hite shirt, white vest, and a
cutaway coat. Nettie wore a black silk dress what she had done bought
from Miss Blanche Rutherford. Pears lak to me it had a overskirt of blue
what was scalloped 'round de bottom."

At this point, Nettie, who had been an interested listener, was
delighted. She broke into the conversation with: "Ed, you sho' did take
in dat dress and you ain't forgot it yit."

"You is right 'bout dat, Honey," he smilingly replied, "I sho' ain't and
I never will forgit how you looked dat day."

"Miss Blanche give me a pair of white silk gloves to wear wid dat
dress," mused Nettie.

"Us didn't have no sho' 'nough weddin'," continued Ed. "Us jus' went off
to de preacher man's house and got married up together. I sho' is glad
my Nett is still a-livin', even if she is down wid de rheumatiz."

"I'm glad I'm livin' too," Nettie said with a chuckle.

Ed ignored the question as to the number of their children and Nettie
made no attempt to take further part in the conversation. There is a
deep seated idea prevalent among old people of this type that if the
"giver'ment folks" learn that they have able-bodied children, their
pensions and relief allowances will be discontinued.

Soon Ed was willing to talk again. "Yessum," he said. "I sho' had ruther
be free. I don't never want to be a slave no more. Now if me and Nett
wants to, us can set around and not fix and eat but one meal all day
long. If us don't want to do dat, us can do jus' whatsomever us pleases.
Den, us had to wuk whether us laked it or not.

"Lordy Miss, I ain't never jined up wid no church. I ain't got no reason
why, only I jus' ain't never had no urge from inside of me to jine.
'Course, you know, evvybody ought to lissen to de services in de church
and live right and den dey wouldn't be so skeered to die. Miss, ain't
you through axin' me questions yit? I is so sleepy, and I don't know no
more to tell you. Goodbye."

[HW: Dist. 1
Ex Slave #68]

EX-SLAVE INTERVIEW:
LUCY McCULLOUGH, Age 79

BY: SARAH H. HALL
ATHENS, GA.
[Date Stamp: MAY 8 1937]

[TR: This first half of this interview was edited by hand to change many
'er' sounds to 'uh', for example, 'der' to 'duh', 'ter' to 'tuh'; as a
single word, 'er' was also changed to 'a'.]

"Does Ah 'member 'bout war time, en dem days fo' de war? Yassum, Ah sho'
does. Ah blong ter Marse Ned Carter in Walton county."

"Whut Ah 'members mos' is duh onliest beatin' Ah ebber got fum de
oversee