't know quite all the devilment I did. Yes, ma'am, I
did some, haven't quit it all yet. I've improved on some of it, though. we
were married in 1916, while Alice and I were both working in the mill at
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Lockhart. Ahything unusual about the courtehip: No, aothin.. I juat court-
ed her nine nights out of a week for tuo yaars eafore ohe'd (aaisent to have
me. Honeymoon? Not worth menaioaiag. ie vent to 3unaay after-
noon and OLck to work next morain,,.
"You see I had stoppod achool in tho r.rh rade. 3oya d, ouch foolioh
-Ja
thiags, don't they? So I deciaed the 'soot ahiag to ao go ck
to school and graduate from high school, like n aife aad _eau. I got the
job an janitor of the achool, and they paid no for:: dollaro a .lonth. Alice
worked some in the afternuons, and uhe earned oeventy-five c_nts for that.
Before the two years were over, we had two children. And it waa tongh, I'm
telling you. But we lived on that money and n.ale ae .eat.
"While I was in school, we orgaaized a little dra4a clu 0, 0
plays and raised six hundred dollars, with ahich we Jt aerie paintin
for the school. I was always Blackface, Simple allies or oonething like that,
the comedian of the crowd. I did soma fancy dancihg, too- ThdV014t gait all
of my foolishness yet. Several yearo ago, I was in Newberry. And one night
about twelve o'clock, I pulled ny hair doun over ny 0O3 Lhd took off my
collar and tie and coat, looking as shabby as ceald.
Leanin., t the
side of the house, staring into the plate glass window, I gazed at a suit
of clothes. A policeman wulkod up. I drawled o'it, ')ocal eve, Mr.
Poleeshnan. Nish night, sin' it? Thash a good-lookia' shuit clothes.
Ain' it, Nr. PoIleahman?"
"'Yes. Looks all right."
"You reckon it'll fit no, ny friend?"
"Fossibly so, but I didn't come here to TiLicuss clothes with you.
You're drunk and going to get into trouble, 012. !tal. I'll have to arraat
you."
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"'Arrest me? NO, &Jr, I aim' drunk. You got the wrong man.
aim' even had a drink. I sure aim" drunk, CapIn.'"
"sub, yes, you are drunk, and you know it. Consider yourself under
arrest,'" as he pissed his hand on my shoulder.
"At this moment, the chief stepped from 'round the corner and, address.,
ins the newly appointed polioeman, said, 'Jim, the man ain't drunk. He's
a Baptist preacher. Let him go. This is a frame-up. Mere just giving you
"'Shy, Chief, I'll be darned if he ain't drank. Yes, sir: he's a
drunk nano if ever sew one. Why, I smell nhiskey an his breath. I know
he's drunk.'
"I pulled a good one on the Methodist preacher reeently Carroll's
every natteviefisfset sort of fellow, you know• I dialed his number one
morning early, and the 'conversation went like thiss
"'Is die Reverent Carroll? Reverent, does you ever narry folks?
Awry colored folks? Well, Reverent, me and Lisa done decided last night
to git malted in de nornint, and we'll be 'round dere about eight o'clock.
Yeas, sir, 'bout eight o'clock, Boss.'
"'Now, Jahn, if you went ne to marry you, you better be here exactly
at eight, for I'm going to take my wife to a meeting about that time.'
"'All right, sirs Bose. UsIll be dare 'wetly at eight o'clock.'"
"Then I Changed from dialect to my customary speech.
"'Oh, sey, Carroll, this is Wiley. Men is that union nesting going
to be?
"'Here, here. 6onebody's using this nes
to a Negro
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about marrying him.'
"I just have to have some fun every new and than. I can't allow ny
self to think toe seriously about the problems of life. Recreation? Well,
new you've got me. No recreation and no hobbies. The children and their
mother play Chinese Cheekers and other games at night and ride bicycles in
the afternoon. Nut there's only one thing I enjoy doing, and that's shoot.
in* pool. Oh, I de love it. Sometimes think I will get me a table, put
it in the attic, and then I can't stand the strain any longer, sneak off up
there and sheet poel. One, I'd love it. Wouldn't be any harm, would it?"
orally about my car and de love to drive it. While talking in a
group ef nem recently, one of the fellows said he believed /d like to be
buried in my Dodge. Then another one said that reminded him that he wanted
te be buried in his Austin. told him he'd better swap it for a Dodge be-
fore he went, for if he happened to find himself where he didn't want to
stay, his Austin wouldn't get him out fast enough.
"I think I'm a pretty cooperative sort of fellow. And the fact that
I was converted in a Presbyterian Church, under the preaching of a methodist
ertagelist, and become a Baptist preacher proves it. Don't you think so?
I had always gone to church in a sort of half-hearted way, and somewhere,
deep down in my soul, I had felt that I wanted to preach. So this experience
in the Presbyterian Church settled that, and I struck out for the Baptist
Seminary at Louisville, Kentucky. Left Alice and the children living in a
mill muse at Lockhart. I stayed there two years and cane out awing $1,500.
I was sent to Wnehburg, Virginia, to btild a church. Took my family with me
out there. But after three months, I decided the time wasn't ripe for build-
ing. However, I got me a job in the mill out there, and we made expenses.
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Then a eall sane fee ne to go to the Northside Baptist Church in Reek Hills
South Caroline. There bed been dimension in the church, and I found eight
nowhere on the roll. The only salary I had for three months was the loose
oolleations I reeeived eech 1.;leys usually six or eight dollars. Then the
daemons fixed ev salary at $10500i and they paid no full salary for the
nonths I hadn't gotten =eh neney. The mehership grew to four hundred, and
the salary inereased to $1,900. After Stewing there nine years, I moved over
to 14et End, shore I 'toyed for !Our years at a salary of $2.200. uur mat
ea/1 cans from Coluibiae and these folks have already put up with me for ten
Yolirs•
44 built this personae* at a post of f;48500. and it's paid for. Now
we're planning a. new church. 14 bought those corner lots for $10000, and
e7,000 has been eolleated an a 4300100 plant. US'll becin work on it pretty
soon. If I have any worries now about finances, it's mv fault. 114 should
live pretty vell 412 my salary of ;A#60040 and we do Az soon am pv cheek
comes, we take out a tenth. Bean tithing eighteen years. The bulance is
divided equally between me and av partner. Nes. Wiley. We both have budgets.
She takes oars of the household btll1 ni xi.re for insurance premiums,
doctor's bills and the big things like that. &ho beats no a little saving.
She's pretty thrifty. There are lots of extra denandm on a preacher's podket.•
book. I'm going this afternoon to take two poundings to two families. 411e
moved in here from Charlotte, North Carolina, without friends, money, or a
job. Then there's a poor 1110111111 over here dying with °mews and she's in
dire need of help. Lord,. Lord, folks do have such a hard tine.
"I'mmodaretor of the Baptist Amooiation, Red Cross chairman of the
county, president of the Temperame Club, and president of the Civitan Club.
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This is my honor key. All these things take money. I have an annuity
insurance policy and a retirement insurance, on both of which I'm paying a
little more than $100 a year. I figure $400 a year for cur expense .and
think it costs me that.
"Mg friends say Pin temperamental. I reckon that's a good substitute
for the word. I overdo the temper part of it all right. Lastly me, I've
got a temper. Mikes me sick for a week to get mad. Ever fight? Law, child,
I'Ve pretty nigh killed a few. But this is graveyard talk. I lose my temper
every now and then and have to open the exhaust valve or there might be
another dynamite explosion* But I love folks lots and would do anything in
the world for the very ones that make me so dying mad. hope I am just
temperamental."
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