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DE TROUBLES I'S SEEN
(Georgia)
October 19, 1939
Lucille Jackson (Negro)
260 Strong Street
Athens, Georgia
I. B. Hawkes
I went out one morning to get a Negro
woman to do some washing for me. I wanted a certain Negress who had
formerly worked for my mother, so I went to the address where she used to
live. Lil was at home.
She lived on a steep, rocky street in a very dilapidated house, and in the
side yard smoke was rising from the fire around the wash pot.
"Goodness me, Miss, I sho' is glad to see you. I ain't seen you in so
long! Come on in, chile. Ain't you cold? I has a good fire inside."
Lil offered me the most comfortable chair in the house. "Sit down here,
Miss," she said, "I wants to talk to you a while."
"I really haven't much time," I said, "but I do want you to do some
washing for me this week, will you?"
"Why, yes, chile, you knows I'll do anything for you, but fust let's talk
about old times. You know, I'se been kinder worried and seen a lot since I
worked for you. I sho' was sorry you let me go, but does you remember the
fust time I ever saw you, chile?"
"I think I do," I said, "but you tell me."
"Well, I seen you comin' 'cross the hill one evening with a big basket, I
was wonderin' if you was comin' to my house and sho' 'nuff you walked up
to me and said, 'Here, Lil, this is something my mother sent you and your
babies. She said for you to feed them and eat some yourself, that she was
tired of hearing them babies cry.' Then, next day I washed them dishes and
went to yo' ma an' worked all that week for your ma, 'cause she sho' was
good to me - and you too. Honey, befo' she died. Well, course, it is like
this; we lose track o' people - lak us did. I sho' is had a hard time too.
I got jobs anywhere I could, serving as scrubwoman, washwoman, or maid,
earning no certain amount, an' had five chilluns 'fo I stopped. My
husband, Sam, was a smart man and he was good to me a long time, but as my
chilluns got older he got to where he stopped giving us money. You know, I
couldn't feed five chilluns on a little fifty cent a week washin'. Two
dollars a month for washin' don't buy much, Miss, and I had to pay $1.50 a
month house rent on top of dat.
"Sam stayed on at home wif us. You remember how things was sometimes. You
give us some meat and corn meal to help us out some, jus' like yo' ma did.
Miss, I stood that treatment long as I could then I jus' got me a man
named Ike to help me out wif my chilluns. Well, Ike did help me, but we
got to drinkin' a lot together. That didn't do; we took money the chilluns
needed and so the fust thing I knowed we was fightin'. Then Sam got to
stayin' out more and more and he got him a woman too. Well, it was all
right for me to have a man, I thought, but when he got that woman I flew
up and got a devorse. My chilluns didn't like that so such, but I jus'
went on livin' with Ike then, but I was worried about Sam. I stayed drunk
all the time till Ike and me got worser and worser. Well, I tell yo' this
much I know I jus' had to do somethin'. Well, I kinder think God took a
hand in my affairs about then; my ma and two of my sisters got sick. Well,
I went to see them every two weeks. Sam come 'round more then and helped
me some wif the chilluns. My po' ma died and my sisters and brothers
wouldn't help me with the expenses. Even my only aunt had insurance on
her, but would not give me a cent to bury her. I'm still paying on that
funeral. My sister died after several months and the county had to pay
that; I couldn't.
"My oldest daughter got married, too, about then and went to Atlanta to
live. Honey, she married a real man! He don't mistreat her one bit. Up to
now they has got two chilluns. One little boy died, but she has got two
left. She helped me a lot after she married and let one of the chilluns
come to see her and stay so I wouldn't have such a hard time suppo'tin'
them that stayed with me. She put Joe in school there and he got some
learning.
"Dis man Ike I took up wif was still
hangin' 'round all dis time. Sam, he didn't know much 'bout him, but I
knowed he was wonderin' all this time where I was gettin' help.
"The other chilluns was growin' up now and Ruth, next to the oldest girl,
got sick, so I had to stay at home after that and wash and iron. I could
not leave home to work out any. Sam begin to go out again with this woman
of his. I sho' did hate it too, 'cause I loves that nigger til' dis day.
My man Ike then begin to help me a little more 'cause Ruth was getting
worse, and only one of the boys was big 'nuff to help me at all, and he
worked at a small groc'ry store. He didn't make much and half the time he
took up all he made by Saturday night in groceries an' we couldn't draw a
cent. Well, Sam got to comin' home drunk and bustin' down the doors an'
ravin' an' pitchin' all night. Sometimes he would run Ruth's fever up so
high til' I would have to hold her on the bed.
"One day Sam come in drunk and was cussin' me 'bout Ike. I told him he
didn't have no business 'round here at all; I paid house rent and wanted
him to git out, but he would not do it. About this time Sam lost his job
and I don't know where he went for three months. Me and Ike, though, made
it fine for a while. We bought us some new things as you see.
"One day my oldest boy that was workin' come home. Ike was in the other
room talking to him very loud and I wondered what in the world was the
matter. Well, I went in and Ike was demanding my boy to bring home all his
pay that night and Frank, my boy, was tryin' to tell him that he had
brought groceries home for us to eat and he couldn't bring any money home.
Ike jumped on Frank and I thought he would kill him befo' I could stop
him. I quit Ike then and took in all the washin' I could git. I had four
washings that brought me $4.00 a week. At night I would be so tired til' I
could not sleep. I thought Ike was comin' back to take my furniture 'way
from me every day, but I see now he was waitin' to work his way back in.
"I got in with another man one day 'bout a month after I quit Ike. His
name was Harry, but, Honey, I could not stand him. He come in one day and
said he heard I had another man on the string and he was goin' to kill me.
Of course I did not think Harry meant it, but I want you to know he didn't
do a thing but draw a knife on me and cut my throat. I got a scar on my
throat that never will go 'way. Sam got home that night from Tennessee and
I was in bed. He said, 'Gal, what ails you?' I told him. Lawd chile, that
nigger went out of this door and went to look for Harry. Sam found him all
right and cut Harry's insides out; I mean all of them. Well, Sam left for
a while, but they caught him and turned him loose.
"Ruth got well and went out and got married, I guess. I never did see no
man though, but she sho' had this baby. She was sick all time after this
baby come, finally I had a doctor with her and he said she had a 'leakage
of the heart' and would not live long. I found out later that someone gave
her some whiskey when she was a baby. That's what caused her to be sickly
all her life. Well, Ruth died with this awful disease. Chile, she swelled
up till she liked to bu'sted 'fo she died.
"By this time my oldest boy had left home. He said he just could not stand
things like that no longer. My next boy, his name is John, got a job on a
beer truck helpin' out.
"Well, I jus' didn't know what to do 'cause 'bout this time all the men
had left me and this grandchild had to have milk. I could not go out
anywhere and leave her. I didn't dream about Ike, that had the trouble
with Frank, comin' back. But, bless your soul, one day Ike come walkin' up
behind me while I was washin'.
"You know, after all that happened between the family, Ike had done a lot
for me and he sho' did look good, too! But I was going to play off stubbon
and make out like I was still mad at him, but he said, "You jus' put that
washin' aside for a while, gal. I's got somethin' to say to you'. Well, I
put everything aside and we went in the house and sat down. Ike begin to
tell me that he wanted to come home and he would be good to my chilluns
and especially to the little baby girl of Ruth's. Ike had already bought
things for the house to make it more comfortable, so I took him back and
he has been with me now seven years, and I haven't seen Sam. My chilluns
is all growing fast and is healthy, 'cause I wash and iron so I can stay
at home. Ike is smart and works hard and brings me money home every
Saturday. He sho' has stuck to his promise to me. Come on, Miss, and let's
look at the other part of the house. I jus' want you to see what people
can do when they want to.
"Oh, yes", she said, while getting up, "we still has our little parties
sometimes, but not rough ones like we use to, 'cause we found out it won't
do."
We walked into the next room which was a bedroom too. It had an iron bed
with a pretty bright silk spread on it, lace curtains at the windows, a
vanity dresser, and a small table with a lamp on it, a rocker, a straight
chair, and a neat small grass rug on the floor. Then in the kitchen there
was a small green and cream-colored range in one corner, a home-made
cabinet and breakfast set against the wall, green curtains at the windows,
and a worn rug on the floor.
"Now, I and Ike is paying down on dis little shack, which ain't so much to
look at, but by stintin' ourself of the things we feels we is got to have,
we is paid a nice little sum of money on dis place and soon we is going to
own dis little old house and lot.
"Now you see, miss, I am proud I did stay with Ike after all. The funny
part of it is - Ike come from the same county I did."
"What county did you come from, Lil?" I asked.
We both come from Oglethorpe County. An' we was both farmers. My childhood
days was very happy and Ike says his was, too. We didn't either one of us
have much schooling, but we can write our names. Well, Miss, I will be
over to git the clothes after while."
DE TROUBLES I'S SEEN
Written By:
Mrs. Ina B. Hawkes
Research Field Worker
Georgia Writer's Project
Athens -
Edited By:
Mrs. Maggie B. Freeman
Editor
Georgia Writers' Project
Athens -
WPA Area 6
November 2, 1939.
Text from: Library of
Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection
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