Ed Prince interview with Beulah Carter, Fred West, and Willie Lafitte (part two)

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 second of a two part interview; it starts with Beulah Carter looking back on games and activities she played as a young adult, including dancing the Virginia Reel. She also recalls folk songs from her childhood, such as Barbry Ellen, which she sings, as well as The Little Rosewood Casket. 6:08: Next, Carter briefly talks about her own history, including being widowed twice. Then she tells a couple humorous stories, one about a drunk man and another about the stereotype that Missouri natives, such as her father, are green. She also talks about Mr. Clark, a Missouri senator who drank so much that he couldnt give a speech. 10:35: Carter explains that her fathers family immigrated to Missouri from near Lexington, Kentucky, where her grandfather was a trader of enslaved people. Ed Prince, the interviewer, adds that his great grandfather also kept enslaved workers, and thats just the way it was. At 11:30, Carter returns to the topic of the Missouri Waltz and sings Ole Dan Tucker, Little Rosewood Casket, and a folk song about a girl who is blind. Next at 14:50, Carter and Prince discuss the songs and how they are almost forgotten, although she sometimes still hears them sung in the South. She learned songs from her parents and played music on record players and gramophones. In addition, she explains that Mountain folk from Virginia and Kentucky often knew the same songs, jokes, and stories. 17:54: Carter then repeats a couple mountain superstitions about the weather, traveling, causing good and bad luck, and signs that predict death. She and Prince agree that these superstitions, that are specific to the mountains, do not survive once community members disperse. At 21:30 Carter remembers superstitions about raising babies, and explains that her mother and grandmother were very superstitious. At 22:50, she refers to a superstition that a colored woman taught her to keep unwelcome guests away. Then she and Prince talk about traditional ways to remove warts and stop nose bleeds. 26:30: The next topic is haunted houses, ghosts, and witches, which Carter feels skeptical about, even though her parents were believers. She tells a couple stories about her father encountering ghosts. At 30:40, she theorizes that English people tend to be more superstitious. She says that most of her people were Scottish and English, which might be why they were so superstitious. She then lists other superstitions about death. There is a break in the audio at 32:50, after which Carther sings a couple folk songs about the Civil War that her aunt, who was a child during the war, taught her. The first is a coarse Missouri folk song about Abraham Lincoln [note, this song includes racist language]. She explains that bitter Southerners, like her parents, sang such songs. At 36:55, she further explains that there were Northern and Southern supporters in Missouri, and that her maternal grandfather was a Union sympathizer who freed his enslaved workers. Carter says that she respects Abraham Lincoln as a president. After a brief pause between 40:29 and 41:10, Carter repeats Barbara Allen and the song about Abraham Lincoln, with an additional verse. She comments that its a shame the country went to war rather than talking through its problems. At 48:30 Carter tries to recall riddles, which were a popular form of entertainment when she was a child, and songs, such as Swing Josie. Price and then Carter tell a couple riddles. They return to the topic of Civil War songs, and Carter recalls another song that her aunt sang about a soldier wounded in the battle of Vicksburg (sung to the tune of Barbara Allen). At 58:50, she sings The House Carpenter and Old Ned. Side two of the recording starts at 1:01:28. This side contains the same songs from part one, with the addition of a couple versus. Carter also sings Turtle Dove. Beulah Mable Carter (1901-1969) was born in Jefferson, Missouri, to Dexter (1856-1923) and Mary (1868-1931) Todd. In 1919, she married Curtis Harvey Roark (1890-1926), and they had four children: Mary Lou (1918-2015), James Earl Madison (1919-1923), Helen (1923-1971), and Paul (1924-1995). After Roarks death, she married William Clyde Carter (1892-1949), and they had one daughter, Alta Murrel (1929-2003). In 1964, Beulah Carter moved in with Alta Forrest, her daughter, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia. Biographical information about Fred West and Willie Lafitte has not been determined. B.c. and she ( her aunt) would tell stories but yornow I've almost forgotten those things; course I1m not gettin1 any younger anymore. E.P, I know B.c. and she would tell 1 em sing to us, teach us songs and I don't know, my granctc,dlctren are not lnteI'esl;ed iu 1,11.1.ngs like i:;nat !'!Y c,lilctre11 were tnougn more ot' course we 1 ve got a little , but mychildren they 1re not too yo,ing either, they kinda grew up with me E,P. I tell you if you can sit over on the sofa you can get near-er to it, So I1m going to pick out the things I want later and write them down; so I'll get it all on the tape and won1 t forget anything. :tou told me i;l!a.t you used 1,0 go uO play pari:;ies. Do you remember wnai:; i:;hey were llker B,G. Well they would play all kinds or games and play they would dance the Virginia Reel and they would play a little 01e game we ca1..Lect Pos Oi'f"ic" and thc,y wou.ta pJay . uh sing all id!lu o 1.:l.1,1,.1.e 0.1.a 1ove songs, I wou1.a say; and we used to have a game that you girl and Doy passed and they would say I think a half a dozen times, "My old squaw, my old Indian"; twelve "My times old squaw my old Indian 11, and if the girl could do that h without laughing the boy didn't get to kiss her,but most of the time she couldn't do that and she would laugh and then the boy get to kiss her. Just silly little things as that E.P. Do you remember any of the songs? B.C. Oh E. P. You don 1 'b have to sing I em just the words will do. B.c. Well I thereB ttsed to be an old time song in Missouri, and I don 1 t whether exactly a play song it was "Tween 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.