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LIlrit HIS TORY
GRIAMERT TM= II COB=
Ca -es A 0 te TA e Pa.11(,n s)
Date of First Writing
Nene of Person Interviewed
Piotitious Nome
Street Address
TA***
Occupation
Name of Writer
Nave of Revisor
January 91 1939
mr. Rob Padzebt (white)
Dort Patton
Woes
Uftesland,South Carolina
Rural Mail Carrier and
Warmer
mattie T. Jones
Ftat c Office
"Hell, be darnedi 3adiee what's this you're using for a
fire poker this morning?' Mervin Platen maid, as the other guests
circled about the oak loge burning in the brick fireplace.
"This is Father's sword he carried ter three years in the Cusp
federate Ware his sister explained, while eke stirred the coals with
the pie*e of steel. 'Haven't you ever seen it before? It Le a funny
place to have a sword. One of those days I'm going to polish it and
I
Had it to the polio roam in Namibia. ?other has a manuscript there,
and it's as intereoting paper, too. Motes on his seldiereboy experi-
ences, written' from memory eben ho les soventy."
And this,* 2ort &idol, as he opened a drawer of a nearby secre-
tory, "is the pistol Dad earring' in his pocket all those years.*
°Liston, Sade exclaimed Darwin, %snit point that thing in this
direction; turn it tho other way. It's the unleaded gun that *befits,
you know.
°The piano is anothor one of our antique.," Vise Sadie said.
"It's my over a hundred years old, but still has a sweet tone. It
was bought for wy mother whoa she was just a child."
"Sadie, for goodness lake, forget about antiques for a while,*
Marvin urged impatiently. "Christine Pets, and nusan ought to bo hers
today, so as to nabs tho hoar omit complete. Were either too busy or
tee confound** indifferent those days to ever get the whole farily
gether, it seine. Well,BObbee, good morning. Dinner ready? And how are
you, Bert, old boy! Glad to sic you both."
°Nighty glad we could come. wo stay pretty tacos round home sine*
the children are so scattered."
At the tables in response to various complirents 4,1 the dinrcr,
*doh wars addressed aspeolally to Bobbies, oho remarked a bit doprooat.•
ingly, "Preparing a goal is no new exporianoe to no. We had seven girls
at Mae, and leak tolling you, Mother believed in that school of exporis.
sacs we boor about. Had lots 0 oompany, toe. I ins down home yestor•
day, thirty-eight people there for dinner. But it's mo trouble to got
up our meals hero. Salmis. meet of our eats right here on the farre
We have plenty of cern, hams, butter, milk, chickens, and ego. We
milk three clews new, and we raised a thousand biddies right here on the
yard last year. And we almays 110111 a god garden of vegetables, minter
and summer.
"It's a good thimg me have things close to hand, or in Jars in the
pantry. we never knew lben Bert's going to brims in a carload of folks
to oat. thristmai day, when the table was all laid and dinner ready to
servo, in ease Bert with five little children sbose mother had died, Ii
Just brought in extra tables and all ate at the ems time. All the chili.
dren around hers thiek Bert belsmge to them. And we like 'ern to fool that
way. Nverybody vibe gets in trouble cowes straight to Bert for help end
he's never turned anybody may yet.'
'Be tilled to worry," Marvin retorted cynically, "but not any more.
The Fresident will food you if you run out. I'm glad Congress has
stopped some of this wild spending, for a while, at least. He's thrown
away millions of the people's hard earned money. And he's almays spring•
ing something mew. Business men never knew where they're at. Dad blame
it all, Ism tired of it wyeelf."
"Leck bore, Uarvin, you're not supposed to speak evil of dilater'
rise, "Wkss Sadie admonished. 'Roecovelt's done lets e' good and made
things a lot easier for poor people. I &mare you've associated with
that millionaire setwiniblaw of yours and sold so many high-priced suits
to rich people that you've actually learned to think like they do."
"And Sadie.* Bert eemmented, 'wouldn't speak evil of the devil
hinself and won't let anybody else do it in her presence. Did we hear
the 7 -resident's last speech? It it were Ureadoset, adie heard it.
She's never missed a program ethos we've had a radio. The other day
she made a cake, put it in the stove, and turned on the radio. Bobbed,
smelt somet}-ing burning, and, when she opened the stove doors the cake
4
ems burnt to a erisp."
°Pelmet I don't see iiihy so oonmseplaso a thing as a ask. should
interfere with a premium of beautiful music liks Nelson liddy and
Jesseertes MaDenald put ens" Sadie rejoined.
The meal over, a Negro girl, black as the see of spade*, with
ivory 'obits tes4k4 whiter still beamse of the oeatrast, came in to
clear the table of dishes. Instead of a amid's cap, abs had a modern
bird's east hat perched en tIA left side of her head. Use kartha, I
wants to git a envolofe to mail a letter wid. No'm I can't reed nor
write. I can pick out some litters in the paper, though. Bow,old I is?
Nem I don't know 'neatly, but l's 'bout fifteen. But I knew* lobar* I
was berned, down in de old field. Dia, you git outer my way. You'll
wok me broke doss here dishes 0 .as Bobber's. Noses I ain't got no
husband. Beekim I'd kill vim efln I had one, WU he wouldn't treat ne
?Olt. Teems I got tee chillun, but,dey bog dead, though."
When Annie had left the room, Vies nadie said, "Year little old
thing. Cho doss come in handy for bringing in wood, swooping yards, and
doirg other hoary work about the plaos. Sometimes we ;ay her, and some..
times we pay her to stay away. Wa try to keep her and Dick in clothes
and sloes. Neve just given her thoee new shoes she 'las on now. he and
Dick were outeasts, and me took than for their sakes rather than for
ours. They bc4h think the world if 'Sap's Bert,' and of the rest of us,
too, as for that. is esuldn't be trus to our tradition, if we'd mistreat
the Negroes ea the quarters. we're told that, after the ear, our grand•
parents meld old treasured keepsakes, one by one, in order to keep as
exiislmee comterteble. Than rather and.NOther had lets of the 'milk at
human kindness' and were always good to the Negroes.
*Oer parents were is their early tequila* when the ear *lofted.
rather's thteation vas out short by the ear, but Nether graduated at
the Columbia Female Gallego, in them days when it ems still a quer*
ties whether a wefts had some enough to earrant am education or not.
MY nether, accustomed to slaves all her life, had a hard time making
adjustments. Ehe has told us that, as a bride, she gave out a peck of
flour for biscuits the first morning.
*Up father owned a plantation in Fairfield County and carried my
mother there as a bride. The lands were fertile. Itverything in plant
and animal life could be raised on it. The emery ems charming and
varied. Out there were rocks and hills galore, and farming ems expos.,
sive. Father's other brothers had homes in Richland County, and they
persuaded him to neve near them. Some sort of an exchange was worked
out between father and the farmer in Richland. I don't think any nos.
0 las exchanged.
mix of their lbolve children, however, were born in Fairfield,
and we elder children started to school there. I can see the little
old schoolhouse now dean in the Rsmecre pasture, so far from hero that
mother always sent a Negro nurse with as to protest us frmm the rams,
bulls, and tears, should they become vicidnurs Other children came to
the school, and the patrons paid the small salaries of the teachers,
who usually lived in the community.
"After we moved to Letealand,Finther vas delighted with his now
plow and seen become a piemeer in progressive methods of terming. Re
made terrain's to prevent soil erosion, rotated Fie crops, and secured
registered breeds of stock and cattle. The talk of rearing that big
family must have been a staggering one to them. Mother les never very
6
strong and always stayed in the background, interested in making a home
rather than a living. But she was the seem, of inspiration and sour-.
age to the rest of us, the real power behind the throne. A prolonged
illness, and she left us at the age of fortrifive."
With the quick notion and easy grace that obareeterises her every
movement, WOO Sadie moved over to the built -In book shelves and re-
turned with the family Bible. The cover* ears dopeared and worn; the
pages sere ragged, misplaced, and yellow with age. "Whet a geed time
we children have had reading these Bible stories in the preface.
Mother would make us "ash our hands so *lean they would bear inspootion.
Then shed seat us in the middle of the floor, with this Bible in the
midst of us. HOW' we loved these stories with the colored illustrations.
She vas one woman she didn't think it was toe holy for the children to
enjoy." At the bottom of the page, where the important records of the
family were kept, thee* wards were scrawled in a shild's handwriting;
“Victok colt born August 19, 1822 written by Pete."
"You knew Fete's married, Oh, yes, he's been married six years,
uarried the head nurse at Otteen. That's the Federal T.B. sanatoriun
at Asheville, you know. Jane is a lovely girl. We're all very fond
of her. Per the two years that Fete was a patient and she his surest
they were in love. They wrote each other every day, and occasionally
Jane, accompanied by another nurse, would drop in to visit Fete during
off hours. But the marriage was a ;templet* surprise to everybody. At
first, we thought it was very unwise, but Fete argued that if Jane were
going to nurse 1,B. patients all her life, she just as sell nurse him,
and both of them could have oenpanionship and a home. Jane makes a good
salary, about SIN and her board, and she takes excellent care of Pete.
as
Is ho( attractive as ever? Well, wo think so, and there are froquont
discussions among their friends as to which is the better looking,
Fete or Marvin. Foto has triad raising chickens ad hogs, but ho has
to go back to bed every tins he =erases muoh, and he says he's 'rite"
ing a book now when ho hoe to stay in bed. We's ono of the many trig.
*disks of the World War. Ne and Nod were such good friends.
*Who is led? Lamy no, I thought I had told you about Node oho
said, as she carefully replaood the precious book in lie place on 00
shelf. Didn't I over toll you that Ned is sort of an adoptod mortar
if the fandly? You've seen our new brisk parsonage? Several years ago,
no were about to lees it because of a eirhundred-dellar debt; so ow
vomen decided to sell meals at the rtato Fair to make ewe rano. We
worked =reeky's, nearly to death, but we had lots of Pun, and paid the
O 1*-hundred-dellar debt. This lad, Ned, took his Foals with in, and ho
we such an attractive 6hap we all enjoyed him. A few days after the
Fair closed, in walked Ned one morning.. 'You told no if I over needed
friend, I could ount on you,' he said. 'I've lost my job. I want a
friend; no I've cone to you.
°That was a different rroblam from any me had over hae before. We
didn't know what in the world to do with Nod. No had no guost mane
that time, and pert drew the line on sharing his room with this question
able stranger from altrAllitt who had been traveling with the aquaplane.
But samwthing had to be done. Kod had no *lathes, no food, no money, no
home. o we put an extra bed on the back perch and wade hir weleor* to
all we had.
"when the first rain cams a fort days Wort ye gods, the porch
leaked so in the middle of the night that Ned couldn't stay out there
at all; se Mort called his into his quarters. Bert never expresses any
emotions, es you know, but we had observed with interest how Wed sae
growing in his favor. The shale family fell for Med. Christine ammo
for a vielt. Christine is our oldest sister, Mrs. L. C. Carrell, at
Winnsboro, you know. Well, She and Mid road French plays together. Is
followed Bert around like a naive and helped with the work whenever
he was needed. It wee too funny to see his coming from the field one
afternoon as the tore beak of a mole, and the male rimming as fast as
she mall. The mule ran straight to her stall, and Wed ems thrown
against a stump. 14 were petrified with fear. Wed lay lifeless; we
were ears he had been killed. rinally, Mort ewe in from his work,
and we carried Wed into the house. After several days in bed, he was
out again and seemed O.K.
"After about eight months, Mei WA one ilr, ',olio I Sot to go,
I've got a brother eemewhere and I got to go find him.' 14 Shared 'dint
money we had with him, and Bert gave his some extra clothes and took his
nearly to Camden, 14 often vender what became of Ned."
During most of the day, Martha had sat quietly. She slipped from
the room, and Mervin remarked, "She's gone now to see that everything
has been done just right. She's worth her weight in gold. When she was
a little thing, she used to toll us, 'I'm the chicken of the blue hen."
"Look, Bert, there's a mocking bird right there on the beta of that
green rocker, and he's singing, too:" Dobbs* exclaimed. "Shshi.h let's
be quiet. There were two red birds there last week. Ain't that too
sweet for anything?"
"This is my swallow's nest," Bert said, as he carefully lifted a
neat from the mantelpiece. *There were four babies in it when Sado found
9
it on the hearth last apmmer. I put the in a sparrow's nest, and I
be -dog if she didn't feed 'em just like they were her own babies.
Let's take the folks in the back yard to see the cats and dogs and
pigs, Bobbee."
"Honey, come or here," Bobbee called, and her pet pig came run-
ning. "He'll Nome to my window at midnight, if I call him. Bert gave
him to me, because he's a runt. But the thing I'm proud of is that
calf running out there. She cut her neck on a nail about six weeks
ago, and we've had a time keeping out infection. It's healed good now,
though. Bert, call tha cats and make 'em climb the ladder. That's just
fine; where's the other one? Kitty: There they go. how you can't make
en core down till Joe leaves."
"We named Bull for Joe Louis," Bert said. mIlie had three dogs once,
and altogether they had thirtpesix puppies. I be -dog if I didn't have
to kill every darned one of 'em because one of the mothers developed
rabiestand I was afraid the last one of 'em would go mad."
"But, Bert, the very sweetest and smartest dog I've ever seen was
Mr. Woo. You remember he'd turn the electric light an and off. Geewhiz,
he was a wonder."
"That's a pen I made or a hawk last Gyring," Bert said. The darn
thing kept eating my red biddies, and I just had to shoot hin. He fell
with a broken wing.
Then I got sorry, bound up his wing, and cared for
him till he was well. I thought, of course, he'd be appreciative of te
favor; but instead, he brought in all his friends and nei,h1.ars in the
fall when they wanted delicacies, and 1 had to kill him after all.
"How long have I been keeping chickens? Ever since I can renember.
keep our reds here in tie run and our white leLhorns over yonder in
the rear of the yard. uo like eggs, and those letlorns keep us e4prlied.
Haven't bought three dozen eggs in two years. say we've sold seventy..
five dollars worth of chickens and eggs, toLether, and we eat chicken
whenever we want it."
"Bert, let's show her our prise hogs," Bobbee insiotod.
"This is the hen that lays our golden eggs," Bert said. "We keep
her ir a separate pen re tYs other hogs. na's Duroc Jersey, and WRS
an un,z.sual buy for five dollars. In three years, I've sold $450 worth of
and the upkeep hasn't beem SO much.
"I'm not much of a cotton armer. pact is, I haven't been nuch
interested 11 farming till the last few year°, y job has been to carry
the nail for uncle Sam. Then my mother died, our struggle began in ear..
nest. flie was ill ier several years, and Father kept borrowing a little
noney on the hone place so he could make ends root. The oldest child,
llristine, had just finished :;olunbia Female College. She looked after
the housekeeping, oared for us children, and taught school over there at
school. .t.11 her salary of 3 a month, she helped to send
arvin to -par anburg :or u business course, hoping he ,ould help out
with our finances. But his health failed, and or a year or more he wee
not tble to work et all. Alen we all struggled with the ed,..!ation of the
otler children, each one helping with every other one. WI. Lord, we had a
hard -lire."
":0 such thing, Bert," said Ass adie. "we've alwaye been liarry.
And saztrifice is a part of to joy of having a big fax and sharing with
one anvther. It was no sacrifice for me to leave here and work as matron
at Columbia emale College for two years, so -Vat ly salary of 5U a month
might be applied to the education of the two younger children. And it was
11
c pleasure for mo to r.t a house for $15 a month ad tak, six boarders at
$25 each, in order for rary to Let collets, training. hacks, that's an
interesting part of the gait). I got a big trill ovt o ay part of the
scarifies, if that's 'bat you want to call it."
ell," Bert took up his story agair, "I saw where t;ings were
headed; so when I had a chance at this job, of carrying tle nail, I took
it. I was about twentyafiva. It first, I had only eiLLteen ales, and my
salary -as VA. For e few years I Jsed two horses. The roads were tern.'
blot and sometimes I had to get a mule to pull me out of the mud. When the
roads improved and my route increased to thirty miles, I used a ear. I've
bought seventeen nevrolets, and I believe my oar expense has been $400 a
year. I reckon I've _art $7,000 in these cars. But I VW well paid my
salary wen -t to $175 a month and I ahould have saved money. But there have
been many anid unusual demancLen no. I've been r tired five years nay at a
salary of $96 a month. I consider Jacle Sam a pretty [cod -'allow to aork
"The boos of our hcre wae a stak„Lerin6 blow to us all. Father died
au[doil i 1915. The aertaage or the Jac° kept :rowing xii-,11 the years.
The World Par care on. Camp Jackson wan being built, and labor went to
six dollarr a day, and we couldn't compete with that sort of priee. Later,
the boll wtevil and the depression hit us. de hr_d -teen ofi'ered $40,0u0 for
the place, but when the showdown came, we couldn't raise the $15,000 we had
borrowed on it, and so it heti to go."
"Let", forget it," *Irvin said, "I've prayed day and night that I never
could think of it again. It's the worst kind of nightmare to me." "And tbe
saddest day of my life," idie added, "was when I left my home." And to-
gether they walked off in the direction of the barn.
12
"We moved over to the rooks [lace," Bert continued, "and 5adio
nursed an old cevple to help pay to rent. After three years, we
tried anther farm, hoping we could do better. In the meantime, the
doctor found I had diabetes and other corplications, and I've been on
a strict diet ever since. He ordered rest in a hospital. But some•
body in the family had to carry on, and I couldn't stop. We came here
three yearn ago. I pay $350 rent and have 50 scree. I'm allowed to
plant fifteen sores in cotton. Last year the boll weevil got all the
cotton in this aeOtion. I only made nix bales, and I usually make a
bale to the acre. I doubt if we clear $10 rer bale anyway; so I'm
depending more and more on other things to supply my salary and to
pay for the pr4vilege of planting a crop. I pay 70 cents a day for
labor and own my stock and Jews, and so forth.
"You have observed I haven't known anything nuch about the cost
of things. ae have never bothered with that side of it much; we've
been toe careless, I realise. But %abbe° is a ,vod business woman,
end tocether we're already working on sibudget for this year. COM
back a year from now, and I'll be well versed in these figures. The
sunshine is not so warr new; neybe wo had better go to the fire."
"What do you all know about Christine these days?" Marvin asked.
"I've felt all day that they night drive up here this afternoon. I
sold kir. Connor t suit of cloteo the other day, and he said neither
of them is very well these drip. He told me some kind of cocP-and•
bull story about their not coming p here any oftener. They are both
crazy about those boys of J.W.'s. TLates Christine's third fecLily to
raise, isn't it? After Mother's death, she was a mother and a teacher
to us children. ';Iner we got from under her wing, I guess, like
13
Napoleon, she wanted another family to conquer; so she finally consented
to marry Ir. Connor, and his seven children became her charge. Now,
since J.W.'s death, she has these two grandchildren. Fekes alive, we
could hardly live through the rearing of our four. "he's done a good
job, too. Out of the Connor children, she's made a distinguished
kethodist preacher, a capable school superintendent, and two excellent
school teachers. Fhe entered the schoolroom for the second time and put
her salary into their education. A darned good record for a stepmother,
I'd say.
"57usan married a widower, too. `Ile and Brother -axon didn't get
hone for Christmas, but 1:;upan sent me and Martha a lovely coat apiece.
Susan hasn't lost her sense of humor, and it relieves nany tense situ+
ations in that Methodist parsonage. Her sarcasm sometimes hurts the
sensitive parishoners, I imagine; but she's charming and handsome, and
Vr. Saxon is devoted to her. She and Mary were so congenial. Somehow
none of us can get over ary'e untimely death.
"Nether always had a sort of feeling that Marvin was spared for a
purpose. When he was six years old, he hell an awful case of typhoid fe-
ver. For days we thou it he'd aie. Cousin Frank was a righty good men,
and every night, after plowing all day, h'd core over home and he and
my parents would go ir the living room to pray for Marvin. One night,
after the prayer, ho said, 'Cousin SAlie, rvin is Loing to get well.
I feel our prayer is answered.' That very night about 12 o'clock the
crisis came, and rArvin improved from ter. on. A few years later, he
was seriously ill again. The doctor made an incision and lanced an ab-
scess on his liver. He sharpened a stick, disinfected it, and held the
incision open with it. Mighty risky we'd think this day and time.
14
'72herrFather first care to this corrunity, the first -unday we
were here, dressed in our best bib an' tucker, we all care to this
church. I recall we cane, eight strong, in a double -seated open ve-
hicle, driving a rule end a horse, Beck and Annie, with Annie's colt
running along under the shaft."
"Ixouse me, Fade," Marvin interrupted, "is that the :1'unday I
had to wear one of the girl's aprons which you turned round and
buttoned in front for a shirt? I can see those buttons now, sewed
all round the valet for ,Jte to fasten my pants to. No boy was ever
so sinned against. I'11 resent it till my dying day."
*Well, there wasn't anything else to do, Ilarvin. You didn't
have a clean one, and you know as well as I do that there was no ex..
cuss ther would accept for not going to church. I think you should
congratulate us on our ingenuity in stead of blaring us.
"Father was made Funday School superintendent that very day,
and he held the position for twenty-five years. Be was superintendent
in Fairfield, and a steward in three ch)rches. Bert has taker his
place as steward in our church now. Father gave a lot of the to tem-
perance werkitoo."
"Now you can see what lovely broad acres lie along this road,"
arvin renarked. "Orijnally all these plantations were awned by
Father and his brothers and my wife's father and his brothers,
"I recall one year Father rade a butper crop out here without
sperding e cent for corvercial fertilizer. 'his highway will enhance
the value of the property, too. These folks have boon offered eiX
hun-
dred dollars an acre for some of this land, but they are holding it for
$1,000. Better take us hone nowt Bobbee. Bert on't stay away fror
15
hone a:ter Arrk."
We passed by the oro quarters. Dick ran out to Ve road and said,
"41p'n Bert, whar you gwine? Lee go wid you, Cao'n Bert. Uc done fed
up de mules and' de hawge an' milked de cows. Lcrre go 'aid -jou,
sir."
nou eay_st go this tie, Dick. Tell your daddy to look after things
till I get back."
"This is to !lace !Aare I beet py husband farming last year," VIII&
Patter oaid rroudly. 'lie gave no an acre i. here, and made two bales on
it. Us didn't rare but one on Lis beet lard. RAJA here below the
Veterans' nospital it the lace I've picked out for our new home. We don't
want but tea acres either, with a brick bungalow on it. yoslue're work.
in n tle house lam. laven't done anything else since Christmas. It may
be (nay our dream house, but am hoping not.
Mon we have our own plade, we're goilv,to do truck farming. We nun
to put out strawberries, raspberries, and tewborries the first year. Then
'we'll get our peach and pple u,ld pecan orchards planted; sib, yes,
a vineyard, too. :.A3111 have red chickens -or food and white leghorns for
laying ege. That's as far as 'm going, bot •-ert says he's got to raise
hogs and livestock. Of course, i'r expecting him to ruise the food for
ovur.tLing we Leve, qe hope the hospital will 'arrish a market for our
t if it doesn't we'll have the curb market to fall hack on. I
believe 1 beat planting cotton al. to pieces."
**-14.*• X X