the best sort of time when I went to mill. Uncle Isham
run the mill then and he would let me think I was helpin' him. Then,
while he helped me eat my lunch, he would call me his little 'tomboy
gal' and would tell me about the things he used to do when he was 'bout
my age.

"My first schoolin' was in old Pierce's Chapel that set right spang in
the middle of Hancock Avenue at Foundry Street. Our teacher was a Yankee
man, and we were mighty surprised to find out that he wasn't very hard
on us. We had to do something real bad to git a whippin', but when we
talked or was late gittin' to school we had to stand up in the back of
the schoolroom and hold up one hand. Pierce's chapel was where the
colored folks had preachin' then--preachin' on Sunday and teachin' on
week days, all in the same buildin'. A long time before then it had been
the white folks' church, and Preacher Pierce was the first one to preach
there after it was built, so they named it for him. When the white folks
built them a new church they gave the old chapel to the colored folks,
and, Honey, there was some real preachin' done in that old place. Me, I
was a Methodist, but I was baptized just lak the Baptists was down there
in the Oconee River.

"Me and my first husband was too young to know what we was doin' when we
got married, but our folks give us a grand big weddin'. I think my
weddin' cake was 'bout the biggest one I ever saw baked in one of them
old ovens in the open fireplace. They iced it in white and decorated it
with grapes. A shoat was cooked whole and brought to the table with a
big red apple in his mouth. You know a shoat ain't nothin' but a young
hog that's done got bigger than a little pig. We had chicken and pies
and just evvything good that went to make up a fine weddin' supper.

"Our weddin' took place at night, and I wore a white dress made with a
tight-fittin' waist and a long, full skirt that was jus' covered with
ruffles. My sleeves was tight at the wrists but puffed at the shoulders,
and my long veil of white net was fastened to my head with pretty
flowers. I was a mighty dressed up bride. The bridegroom wore a real
dark-colored cutaway coat with a white vest. We did have a swell weddin'
and supper, but there wasn't no dancin' 'cause we was all good church
folks.

"We was so young we jus' started out havin' a good time and didn't miss
nothin' that meant fun and frolic. We was mighty much in love with each
other too. It didn't seem l