ter they had made some more cloth to make more new clothes. They
wove one winter for the next winter. When they got to share croppin'
they had to keep a fire in the fireplace all night to warm by. The
clothes and beds was rags. Corn bread and meat was all they had to eat.
Maybe they had pumpkins, corn, and potatoes. They said it was squally
times.

"I got a place. I rented it out to save it. My brother rents it. I can't
hardly pay taxes. I'd like to get some help. I could sew if they would
let me on. I can see good. I'm going to chop cotton but it so long till
then.

"I washed and ironed in Memphis till washing went out of style. Prices
are so high now and cotton cheap. I'm counting on better times.

"Times is close. Young folks is like young folks always been. Some are
smart and some lazy. None don't look ahead. They don't think about
saving. Guess they don't know how to save. Right smart spends it
foolish. I'm a widow and done worked down."

EX-SLAVES

Interviewer: Pernella Anderson
[HW: Hicks, Will]

"I was born in Farmerville, La., I don't know what year. I was about
three or four years at surrender. I lived with my mother and father. The
first work I ever did was plow. I did not work very hard at no time but
what ever there was to do I went on and got through with it. All of our
work was muscle work. There were no cultivators.

"I stayed at home with my father and mother until I was 32 years of age.
I was thirty years old when papa died and mother lived two years longer.
About a month after mother died I married. We lived in a real good
house. My father bought it after slavery time. We had good furniture
that was bought from the hardware. The first stove that we used we
bought it and father bought it just after surrender. Never used a
homemade broom in my life. Now, Ma just naturally liked ash cakes so she
always cooked them in the fireplace. We wore all homespun clothes, and
we wore the big bill baily hats. We chaps went barefooted until I was 16
years old then I bought my first pair of shoes. They were brass toe
progans. I never been in the school house a day in my life. Can't read
neither write nor figure. I went to church. Our first preacher was name
Prince Jones. The biggest games I played was ball and card. I was one of
the best dancers. We danced the old juland dance, swing your partner,
promonate. Danced by fiddling. The fiddlers could beat the fiddlers of
today. Get your partners, sw