My father did not want me to leave our home at Franklin, North
Carolina, and come to Georgia, for he had been told Georgia people were
awful mean. There was a tale told us about the Mr. Oglethorpe, who
settled Georgia, bringing over folks from the jails of England to settle
in Georgia and it was said they became the ruling class of the State.
Anyway, I came on just the same, and pretty soon I married a Georgia
girl, and have found the people who live here are all right."

Laney eagerly took advantage of the pause that followed to tell of her
mother's owner. "Mother said that he was an old, old man and would set
in his big armchair 'most all day. When he heard good news from the
soldiers he would drum his fingers on his chair and pat his feet, whilst
he tried to sing, 'Te Deum, Te Deum. Good news today! We won today!'
Whenever he heard the southern armies were losing, he would lie around
moaning and crying out loud. Nobody could comfort him then."

John was delighted to talk about religion. "Yes, mam, after the war,
darkies used to meet at each others' houses for religious services until
they got churches of their own. Those meetings were little more than
just prayermeetings. Our white folks were powerful careful to teach
their slaves how to do the right thing, and long after we were free Mr.
Tommy would give long talks at our meetings. We loved to listen to him
and have him interested in us, for we had never been treated mean like
heaps of the slaves in that neighborhood had.

"One white man in our county needed the help of the Lord. His name was
Boney Ridley and he just couldn't keep away from liquor. He was an uncle
of that famous preacher and poet, Mr. Caleb Ridley. One day when Mr.
Boney had been drinking hard and kind of out of his head, he was
stretched out on the ground in a sort of stupor. He opened his eyes and
looked at the buzzards circling low over him and said, sort of sick and
fretful-like, 'Git on off, buzzards; I ain't dead yet.'"

"The Reverend Doctor George Truett was a fine boy and he has grown into
a splendid man. He is one of God's chosen ones. I well remember the
first time I heard him speak. I was a janitor at the State Normal School
when he was a pupil there in 1887. I still think he is about the
greatest orator I ever listened to. In those days, back in 1887, I
always made it convenient to be doing something around the school room
when time came for him to recite or to be on a debate. After he