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 recording contains two interviews; the first is with Rhoda Mizell Barber and the second is with William Ephram Cox. Barber starts by telling stories about bonfires and parties, which she calls frolics, in the woods. Specifically she remembers singing songs such as The Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees, dancing with partners in lines and circles, and a funny story about a group of boys who mistakenly drank her grandfathers hogwash thinking it was beer after returning from a party. Next at minute 7:50, Barber tells stories about her family and the Okefenokee Swamp near her home in Hopkins, Georgia. Her grandfather, Joseph Mizell, built their family home, and her father, Hamp Mizell, hunted ducks and wild hogs in the swamp. She tells a long story at minute 11:00 about an alligator scaring her uncle, then at minute 17:22 she recalls her family making brooms from palmetto leaves. At minute 21:00, Kay Cothran asks about the Georgia Primitive Baptist community that met monthly at an old, local church. Barber says there were no instruments at the religious meetings, instead congregants sang slow, meaningful songs from hymn books. She also describes the food they ate, including rabbit. Next at minute 27:50, she explains that the church required members to have a spiritual dream indicative of their calling within the community before they could become a full member of the congregation. At minute 31:10, Barber switches topics to home remedies, explaining that turpentine and beeswax were used to heal wounds, and that the plant Cats Foot plant was mixed with whiskey to cure various illnesses. Also, her mother-in-law would melt an egg yolk with a hot towel to treat cuts, once healing a mans foot, which was a common injury because people were often barefoot in the woods. Barber continues to talk about home medicine until around 39:10, when she recalls ordering clothes from the Sears catalog. At minute 40:00, Barber discusses dialects spoken in different regions through the swamp and how children were educated. The conversation shifts at minute 49:00 when Barber demonstrates yodeling sounds used to communicate on the swamp and explains that different families had distinct yodeling sounds. She continues to discuss accents, specifically her fathers Scotch-Irish accent. At 58:50, Barber states that she was the tomboy of the family who helped her father with chores such as taking care of the pigs. At 1:01:00 the audio cuts off, followed by William Ephram Cox starting his interview by recalling childhood memories of growing up by the Okefenokee Swamp. He says that he always felt safe even though sometimes criminals, including murderers and bootleggers, hid in the swamp; one disappeared for six weeks before his body was found. He continues at hour 1:11:35 with stories of watching people die in the swamp, including men shot while riding in wagons. Then he tells stories about his friend Lim distilling whiskey. This leads to a story about when a sheriff from Homerville caught them distilling the alcohol but decided to drink with them instead of arresting them. At 1:19:30, Cox describes how lumber companies moved pine logs with trains in Waycross. Then he uses racist language to tell a story about a night watchman finding a Black person deceased in a train cab. Next he tells stories about author Hamp Mizell and the book that he wrote, History of Okefenokee Swamp, which Cox helped him write. At 1:22:30, Cothran asks about frolics and social occasions, to which Cox responds there was a tradition of logrolling. Once he attended a party hosted by turpentine workers where a fight broke out and several people were shot and killed. Then, he uses racist language to tell a story about a Black man who survived being shot 32 times, followed by additional stories about drinking and intense violence committed against Black people. At 1:27:40, Cox shifts to talking about how people often got lost in the swamp. Then at 1:28:15 he tells two ghost stories; in the first a man sees the ghost of a woman who had died two years earlier while riding a wagon, and in the second a white light appears after several engineers and firemen died in a railroad accident. Next at 1:34:00, Cox recalls community members, including a wealthy woman and a man who documented the history of the swamp. He then explains that the word Okefenokee means land of trembling earth in an unidentified Indian language. At 1:50:00 he uses racist language to describe the enslaved people who built early houses and farmsteads on the swamp, some of whom ran away seeking freedom. Then at hour 1:54:00, Cox talks about re-building his home in 1945, and the banjo and fiddle players who competed in contests. At 1:58:40, Cox uses racist language to tell stories about violent crimes committed between local Black and white residents. In one story a local Black person who was lynched in retaliation against their killing several children, in another a Black man kills a sheriff, and in a third a girl is raped and killed with a knife. Then at 2:02:00 Cox recalls skeletons and graves dug up during the construction of roads over what he describes as Indian mounds. He says Native Americans still lived on the swamp when he was growing up, and he tells a story about indigenous children being taken from their community and forced to live in a barn. At 2:09:50 Cox shares stories about Obediah Barber, one of the first men to settle near the swamp. At around hour 2:16:18, Cox shares that he can follow trails through the swamp and differentiate between tracks made by animals or humans. To demonstrate, he tells a story about finding a criminal by following campfire smoke. He continues to talk about the swamp until 2:25:00, when he recalls a scary story in which windows and doors mysteriously opened in a mans house. The interview concludes with Cox remembering family stories, including a tale about his cousin working on the railroad as a young boy.  Rhoda Mizell Barber (1920-2012) was born in Hopkins, Georgia, to Maggie Hendrix Mizell (1902-1924) and Hamp Mizell (1884-1948). Raised near the Okefenokee Swamp, she graduated from Manor High School and Ware County Vocational School. Rhoda Barber married Robert Leo Barber (1913-1979), and they lived in Waycross, Georgia, and had eight children. She worked as a nurse at Homerville Hospital and Ware Manor Nursing Home. William Ephram Cox (1899-1979) was born in Ware County, Georgia, near the Okefenokee Swamp, to James Cuyler Cox (1858-1933) and Susan Louisa Cox (1855-1926). He began working for a timber company at 11, and later became a guide of the Okefenokee Swamp. In 1919 he married Josie Barber Cox (1900-1969) and they had one child.  No transcript exists for this recording.  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.