Interviewer:  Well I I'm {D: John} Daniel. and and Ms Hayford {D: Georgia} interviewing me {B} And um let's see, what address is this? {NS} {B} {NS} Okay and uh how old are you?
176:  Seventy-three.
Interviewer:  Alright and where were you born?
176:  In Appling County. It was before Jeff Davis was formed, I've always lived in {X} {D: County.} Except when you see Jeff Davis was formed in nineteen oh five.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. What city was that called then? Was it called was it was it just in the county or was it
176:  #1 {X} #
Interviewer:  #2 Is # Hazlehurst a city then?
176:  No. No. No it wasn't. Uh I don't remember now what it was uh the first original name before it was named Hazlehurst. I can't remember right now, just you know just
Interviewer:  #1 {D: You} #
176:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  going Baxter {X}
176:  #1 No no Baxter was the uh #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  uh county seat of Appling County. And then when they made Jeff Davis county why uh Hazlehurst was
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 you know the m- #
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  become
Interviewer:  I wonder how they got that name?
176:  Um there was a man that was working on the railroad running the uh built the railroad, {X} the Southern Railroad and his he was a head of that and he uh was name was Hazlehurst. So they named the the uh county seat Hazlehurst.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  For him.
Interviewer:  Yeah. {D: Knew old name} but I never knew that {NW} um let's see well your occupation now {C: microphone feedback}
176:  #1 Farming. Farming, and then uh #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  uh I'd say uh fertilizer dealer.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  At one time.
Interviewer:  Was that your husband's business?
176:  Yes. Uh-huh.
Interviewer:  Um and you're what religion?
176:  A Baptist. {NS} {NS} {C: microphone feedback} {NS}
Interviewer:  Okay well um {NS} now onto the education, how old where you when you started school?
176:  Six.
Interviewer:  Six. And what was that? First grade?
176:  Yeah. First grade.
Interviewer:  Didn't have kinder-
176:  Didn't have any kindergarten then.
Interviewer:  Uh what do you remember the name of the school?
176:  Oak grove.
Interviewer:  Oak grove, a- and it was one-
176:  One-teacher school.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  One-teacher school and had all had up to the seventh grade
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 in the # one s- one room
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 and I just #
Interviewer:  {D: called all}
176:  All the grades. They had one in
Interviewer:  About how many students in each school?
176:  Well they be somewhere around twenty to thirty.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Somewhere
Interviewer:  {X} How many first graders where there when you were there?
176:  Well I had I don't remember but it was a good many and I'd say to ten
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  First graders.
Interviewer:  And she'd teach teach all and give y'all some subjects to do or some work to do and
176:  #1 Yeah. #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} # {D: them other grades}
176:  And and we had blackboards.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  We sure had chalk and she'd put up there what she wanted us to write you know?
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  She'd put put it down and then we'd learn to write that.
Interviewer:  And what did y'all have {NS} {D: to do} paper or what what did y'all
176:  We had slates.
Interviewer:  Slates?
176:  Slates.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. What'd you use to write with?
176:  With a with a a it was a pencil that you wrote on the slate with.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  It was that {NS} made out of something that you made when you mark, it'd it'd write.
Interviewer:  How {X} #1 {X} #
176:  #2 Well I don't know #
Interviewer:  what the {X}
176:  I don't know, it was anyway, it would make white on the slate.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. And it could be a writing?
176:  Yeah {X}
Interviewer:  Okay.
176:  Mm-hmm.
Interviewer:  Uh did y'all have desks? Or
176:  No, we had just benches. {D: Yeah.}
Interviewer:  Uh
176:  {NS}
Interviewer:  And uh how how was the classroom {X} the younger students up front and the older ones in the back? Or what?
176:  No we sit just most of 'em, the boys and girls all sit right uh everywhere, you know? Just anywhere.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. What time did school start?
176:  At eight o'clock.
Interviewer:  And what time did y'all get out?
176:  Four.
Interviewer:  And what about a lunch break? {NS}
176:  Well we had an hour for lunch.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. {NS} um {NS} {NS} Did would you go home for lunch? Or did you
176:  No we had, we carried our lunch in um pales, buckets.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Uh in those times we didn't have light bread to make sandwiches so we had biscuit. And um we had um plenty of syrup and sausage and and all kinds of meats and stuff and my mother would fix, take a biscuit and um put butter in it and then she would pour syrup in there and that would make our sweets. Make us a syrup biscuit. Put butter in it. And we'd have sausage, she'd make uh put sausage in between bread and {NS} {X} steak and {X} you know. All kinds of meats, ham and uh we had plenty of that at home.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  We didn't have any uh any store-bought stuff then, not in those years. You see we had mostly was um what we raised at home.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. That's my favorite.
176:  {NS}
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  No it was nothing like what we had what we
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 have today. #
Interviewer:  {X} um where where would they would you eat inside the schoolroom?
176:  #1 No. #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  No, we went outside and sit on logs.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And ate our lunch.
Interviewer:  {D: came around} what that was just around school?
176:  Yeah yeah. Yeah we had it around school and they had a well. Had to draw the water up out of the well.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  #1 {X} #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  who did the teacher do um the maintenance of the school building? {X}
176:  #1 No the trustees, #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  they had trustees in the community at that time and the trustees looked after the school building and they furnished, they had a wood stove in the in you know inside out in the middle of the school building. And they furnished the wood. They hauled wood up for them, the boys would cut it up and bring it in and that's what we had to for heat. {NS} #1 {X} #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} # got to the other {X} and take of them those during the day?
176:  #1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  all the doors would have to they brought in the wood and then looked after th- and when they needed to put more wood in, they did.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Uh and what about sweeping in the school room or the
176:  Well we had uh times you know, there'd be maybe two or three or maybe four that moved it, two boys to move the boy benches and the girls done the sweeping.
Interviewer:  You'd take care of that.
176:  {D: Care of that} yeah. Have it a a
Interviewer:  #1 about a week #
176:  #2 we could just #
Interviewer:  or what?
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  Mm-hmm.
Interviewer:  And did the little ones do just as much
176:  #1 No, the #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  little ones didn't have to do it then.
Interviewer:  {NS} how would {X}
176:  Well I'd say they'd be about twelve fourteen years old.
Interviewer:  Um how far did you have to walk to school? Or did you {X}
176:  Well we had it was a mile and a half, a mile and a half, so we drove a buggy, we got in the buggy and um drove the horse to school.
Interviewer:  Now when you were little did you have have any friends who {X}
176:  Well there was eight of us
Interviewer:  And y'all all'd go to school?
176:  Yeah we all went #1 to school. #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} # {X} grade?
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  Huh.
176:  Of course now there was some uh that my oldest sister uh two older sisters were uh when I started school they were had already finished you see, I they decided they'd teach out there and they were both off at school when I started school.
Interviewer:  Where did they go?
176:  They went to um Douglas.
Interviewer:  {NS} {X}
176:  And my oldest sister went to Macon and she finished high school there. And then my next sister, she went to Douglas and finished high school there.
Interviewer:  Where those county high schools? Or
176:  Yeah. {X} {NS} she boarded over there and went to school, finished in school.
Interviewer:  Now uh how far what was the last grade that you attended? That you went to school?
176:  Out in the I in the country out there I went to the seventh grade.
Interviewer:  And then did you
176:  Then I went to Douglas and finished high school and uh then I went to two years to college.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Where? where did you
176:  {D: went} Douglas.
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  Mm-hmm.
Interviewer:  {NS} {X} uh it wasn't South Georgia? The
176:  #1 No, no,no it was uh #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  Georgia normal. And you went to teachers took a teacher's course after you finished high school.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Took a teacher's course.
Interviewer:  {D: Uh-huh.} for the two years?
176:  For the two years, and then when I finished that why then I started teaching.
Interviewer:  And did you get a certificate? Or
176:  Yeah yeah I got a certificate.
Interviewer:  What about a {X} the courses used to be a teacher didn't have to have any kind of teachers {X} or did you take the
176:  Yeah I had uh you had to stand examination with the um court or the um kinda school superintendent. You had to go and stand a test there before you taught.
Interviewer:  Well now did you specialize in any field teaching? Or would you just then teach all grades?
176:  {NS} No I now I didn't sp- no I didn't specialize in any, they didn't have no special
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  #1 there #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  at that time. Uh I taught uh the fourth grade out in Coffee County, my first school.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. About what year was that?
176:  Nineteen eighteen.
Interviewer:  Wow {D: that got's} right out of the war, wasn't it?
176:  Yeah. {NS}
Interviewer:  Um when uh then uh by then they had their grades divided up?
176:  Yeah
Interviewer:  #1 That must've #
176:  #2 they had #
Interviewer:  been a large school
176:  Yeah, that was a large school, that was a still a school out in Coffee County and they had four teachers at that time. {NS} And um the fourth grade was one of the largest grades.
Interviewer:  {D; Have you had}
176:  I mean had more peoples in it.
Interviewer:  So that's why you just had
176:  #1 I had #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  the fourth grade, yeah it had the most peoples in it.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. How many years {D: did you finish?}
176:  Uh I taught there two years and then I taught uh four years in Je- Jeff Davis. I taught two years before I married and then after I married I taught two more years.
Interviewer:  Uh what school {D: was it in Jeff Davis?}
176:  Yeah it was a it was a country school, it was uh you know {D: Yengling} back out on the Bell Telephone Road
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. And then you taught two years after you married?
176:  Yeah. Yeah I taught two years after I married. And then I was a substitute teacher after they um uh made the conso- consolidated the schools?
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh that school went to {D: Denton}
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh so then they asked me to sub- be a substitute teacher for 'em.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And I did for one year after that. But I quit, I didn't
Interviewer:  {D: Did you now?} Well did you uh {NS} {D: I'm sorry had} children {X}
176:  I had one one daughter. {NS}
Interviewer:  Um let's see um, what about your husband how far did he go in school?
176:  Well he went about the seventh grade, I don't think he went any further than the seventh grade.
Interviewer:  And {X} your what about your mother and father, how far did they go in school?
176:  Well I I don't know, don't think that um they they didn't go very far {X} say about the fifth or sixth
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 grade # about about as high as they went.
Interviewer:  But of course that would have been back in well what the eighteen hundreds?
176:  Yeah. Yeah, that's when in the eighteen hundreds.
Interviewer:  About when when was your mother born?
176:  Uh eight- uh she was born in eighteen and eighty-three.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Um what did your um father do for a living?
176:  Well he was a farmer. And raised stock.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. What what did he raise? What what kinda
176:  Cows and hogs. Of course it was different from what way they raise 'em now. He owned a big uh a lot of Swamp land next to the Omaha River?
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh he they would just run {D: around in} they just went wild out there, you know?
Interviewer:  He'd just keep 'em pinned? Or
176:  No, he didn't keep 'em penned, he just go down and get 'em whenever he he wanted to put some in the field. {NS} And uh the cows the same way, they uh got a lot of there was a lot of growth in there
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 {D: you see} #
176:  And uh they uh would get their livelihood there until the winter come and then he would have to feed 'em. And uh we grew a lot of cotton there and he'd take have the cotton seed uh he'd {NW} they had a mill here and it they took the oil out of 'em
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And then he got the uh hulls and the meal and he take it back home and then they mixed that and fed the cows during the winter. And saved a lot of fodder which is the corn uh leaves off of the corn, they saved that.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh stored it and have the feed them. Let it cure in the field. {NS} And then they store it, you know? {X}
Interviewer:  {X} that's what you were uh we were talking about the other day? {NS} Um
176:  #1 {D: They pull those} #
Interviewer:  #2 The one with # the road?
176:  Yeah. Yeah they pull it they pulled this fodder off of it, it's uh it's the blades o- off of the cornstock. And then they would uh get a handful and then they'd hook it behind the ear of corn to to let it cure.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Get ripe, and then they'd go in there and take those hands and make a {NS} a {NS} bundle they'd call it.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And tie that up and then uh they would take pile those bundles and then take a rope and tie 'em and tote 'em out because they didn't want to knock the corn down to go in that hole in there.
Interviewer:  And and that was {X}
176:  Feed for the animals, yeah for this the um cows and the mules. At that time you see they farmed all the together with mules.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh had to have
Interviewer:  {X} no- nothing like those {D: carriers} now where they have tractors
176:  No no no no tractors, it was all mules and horses
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  that they done all the farming with and uh hauling and everything.
Interviewer:  Well now where were the animals kept? Uh {D: would they}
176:  #1 Well they #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} # for the night when they
176:  Well they were {D: nuh} we had a a huge uh lot they called it, but it was covered. And they kept the cow- the uh mules and horses in there and then they have stables all around that. And each one had a stable to stay in to eat,
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 you know. #
176:  And then on the i- in i- right down the center they had this big trough that you you put this uh dry stuff in, you know that's cured and all. Fodder and all. Put that in there for 'em to eat and they'd eat on that almost all the time {D: that they kept this} {NS} and the cows now, we didn't have a shelter for them, they stayed out in the f- in the fields and then they had a big lot and they'd bring 'em in at night you know and feed 'em at night with this cottonseed meal and hulls.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Well now this lot that you said was covered, what how was it covered? What
176:  What, for the mules?
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Well it was just uh just like a big warehouse {NW} you know it was had a top on it. {NS}
Interviewer:  But no sides? No
176:  Yeah
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 yeah it was yeah # it had sides, yeah, yeah. It had sides. It was enclosed.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  But it was not closed tight you know, it had n- cracks in it and all.
Interviewer:  Um
176:  Now you asked me about uh my father's occu- occupation, he uh farmed and then he um uh {NS} cut timber and he had to ne- there was no way to get it in where all the {D: the haul it to the} river and um he they call it raft. They would I don't know how they'd fasten those logs together and then they carried them down the Altamaha River down to Darien and sold 'em.
Interviewer:  {D: Down the river?}
176:  And he did that in the wintertime.
Interviewer:  {D: Would that} {X} somebody somebody'd get on top of 'em? Or
176:  Yeah yeah yeah.
Interviewer:  Like a
176:  #1 Yeah just #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  like a big uh boat or something,
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 they'd just # have all these, they'd cut 'em and and they'd carry 'em to the river. And they had someway I I never did go to see it but I {NS} heard him talking about {D: it you know?}
Interviewer:  That
176:  And then they carried their uh food with 'em.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And it took 'em several days to to carry that down the river. All those logs you see, maybe they'd have two rafts and there'd be two and they'd have um they had to guide 'em.
Interviewer:  Uh-
176:  #1 huh. #
Interviewer:  #2 To #
176:  keep 'em from going to the banks.
Interviewer:  What'd they do? Just
176:  They used uh uh nu- uh long poles. Yeah. To balance..
Interviewer:  And there'd have to be how many men I guess would be on the raft?
176:  Well I'd I'd think they'd be about four men that done the work besides the one that looked after the telling them what to do, you
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 know? And # carrying it on
Interviewer:  #1 I wonder #
176:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  about how long the logs would have been.
176:  Well I'd I wouldn't couldn't tell you that, they were there was some of 'em pretty long because they they carried they carried them on down the river.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Well now would they stop over on the bank at night? Or would they get
176:  #1 Yeah I guess #
Interviewer:  #2 {D: they get out} #
176:  I I don't remember about that, hearing them talk about that. Um I imagine they had to, they would have
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 to #
176:  stop, you know. And they they could get it up to the bank you know and {D: may and} put those poles down to make it stationary.
Interviewer:  And then they'd take 'em to Darien?
176:  Darien, yeah.
Interviewer:  What was there? {X}
176:  Well they had uh they bought the logs there. You know for lumber and they had a mill and all tho-
Interviewer:  How did they get back? get back here to {X}
176:  #1 Well there was somebody #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  went went to Darien with a with a mule and wagon
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  to bring 'em all back and bring their uh what they took with 'em. Yeah.
Interviewer:  How how man- how many days would it take
176:  Oh it'd take sometimes two weeks before they'd get back.
Interviewer:  Gosh, really?
176:  It may be about two weeks before they get back.
Interviewer:  And if {D: he did extra to} {X}
176:  Yeah he done that in the wintertime.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Yeah he did that in the wintertime {X} and he'd have to uh {NW} when they'd they'd come a uh the river would rise you know? And all of this la- swamp land would get covered in water. {NS} then um he'd have to go and get the {D: horse} and hogs out of the swamp
Interviewer:  Yeah.
176:  to keep them from drowning because they would get on little islands and uh so they'd have to go there and get those and and bring 'em out until the water went back down.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Uh were were there any special kinds of {X}
176:  In the wintertime when they you know in the spring the most of the time when they big rains would come, you know? And fill up the the rivers'd be full and
Interviewer:  Did this happen every year?
176:  No, not
Interviewer:  #1 {D: they'd have a} #
176:  #2 every year #
Interviewer:  was it just
176:  no it was just whenever they they call 'em freshes then you know, they'd say it was fresh was on and they'd have to get the stock out.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. That's when the river would {D: rise}
176:  Well the river would rise and we'd have a lotta rain and all the um the lakes in the in all in the swamp you see, would get filled up
Interviewer:  #1 {D: Uh-huh.} #
176:  #2 with water. #
176:  And uh then there'd be little islands and the stock would get on those places where it wasn't any water and they couldn't get any food or anything so they'd have to go get 'em.
Interviewer:  What would they get 'em in?
176:  In boats.
Interviewer:  In boats?
176:  Yeah. {X} tie 'em down the hogs and bring 'em out {NS} and they'd have a wagon out out on the edge you know where they could load 'em on.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Um what about um how how'd y'all {X} did y'all have chickens on
176:  Yeah I had plenty of chickens and turkeys and and uh cows to milk.
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  And made butter.
Interviewer:  {D: Okay} now um what about the what was there someone around or did did each of you do your own milking and cow-
176:  #1 Oh well we did #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  yeah we did the
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 milking #
Interviewer:  {D: fresh lies}
176:  No no we did the milking by hand.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  We did the milking by hand.
Interviewer:  So the the {X} dairy products you
176:  #1 No, no #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  no dairy products at that time. And we had uh a churn, big old churn you know, it would hold about two gallons or three. And it had a a thing and it had a a the top on it had a hole. And there was a long uh handle to it and then it had four uh pieces on there which made the {NS} thing that made the i- the to m- churn the milk with.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And you just done that up and down in the jug, in the uh
Interviewer:  Churn?
176:  Yeah, it was made out of uh copper stuff, you know.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. {NS}
176:  And uh
Interviewer:  How long would it take to now this is to make butter?
176:  Yeah that's to make
Interviewer:  #1 make butter? #
176:  #2 butter. # Mm-hmm.
Interviewer:  How long would it take to {X}
176:  #1 well it's #
Interviewer:  #2 churn #
176:  {X} sometimes it wouldn't take so long
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Just according to how old the cream was.
Interviewer:  Um
176:  Took longer with the lo- real fresh cream. To make the butter.
Interviewer:  Is that where you just poured the cream in the
176:  #1 Poured the #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  cream in the churn. Mm-hmm.
Interviewer:  And start churning?
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  {NW}
176:  Start beating it
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 {D: you know} # just do this uh handle up and down in that hole that's in there and that was to keep it from spattering
Interviewer:  #1 Okay. #
176:  #2 you see # when this
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  Yeah. Uh-huh.
Interviewer:  Um and they had you chicken {D: up against your egg}
176:  Yeah yeah I had plenty of chickens
Interviewer:  #1 and #
176:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  the ends uh
176:  #1 {X} #
Interviewer:  #2 {D: eat} #
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  {D: food} um
176:  now we cured he uh my father cured all of our meat um {NS} the {NS} he killed the maybe five or six big hogs at the time and then he'd um my mother she made uh used the uh intestines to make uh sausage.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  You didn't, there was no um bought uh stuff then that you'd get to make 'em and she had to make 'em out of that.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh she always would save 'em and uh put 'em in salt.
Interviewer:  #1 Dry #
176:  #2 {X} #
176:  I let 'em salt salt 'em down good and then um we had a big smokehouse, it was huge thing and they smoked the meat and dried it out. And then he had a big box when it got dried then he'd put this meat in that box when it was cured.
Interviewer:  {D: Uh-huh.}
176:  And we had meat year-round.
Interviewer:  Um what kinda box {X}
176:  Well it was after he built the box it was tied, it was built with an it had a leg kinda like a freezer.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh no insects could get in there to it you
Interviewer:  #1 Uh- #
176:  #2 see. #
Interviewer:  huh.
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And the beef he'd always kill you know a beef and and he'd um uh cut it up and salt it.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And then he would take it and um well if it didn't have too many strings, he used bear grass. And it it's a it's a strong thing that grows in the woods
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  and you just go and cut you down a heel of that and um then you could s- strip it and make a string and that's what they used to hang the meat with
Interviewer:  {D: how}
176:  #1 and that #
Interviewer:  #2 {D: made it} # strong?
176:  It was strong and you hung the meat on there made a hole in the ham uh in the leg part and put that bear grass in there.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And hung and tied it and then hung it on a stick. And then hang it up in the smokehouse. And so that's where he did the y- uh he salted it down first and then when he took it out of the salt then ya put it on the s- and hang it up, wash it, wash all the salt off there so he did the beef like that and but he hung the beef outside in the sun and it dried. And when it got dried out then uh then you could pack that away.
Interviewer:  Uh would insects wouldn't insects
176:  #1 Well we didn't have #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} #
176:  #1 we #
Interviewer:  #2 around or #
176:  we didn't have any insects to {D: map} anything at that time. Once in a while there'd ba- be some flies that would get on it
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 but #
176:  always looked it to see if there's anything on it you know before we'd put it away and that made the best uh stew beef and the best steak that you ever eaten. Uh it made the prettiest brown gravy, you just you just eat it {X} {NW}
Interviewer:  {X}
176:  Yeah it was really good.
Interviewer:  {NW} now what about the uh entrails? You said your momma took the en- #1 trails and she #
176:  #2 Yeah, sh- #
176:  she saved them to make sauce.
Interviewer:  How did she go about making sauce?
176:  Well they um she had to after she s- put 'em down in salt, let 'em stay I don't know I don't remember how long but then she would take 'em out of there and wash 'em good after sh- she done washed 'em good before she put the salt
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 in them. #
176:  And then she peeled it out. There was a inside and a outside of that intestine.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And then she peeled that inside out And she used the outside to stuff the sausage in.
Interviewer:  What uh what would go in the stuffing besides
176:  Well uh beef and pork and uh and pepper and sage which she grew.
Interviewer:  Wow.
176:  She grew her own sage and she made that her own pepper.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And we ground that up, we had a grinder and we ground up the uh pepper and sage she'd always put it in the stove and let it get real dry you know? And then you could just grind it up right quick. She had a sausage grinder and it- and had several uh plates on there that you could put in one for fine anything's grind fine like that you know? And that's what she used.
Interviewer:  Now what about um your bread and vegetables? Do you grow them?
176:  Grew all of our veg- vegetables and we had uh the corn was carried to the mill and and ground and uh meal and grit. Our grits and meal were ground at this mill.
Interviewer:  Right there in {D: Juan Harris} County?
176:  Yeah yeah there was one in the county, we had there was one out at {D: Grimm} where we used to take of the
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 corn. #
176:  And they'd always take about uh triple bushels at the time so we wouldn't have to grow something.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Uh did they charge you to ground it?
176:  They took a toll out of it. They took so much
Interviewer:  #1 {X} #
176:  #2 that they #
176:  of the meal or the grits as a toll for grinding the grinding it.
Interviewer:  Wow. {NS} {X} pay.
176:  No, he didn't have to pay anything he just {NS} you know they took a toll out of it.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Uh what about the {NS} bread did your momma'd make the bread?
176:  Yeah she made the biscuit and uh well she'd have some old waffle irons
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  and sometimes she would make some waffles.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. {NS} Um what about your syrup? {NS}
176:  Yeah {D: they had} plenty of syrup, made lots of cane, grew grew the cane.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And we'd just have barrels of syrup. {NS} And uh made the brown sugar.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  They had a barrel a large barrel that they'd fill up with this {NS} syrup that they'd already you know they'd cooked the syrup and put it in there and then I I I {NS} they put a there had something on there like a you'd pour it in the barrel and it had a faucet like and that dripped out the molasses.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And then there was a trough that that molasses run down and went into another barrel. And uh so when they got uh when it got all dripped out then you had this {NS} pretty brown sugar.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. You didn't have any {D: prop white?}
176:  No no white sugar hon- no no
Interviewer:  #1 When was the first that #
176:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  you had {D: saw the}
176:  Well the white sugar uh my daddy would go to uh Savannah once in a while, about twice a year and buy a barrel of coffee. Uh it was not ground you know, it was just green coffee. A barrel of coffee and a barrel of sugar and a barrel of flour, maybe two or three barrels of flour. Uh and uh he just {NS} things like that is what he he'd bring back. {NS} He had a two-horse wagon and then it took him a long time {NW} maybe a week to go to Savannah and back.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And get what he had to have. And then he left uh we had what we call a commissary uh that what he put all the stuff in there and then the people around us that lived the nearest they'd come and buy some of those meal and I mean uh flour and sugar and coffee.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. Now when he didn't go just for y'all
176:  #1 no the #
Interviewer:  #2 {D: but he went for} # the whole community?
176:  Yeah. Well he when he'd make the trip he'd always bring because it was so far he'd always bring a lot you know {NS} so we we could divide with the with the neighbors, the people that didn't weren't able to go over there.
Interviewer:  #1 What #
176:  #2 {X} #
Interviewer:  about if y'all ran out? Did did you ever run out or did he get enough? I mean
176:  Well he always got enough to last until
Interviewer:  #1 before #
176:  #2 {X} # he went back again.
Interviewer:  And he'd go back before you ran out?
176:  Yeah.
Interviewer:  {D: And it worked out} about two times a year?
176:  About twice a year I think that he went {NS} to Savannah to get this {NS} and it was all in barrels.
Interviewer:  Um what now the the commissary, would they be at the house? Or
176:  #1 No. #
Interviewer:  #2 {X} # or be
176:  No it was outside. It was um about a hundred and fifty yards from the house I'd guess, that's about how many yards.
Interviewer:  Uh-huh. {C: } and it was just a what? a
176:  Well it was a house and he um {NS} it was in it, it had steps that you'd grow up in it {NS}
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And uh and he put that stuff in there and of course they always kept it locked up. {NS} And um he had shelters on each side and put the buggy on {C:} {X}
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  And {C:} {D: had a} {C:} the other shelter and
Interviewer:  {D: and just rent a} {C: } {X}
176:  {D: one around}
Interviewer:  Uh-huh.
176:  Uh-huh. It was big it was a big belt big room
Interviewer:  #1 Uh-huh. #
176:  #2 was a # huge room, kept other things in there besides that {X}
Interviewer:  {NW} {NS}
176:  {X} {X} {D: sweep} {X} and bank 'em and uh {X} uh dig a hole {X} place and fill it full of straw and then put the cover them with straw and then put {X} and th- with the {D: potatoes too}
Interviewer:  {D: people think}
176:  {X} you dig 'em and let 'em kinda dry out before you {X} {X} we called 'em banks you know, it was a bank of potatoes, a bank of {X}
Interviewer:  Well what when you {D: need a ton} you'd just go out
176:  Just go out there and dig a hole right in the just uh dig a hole in that dirt and just