Willie Mae Anderson interview recording, 1995 June 19

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Mary Hebert	Just state your full name and tell me when and where you were born.	0:03
Willie Mae Anderson	Willie Mae Anderson.	0:05
Mary Hebert	Where were you born? Here in Summerton?	0:09
Willie Mae Anderson	No, in Lee County.	0:11
Mary Hebert	In Lake County? Where's that at?	0:12
Willie Mae Anderson	It's an area of South Carolina.	0:15
Mary Hebert	Oh, okay. When did you come to Summerton?	0:20
Willie Mae Anderson	I was here about April—	0:21
Mary Hebert	Of this year?	0:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Last year.	0:27
Mary Hebert	Last year?	0:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm.	0:27
Mary Hebert	When were you born? What's your birthday?	0:31
Willie Mae Anderson	October the 4th.	0:35
Mary Hebert	What year?	0:38
Willie Mae Anderson	'25, I think.	0:45
Mary Hebert	1925?	0:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	0:46
Mary Hebert	Did you live anywhere else other than Lake County?	0:49
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, not really live. I stayed in New York a while and different places.	0:54
Mary Hebert	When did you live in New York?	1:03
Willie Mae Anderson	About '70.	1:07
Mary Hebert	Why did you live there?	1:09
Willie Mae Anderson	Got tired of the running. Everything so fast in New York.	1:11
Mary Hebert	In New York?	1:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Excuse me.	1:19
Mary Hebert	Did you have family up there?	1:21
Willie Mae Anderson	I have a cousin.	1:23
Mary Hebert	Did you live with your cousin?	1:25
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	1:27
Mary Hebert	Yeah? What were your parents' names?	1:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	1:32
Mary Hebert	What were your parents' names?	1:32
Willie Mae Anderson	Marvin.	1:34
Mary Hebert	Melvin?	1:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Marvin.	1:37
Mary Hebert	Marvin?	1:37
Willie Mae Anderson	Marvin Henry.	1:40
Mary Hebert	Henry.	1:41
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	1:42
Mary Hebert	That was your maiden name, Henry?	1:42
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	1:45
Mary Hebert	And your mom?	1:45
Willie Mae Anderson	Marguerite.	1:47
Mary Hebert	Marguerite? What did they do for a living?	1:51
Willie Mae Anderson	Farmed.	1:52
Mary Hebert	Were they sharecroppers? Or did they own their own land?	1:54
Willie Mae Anderson	No, they don't own. They were sharecrop.	1:57
Mary Hebert	Who did they work for?	1:59
Willie Mae Anderson	The Carters.	2:01
Mary Hebert	When you were growing up, did you have to work on the farm?	2:04
Willie Mae Anderson	I pick a little cotton.	2:06
Mary Hebert	Did your mom work anywhere else or did she just work on the farm?	2:11
Willie Mae Anderson	No, she just worked on the farm.	2:14
Mary Hebert	What kind of things would you have to do? Pick cotton, did you have a garden?	2:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Chop the cotton, [indistinct 00:02:23] thin it out.	2:26
Mary Hebert	Did y'all have a garden or anything like that?	2:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah, we had— Most farmers had a garden where they grow their own things.	2:29
Mary Hebert	Did the children work in the garden or was that the moms only?	2:37
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. No, we had to go out and chop that grass down. Mind the garden. Or set out collards or whatever you got to plant. So it was something you do all the time out on the farm.	2:42
Mary Hebert	You always had work to do, huh?	2:57
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	2:58
Mary Hebert	What about cows and chickens and pigs?	2:59
Willie Mae Anderson	We had chickens. Cows out to graze.	3:02
Mary Hebert	Did you have to milk them every morning?	3:06
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, you have to milk them. Then you had chicken you had to feed and hogs you had to slop. So it always something to do out there.	3:07
Mary Hebert	Did you have brothers and sisters?	3:21
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I raised up with cousins. I didn't have any sisters or brother.	3:23
Mary Hebert	Did the cousins live in your parents' house or did you live with your cousins?	3:29
Willie Mae Anderson	I lived with my cousins and my parents didn't own where they lived, what you call it? It's not renting but you just stay while they work o the farm.	3:36
Mary Hebert	Did they move around a lot and work for different people?	3:51
Willie Mae Anderson	No, no. Just one group. Wasn't too much moving around.	3:57
Mary Hebert	Now did they live with the cousins too or just you lived with the cousins?	4:02
Willie Mae Anderson	I just lived with my cousins because they died when I was real small. So raise up. I had a lot of cousin [indistinct 00:04:21] All I got now is cousins.	4:15
Mary Hebert	How many cousins were there? How many of them?	4:23
Willie Mae Anderson	I don't know. I haven't count so many. But I got a lot of— Not many first cousin, but I got a lot of second and third cousin.	4:33
Mary Hebert	What were your aunt and uncle's name that you lived with?	4:37
Willie Mae Anderson	Lillie Bell Wilson.	4:46
Mary Hebert	What was the name?	4:57
Willie Mae Anderson	And Frierson. Lillie Bell Wilson and Frierson Wilson.	4:57
Mary Hebert	You were young when you went to go live with them?	4:57
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	4:59
Mary Hebert	What was the house that they lived in like? Can you describe it? Was it a four-room house? Or was it bigger than four rooms?	5:01
Willie Mae Anderson	It was four rooms. You had the kitchen, a place to sit, and a couple of bedrooms and you about had it, and kitchen.	5:14
Mary Hebert	So you shared the bedrooms with your cousins? Now did they work for, who was it, the Carters also? They worked for the same family as your parents?	5:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. That was a big farm, the Claren Carters.	5:39
Mary Hebert	How many other families lived on it?	5:46
Willie Mae Anderson	On the farm? Well, they had good many working.	5:49
Mary Hebert	Did the Carters treat y'all well?	6:04
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	6:05
Mary Hebert	Were they good—	6:05
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, they was.	6:05
Mary Hebert	Did they throw people off the farm a lot? Would they throw people off from time to time, make them leave? Would they make people leave?	6:08
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh, oh. No, no. Mm-mm. You stayed as long as you want to.	6:16
Mary Hebert	Would people move on though?	6:21
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. They leave if they find a better farm or making more cotton, something like that.	6:22
Mary Hebert	Now did you just work for the family picking cotton and chopping cotton?	6:29
Willie Mae Anderson	Well—	6:35
Mary Hebert	Did you hire your time out?	6:36
Willie Mae Anderson	Sometime when the [indistinct 00:06:39] finish, you hire yourself out to somebody else who had a farm.	6:38
Mary Hebert	Pardon me?	6:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Somebody else's farm and you hire yourself out after he finish picking cotton or chopping cotton and that keeps a little change coming in.	6:45
Mary Hebert	Did you get to keep that money you made or did it go to your family?	6:59
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. We keep that. If you old enough, you keep your own money. But if you're small, I guess you used to turn it over to the parent.	7:05
Mary Hebert	How old were you when you started working?	7:15
Willie Mae Anderson	I was 10 or 12, we would stay out in the field sometime. Didn't do nothing but playing while your parents were working.	7:26
Mary Hebert	Did you go to school?	7:32
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I was 11th grade when finished.	7:38
Mary Hebert	You went up to the 11th grade?	7:39
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	7:39
Mary Hebert	Oh, that's great. Was that as far as you could go?	7:42
Willie Mae Anderson	At the time, 7th grade was about as far as you could go at that time.	7:44
Mary Hebert	And you went to 11th?	7:48
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. But I moved county schools and they go up to the 11th. But [indistinct 00:07:58] 7th grade.	7:49
Mary Hebert	Did you have to walk to school every day?	8:03
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. No buses [indistinct 00:08:08]. You had to get out there in that cold and [indistinct 00:08:10].	8:04
Mary Hebert	Did you get to go to school as long as the White children did in a year?	8:11
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I don't think we did. Because we had to stop and pick, work in the fields and they didn't have to.	8:14
Mary Hebert	Did the Carters mind you going to school?	8:22
Willie Mae Anderson	No, they never said nothing, but it was certain rules they had that you had to get out there in the field.	8:25
Mary Hebert	They had rules?	8:34
Willie Mae Anderson	I mean, you go to school about three months and then— Excuse me. I don't know why I'm so choked up for.	8:37
Mary Hebert	Well, it's rainy outside.	8:47
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	8:50
Mary Hebert	So school was three months long?	8:51
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	8:53
Mary Hebert	Do you remember any of your teachers?	8:55
Willie Mae Anderson	I'm trying to think of my special one.	9:08
Mary Hebert	You had a special teacher?	9:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Her first name is Rosalie. I'm trying to think of her last name.	9:14
Mary Hebert	Why was she so special?	9:29
Willie Mae Anderson	She was just nice with me. You find some people just really nice and bring out the best in you.	9:31
Mary Hebert	Did you make good grades in her class?	9:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	9:43
Mary Hebert	Do you remember what she taught?	9:48
Willie Mae Anderson	She taught history and reading. Wasn't [indistinct 00:10:00]	9:53
Mary Hebert	Did your cousins get to go to high school too?	10:08
Willie Mae Anderson	They mostly was boys and you know how boys— They keep them in the field. They had to work, but they'd [indistinct 00:10:25] in a little schooling, not much.	10:12
Mary Hebert	When you went to the county school, did you have to walk to that school too or did someone bring you to school? When you went to the county school, high school?	10:30
Willie Mae Anderson	You had to walk each way.	10:40
Mary Hebert	You had to walk there too?	10:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	10:45
Mary Hebert	How far away was it?	10:46
Willie Mae Anderson	[indistinct 00:10:47]. I didn't live too far from the school.	10:46
Mary Hebert	You didn't live too far from the school? Excuse me, now I'm coughing too. Were there a lot of people in your classes in the county school?	10:47
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, it was [indistinct 00:11:09].	11:07
Mary Hebert	Were they sharecroppers' children too?	11:09
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. There were some owned their own little farms around.	11:16
Mary Hebert	Was your aunt and uncle involved in your going to school? Did they want you to get an education?	11:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah.	11:35
Mary Hebert	What kind of education did they have?	11:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Not much.	11:40
Mary Hebert	So they didn't— Do you remember your grandparents at all?	11:41
Willie Mae Anderson	I remember my grandmother. I didn't know my granddad.	11:55
Mary Hebert	What was her name?	11:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	11:58
Mary Hebert	Your—	11:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Carol Ann.	11:58
Mary Hebert	Callie?	11:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Carol Ann.	11:58
Mary Hebert	Carolyn? I'm sorry but—	11:58
Willie Mae Anderson	No, it's okay.	11:58
Mary Hebert	— floor cleaner's a little loud. Did she ever tell you stories about when she was growing up?	12:08
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	12:11
Mary Hebert	Do you remember any?	12:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Ghost stories.	12:13
Mary Hebert	She'd tell you ghost stories?	12:14
Willie Mae Anderson	She liked to tell ghost stories. I used to sit there and listen at night and go to bed, didn't go to sleep.	12:17
Mary Hebert	Did she live with your aunt and uncle too?	12:25
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, not far apart.	12:27
Mary Hebert	Just part of the time?	12:32
Willie Mae Anderson	We didn't live too far apart.	12:34
Mary Hebert	Who did she live with? Did she live alone?	12:38
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. At the time.	12:40
Mary Hebert	On the farm that y'all lived on?	12:40
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. But she didn't do too much on the farm.	12:49
Mary Hebert	She was older and they— What would she cook? Do you remember going over to her house and her cooking for you?	12:52
Willie Mae Anderson	Collard greens, cornbread and peas and beans.	13:08
Mary Hebert	Would she grow them out in her garden?	13:11
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, collards. Then they had hogs to kill and that was the meat. You had plenty of ham really, good ham.	13:13
Mary Hebert	Would y'all smoke it yourselves?	13:24
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	13:25
Mary Hebert	Was there a smokehouse or something?	13:25
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Hang 'em up and [indistinct 00:13:30]	13:26
Mary Hebert	For the whole farm or just for—	13:30
Willie Mae Anderson	Just for the family.	13:31
Mary Hebert	Just for the family? Did every family have one?	13:34
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm? Yeah, everybody about had a smokehouse. They kill hogs and hang them up and then cure, you know.	13:36
Mary Hebert	If a family killed a hog, would other people come and help?	13:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah. They help each other.	13:50
Mary Hebert	Would you give a little bit of meat to whoever came?	14:01
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. Give them a [indistinct 00:14:03]. Give some folks the supper or whatever it is. And when they kill, you get back. It was nice living on the farm.	14:02
Mary Hebert	When you went out to play, was there a lot of time for play with the other kids that lived around you?	14:14
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	14:19
Mary Hebert	Did you have playtime where you could go to play with the kids that lived on the other farms? Or was it mostly work?	14:22
Willie Mae Anderson	Mostly work because the other farm be so far and the sun out there high and you can't be walking in the sun. So it was fun. You played ball and skip rope and jump rope.	14:28
Mary Hebert	Were there any special days that [indistinct 00:14:50] did you all get to go out and have more fun than you did during the rest of the year?	14:48
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. They'd have 4th of July.	14:56
Mary Hebert	Were there picnics and stuff like that?	15:04
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Had a picnic. [indistinct 00:15:09] from the school, go out and have picnic. It wasn't as bad as you think it was. But just that working out there in the hot sun.	15:07
Mary Hebert	So that's what you spent most of your time doing, working?	15:26
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	15:28
Mary Hebert	What about after you finished high school, did you keep on working on the farm or did you go on to work somewhere else?	15:31
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I worked somewhere else, after I grow up. 'Cause I worked for the Shaws in Sumter for 27 years.	15:37
Mary Hebert	For who did you work?	15:46
Willie Mae Anderson	The Shaws. Mary Shaw.	15:47
Mary Hebert	Mary Shaw.	15:47
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	15:47
Mary Hebert	You were her maid?	15:53
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	15:53
Mary Hebert	Did you cook for her too?	15:54
Willie Mae Anderson	I cooked for her. About one meal a day because [indistinct 00:16:00] eat breakfast when I get there. And I didn't to stay for supper. I just cooked one meal.	15:55
Mary Hebert	What was the day like when you went to the Shaws? Did you have to go in through her back door?	16:10
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	16:17
Mary Hebert	Did you have to go in through her back door to get to her house?	16:17
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh no, no. I mean, the back door is near the kitchen. I didn't have to go in there. But they was nice to me. It was just like another family because [indistinct 00:16:33] been around them so long.	16:17
Mary Hebert	Did you help her raise her children and that kind of thing?	16:35
Willie Mae Anderson	They didn't have but two. Maryann and Shaw. I mean, Maryann and [indistinct 00:16:37] They were most grown when I went there.	16:36
Mary Hebert	They were grown?	16:40
Willie Mae Anderson	I mean, they was most grown, just beginning high school.	16:47
Mary Hebert	Did she give you things like clothes and stuff?	16:56
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. They bought me most of the things that I used to have because [indistinct 00:17:06] things.	17:00
Mary Hebert	She'd give them to you—	17:06
Willie Mae Anderson	She would give me some present. It never would be raggedy or torn up. Some people give you something when they don't want to use it theirself.	17:11
Mary Hebert	But she'd give you nice things?	17:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Things that she would use. Yeah. Since I been out here, she been sending me the Item every— for a year.	17:23
Mary Hebert	What did you say?	17:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Item. The Item paper. She ordered it and had them send it down her to read.	17:36
Mary Hebert	Oh, the newspaper?	17:42
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. So I can keep up with Sumter. What's going on in Sumter.	17:43
Mary Hebert	So you worked for her in Sumter?	17:45
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. That's where I worked, Sumter.	17:45
Mary Hebert	Would you eat at her house?	17:55
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I ate down there [indistinct 00:18:00] whenever she eat, I ate. That's the way it happened.	18:00
Mary Hebert	Would she help you—	18:07
Willie Mae Anderson	She used to tell everybody I'm one of the family. She used to love me better she loved [indistinct 00:18:13] to call her husband.	18:08
Mary Hebert	Did you feel like one of her family?	18:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. They were nice people.	18:17
Mary Hebert	Did you have children at that time?	18:31
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	18:36
Mary Hebert	Were you married and had children?	18:36
Willie Mae Anderson	I didn't have no children. I was married.	18:36
Mary Hebert	Did your husband mind you going off to work every day?	18:36
Willie Mae Anderson	He'd be going too so there wouldn't be nobody.	18:37
Mary Hebert	Where did he work?	18:45
Willie Mae Anderson	He did roofing.	18:45
Mary Hebert	Where?	18:48
Willie Mae Anderson	Roofing.	18:49
Mary Hebert	Oh, he was—	18:50
Willie Mae Anderson	He was a roofer.	18:51
Mary Hebert	Did you ever go to church?	19:00
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. United Methodist. [indistinct 00:19:07] in Elliott.	19:03
Mary Hebert	What?	19:05
Willie Mae Anderson	In Elliott, South Carolina. In the country.	19:12
Mary Hebert	You went to church out there?	19:14
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm.	19:15
Mary Hebert	What about when you went in Sumter, did you—	19:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh no, when I was in Sumter, I went to— That was my home church. So I still go.	19:19
Mary Hebert	So you go out to Elliott to go to church?	19:24
Willie Mae Anderson	It's about 17 miles.	19:27
Mary Hebert	Oh, so y'all would drive every Sunday?	19:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	19:31
Mary Hebert	Now how many days a week did you work for Ms. Shaw?	19:32
Willie Mae Anderson	Five.	19:33
Mary Hebert	Five?	19:33
Willie Mae Anderson	Five days.	19:33
Mary Hebert	Monday through—	19:33
Willie Mae Anderson	Through Friday. Mm-hmm.	19:33
Mary Hebert	Did you do things like canning for her, like beans and peaches and those kinds of things?	19:41
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	19:44
Mary Hebert	Would she buy them from the market?	19:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah.	19:48
Mary Hebert	Would she ever help you in the kitchen?	19:50
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah, she helped me a lot in the kitchen. I was doing something else and we were running late, get right in there or cook a meal. Something I can't stop doing right then, she'd get in there and cook.	19:51
Mary Hebert	What time would you go there in the morning?	20:11
Willie Mae Anderson	9:00.	20:20
Mary Hebert	Until how late would you stay?	20:28
Willie Mae Anderson	At around 4:00.	20:28
Mary Hebert	9:00 to 4:00. Would you go to the market for her to do shopping?	20:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm. She did her own shopping.	20:31
Mary Hebert	She did her own shopping?	20:32
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm.	20:32
Mary Hebert	What about your shopping? When you'd go to the market, where would you go shopping?	20:39
Willie Mae Anderson	Winn-Dixie.	20:41
Mary Hebert	Winn-Dixie.	20:42
Willie Mae Anderson	Or Piggly Wiggly because those two is close to me. Did you catch that from me?	20:43
Mary Hebert	No, no, it's the stuff they're spraying. Think back to before the civil rights movement and with segregation [indistinct 00:21:08]. Do you remember going shopping then before— They had the Winn-Dixies and the Piggly Wigglies—	20:55
Willie Mae Anderson	They've also had those side stores. They didn't have [indistinct 00:21:21] like little pick-up stores. You'd go there and shop.	21:12
Mary Hebert	And you'd go there and buy your stuff?	21:29
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	21:30
Mary Hebert	Did you go to Black-owned stores or would you—	21:31
Willie Mae Anderson	No, no.	21:32
Mary Hebert	You would go to Whites?	21:35
Willie Mae Anderson	I mean, yeah, some of them, they have Black and White. Then if you see something on sale—	21:36
Mary Hebert	You'd go—	21:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Go to that one.	21:46
Mary Hebert	So it didn't matter who owned the store?	21:48
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm.	21:52
Mary Hebert	Just go wherever it was cheaper?	21:52
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	21:53
Mary Hebert	When you were in the store, one of those stores, and a White customer came in, did you have to wait on them to be served?	21:55
Willie Mae Anderson	That happened to me one time. That was McCullough, that was a 10-cent store. I was ahead of the lady and she got [indistinct 00:22:17] walk around and come. And that girl wait on her and I was standing in line long time. And I walked out. I put the thing what I had on the counter and walk on out the door. That wasn't right. Because if she's supposed to pick up her stuff and come ahead of me, sit it on the counter.	22:05
Mary Hebert	And so you left?	22:44
Willie Mae Anderson	And I leave. I put the things back on where I got them from and went on out the front door.	22:45
Mary Hebert	Did you ever go back there again?	22:50
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, I went back, but at that time, just because it wasn't right.	22:51
Mary Hebert	What about movie theaters? Did you ever go to the movies?	22:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	23:00
Mary Hebert	During this earlier time when segregation—	23:03
Willie Mae Anderson	You had to sit in the back.	23:07
Mary Hebert	You had to sit in the back of the theater or the balcony?	23:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, I must have went to a Black theater.	23:14
Mary Hebert	In Sumter?	23:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	23:17
Mary Hebert	Which one?	23:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Lyric. Called it the Lyric Theater.	23:19
Mary Hebert	The Lyric Theater?	23:22
Willie Mae Anderson	But I did go to the Sumter but we had to go upstairs. You couldn't sit down in the lobby.	23:25
Mary Hebert	So you chose to go to the Black-owned theater where you could sit wherever you wanted?	23:32
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, whatever movie playing, if I wanted to see it, I'd go. I don't mind sitting in the balcony.	23:34
Mary Hebert	What about when you went to buy clothes? Did you buy a lot of your clothes or you said Ms. Shaw gave them—	23:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Ms. Shaw gave them— Buy clothes and give them to me.	23:51
Mary Hebert	So you didn't go shopping?	23:56
Willie Mae Anderson	I didn't do too much shopping at the time.	23:56
Mary Hebert	What about beauty shop? Did you ever go to the beauty parlor and have your hair done?	24:02
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	24:06
Mary Hebert	Would you go to the beauty parlor and have your hair done?	24:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I had one, a girl I used to go every two weeks, get my hair done.	24:09
Mary Hebert	Were there a lot of other women there?	24:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	24:18
Mary Hebert	Were there a lot of other women there?	24:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah.	24:20
Mary Hebert	Was there a lot of gossip and stuff, talking about what was going on in the community?	24:23
Willie Mae Anderson	That's everywhere. That's everywhere, you find people gossiping. I used to work for the Green and [indistinct 00:24:46]. When she got to the [indistinct 00:24:49] she'd come back talking, he said, "Oh, you must have been in that dang beauty parlor this morning." That's where he'd get all the gossip. (laughs)	24:37
Mary Hebert	My mom said [indistinct 00:25:05] It's still that way. You mentioned newspapers earlier. Which newspapers would you read?	25:04
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh, I read— Mary has the [indistinct 00:25:22] and everything. She has the State. And I read any of them, but I used to take the Item.	25:17
Mary Hebert	The Item?	25:31
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	25:31
Mary Hebert	Did you ever read the Chicago Defender or Pittsburgh Courier or any of those newspapers?	25:35
Willie Mae Anderson	No, we didn't.	25:39
Mary Hebert	Was the Item a Black-owned newspaper?	25:41
Willie Mae Anderson	No, it's White.	25:43
Mary Hebert	It's White? But that's the one you—	25:45
Willie Mae Anderson	Osteen Davies print that.	25:45
Mary Hebert	Who?	25:52
Willie Mae Anderson	Osteen Davies.	25:53
Mary Hebert	Osteen Davies?	25:54
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	25:54
Mary Hebert	Were there any gathering places where people went for fun? Like restaurants, street corners? Those kinds of places?	26:02
Willie Mae Anderson	I used to live right in front of a piccolo joint.	26:12
Mary Hebert	Really? Was it loud on the weekends?	26:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. They had a parking lot and they used to knock my fence down all the time. Back into it. But didn't have too much trouble.	26:27
Mary Hebert	You didn't have too much— Would you and your husband go sometimes?	26:34
Willie Mae Anderson	Over at the shop? I never did go over there much because I didn't like all that loud noise.	26:39
Mary Hebert	You mentioned that you lived in New York for a while. Did you travel?	26:47
Willie Mae Anderson	I worked. I was working.	26:54
Mary Hebert	Where'd you live?	26:54
Willie Mae Anderson	I lived with my cousin.	26:54
Mary Hebert	In New York?	26:55
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	26:56
Mary Hebert	Did you travel a lot before moving to New York?	26:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Not too much.	27:01
Mary Hebert	Did your husband go up to New York with you?	27:03
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm. He stayed home and worked. We was trying to pay for our house [indistinct 00:27:10] I went off to help pay for the house.	27:05
Mary Hebert	So y'all bought your own house?	27:15
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. [indistinct 00:27:21] get to go off so you can get something where you work.	27:22
Mary Hebert	So you earned a lot more money in New York?	27:25
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, there been more jobs. Not more money really, and they'd afford to pay you a little better than you did.	27:29
Mary Hebert	What kind of work did you do in New York?	27:40
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	27:41
Mary Hebert	What kind of work did you do in New York?	27:42
Willie Mae Anderson	Just domestic work.	27:44
Mary Hebert	In New York also?	27:44
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	27:44
Mary Hebert	Did you work for a family or like a hotel or— ?	27:50
Willie Mae Anderson	I worked for a family.	27:52
Mary Hebert	You worked for a family? How did they treat you?	27:53
Willie Mae Anderson	They were good.	27:56
Mary Hebert	Just like Ms. Shaw, and you think there wasn't much difference [indistinct 00:28:00].	27:57
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	27:58
Mary Hebert	Did your husband own his own business down here, his own roofing business or he worked for someone else?	28:04
Willie Mae Anderson	He worked for somebody else.	28:09
Mary Hebert	Who'd he work for?	28:10
Willie Mae Anderson	What was the name of that company? Trying to remember the name. It was a what-you-call-them. I'm trying to think of the name, the man's name that—	28:14
Mary Hebert	He was a White man?	28:14
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	28:14
Mary Hebert	Were most of the employees Black?	28:40
Willie Mae Anderson	No, he had Whites he had working too.	28:42
Mary Hebert	Did they—	28:45
Willie Mae Anderson	[indistinct 00:28:47] that old tar. [indistinct 00:28:53].	28:48
Mary Hebert	So your husband worked with tarring the roofs?	28:56
Willie Mae Anderson	Like they put the tar on top. You can get so messed up in that old tar. I had to make him change his clothes before he go in the house.	28:59
Mary Hebert	So he'd come home covered in it?	29:09
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. [indistinct 00:29:14] sit down. We didn't have no clean seats.	29:10
Mary Hebert	How'd you get that clean?	29:21
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	29:23
Mary Hebert	How'd you clean the tar out of his clothes?	29:23
Willie Mae Anderson	He usually used one piece until he— Then he'd take it and put it in the wash pot.	29:25
Mary Hebert	Did you have to wash by hand?	29:33
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I had to wash by hand. In a [indistinct 00:29:39] bowl.	29:36
Mary Hebert	What was your day like? You went to work for the Shaws and then did you come home and have to cook dinner and clean your own house?	29:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, my husband helped me. Whoever get home first, cook dinner.	29:52
Mary Hebert	Would cook dinner.	30:01
Willie Mae Anderson	Or start it [indistinct 00:30:05]. But it wasn't so bad.	30:01
Mary Hebert	Would Mrs. Shaw send food home sometimes with you for dinner?	30:14
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	30:18
Mary Hebert	Would Mrs. Shaw send food home for dinner?	30:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Would he be home?	30:20
Mary Hebert	Would she send food home with you—	30:21
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh, oh. Yeah. He was sick, when he got sick. She used to care [indistinct 00:30:30] him before her husband come home.	30:24
Mary Hebert	Did she bring you food before her husband?	30:29
Willie Mae Anderson	Bring me, to care my husband, when he got sick.	30:31
Mary Hebert	She would take care of him? She would—	30:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Go take food and care. That was just a nice family, Christian family.	30:41
Mary Hebert	Was that the only family you worked for in Sumter?	30:47
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I worked for the Nelsons. Who else did I work? I worked for the Nelsons, they were nice. Everybody I worked for was real nice to me.	30:50
Mary Hebert	Was Mrs. Shaw upset when you left to go to New York?	31:05
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	31:07
Mary Hebert	Was Mrs. Shaw upset when you left to go to New York?	31:10
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. But she knew I was trying to get a house built and had to go off, try to get something [indistinct 00:31:17].	31:13
Mary Hebert	Did you go back and work for her when you got back?	31:20
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah.	31:22
Mary Hebert	You said you didn't travel much before going up to New York?	31:30
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm.	31:32
Mary Hebert	What kind of neighborhood did you live in in Sumter? Can you describe it? What kind of houses?	31:41
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, some of them were dilapidated but other than [indistinct 00:31:53].	31:46
Mary Hebert	[indistinct 00:31:53].	31:52
Willie Mae Anderson	But we had a whole street there called Harris Street, everybody on that street almost owned their own home. But rest of them were renting, people that rent didn't keep up the house like it's yours.	31:57
Mary Hebert	So did you live on Harris Street?	32:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I live on Harris. We were about the second family that lived on Harris, built on Harris Street.	32:13
Mary Hebert	Were there businesses around, Black-owned businesses?	32:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Ms. Sootie. Sootie had, like I told you, this joint. And it wasn't too— because we didn't live too far from the Winn-Dixie and Piggly Wiggly. We could walk.	32:24
Mary Hebert	So you could walk to there? What about clothing stores and things like that?	32:36
Willie Mae Anderson	We had to go down Main Street [indistinct 00:32:45]. We wasn't that far from that [indistinct 00:32:50].	32:42
Mary Hebert	Were there banks around that you—	32:50
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Bank was about a block.	32:53
Mary Hebert	Was it a White-owned bank?	32:53
Willie Mae Anderson	I don't know. It's the NBC Bank.	33:04
Mary Hebert	Is that where you had your loan for the house?	33:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	33:09
Mary Hebert	That's where your house loan was out of?	33:10
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	33:10
Mary Hebert	Do you remember when the civil rights movement started and all this controversy started?	33:14
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	33:19
Mary Hebert	How did that impact you?	33:19
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, it didn't bother me.	33:21
Mary Hebert	Did you belong to the NAACP?	33:26
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. No, it didn't bother me because I wondered why people would get all upset over nothing. Because that too was [indistinct 00:33:43] so why bother?	33:33
Mary Hebert	Were the Shaws upset about it?	33:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, they never did talk to me about it.	33:49
Mary Hebert	They didn't talk about it?	33:51
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	33:51
Mary Hebert	Can you remember the first time you voted?	33:54
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	33:57
Mary Hebert	When was that?	34:03
Willie Mae Anderson	When I was a [indistinct 00:34:05].	34:04
Mary Hebert	Did you have to take a test to register?	34:08
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, around in them times, if you owned some property over $300, you—	34:12
Mary Hebert	You could register?	34:15
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	34:15
Mary Hebert	So you and your husband got to register?	34:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	34:20
Mary Hebert	Did he build your house himself?	34:23
Willie Mae Anderson	No, he did it with carpenter. I mean, contractor really.	34:25
Mary Hebert	Do you remember how much it cost?	34:31
Willie Mae Anderson	I really don't.	34:33
Mary Hebert	You don't? Excuse me. You mentioned before that you walked out of that store when they wouldn't serve you first. Did you do any other things like that to kind of oppose what was going on in your own little way?	34:46
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I didn't. I just— I don't be [indistinct 00:35:02] just walked out when I see that that wasn't right. Because for her to come, get her packet and come stand ahead of me, well, that was just wrong.	34:58
Mary Hebert	Would your aunt do anything like that?	35:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	35:18
Mary Hebert	Had your aunt or uncle did anything like that?	35:19
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm.	35:21
Mary Hebert	Do you remember any controversies in the communities and stuff like bus boycotts or voter registration schools or things like that?	35:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm. I don't remember.	35:48
Mary Hebert	What about when Clarendon County had the problems with the school board or the school desegregation, did you hear about that in Sumter?	35:50
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. It didn't phase me because I didn't have no children. I guess if I had children going to the school—	36:00
Mary Hebert	I keep on having this question come to me and it goes away. I'm trying to think of it. Oh, did your husband fight in World War II?	36:17
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah. He fought. Well, he wasn't make no big major or nothing.	36:36
Mary Hebert	Where'd he go?	36:37
Willie Mae Anderson	He went in Germany or Europe somewhere. I don't know.	36:41
Mary Hebert	Would he sent you letters?	36:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Yeah. He write. But that's something he never would talk about much.	36:47
Mary Hebert	He wouldn't talk about the war? Where'd you meet him, your husband?	36:54
Willie Mae Anderson	Right there in Sumter.	36:59
Mary Hebert	In Sumter?	37:00
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	37:01
Mary Hebert	So you were working in Sumter when you met him?	37:01
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	37:02
Mary Hebert	And did y'all get married at the church in Elliott? The Methodist church in Elliott?	37:05
Willie Mae Anderson	We just went to the courthouse. It wasn't no wedding. (laughs)	37:07
Mary Hebert	So you went to the courthouse and got married?	37:16
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	37:17
Mary Hebert	What year did you get married?	37:17
Willie Mae Anderson	'46.	37:17
Mary Hebert	So after the war?	37:20
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	37:23
Mary Hebert	You knew him before the war?	37:24
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	37:27
Mary Hebert	When y'all were dating, did y'all go to the movies and things like that? What did y'all do when you were dating?	37:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Wasn't no place to be. To the movies.	37:31
Mary Hebert	Restaurants?	37:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	37:40
Mary Hebert	Did y'all go the Silver Moon Café? Isn't that one of the restaurants in Sumter?	37:42
Willie Mae Anderson	No. We never hang out with most of the piccolo joints and stuff like that.	37:42
Mary Hebert	Well, how did—	37:49
Willie Mae Anderson	We just, we could go to movies.	37:49
Mary Hebert	How did you meet him?	37:53
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, I used to stay with his brother. See, his brother married my aunt.	37:57
Mary Hebert	Oh.	38:12
Willie Mae Anderson	And he used to come around the house. And we met.	38:13
Mary Hebert	So when you moved to Sumter, you lived with your aunt and her husband?	38:18
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	38:20
Mary Hebert	Did she work also? Was she a domestic?	38:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. She used to do domestic work with Schneider.	38:24
Mary Hebert	With Mrs. Schneider?	38:28
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	38:31
Mary Hebert	How did you find your job with the Shaws?	38:31
Willie Mae Anderson	Somebody— Shaw used to know I was working for them, with the Nelson. Ms. Nelson used to fix hair, so it was so far for me to— In that time, she'd be fixing hair and I'd be ready to go home. So she got— A lady told—	38:34
Mary Hebert	That Ms. Shaw needed a housekeeper?	38:57
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	39:00
Mary Hebert	So Mrs. Nelson was a beautician?	39:04
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. She was a beautician.	39:06
Mary Hebert	You said she lived far from where you—	39:09
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah.	39:10
Mary Hebert	Would she come and pick you up for work?	39:12
Willie Mae Anderson	She lived out in there in Shaw Field and I lived in Sumter.	39:13
Mary Hebert	Oh, she lived out where the Air Force base is?	39:17
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah.	39:19
Mary Hebert	Would she come and get you—	39:20
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, yeah. If I don't have a ride or you got somebody to come pick me up in the morning. The person that works out there, a man that worked out there Shaw Field.	39:21
Mary Hebert	So he'd come pick you up?	39:34
Willie Mae Anderson	Come pick me up at my house.	39:34
Mary Hebert	Would she bring you back at night?	39:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	39:36
Mary Hebert	Did your husband own a car?	39:38
Willie Mae Anderson	At one time.	39:41
Mary Hebert	But not—	39:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Not regular.	39:46
Mary Hebert	Earlier we were talking about you growing up on the farm and that was during the Depression, wasn't it?	39:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. They don't pay that [indistinct 00:40:07] get depressed.	39:51
Mary Hebert	It was depressed—	40:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Do what you had to do. Ain't going [indistinct 00:40:07].	40:07
Mary Hebert	Was the times harder in the '30s than they had been?	40:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Hm?	40:08
Mary Hebert	Was it harder in the '30s with the—	40:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, ain't no harder really.	40:12
Mary Hebert	It was hard the whole time?	40:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm.	40:12
Mary Hebert	I want to ask you about medical care and hospitals during that time, during the '40s and '50s? Did you ever go to the doctor and—	40:42
Willie Mae Anderson	No, I was lucky enough that I didn't have to go to the doctor too much. But we carry insurance, you got a policy and they pay off. Wouldn't be that much, but it pay off.	40:50
Mary Hebert	If you'd have gotten sick, was there a hospital that you could've gone to?	41:06
Willie Mae Anderson	Tuomey Hospital.	41:10
Mary Hebert	Tuomey Hospital?	41:10
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	41:11
Mary Hebert	Was it a segregated hospital?	41:11
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm.	41:13
Mary Hebert	During the civil rights movement, I know that the White Citizens Council was prominent here in this area.	41:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	41:35
Mary Hebert	They would put signs in businesses. Would you shop at those businesses that had these White Citizens Council signs in the windows?	41:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, I never lived in—	41:44
Mary Hebert	Oh, [indistinct 00:41:47]	41:44
Willie Mae Anderson	— up there. I come here when I'm in the nurse home.	41:44
Mary Hebert	Right. But you don't remember in Sumter, things like that?	41:44
Willie Mae Anderson	No.	41:44
Mary Hebert	No? I guess Summerton was different. Was there anything else you want to talk about that I haven't touched on, that you remember from when you were growing up?	41:57
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, the children in that time, they'd take whatever they got and have a good time. Just have a good time. We used to have, what do you call it? Drums and stuff and you could hear them out playing.	42:12
Mary Hebert	That was when you were a child?	42:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	42:33
Mary Hebert	Was there a lot of singing and that kind of music? You mentioned the drums, was there singing that went along with that?	42:35
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	42:35
Mary Hebert	You were talking about playing with the other kids around—	42:42
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah.	42:45
Mary Hebert	What happened if y'all got in trouble at someone else's house? Did their parents punish you?	42:46
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. They tell your mother.	42:52
Mary Hebert	And then they'd tell your aunt and uncle?	42:56
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. You just couldn't do certain things. In that time, parents didn't have to whip you, the other grownup person would whip you. That's why the children today, they're not scared of nobody.	42:58
Mary Hebert	So it was whoever—	43:19
Willie Mae Anderson	That was whoever talked with your mother, one time, they can beat you [indistinct 00:43:24] and you better not go home and tell.	43:20
Mary Hebert	You'd get in trouble again if you tell? How old did someone have to be to be able to punish you?	43:29
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, somebody that grown. Grown person. They talk to you and you don't listen, then they just grab you up and switch you. And you better not go home and tell it, you get another one.	43:35
Mary Hebert	You were talking about having to work with cotton. How many pounds did you have to pick?	43:56
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm?	43:59
Mary Hebert	How many pounds of cotton were you supposed to pick a day?	43:59
Willie Mae Anderson	Oh, oh. I wonder if it's as high 200. [indistinct 00:44:00].	43:59
Mary Hebert	So you picked a bunch of—	43:59
Willie Mae Anderson	I had a— 200 pound. That was my best.	43:59
Mary Hebert	How was that compared to other people? 200's a lot?	43:59
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Because I had— Some would get over 100 and I had a sister-in-law, she'd pick a bale a day.	44:00
Mary Hebert	Really?	44:39
Willie Mae Anderson	She'd pick over 500 pound.	44:39
Mary Hebert	Did your aunt and uncle have to do extra work because you were going to school? Were they required to pick your load during the day because you you were working hard, you didn't go to school during picking time?	44:40
Willie Mae Anderson	During cotton-picking time.	44:50
Mary Hebert	You didn't go to school?	44:53
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-mm.	44:53
Mary Hebert	When did you find time to work in the garden?	45:01
Willie Mae Anderson	Late in the afternoon or early in the morning, you get up early in the morning and go in the garden and—	45:04
Mary Hebert	Did you have to do chores before you went to school?	45:12
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	45:14
Mary Hebert	What did you have to do in the morning before school?	45:15
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, you had to clean up and then—	45:17
Mary Hebert	I have to flip this over. I think we—	45:22

Mary Hebert	So what did you have to do before going to school?	0:02
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, you had to get up and tend to the animals, whatever. Chickens, I would feed them.	0:07
Mary Hebert	So you had to—	0:15
Willie Mae Anderson	They said slop them.	0:17
Mary Hebert	What time did you have to wake up to get all that done before school?	0:19
Willie Mae Anderson	When do you think? 6:00 or 5:30, something like that.	0:22
Mary Hebert	But you said you lived close to the school, so—	0:26
Willie Mae Anderson	Not far, mm-hmm.	0:27
Mary Hebert	So it wasn't a two-hour walk or anything like that.	0:29
Willie Mae Anderson	No.	0:32
Mary Hebert	What school was it?	0:36
Willie Mae Anderson	St. Matthew.	0:39
Mary Hebert	St. Matthew? And you went to County High School?	0:39
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	0:41
Mary Hebert	And that was close to you also, County High School was close also?	0:44
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah.	0:49
Mary Hebert	What were your books like? Were they used books? Your books, were they used?	0:53
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. We had to rent. There wasn't much to rent, but books.	0:58
Mary Hebert	You had to rent your books?	1:00
Willie Mae Anderson	Rent them.	1:00
Mary Hebert	What about paper and pencils, how did you get that?	1:09
Willie Mae Anderson	You had to buy that.	1:11
Mary Hebert	Would they let you buy that on credit?	1:13
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah. Yeah, that's the way I would get them, buy them. Wasn't no credit.	1:16
Mary Hebert	Did they give credit for other things? Could you buy other things on credit? Like food or corn or meat or anything like that?	1:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Most people raised their own, their garden, and they didn't need that much because they'd grind their own grits with the corn. The most you'd buy is the rice if you want rice. But you go— The meal and you can turn it. Corn's going to turn into grits and meal. But you had to buy the flour. Most people didn't have the flour. I mean, wheat. You might make flour out of the wheat but some of were— But I never really liked the wheat.	1:35
Mary Hebert	So y'all really didn't buy that stuff? You mentioned grinding corn and stuff. Y'all would do that at home?	2:13
Willie Mae Anderson	We had a mill that we could take the corn to the mill and have it ground.	2:24
Mary Hebert	On the farm?	2:27
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	2:27
Mary Hebert	Did y'all have to pay for that?	2:29
Willie Mae Anderson	They did that in— nothing like that. I guess you did have to pay a little bit for grinding it.	2:32
Mary Hebert	Now would your aunt have to make her own butter and things like that? Did she churn it?	2:38
Willie Mae Anderson	You have a cow, you churn your own.	2:45
Mary Hebert	Would y'all sell anything that y'all would grow in the garden?	2:48
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, like peas, potatoes, whatever.	2:53
Mary Hebert	Where would you go to sell it?	2:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Hmm?	3:00
Mary Hebert	Where would y'all sell it? Would y'all put a stand out by the road?	3:00
Willie Mae Anderson	Yeah, we would start selling tomatoes and okra.	3:04
Mary Hebert	Would you go out and do that?	3:17
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	3:17
Mary Hebert	Who would buy?	3:17
Willie Mae Anderson	Well, different people riding by would. Eggs, there was eggs. So it wasn't all that bad people thinking.	3:19
Mary Hebert	Did that money go to the household as a whole?	3:30
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Maybe buy you a pair of shoes.	3:33
Mary Hebert	So that's what y'all would use the money for, shoes?	3:41
Willie Mae Anderson	When somebody need a pair of shoes, we'd go out there and sell some. Oh, yeah, our enjoyment	3:54
Mary Hebert	Would y'all make y'all clothes?	3:54
Willie Mae Anderson	Yes, some people that learned how to sew, then they'd do it for other people.	3:56
Mary Hebert	Did your aunt sew?	4:04
Willie Mae Anderson	No, she didn't sew.	4:06
Mary Hebert	She would get someone else to sew?	4:07
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	4:08
Mary Hebert	Would some of the older women do that kind of thing, the ones who couldn't go out and work?	4:09
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm, yeah. They'd sit down and make quilts and—	4:16
Mary Hebert	They would gather—	4:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Gather.	4:23
Mary Hebert	— together and quilt?	4:23
Willie Mae Anderson	Like it raining it out there, now?	4:23
Mary Hebert	Mm-hmm.	4:23
Willie Mae Anderson	They'd get together and sew, make a quilt.	4:23
Mary Hebert	What about taking care of the children? When the children were really young, who would take care of them? I mean, the mothers would have to be out in the field, wouldn't they?	4:27
Willie Mae Anderson	There'd always be somebody around the house or they would take them to the field and tie a sheet over some sticks and children would get up under there and play, on one and another. When they get a new [indistinct 00:04:55], she'd [indistinct 00:04:56] up.	4:36
Mary Hebert	With the baby?	4:58
Willie Mae Anderson	Hey, how you do.	4:59
Mary Hebert	So they would just bring their babies to the field?	5:04
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. Make a pallet down there and put them under that sheet. I guess you'd be burning up. I guess you'd burn up sometimes.	5:09
Mary Hebert	When did they learn how to pick cotton? How old were they when they were taught how to start picking?	5:16
Willie Mae Anderson	They'd want a sack when they're small and then when they grow up knowing.	5:23
Mary Hebert	Right.	5:25
Willie Mae Anderson	Not one of these old rice sack or something with the big cross, pack that cotton. It don't take about a handful or so. But that's the way they learned it, how to do.	5:34
Mary Hebert	So they learned how to pick cotton by growing up doing it? Is that how you learned when you—	5:43
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm. I used to have my little cotton picking sack, right side. (laughs)	5:45
Mary Hebert	Well, those are the questions that I have for you. So we can stop this tape now if you want?	5:55
Willie Mae Anderson	Mm-hmm.	6:00
Mary Hebert	I do have some paper—	6:01

Item Info

Title:

Willie Mae Anderson interview recording, 1995 June 19

Date:

June 19, 1995

Creator:

Anderson, Willie Mae Henry

Contributor:

Hebert, Mary

Description:

Name: Willie Mae Henry Anderson; Date of birth: 1925-10-08; Place of birth: Elliott, SC; Occupation(s): domestic; Residence: Summerton, SC
Informant ID: 1194; Interviewed by: Mary Hebert.

Occupation:

Domestic worker

Location:

Format:

Language:

English

Digital Collection:

Behind the Veil

Source Collection:

Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South interviews, photographs, and project records, circa 1864-2011, bulk 1990-2004

Series:

Related Resources:

See below

Provenance:

The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library acquired the Records of the Behind the Veil Oral History Project from the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2002.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

Copyright for content created by the Behind the Veil project is held by Duke University and made available to the public using a Creative Commons Attribution / Non-commercial (CC-BY-NC) license.

Identifier:

RL00170-CS-1465
6ee41b36-0904-4f6d-a676-e7f06663ee72
behindtheveil
0051b53c-bc83-4cc7-81d9-949d722ef2a7
ark:/87924/r4ms3xb0c
0051b53c-bc83-4cc7-81d9-949d722ef2a7

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4ms3xb0c

Sponsor:

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Willie Mae Anderson interview recording, 1995 June 19

Transcript

Item Info

1. Willie Mae Anderson administrative file, 1995

John Hope Franklin Research Center

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Transcript

Item Info

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John Hope Franklin Research Center

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