Kay Long and Betsy Ostrander interview with W. R. Jordan, Sarah Ruth Casey, James H. Mull, and Emily Ellis (part one)

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com.
Note: Recording contains racist language and slurs. This recording is the first of a three part interview in which locals from Polk County, Georgia, tell folk tales. W. R. Jordan starts by talking about his upbringing in Polk County and becoming a monthly columnist for the local paper. He says that one of his grandfathers was with General Robert E. Lee when he surrendered to the Union Army at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. His other grandfather lived with him as a child and told him stories nightly. Next at 10:40, he tells a story about a man who encounters a ghost inside a church on a dark and stormy night. The following story is about a Texas moonshiner and murderer, after which Jordan provides context about selling moonshine during prohibition. At 23:10 Jordan telles Fidlers Holler, a scary story about a mysterious violin that plays before a storm. Next he tells a ghost story about his aunt and uncle moving into a haunted farmhouse in Carroll County, Georgia, after their wedding. At 35:42 he tells a ghost story about a woman walking past a graveyard at night. Jordans last story, called The Faithful Guard Dog, is about a boy and his wolf hybrid dog. Returning to the topic of his life story at 41:50, particularly his career and passions, Jordan says that he served in the National Guard Reserves for 12 years, followed by working at Goodyear Tire & Rubber for nearly 40 years. He was also a Boy Scout troop leader for over 10 years. Jordan argues that the oral tradition of storytelling has been lost due to modern technology, and that interpersonal relationships are not as meaningful as they were before the advent of radio and television.
Emily Fay Ellis (1930-2002) was born to James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and Sarah Ruth Hopper (1897-1988) in Cedartown, Georgia. In 1951 she married James Gibson Guillebeau (1929-2004) and had a son David Alan Guillebeau (1952-1971). Ellis was an elementary school teacher. She remarried in 1964 and lived in Athens, then Cedartown, Georgia, where she died. Sarah Ruth Hopper Casey (1897-1988) was born to Joseph Hopper (1861-1931) and Lonnie Ellis (1869-1945) in Polk County, Georgia. In 1922 she married James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and had three children, Betty Irene Ostrander (1928-2008), Emily Ellis (1930-2002), and James Ira Casey Jr. (1937- ). Casey was a school teacher for 7 years. W. R. Jordan (1906-1976) was born to James Murray Jordan (1881-1965) and Martha Whitlow (1881-1934) in Cedartown, Georgia, where he lived all his life. He married Mildred Parks Jordan (1908-1995) and had children Gloria Collins (1930-2017), Noram Hugh Jordan (1932-2011), and Harriett Jordan Winderweedle (1934-2009). He registered for the World War II draft in 1940, and subsequently served as a reserve member of the National Guard for 10 years. In addition, he wrote a monthly column for a local newspaper. James H. Mull (1902-1976) was born in Floyd County, Georgia, to Elam B. Mull (1856-1927) and Josephine Lula Murdock (1862-1919). In 1926 he married Alice B. Sutton (1909-1993) and had sons James Leamon Mull (1927-1944) and Delmer Joe Mull (1932-2017). Mull served in the United States Army for five years starting in 1920, after which he became a Baptist minister for 40 years while working as a farmer. He lived most of his life in Cedartown, Georgia, where he died. Betty Irene Casey Ostrander (1928-2008) was born to James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and Sarah Ruth Hopper (1897-1988) in Polk County, Georgia. In 1946 she married Charles Clorliss Ostrander (1927-2009) and had two children. Ostrander graduated from Georgia State University, and lived in Polk County; Miami, Florida; and Columbus, Georgia, where she died. Kay Revonda Long (1949-2005) was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Samuel Harold Long (1921-1987) and Flora Virginia Long (1928-2004). She graduated from Druid Hills High School, then from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Long lived in Snellville, Georgia, when she passed away.
A COLLECTION PROJECT: FOLKTALES FROM POLK COTlliTY, GEORGIA collected by: Kay R. Long and Betsy Ostrander for Professor John Burrison Fol klore 301 Georgia state University May 19, 1970 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Names and Addresses page 1 II. Historical - Geographical Sketch page 2 III. Map of Polk County page 3 IV. W. R. Jordan page !I V. Mrs. Ira Casey page 29 VI. James H. Mull page 73 VII. Emily Ellis page 9$ VIII. Release Form page 128 \ ) An asterisk 1*1 when used by a title denotes that the title was made up by the collector. All other titles were supplied by the informant. Informants: Collectors: NAMES AND ADDRESSES W. R. Jordan Route 5 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Mrs. Ira Casey Route 3 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 James H. Mull Route 2 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Mrs. Emily Ellis Route 3 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Kay R. Long 551 Clairmont Cir., Apt. 7 Decatur, Georgia 30033 Betsy Ostrander 1158 Houston Mill Rd. Atlanta, Georgia 30329 A Hlstorloal-DisoriptivB Sketoh of the Colleotion Ar Polk County is looated in the Appalaohian foothills of northlrest Georgi",.. It ,-TIllS largely settled b;y poople of English and Irish descent, many of whom came to this ar.a from thl'! Carolinas around the 1830'B. although they still 11ve out on their fa.rrns. D"dry farming ,,-nd tho poultry industry h,wc repIEWl'!d, as thfJ area's me.in occupations, cotton f!flrming, Which was almost compl<'ltely destroyed by an invasion of the boll weevil. Mrs. Casey, and her daughter Mrs. Ellis, live in the area off of Gf1lorgia HighwFW 100 known s.s Cs,soy Valley, named for thedr fDl.mily which ovrns most of the vallf1ly land. Mr. SordEm lives in the Jackson C'r!'J,pel ",rea on the CfCtve Springs How.d. This ares. takeB i tB name from the nearby Methodist church of the Bame name. Nr. ~lull lives in the area lmown /}l,S Lake Creek off of US 27. (More specific directions for loc.tionB of lnformants homes ,Stre det:ailed on the ~mclos",d map.) 111'. \:J. R. Jord,m 111'. ,Tordan was v,~ry happy to talk to us whon He jn terv1.,,,'md h1.m 8.nd hn '.' ",.",,1. no fJigns of nerVOUfJnefJfJ du:c1.ng the, rfecol'cUng s8sfJion. He \'Tas l'c'8.ll,v ag,"r to t!llk 8.1 though we had to collect 13. lot of 100",,1 Elnd f2mlily hifJtory along Nith the four tlll.ll3lfJ that he told us. As he, himself, said. fill'. Jordan liks truth better than fiction and. seemed very intent on qualifying any unlikely elements in his stories by ei ther declaring them to be true, or Bl:\ying the1 had to have a logical explanation. I'll'. ,Tordllln t8.lked in 8. very relmxd ml1l.nn",r and used many hand movements. He has a ple81sant voice and can convey clramatic coloring through his speech. Being a former 1'1ri tC'lr hrts giv@n him Ill. very organized. deta1.led, and literary style of story delivery. ,JORDAN INTEHVI.EH LONG. "1'That is your nB.me and address?" JORDAN. "H .. R. Jordan, Houte 5, Cedartown, Georgia." LONG. "Could you please tell me ,~hen ,and where you were born'?" ,JORDAN. "I was born in Cedartown, Georgia, August 12, Ninl!'"' teen hundred @.nd six." LONG. "Hhat is your occupation?" JORDAN. "Textiles. Goodyear Ti're @.nd Rubb,,-r Company." LONG. "Could you telll me something about ,your general background? Something About your family, where you grew up. About your life then. tTe covered this I think pretty throughly at the beginning (delted tlll.pe section 000-111) but you Jmo~T, rom.inly about the ""rea J1l.nd type of community. Anything YOU'd lik.e to tell me." ,JORDAN. "I was born in Cedartown, Gewrgia.. And incidemtally I WaS born Nithin 200 yards of where I started my life's work in a textile plant. A little later my people, bein from the country \<Tant<!ld to go back 8.n they did. I had the pleRsure and the privilElge of living my early years in the S,9.me house with my e;randfath"r and grandmoth@r, \'ihi tlovTe by name. He was a Baptist minister of the old. school an the old type they USAd. to say a "hell fire and. brimstone" man. He W@.8 Irish through an through. I mention him blc!3,uS@ he had 9. profound effect on my life. He had much to do with my background. The time to go to school Nother wanted to come back to town to get me into a good city soho0I cause they wero advanced over the country schools at thc"t time. I h8.d to grow up in t01m 8.gainst my ~rilL r}.w"mt to work early. in those times work was considered suoh a I bad ge of honor that @.h didn' t many didn't ma.ny, liloys and girls, boys particularly, finish high school. I went to work early in the mills. From that (7) the railroad that. the Dearessions wipt\ld out 8.nd sent me bSl.Ok to the mlll and for tho last thirty seven years I have been ah wonderfUlly employed by the Good;Y0l3.r 'rire and Rubber Company in Cedartown. Durlng all this period of time well I might since you want my background I should put in Fl. Iittle bit of my hobbies which has been centered in the outdoors exclusively. I've nev",r found any pleasure on the p8.vements of a city. Hy:. love for guns, dogs an horses is only exceeded by my feelin",; for my fl?mI. ly, my country, and my job., Along go back to the hobbies along with my hobbies have been cor4 porated m.s>.ny activities. For many m.an.y .years, for twelve yee.rs in fact during the pence time years in the N'c1.tionml Guard which I came out of wi th .'it X'(~serve offic"r' s COlllmission. I missed combqt in the Second vrorld ",Iar due to deferment beyond my control. Later I took up my a.h work in Boy Scouts. Mr. Ostrander here (pointing to him) 1s responsible for foX' that gettin~ me started on dome- ~ . thin th9.tAhad aHT8!.ys loved.. I was a scout When I I1I3.S a boy. The opoortunity came for me to enroll in scouting l1i th GoodyeRr down here which he.s ahmys sponserod fa scout \1 troop. B'indin", th,qt th~ soouting program fitted in ~xlaotly \"i th my hobbies I spent some wonderful years in th"lt \>lark. I h"ld the pleasure of bein soout m8.st~r for p;,rhaps ten years served in other oapacities for twelve to fifteen years in soouting. In my work at the milL (1ctUghs~through my soouting experienoes I accumulated a lot of honors D.nd oomplim~nts that p.h I didn't feel like I earned. You knOl'f when you're given the high praise an ~Then you earn a silver beaver award an m&l.ny oth~r <'1.warI1s why when when when you're given that for doin somethin you enJoy 8.n love doin. you don't you're not consoious of havin sacrifioed for it. ou you feel like well they Just give me somethin I didn't earn. So that's how I felt about I'lcoutine; k1.r3 much as I 9.ppreciate all the oompliments thEl.t come to' me through that. Ancl also bein ,ahT8.ys fond of ah reD.din ...an I got ... I've got a l3.h I've got lit real histor.y behind me on read_in. And :iI.h as I spoke e0.rli"r in the program about this I start"d ITriting. It's something that I still dearly lovw it (pause) well I don't know talk about DIII'S.lf and try to d.(,scribe ' varied. background I'Thy I think (laughs) I think I'll ,just l<'lHve that off. I will finish by sHyin that in 1964 with our children all mRrried and gone and the country call:in 88 it @.lways hRs all my life. ''fe found e.n opportunity to to go bfwk to \'fhere we stfRl'ted from /il.n move b8.ck out here l'Jith dogs. hOrSf,g an 8.n1me.ls of all descriptions. At night w(jen I come in from worl< I stop 1n the driv.way smd listen to the owls. look Iil.t the, st8.rs an dec1.d/l wh8.t the weather'l be the nex.t da.y. cOJne in an go to bed and hav(il a NomV~rful night's sleep." LONG. "I wanted to ask you nbout how did you l",arn your stories. Did you learn them mainly as a child as YOB,wer. older, hRve you ,just learned them all &tlong'i" JarmAN. "I l",arn,~d them 8,11 along. From my earliest r",coleotions. loan reJmember whem I was four yl's.rs old "'lO,S i ly. ~lother says I O8.n r",member when I was thr@e. And my 8o,rliest recollection is about my people talkin n,n tellin stories. And illso the experienc(~s vie had. And all ... all through my those 8.rfil ... those things have just :B,h seeped. into my mind pl.Yl.d th@y stay th"re. Ah'you were talkin ",bout, ,'.n,h w'lll in fiction an such as thRt. I can 13,mRze you with flll,cts." LONG. "I think you could. Could you tell me what the typical p,ll'son you le8rned the bJI"s from W8S lJ.J,e? "hRt ,.rould you say ,'lOuld be the typical person who would lcnO\~ 8lot of storis?" ,JOHDAN. "'rhn.t's hard to com'" by. In the ftrst place getting them to talk. You t~lkin about someono that's liven today?" LONG. "j,rell, I \1218 thtnlling matnly 8bout the p<"lople yOU'VE! oome in cOnt9Ct with whove told you stories.Here thoy lOninly p<"lopl", ,~ho li-ved out In the country and farmed or What? ;Just Wh8,t was thoir IH'", lil,e 8.nd wh:n.t l,lnd of pc,rson Nould yon sny they wero?" JORDAN. "I.vell they \'1ould'b@ thoy would be a serlons typ@ person. An 010 f'mrmer. A high hlgh mor8l s t8.nd"rd. 1~!1n \rlth ... that r@ally lovod the soil,i;hll ground. That ah...wGll they just enjoyed life. A man wi th n, sense of humor. He lIfouldn tt h8,ve to be educ8t<i1d, perhe:ps I'll'! couldn't l'ee,d 8,nd \'1rite 8.t fll,ll. But h0 would be he ~Iould be the type> that liked to go to church. Hetd be the type th8.t loved his i" f",mily. He'd be the type that perhaps hetd even feel ah .. ~.ll he would f.el just as comfertable in a pair of over"" lIs in thl\) church on Sundty mOl'nin 8.13 ah I would in 8,h handsomO!l outfit. Th8,tt s I,h that's ah something of the type of m!>,n that I'v!;) listened to all my life, 8.h respected through my younger years as a boy. The ah type of man that tr"asures these things. A very pRtriotic man. You know, p8,triotism to m"" is a love of the l8nd. If you love the outdoors thl\)n youtre patriotic. And while that that may not have WIny re19,tion to what you asked for there but to th9,t me thm.t clescribes the man ltv! listened to. ~1y old griJ,ndfm.ther that 119ft me so much, the herit8,ge of the love for the things of' the outdoors. The old gentleman could stand sit there an ,strbl{1!! tht'\t long be>.Hrd [l,l'\il:h marvelous voice recite passages from the Bible could t@lk to his ohildrem Hnd his grandchildren. He 'liD,S ,l,lways full of love an thoughtfulness for his fello~1 mEmo At the same time keepin 8n Irish temper unrlcr control. It it's hard to describ", ,9, person or 1J18.n that lil.h that to can hand thse things down to you. It seems lllw th8.t they lare such a strong indiVidm,.l', ah strong minded. Yet 8,13 I said the,Y might not have [l,ny Glducation whatsoever. Ny old grandf""ther he never VIemt past tht'l fourth grade in a country school ~Ihich wasn't very little. But then he ht'_d 8, tremendous education in life, a deep understf1mclin." LONG. ""{8.S th",re anyone who WEtS known where you Vlere growing un in the :area lS a story teller? I mean if someone WRS to come up ,9.nd l.S){ you who was the be.st story t<'lller was thl'lre one person Who was really knNIn for it'?" JORDAN. "No no 1 don't remember th0.t lJ1,lly pA (ipl@ 1 think 1 )movl v.hat you're tRlkin about thre. B9,c){ in the old days ... and especially l'lhere invited (7) in a for<?lign IIsiB,n country and 1 thlnk to sam", extent today there ah :a mnm that was a real story teller ilIll:ways had a grev$'t Iil,udience 8.n he ... he 1'1",13 a story teller l,md maybe ... may be one ml3,n out of 8. hundred. But I h"vcn't 1 cSlin't pinpolnt "myonc like thl'l,t who other than my old gr8tndfe.ther a,h 1 wish I could h 1 wish 1 could do all that myself. RathAr thm just ramblin on an to,lldn." (l,9.ughs) LONG. liDo you have 8,ny favorite story. You know, 1 me"n. or type of story thgt you lwuld rathel' tell? Does the klnd of story you tell matter to you ?" JORDAN. "No it dudn't. 1. . 1 love history and follnore. I. 1 tend to love stories of f::wt rath",r 'bhhi:n fiction. Although tn@,:old Hc1venture stories al1~9,Ys interested me" very much. But I for SOllle reason 1 1 . although I've re8,c1 so fiction tn my life, in later years especially 1ts hi'story' that 1 really lov,",. 'rhe history of our country. the hlstory of our area ln particul:~r and I've tried to get interested ln history a \'lf3,y bl:tck to the days of Alexander but then (13ughs) it d,idn't catch on too well." LONG. "Hhen do you \Hn18\lly tell these stories'? Do people have to oome out and ask you like we did?" II JORDAN. "Anytime I hl1>,ve an 1I\udilmoe." LONG. "'.Tho do you usually tell them to? I mean under normal oiroumstanoos. The people you work with or tho people you're out wi\th'?" .JORDAN. "The people, I work with 2md I'm out with. Now l1',h, oocG\ssionally I'll speak to a civio olub or a brotherhood or somethin like that. And now I get to indulge in my hobby sure enough , (Jo6-308 dleted) So I "m I get cl),lled on occass ion~,lly to to tell some of my stories at ah different gatherins. Anytime I'm in a group men or mixed or v,hD,tnot li',n 10th 1"e get started tlll,lki'!ru why I immed ig,tly try to t'3,kl over and we&r my welcome out." LONG. "Do you think that tlling these stories for the to,pe reoorder hHs chFmged the way you tell them ffiny?" ,JORDAN. "No I don't think so." LONG. "\'Ihy do you like to tell tGtlf'S ",ncl stories to other peoPle?" ,JORDAN. "I Ii)",'. to influenoe people. Es pecial1y in that Which is olean 1I\nd good. And especially the the history of our are:1t. of our people. You' know it has beEm Said that "He who forgets the Pi',st l"il1 have no future worth l'Elmembering." Now you can chnngl th8,t I'lround to mak it fit svral diff lrent ways. If you don't kno1\! where you started from ,you don't know Where y'ou're goih. And you won't kno\" when you get there i',nd also (pfl,use) you will' use; tha,t ... the memories the history ms a ylll,rdstick to mev,sure your progress. I that's one thing and as I said 8,I'lhile ago I like to il1fluence people. I delight in t!iJJ{in !it troop of boy SOOUtS I~ back into the mount0.ins "'.n teo.chin them woodslore. Indian lore. woodscr81ft. Ah for some funny reason I tried. to anBl.lyze myself. I like I like for people to learn to love an enjoy or becomt"J interestEld in the samEl thi,np;s I do. And I just Ne",r people out tryin to sell them on my ~TfJ.y of life. II LONG. "Do you think that any of the stories that you tell are useful to instruct peopl(~ Viith? You ~Tere ts.lking about influencing. do you thin]{ th&,-t they could gather fil. moral from them I'md mFl.ke them live Fl. better lifEl?" JORDAN. "Yes I clefinitly do. r. .. 8.h spolee a ~Ihile ago about appearin e.t the brotherhood an speakin on scouting. I . I gave a I ... I Bave a talk the~e definitly slanted to get a spiritual lesson out of (J48-J49 deleted) I . ah . 1 had amor~l to cach h each tale I told in this scouting story it wasn't just deal in with. troop meeting an 9. scout lodge. It was the sights. scenes and Iil.dventures bl.l.ck in mind (?) an '%>.oh one had a s pir i tUBl meaning." LONG. "\'Tell do you also tell stories for fun though too?' I mean like the one you were telling me about the m&J.n Hnd the dop;. I me81.n thl,.t wou1d ,l1.\st be entertainment mBtinly but it would also have 8. moral too. II JOllDAN. ".Tus t entertainmemt." LONG. "Do people tell the same kina of stories they used to like wh(~n you \H1re young; 8 ..nd sitting around tho fi:ce'l Do peoplo toll those thIn,,:: Ill"" they uned to','" JOHDi\N. "No I ah that's one thIng th@t ah bothers lit!!. That has become a lost art." LONG. "Hhy?" 13 JORDAN. "l'le ...we t ve ... wt ve te.lked /!I.bout thm.t in our circles. Hhy it htils dislll,ppe8.red? They todl1l.Y they too mt8.n,y othElr attractions. Th.t came about in a time when people had to turn to each other for emterte.inment m.nel oomp9.ny. Thero t wasn t anything to distract them from .ach other you might S8.y. r~hen you \~hen you t re isol"" ted bao){ W8.y b""ck out in the country with !l.h no possibility of getting to town to movies to amy kind of entertalnment an thot goe,s on fOl' months ml months, 1'1011 thny gonna dE,v<310p somo kind of entertRinment within their Q!,,/n fn.mily oir0108. And YlO1'l 8.s y'ou glt:'ls we,ll bno1'J how much is goln on for P80 p1e to havEit 9. pl.rt in outside entertB:imnemt. \'Jell th9.t ah that has taken the plaoe of our f"',mily flres:ide and 9.otuo.lly; :it h,w hurt. You know, family t:ies an bonds of fr1.ondship were formed there that 18.8t<9d through the Y08rs. And it wm.s such a plaoe as that wh<9re p8.rents wero ,?,ble to :i.nfluenoo [lIld guJ.de their own oh:ildren." LONG. "A lot of t:i.mes through the stor:i.es ths.t they \'Iould toll?" ,JOnDA)\] "Just just as these things I've been tellln you that I h(~8~rd sixty yee.rs ago." LONG. "Do you ever feel personally involved with th<9 stor:i.es thst you tre telllng? Not neooC'lsss.r:i.ly those th8.t you \~ere there 8,nd would be involved in but do you (;ver \'Ihile you~ tell:i.ng theSe stor:ies feel v<"ry effeot(~d by Whether it t S a sad or s08.ry story? Does it ever real,lly get to you?" JOHDAN. "Yes D.h strange 8\S lt m8~Y seem ah it .. 1.t really 8,ffocts me. I ah spoke whlle 8.[1;0 about vlri,tine; n oolumn for our mill pap(H for so long and ah to be honest with you -"tbout it I have I have set down "md ~Iri te out some hllarlous silly thing gnd Im,ughed till I crled whlle I was wri tlng :om then wonder why the heck I'd laugh at my own '10rks. And. I h8.ve SfiJ,t dovm ""n wrote stories an I declare tee.rs would be in my eyes. I 've f~lw8,Ys Iived everything I've hlil'lTe have ah read told or wrote or wh.t not. I It just it it effeots me inside fiery muoh." LONG. "One final question here,. I-Thy do you think som(~ people tell the old stories and others don't, even though they may hffive 8,11 lenrned them when they were YOUnl'; ohildren? !'Thy do som<'3 of them lIeep on telling J.t to their children and other people just quit?" JORDAN. "','Tell I h8,vEln' t tried to am',lyze thnt vory much nxvl I i'm gletd you- askf'Jd that question. \-Ie cnn thin.lr Hbout thl',t f',nd tr,\lk about it for a minute. (Pause) It as I s9,id while ago I lUn') to influence people 'im ah fmel this comes from some 8,t rOll Hge lDayb<'l you cl'm s,,-y ah maybe I'm old and fogieJ but actually, I wish pflople liveel todG_y more like they did bm_ok th'm. an I"m not livin in the past believe rae. I TIIrote a story one time an <'lnc1od up writin ""bout the old past 0i \)Jo"-v"d 0-.& an" sayin "Hell 1"m not livin in the past. I sl"'<'lp undor an electric bl",_n]n~t (lg,_uf';hs) iand enjoy all raod(Jrn comforts but I do wish I had H floor fUTYlfWe that would giVEl out ",ith a puff of hl.ckory smoke onoe ina whLle." So but there \'I" h'3,ve lost much :I.n f,,-mily associ'3_tt0118 Em as you [",irls khaN even botter th;3,11 I do our paplJrs are So full of the rllctivi;. ties of H oertain element of our society, some of the young people and it it seems to me if they could kno\'1 some thin /0 gbout the 11:fcl that 1'1" lived together 90 great togetherness lit clan. 80rtl1l. like I 1%lS broup;ht up in. It \~as wonderful. It ... you lmow if We went t\~O or three ... if we went t\~O or three month vrithout see in all our people we didn't lmow What to think. '1'h(') front doors WIitS always oprfm an it 8.h gosh gosh 1'/19 you oou1dn't go in into any of my mother's nJ.sters' and ah brothclrs' house an ah cousJ.ns' hOU8e and if you walked J.n there in the middle of the night some 8.h old man ('r) \/ou1d raise up ov,~r in the bed J.n the corner LUl say "Empty bed out tn the other room. go in there and 0-1"'.1'11 in J. t." LONG. "Do you think these, stories th8.t were told l1e1peHl to bring the famJ.1y together? If two brothers know the same story it v/ou1d be 8. famJ.ly tie wouldn't it?" JOHDAN. "Dcfinitilyo '.Hell '11,h lWlrhaps you can see some results from th8.t tod,~.Y. Because I'm sittinr, here 8.Yl telling you the things tho. I; aI''' so p19,in in my mind tl1nt hflppened nearly sixty years ago. And ~,h see I "Dl Il m 64 and ~,h can I rew,mber when I WAB four YC)[3.rs old. Hell I I have strong links with my past an if you have n strong 1lnlt with your past thercls a pleasant RssoclatioD filled w1th love you gonna h,~ve a strano; li!1k with the future an 1'T1th your mll.lter. (518-51r2 deleted) 1(" The Church Ghost and the Traveler{; JORDAN. In the days of my childhood, for recreation and pleasure, people turned to themselves and within that family and, isolated far back in the country, distances being gaged in ah the amount of time it takes to travel by a two horse wagon, it limited them to where they could go and for that matter there was no organized activities anyhow for recreation. It all added up to the family commin together around the fireside. The larger f~replace than this on that that roarin fire at night. The old grandfather sitting there by the lamp reading his Bible. The daughter and her husband, children, guests inoluding our family. And immedi~ ately after the supper hour, everything put away, they'rd be a big circle aroutl that large fire, and that large fire, and that large old country room. And talk would go back to ghost stories, to the tales of olden times. Be swapped back and forth with the people. And the children listening intently. I delighted in those times. I oan still see my grandfather with that heavy beard sitting there under the lamp. He leaned a little bit to one side where he could read his Bible more easily. And it all brings comes back to mw mind right now so plainly. An I'd like to tell one of the stories that was told. After a little bit when this talk would go on, my \'1 grandfather would lay that Bible down, lean back in his chair and stroke that beard and he said "Well, I III tell one." And it is . llve heard him tell it more than once, but it would always be new an would always give me a shiver: The ~tory about a traveler back in the his young days before the Civil War, ridin a horse down a little narrow, red, rutted country road late in the afternoon of a stormy spring day. Heavy black cillouds rollin, showers and heavy rain commin in gusts. Thunders, lightnin, a very dreary time. If you could see such a scene nowadays as ah just the countryside and the forest and this old road presented at such a time that even that would give ya an errie feelin. But this tale he would tell. The traveler, lookin for a place to spend the night, and in those days a traveler on the roadside was never turned away when night fell when he came to some house. That was the that was the common practice, all travelers were invited in and made welcome for the night. And this man, under this ah very uncomfortable conditions, lookin for a place to stay and not findin it, he finally came out down on a red hillside into a little flat and ah over in the right, under some trees, stood a church house, and the doors were open as they usually was with the old church house door at that time. The rain had picked up considerbly. It was rainin very hard. It was almost dark. He just made out the I '& picture of this church sitting there. He rode up into the churchyard, got off his horse and he stepped just inside the church door, up the low stoop and was standin there inside the door and holdin his horse's reins with the thought that he would wait there a few minutes until the rains let up and he would move on. But the rain kept gitting harder and harder and the and the before he realized it, it was pitch dark. And the lightnin begin to play even more fiercely. He happen to be lookin toward the pulpit in one real bright flash of ligntnen. An in that flash of light, standin behind the pUlpit, he saw a figure there that made his blood run cold. A women stood there in a long white gown. Her black hair in two braids down across her breasts. Her face looked like perhaps it was molded out of dough. Her black eyes was wide, starling and dead looking. Standin there with her hands on the pulpit, without moving. He caught that much in that one short space of a flash of lifhtnin. It so shook him, so stunned him that he couldn't take his eyes away from that face. And in the darkness that followed that flash, he stook there hardly breathin. Another flash followed in a few minutes and the woman had turned away f~m that to one side but was lookin towards him. He became even more immovable, he was absolutely frozen in his tracks. He kept bUsy watchin. He tried to turn his head from it. He he wanted to leave but he just couldntt he just couldn't ah make himself go. His will power was completely lost. And as each /9 flash of lightnin would show that woman as she would had made another move. She stepped had stepped around the pulpit, had started up the aisle directly towards him. And as she came nearer an neerer, eech flash of lightnin showin her a few feet closer an a few feet closer. Each flash of lightnin revealin that deadly, deadly doughy look an those huge black eyes. Outlinin that face just like the ah what we used to call the "dough face,'f actually made out of dough. And he noticed that gown that looked molded, soiled like, yet it wadn't dirty as if it'd been drug in the dirt. And each step braingin her closer to him. And just as he thought that she would touch him, as she approached she raised her hand like this (gestures). And as he reached the point of absolute state of shock, perhaps dying f~om fear, someone stepped up in the door beside him from the outside. A man with a lantern in his hand. An another man followed behind him. And this feller with the lantern walked over in front of him and to this aWfully ghostly figure. Took her by the arm and they started out. The other feller was talking to this traveler and explained what had happened. This young woman, a young wife and mother, had lost her baby a few weeks previously .. died at birth. It was buried in the churchyard right up behind the church there. The mother, in a state of shock, deranged mentally and suffering intently. She would slip away from the house when she had the chance and come back to this church house where they had the funeral for her baby and where it was buried. And it so happened that at this particular time that the traveler came by she was there. And instead of actually see in a ghost, he aotually saw this ah young wife and mother that was in suoh a state. Tape 1, side 1; 111-236 Motif: J1782. Things thought to be ghosts. J1782.6. Person in white thought to be ghost. ~\ l"IDDLER'S HOI,LER JORDAN. This may sound odd but I take it to be a true ghost story, beoause it's been repeated so often for the truth. Nearby here is an area called Fiddler's Holler, whioh is really a small cove. And the people who live there tell this story. It's supposedly the way that it got its mame ". and this I can't say for facts but they is an etrie, spooky feelin abo~t the place where an espeoially if one has E. S. P. an is a little bit superstitious he'll have the chills run up an down his back when he's in there an and at night anyhow. But I was told,and tried to prove, that the way Piddler's Holler got its name. That at the far end of this plaoe about, an it's about two or three miles long,.at '8 oertain ~pot, an it's preferably at midnight, on a partly cloudy warm-like night, the wind o~t of the south, you oan hear musio, the wild strains of 'r!r"-' the violin playin the old gypsy airs ofAilimng ago, mixed in with the dancin tunes of the mountaineers. It's somethin to really stir your imlagination and ... ah ... the people swear by it. Tape 1, side l; 350-376 Motifs: E337.l.3. Sounds of revelry heard. E402.l.3. Invisible ghost plays musical instrument. E402.l.3 (a). Ghost plays violin. E402.l.3 (e). Ghostly band heard in isolated section; music is plain enough that tunes can sometimes be identified. The Goose and the Grave"". JORDAN. This ghost story dates back somewhere into the, another century long, gone by. And it was turned out to be a a absolutly true ghost story: It is told that on an old road runnin by a country churchyard, which incidently is one of the most errie places that you'll find in the South, an old country churchyard. A man walkin along thru the darkness of the night on the way home an passin the graveyard, he was filled with the fear and the superstition an ah feelin a little uneasy as ah (laugh) people would be. And lookin up across the graveyard as he passed it (pause) he saw Bomethin white flashin up like this (gestures with hand in an up and down mot~bp). It would show up just above the ground an then drop back, up above the ground and then drop back. He stopped because he couldn't very well move himself. He he he f~ze for the moment. But he kept watchin that white thing, whatever it was, and it would keep showin up. It would it would come . ah . come ahove the ground a little bit an then drop back out of sight., He went on when he got his feet movin, he left there right rapidly. (pause) Rut he found an explanation for it the next day. (pause) There had been a grave dug that day, before this happened that night, up there in the old graveyard. And during the afternoon or aroun sundown a large white goose had wandered into this grave (pause) and it was tryin to get out. And he was ah had it not but it been close enough to the road to give him a good view of this goose when it would almost fly out of the ah (laughs) the open grave an then drop back. And they he kept tryin it an the sight that he saw there was ah this white goose had got trapped in that open grave and was enough to start a real ghost story. But ah actually had a logical endin. Tape'l, side 2; 041-069 Motifs: Jl 782. Jl785. Things thought to be ghosts. Animals thought to be devils or ghosts. The l~aithful Gus,rel DOls -l(' JORDAN. 'l'his to me could hfwe be"~n truE'). It's a story about a dog. It's bHen handed do~m for somewhere in the many many years agol A man that f'th wife died and left alone with a smnll chil(). He beha he was o. hunter and trapper. part time farmer, made his livin like that. He had a large dog that was supposed to been crossed with ,,_ wolf and some domestic type dog. And it was a very brut8.1 lool,in thing. People who lived in the neighborhood, and the ne i,o;hborhood at th8_t time was several miles wide. He was B long ways from tho n,~arest house". But people who 1-101"3 ...who knew the dog, and kne~l him and his littl" son, they were m.hmys wBrnin him about tho.t dog. 'rhey wr,s afraid thnt dog vms p;onna turn on thHt child. or even turn on him (pause) or p<Hhr'_ps leill some of, one of tho neighbors. But he held on to that dog. He he he thought so muoh of it "n had a lot of confidenoc in it. 'rhc dog was absolutely devoted to this four YCElr old boy. And sinoe the man had to be gone from home oooassionally sometimes or maybe ov,-,rni_,,:ht or all day an 8,n;yhow he'd be runnin the tr", p 1 ines or workin "n 9,nd suoh as that. So he left th8.t doe; with thin boy He: D_ e;uD,rd. And lt 80 hHDpenod that on" afternoon 18to \-rhen he, oarno in (paus,)) he pushed th<'\ door op'3n (tXHlSe) .q.n Lh,0X'O wrlS blood 1111 a-VOl' the floor. Hin little boy was up under was ah on tho bod; thorll vms blood. on him. He looked aroune] for hi" dop; (long !XlUG(I) 9-nd thoro was blood on that dog. He jumpc)d to oonolusions, he oouldn't think of anything Elxoept that dog had turned on his little boy, h9.d dono what he'd been warnod that it would do. He went wild over it with grief and angor. He grabbed up hl's ax ''tn split thi's dog's hllad open. He kill,~d that dog ricr,ht there in the house. 1;[hen he turned to his little son then the boy woka up. He wudn't hurt. He got to lookin '3.round to "H~ whrJ.t had h9.ppen!d. And pushed baok behind the door an out of sight in a dl'trk recess he found the body of a wolf. ~'his \'rolf had got into the house ",md h1."< wolf dog had k111"o. it to protect his son. He in turn, overcome with shook and grief an not bein ... not ... just oouldn't thinJ{ stre.ip;ht. had grabbed up hi8 ax and killed the qog that savod his son. That's a that's told for true, possibly it is. There's thinp;s there's so many thini':s ha'Jpen back in thosC1 dHYs th8.t, well they,~s so foreign to us toda.y th8,t we ~le l~ould think the.t they wouldn't be so but they ... thoy's things that to us ATe unbfllievable now tha.t a,re ao tual.y real a.nd ,Ud happen back them. Tape 1, side Z; 6B9-!3b 1:ale Type: 178 T1:!! Faithful Anime.l Hewhly Killed J.10tifs: B531f.1.4.1. Dog defends m8.stor's child l3.gainst Hnimal assailant. B521.1.4. '!101f defends master' s ohild ao;ainst serpent. The l"f'.ithful Guard Dog (contt) i'Jotif: B331. 1.2. LlewElllyn 8\,nd his dog. Dog hf'.f3 saved ohild from serpent. Father sees bloody mouth. thlnks dog h..... s eaten the chlld and kills the dog. !~ ,
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Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions.
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