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165 Rockspring Street Athens, Georgia
Written by: Grace McCune Athens
Edited by: Sarah H. Hall Athens and John N. Booth District Supervisor Federal Writers' Project Augusta, Georgia.
(ALICE HUTCHESON, Ex-Slave - Age 76)
As the interviewer approached the house she could hear Alice singing, "Good mornin' to you! Howdy you do?" and through the open window the old woman could be seen busily engaged in household duties. Her broom, moving in rhythm with the song, did not miss a stroke when the tune changed to, "Lord I'se a comin' Home."
At the first sound of rapping, the singing ceased and Alice promptly opened the door. "Good mornin' Missy," she said. "How is you?" Asked for the story of her early life as a slave, she smiled and urged the visitor to "have a seat in dis here rockin' cheer out hers on de porch in de sunshine."
"My Ma and Pa was named Har'iet Bell and William Hanson, and dey b'longed to Marse Cal Robinson down in Monroe County. Ma was married two times, and de fus' man was named Bell. He was de Pa of my half brother. Only one of my three sisters is livin' now. I was born in June 1862 durin' de war. Ma's two brothers, Taylor and Bob Smith, b'longed to de Robinson's in Morgan County. Dem Robinsons was kin to our white folkses, and us was still all Robinson Niggers. Ma's four sisters is all done died out long years ago.
"I jus' kin 'member one time de Yankees come to our plantation. Dey ramsacked de place, tuk all de victuals f'um de white folkses and give 'em to de slaves. Us chillun sho' hid out whilst dey was dar, 'cause dem was skeery times, and dem sojers sung old song I heared lots of times atter I got bigger. De captain would start de song.
'Mamber 1866, boys, de rebels in hell of fixes, but we'll drink and eat deir bones yit.' Atter de Yankees lef' de Niggers brung back de white folkses victuals 'cause dey was our own white folkses and dey had allus done give us plenty of evvything.
"Us chillun didn't have to do no hard wuk, jus' played 'round de yards wid de white chillun mos' of de time. One of our little jobs was to git in plenty of wood for de fires. Chestnut and hick'ry wood made de bes' fires and ders was allus plenty of good kindlin' to git 'em started. Oak and pine bark was good to make de pot bile in a hurry. Dem ovens would bake lak evvything wid heaps of hot coals piled 'round 'em.
"Dere warn't no Nigger schools den, but Miss Jane larnt us 'long wid de white chillun, and us sho' had to mind dem lessons or she'd tear us up.
"De slave quarters was jus' log cabins, and dey cooked on fireplaces jus' lak at de big house. Marster didn't have many Niggers, but us had plenty somepin' t'eat. He had a big gyarden whar he raised mos' evvything: corn, 'taters, cabbages, peas, onions, collard greens, and lots of pun'kins. When de mens plowed up de 'taters us chillun had to go 'long and put 'em in baskets. De bestes' times was hog killin' times. Us chillun wukked den. Dey hung up de hogs all night and nex' day us out 'em, put 'em down in salt, and cooked up de lard. Us chillun got some of dem good old skin cracklin's when dey got brown.
"Atter Marster tuk de meat out of de salt, he put brown sugar and 'lasses on de hams and shoulders, sacked 'em up, and hanged 'em in de smokehouse. Den he say for us to git de fire ready. Us made a fire wid cottonseed to smoke de meat. Dat kep' it good, and it didn't git old tastin'. It was sho' good eatin' when you got some of dat meat.
"When de time come 'round to gather in de corn us wukked mighty peart lak, 'cause us couldn't hardly wait for de cornshuckin's dat Marster was gwine to let us have atter dat corn was hauled in f'um de fields. Marster 'vited all de other white folkses and dey brung deir Niggers 'long. Shucks would jus' fly off of dat corn while dem Niggers was a-singin' 'Old Liza Jane' and 'Susan Jane'. When de cornshuckin' was all done, us had a big supper - chicken pies, barbacue, and plenty of evvything good wid lots of liquor too. Atter supper dey started up playin' dem fiddles and banjoes, and de dancin' begun. White folkses danced de twistification up at de big house, but us had reg'lar old breakdowns in a house what Marster let us have to dance in. Wid all dat toddy helpin' 'em 'long, some times dey danced all night, and some of 'em fell out and had to be dragged off de dance flo'.
"Marse had log rollin's and 'vited evvybody. Dey all come and brung deir Niggers. Marster had big dinners for 'em, and atter dey done rolled dem logs all day dem Niggers evermore did eat. When dey was wukkin' dey sung somethin' lak dis:
'I'se wukkin' on de buildin'
And hits a sho' foundation,
And when I git done I'se goin' home to Heb'en.'
"All de neighbors comed to de quiltin's, and when de quilts was finished, dey throwed it over de head of de house. Dat brung good luck.
"Us had to cyard, spin and reel cotton. Missy give us chillun six cuts of thread for a days wuk and if us wukked hard and fas' us got done in time to go chestnut and chinquapin huntin' Us th'owed rocks 'ginst de limbs to shake de nuts down, and us had jus' de bestes' time a-gittin' 'em out of de burrs and eatin' 'em. Us used to string chinquapins and hang 'em 'round our necks.
"Marster had dese big car'iages wid de high front seats whar de driver sot. Us had buggies den too, but atter de War us jus' had two-wheeled carts and dey was pulled," the old Negress modestly explained, "by male cows."
"Niggers all laked thrashin' time. Marster, he growed lots of wheat and de thrashin' machine tuk turn about gwine f'um one plantation to another. Dey had big dinners on thrashin' days and plenty of toddy for de thrashin' hands atter dey done de wuk. Dey blowed de bugle to let 'em know when dey done finished up at one place and got ready to go on to de nex' one.
"Missy lef' us to look atter de house when she went off to Morgan County to see de other Robinsons, and she mos' allus fotched us a new dress apiece when she come home. One time dey was Dolly Vardens, and dey was so pretty us kep' 'em for our Sunday bes' dresses. Dem Dolly Vardens was made wid overskirts what was cotched up in puffs. Evvyday dresses was jus' plain skirts and waistes sowed together. Gal chilluns wore jus' plain chemises made long, and boys didn't wear nothin' 'cep' long shirts widout no britches 'til dey was 'bout twelve or fo'teen. Dem was summertime clothes. Cold weather us had flannel petticoats and drawers. Our bonnets had staves in de brim to make 'em stand out and had ruffles 'round de front.
"Ma done de cookin' and house wuk at de big house for Mist'ess Jane Robinson. White folkses had lots of comp'ny, and dey had de cook fix de mostes' good things for 'em. Dey kilt heaps of chickens and cooked whole hams and lots of 'tater puddin's and sich lak. When Ma steamed pun'kin 'til it was done and den fried it, hit sho' would make your mouf water. Missy's folkses was crazy 'bout de 'tater puddin's what Ma made, and when she went off to visit 'em she allus had Ma bake one for her to take 'long to 'em.
"White folkses and Niggers all went to de same church and listened to de same white preacher. Church day was second Sunday of evvy mont'. White folkses went in de mornin' and Niggers atter dinner. Dem Niggers had better behave and listen to de preacher, 'cause if dey didn't Marster would give 'em a rakin' over sho'. Us went to Mount Zion Church in Monroe County, and de Baptists and Meferdists both used de same church house.
"When anybody died, dey laid 'em out on de coolin' board 'til dey got de coffin made up. A white man lived nigh us what made all de coffins. He charged 50 cents to make one for a chile and a dollar for grown folkses. Dey had de same kind of coffins for evvybody, white and black, buried 'em all in de same graveyard, and built a fence 'round it. White mens preached all de fun'rals. When dey buried a Nigger dey mos'ly had prayer, a little talkin' and some songs. Parts of de songs went lak dis:
"Death has been here and
Tore away a sister from our side,
Jus' in de mornin' of 'er day
As young as us, she had to die.
"Not long ago she filled 'er place
And sot wid us to larn,
But she done run 'er mortal race
And nevermore can she return.
"Us can't tell who nex' may fallUnderneath de chasen' rod,One maybe fus', but let us allPrepare to meet our God."And needful help is thine to giveFor Grace our souls to Thee apply,To larn us how to serve and liveAnd make us fit at las' to die.""Part of another one was:"Oh, come angel bandCome and 'round me stand,And bear me awayOn your snowy wings,To my immortal home.""Seems lak I can mos' hear de preacher read de Scripture for his tex', 'Buy de truf and sell it not.'"Sometimes our white folkses tuk us all to old Smyrna Church, and den Ma allus cooked a fine dinner to take 'long,
'cause dey had church all day and dinner on de grounds. I ain't never gwine forgit a sermon I heared at Smyrna onct.
De tex' was, 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.'"One day Marster called all his Niggers together and said us was all free, and dat us could go whar us pleasedanytime us got ready, but he said too dat us could stay on wid him if us wanted to. Charlie Martin was de onlies'Nigger what didn't stay. Charlie said he wanted to go somewhars else and Marster give him a good hoss and saddleand some money when he lef', but I don't know how much dat money was.
"'Twarn't long 'fore dere was plenty of Ku Kluxers 'round 'bout. Dey had on doughfaces and long white robes whatcome down over de hosses dey was a-ridin'. Ma allus tole us dat if one of dem Kluxers tetched a Nigger, dat Niggerwas gwine to die, and us was so skeered us stayed out of deir way so dey didn't ketch none of us, but dey sho' didwuk on de hides of some of dem other Niggers what dey did git a holt of.
"I wukked for Miss Sally Yervin a while and den us moved here to Athens. My gran'pa come atter us, and Mr. MoteRobinson moved us in one of dem big, high up waggons." An ice truck passed the cabin door and Alice said: "Nowjus' look, Honey, us didn't have nothin' lak dat den. Our milk and butter and sich lak was kep' in de spring house.Folkses what had wells used to put milk in buckets and let 'em down in de well wid ropes, and dat milk would keepgood and cool down dar.
"I got married atter us come to Athens. Us didn't have no big weddin', jus' went to de preacher man's house to git
married. De onlies' child us had is done been daid for years, and my old man died 'way over 16 years ago."The old woman was reluctant to end the interview. "Goodbye Missy, I hopes you come back sometime, 'cause oldAlice has had a mighty good time a-talkin' to you. Atter us gits too old to do any wuk dere ain't many folkses takesup no time a -listenin' to old Higgers."
(Ex-Slave Interview: Miss Amanda Jackson)
