Alice Reed interview with Louis Bartlett, Glynnis, and Ida Phillips

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. The recording begins with a loud, interference-like noise. Glynnis tells a well-known folk tale of "the golden arm." There is another loud noise before the interview switches to Louis Bartlett, who recalls a few humorous stories about preachers. Glynnis tells another folktale, this one about a witch who found a girl and kept her locked up away from her family until she pretended to eat a bloody bone. Bartlet tells a story about an African American preacher. Then an unnamed grandson, maybe Batletts, tells a joke about an Irishman and St. Patrick. Bartlett next tells a couple stories about his childhood and an anecdote that Preacher Bottleleven told him about a Black woman and a preacher. There is another loud noise, followed by Bartlett telling a story about a rabbit escaping hunters and dogs. Ida Phillips tells a story about a haunted house with a skeleton that walked down the stairs every midnight. A poor man ventured into the house, and the skeleton led him to wealth. The recording briefly skips and then Laura Jones tells a humorous story about her two brothers teaming up to preach in order to make money. A few more loud noises interrupt some general chatter, and then the recording pauses and restarts with Laura Jones repeating a joke about a man walking through a graveyard. She then tells a story about two Black men, presumably enslaved men, one of whom steals the enslavers pig. There is some chatter before Jones starts her next tale. In this story, she discusses a man who tells God that he is ready to die but reconsiders when children prank him. The recording pauses then picks up with Jones telling a few stories about her sister-in-law predicting the future. She then recites a poem about temperance. The interview concludes with Hal Dyer telling a Brer Fox story. Louis Herschell Bartlett (1891-1978) was born in Georgia and was a pioneer recident of Riverdale, Georgia. He married Lennie Mabelle Bartlett (1896-1977), the couple had no children. Ida Phillips was born in Dahlonega, Georgia. She married Samuel Franklin Phillips (1898-1945). Hal Dyer (1956-) was born in Georgia and lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Additional biographical information has not been determined. Brer Fox; Golden arm; , '( ~jl r'~ page 2 Alice--Well, good. Louis BarUett.._ 76 years old_Pioneer of Riverdale. Louis__TIley had a liquor store right close to a church and when they had the liquor ,store right close to the church, the preacher and the deacons decided they would see if they couldn't git him to close the liquor store up. And lihenever they wanted him to close up the liquor store, why the preacher and the folks went there to talk with him and told him if he would close his liquor store up they believed it would help the church. TIle -tat' liquor store wuz ahurting the church. He;Ursiii em if he would stop hi' members from bUying his liquor, his liquor store would be closed up. Alice__Go ahead and tell another one. ~ Louis--One time the folks had got a chotr of young singers in the audience a to do the singing and had one old man in there. Whenever they wanted to git rid of him, why the preacher went to the old fellow, and of them was going, and the preacher got after him to just leave the choir and have only young people to sing. And whenever they wus going to sing that way, why the old man said, "Well, I don't think rOll quit." And the ,u;..l) preacher tOI+im,"Well, I know some folks that don't like your singing." And he said, "Yes, and I know a hep of folks that don I t like your preach_ ing too." Glynnis--One time there was this little girl and her fa ther and brother disappeared one day. One day her mother told her to go get her a loaf of bread and go over the bridge instead of under the bridge. But ins:tead ,the litUe girl went under the bridge. She came to this old haunted house and so she went on up to it and knocked on the door and so this old witch caD!e out. She asked her what she wanted, and she said, "Well,I was supposed Page 3 to go under the bridge__I mean over the bridge instead of under the bridge_ but instead I came under the bridge." So the witch took her in and took her in this room and told her, __and then she locked her in and then she want and got a bloody bone and brought it back to her and said," If you don't eat this bloody bone by in the morning, I'll kill you.~ So the little girl didn't want to eat it. So she hill it under the mattress. And so the next morning the witch came in and asked her if she had eaten the bloOdy bone, and she said, "Yes mam." So she said,="Bloody eone. bloody bone, mere are you 1" And the bloody bone said, " I am under the mattress," So she went and got the bloody bone out from under the mattress, Then she said, "If you don't eat it this time, I am going to kill you." So the little girl didn't want to eat it. And so she hid it under the rug. And so then the next morning the witch came in and asked her if she had ea ten it now. And she said, "Yes mam." She called, "Bloody bones, bloddy bones. where are you 1" And the bloody bone said. "I am under the rug." So she got it from under there. And so she said, "If you don't eat it this time, I will really kill you in the morning." So tha t nightit was cold and the little girl had a match and she lit a fire. And so she got an idea and she put the bloody bone in it and burned it up. Then by in the morning the fire was gone out, and the witch came in and asked her if she had eaten the So bloody bones, and she said, "Yes mam." And the witch said, "Bloody bones. bloody bones, where are you1" And the bloody bones didn't answer. So she disappeared. After the witch had disappeared, she found a key, and she r picked it up, and she went in all these other rooms and unlocked them and she found her father and her brother and they lived happily ever afterwards. Page 4 Louis --. One time there wuz a man ana a fellow that was heping him was a colored preacher and llhenever they went.._they decided to make a run of likker that night. !hey had it all set up and the beer had got ripe and ready to go. And whenever it did, about midnight the man told the preacher to go git a--steal the fattest chicken he could find from somewhere. And whenever he did, why he went to the bossman's chicken roose and walked around the tree three times and bumped the tree three times with a rock and the fattest hen in the tree just went "~uawk, quawk, quawk,"and he weJl;t up and got that hen and carr'd it back to the still and they cooked it and eat it 'tween 12 and 1 o'clock. And the boss told the ))~) colored man, says "Preacher, that's the best chicken I ever eat. !!((Where in the world did you git that?" Said, "Boss, I got it out of your chicken roost." Said, "I didn't tell you !!o go to my chicken roost and git a chicken. Why did you gH that one*" "Cause you told me to go get a chicken, and! know'd there waz some good fat ones there. Alice__Real good. Do you know any more? to yo::U know any animal stories or any preacher stories or any kind? Grandson-_12 years old __ Once there were three little boys standing Theft together and an old Irishman walked up and said, "'!he first boy ~ tellS me who the greatest man in the world that ever was, I'll give you $5.00." And so the first little boy thought for a second and he said, "Hercules." '!he Irishman siad, "No, no, you are wrong." And so the second little boy said, "It must be Solomon." And the Irishman said, "No, you're wrong." And so the third little boy sat there and thought for a bit and then he said, "It's St. Patrick." And the Irishman jumped up and down and said, "Yes, yes, you're righ t," and the Irishman gave. him the $5.00 and walked on off. And so the first and second little boy asked the third little boy Page 5 how he knew that st. Patrick &as the one. He said. "Well, I was going to -- One time fifty years ago in this settle_ say Moses, but business is business.! whenevei' the~t Louis master ment, he wanted to entertain his boy scouts with a possum hunt, and we did that. vbenever we got to a certain piece of woods, there waz about four or five acres in the woods, and I told him that whenever my dog struck right in them woods that she would tree that possum in 5 minutes__inside of 5 minutes. I tole the preacher to pullout his watch and he done so. I'd holler to my dog and listen, and I finally told em that I would tell em every bij; about the tree and just how they would find the possum when they got there. All right, the dog treed,She treed in 3 minutes. And when she did, why I told them that tree would be standing on the wett side of the branch, leaning east, and the possum would not be out in the tree, that it would be inside,in a den. We got to the tree, ahd I showed the boys all how it WIlZ and before the gog got to the tree, though, I had tole , em I would holler to my dog and listen and she would bark, and then I would ever holler to her again, and I wuz telling em all along just how they would find j th4.ng, And after the dog treed, well, we all just stopped, and I explained the whole situation; and whenever we got to the tree, the tree MlZ leaning east as I had said, the dogs wuz standin on the west side of the tree, and the tree wuz standin on the west side of the branch, and the possum wuz in an old den tree. ']hat wuz where all the possums went whenever the gogs treed em right there, and the boys couldn~t understand how well I knowed my dog and where it would tree. And so whenever we got up there, the old boy he clumb the tree and run his hand down in there and the possum bit him, and then he taken his hat off and put his hand in his hat and run his hand down in there and finally got ahold of the possum and pulled him out and throwed him down. And I told em it would be a black jack possum, and Page 6 it wuz a black jack possum because that wuz the only kind we caught in them woods. Louis__You want it now. Alice__Don't call names unless you want to. Louis__It don't matter. This is Willis. The boys was having a camp out over at Slicky Rock one night and whenever they did, why Willis wanted me to make a dumbull out of an old bucket and get me a long waxed string and pull on it and tie it up in a tree to scare his boys. And whenever they got all settled round the fire, I !'legan to pull the beeswax over the strpng and it sounded bout lak a bull at a clay root abellowing and the boys got scered and some of em went through briar patches and every which way and so after they run and got sOired good, why Willis called em back, and whenever he called em back, why I kept amaking my noise over there, and theyfll come over to see what it wuz, and I wuz done gone. So they didn't find anything. Louis__We wuz ppssum hunting round No. 2 Church over there one time, and whenever we wuz, Preacher Bottleleven got to talking and whenever he did he was telling a story about a nigger woman and a preacher. The old preacher he got up and said, "All you good brothers and sisters, whenever you gits to heven, says you won't have to buy this meat by the pound. Says you git it by the side." And says, "Whenever you git that snuff, why you just git boxes of it, and whenever you git your flour, you git it by the barrell. 'Ihat's the way you be whenever you gits in heven." And one Yli~,"-r ~ .lth olli! Negro woman pi up L;_e back there and said, "Say, wait a minute there, preacher, wait a minute. I want you to tell that greasy part over." Alice--You know any more he told you? Ii II Grandson__Once there was a little ,,', "fl-r negro boy, Page 7 and he liked to go to church a lot, but he ahmys got real hungry about the middle of the service. And so one time after church service loSS wer, he asked the preacher what he so could do about it, ~ the preacher told him to get a roll and put it in his pocket and eat it during the service. And so he 80tca roll the next Sunday and put it in his left pocket. And so he went to church, and during the service, the preacher said, devil is in your left pocket." "'!he Lord is in your right pocket, the ,,', 'fe.r And the little negro boy jumped up;and yelled, "Well, the devil's eaten my roll." Louis__wait just a minute. Alice--No,go ahead. - Louis __ We wuz hunting one time and WIlZ back over on Camp Creek and the dogs WIlZ running a rabbit__great big old buck rabbit, and whenever they wuz way above us, they cum on down and when they got nearly to us this ~rabbit he run right up to the road and stopped and the fellow pulled out his pistol and shot and the dogs cum on in and didn't hit the rabbit, just shot right by the end of the nose and got his breath and the rabbit fell over and the dogs cum up and they WIlZ nuzzling round on the rabbit, and the fellow told em, said,"Aw let the rabbit alone, Trike, Jack." And ~ ..u:,')'- y -~, a., I when they did the rabbit jumped up and went down the creek, and they never did get the rabbit. Now that's reaL Page 8 Mrs. Ida Phillips --70. retired school teacher. Life long resident of Dahlonega. Georgia. Lives now in log cabin there. Mn. Phillips -- In the eastern part of the county. there was a family that was very poor. lhey had practically nothing. In that same neighbor_ hood. was a house. a very nice house, that nobody would live in very long becausee.very night at 1lIii:dmight it seemed that a skeleton would come down the stairs from upstairs. And nobody would stay in the house very long. ",(1.1'1 And one day this ~that was very very poor told one of his sons "He said. "Tonight we are going over and see what this is, about this ghost house story." So that night when it became dark. they went over and sat down very quietly to wait till midnight to listen for it. and at midnight they heard bones that sounded as if a skeleton was coming down the stairs. And when it got to the bottom of the stairs. the man said, "What do you ..mntl" And the skeleton replied. "Follow me." So the man and the boy followed the sound to see if it ,<ere bones walking. And they went through the yard and out to the edge of the forest and this skeleton sound stopped. and said. "Dig." And after that. nobody ever knew what the people found when they dug. but after that--soon after that__these people bought a nic~e farm and accumulated qUite a bit of wealth. but we still don't know what they found men they dug. Mrs. Luc:ile Moose __ About 60. Life long resident of ])l.hlonega, Ga. Mrs. Moose. don't you want to tell me something about the river light; (Alice? Mrs. Moose-- My father said when he was a young man that he had to pass a churchyard on his ,;ay home, and it was after night. Alice__You may have to start over again because I am not sure it was reoording. If you don't mind. just start over. Page 9 Mrs. Moose _ When my father was a young man, he had to pass a church graveyard on the way home. __ Alice-_Starta1 over. Mr:r. Moose __ When my father was a young man he said he had to pass a '!- church libel> a9 '.>as going to and from work, and he was afraid to go out at ni~t and go back because of this light. He srUd when he got near the church, this light would appear and it would follow on in front of him a piece, and before he had gotten home it would disappear. Alice-- There are a lot of stories like that. We heard one about that in Daytona one time. You don't remember anything anybody else tollid you about any more ghost storbs. Or anything like that. Karen--Those are interesting. Alice, Well you know any more ghost stories. Mrs. Phillips--I can't get this one together. Alice__Tnke time, but I have plenty of time. Mrs. Phillips.=I can't remember. Alice__Well, I'll just iurn it off. Page 10 Mrs. Laura Jones_-age 61, colored--(Noises in this are the television on in the background) Mrs. Jones__Bne time there were two men. One was educated and one was unedu_ cated. So these two men didn't have no mnney..matsoever. They decided one day they would go out and try to make money. So the way they decided they would make money was the one that was uneducated could preach and the one educated could not preach. So they sit down and began to talk together and so the educated man said to the uneducated man, "I'll tell you a good way to make money. If you do the preaching, we can make m:::oney. He said. "But man, man. you knOt< I can't read." He skid, "Well, I'll tell you ,;hat to do. Just go do}m to old st. John's Baptist Church and them sisters and bl70thers know you down there. You get up and 1"11 sit behind you with the Bible in my hand, and you listen to ..matI am saying, and you repeat it." "Okay." "iThey went to church and all of them gathered round to hear Bro. John preach, and as he got up to prea':::ch, and .mich in the meantime he really could not read, and Jim sitting behind him mth the Bible in his hands. John got up and said to the congregation: "Sisters and Brothers, !t:m taking my text tonight from " Jim said, "'!he book of Genesis." John "The Book of Genesis." Jim, "The first verse." John, "The first verse." Jim, "'!his is .mat you have to say. In the beginning." John, "In the beginning." Jim, "Was the word." John, "Was the "brd." And at that time John's finger went across the Bible. Jim said, "Man move Page 11 your finger." John, "Man move your finger.! Jim, "Now damn if you ain't played hell." John, "Damn if you ain't played hell." Alice __ Tell me any others you know. Laura Jones-_ '!his man was going through a graveyard and he was going around and looking at different tombs, names on the tombs, and on this tomS it said, "'!his is where Sister M<Ary lay." '!he next t4mb what said, "'!his is where Brother John lay." When he got to the third tomb, on there it said, "Ray ~reen was, you is not dead you is just sleeping." Brother John turned around and said, "Brother, let me tell you something. You ain't fooling nobody but yourself, cause you shore is dead." Laura Jones-_'!hese two colored men, they worll:ed ona farm. And one of them was very honest alGI the other was just natural like natural people would be. He was dishonest. When ole Marse left that day, he goes down and steals one of his pigs. And kills the pig. But when he come back, John said to him," Man you know I know you done stole old Marse's pig. What you going to tell him1" He said,"I'm going to tell ole Marse that pig got aloose." He said, "Man don't do that. 1 0m going to tell ole Marse you stole his pig and killed it." He said, "Listen,man, if you don'ttell ole Marse I done that, cause you know he going beat me, I'll give you the ham." He said, "No, I don't want the ham." He said, "Well, ~ what do you want 1 I'll give you haf the hog." He said, "No, man, I don't want haf the hog." He said, "Well, llllIlll what do you wan tt ': I'll give you everything cept the Page 12 chittlins. How's that 1" "Man, I don't want that." "Man, I'll tell you what I'll do. If you don't tell ole Marse, I'll give you the whole hog." "Man, I don't want that." "Well, what do you want." ~ I just want to tell Marse about it, that's all." Alic::'e--Know anything about how animals got the colors they have, about their spots, or why they act like they do? Laura Jones--I wish you had called and explained to me. Laura Jones--Once there was a man and every time he'd get sick or he would feel a little ill, he would say, "Lord, Lord, come get me. Pm ready to die, I'm ready to die." I .lell he kept asaying that and he kept asaying it. So one day while he was doing this talking, some little boys, di'l5~sh boys, overheard him, and so they said that night,"fle will fix him. We're going to see if he's ready to die." So that night he got down again on his knees and he began to pray. He said, "Lord, 01, Lord, if you come right this minute, I'm ready to die. I'm ready to go." The little boys they went and put on a sheet over their head ani come to the .Jindow and__knock, knock. knockO_ HefOOOs down praying. And he said, "Lord(knock_knock_knollk), Lord, (knock, ,knock, knock,) Who is there?" The little boy said, "'!his is the Lord. We came after you. You said you were ready to g~~k up and let's go." He said, Lord, that you out there sbo' nuffl" Said, "Yes, John, this is the Lord." Then he said to his wife," Mary, will you tell God I ain't here, I done gone off." Bage 13 Laura Jones -- Yeah, that's true. I was supposed to go to the show one night. My sister_in_law, which was born with a veil ov'::er her face, she could foresee things, and she could tell when danger was coming. One night as I was planning to go to the show, she begged me not to go, which I really wanted to go. She kept insisting until I really decided I would listen to her, and wouldn't go. Well, I'm very glad that I didn't go. For the same night, a automobile run among the line of women that was standing in line in which three got hurt, and if I had went I might have been o~ in that third one. I might ~ got killed. My son, Bobbie, when he was going to Morehouse College, they was going to draft him out of college into the army which he didn't want to because he wanted to finish college, he was terribly upset and he came home that afternoon with tears in his eyes. His aunt, which was born with ~, the veil over her fa.ce, told him;'..6 ~ ahead, baby, because Auntie is going to pray for you and I know !Jod' s going to hear my prayers. And I do know if you go you're going to come back safe without a scratch being put on )1 you. Which he did. He went and made his tim'-.years,~and came back here safe, sound and happy, and now he is living in San Francisco, California. I'll attempt to recite to you all this afternoon on one little word which has caused so much destruction in our homes, in our states, in all the world. '!his one little word is whiskey. Laura Jones -_ We understand the temperance meaning Be moderate all the time. It's not confined in drinking booze For there's a wicked ground. I would like to work this whiskey side '!his thing we have to fight '!his thing tha t ruins so many homes and haS packed the prisoners tight. Now I'tldraw a picture of a man, He was a drunkard from litis birth. I'll show you how he started out, And how he left this earth. Page 14 His parents died and left him rich, With friends to wish him well; And just how he consumed his wealth, Iell now begin to tell. He first lost sight of Sunday School, And Christian clubs and church; He joined in with a rowy crowd That did not stand for much. They coaxed him on a nickle drink, And later on a dime. His thirst for booze became a craze, Increasing all the time, Quite soon he weds a Christian girl; She was an lIgel from above. But she found tha;t she was wrapped up in an alcoholic love. He cursed, he beat, he snarled and fret She only grieved inside. But soon the Master came for her; .At last this pOD girl died. ~is wretch continued on his way, One drink would call for more. His bank account was growing slim, And his friends had closed the dar. His bankbook b;ilance all was gone, But one house and a farm, And he mortgaged that for Christmas booze Without the least alarm. Got drunk and gambled that away, And l'Ihen the New Year cltllle, A drunkard, par, a total wreck, He wasn't even worth his name, Then he looks back down a dirty road that he had walked so long And swore to take just one more plunge, Let it be right or wrong. "I gave my wife a home for booze, "Over which I had control. "I one more jewel in my k:harge, "So now I'll give my soul." He found a d~ store He staggered in. "Carbonic acid, please. "A quarter's worth and charge it, sir. "Until I find my key." He took the bottle; he walked away, He finds him a quiet place. He drank this deadly poison down. And Death stared him in the face. A few of his old drunkards just picked him up. They laid him in a box. They laid him in it like he died, With those same old shoes and socks. Page 15 Right down beside thos'::e dear old folks, Who had once prayed, his soul to save. '!hey lift him down in a suicide; He fills nothing but a drunkard's grave. Now, this is a lesson to us all; Be moderate all the time. Get you a sober minded and a Christian chum For this whiskey will tea:r you down. Hal Dyer -_ fen years old. Lives in Lawrenceville. '!his tale told to him by his daddy when he was >bout four. Hal __ Well, there was this fox walking down the road one day, and he had a bag in his hand. He said, ~I"oman."__ He saw this bee, and he decided to put the bee in the bag. So he decided to go to Squintum, and he left his bag at this woman's house. And he said, "Woman, will you please keep my bag while I go to Squintum.! "SUre, Brer. Fox, sure." While he was gone the woman got sorta curious, and looked in the bag and the bee got out, and she couldn't catch it, and the boy cou1dn't catch it, and so the rooster ate it. When he got back, Brer. Fox said, "Where is my bee?" She said, "Well I got a wee bit curious while you were gone a)d opened it up to see what was in it, and the bee got loose and I couldn't catch it, and the rooster ate it. He said, "Okay, I"ll just take your rooster." He put the rooster in the bag and went a litl.le bit to this woman's house, and said, "Woman, will you please keep my bag while I got to Squintum?" "SUre, Brer Fox, sure." While he was gone, she got a little bit curious and looked in it to see what was in it, and the rooster got out, and she coililn't catch it, the boy couldn't catch it, and so the pig ate it. He came back and said, "Woman, where is my bag?" She said, "Well, I got a wee bit curious while you were gone, and I looked in it and it got away and I couldn't catch it, and the boy couldn't catch it, and so the pig ate it." Page 16 "Very well, I'll take your pig." So he got to this woman's house, and said, "Woman will you keep my bag mile I got to Squintuml" She said, "Sure, Brer. Fox, sure." He said, "Well, okay, but don't look in it." \~ile he was gone, she got a wee bit ourious and looked in it, and the pig jumped out and so she couldn't oatoh it, and the boy oouldn' t oatoh it, and it got a way. And men Brer. Fox oame baok, he said, "Where is my pig?" And she said, "Well I got a weeLbit ourious and I looked in and I couldn 't oatoh it and my boy oouldn't oatch it, and so it got away." He said, "6kay, I'll take your boy.~~ He went to this other woman's house, and said, "Woman, will ~ you, keep my bag mile I go to Squintuml" She said, "SUre, sure Brer. Fox, sure." So that woman heard him in the bag, and she got him out and gave him some of her cookies. So she said, "WeIll get even with that old Brother F'lIx." He said, II "Okay, we will do that." So she oalled up her dog, Bullet, and said, "Dog git in here." Now men that Brer. Fox looks in there, you eat im up." So the fox oame baok, and said, "'!hank you,woman, for keeping \) my bag. So he went dom the raod a little bit and said, ""0611, my boy sure is heavy. Believe I'll look at it." So he opened it up, the dog jumped out and ate him up. 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. 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