Interviewer: Pernella Anderson
Person Interviewed: Annie Mae Weathers
East Bone Street
El Dorado, Ark.
Age: ?

"I was born bout the second year after surrender right down here at
Caledonia. Now the white folks that ma and pa and me belonged to was
named Fords. We farmed all the time. The reason we farmed all the time
was because that was all for us to do. You see there wasn't nothin' else
for us to do. There wasn't no schools in my young days to do no good,
and this time of year we was plowin' to beat the band and us always
planted corn in February and in April our corn was.

"We fixed our ground early and planted early and we had good crops of
everything. We went to bed early and rose early. We had a little song
that went like this:

Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

and

The early bird catches the worm.

Cooked breakfast every morning by a pine torch.

"I member hearin' my pa say that when somebody come and hollowed: 'Yer
niggers is free at last' say he just dropped his hoe and said in a queer
voice: 'Thank God for that.' It made old miss and old moss so sick till
they stopped eating a week. Pa said old moss and old miss looked like
their stomach and guts had a law suit and their navel was called in for
a witness, they was so sorry we was free.

"After I got a good big girl I was hired out for my clothes and
something to eat. My dresses was made out of cotton stripes and my
chemise was made out of flannelette and my under pants was made out of
homespun.

"Our games was 'Honey, honey Bee,' 'Ball I can't Yall,' and a nother one
of our games was 'Old Lady Hypocrit.'"

Interviewer: Samuel S. Taylor
Person interviewed: Cora Weathers
818 Chester Street, Little Rock, Arkansas
Age: 79

"I have been right on this spot for sixty-three years. I married when I
was sixteen and he brought me here and put me down and I have been here
ever since. No, I don't mean he deserted me; I mean he put me on this
spot of ground. Of course, I have been away on a visit but I haven't
been nowheres else to live.

"When I came here, there was only three houses--George Winstead lived on
Chester and Eighth Street; Dave Davis lived on Ninth and Ringo; and
George Gray lived on Chester and Eighth. Rena Lee lived next to where
old man Paterson stays now, 906 Chester. Rena Thompson lived on Chester
and Tenth. Th