to Magnolia an' got mar'ied. I doan know who mar'ied us--somebody in de
cou't house.

"Me an' Jake went to Summit ter live'. We had to work mighty hard.
Sometimes I plowed in de fiel' all day; sometimes I washed an' den I
cooked, an' afte' 'while, we moved down to de new town. I come here when
dis town fust started. I cooked fer Mrs. Badenhauser, while he was
mayor of de town. Dey worked me hard. Me'n Jake's had some hard ups an'
downs. I had fo' chullun, none of dem livin' dat I know of. I might have
some grandchulluns but if I do, dey live up North.

"I'm old an' can hardly git about. I'se got a cancer. De doctor done cut
my lef' brest clear offen me, but dat hurts me somtimes yit.

"I niver jined any church 'til 'bout 20 year ago, right here in
Berglundtown. My church is Flowery Mount Baptist Church, an' my Brudder
Washin'ton is my pastor, an' he is de best preacher what ever lived. No,
Marse Cassedy didn't have no church fer de slaves. Dey went to de white
folks' church.

"How do I live? Well I gits a pension of fo' dollars a month, an' I try
to wash a leetle fer de colored folks, an' den I beg. I can't stay here
long but God won't low me to starve. Bless God, he's comin' fer me some
day."




Wayne Holliday, Ex-slave Monroe County
Mississippi Federal Writers