Nancy Lee interview with Effie Cole, Casto Wallace, Elizabeth Wallace, Joan Wheeler, and Willie Gist (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. This is the first of a two part recording, it contains a collection of folk tales and jokes told by interviewees from middle Tennessee, mostly Sparta. First, Casto Wallace tells a story titled Bear Hunting. Next at 1:10 his wife, Elizabeth Wallace, tells Two Thousand White Laggin Hens about a student explaining to his teacher why he is late for school. At 11:08 she tells the story Mr. Sondgrass Runs for Trustee about a practical joke. At 17:47 she tells a story about how thunder and God are related, then one about a girl who heard the moon was made out of cheese. She also tells humorous preacher tales at 22:18, and a story about a bear at 26:00. At 33:53, Effie Cole talks about her life and upbringing, including her ancestry and meeting extended family on a work trip to New York City. Before repeating a story she found in her grandmothers diary, Cole explains superstition about shapeshifting in 19th century Tennessee. Next at 43:00, she tells The Cat/Witch, which she claims is a true story from the Civil War in White County, Tennessee, about a shapeshifting cat. She then tells a joke called Old John Crow about a bald man. Finally at 49:15, she tells an origin story about how the ocean became salty. Next, Elizabeth Wallace shares a story at 50:00 about meeting a woman who changed her view on life because of her kindness and simplicity. Then at 58:00, Casto Wallace tells a story about another soldier he met while serving in World War II, and then one about an older couple fixing their marital problems. Effie Ashburn Cole (1905-1986) was born in Sparta, Tennessee, to George Monroe Scarbrough (1872-1939) and Margaret Paige (1878-1925). She moved to Doyle, Tennessee, in 1933 where she resided until her death. In 1922 Cole married George Ashburn (1899-1927) and had one son, Nolen L. Ashburn (1923-2018). In 1950 she married Casto W. Cole (1898-1981). Cole published stories and books for local newspapers and magazines. Elizabeth Lizzie Cole Wallace (1911-1981) was born in Sparta, Tennessee, to John William Cole (1856-1936) and Sarah Burgess Cole (1876-1963). In 1941 she married William Casto Wallace (1909-1995), who was born in Sparta, Tennessee, to James Jim Wallace (1872-1943) and Mary Evelyn Burdess (1870-1944). In 1981 he married Reba Elva Guy (1909-1989). He farmed a 50 acre tobacco farm. Joan Wheeler (1906-1980) was born in Sparta, Tennessee, to General Joseph Wheeler (1875-1961) and Annie Manila Glover (1875-1962). She worked as a bank teller and never married or had children. She died in Putnam County, Tennessee. Willie Gist (1887-?) was a school teacher for over 40 years in Smithville and Sparta, Tennessee. She never married. Nancy F. Lee (1948- ) was born in Lois, Georgia, to John Lee (1914-1980) and Georgia Lee (1915-?). She later moved to Lakeland, Georgia. Lee graduated from Valdosta State University and Georgia State University, and lived in Marietta, Georgia. Additional biographical information has not been determined. "A Collection of Tales From the Middle Tennessee Area in May, 1970." By: Nancy F. Lee Folk 301 Spring - 1970 Contents 1. Introduction 2. "The Cat Witch" - Effie Cole 3. "Old John Crow" - Effie Cole 4, "Why the Ocean's Salty" - Effie Cole 5. "Bar Huntin'" - Casto Wallace 6. "Two Thousand White Laiggin' Hens" - Elizabeth Wallace 7, "Trickster's Run Ins With the Law"- Elizabeth Wallace 8, "Mr. Snodgrass, the Trustee" - Elizabeth l"1allace 9. "A Trip to the Moon" - Elizabeth Wallace 10. "The Ungrateful Preacher" - Elizabeth Wallace 11. "The ci ty Boy and the Aspect" - Eli zabeth Wallace 12. "The Preacher's Experiences" - Elizabeth Wallace 13. "The Cat Tail Tale" - Effie Cole 14. "Headless Bloody Bones" - Joan Wheeler 15. "The Hanted House" - J0a.n'Wheeler 16. "Young Boy A'Courtin'" - Joan Wheeler 17. "Witch Tales" - Elizabeth Wallace 18. "The Talkin' Corpse" - Elizabeth Wallace 19. "The Slaves and the Mirror" - Elizabeth Wallace 20, "The Widow and the Uoffee Mill" - Elizabeth Wallace 21. "The Church of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist Preachers" - Elizabeth Wallace 22, "Epamanandus" - Willie Gist Introduction White County, one of the ten largest counties within the State of Tennessee, is located in the middle Tennessee mountains, and has a total population of approximately 400,000 people. Some of the major cities within the White county area include towns like Sparta, Doyle, Onward, Quebec, Walling, Fall city, Bon Air, DeRossett, Ravenscroft, Eastland, Clifty and Clarkston. Sparta, Tennessee, the first site of the County, is the chief town and has a total population of approximately If,OOO people. Besides being the largest town within the County, it is also the professional and business center. The land is used largely for farming, or as timber land, and there is also a wealth of mineral farming and coal mining. The City of Sparta was supposedly named after the ancient Greek city of the same name. It was within this city that the largest portion of tales was collected from Mrs. Casto (Elizabeth) ,Wallace , Miss Joan Wheeler, Mr. Casto Wallace, and Miss Willie Gist. However, we did travel to the City of Doyle, Tennessee for our collection of stories from Mrs. Casto (Effie) Cole. Mrs. Effie Cole, my first informant, was born in Sparta, Tennessee, in 1905. Soon thereafter, her family moved from the Sparta, White County area, and she did not return herself until 1933. Since 1933, Mrs. Cole has lived in White County, in the City of Doyle, Tennessee, a city located on the outskirts of Sparta. Much of Mrs. Cole's time is occuppied with her writing of fictitious and nature stories for the local county newspapers, and some writings are submitted to magazines. She was the most well educated and the most travelled of any of my informahts. Of the four tales I collected from Mrs. Cole, the story of "The Cat Witch" was taken directly from her Grandmother Page's diary. Mrs. Cole let me read some of the pages of the diary, and then she told me the story of how her Grandmother Page believed in witchcraft, and of her experiences with a witch (or witches) during the civil War. The remaining three tales told by Mrs. Cole, were stories that she had been told as a little girl, and that she is still telling today. The most successful collection of stories taken in the White County area was taken from Mrs. Casto (Elizabeth) Wallace. Mrs. Wallace, who is now 59 years old, is a native of the Sparta, White County area. She and her husband, Casto Wallace, reside in a small house on highway 19, right on the Sparta city limits line. The only source of income for the Wallaces is from their 50 acre farmland and crops of tobacco. Mrs. Wallace was stricken with arthritis about ten years ago, and tasks such as writing or sewing, or even stirring with a spoon, are almost impossible because of her deformed hands. About three-fourths of her day is spent in a stiff chair in one of the corners of her living room, and when she is mobile, it is not without a pair of crutches. Mrs. Wallace was completely receptive throughout the entire interview and the collection of stories. However, I was at first leary of her reaction to talking over the tape recorder, as it was the only "stranger" in the room. (This is evident when you listen to her story about the woman who wanted two papered rooms to live in. Near the end of the story, Mrs. Wallace began to cry, she said, because she was not used to having her voice taken down on a recorder.) This was my third visit with Mrs. Wallace, and she was quite eager to be helpful in telling all of the stories that she could think of. Since my visit two weeks earlier, she had made a rather small list of stories and jokes that had come to mind. After the stories on the list had come to an end, an occasional story would come to mind here and there, or her husband, Casto, would tell a tale or two over the recorder. When it appeared that her storytelling had come to an end, we packed up our equipment and reluctantly l<i3ft. No sooner had we walked in the door at my in-law's home, than the telephone rang. It was Mrs. Wallace, who wondered if it would be permissible to record stories over the telephone. For the rest of that Sunday afternoon, the telephone rang on the average of once every twenty minutes, with Mrs. Wallace on the other end. Casto Wallace was very reluctant at first to talk, but after quite a bit of persuasion from his wife, he finally told four or five tales. Most of his tales, however, were from actual conversations with friends, or were jokes. I did use one of his first tales, since it was somewhat in the form of a tall tale. Miss Joan Wheeler, another native of Sparta, is 62 years old, and a retired bank teller. MissWheeler has been in bad health for some time, so I was never able to meet her in person, but I did collect her tales over the telephone. Mrs. Wallace, who, after little discussion of my project with Miss Wheeler, was my original lead to finding Miss Wheeler. After talking with Miss Wheeler over the telephone for a while, she willingly gave me three hant tales (supposedly the only three she knew). It is obvious from listening to the tape that Miss Wheeler was not as adept at telling tales as was Mrs. Wallace. One thing I did find interesting however, was the fact that Miss Wheeler earnestly believed each one of her tales were true. This is especially evident in her last tale, when she apparently becomes angry at the guilty party who caused a young boy's death. I did not find Miss Wheeler as descriptive in her storytelling as Mrs. Wallace. It also seemed that some important facts within her stories were omitted. My last collection was made with a very charming, 83 year old, retired school teacher, named Miss Willie Gist. Miss Gist taught the first two or three years of her forty-four year long teaching career in Smithville, Tennessee, and she spent the remainder of her time teaching in the Sparta Elementary School. Upon giving her examples of types of tales from Dorson's American Negro Folktales, she did remember several of those stories, but she claimed that she could not tell them. No amount of persuasion could coax her into attempting the tales, and finally, she consented to tell her two favorite tales - "Epamanandus" and "L'il Black Sambo" (the latter one, of course, was not transcribed) . It will become evident as you play the tapes used in this collection project, that several of the tales and the jokes collected were omitted from this paper. I chose to omit these collections because I did not feel that they could really be' classified as folk tales. I did, however, include the story by Mrs. Elizabeth Wallace, "The city Boy and the Aspect", because I wanted to give an example of one of the many obscene jokes that she could tell, besides the folk tales that she knew. The tales that were omitted, and the approximate location on the tapes, are as follows: Tape 1 - Side 1 1, Following Effie Cole's tale, "Why the Ocean' s Salty", the story about two papered rooms, a joke (by Mrs. Wallace) and a story of panning gold (by Mr. Wallace) were omitted. Tape 1: ;., Side 2 2. The tales on this side of Tape 1 (included in the paper) begin with Casto Wallace's story on "Bar Buntin'''. Mrs. Wallace's story about a sailor aboard a carrier after World War II was obviously omitted. I was fascinated by one of her tall tales on this tape, concerning a trip in her car to visit a friend on a snowy day (with a bar on top of her car) I later found out that the story was one that fpd been written by Effie Cole (Mrs. Wallace's sister-in-law), and had been entered in the local newspaper as a nature story. Tape 2 - Side I 3. At the end of Mrs. Wallace's "Witch Tales", she told a story about King Saul, which was taken from The Bible. Another joke from Mrs. Wallace about a talking parrot, and a joke by Casto Wallace about a ferocious bulldog were omitted, along with the story about King Saul. The last tale collected on this tape was "Little Black Sambo" by Miss Willie Gist, however, I found that it could not be included with the other tales within the collection paper. This first story of "The cat/Witch", told by Effie Cole, is typical of the "shape-shifter" tales. Though Mrs. Cole denounces this superstitious belief as strictly myth, she could not deny that thinking of the tales told by her Grandmother Page had some truth to them. The material for this tale was told by Mrs. CoJB as she remembered her Grandmother telling them, but a written record of the tales was shown to me by Mrs. Cole, in the diary of her Grandmother Page. The events in "The Cat, 'Witch" took place during the time of the Civil War, in the mountains of White County, Tennessee. certain characteristics within this tale can be compared with Baughman's Motif G263.4 "Witch causes sickness." The children, animals and food in "The Cat/Witch" (according to Mrs. Page) were all apparently affected by sickness or death. Another popular motif present is Motif 0702.1,1, "Cat 's paw cut off: woman's hand missing." (also Baughman). This motif is found in the tale, "The Cat-Witch" in Dorson's book, American Negro Folktales. During SoLang's stay with the Pages, the youngest boy, Sam, supposedly winged the cat with his rifle. The next day, SoLang was reported to have had both hands bandaged. 1. "The Cat/Witch" (Effie Cole) Well, she'd [Grandmother Pagel tell these stories to us about cats, and she would run 'em out of the house, when we were around. She made me afraid of cats. Now I have that shivery feelin'. I don't like a cat - because of these stories, I'm pretty sure, when I was too little to understand how it was. But she said that this woman came to her door, and this odd name of SoLang. I never heard it before since. And they were destitute - her and the little girl, and Grandmother was too. They just had to be so careful of anything. And at times she had to help her sister. (Her sister was the one that her husband was a bushwacker, and she never knew it.) And Grandad's name was Will. And so he would be scoutin' out and he'd come in on moonlight nights and work the farm as much as he could, you know. But mostly he just had to hide for his life, because these killings. And this woman came to the door and asked if she could stay. And she [Grandmother Page] told her frankly that she had just enough food for her children. If she could provide her food, she could stay. And that was all, But she never answered, she was odd and queer. And so she said that there had been a cat, ever since she'd come, this cat would prowl. And they'd taken shots at it, but they never had hit it. And once, now this I didn't get from the diary. Once she said that Sam thought he hit the cat, that he yelled. And the next time, she - in the morning, she had both hands tied up. And, so of course, that's some more superstition, you know. And the woman just kept stayin' to herself. And once the bushwackers came, and they all had to run. And she screamed at this woman to bring her child on around, and go hide, you know. And the woman just had a strange laugh, and she wouldn't go. And the bushwackers came in, but they didn't find too much, and that time they didn't burn or tear down anything. And when she came back, said a cat was sitting in the door where the woman was, with a grin on its face, you know. And she didn't know where she had gone or when she came back, or if she did. And so this kept gain' on and she had these few chickens, and she had the cow, and they'd killed the mule the winter before. And in the meantime, then they were gettin' stragglers from both armies that come through and if they didn't steal and take what they had, they would beg so pitifully for food that they'd try to divide, and even that wasn't enough. Arid her husband nad got wounded, but he later come back home, but she thought he was dead. (And this old woman that was supposed to be tellin' this, this wasn't Grandmother and - about her husband being Will, you know.) And, so anyhow, why this woman, she counted those chickens, and each one she counted, fell over. And it made Grandmother so ma9, that she wouldn't give her any. And she of course, killed - I mean, dressed the chickens, and they ate them. But she said the feathers and everything disappeared after she threw 'em out - the entrails and all. And so, then this child got sick, and the milk turned to blood. And the woman had been out there and laughed crazy when she was milkin' the cow, and the milk was bloody. All these things I've said in there about - this is what she told us, about these cats. And so she talked about all of the things that preyed ... They didn't have water on that drought, and she'd feed these things to people that come by - just what little they had, you know. And sometimes they just didn't have enough of anything. And this woman would continue to beg. And I don't - she didn't make it clear if she ever give over then to give her anything, but she didn't make it clear how she lived either. She didn't say what this woman did, and so her fear of her, you know. And then she asked about the pork, and by that time, why she had decided, her and this other woman, that she knew the woman was a witch. And that's why that cat come around because they hadn't had any cats on the place. And so whenever she'd come and ask for the hog to be killed, the sow, the woman went ahead, why, she made her think, I guess that she was gone' kill her. But this Sarah had said take a silver bullet. Now, they used to believe that, and they used to believe if you boiled this silver bullet, it'd do the same thing, or a silver spoon. And then, she started to bailin' this spoon and the woman disappeared in the cat form. And all of that was just these myths in their mind. And of course, they lived so isolated, and I'm sure they never had anything to read. And these fantasies all builds up, and they get worse as the time goes on, you know. And Grandmother still believed it. Mrs. Cole could not remember the details from the story "Why John Crow is Baldheaded", but she did give a brief statement of the way she did remember it. The motif for this story is frequently found in (Beckwith no. 47, pp. 56-57), or Motif A2317.11. 2. "Old John Crow" (Effie Cole) You know Big John crow, how he's baldheaded, you know? Baldheaded man? He was so mean, he had to walk on his head to keep the Devil from track in , him. That's an old sayin' that I've heard all my life. Though the details in Effie Cole's story of "Why the Ocean's Salty" contrast with the content of the Scandinavian fairy tale, "Why the Sea Is Salt", the motif and the ending of the two stories are the same, At the end of recording the story from Mrs, Cole, she added one detail that she said should have been included in the telling of the story. She wanted to be sure that the readers knew that the Jew with the grinding machine was trying to sell it to someone, besides giving people any three wishes they could think of. 3. "Why the Ocean's Salty" (Effie Cole) You know why the ocean's salty? Well, I think this is a little mountaineer tale. I don't know, but I heard it when I was a kid. They got - somebody asked why that' the ocean was salty, and one come up with this, and the other one that, and one of 'em said, "NO, you're all wrong." Said, "Did you ever see thi~ lil' old Jew that come through the country carrying this little machine with him - this little grindin' machine?" Said, "No." Said, "Well, if he ever comes to your house, he'll give you three wishes, and he can put it into this little grindin' machine and whatever you wish for you'll get three wishes, but no more." So the old man [Jew] came to this man and his wife and he said, "Well, what would you like? What would you wish for today?" And the man, he couldn't thin~. Well, it just styminied him to think that he could get three things for nothin', if he could just think what he needed. And he stammered around and he never got anything. And so she said, "Ohwell, we[re out of salt - a cup of salt." And he said, "What! A cup of salt! Make it a barrel - no make it three barrels!" (He was piggish, you know.) So the little thing went to grindin', and they filled the house and they filled the yard, and it begin to run over on the neighbors, and they said, "Take that thang away:" It was just drownin' 'em in salt. And what on earth they were gonna do. The whole country was gonna be filled with salt. So somebody said, "Throw it in the ocean!" And it's down there still grindinl Casto Wallace remembered being told many tall tale stories when he was a child, and he even recalled a few facts from a tall tale told in Folk 301 class, (The tale he remembered vaguely was similar to a hunting tall tale, where the hunter killed several types of game with the parts of his shotgun. This tall tale is also similar to Tale 218 "The Lucky Shot" in Dorson's American Negro Folktales, (Baughman) Type 1917, Motif 1785,1.) Mr, Wallace's story, "Bar Buntin'" could also be compared with the hunting tales listed in Dorson's book under the section "Lying Tales;" 4. "Bar Huntin'" (Casto Wallace) This feller was tellin' me about another man, he was a drummer many years ago, and he was up somewhere off on a business trip, and he come back on a train. And there was a bunch of hunters on this train, and they'd been a' huntin', and they got to talkin' about their huntin' trip, you know. They were tellin' about out thar shoot in , a bar and how it got after 'em you know, and how it chased 'em and all and it crippled it and run it for a good long ways, and they had a time gettin' away from it. This feller told 'em, says, "Well, I went a' bar huntin' one time and shot a bar - crippled him - he got after me." And he says, "But I got away from him." He says, "I had the advantage of it." They said, "Well, how'd you have the advantage of it?" And he says, "I was runnin' on dry ground, and it was runnin' through ma~~~~about knee deep!" I really feel uncertain as to how the following tale should be classified. I could find no similar motif in any other tales, but the story does seem to have the characteristics of the tali tale. 5. "Two Thousand White Laiggin' Hens" (Elizabeth Wallace) Well, this is about a farm family - were three children and the mother and father in the family. The funny part about it I thought though was they had 2,000 white laiggin' hens. I One mornin' the children were late for school, and alot of times mayb'd be ten or fifteen minutes late, their father'd have 'em doin' some little job, you know, and they wouldn't get thar quite in time. But that day it was fifteen till twelve when they got thar. So the teacher asked 'em how come 'em so late. One of the boys spoke up and he said, "Well teacher, it was like this, last night." He says, "You know I told you about those 2,000 white laiggin' hens that we have?" He says, "Well, last night something got into 'em." "Oh" says, "you never heard such flusteration in a chicken house in your life!" He says, "All those hens a' hollerin' and a' squallin'." Said, "It was real hot that night, and Paw, he wasn't keepin' any pajamas, and he jumped up and he jerked on his shoes, and grabbed his double barrelled shotgun (he keeps it loaded all the time), and his flashlight, and he ran out there and he opened the door and he was a' watchin' for somethin~ to run out the door, you know, or lookin' to see if he could 1. A particular type of hen. It is distinguished from other types by its legs, which are very furry - almost hairy looking. see a possum or a pole cat or somethin' in the house that had flusterated 'em." He said, "About that time, why Old Blue, our dog, he had follered paw out thar, you know, and he was goin' to go in the chicken house. He had that nose heisted high in the air, and with that cold, clammy, wet nose - it struck paw right up between whar his laigs joins his body and paw let out a yell you never heard~ If the chickens wasn't scaird bad enough, that just finished 'em. It was two o'clock in the night last night, and we've been a' dressin' white laiggin' chickens from that time to eleven o'clock today~" The trickster tale appears to be one of the most popular types of tales used, and the following tale by Mrs. Wallace was quite typical of a trickster story. Tales similar to the one collected, are frequently told, with the trickster character always attempting (sometimes failing) to play tricks upon other characters. In this case, the "other character" is the law. 6. "Trickster I s Run Ins With the Law" (Elizabeth Wallace) Years ago we lived in the Southern part of Tennessee in a little town, and people told us thar about a man that lived thar, had for years, and said his mind wasn't too,: good and he talked very odd. In other words, instead of sayin' "my," he'd say "me." I thought though from alot of tales they told that he was smarter than they thought because he outsmarted the law. He was stillin~, had a still on his place a' runnin', and the law got to huntin' for it, and he found out they were huntin' for it, and he put up signs - PLEASE MOVE THIS THING OR I'LL REPORT IT. He put those, you know, all around over his farm. So one day when they were huntin' on the farm, you know, for the still, why he decided that he would move this still from where it was or they might find it, and he'd move it to a place a little harder to find. So he was comin' out of the place carryin' the still on his back and he, met them. They says, "All right, we've caught you at last." He says, "No, you've not caught me, I've had signs up a long time tellin' 'sm if they didn't remove this still that I's goin' to report it." He says, "I just started to town with it." So they still thought that if they'd get him to town to question him - that he was kindly dumb - that they'd get him to tell it. So they say, "Well all right, let's go on, you go to town with us." They came on up that path until the path forked and one path went down to his house and the other went on over to the road where they'd had their car parked. He says, "Me's got to clean up a little bit, Me has to get on some better clothes too. I'll be right on over in a little bit." So he sit down that still thar in the path and they went on over to the road and he went down to the house, and jerked him on some more clothes and ran back up thar and picked up that still and he carried it somewheres else and hid it, you know, so he went on down to where they were, and he went to lookin' around and lookin , around, you know, and he says, "Where is dat till?" They says, "Well why didn't you bring it on with you?" "Now," he said, "don't try to fool me. You've got dat till somewhere - what'd you do with it?" They said, well they hadn't done anything with that still. Well they went back over thar with him, you know, and they couldn't find the still. Well thar he'd stole their evidence, you see. Well then, later he was stillin' and they came up'on him, and sent him on from the still and he wost his hat, and they picked up his hat, you know, and they indicted him and was goin' to take him on circumstantial evidence, and cause they thought he didn't have too good a mind, why he'd confess to it again. So they brought it up in court and they drawed out his hat and said, "Isn't it a fact that this is your hat?" He said, "No, that's not me hat. Here's me hat." And he reached back in his back pocket and pulled out a hat identical like the one they had. So of course, that was done that. Then another time he was fishin' and they wasn't s'posed at this time to catch bass you know, and he'd caught two large bass and had it on the strang. So the Game Warden came by and he says, "All right, (he looked down at his fish) you know you're not s'posed to catch those bass. Come on, you're caught this time, let's go; to town." He said, "No, I didn't intend to keep those bass, they just kept a' bitin' at my hook, and a gettin' all my worms off and I couldn't catch anything else. Finally, I decided I'd catch 'em and tie 'em up. I'm gonna turn 'em loose." Well they couldn't say anything about that so they let him go, and they got off back down the road, and thought, now he'll come out with those bass and we'll catch him. But he caught him some more fish - enough for a mess to eat thar - and he says, "Those son 0' bitches, they'll catch me if I come out if I take those bass. I'm gonna turn 'em loose." So he turned 'em loose. When he came on out, why they were thar and stepped out to arrest him. And he [the Game Warden] says, "All right. Where's your bass - fish?" He said, "I told you I was gonna turn those fish loose, and that's what I done:" 7. "Mr. Snodgrass Runs for Trustee" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time there was two men in our county that run for Trustee. Both - you know - for the same Office, and in their going around asking people to vote for 'em, why they came to the same place one night. It was back, you know, when they rode horses and they had to stay all the night wherever they were and then they'd start from thar you know, canvassing the country the next day. So that night that they met at the same place, why this Mr. Snodgrass, he knew that this other man, you know, was afraid of bugs. So that night they were sittin' out on the porch, and you know these bU9s that flies around and gets on you at night - those big hard-shelled bugs? Well, one flew and hit this Mr. Snodgrass and he reached up and slapped his hand over it and he just stuffed it in his pocket. Then when they went to bed that night, they put 'em both in the same room to sleep together. And when they went to bed, you know, he got that bug out in his hand and he held it, till long in the night he turned it loose, you know, while this man was awake - rather before they went to sleep. When he turned it loose, why, bh this man, he felt it, you know, and he come out of thar and he's just a' screamin' "bug! bug! bug: bug: Oh Lord: bug: bug! bug!" And these people, you know, where they were stayin' all night, why they jumped up and they ran in thar, you know, and oh, this woman, she looked and she couldn't find any bug. This Mr. Snodgrass picked the bug up and he put it in his pajama pocket. So she looked everywhere and she said, "Well, I don't think there's any chinches here. (You know, the people used to have chinches 'fore the time of D.D.T. - that done away with them.) And as far as she knew she didn't have any chinches, so she couldn't imagine what other kind of bug it'd be on the bed, you know. Then after lookin' at it good and all, why they went back to bed, and he turned loose the bug again. Well, it was the same thing over, you know. Well, this man he killed the bug and he didn't you know, let it loose anymore, but they went to sleep finally and the next mornin' they got up, why, they went out to the barn, and this first man I was tellin' about, why he had been to the barn and started back and he'd met this Mr. Snodgrass on the path, you know, as he came back and he says, "What will they say about you actin' like you did last night?" He said, "I'll just bet it makes you lose the election, don't you?" He says, "I don't know. I'm just scaird to death of bugs. I dan't help it if I don't get elected." Says, "I couldn't keep from holler in ' ." "Well,"he said, "I just feel like that you've ruined yourself about the election. The whole mountain - ever what this Mr. Bohannan says to do is what they'll do, and I just doubt you'll get elected." He says, "I believe you'd better just pull off and not run - don!t you?" And just for that, why that man pulled off and didn't run, and this Mr. Snodgrass was elected for Trustee. "A Trip to the Moon" by Elizabeth Wallace, was told very nicely, and also appeared to me to be in the tall tale (memorate) form. Several of the unbelievable events within the story are similar to events in the Lying Tales in Dorson's book. One of the motifs found in this story that was similar to one in Dorson's book was Xl124. 2 "Animal inside out", (Baughman). 8. "A Trip to the Moon" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time when I was a child I'd always heard, you know, that the moon was made of cheese, so I decided I'd see. And there was a large mountain close to where we lived and I could see the moon, you know, as it would come up at night. It just come right over that mountain So I decided and I thought I could just reach right over and touch it. And I'd heard people say that you could. that I'd go to that mountain and see. Well, I started out walkin', packed me a little lunch, you know, and put it on my back on a stick, you know, across my shoulder. I walked and I walked, and oh, I got so t'ard. And I come to a pasture and there was an old grey mar' grazin' thar in the field. So I had a rope in my pocket, you know, hangin' to a tree thar where that when I jumped off, I could jump off on this moon when I got thar that if I didn't land on the moon', it would hold me, you know, and I wouldn't fall and kill myself. Well, I put that on the old grey mar' you know, and made me a haltar out of it. I'got up on her and went to ridin' and not far from the foot of this mountain, why her back broke in two. I got off and I cut me a hickory limb and stuck it each way in her back and shoved it up her backbone and that fixed 'er up, you know. And I got back up on her and I rode to the foot of this mountain and when I started up the mountain, I got almost to the top and I saw a bar a comin' and Lawd you can't imagine how fast I finished a' goin' up that mountain: But just as I got to the edge of this bluff, why that bar was right thar behind me. And I grabbed hold of its tail and it turned that bar wrong side out. And that bar went back down that mountain just a' laughin' itself to death, because all that fur was ticklin' it on the inside. And about that time, why here come the moon. And it was - it was close enough that I tied my rope to the tree, you know, and as it came by I jumped off on it, and I got up on thar and in a little bit, why, oh I thought how far that I was from it [the bluff]. And it was a little farther the next night, and the next night, so I knew that well, maybe I couldn't never get back on that rock anymore. And I soused my fingers down in the moon, and found out it was really cheese and it was just full of skippers like cheese skippers, you know, that gets in old cheese, it was so old. Well, I set up thar, and those skippers, they were larger than any huge rats we have here. I set about skinnin' those skippers, and I skinned, and skinned, and skinned, and then I tied those skippers together until I made a rope long enough that I, you know, skinnied down it, and come back to earth. The Preacher Tale, which I understand is supposed to be very popular, was indeed very popular with Mrs, Wallace, Each one of the tales involving preachers and their antics, was told by Mrs, Wallace, as if the preacher had actually been very good friends with her, and had related his experiences with his life in the church, to her, This first tale within the Preacher Tale category, was difficult to classify as far as motif or tale type was concerned, However, I do think that this tale, as well as the other Preacher Tales included in this paper, would fit very nicely into the section in Dorson's book on Preachers, 9. "The Ungrateful Preacher" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time there was a preacher a' prayin'. He was a real good preacher, but you know, I've always heard that people sometimes would pray and not realize what they were asking for. And, you know, the Bible says that God knows what we need, more than we know ourselves, and if we got what we asked for, well, we'd find out we didn't need it. So this preacher, he was a' prayin' and they didn't have any food in his house, and they hadn't had for two or three days, very much, you know. And he was a' prayin' for food. He says, "Oh Lord, send us this, and send us that and the other, you know" - called different names of different foods, and finally he wound up with a bushel of meal and a bushel of potatoes and so on, and a bushel of peppers. And after he thought it over, you know, and realized that he'd asked for too much pepper, whey I reckon he forgot he's a' prayin', and anyway he said, "Hell, Lord: That' s too much pepper!" "The City Boy and the Aspect", in my opinion, can only be classified as an obscene joke. I merely included this particular tale among the others, because I wanted to show Mrs. Wallace's "gift" for telling obscene jokes. IO,"The City Boy and the Aspect" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time there was a girl goin' with a city boy, and he always tried to talk so proper. So this girl had a little brother - five year old. They were sittin' out on the porch one time and that little boy, he was settin' there with his feet off on the step - settin' on the edge of the porch with his feet on the steps, and they were settin' on the swango So this naked chicken came around the house. (And you know, years ago, before people went to lottin' their chickens and keepin' 'em up and keepin' feed before 'em all the time, whyv they'd take the feathers off each other.) And so here come a chicken around the house, that had all the feathers picked off its rear. And this city boy said to his girl- friend, "Isn't that a pretty lookin' aspect?" And they'd sit there and talk for a time, a time, a time. Finally, there's another chicken came around the house. They didn't notice it, you know, and this little five year old boy, he had to draw attention to it and he said, "Here comes another one with his ass pecked," 11. "A Preacher's Experiences" (Elizabeth Wallace) We had a preacher in our church one time, and he was a real good friend of ours. So one afternoon he was at our house and he was tellin' of, you know, different experiences he'd had - different places. Hbw one time he said that he had went to a place to eat, and he said he always felt like, you know, people should go where they's asked. Even though these people didn't have too much to eat that, you know, they were children of God, and that he should serve 'em. And he said that when they got thar, and they'd sit thar at the table, that his little boy said when it came time for desert, said "Please pass the raisin pie." And he said that when they reached up to pass the pie, that the raisins all flew away. You know what it was, don't you? FlieS: Another time he told about goin.', to a different church, and was preachin', holdin' a revival for another preacher. And he said he was up in the pulpit preachin' and he was preachin , from the Bible, "Ye are the salt of earth, for in that you have lost your salt, you know, it has no savor, or Saviour." And he said that everything was just goin' good, the whole crowd, you know, was respondin' to him, and he gave the illustration and says, "If you killed a hawg, you put it on one side of the smokehouse and the meat on the other, we know that it wouldn't keep it. But you've got to put it together, you know, to be useful. You've got to do, in other words, what God requires of you." And he said, "If you did kill a hawg and you didn't put it together, you know, salt the meat down, why," says, 2 "they'd say that you was ready for the Murphreesboro Road." And he said that when he said that, that the whole congregation just changed and it seemed like they were so tickled. And the service just wasn't right anymore. Well, he said that, you know, it come twelve o'clock and he closed. The service was over and they started home, and they went on out to the car, and this pastor of the church, and him and his wife, you know, got in the car to go to a certain place - the neighbors for dinner - to one of the church members. And he said to him, "I want you to tell me what happened back there in church. I thought the people, you know, was 2. The Murphreesboro Road is a road in Tennessee, located between Nashville and Murphreesboro, Tennessee. The expression used here would be the equivalent of saying that one was bound for the insane asylum, or for a bad end. all so enthused and respondin' to what I said. When I said somethin' about the saltin' the meat and the Murphreesboro Road, that just ruined things. What was wrong?" "Well," he said, "You know that Mr. John that you called3 in [who was] sittin up thar in the front? He just got back from the Murphreesboro Road last week!" 3. When one is ,II called," during a church service, he is said to openly support the doctrines of the church, and is thus redeemed from the fires of hell. Like Mrs. Wallace, Effie Cole remembered another witch tale that she thought could be used with the others, so she called me on the telephone, and this story was recorded over the phone. As in her other tales, Mrs. Cole almost tried to excuse the people concerned with this tale, for believing in the curing power of a witch. However, she said that the story, like the others is only myth, and should not be taken seriously. Motifs concerned with the curing power of a witch or some other source, can be found in Dorson's book, in the tales beginning on page 280 (American Negro Folktales) 12. "The Cat Tail Tale" (Effie Cole) In Jamestown, Tennessee -that's in the upper Cumberland, near the Kentucky line - where the Elvin C. Jordans lived. Those people were superstitious in this way about a cat. They thought they had curing power - power of a cat, you know, to cure something. So I was visitin' up there and they told me a neighboring man over there had almost died of typhoid fever. An.d I said, "Well, how's he doin?" And they said, "Well, he's better now." And I said, "Well, what did you do?" (Well, see, they're isolated all up in there and they had no doctor.) And they said, "Oh we found a black cat with green eyes, and so we cut its tail off, and we boiled it for nine days, and kept it at b0ilin' point for nine days, and he's better now, and he's goin' to get well." I says, "What if it didn't do it?" And I said, "Well, what if he'd died?" And they said, "Well, that's just God's will." The following three Rant Tales, told by Joan Wheeler, were supposedly true events which happened in White County, Tennessee. 13. "Headless Bloody Bones" (Joan Wheeler) Well now, this man he was out horseback ridin' comin' home, and he happen to come by a road that they didn't travel too much. And there was an old tree that was blown up along the side of the road. And as he got even with that, they was somethin' come out of that place with four legs, he said, and looked like its head cut off, and just as bloody as it could be. And he said his horse got scared, and he got kindly excited himself and he taked his foot out of the stirrups and said he just trotted right along back, and he never could feel of nothin~ And he went on home and he said he lost his hat in the turn of it. And when he got home, he fed his horse, but the horse up'- and he said it lived two weeks and died. the end of that one.) (So that's 15. "The Hanted House" (Joan Wheeler) Well now, these men - there were about three of 'em down at Cane Creekf and this old house was hanted, and the people that they rented it from told 'em they wouldn't stay there, and that nobody else would because they [hants] would come in and go out. And these men said they wasn't afraid. So they stayed, and every night they could hear somethin' goin' up and down the stairway - just like somebody a' goin' up the steps. So then they said when they'd be a' eatin' supper, it sounded just like somebody in an old straight back chair - like they was rockin' a baby backards and forwards. They would go up thar and not one thing could they see. And that when on/they said/all night long - they could hear those rackets. But those men stayed till they finished up their cuttin' t~rnber and then they got away. (So that's the end of that one.) 4. The beginning of the Caney Fork River, in middle Tennessee. 15. "Young Boy A' Courtin'" (Joan Wheeler) This young man was gain' a' courtin' - he was in his teenage boy. And this man said to his wife, says, "I'm gonna have some fun." So they said as he'd go over and started a' gain' a' courtin', he wouldn't stay too long he'd get home 'fore sundown, or by sundown. And then a little later, the longer he courted, he was later a' gettin' home. So when he got to stayin' till after dark, he had to pass the graveyard. So this old man, named Cunningham (that was his name) he got a sheet and he wrapped hisself up in it and laid down by the graveyard - pretty close to it. And as this boy come by, he went to groanin' and turnin , and mavin' in that sheet and said the boy looked up and saw him and grabbed his old hat and said he'd never seen sech a raise in his life outta nobody. And said the boy didn't take time to turn the knob to open the door - he just pushed the door down, went home and lived three weeks and died. And he said in the meantime, he went to see this boy, but he would darsn't to tell that he had caused that boy to be in the shape he was in. So he died and that old man never did tell him for years and years after that: 16. "Witch Tales" (Elizabeth Wallace) I remember yarsago, my grandfather tellin' about his father, when he was a young man, how people believed in Witches. And thar was a Witch that lived in their community. And this Witch, you know, could foretell things that would happen, or she could bewitch people. Their guns would get where they didn't shoot good, and they'd say that this Witch had bewitched the gun. So they would get draw a picture of her, and they'd put it up somewheres, you know, and shoot this picture, and if they hit it, why that would kill her power over their gun. I remember on one occasion that my grandfather told was talkin' about her - he said that their hawgs got stolen one time. Now, they just had open range back then. They mashed, you know, hickory nuts, chestnuts, and walnuts - all those things for 'em. And it was up on this open range and the hawgs all ran out. But - and they'd go feed ,I'em onc't a week, you know, to keep 'em from gettin' wild. So this time he went to hunt his hawgs and feed 'em, and he couldn't find his hawgs anyplace. And he kept huntin' and huntin' though, and finally he couldn't find 'em at alL And he decided that he'd go to this Witch and see what she could tell him. And he went and he asked her and she said, well, they were at a certain place, in a rail pen, and said they were covered with brush. And said, "If you'll look clos't," (she told him what directions they were, you know, North, South, East, or West, - ever what it was) that he'd go that direction - he would come to this rail pen. And he went and he found his hawgs. Then another occasion he told about one time that there was a man in his community that she had become angry with for some reason. And she told him that somethin' would befall his kingdom. Well, she [he] didn't know what he [she] meant, but it went on a little while, and he had a young daughter that was gonna marry. And she was cuttin' out her wedding dress on the kitchen table, And back in that day and time, they didn't have screened doors and windows, you know, like we have now. And there was a white feather that floated in this window, and it just follered her around, right at her back, She never did see it, but her mother and sister did, And all the time shw was cuttin' out that dress, that feather just floated and stayed in the air, right thar behind her, And then when she got the dress cut out and started to sit down, the feather floated on back out the window. And they didn't even know of anyone in the community that had any white chickens, or white ducks, or anything like that. So it went on about a week, and the girl married. And three weeks from that time, she died, Witches and Rant stories always amuse me, even though I know there's not anything to 'em. 17. "The Talkin' Corpse" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time there's two white men goin' through a nigger community, and as they passed the church, why they were startin' to have a funeral thar. And one of 'em said to the other one, said, "Were you ever at a nigger funeral?" He says, "No." He says, "Well, let's go. What do you say?" So they drove up to this church and they got out and went in and it wasn't very long after they went in, the crowd was all gethered on the inside, till they, you know, brought the dead man in to church. And one of the white men could throw his voice. And they were sittin' now, all the way in the back of the church, And he lent over and he said to this other man, he said, "We're gonna have some fun," So they were carryin' this colored man up to the altar, you know, in front of the church, and just as they got ready to sit him down, he said, "Please sit me down easy." [Very spooky voice,] Well, they looked at each other to see who had spoken. And they saw that none of 'em had, and they started, you know, to let him on down, and he says, "Please set me down easy." Well, they didn't only set him down - they throwed him down! It just scared those colored people to death and the people in the audience heard, you know, what was said too. The preacher, he was in the poolpit [pulpit]. They all made for the door, and, of course, the preacher was last. He couldn't get out and he was so scared. He said somethin', and one white man said to the other, said, "What did he say?" He said, "The preacher said " Damn a church with just one door!"" 18. "The Slaves and the Mirror" (Elizabeth Wallace) Back in the slavery days, there was a white family that owned slaves, and, you know, they [the slaves] didn't have any mirrors. They didn't know how they looked. And this white woman, she got her mirror broken. And she gave this nigger man a piece of it - oh, somethin' like say, the size of your hand - say, six - eight inches. And he looked in thar, of course, and he saw himself. But he didn't know it was hisself he saw. He'd always been told that he looked like his father - was just the very image of his father, and he thought that was his father he was seein'. Well, he'd taked that mirror on down to the barn, and he put it under a barrel that was down thar. And every mornin' when he'd go to the barn to work, why he'd get out that mirror and he would just take to it, and he'd cry and go on. And his wife, she was out in the yard, and she heard him one day. She slipped down to the barn and heard all this commotion a' goin' on, you know. She saw him after he got through and got ready to leave, why he stuck this under the barrel. So, when he wasn't thar, why she went back down to the barn, and she looked under that barrel, and thar was the mirror. She never had seen the mirror either, you know, - never had seen herself. So she picked it up, and she looked at herself. She says, 'tHuh! So this is the old huzzy he's taken on over, is it?" "Well," says, "I'll end this!" And she just broke that mirror all to pieces! 19. "The widow and The Coffee Mill" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time thar's a preacher went to Arkansas to hold a revival, and he was thar, oh, two weeks or somethin' and they would go to different people's houses, you know, to eat, and go stay all night and all. Well, they was a widow woman that lived in that church - I mean that went to church thar, and she couldn't have 'em at night, but she asked 'em to come over and eat dinner with her some day. So they went to her home to eat dinner, and when they got thar, well she told 'em to take a char and to sit out on the porch and she'd go on in and prepare the meal, ..and call 'em later. So she was in thar fully a h',ar and a half a I cookin'. They were wonderin' - well, was she ever goin' to get anything ready? It was late when they got home from church and - was she ever goin' to get dinner ready? They were so hungry. And about that time, why she came back out on the porch and she brought one of these old-fashioned coffee mills, that you turn the handle, you know, and it grinds. She sit down and she put that between her laigs, and she sit thar and she ground and she ground, and she ground and she ground. And the sangin' master - leader, he was just so hungry and all he couldn't pass the time just sittin' thar - he was so annoyed. So he got up and he begun to walk from one end of the porch to the other. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally, he came back and he stood thar in front of her and he said, "Well good sister." Said, "Your coffee mill's just about like you. It's just about wore out, isn't it?" She says, "Yes." And says, "If you'd been 'tween my laigs as many times as it has," says, "you'd be wore out tool" Tales which very closely follow the contents of the following tale, can be found in Dorson's, American Negro Folktales, under the section about Preachers, Two tales in particular in that section follow closely with this next tale,. The two tales in Dorson's book are numbers 239 and 240, 20. "The Church of Christ, Methodist, presbyterian, and Baptist Preachers" (Elizabeth Wallace) One time thar were a Union revival. Four of the differ'nt churches had met together, and they were holdin' a great big branch of a revival in a little town. And, oh they'd had wonderful success in this revival, and at the close of the revival, why, they decided that they would have a big dinner. And they prepared the dinner, you know, everybody brought lunch, and they spread it - all out. They had a separate table though for the preacher and their wives. And the preacher and their wives sit down thar, and someone brought a fish - a large fish that someone had fried. And they brought, and set it on a big platter thar in the middle of the table. And each one of these preachers was supposed to partake of that fish, and as they did, they's S'posd to say somethin' in honor of the church. So the Church of Christ preacher, he was first. He reached over and he cut off the fish's head. And he says, "The Church of Christ is the head of all churches." Well, the Methodist preacher, he was next. And he reached over and he cut off the tail. And he says, "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." And the Presbyterian preacher, he reached - got the middle of the fish - and he says, "Between these two extremities, I now take up my renownd." Well, that didn't leave any fish, you see, for the Baptist. So, he wasn't goin' be outdone though. And he grabbed up that bowl of gravy and he says, "And now, with this - I Baptize you all. Amen." Though the main character in the following tale was called Epamanandus, Miss Willie Gist's tale follows very closely to the Foolish John Tales we have studied, and have heard in class. I loved the manner in which Miss Gist told her tales, and the tone of her voice was very realistic and very interesting. The way she sat there on her sofa to tell this tale, you would think that she actually believed that she was surrounded with her small children, just as she was when she taught school so many years ago. 21. "Epamanandus" (Miss Willie Gist) Once upon a time there was this little black boy, and his name was Epamanandus. And he had a good, kind Granny who cooked at the big white house on the hill. And one day, Epamanandus went to see his Granny, and Granny was bakin' a cake. Well, when the cake was done, she gave Epamanandus some to eat. Then, when he got ready to go home, she gave him a piece to take home to his Mammy. Epamanandus took the cake in his little hand and he squeezed it up just as tight as he could. Then he went on home. He got home and his Mama said, "Epamanandus, what you got thar in 'dat hand?" "Cake Mammy. Granny sent it to you." "Cake!" cried his Mammy. "Epamanandus, 'das no way to carry cake! When your Granny gives you i:lake take your hat off, put dat cake in your hat and put your hat on your head and come along home! You hear me, Epamanandus?" "Yes, Mammy." Well, the next time Epamanandus went to see his Granny, she was churnin'. And he played around all afternoon, and he got ready to go home, and his Granny gave him some butter to take home to his Mammy. He says, lINow what was it Mammy said? Oh yeah, now I know. " So he got the butter and he put it in his hat and he put his hat on his head, and he went along home. Drip, drip - the butter ran into his ears. Drip, drip - and down the back of his neck. And when he got home, he had no butter. It was all on him. And his Mammy said, "Epamanandus, come here. What 'dat drippin' from your hat?" "Butter, Mammy. Granny sent it to you." "Butter!" cried his Mammy. "Epamanandus, 'das no way to carry butter! When yo' Granny gives you butter, you go out in the garden and get some cabbage leaves and wrap it up in it. And take it to the spring and cool it in the water, and cool it in the water and cool it in the water. Then you bring it along home!" "Yes, Mammy." Well, the next time he went to see his Granny [long pause - she forgets her place] she said "Epamanandus, go out yonder and look in the woodshed, and you'll see sumpin' you like." And he went out and looked in the woodshed and he saw four little puppy dogs. Well, he played aroung with 'em and when he got ready to go home, his Granny give him one to take home with him. He said, "now what was it Mammy said? Oh yes! Now I know:" So he went out in the garden and he got some cabbage leaves and wrapped the puppy dog up in 'em - took him to the spring and he cooled him in the water, and he cooled him in the water, and he cooled him in the water. And then he took him out and took hilim home. And he got home and his Mammy said, "Epamanandus, what you got 'dar in 'dem cabbage leaves?" "Puppy dog, Mammy. Granny gave him to me." So he took the leaves off and thar was the little puppy dog dead. He'd drowned him. So she says, "Epamanandus: Cain't I teach you a thing? Tha's no way to carry a puppy dog: When your Granny gives you a puppy dog," said, "you tie a string around his neck, put him on the ground and take the other end of that string in your hand and lead that puppy dog homel You hear me Epamanandus?" "Yes, Mammy." Well, the next day, Epamanandus' Mammy's gonna have company for dinner. And she said "Epamanandus, I don't have any bread for dinner. I'd like you to run up to the big house and get me some bread." Well, he went runnin' up to the big house and he got thar and his Granny was bakin' bread that day. She took out the nicest, crisp loaf of bread right from the oven. He proudly took that string out of his pocket and he tied it around that loaf of bread, put the loaf of bread on the ground, and drug it all the way home. When he got home, his Mammy took one look at the thing tied to the end of that string, and she said, "Epamanandus, you ain't got the sense you was born with: Now I don't have any bread for dinner. I'll have to go get some myself:" So she reached up and grabbed her bonnet and put it on and started out. He follered her to the door. And she said, "Epamanandus, you see these mince pies I put here on the door step to cool? Well, you be careful how you step on those pies while I'm gone." Then she went on up the hilL He stood a' scratchin ' his head and said, "Mammy said to be careful how I 'tep on 'dem pies. I guess I'd better be careful how I do it~" So, plink, plank, plunk (counts with fingers) he stepped in the middle of each one of 'em, and when his mother came home and saw those pies, she took him around the woodshed. And I don't know, and you don't know what happened. But, poor Epamanandus: A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. 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. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.