dat war while I lived at Gracey.

"De stage coach day war big days, wen de stage coach war a comin thru
why us little niggers would try ter keep up wid de horses en run erlong
side de coach en sometimes a man or woman would drop us a penny den dar
was sho a scramble."

"I remember wen we uster wash cloes wid a paddle. You wet dese cloes en
put soft soap in dem, the soap war made outer ash lye en grease den dese
cloes war spread on a smooth stump an beat wid paddles till dey war
clean. Den come de wooden wash board, hit war jes a piece of wood wid
rough places or ridges chiseled in hit. Wen we uster wash quilts we
uster cyt a nikasses varrek ubter eb dat made de tub deb my Mammy would
put water in dese tubs den soft soap de quilts den us chilluns would git
in de tubs in our Bare foots en tromp de dirt out."

"We uster use grease lamps, dese war made outer iron, wid a piece of
cotton rope down in de grease on dis jes send out a puny smelly light.
Dem de brass lamp came erlong hit war a little lamp wid a wich wid a
handle in er stem, no burner or nuthin hit burned coaloil but had no
chimney."

"Hee, Hee, Hee, I remember arbout a story Mary Beard told ter me erbout
a slave woman dat war foolish. Her Massa couldn't git no body ter buy
her, hee, hee, hee, so he dresses her up nice en buys her a thimble en
gives her a piece of cloth ter sew on. It war right here in Hopkinsville
in front of de court house dat de block war en he sold dis woman as a
"sewing slave", en her war foolish en couldn't take er right stitch en
she sho brought a good price en wen her new Massa found out she war
foolish he sho war mad. He tried ter sell her but pshaw he bought