Project 1885-1
Folklore
Spartanburg Dist. 4
June 8, 1938

Edited by:
Elmer Turnage

REMINISCENCES

"I was born in Barnwell County, S. C., in 1854. I remember about General Sherman's army marching through South Carolina. They went through our section, burning outhouses, stealing cattle and doing damage. I don't remember much also about the Civil War, nor about the slaves. My father had only a small farm and did all his own work. I don't think he ever had any slaves.

"We lived a long way from the schools and churches and had to walk about four miles to them. Our school teachers were very strict, but they were not much on whipping hard like some teachers were. We went to church on ox-carts or walked, but a few people would ride horses or mules.

"We had quiltings and sewing bees in that section. The women of the neighborhood would all get together and sew and knit while they talked. And spinning parties, too, were common, when they would get together and card and spin and weave clothes for each other. After the parties they would always have many good things to eat. The old folks would make their own dyes.

"Everybody raised hogs, chickens, geese and turkeys. They had plenty fresh meats and eggs. They also raised their own corn, oats and wheat with which to make their flour. It was made at some neighborhood grist mill and the cotton was ginned at a neighborhood gin. There were lots of bees and plenty of good honey in our section. Sugar cane was raised from which good molasses were made.

"The people had but few barbecues but they had lots of family picnics. I don't remember much about the patrollers. They were not so active around there, but I heard some things about them. They would ride around and try to keep the slaves on their own plantations. A song which some of the negroes sang went like this: 'Run, nigger, run! Paddy roller will catch you!'

"The Ku Klux Klan was not so active in my section, but there were some. The Red Shirts, too, were there and lots of young fellows would ride dressed up in red shirts with red handkerchiefs around their necks.

"My father was in the Confederate army and served in a Barnwell County Regiment. In our section the musical instruments mostly used were the fiddle and banjo, and most always they were used at socials, dances and weddings.

"There used to be, and I suppose still are, many long-leaf pines in the lower part of Barnwell County and in Aiken County, S.C. They got much turpentine from them. They used to tie boxes under a deep cut in each tree about three feet from the ground and let the turpentine into the boxes. Now they make cuts all the way up the tree, or strip it; then place small cups under the bottom drip."

Source: Mrs. Isabel (Armstrong) Anderson (84), Newberry, S.C. Interviewer: G.L. Summer, Newberry, S.C. 5/16/38.

Text from: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection