Belle Belew interview with William Record and Marion Belew (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 part one of a two part recording. This part begins with William Accord describing his family background growing up in Jessamine County, and later in Salvisa, Kentucky. At 6:40, he relates a series of jokes his neighbors played on each other. In one instance, a neighbor convinced another to cut his tobacco before it was ready to harvest. Then, at 11:18, he remembers when an undertaker pulled the body of a doctor in a hearse drawn by horses. Next, he tells a hunting story in which a hunter scares his friend by shooting a farmers old horse, and at 16:13, he recalls overhearing his neighbors argue while he drew water from their well. To conclude this part of the audio, he tells a story about when his neighbors wife donated blood during World War II and her husbands humorous response. William Thomas Record (1886-1978) was born in Jessamine County, Kentucky, to Weeden Record (1858-1948) and Minerva Ball (1863-1899). In 1916, he married Ella Trisler (1890-1976), and they had three children: Edna (1918-2009), Vernon (1921-2013), and Billy (1931- ). Record worked as a farmer and carpenter and died in Louisville, Kentucky. Marion Jasper Belew (1894-1990) was born in Pendleton County, Kentucky, to Marion Belew (1870-1944 ) and Nora Bethel (1876- 1952). He graduated from Georgetown College in 1915. In 1916, he married Patricia Barker in Grant County, Kentucky; they had two children, Maldon (1920-1989 ) and Wendell (1923-2000). In 1929, Below graduated from the University of Kentucky, after which he worked as a farmer and high school principal. He died in Peachtree City, Georgia. KENTUCKY FOLKTALES COLLECTED FROM WILLIAM THOMAS RECORD AND MARION JASPER BELEW Belle Belew Term Project Dr. Bu:r:rison TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I: Stories from William T. Record Introduction. . page 1 History . . pages 2-4 First Story. pages 4-5 Second Story. . . pages 5-6 Third Story, . . pa.gee 6-7 Fourth Story. . . . pages 7-8 Fifth Story. pages 8-9 Sixth Stoey . ' page 9 Map of Salvisa. page 10 Pictures . pages 11-12 Sketches . pages 13-14 Map of Important Locations pages 15-16 Section II: A Legend from M. ,T Belew Introduction and History pages 17-18 History as told by Mr. Belew, pages 19-20 Story, . . pages 20-27 Pictures pages 28-29 Sketch page 30 Information on the Motifs pa.gee 31-32 Addresses of Informants . . page 33 William Thomas Record is an 89 year old 11Saint Francis of Assisi", Like the Saint, he communicates easily with all the creatures of the yard. Beasts that are considered wild often have great faith in this man, and orphan animals of all kinds can prompt the man to take pity. He has an unique ability to heal and comfort the sick and hurt of all species. Having been a farmer most of his life, Will Record has become quite an expert at the trade. He grows three pound yellow, pink, orange, and red tomatoes; stringless string beans; as well as a yard full of perfect flowers. There is evidence that the man could start a garden from something as hopeless as the "slop bucket". If all the tricks of gardening can be known, Will Record knows them. Mr. Record has also been an avid fisherman. With his home-made cane pole, he can tell you precisely when to go fishing, where to go fishing, and how to go about fishing. He is responsible for such invaluable fishing tips as, "Dont talk, you'll scare the fish away," and "The fish won't bite after 12':00 noon again until 6:00 at night." As "elder statesman" of the comm.unity, Mr. Record can be found most any day at the "forum", The forum in this case being Hazel's Groceries and General Merchandise located in the heart of Salvisa, Here, nearly all the able-bodied citizenry gather at least once a day to report or fabricate the goings on, It is here that the art of story telling is kept alive. I'm, uh, Belle's fa-grandfather and Ive lived in Salvisa--well let's see, I go back-I went-we moved--I's born in Jessamine County and, uh, lived in Jessamine County til I's about eight or nine years old. And, then, we moved to Garrard, Garrard Co1.ll'lty and, uh, well Ilet s see, I oughta go back a little farther than that. Let's see, my mother died while weuz livin' in Jessamine County and l's 13 years old when she died and l was the oldest of the family of six children, And my father never married any more.And then we moved to Garrard County and my grandmother and grandfather came to live with us while, uh, they, we were little-goin to school--and so we lived in, lived in Garraird and we lived there fer, l reckon, about eight or ten years, And we moved then back to Jessamine County and rented a farm (Dzy' dad did) and we lived on that fer a. number of years. He, llzy' dad, 11.nd, and his brother (a 1.ll'lcle of mine) and they, they farmed together an then we went (after we got up old enough to go to school right) why, we moved, moved back to Garrard Co1.ll'lty, And, we lived in Garrard County from, l'd say about 19, 19 and 6, 5 or 6 until 19 an' 19. An, an, uh, well I should go back a little, from 98, 98 til 1906. We moved, lived in Garra.rd and then we moved to a farm in Garrard Coooty and farmed there quite a bit-- my dad did and us boys after we got old enough to work--I meim old enough to do a !!l&n's work (that was it). {"laughsJ So, we went to the farm in Garrard County then (that's Beuna. Vista) an, uh, an that was about 19 and 7 or 8 that we moved back, moved into Garrard, from Garrard Co1.ll'lty ov-over into Mercer and weve lived in Mercer Co1.ll'lty up to the present time, An so, and I worked, worked-I never did tell you how 2 old I was though, did I? Huh? Huh? Well, I'm eight, Im ru.ne-89 years old now. So, we lived in, in, in Garrard--well, I don;t know--for about, I guess, 20 or 25 years all told, But, then we lived in Mercer County from 1907 up to the present time. And, uh, we lived out on Lexington Pike near Shakertown. an', uh, farmed out there on that, on Lexington Road then.L-pauseJ Then I moved into, we moved into, into Harrodsburg. and I got a job then working in a, as a manager of a big store and si-and a livery stable. An uh, thats when I, in 19-1916, and that;s when I met, met my wife, Miss, Miss Nell Tris-Ell Trisler and we married and lived in, in, in Harrodsburg then til 19 and 19. And we moved down on the farm near Salvisa. So, Ive been in the Salvisa community ever since. An', an, but in the meantime, I've worked around in different places and I went off an' worked an' finnished work. An I went to Mobile, Alabama and worked a while an, for Dupont when theys, they're makin' war materials. And I went there then to, uh, Terre Haute, Indiana an' also built a plane at Charlestown.--that 1s over in Charlestown, Indiana, And I went to Miami, Florida an worked about, uh-well about six or eight months. An then, after I moved back to Sal~-Ive this, lived around here all this time. But, uh, when I got more disabled to work and quit (sorta retired from farmin'--had to) why, then I took odd jobs !ill' worked at carpenter work and just here, little jobs here an there--did differen, different kinds. So, up to the present time Ive been livin1 here at this place here in Salviea fer ever since 1924. An that's been couple 10 yr, couple 'o years back isn't it, um. So, I've always en.ioyed this little ol' place and it's pretty nice little ol' town. An I expect that put in the remainder o my day11 here (if nothing happens). An, I don't know, sometimes the way I feel, don't think it's gonna be too long, But, never the less, why, I just have to wait. So, I don't know too much more to tell ya bout, 'bout it. 3 Ive got ta, got my, I two sisters aliv:i.n' an my, my brother. My brother lives :i.n Jeffersonville, Indiana, an two sisters live in-one in Missouri an the otherun in, in Lexington with her son. So, we dont see each other very often, but, never the less onct in a while we get together. But, I 1ve always enjoyed bein with, with all of ye, An' I always love my grankids. So, I don't know anything else to say 'bout it. Interviewer: O.K. Have ya got some stories you gonna tell us? Mr. Record: An that's about all I know of that, that's my life. I ... Interviewer: O.K. Have ya got some stories you wnt to tell us? Y..r. Record: Well, I don't know, I might, I might tell you some just, uh, hearsay 'bout da, was talkin bout Edna--when Edna wa11 up here, ya know. She 1uz talkin' 'bout Mr. Joe Booth out here at Salvisa ["laughsJ an he's, he an Mr. Nat Poulter, they were great neighbors out there, an' they were alW!!.ys a jokin , an' tryin 1 , and playin I tricks on one another, ya know, So, they (long in the SUl!llller time up about, well, 'while before tobacco cuttin1 time) why, Mr. Joe Booth cmne up town here one day and tol some of em down here, said, uh, "I'm gonna make, uh, Nat Poulter cut his tobacca-vines.11 They all just agot a big laugh an said, "Why, I don't see how you'll do that." Well, he says, "You wait an see." An (course tobacco was up then pretty good size) but, so he went back home, caught Nat sitt:i.n1 out on de front porch an he went to the barn, got 'im a big lood 0 1 tobacca sticks an ["laughsJ walked out through his tobacca patch--co!lllllence droppin1 them stal-sticks, Nat, he got up an t!lke him a big chew o "tobacea. an Willnt out on the, L-laughsJ on the porch an hollered to Joe an says, 11Joe, ffll!l.t are goin1 to-what're you fixin' to do?" "Well," he says, "I'm gonna eut my t,:ibacca like I 1ve got some sense, 11 he said, ["laughsJ So, he got 4 his tobacca knife a.n -nt to cuttin' tobacca, Said wasn't long til he-maybe went, come up town here fer some'in' maybe-I don't know what for, but a:n::,way, said he went back home an looked ever ere an there was Nat cuttin' hisn tobacco patch, ya know, So, Joe, he went back home, said, put his tobacca knife up, -nt back on the front porch, an' sat dO'l!l'I. Nat come along directly says, "Why, Joe". Says, "What's the matter wi' ya quit cuttin' tobacco?" ''Why," he says, "I'm," (ol Nat had already cut all most all half 0 1 his down) he 11aid, ''Why," Joe 11ays, ''Why, I'm a gonna let mine stan1 ere an get ripe like Ive got some sen11e," LlaughsJ So, ha, yeah he, he uh, already cut his most of his tobacca downol man Nat had, (That's Jack's Pow.teys daddy over here-right across the road here.) So, theys always playin' tricks on one another. Mr. Nat had a, a mole some 1in1 on his nose, An he tol1 some o em up there one day said, says (up there at the garage--blacksmith shop it was then) says, "I'm gonna make Nat have that, that mole out off o hie nose," llaughsJ He said, "How ya gonna do that?" He said, "You wait an see, an I'll tell ya how I'll do it," So, he went up an got to see Nat an said, "Nat')" says, "I'll tell ya right now," says, "that place lookin' awful bad on your face," Says, "You better go an have some'in' done about dat. 11 And said, "Ya don't, it's gonna, it1s gonna, gonna, gonna msy'be be a cancer an kill ya." An', an Nat 11ays, "You reckon ther's anythin' to it, Jack," (I mean ,foe). Says, "Why, sure'!; Well, he said, uh, he -nt on home an day or two, why, some o em says, "Nat Poulter went over to Lexington today an had that place cut off his nose." LlaughsJ Said Joe come down der 5 an' he said, "Why," said, "didn't I tell you I's gonna do it-gollM make 1 :im have it cut off?" An always anything like that, he's playin' tricks on one another. [" pa.useJ Well, that's that. I dont, oh, I don't know how much more of it I could tell of it. Can't think of anything like that now, anymore. Interviewer: Where did you get these stories? Mr. Record: I just got em :from different ones a.round in, down in town, Listenin' to the boy-fellas ta.lkin1 round these stores, ya know. Different ones a.bout what happened to Joe, Well, somethin1 else did happen to Joe though, I could. An, uh, an ol fella lived out here Bonville. He's, they call (I don't know whether he's doctor or not) but, he, they called him Dr. Shields. So, uh, he died, An Nat, he of course, fixed him-prepared him for burial. An they didn't have any, just had an 01 1 horse, hearse, ya know, then. Horse ["laughsJ ya tie youre(?) horse-two horses to a hearse. Well, he, uh, but I dont think that time they, that, that they had, that they take em with a hearse, but they had a big spring -gon. But, anyway he put, he put the box an Joe up in the-after he died-- in the spring wagon an' took him, gonna fixin I take him to bury him. Got right up here at the corner where the post office was at the time. Why, Joe was &'driven the wagon--haulin ol man Doc Shields to the graveyard out here to bury him. I dont know where they was taken to, but anyway, he, ["laughJ he drove up, got down-naw, raised up on his seat--an1 said, (took his hat off) says, "Anybody now, for if they wmma see the remains of Doctor Shields, now ll be last time. 11 Says, 6 "Come up," said, "were gonna, gon-got him on de-demonstration." An he got up in the Wll.gon like he's gonna take the top off, ya know. An 'bout that time Mr. Nate, Mr. Nat Lyons come up, says, "Why, Joe," said, "dcmt do that. Why," he said, "you can't do that--here." "Oh," he says, "yes we can too" . Said, "Everybody liked Joe an' liked Doc Shields an he, an they want o see 'im again," But nothing would do him but that he wouldn't let him--wouldn't let him take the top off it. So, they all got a big laugh out o that an drove off with him, So, that, that Wll.S all, bout all, of that story. ["laughsJ Yeah, boy. The story 'bout a man an a horse, huh? An it a-two fellas came out o Louisville up here to hunt one fall. An uh, they uh, went down here on McCowens Ferry Road ahuntin an one fella name of llh, of uh--lets see, what Wll.S his name, uh, I thought of it 'while ago-- an one of the McComms, fella by the name o' Mccowen owned a farm down there an' this fellas went down there to hunt. An so, uh, they went, asked him if he could hunt on the farm. And he said, "Why, yes," said 11well let ya hunt, but," says, "provided one thing." Says, "I've got an ol horse back ere on the farm. lle's old, and," says, "I don't want o, don't want keep him and I don't wanna kill him." And he says, 11:rf you all go back ere an hunt," and he said, "Now when you get ready to come out an' come ho--go home, why, " said, "if you'll kill that ol 1 horse, 11 said, "I' 11 let ya hunt. 11 So, they went back ere an they hunted and hunted all the afternoon an' practically all day and didn't do any good. So, they started home in the afternoon an' one of 'em says to the other, says, 11Well, " he says, "we sure haven't done any good huntin' today, but," says, 111 111 tell you what I will do," said, ["laughsJ "I'll just shoot that ol' horse," 7 So, (?) he just up shot the ol' horse--killed im. An' the otherun said, 11Well, now you played the Dickens," he says. He say11, "You'll never get to hunt on this man's fann any more." Says, "You killed that horse." So they went on back to Louisville and never did tell im til he got back to Louisville, almost to Louisville, and he tol 'im, says, "Now I had that made up with that fella on that fann," said, "that weuz to kill that horse before we left here." An he said, says, said, 11I, I killed ''im." "Well," he says, "you sure had me scared up." He says, flaughsJ "I did, I wouldn't have had dat done fer nothin' in the world . " An Finly Cunningham down here was a' tellin' that story an I, it's true all right. An', an' Gobel Nichols live down there two. He, he's a, he live neighbors to this fella an, an he said, an uh, Gobel said it was the truth. But, said this fella wanted that ol' horse killed. flaughsJ So, I guess that'.ts all of that little story. Said, Mr., Mr. an Mizz Robinson lived right down (neighbors) down below here. An ever'body round here had to carry water from the, down there at their well. We didn't have any water, so Is a goin' down there one Sunday mornin' to a 1get a bucket o water, An' George Robinson, he'd traded fer a new horse this, on Saturday afore, An Mizz Robinson had bought her a new tub-put it out der at the well, ya know. An' L-laughsJ George, he'd had a drink or two, he went an got dat horse an brought it over there ta water it an she went out an she says, just said some'in' to him about it. An chucklesJ I'd started after a bucket o water an, an I heard em into it an I stopped just a :minute an I heard George say, "Yes", says, "l can," 8 L-pauseJ he says, 11! can bring my horse over here t 'is well to water it," and says, "you'll never open your mouth, but," says, "every sonof- a-gun in Salvisa can get water and," says, "you won't say nothing a.bout it, 11 But, says, 111 ever bring my horse over here to water it," says, "you just raise the Devil." L-laughsJ I went right on around an I said, 11Good morning Mr. an' Mizz Robinson." An they spoke just like they always did. An' I got me a bucket 0 1 water an come on back. ["hughsJ Then another time theyuz livin in Worl1 War II, ya. know. Theyuz givin blood for the soldiers. An Georgeuz up ere a.t de garage sittin on the, on that wall up there one morning and the bus come up ere ["pauseJ pickin' em up. An there's several from around ["clears throa.tJ round here to give blood. Mizz Robinson, she went up there, got on, an George's drinkin' a.gain. He said, "Now, 1 111 tell you," he said, "'ere goes my wife to Harrodsburg to give blood," an she says, "the man that gets that blood'll be a. fightin son-of-a.-gun. 11 ["laughsJ A-rr, awh Law! I believe that that's all I could know 'bout them. Theys, theys pretty good, now, 1 111 tell ye. ["la.ughsJ Ie--shoot. 9 i.Z.7 14Al.EI-'~ _ n C::,f.1<.11::.IZ.A. \... --z.rJ M.Eli!:.C.1JiA.NP15E. 0 11:013\l>J~OIJ 0 1-10!...l~E. 'Zf:] A H:A.P TO Tl-\t Tow ,J O'F ~\..VI~. 10 MAIIJ ~T. Mr. Record tending his cats. 11 Mr. and Mrs. Record in the inlllllller of 1971. The creek that !.'llns beside the Robinson's house where one of Mr. Record's stories takes place. 12 The country store where much of the town's story telling takes place. Marion Jasper Belew was bom in 1894 in Pendleton Collllty, Kentucky, a descendent of one of Kentucky's oldest families. His parents moved to Grant County early in his life, After graduating from Dry Ridge High School in Grant County about 1914, he attended Georgetown College 1915- 1916. By attending summer sessions, he furthered his education and was graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1929. In 1916, Marion Jasper Belew and Pet Barker were married. Wanting to try something other than farming, he began a career in education as a teacher and school bus driver in 1922. He then served as principal and coach at Mason High School, as Superintendent of Grant County schools from 1936-1948, as principal of Williamstown High School from 1952-1962, and as a math and science teacher in Covington, Kentucky from 1962-1965, Mr. Belew worked as cashier for the Bank of Crittenden for almost a year then he returned to his job as educator for several years. At age 70, Mr, Belew retired from school business and returned to banking. He -s appointed County ,fudge Pro Tempore at the age of 77 and finally resigned that position at age 80. In addition to his school career, Mr, Belew -s a progressive dairy and tobacco farmer. He -s a leading citizen in the movement to-rd the conservation of natural resources, He -s also an active member in church and community affairs as well as politics, Mr. Belew was one of the first educators in Kentucky to promote the idea of consolidated high schools, he served on the State Accrediting Committee, and he -s instrumental in getting passage of Free Text Book laws in his state. 17 r Perhaps the most notable thing about Mr. Belew is his unique personality, There is a weathered kindness about him. He has an alert mind which belies his eighty years. !oung people gather about him to laugh with him, to urge him to go camping with them, to tell him of their work at school or to discuss with him their problems. He has lived eo long and usefully in his colll!!lunity and county that most everyone calls him "Pop" . Much of his time is spent in considering what hs can do helpfully for his neighbors, his former students and friends. The town is furnished by water from a new water system which he envisioned and helped to make possible. The new county school is there because he dreamed of it as is the golf course and park at the edge of town. He is not old. Hs is as young as the youngest child who has just discovered the Big Dipper and the North Star. His eyes sparlcle at the discovery of a geode or an Indian artifact. He is only as old as mature wisdom can become without the frailty of repetition. He is a laughing, wise grandfather who delights in the telling of stories, and truth, and the discovery of the beautiful things everywhere. 18 Im M. J. Belew, born in Pendleton County just a few miles from Crittenden, and I spent my school life and time in Grant County. And, uh, 1922 started, started teaching school and the interest I was cheifly concerned with uh, of course, school business. We had, uh, finished the, uh, elementary school at Skirvin school. First, I was too young to go to Skirvin school, so I attended a Caldwell school house in Pendleton County and lived with my Aunt and Char--uh, and Uncle Charles Mann for part of the time. After that then, my sister was old enough that we could walk to the school house that was nearest. This uh, uh brought us in contact with a lot of interesting people yet it was a good long walk away from, uh, where we lived. My school days mostly in the elementary school were spent at Skirvin school which later, when I got, uh, advanced my father seemed to think that maybe we could get better teachers and he was sending me to Dry Ridge. I went to Dry Ridge then through the seventh and eighth grade. Going through.the eighth grade in those days we would take the examination and passing the examination we would then be able to be promoted into the high school. Being promoted into high school then meant passing this county-wide examination. The, uh, principals at this time (the school was very small) and the principal was Mr. Bruce Franks. He had one assistant and this was all the teachers that we had in, uh, our high school curriculum. We had a, a, a limited curriculum but the, uh, interest still ran high. I had, uh, quite an interest in, uh, in, in elocution--very poor and very timid but tried to overcome it by, uh, listening to people who could talk and, and would talk and would pay attention to me. So, I happened to hit the right person who 19 was the principal of the school, He seemed to have taken quite a liking to me and, uh, he was interested in, uh, in a story that was going through our area which, of course, none later could have been proven because he tried it very definitely, The story was about one person that, uh, that was supposed to have killed Lincoln, And, uh, he had spent so, so very, very much time going to the home of these people, getting pictures of them when they were young an', and their whole family pictures. And then, when he would get new ones, he would ask me my opinion about em-see what I thought about. These, uh, were so identical, so identical, that, uh, it was impossible for me to say it wasn't so, Now, as the legend goes in this, there's many outs possibly and many ends to be tied, And, so far as, uh, this full book that Mr Bruce had written, they couldn't be tied close enough together to be published without prosecution, He was not able to get a publisher to print em because all prior to this the court had proven, proven them differently, The one that I have followed and seen to be more nearly the truth to me was the one in which, uh, Booth had friends, and apparently as many friends as Lincoln must have had, That's on the surface now, this doesn't say what we had later and how things changed and to see what a marvelous character and person he was. On the night that this tragedy happened, uh, the President had had a, had a hectic time and, and, uh, two of the best Shakespearean actors possibly, uh, known were acting at the Ford Theater. One, one of em apparently had no prejudice an' no part in this but another one had high prejudices. And, so far as known the, uh, one with the terribly high prejudice, uh, slipped in the back way up to the President's box and shot him, When he shot 20 him he leaped, then, from the President's box to the stage and in this leap to the stage he broke an ankle. And, this ankle is one of the proofs which, uh, hangs on in, uh, Professor Frank's thoughts so strongly wh-and would in mine, too, that you couldn't help but believe it was so. Then, uh, he did get away after leaping. He had his horse tied and ready to go and, and exactly where he went, of course, that's a part of the, uh, story in there that we don't know. We do know the doctor and those that were con-convicted in, in the crime along with him. He, uh, had travelled quite some ways and had gotten across the Patomac and, uh, it is thought that he was burned in a, in a barn but from, uh, evidence later gathered it seems, now, it didn't happen. He was, uh, carried on a farm lfll.gon back to the Patomac and placed on a barge, Now then, the, the carelessness of guarding what, uh, soldiers and all thought was a, a dead body, his friends knew he was not dead. So, during the time they ex1.lllled a body and put it in his, in the place of the one that was on the barge and took him and cared for him until he was able to go on his own. And this, uh, comes in to a certain extent with things that happened later which have not been proven--which can't be proven-so far as we know. It is thought that the, he left from this area to the west and in travelling to the west, of course, in this area he hit the headwaters of the Ohio River and coming either by barge or boat or maybe by fare(?), what ever method he came, he came to the forks of the Licking River and the Ohio River. This happened at a time when farmers were all very busy and many of the farmers that were well to do (maybe not rich by any means) would, uh, buy the right to build roads. Of course, you know roads then were built by the use of what we call knapping hammers and sprawling hammers. The person doing the rock was know-breaking of the rock was 21 known as a paddy(?) . And the paddy then, when he would find a friend would live with that family for a good long time." And this particular farmer seems to had maybe a year or twos work as a,. as a paddy would need. He would haul the rock from his own farm using heavy sledge hammers to break it then bring them to the, mi, road where the road was to be built and make, uh, them into certain lengths and widths and heighths so the rock could be measured. Now then, the farmer having it done would have to do it on the prospect of collecting tolls. He would be allowed to put a toll gate ever so often and I don't know the, uh, really regulations of preparing these toll gates or where they would be, but they would have that in their own mind. The, uh, toll gates would be, be made and, and stationed along as the road was, was being built. This, this rock paddy was a, a, a, an extremely intelligent person and, uh, th-th-the family he was living with became quite fascinated with him. He was a Shakespearean, uh, artist and he could quote Shak-Shakespear and read elocution perfectly. And, uh, he would just, he would just thrill his friends with this type of entertainment. Well, it went on then for a year or tw and he had made such good friends with this particular influential farmer that, uh, he would do just about anything that the man wanted done for him (and really as I understand it he didn't ask for any favors) . He, uh, uh had a vacancy--there was a vacancy in the school nearby and you know in those early days it was, uh, not necessarily a matter of testing and qualifying for school teaching, Itd be up to a group to select a :man that could do the teaching, So they, they selected, uh, John Wilkes Booth' we'll say, uh, to teach the school, He did teach the school and he ma.de such a su@ss of it that then he moved from that area to a larger school and in this area (which is what 22 we now !mow as Fiskburg) li!!.S where-near where-he met his wife im, and they were maried and raised a family-an, and raised a nice family. They uh, uh p-uh /ja,wsi/put, uh, him in charge of, of the school and going a.long and then he hastened(?) to the little town in which I live at the present time, which is Crittenden. He taught here for quite some time, It was, uh, uh at one time an academy and they did have some advanced school work in it an, uh, advancement would gradually CGl'l lle into the schools, So, he worked in this school and later, by some means or other he moved to another village about, uh, five or six miles from here to a school and taught school there for quite some time. He, uh, later then moved to the county seat to1'11!1 and li!!.s principal of the high school and had apparently perfect discipline, There was some interesting things that goes a.long with this that makes you wonder and did :make me wonder when I was brought so close to it as a, as a young man, or as a boy, really, and I had never seen, uh, the outline of a book, and one being prepared for publication and everything in place for the editor to take and to write it up. Well, when new things came in, I would be informed on this and told about it-what it was and where he had been and where he got his information in, uh, in regard to what would be put in the, in the book when it was, uh, ready for publication, Be showed me the pictures and, and in different, uh, stages and different, uh, hair cuts and so on and, uh, I was thouroughly convinced--same man. And, uh, if I had to yet, I would have ,to say that it was a picture of the same man. Now, whether they was taken under, uh, certain circW!l!ltancea in regard to, th same person or individual or at different times, I, I wouldn't know, Now, in the background of this, a few incidents which are hearsay and which, uh, some tell me and they would declare it to be the truth, 23 that when they came to the death of Lincoln, that page and that part of history was al-ys skipped. And, uh, one other interesting thing was about, uh, his youngest daughter. After she would get angry with him she could stomp her feet and eay, "old John Wilkes Booth". And, of course, that could be easily done by most any of our children, I guess, as it might have been with, with him. The, uh, story then goes about a tnmk that was there and everybody anticipated that the tM.illk and the cane that he had would later tell the story. But, you Ci!n eee how th-that would never, never, never be let kn@wn anything a.bout it because if you would follow back through the la.w, every point that we have discussed had been covered by law and proven untrue. The uh, uh challenge then is to our own thinking and our OWll imagination as to what might have happened, what could have happened and, uh, then, in your own heart and <m conviction is to is this 110 or is that so--which would be related, uh, to any part of life. Now, uh, l pauseJ this fwnily is--theys a good family. They've made good friends and married good people apparently and still live in, uh, in the neighborhood--or not immediate neighborhood. I don't !mow exactly where they might live. Stop, l pauseJ Now, Ive left out some things that I thought I might put in as excerpts. Uh, the, uh-you might start this--the, uh, question of discipline in his classroom -s never questioned. Uh, he had no loud voice to rect-correct a child or tell em what to do or what not to do, and his foot was very llmall but it .would pe.t on the floor, uh [" pats foot on floor six timesJ 11nd he would point right at the one that -s disturbing 11nd would sa.y, "come, come" L-:points finger as he talksJ and that would be about the only correction that would be given to any student that was in the, in the classroom and generally that was all he needed. cause the ordlllr "come, come, come" L-finger pointingJ and at you stopped the whole disorder, Stop. The same ankle that Booth broke when he jumped from the b&lcony where the President was seated as the President was slWllped over and when he landed on the stage was exactly the same ankle that was broken by this rock paddy and, uh, and that was one of the surest evidence of 'lff/f friend who followed through with this all the time knew that that's who did it and that was one of his surest sign. And, uh, he thought for a long time he would get it published but, as we have mentioned, since the court had closed all these outs it ma.de it impossible, then, for any book company to uh, uh as-asign their name to it because they would be subject to liability from the family, The family could do it. Interviewer: "Did you ever hear the story from other people-other than this man?" Mr, Belew: "Hear these stories f'rll)m others? Yes." Intel'Viewer: "It was in the community?" Mr. Belew: was the way it happened. It was generally understood that, that that People just believed it. As to whether, uh, they all believed the same thing was wrong or not, why, it was really no way of telling as to the truth of it--whether he really was the one or whether he waant the one. Same heighth, same color hair, same cut or hair, same moustache. And, uh, if I had the pictures and, uh, you crossed them with me I couldn't identify one from the other. And this was brought about by visiting back up in the area where the family was raised. Now then, uh, Booth's brother was a genius as a Shakespearean, uh, play artist. Uh, Booth was, uh an elocutionist and, uh, an expert reader and, uh, highly intelligent when it comes to work in the schools. 25 Those would be a.bout the highest points that I know in, in regard to it." Interviewer: "Did they ever know where the, uh, Booth a.round here had his education?" Mr. Belew: "Did they know what?" Interviewer: "Where he got his education." Mr. Belew: 11I think that they knew where his education came from, Of course, it was under an assumed name here. Now, I haven't given you the name of the person that was accused of being John Wilkes Booth but, uh, Proffessor ["name erased by request of Mr. BelewJ was up there and found where he was born and apparently found that it was the same family and his brothers and sisters and he identified them and found them to, to be his brothers and sisters. So, those a.re the things that come a.long, you know, and make you think for sure that that's it. But, the court has proven not--mista.ken identity. 11 Interviewer: "His brothers were the same as Booth's brothers?" Mr. Belew: "His fam, his brother was a famous Booth Shakespearean artist player--made his livin that a.way. He was, he was really, uh, a Shakespearean artist. Booth was a, was a artist too, and he could, uh, he could just-you could be spell-bound by listening to him read and he didn't take the, he didn't take the Shakespear book, he, he started reading to you without it. If it was a Shakespear play he didn't have to refer back to the, to the book, he started quoting and, and carried on with the conversation waiting for you to answer the other, other, uh, players pa.rt and followed through with it. So, I cant think of any other things really, right now, and uh .. Interviewer: "You never--dicl you ever read this book? 11 Mr. Belew: "l had no chance to read the book--only excerpts when 26 he woul.d have it at school and when he'd have new articles that he wanted to print in it and he thought was interesting to me and would tell me about it. But, I never, never did get to read it straight through as a, as a book. He, uh, passed away quite a while beforehand and I made an effort to find his wife to see if I coul.d get a copy or it that, that-thought I might read the outline or it that he had, but, never was able to do it. So, I dont know the full story of it." 27 The home of Mr, Belew 28 Pictures of Mr. Belew 29 I was unable to find motifs to fit the stories I collected. For the stories told by Mr. Record, I consulted the booke by Thompson, Baughman, and Aa:me-Thompson, skimming many sections and concentrating mainly on the sections concerning the clever man and the trickster. I thought these sections would most closely parallel the type story this man told. Booth, in the first three stories Mr, Record told, seemed to fit into the role of trickster very well until I began looking at the stories told there. These, I found, did not fit the mold of the character portrayed in his stories at all. Having failed at my first attempt, I began looking at the sections having to do with the clever man, I hoped to find there not only my first three stories but also my last two, dealing with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. After a lengthy search, I came to the conclusion that they were not there. I was rather disillusioned at this because I felt my first three stories, especially, should have been included in one of the collections. I managed to keep an eye open for something resembling the hunting story told by Mr. Record in the sections on the trickster and the clever man. When I could not locate it in either of these sections, I began looking in the hunting story section. The stories there were not at all like the one I had collected. My final story, told by Mr, Belew, was not to be found in the reference books either. In fact, none of the sections seemed to resemble the story at all. This I attributed partly to the legend-like structure of the story. 31 I am not sure why the stories in ll!Y collection were not in one of these books, Maybe it is because they are only known locally in these small towns. At any rats, because of their oral transmission and old age, I am sure they can be called folktales and could concievably come into a motif index some day. 32 -RELEASE~ By letting us collect your traditi.ons~-stor7es, sonzs~ music9 remembrances, or beliefs of eerlier daye--you ha,, rr::de a valuable contribution to preserving and understanding Sout,,ern history, and especially the way of life of your col!',nuaity, Becaus,, you have given unselfishly of your time to do this, t::2e Geoq;ia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preserving these traditions, wants to protect your rights to this material by guaranteeing that it will not be used for unscrupulous commercial profits~ Ry signing this sheet, you are giving us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people who are interested can understand how life was in the old days, If you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy, Thank you for the time you have given to help us record a heritage that is an important part of American life. Signed Address Agent of Georgia Folklore Archives,_ __ ,4_J1..2 ..,fc.&,.,._.e:.-__)' -';$."'~"':.e"""!,::,/.a;iJ..,__ ____ Additional Witness, ______ _,.(,=~~=~=""'~~=--5fj.--.!A...'-"{J'7.c,__G'i!~~=--'--"'~--- Georgia Folklore Archives c/o Professor John Tiurrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georgia 30303 fa ,.,. -RELEASEBy letting us collect your traditions--storiess songs~ music, remembrances~ or beliefs of earlier days--you have made a valuable contribution to pre.serving and understanding Southern history1 and especially the way of life of your conmmnity. Because you have given unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georgia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preserving these traditions, wants to protect your rights to this material by guaranteeing that it will not be used for unscrupulous commercial profits Q By sign_ing this sheet, you are giving us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people who are interested can understand how life was in the old days. If you don t want your name to be. used, say so--we respect your right to privacy. Thank you for the time you have given to help us record a heritage that is an important part of American life. Signed l 4' ~;/ {)[. Agent of Georgia Georgia Folklore Archives c/o Professor John nurrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Address 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.