Lane Shutt interview with Mary Crowder, George Forrester, Julia Hart, Barto Joiner, and Maggie Tucker (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 which begins with Mary Crowder describing her life growing up on a plantation where her father owned a cotton gin and syrup mill and raised livestock. Then at 7:49 Barto Joiner tells a humorous story about using Catawba worms to catch a twenty pound fish. At 14:21 he transitions to talking about his baptism in a local lake and becoming a preacher in Choccolocco, Alabama, at the Baptist Young Peoples Union. He recounts his experiences preaching in Alabama then launches into a sermon about the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ. Next, at 28:35 Joiner tells a version of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Then he returns to the topic of preaching at 32:10 by discussing his work in Wedowee, Alabama, and telling the story of Adam and Eve. At 40:21 he recalls that after his mother died, he took over managing the household as the eldest son. He specifically details catching turtles and recipes he cooked. At 50:47 George Forrester recalls almost drowning in a swimming pool and his baptism at First Baptist in Tifton, Georgia, in approximately 1906. Then at 53:30 he informs the interviewer that the Oakfuskee Historical Society, of which he is a founding member, is printing brochures about the history of Troup County and the Oakfuskee Trail, which include the story of Governor George M. Troup (1780-1856) and General William MIntosh (1775-1825). Mary Crowder (1879-1977) was born in Georgia. She later moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she worked as a teacher at Winthrop College. George Malone Forrester (1897-1991) was born in Albany, Georgia, to Joel Robert Forrester Jr. (1870-1927) and Mary Merrell Callaway Forrestor (1875-1963). In approximately 1917, he moved to Troup County where he worked for Standard Oil Company for forty years. He married twice: first to Margaret Bodman (1895-1932), then after her death to Elizabeth Combs (1905-1988) in 1933. He was a founding member of the Troup County Historical Society and the Chattahoochee-Flint Area Planning and Development Committee. Julia Hart (1892-1978) was born near LaGrange, Georgia, to Alexander G. Byrd (1851-1936) and Martha Byrd (1855-1934). She worked as a nurse and taught Sunday School from the age of twelve. She married Frank Hart in approximately 1910 and had two children. Barto Joiner (1887-1976) was born in Troup County, Georgia. He moved to Choccolocco, Alabama, and worked as a cook at the Anniston Hotel for seven years. Later, he returned to LaGrange, Georgia, where he married when he was approximately thirty-five years old. He worked as a cook for various families until he retired in approximately 1970. Afterwards, he served as the minister at Welcome Baptist Church in LaGrange. Maggie Tucker (1895-1977) was born on the Lane plantation in Gabbettville, Georgia. She attended school in Cannonville, Georgia, where she later moved after getting married in approximately 1924. She was an active member of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. No additional biographical information has been determined. I -{ ---~' ' 0 - {t I _j !!'l ----7 :!, 6 5 ~ ,J 0 s a ,, C-j--- 0 ~, E'1 , ---) J.) o -;; )~ r :T ~ u . ' ' I'"' ~(ft "" . " U) - L ~ ~ ~}7 ~ (7 H ' :,:: ~ ~l G ,J u (1) ,5 .J :;l rl ,g (I) - = Ec< , ,rj J _j. _ __(1- l':l CD 0 "" of::l ri 0 j <l! ,, --t Cl) rl +' ,.i j t;l ~ ,:: 0 L ~0 0' .> H OJ TI CJ, J) rn 0 ci/J ) rn ~ (I) p, H "' -~ cfi 0 1 ~ rl <l1 (1) a., -f' ~ 0 H ,q 0 ~ ~ "' v.1 .., H 1: ___,,. 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H el _,_, 0 " s 0 H C ) "" 0 v rl 0 cJJ cJ "' 0 .-'<. 4-1 < r4 " 5 H -" ,s 0 rl 6 ~ CJ ----1 '-H ~ H '-H U) -1 "" '-H 0 ..., 0-- <'o ' " VJ.. rn rn r"l' CJ "" "' 0) >, 0 . .. t)) "' '-' ,:: @ <l! 0) rl " 0 s H " r-l i-l :l M+J ~ "' <l! .,.., "' 0 " H H CJ '-H rn @ H "0)' <l! 0 0 0 ,:: - CJ rl .-< '-H H 0 '-' '-H >, ""' 0 " 0 < '" INFORl"!ANT Name: ~,\o --~01v..'t-l' Mailing address and phone number: Lo.. G- '"'cf, C- A-. Age : f\o\ \lv-.n\..<..-'.-.. 0b _ ;j Race and/or ethnic affiliation: .:D, 0 -h GEORGIA FOLKLORE ARCHIVES INFORMANT \I 'r-\- address and phone number: I, L ' ethnic affiliation: :?:,kc I~ CA contributed: foli( tJLl - l?'-',Soc,-1 z_ ~n '-" c '- l'\,,crA_{, 0 ~ s Collect.or's """"': Lo..~L- j [,0, +t Year and Claus, ,S ,br,"' ,, I c(r! J 0 fo I!< GEORGIA FOLKLORE ARCHIVES CATALOGUE COLLECTOR Name: Le~"''- '5l..+1- "Permanent" address and phone number: Quarter and year: Sf '"'cs \q1-q Class: t' I It 7 <.aO 72.0 Brief description of contents: \\_,-:so~ (.'n_,_,_,., ~\~"'\:, \?.\,,c\L ,~--i-;:-~~'-- ~ r ?"--" ,(y,c.. <'.... \ G.F.A. II Ceo GEORGIA FOLKLORE ARCHIVES CATALOGUE INFORMANT Name: ~,O--~:\-\'[, -r::Ll<c, . _ , u /' I 6 ,;tvslk G-"-- _ailing address and phone number: \T"-' 0 ~ Age: 1- ~ 'f'-C~c,_:\- \ Q L ~ Race and/or ethnic affiliation: \j<, '\c,c/Z. ~ I'} l-lcs - ,--,, .. _sc,Mc\ Genres contributed: -ro f' r&\ 1y ,._, "- i(,yc< '' "'c '- ,v,u--' \' H-s 'L S' Collect.ot's +-J__ l\.Q.Til~: (AV\ r. h v.., ' . Ci,, '{,\1~ Quarter, Year and cle,c-a:J 'f ,~CS' I lo ! zo G.F.A. // Genres contributed: ~ol I~ \-tel - \r uso"J '-~"~" c<- if\" w.+' 0 -"s i ' . C ,, i l - \t,,_\-l'--: L<Y, nJ!.IV\_o V\CO< Collec.t.or~s n.a11H?.! Lo-!ll'i, SlL,,._1---t Year and cl""", __c:;-f' ,;,,6 \'ll~ tali\ ':/)_cl A Collection of J:t'olklore J:irom TroUJ? Cou._nty~ Georgia. Submitted to ~ra John Burrison 1'olklore 720 May 1974 Lane S,. Shutt Tab1o of Contents In trod.uct5- OJJ A Brief History of Trou1:i County J:3a:rto .,Joiner Bio{:;,rraphiccll Information ~:1ranscrlption of }'ish Tale Transc.riptj_on of :Baptism a::nd Br;coming a Preac.he:r Trans er.l on o.f P:reaching in Wedm'fee on of rrurt1e Eunti.ng Photogranhs J'uTi.a Hart B5 on o.f Jvf,::Cdcines 111ran scl":I. pti_ on of He 7 j gt on rrl'.';::.1)'1SC:"iption nf lVIJO.-wifi.ntt $ oTJ 0f Making Soa:o and :B'j shing ~ on of 8!D. Page ,1 8 9 13 16 18 20 ?1 ?2 20 25 ?7 28 Page Maggie Tucker 7;,7 Dt 0:.:'1/B.nhical Inf0Tmati011 36 on of :E:ar) y Life ., ,7 ,() 'rransc:ription of lJieO.iei.nes and :Baptism L10 Photographs 42 43 J4 Introduction VJhen l began thinking abou.t 2~ collectJ.ng pro.lectJ I was pa::cticular1y :i.nter";stcd i.n collecting fol.ktah~s for use in my seventh cle,ssroom.~ I had great expectat:i ons that I would sit dowri 5 turn on the tane reeord.er a.nd the informant \'\fo1.1ld .recite one ta1e after another for my informationo .f.Lfte:::' my first encounter :i.n the fi.e ld5 I fo1x0.d that thi. s 1,1asn I t to be the casP. 9 T choso in and \Tas therefore fami15.ar vdth the area; I had contacts there and my re1atJ.ves would aJso be of helr, to me; and I 1.,-.ras i.nte:-cested in out 8.bou.t the old days J.n this are 3, of the state., On rn:v f:Lrst J planned to talk with an 016 bla.ck my the:r;i }'rank Hutchinson 1 who bas entertained lJ.S with :::JtoTies fcYS(' o..s Jn:eF c::,s I c2.n TememOe~r.-., I also :1.B.nned to TRoord old folks te ther ref"use(:_ to t<1.l!:<:: 2,t all,- He posit.ivel;r stated the:\+ did not i<11msr a,:ny old storie;::i and would not aJ.1mr the su.b.lect to be or1e:n0c: .Barto ":>roved to lie most intere informant but cou.J.d not tell me any fo1kta1es o:r old s+.o::r.'-i_ess he seid th.at thP only o1ci sto~ies he kne1,,r able to rernember n1, :t}e J-d.dJ.11&; Hood.ti a,nd. h:i_s a,ccou.nt of tbi>:; .is included "Ln the t:ranscr:J. ntj. or:1 ~ 2 On J(riday evening~ I talked with an o1d fasnily f:r.i.en0. 1 George }'orrestel'.' who,1 ip,rhe:n I asked. for old stor:i es~ cou.1.d onl;r tell me factual _inforrnatj_on about hj_s ep,:rly l.i.fe in Routh .ing d.a:y and exp1a5 .. neci tha.t t;he old folks wouJD be :.rernJniAcJ.:ng a.bo-ri.t thtni?:S ci tj_ zens in the :past,, I reali z,ed. that. 11Awarene ss 71.Lu v.rm1Jd be of no help to me,;, On Sat:lxI'da:y, my motl7.eT and T went to see Miss l1Iary Crrn,.1cler~ who at q5 j_ s qutte alert end spTy~ She :recounted her J..5.fe as a teacher at Winthron College and a1so of.fe::'.'ed me a book of stories that T could rr:,ad I returned. to Atlanta frrtstrated and fpeJ..ing that the entire w::ekeri.d had been a fa.i.1ure., It was not until I began to transcr.:Lbe the tapeR that T realized that perhans Barto had gtven me some valuabJ.e j_nformation"' I returned to La.Grange on J. r108v" }Jay 17 j to talk to JuJ..ia Hart'" a b]ack. woman who had been nurse 2 . .rtd f"Y:iend to our .fami.ly for many ye8.Ts.,, When I told Julia what I vrn,s .interested in~ she i":mediately began talking arid. tB.1ked for an hm1T., Her memo:ries of her early lif8 we:-r:e paTticu1ar1y j __ :nteresting and i.n some cases 1.:Iere sj_mj_J.ar to those tb.ings that Barto had told me.,, Wl1en I as:tced foT old stoTies, she a1so told me that the only stories she kne1r.r i,-rere B.ibl.e storj_es, tha..t r:;he diCin 1 t have any use for any other storj_es'" On Saturday 9 m:v mother and I went to Cannortville 9 a bJ. ;:i,ck community .i.n ~1roup County to look for additional informants,,, On 01.:rr first we w-2r0 not ct]e to find arryone but w:Lth the a:id of my grandpa::reDts we found Haggi:<? Tueke:r whose motheT had been a nanny on the Lane plantati0n ~~he taJJ.ced 1tith me for a few minutes but d.id not nrove to be a ver-v good informant., Ln her 15.fs A Bri.o.f History o.f ry_'roup County In 1733, Only '12 yea1s hP.J'ore the Revolutionary Wa,r, Jmnes Oglethorpe with 11 '1 colonists 2,rr:ivea from Jcnglanil. at Yamacraw Bluff(now the present site of Savarnrnh, Georgia) and founiled a colonir which he named Georgia for King George JI of gngland, Over a perj od of ti me numbers of colonists were sent to Georgia by King George, More than 1,000 settlers came a,t their own expensefj In 1733, in the first treaty between the Creek Na.ti.on a.nd the United Sta:tes Govnrnment, white settlers in Georgia were invited to make use and posse es aJ.l those lands whi.ch the Nation hath not occasion to use, 'rho Creek Indians were friendly tmwrd the coloni,its, And in 1776, three men, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, anrl George Walton, signed the Declaration of Independence for Georgi.a, In 1'7flfl, the Georgi.a Legislature rat.ified the Un:i. ted Sta,tes Constitution, maldng Georg.i.a the fourth state to ratify it, After the 1733 treaty, the Crnek Nation esta,bUshed i.ts capitol ci.ty at Indian Springs, Georgi.a, and their government consisted of reprnsentati.ves from 2,bout fifty Creek towns, 'J.'he Indian population was as much as forty 1;o fifty thousand, Wi.th the passing of time the Indians of the Creek Nation needed money to purchase awns and tools, 'I'hey raised their own food anrl traded pottery and furs for barter but they had no money, Repeated cedinp; of Indian territory to the United States Covernment for the State of Georgia brought the funds hnt also nn incw,ading dissatisfaction among some of the tribes, l'inall:,, th0 Creek National Assembly pa-Rsed an enactment that no furtl1er cessd.on of terr:i tory would he mad" exnept by its unanimous consent, 5 pledging the li.ves of the chief or chiefs involved as forfeit for tho viola.ti on of the agreement, I'here wa,s another cession, ono which gavo to the State of Georgia thfl.t part of Creek Indian ter:ri tory whi 0h now i.s Troup County, This treaty cost tho President anrl Hea.d Chiref of the Creek Nation his li.fe, George Michael 'l':roup was governor of Georgia from 1823 to 1827. During Governor Ti oup' s admini.stra,i;i on the treaty with the Greek Nation was negotiated hy the Uni terl S~ates Government for the cession of the territory of which Troup County now is a pa.rt, The treaty was signed at Indian Springs on l<'ehrnary 12, 1825, hy commissioners on the part of the United States Government and by William Melntosb, President anrl Hearl Chief of the Creek Na,tion, ~'his terri tor", which included the land between the l'l.int and Chattahoochee rivers was purchased for th< f>tate of Georg.ta for l>l100,000 and other considerations, After rsigni.ng the February 12, 1825, treaty William McIntosh remained at Indian Spri.ngs to settle his personal affairs and to accumulate his personal belongings, In August of 1825 he returned to McIntosh Reserve, his home in Carroll County, Georgia, A number of Indian Chiefs a,wai terl him anrl, in accordance with Creek law, they executed him, Chief Melntosh had violated the enactment that no further cession of t,0rri tory would be made except hy unanimous consent of a,ll merrhers of th0 Assembly. After the signing of the 1825 treaty, the State of Georgja under Governor Troup In di-cection began su:rveying work to suhd.i.vicie the territory into land districts anrl land lots in preparation for th0 establishment of co\lnties, Ii'ive counties wore formed, one of which wa,s Troup County e 1'hc origj nal Troup County conta.i.ned twelve land d.i.stricts with 3, 11\6 6 12nd lots, 11 'l'hat o.ll that :1ancl lyine: l,etween sai.d 1'.'ivers, and known as the Thi.rd Section, shall form one county to ho called Troup County ... II in a quote from tho Act of Genoral Assemhly of Georgi.a dated 1,,ecemher 11, 1826, which further i.ndenti.fi.es Troup County, Troup County, which rec.i.eved its name from GOvernor Geo:rge Micha< l rrrou.p was opened for. sett] ment in 18::>7, The land lots wero di.strihuted hy lottery to the ci.ti.zens of organi.zecl counti.es of Georgi.a, 'l'he eli.gihility qualification was three years of residency in the 8tate, Hevolutiona.ry soldiers and those who served .i.n the Indi.an wars, as well as w.i dows of such soldiers, were entitl.ed to an extra fl'.'ee draw i.n the land lottery of 18::>7. Settlel'.'s, drawn by stories of the fe:rtile soil and pul'.'e wate:r, the virgin forest, the wild ga.rne and the friendly Indians, traveled by wagon and on foot into the new te:r:ri tory, Much of the land in 'rroup County was very rugged and very rich. The county was ra,pidly sRtt1ed, not by poor Jleonle but by wr,ll~to-do planters from easte:rn Georgi.a, who opened la.rge cotton p)_antations, They came into possession of land by lottery grants or purchases from grantees, Many of the earlJ' settlers were people of educat:i. on and property and brought with them into the wilderness that was ~'roup County tools, cattle, slaNes and household furnishings, Almost immecli.ately they began to plan for schools and churches. 8oon then there were two institutions for the education of women, La,Grange Female College and Southern F'emal.e College, No other couoty in the State e;aNe more attention to educa,tion, c,specially to the education of women~ B:rownwood was the school for men" 7 LaGrange (land lot 109) was incorpo:ratecl on 1ecembc:r 16, 18?tl, Iu a town rnec,ttni-r called fo:r the pur11ose of namj ng the connty sea,t, hy unanimous vote the members of this sma.ll settlement chose LaG:range as the name in honor of the estate of tho Jvia:rquis de LaT<'ayette <ln France. A }'rench soldier and statesman, LaJ,ayette had earned the love and respect of Americans through his service to the Uni.ted States du-ring the American Hevolution. He spent much of his personal ti.me and .fortune to aid the United States, Today Troup County has an resti.mated population of 45,000 persons, LaGrange, tho county scat, has a 11opulation of 26,000 persons, Barto ,Joiner my grandmother was a bB.b~, and sbe is 86"' q J3arto J oineT was born on 2. farm i.n Troup County, Gearg-1ae He v.ras the oldest eh~;_ 1d and had much r(~s11onsj_l:Jili ty because his motheT died when sh0 vrn,s you:1.g"' Be ha.d little sa.ucat:~_on. beca1_1se He doesn I t kno,.,.r how old he ~ s and his birth records Y1ere destroyed by fire,, He thinks tl7at he is 82 but must be oli.ier because he was a young man when He moved to Chocco1otto, Alabama and cooked at the Anniston Hote1 for seven years,, It 1.vas here that he \/las baptized a.:n.d becamE.! a member of the church,, He latRr r:J.oved to another to,,-n:1 .in Alal)aria. end coo1\.sd in another hotel,~ He could not ::t"ernember the nam0 of the tovm,,, yec:1,rs o1d at the time,, He worked for the Hood family as a cook_ for tw:::-mty years? (Hj_s comment to the yea.rs: t: A.in 1 t that a 1onp:: time 1) After thts he cooked fo:r the G,,d Hopki_ns f2mi1y and then for the F'rar1k Hutchinson I s,, nr;r grandparents~ until he retired. fmn years ago,,, Hee is the rntnister of the 'i'!eJ come 13aptist Church j_n LaGran!e 9 nt:nct door to bis home on Tied.line [\1 .:i.n ht.s life,, Re1:Lgion plays a very .important -part 10 I have known Barto since I was a child. and as 1.ong as I have known him he has had a grea,t love fer.fishing, As soon as he finished his worlc in the afternoon, he would go down to the creek below my grandfather's home and fish until almost dark. There were many times when he would walk the seven miles from town just to fish .in the creek, There was always a tale from him about the big fish that got away, Barto is sti.11 preaching and still has a vivid imagination, He is a short man with wiry whi. te hai.r and small, dark eyes which seem to sparkle when he talks, The entire time we talked he chewed tobacco and would take time to spit every few minutes, He lives a quiet li.fe with his wife Molly a.nd we all spent a most pleasant afternoon discussing the old days, 11 1".ishing ( Transcription begins at 124) Informant: Let's see now, I just, I went to fishing and I caught a fish I dreamt I, . and I went the next morning, I caught a oat weighed twenty pounds, Collector: Heally? Informant: Yes 1mam" Collector: What'd you do with him? Informant: Me and Mol1y et him, I carried hi.u, c:,w,;;, I c,>t him up and divided out (unintelligible), Collector: What sorts of things did you use to fish wHh? Inf orma.nt: Ah ... (pause) 0.des loo. 1-1orms, Col1ector; Cataba worms? Informant: Uh hUh, Collector: Is that all you ever .fished with? Informant: And rod worms, Collector: Wha,t made you be able to catch such big .fish? Informant: With cata,ba worms. ( dog barki.ng). I had my hook bai. ted with two or three cataba worms and I throwed it out and I happened to look he jerked my hook plumb out of the water- I mean, under the water out of the bank, I was setting in a cool place by myself, I had done dreamt I was going catch that .fish ancl I got up soon that morni.ng, Hrs, Hopkins and them had done gone out West, 1'hey sai.d, "Well, Barto, you can fish and we be out there two weeks," And uh, so I come homo and got my bait tha.t Saturday evening ancl Monda.y morning I got up nearly bout fore day and walked out there by m",sel..f, Went 1 2 down on that creek - I had my breakfast and everything see- just setting back under the shade bout r1ine o'clock, I say you know the old saying, sa,y, "Have faith,". I sa,y I'm got faJ:th,, say hadn tt, got a bite chile, hadn't got na:Lr hit0 just setting back I say you know the old saying, say "Have fat th", (.Laughter), I spoke that to myself a,nd bout the second Ume I spoke it something come a,long and grab my hook and jerked it out and a H tt10 foot log clown bout fer as here ( points to the hm.we next d.oor) and run down to the foot log and line hung: up hung u.p on some ttash; .water was more than 'that cl~ep (points about six inches) down the:ce and uh I went down there and and got the Hne and pulled it up easy a11d got him right up here to the bank to the foot log, I just reached down there and got him in th0 gHls,11 Collector: You didn I t have any tJ:ouble gettinp; him up? Informant: I got him i.n the g.i 11s here and drug him him out- and got him out and laid him in a great bi.g sand. bed was out there, I lai.d hi.m on that sm d bed and the thing looked like it was that hi.gh (gestures with hands). I say that ai.n I t no natural cat I don I t g1<ess, yeah it's a, channel cat, I,I said I was about a mile from anybody's house. I just walked up and down there, bout 10 o'clock. I say, "Whoopee! 11 (laughter) I said somebody better come and get Uncle Bat, Sa,y, I r;ot the fish, I packed that fish up and tote him and :r.ost a,whLle coming home and got here with tha;t fish I pP:r.ade all up and down here (points to the street in front of house,) (laughto:r) I pa,rad0 Red Line. At this point someone comes onto the nor.oh and Barto tells his .fi,sh tale again, This retelling has berm omitted from th" transcription, 13apt.i.sm 2nd 13ecoming a Preacher ( Trs.nscription begi.ns at 195) Collector: Tell us about Chooco1occo, Bato. 13 Informant: Yea,h, (passing automobile) Choccolocco, there I s a great hi"' lake in Choccolocco and uh, I 1d been sick and I got come from Anniston and spent the night and I said I can go f,C' l'lith tho boys @ the mountain and get a load of wood, I went up there I said, "Ma, JVJother I say, 1 1m goin cook breakfast for you in the morning, I say I 1m goin let you rest," . I got up that morning bout I mean I d.idn I t get up and uh about midnight I had one of the worst ohi1ls you ever (passing auto) saw anybody have, and uh so the doctor come foe, day, When I come out there doctor walking up and down done pull off his coat and just walldng up and down there - come back there and uh, he look at mehe say, "I can I t hardly see what I s the matter with th.is boy," I Id been praying and I hadn I t et nothing and didn I t eat nothing in two days (ha), I was praying for re Hg.ion, Co:j.lector: Oh, really? Informant: Yes 1m, And I got up and later in that week I say I want to be baptized, Ny mother say, 11 :,on, you !mow you just got up with say you ,;ust got up with pneumoni .. a,- say water's too cold for you to go in that big lake," Great big lake in Choccolocco, I sa,y, yeah, I want to be baptized, Say, 11)Jo, I a.i.m to let one of my boys tote your clothes," Say all right,lfia, (cough) You know I'm gonna teJ.l. you,_ there wa,s sixty bapti,,cd when I was baptl ,,ed, Collector: Tell me about it, \'!hat was it like? vlhere, you we're baptized in the lake? Informant: In that lake, 14 Collector: What did they do1 Informant: Ah, so they bapt.i.zed me and marched back and in the BYPU Union they called on me to pray, Co1lector: 'I'hat very day? Informant: Yes'm, After we got back to the church, CaJ.lecl on me to pray, Collector: Wonder why? Informant: Union, you know, Collector: Yeah, Informant: I don't lmow why they called, they - I was a young candidate, They come around and prayed .i.n the Uni. on, '.rhc old deacon did. I went around and said my prayer, Collector: Cen you remember when you- what made you decide you wanted to be a preacher? Informant: No, I didn't went to be no preacher, I, I was bout like Jonah he was sixty years old, I di.on I t want to be no preacher, I say I ain't got the ed.ucati on my brat other brothers had cause I was the old.est boy and my .fa,ther thought woul.dn I t let me go to school much, What l.i ttl.c schooling I had ~ uall c give i. t to myself, And so I didn't want to be no preacher, I come r.i.ght back here and marr.i.ed and worked for Mrs, Hawki.ns and them up here and uh I taken sick and hurry horne, I had chairs out there then (points to yard) nice pl.ace, I sot down in that chair, I was down i.n that chair, A \'\' niece, Molly's daughter I s chi. ld, come in, come by here, I say call Molly, I'm sjck, Molly cooki.np; r.i.ght over there .for Jlirs,- right cross over there (points toward town) Mrs, Wooding's and thorn, 15 When she got here, I done folded my arms over there and got in the bed, done give up, say well I'm gone die, I sa,y I ain I t gone. Something say, "You, you do what the Lord say do say, he told you he was going - that he I cl kill you if you don I t make us do what he say", and I say, "Yes, Lord. If you just spare me," I got cold clean up here l points to top of arm) uh, I say, "Yes you just spare me and I 111 get up and do what you have me to do, And I told the deacons and they give me an appo.i.ntment right up here (gestures to church above his house), r'ollowing on ta11e is a discussion of preaching which ha,s been omitted from the transcription, 16 Little Red Hiding Hood ( 'l'ranscription begins on Si.de 2 at 3) Informant: Going to her Grandma, Little Red Hiding, I forget that part, And on her way going to see her Grandma met a wolf and say, "Hello, what you doing?" Say, "I Im going to see my Grandma," Grandma, lived. in a house to herself. And the old wolf he, uh, see she told him she says, "This pa.th here lead right to hi.s house", and so the old wolf got in that path and went to the house, beat her there and w,:mt on in the room and knocked on the door and uh she say, "Who is that?" Say, "This is Red, Little Reel Hiding Hood", the old wolf say, Went on in there , et her Grandma up, (pause) Et her Grandma up and got in the bed, The old Grandma was sick and uh, when Little Red (paus0) got th0re she walked in there say, "Grandma, wher0 you at?" The old wolf say, "Here I is, here I am, my child." ( lower voice) (laughter) Li ttl.e Red jumped (unintelHgible) her Grandma. Here l am, my child, (laughter) Say, 11Well, come on and see your Grandma. 11 She walkn(l back :Ln there and looked say, 11Granclma, your eyes look so bige 11 11 Sa.zy-, :8eq you, see you my child," Head look mighty big, }foar you my chn,:. Say, "Uh neck all look mighty big," "Say a say a just just wha,t I 'catch a,:,ound-; bout that time some colored men was cleaning up uh, (spit) the woods riR'ht abovP. there and tho: rushed on down tbore, When they r;bt dowll thorei knocked. on the door, ho hadn I t killed Little Jled. Hiding Hood, they p;ot there fore , they saved her. 'rhey ,:,un in there wi. th the ax, ( pausP.), 'l'hey sa,y, 111/ho this is.,,say, who is that?" Say 9 11 } t' s Grandma., 11 17 "Yeah, we your Grandma, too, 11 (laughter) They went in there and went to chopping on the wolf, Killed him, uh, saved Li ttJ.e Hed Hi.ding Hfe, Bout these farmers was cleaning up, (huh) Preaching in Wedowee (Transcription begins at 66) 18 Informant; I, uh I came to Wedowoe--Wer!owee, Alabama and they wuz having a service, 'I'hey i.nvi te me i.n t:o take a. part in the service and I went in to take a part in the service, I had a small grip, Httle Bible and I sang a song, "Somebody's Wrong about the Bible," And when I began to si.ng that song a la.dy ba way on the back side she s13.id, "Mister, the Lord sont you here," Somebody wrong a.bout the Bible. I say, Have you rrot an account paya.ble 1-iha.t charges the church He composeth through of his mind, 1W-ery Sunday morning His customers rule To meet i.n the church and drink wine, 'I'hey say, "Yes, Lord (ve1y high-pitched voice) the Lord sont you here to tell us somebody w:rong abO"ut thP- JJi ble. 11 Say, 11Yes, they drink wine o 11 (ha), YeaL they drink wine, say '" ought to ,cJrj nk wine, (laughter) Collector; Did you? Informant: '.l.ne (unintelligible) we take a little wine now in sacrament, Collector: Where you get it? lJi.d you make H'I Informant: Yeah, I liked it, Col.lectm~: What kind wa,s it? Informant: It was grape wine, (cough;,ugJ. I like wine, now, Collector; You do? Informant: Uh huh, It ain't no harm in d:dnk- everything God made is rrood an,1 very good, It ain't r;oin hurt the harm is what you make out of .i.t, Collector: 'l'hat's good thinking, I hadn't thour;ht about tha,t, 19 Informant: Yes, You can take water ,Irink too much water, it'd be a sin, Don I t you see? GYerything God made is good and very good, He Uved for a purpose and uh, he rives you knowledge enough, enough lmowledge to know how to use it, Don't you see'/ Collector; Uh, huh, Informant: It ai.n 1t harm- no harm. I heap of the doctors put you (au.to passing) doctor put me on it, say you can drink a. can of beer a day, Say yoi)., says it ain't goin hurt you, rnverything God made good and very good., li'ollowing is a continuation of a discussion of religi.on which has been omitted from t_he transcription, Turtle HunUng ('rranscri.ption begins at ?04) Informant: I can catch turtles, I'm a turtle .man too. Collector: How do you catch turtles? Informant: l'i.ith my, I had a 1i ttle rod, I catch em with my hand. Collector: Oh, how? Informant: I had a rod (uni.ntelli.gible) I used to hire a fellow go with me out way out here i.n the creek and oh, ah I turtle hunt hour or two. And uh, I sold turtles all up and down this lot. One day I went out there I caught fourteen turtles. (pause) Collector: How, I don I t understand how you oatch them. ?O Informant: Gatch them- I had a li.ttle rod about that long (measures about two feet) and find em, I would then and I Id just reach do1-m there, I could tell, catch em by the leg, Collector; How'd you ki.11 them? Informant: I uh, I put em out and and I had had we_ had a great big sack. I say, "Mr, Gee says they can I t bite you through a sack," He told he say he have four or five, they got to fi.ght.ing in that sack, (laugh) got him back there in the back, (laugh) He, 'he holler say, 11 Corne here, Barto, come here, come here." I sa,y, "What's the matter?" Say, "One these turtles got me in the back. (laugh) I say that turtle, I say Mr, Gee say, that's a wh:lte man you know, say turtle can't bite you in the hack, He say, "I can't tell what M:r, Gee or nobody els;, od,,.1 o He got me in the back~ 11 Co}l.Gctor: llow'd you get him loose? Informant: See, he ,just, see he couldn't hi.te no hole through the sack he .iust had it ri.ght here ( points to l.ower hack) there. Caur,ht Mm i.n the back, HomA of Ba.rto Joiner LaGTange :s Ga0 Barto J oJ.ne-r 2! CITY MAP OF aGrange CgS The Citizens and Southern Bank of West Georgia Home of Barto Joiner ( circled in green) 11 8 Redline Alley LaGrange3 Georgia Troup Cou,.ri..ty l)irecti. ons; Enter LaGrange on rue,c:5- 0c...,0.1 '0' (V1 e rnon,i. " Continue through tm,m to O:reon St.~ r_i:urn r:Lght on Oreon9 then turn left on Co1ID.try Club Ti.d,. ohd i::11en left or R.sd1ine 23 -RELEASEIly letting uo collect your traditions--stories, songs, music, rememberences~ or beliefs of earlier days--you hnve made a valuable contribution to preservine and understandine: Southern history, and especially the uay 0 life of your community. Because you have r;iven unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georr;ia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preserving these traditions, wants to protect your ric;hts to this material by r;uaranteeing that it uill not be used for unscrupulous con,r,1ercial profits, ny signinr; this sheet, you arc givinr, us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people who are interested can understand how life uas in the old days. If you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy. Thanlc you for the time you have p,iven to help us record a heritarc thnt is an i11portant part of American life, "In consideration of my intent in helpinr. to preserve r,,y folk heritar,e, I hereby grant permission to the Georgia Folk Archives and its Director, John Burrison, to publish, ot otherwise make use of, the material recorded from me by the ar,ent of the Georr;ia Folklore Archives whose naNe appears on this sheet, Signed 1 /(/] w-i tfjAivh C&f'lo t' ' Address Ar;ent of Georp,ia Folklore Archives,_.:=d{A='o:__,c ,_,t.:;.'____,~"-J_. :. - ~-=-'--'- _~_ v_ ____ Additional Hitness __________________________ _ Georr3ia Folklore Archives c/o Professor John Burrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georgia 30303 nate ,Julia Hart tv.1enty---t'wo yeaTS ." Julia. Hart Juli a Hart was O CYY:'U oY\ i"Tank .Ne.-rton pJ.a.ce ~ aTtr,T.~j mately s:-i..x rni 1es south11.'8St of LaGrange,, .She began to :roTk at the a;?:'e of six and worked until she was seventyt wo wh<0n she S8.ys she She d_escr:i.1-<?d heT early She v,ra,S She moved about; 1,2::r life and has lj_ved i.n h;-;r rrresent 1.ocation for f)he ma.J."Tit1d V.rB}Jc. l{a.. r t ar1.d had two chj_ ld:ren,. She b.2.s been s. nurse to JTl2n.y Jul.ia. 1o"\res cb.i_ldren BJlr,_ thougb. f;he 1.ives 8.1.rn.1.e now (hf:'r h-u.sband di.8d earl j_eT' 5 n_ the year) tbJ?re are 8,1i-!0.ys scve:ra.1 chi l_dre11. at her l1rnJ.SP ., ShP f~hc has been She ,_s s f:i .. r1c- Ch Ti st.ia,n \-roman and an j nspJ.re:ti_ o:'.l. to thos0: ,.,rho 1:-.r:ww her,,, 26 Medicine, (The beginning of the tape dea,ls with Julia's early life and is included in the biographical sketch, 'rranscription begins a,t 47.) Informant: And when somebody sick, I would go with Mama to get the herbs what she made medici.ne out o:f. \s'e didn I t - doctors scarce, Wo didn't have any, She, she get us for worm - Jerusalem - it it was a plant that growed up, Collector: Jerusalem? Informant: Yes I mam, That was the name of the plant and when when one was sick and had a fever (pause) she, she - I I can't call the name of the bark now - she'd get that bark and make a tea, And anything you lmow she made teas out of was a doing good and we hardly ever had a doctor cause we couldn I t get thGm, li'ollowing is a continuation of a discussion of .Tulia, 1s early life and ha,s been omitted from the transcript.ion, Games ('rranscript,ion begins a,t 108) 27 Collector: Wha,t sorts of things did you used_ to do for fun, Jike v1hen you lived on the Newton place when you were little'/ Can you remember any of 1.hem? Some of the things you used to do? Informant; Yes'mam, \'le used to play Hap Sack, you know that switches one would have one and the other one would have one, We used to play Hap .Jack, Collector; What did you do? How'd you play it'? In.formant; \/hooping each other, (laughter) And we cal.led it Hap .Jack, And uh, we'd play ba,ll. (passing auto) And then l didn't play marbles but the rest of them did, you lmow. They - Collector: 1i/hat' s martin? Informant; Shoot marbles, you know Collector: Oh, marbles Informant: You lmow shooting marbles, But, I play ball with them, 'fi1at I s all I ever did play, Ji'ollowing is a brief general discussion which is omitted from the transcription, Religion ( Ti:anscription begins at 130) Informant; Uh, when I find .found Jesus I was six years al.cl, And I didn't lmow it, and I kept on looking for something else, you lmow, And when I was the age of twelve I was took up in a vision and showed myself under th0. cedar ~..t..:.'-.:- where T was ,i1nn11ing up7 you know and a Aj_x on me & Coll.eotor: And a what? Informant: A six. I was six yea,rs old, A six was on me. Collector: Oh, otJ, Informant: And when, when I was twelve J'earsnI joined the chu:cch. It, it come, that's when I seed this vision, And when they baptized me in September and in October they give me a job in the ehureh, put me to work1wi I been working in there every since. Sometime I didn I t have hut two, a few chi 1 l.uns .in Sunday School. I had. to be the Superintendent and the teacher, too. But I never did stop I, I kept on till I got them to where I had. a big crowd, you know, And I moved down yonder on on the lower place on Mr, Earl Cook sister's place, And I stayed down there eight years and that anii they cd.dn I t have - the church had gone-- and they d.idn I t have no Sunday School ana I had a heap a chillun down there and I got em all together, I used I .first started .in in my yard out there we'd have Suncia,y School, And I moveil from there ha,ck to the church, And we just had a big crowd. And a heap of em are living now ,_ ohilluns you !mow, And they, we would carry di.oner there with we ra.i.secl the church back up. And they went to having meeting there, And baptized, And then they'd 29 bring dinner, lolks from town would come out and we'd just ha,ve a, big time- eight years, And then when I moved back here, right here, the church was dead again, Mid.wifing (Transcription begins at 161) 30 Informant: My mother was a, wa.s a, midwife and after she got old we tried to stop her and couldn't and I'd go with her (pause) to al.l her patients, And, uh, then Dr, Woods he 'cl havo patients out, you know, deli.var and. they wouldn't be rea quite r,,,u,y and he'd get me to see after them, And sometime they'd deliver fore he got back and Dr, Whitehead. too, And I never cut the navel string till they give permission, One baby came and I called him and Dr, White come, I wrapped him up, and Dr, White came, He, he got mad with me cause I di.dn I t cut the navel (laughter), I told him no, I wouldn I t going out it, I say, ."This your patient now say I been here with them and you told me don I t never do that .no more, 11 And you see I already know'd Mama and them but thi.s his patJ.ent and I wasn't I thought I wasn't supposed to cut it, And he told me, 11Jlpn't do that no more. When the baby come and ai.n I t nobody here you cut that nave 1., You see hero? 11 l say, "I don I t know how, 11 And then he went on showing me and I, I .never told hi.m I go wi. th 11fama all. the time, Cause I don I t know how many babies she (rooste,c crowing) delivered cause when I done thi.hgR she delivered them, And Mi.ss Jane Newton (rooster crows) and all of em she delivered them, ~'hat I s a lot of bab.i.es you !mow and I go with her al.1 time- after she got old you !mow, I 1d go with her and help her, (rooster m:owi.ng) Collector: What other things, what other modi.ci.nes can you remember or what other herbs can you remember usi.ng for medic.i..ne? (passing auto) Informant: Uh, we used ( unintel.ligi.ble), ye11owroot, and sanford snake 31 root there I s, there I s a bush e;rows on the edge of the branch you lmow, with a big blue .flower but it wasn I t no big (pause) tr bush you lmow and It'd bloom and we'd get that root for- Collector: Wha:t was it called? Informant: Sanford snake root, Collector: What'd you do with the with th0 root? Informant: She'd boil .it, She'd let it come to a boil and strain it Collector: What about' yel.Jowroot? Inf01:mant: Same wa,y with yellowroot, We just drop that .i.n wa,ter, you lmow, and set it in the if we had some ice, you lmow, Ice was poor then, We couldn't hardly get H, But sometime we'd put it in the spring branch to keep it from souring, We had a big spring down there cross over yonder (points across the road) and we Id f.i.x us hole (rooster crowing) below where the water came up, you lmow, and we'd set it in there and then we set our milk there every day and we 1d get a little .i.ce- ice was so scarce you know - we didn I t have ice and we'd set ou:r milk in there, Spring branch - we had one big enough when they walled it i.n the,t we could sH things in, Now the water eame up right there (points to her left) e.nd we 1d fix us a place here (closer to her) to sit milk and stuff in there to keep it from souring, J?ollowinp.; .i.s a di.scussion o.f n. t:iewing mar.htne which .is omi. tted. from the transor.i. ption, Making Soap ( 'l' ransQ;r, p t.J on and l'i shi.ng begins at 21[8) 32 Informant; When I was growing up we di.ctn I t have potash like to make soap, We dripped oak and hickor,y ashes, we had a hopper you !mow. We put those ashes i.n there and put water up in there and dripped and caught that lye and then we put it in a pot and make soap, And then next we had you ]mow they had them long bars but this this potash soa,p whiten them and keep them white, Fill that up with ashes and then we'd keep water poured up in there, and then that'd~ you'd. catch something to catch the lye you know.and then when we get through dri.ppi.ng that, we Id put it in a pot and boi.1 it and put grease in it and we'd cook it long enough then we could cut it out. Colleotor: What about fishing? Can you remembe:c any storles about when you useu. to fi. sh'/ Any thi.nr;s that happened to you? Informant: Yes 1mam, uh, I was fishing down here on this branch dmm here and had, my brother was down th,,rc, wi. th me and an eel got my hook, And I couldn't get hi.m out the water, He had to come there and pull- help me pull him out and his hide hold a peck of wheat bread, And he straightened that hook just thataway (straightens f.inger out straight) and the way we kilt hi.m we had to stick a hole in hi.s ta.il you know, You beat him, you couldn't kill him you ,just stick a hole in his tail and. he'd bleed, And fishing, turtles everything was in here, I never see'cl so many .fishes in a. small creek like that but this one down here, Collector: Did you ever catch turtles? Informant: Yesmam, Caught turtles, I had a dog tree em, Collector: You what? Informant; }la.d a dog tree turtles, 'I'hey was out if they wuz out on 33 the bank you know out from the water, I had a police germa.n and he'd tree<) Collector: ~urtles can I t climb trees, can they? What does treeing mean? I don't understand what you mean, Informant: You see, just li.ke folks htmting and a possum or something go up a. tree well a dog will track him down and then he'll bark and let up lmow he done tree 1d the possum, Or whats'n there .i.s, And that, that's what they cal.l treeing, Collector: So how would he tree a turtle? Informant: The turtle be out on the ground and he 1 cl be round there huntinr; hi.m, He'd f.i.nd him, he'd bark and let me lmow he had somethi.ng, 34 Baptism ('.r ra.nscri p t;i on .b egJ_ nH at 276) Collector: '!'ell me about your baptism, Informant: We have uh, a place clown h0re now on the creek, It was walled i.n rooks was all armmcl it but we cli.cln I t put them there, ,Just hB,ppenecl to be B, a place li.ke that ancl hit wuz about this high ancl the wat0r was in trn,re came up to your shoulder and that I s wherG we baptized at, We didn't have pools then, Collector: Is it still there now? Informa.nt: Yes I mam hits there now, but they a.one woJ'.'ked there, I ai.n I t been up there since they, you ]mow, cleaned off around there, Where the water I s going up the branch hit I know they couldn I t move them rocks, cause they long as from here to Miss Polly(across the :room) the rocks was and you couldn't toll how thick they was cause its :i.n the ground.- set ting up the wall, Hight clown there, Eon:e of Ju.lia. Hart Ga.bbettvi11e O Ga,, ,Julia Bart and young friend -RELEASEny lett:i.n8 us collciCt: your tr.:i.ditions-~stories, sonr,s, music~ rememberences, or beliefs of earlier days--you have made a valuable contribution to preservinr, and understanclinr. Southern history, and especially the way of life of your community. Because you have given unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georgia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preservinr. these traditions, wants to protect your ric;hts to thin material by guaranteeinfl that it uill not be used for unscrupulous conm1ercial pro" fits" By si3nin11 this sheets you arc givinr; us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people Hho are interested can understand how life uas in the old days. If you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your rieht to privacy. Thanl, you for the time you have given to help us record a heritaf(e that is an i,,,portant part of American life. "In consideration of my intent in helpinr, to preserve my folk heritar;e, I hereby grant permission to the Georr;ia Folk Archives ancl its Director, John Burrison, to publish, ot otherwise mal,e use of, the material recorded from me by the ar,ent of the Georr;ia Folklore Archives whose name appears on this sheet~ Address Agent of Georr,ia Folklore Archives ui/1-J'J? 0 \.JdJd--T /vlclitional Hitness ---------------------------- Geo re; i a Folklore Archives c/o Professor John Burrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georr,ia 30303 Ma1mi.e 'l'ucker 3!/ j_n 1895 0n the T,2,ne pJm1tation ( 1,ihe1:e my gTandrv>ther w?.s born fLnd raised) in Ga.bhettvi. 11R 7 Ee:r mothe:r vm,s a. nmJ.ny to t:h.e l,a.De fc1.mtly and l'fa.ggie was raised on thP n1antatJ_01J ,,, ,:)he 1:.rorked in the field from the time she, ni.DP., She v,rent to school at Cannonville ar!d ,:,emembers r-1 to schoo] in the bug&;;/ or v.ri th be~ f atl1e:Y' on the mu1e,. She ta.lk_ed. al101.J.t hsr teachers th1c:;re and the programs th2y used to havr-, at. +.he 2nd of school~ married 1/ . rhPn she was t 1:1enty-ni.ne crn.O_ moved. to Cannonville, her pre sent home., She lives 2J_one novr and ir~ disabled 11..rith aTthri tts a.:nd As i1dth the other inform.anb.:,~ religion seems to lay e.rJ irnr;,o-:cta.nt :l.n Grove st ChuId1. 1 the s0,rne clnn:'ch tha.t ,Julia ~-a]:-t i.s 8, membe:r of 0 She 88,yE: that s1:e 1,12.s an 2,ct.i.ve :rr.ernl1er 11nti 1 ~\",~- became Ci_i_ S,?."hled 0 39 Jiiarly Life ('rranscri ption begins at 39) Informant; And bout my mother, she used to sew and uh, we used to pedal the machine for her, the old time pedaling and then l remember she had two cats, One laid on aSter she would, on the left on the leader machine, one would climb up there and sit there, And he was named li'anny and then we had a, .female cat that .followed me all the ti.me and uh she would give me a bisnui.t and put a hole in it with syrup in it and I tale off with it and I would feed that oat and let the oat bite a bite, I bi. te a, bite, (laughter) I<'ollowing is a general cH scussion which has been omitted from the transcription, Medi.cines and Baptism (~'ranscription begins at 125) 40 Col.lector: Do you know anything about herb medicines and uh did you go out ax1rl get your own medicines or or do you like roots or tha,t sort of stuff? Informant: No 1mam, (Pa,u,se) The horehound for us to make uh tea .fo:r col.ds, Get it on the swamp and then uh she used to know a, :root by the San.ford Snake :root and then sh0 had another root, ga,Jl. of the ea:rth it was hitter, You get it put H in wh.isk.ey and drink o.f.f T,tstener: What doeR that do to you? What was it .for'/ In.formant; Uh kind uh like when you have i.ndi.r,estion, Coll.ecto:r: Uh huh, Informant: Course I neve:r di.d lnv0 i.t, (Pause) Its a, whol.e lot and then he just g:ra.b hissel.f you see tlwy ,inst can I t help it, ,Just part o.f him, Coll.ecto:r: Were you baptized Informant: In the creek Col.l.ector: Jul.ia was talking about :in tho creek, In.formant: In the creek, Col.l.ector: Can you remember about it'/ Informant: Sur.e can, eighteenth of f-3eptembP-r, I remembnT' 1:rh0n I confessed Ch:r.ist. I was down in a Httl0 sand ba.:r, T went out that nvcm:ing, I sai<l,"I 1m done prayed., ain't {c.;'Oing l)ray no moreu 11 Wo had our revival had closed ,md it was going open up, meeting just at night, Head of uh this third Sunday in Sept0mbe:r, 1910, nev0r will forget it, 41 Twenty-three of us were baptized, And, uh, my Uncle 'ram, my daddy's brother, was down in the water and twas a snake (laughter) so we just took a sti.ck and hit i.t and uh kill.eel it, More whi to people was all- be all romd there to our baptizing, And then we went ba,ck up there .i.n the, woods and dressed, Collector: What about when you said you wc,re on the sandbar i.n the creek and you saJ.d you weren't goi.ng to -pray no more, What ha,ppenecl then? Informant: 'rha,t, thats when I got convr,rted that evening, Looked Uke to me (Pause) the whole elements just lit up so T went up a UtUe pl.ace further and I set down and looked like a voi.ce I could hear: 11You 1r0 free, you're f:ree at last. 11 So I went up to the house a.nd uh, Mama call.eel. me say, "What's the ma,tter wi.th you'/" And then I jnst busted and went to telling her, A sav.i.or T had .found, Home of Tucker Cannonvi11e'll Ga0 Lireotions: Take US 29 south to the Old West Point Roa,o and turn left. Turn left on Cannonville Road, Maggie Tucker's home is on the left in Cannonv. (circled 5-n green) GabbettvJ_J..1e, Ga~ ~Croup Cou.nty r:f'a.ke US 29 sou th from LaGrange to the Teaver Eoad 0 11ur11 right on 1feaveT Ii.d ~ then rd on .Road~ Juli.a's hcm.se j_ s on te T-7 Bome of Hou.te 1 1 ~dox 226 G2.bb2ttv:_i lle,, GPe ;::,.ddr.":; ss) 44 Conclusion Several olmervations became appa,rent as I gathered research for this project, F'oremost, was the inability of the middle and upper cla,ss to recount their chi1dhood expedences in a candi.d m@ner, It seemed that the less educated were un.i.nh.i.bi te<i a,nd quite open and w.i.lli.ng to discuss thei.r past, Within the group of informants chosen, reli.gi.on has been a most import,mt part of their lives, Durinc', all the interviews, the subject of religion came up time after time, Also, the s.i.mi.lar.i.ties in thei.r re lig.i. ous backgrounds was remarkable, In conclusion, I feel tha:o this has been a most valuable experience, I have enjoyed the conversations with people tha,t have been a part of my Hfe and feel that the y have made a valuable contribution to the heritage of our country, 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.