Document text
Revision No. 79 B. Approx. 2500 words
SOUTH CAROLINA WRITERS' PROJECT
LIFE HISTORY
TITLE: WPA ROAD
Date of First iiriting Jan.31,1939
Name of Persons Interviewed
Charles Seabrook
Arthur W.Bailey
F.W.Johnston (white)
Fictitious Names (Not necessary)
Place Edisto Island,S.C.
Occupation WPA Workers
Name of Writer Chalmers S.Murray
Name of Reviser State Office and Author
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
LIFE HISTORY
The men who work on the Etiwan WPA road project.
reported for duty at eight o'clock sharp. Thirty-nine Negro
laborers answered the roll call, their voices ringing out
cheerfully in the frosty air.
All of them had long handled shovels in their hands.
They were variously dressed; some in overalls,some in coats
and trousers held together in important places by brightly
colored patches. The thermometer was hovering around 35, and
many of the men were wearing two pairs of trousers, old shabby
pants covering the newer ones. Tin buckets and bottles of
coffee were in evidence. There was not a sullen face in the
group. The laborers all appeared to be in good health.
The superintendent, the timekeeper,the foreman, and
the truck drivers were white men. The foreman was a college
man and an ex -army officer; the superintendent, a small farmer;
the timekeeper, a mechanic out of a job; and the truck drivers,
farm youths detached from the soil by adverse circumstances.
None of them except the foreman had seen the inside of a college.
Most of the workers, white and black,rode to work
in automobiles. A fe7/who lived only a few miles away,walked;
a handful rode horses. The Negroes paid on the average of
twenty cents a day for their transportation in passenger cars
or trucks.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 2.
For them walking was out of the question. Those who rode,
lived on the other end of Etiwan Island, at least twelve
miles from the job.
“I get up at six every morning, said the foreman.
"Of course it is black dark then and I feed the animals by
lantern light. I get my own breakfast. It is too much to
expect of my wife. She has plenty to keep her busy beside
getting up in the cold dark."
The other workers had similar experiences. Some
of them said that they had to arise at five when they had
firewood to cut, water to draw and cows to milk. Generally
their wives fixed lunches for them the night before. "Too
dark for fumble 'round with bittle 'fore day crack," one
Negro remarked. "The old hen got for dress my kettle off
'fore she fall sleep."
As soon as the timekeeper checked his rolls,the
laborers were divided into two crews. One crew began leveling
off humps on the roadbed and the other group was assigned to
ditching. Soon the shovels were moving rhythmically with a
steady purposeful swing. A large green truck drove up, the
engine racing. The men jumped to the ground,shovels in their
hands. The loose yellow dirt started to move in a steady
stream from the roadside to the truck's body.
The men were warming up to their work. It would be
a steady pull from now on until trwelve—ol-elock, noon.
Project 1655
Ehalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 3.
The water boy came by with a bucket from which
projected the handle of a tin dipper. He was a serious
looking Negro youth of about 25, neatly dressed,and wearing
dark glasses. The nearest well is three quarters of a mile
distant. Until knock -off time, the water boy will keep
walking between the well and the place where the dirt is
flying. Wielding shovels for hours at a stretch is dry
work, even on a cold,dampish January day.
The youth with dark glasses deals with two elements
water and fire. There are periods when everyone's thirst is
quenched, and then the boy fills out his time by tending the
fire. About eleven o'clock a small fire is kindled on the
roadside, not for the purpose of warming hands and feet, but
to keep the lunches warp. The buckets are placed in a ring
around the coals, and the glass bottles full of coffee, in
the center. The water boy visits the fire once in a while
to see that none of the buckets are burned or the bottles
broken. He adds a twig or two when the flames die down.
The sound of soft singing is heard, coming from
the place where the second truck is being loaded. The Negroes
are singing so softly that the words do not register with the
group of white men, even though the singers are only seven
yards away. The Negroes might be filling in a grav so low
and mournful is their song.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 4.
"I don't object to singing at times," the superin-
tendent says," but this thing of one loud song after another
had to be stopped. It interfered with the work. Oh, it might
help when they are pulling on a load', helps them keep to-
gether. When we were moving logs on a CWA project several
years ago they used to sing: 'I thought I hear the captain
say, hophopho,' They would pull hard together at the word
tho.' But they have got to remember that they come here to
work not to sing".
By this time the ditch diggers have heaped a big
pile of earth along the edge of the road. Before long there
will be several truckz loads to move. The earth will be used
for the fills or top surfacing. It is a good grade of soil,
suited either for fills or top surfacing. "The government
saved on this dirt," says the superintendent proudly. "We
had to buy very little dirt outside. Most of it was already
here."
The ditches are not dug"by air." Stakes placed
at intervals along the road indicate the depth and angle;
line cord and the surveyor's levels insure accuracy in ex-
cavating and grading. The men evidently take a real pride
in the clean cut symmetrical ditches. Once in a while a
Negro laborer will step back, survey the excavation and
say: Now ain't that a pretty ditch?"
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 5
"Come on boys,come on boysl" sings out the super-
intendent. The shovels move at a faster tempo. The foreman
echoes the command. "Come on boys! Throw it out!" The sun
goes under a cloud and the white men shiver. The Negroes do
not seem to mind the biting wind and the absence of sunshine.
A few laborers are obviously sweating.
"Do the men knock off to rest now and then? "I
should say not." The superintendent seemed irritated at the
question. "They don't knock off far any purpose except to
eat lunch. They are supposed to take care of their bodily
needs before they leave home. But I can tell you this the
work doesn't hurt them. They thrive on it."
"They are hardly ever sick," the foreman adds.
"None of the laborers have lost more than five percent of
the working hours on account of sickness during the past
ten months. As a matter of fact they cannot afford to be
sick for more than five days in succession. If they are
absent five days hand -running, they are automatically
dropped from the rolls. That's the regulations."
The timekeeper looks at his watch, turns to the
superintendent and announces: "Twelve o'clock."
The superintendent, a stockily built little man,
draws himself up to his full height and shouts:"All right,
boys, Knock off for lunch."
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 6
The men scramble out of the ditch,brushing the
earth from their clothing. They are joined by the laborers
who have been leveling the roadbed. All carry shovels on
their shoulders. The thirty-nine Negroes walk toward the
fire where their lunch awaits them. The White men assemble
at a fire of their own. AS a special treat the timekeeper
has brought along a peck of oysters. The oysters will be
roasted and eaten with cheese sandwiches and coffee.
The Negroes open their quart buckets and begin
eating without ceremony. Table spoons are stuck into masses
of hominy grits soaked with bacon grease, are pulled out
with a quick motion ri and then disappear into wide open mouths.
There is much smacking of lips and licking of spoons. Some
of the men have brought sweet potatoes and they divide the
tubers with their fellows. The coffee is now steaming hot.
The men drink it direct from the bottle, scorning cups.
Cups are for women, children and sick peoplepthey say.
Those Who didn't bring fried fish produce butts meat fried
to a turn, or fat pork.
"You got for eat meat on the job or bear going to
get you," explains one of the Negroes.
When they talk about "bear getting you," they mean
that you will faint with hunger and exhaustion.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 7.
They laugh and joke as they eat, kidding the
bachelor members of the crew about their scant lunches.
They talk about the coming planting season, the revival
to be held in the African Methodist Episcopal Church on
Sunday, their ill neighbors, and trout fishing. They
recall how a certain young man named "Boy Rat" used to
gorge himself with sweet potatoes until he could hardly
move, and had finally been released from the project.
"This ain't no place for trifling nigger," observes an
oldish man.
Around the other fire there is also laughing
and joking. The superintendent, the foreman and the time-
keeper have known each other all their lives. The time-
keeper's wife died two years ago and he is "courting" again.
He uses part of his precious half hour recess to drive to
the postoffice,,where a letter awaits him from his girl.
When he returns his friends pretend that they have eaten
his lunch. This is no joking matter for the timekeeper for
he has an enormous appetite.
By half past twelve the men are back at work.
Three and a half hours before time to knock off for the day.
The minutes pass slowly when the lunch is behind them;
the last hour is the longest, s D the foreman says. There is
no slacking of effort,however. The shovels move rhythmically
as before and none of the laborers pull on their watch strings.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 8
The youngest of the crew is around 21. He is of
slight build, but his arm muscles stand out like heavy cord,
and his shovel seems a toy in his hands. The oldest on the
project is a man nearing sixty. His skin is pot black and
shriveled; his form tough and wiry. He is said to be one
of the best workers on the road and the ugliest.
Several months ago the men over 65 were discharged
since they were supposedly eligible for social security
benefits. The superintendent says that if the truth is known
they were really unfit for hard work. And one of them grum-
bled continually and spread dissatisfaction among the others.
"The trifling ones are all weeded out now," the superintendent
asserts.
The white men have from two to three dependents;
some of the Negroes as many as ten. All of them say that
without this government work they could not hope to clothe
and feed their families and pay the doctor bills. Over and
over again they have tried to get outside jobs but there was
no use, the foreman says. He for one has reached the conclusion
that private industry has no jobs to offer men who have been
down on their luck since the depression set in and who are
getting along in years. "When a man reaches forty it is all
over for him. Friends and politicians have made me promises
but they were just talking, trying to let me down easy," the
ex -army officer remarks.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 9
During the ten months the road project has been
in progress only one man has found outside employment. This
was a young Negro who quit recently to join a county road
building gang.
About one third of the workers, including the
white men, run small farms on the side. They say that
there is little if any profit to this farming business,but
it helps to provide them with vegetables and meats, and if
they are lucky they can pay taxes out of cotton sales. On
the whole they break about even with their farming ventures
from a cash standpoint. Thrown out of the WPA job, they
declare that they could not make a decent living. A large
stake is needed for successful truck farming. There is no
money in planting a few acres of cotton. Thousands of dol-
lars must be available to equip a modernsmotorized farm.
Few of the Negroes who rent or own land plant
cotton. An acre or so of peas and sweet potatoes is about
all they can manage. No one can carry on a farm by working
only on Saturdays and holidays at least not in a very ef-
ficient manner. Some of the more industrious raise hogs and
chickens, and a small percentage own cows. Scant attention
is paid to vegetable gardens; even watermelons are seldom
planted. The men want to rest up a bit on non -work days,
put on clean clothes and "take a walk out," as one of them
expressed it.
Project 1655
Chalmers S. Murray,
Edisto Island,S.O.
WPA ROAD
Page 10
Jobs on the Etiwan plantations do not pay a living
wage. One has to work from sunrise to sunset to earn 75 cents.
Beside this is only seasonable employment, except in rare
Instances. Etiwan farmers white and black say that they can-
not pay high wages with cotton bringing less than nine cents
a pound and potatoes and cabbages a glut on the market.
During the time the project has been running,only
one man has been discharged for cause. "He knew too much,"
the superintendent comments. "He thought he knew more than
the chief engineer. And although he was a strong,hefty man,
he was always slacking. I just had to let him go. He was a
bad influence on the men."
The superintendent says that the road is laid out
by an engineer from the county road commission,and that the
work is inspected at regular intervals. The county commission
furnishes the tools and the two motor trucks for hauling
earth. The WPA pays the laborers.
Every month the superintendent turns in a written
report, telling how far the work has pregressed,and giving
the time required to complete certain stretches. He is pro-
vided with a level to check the grades and depths. The foreman
has charge of part of the laborers. The timekeeper fills in
a report at the end of each day and administers first aid to
the men when necessary. In the event of serious accident,he
Project 1655
Chalmers S.MUrray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 11
is instrUcted to rush the wounded one to the nearest physician.
The project will be completed by the end of February,
the superintendent predicts. Of the four miles of projected
road, at least three miles have been finished and all of the
grubbing has been done. The roadbed measures 28 feet from
ditch to ditch, and 50 feet overall including the ditches.
When the last shovel of dirt has been dug, the farmers en
route and the people of Etiwan will have a durable,top sur-
faced highway that will hold up under heavy motor traffic.
The superintendent turns to the timekeeper and
says: "Lord, this has been a cold day. I have been cold
every minute. Wish I had my feet propped up in front of a
roaring fire. How is the time going anyhow?" He looks at
his watch. The timekeeper consults his. Ten more minutes
yet.
The men in the ditch seem to be working like auto-
matons. Lines of weariness are appearing on the older faces.
The young men are apparently as fresh as they were eight
hours ago.
The watch hands crawl around slowly and finally
one points to four and the other to six.
The superintendent yells:"Time up.Store your tools.
The men stop workingpat least they ease down to a
stop. Several keep their shovels going for another minute
or two so they can cut down little humps on the ditch edge.
Project 1655
Chalmers S.Murray,
Edisto Island,S.C.
WPA ROAD
Page 12.
They march in line to the big wooden box which
stands under a small oak, and one by one put their shovels
away. The automobiles and trucks are throwing out clouds
of smelly blue smoke. An ancient looking Ford truck refuses
to start. A Negro is turning the crank as fast as his arm
can workr and cursing under his breath.
In five minutes the road is bare of black laborers.
Automobiles are disappearing around the sweeping bend that
skirts the river bank. The white men stand around and talk
for a while, then the foreman says. "Boys, I've got to start
for home. Got wood to bring in and water to turn off. Looks
like its going to freeze tonight."
"Hope you are wrong," answers the timekeeper."1
would hate to see ice in this ditch tomorrow."