Senea Cooley Interview

              Dr. Radke- Moss Women‟ s Oral History Collection
Senea Cooley
By Senea Cooley
January 30, 2008
Box 5 Folder 6
Oral Interview conducted by John Whitehurst
Transcript copied by John Whitehurst Jan 2008
Brigham Young University- Idaho
2
Oral Interview with Senea Cooley Interviewer : John Whitehurst Interviewee : Senea Cooley Relationship: Senea Cooley is the maternal grandmother of John Whitehurst Interview Date: 30th January 2008 Senea Cooley: Sex: Female Race: Caucasian Born: Spalding County, Georgia on the 29th December 1929. Father: John Curtis Smith Mother: Margaret Anne Lindsey Husband: Sam Cooley Marriage Date: 26th November 1949 Children: Mary Ann Whitehurst, David Cooley, Cindy Ramsey, and Pallie Stevenson. John Whitehurst: Alright, I‟ m going to go ahead and start now. Senea Cooley: Ok Sweetheart. JW: Where and when were you born? SC: Ok, I was born in Spalding County, Georgia. January the 22nd, 1929. JW: What are some of your earliest memories?
SC: Ok, Some of my earliest memories was riding in a 1929 Ford coupe, it had the rumble seats, and we would just get out and have a good time, and I remember the air blowing through your hair. [ I] just enjoyed seeing a lot of things. And dad used to take us to different places cause we were both, my sister and I, was both young and he wanted us to see things he never had seen. And he and mother just enjoyed being with us, and enjoyed taking us places to see things and enjoy times with us. And I remember going to school when I was real young and I had some 3
good teachers that were really, just good teachers and they just taught you a lot of good things and made you respect and love one another. It was just some great memories coming up as a child. JW: All right. What are some jobs you had growing up? SC: The first job I had when I was about 15 and worked after school because I had lost my dad and I was trying to help mother with her meals by working a little bit helping and with all the meals at the house. And the second job that I had was with Southeastern Textile and I stayed there, I guess I stayed there maybe two years. And then I had a job with Southern Bell Telephone Company and I stayed there till I met Sam and after I met him he wanted me to help him and I worked with him. O. K? JW: All right, that‟ s great. What were some of [ the] things that you were able to do or learn while you worked there at those places? SC: Some of things I what hun? JW: What were some of things that you learned while working? SC: Oh ok. I learned to um, well I‟ ve always loved people, and I usually can get along with just about anybody and I just loved to make friends and just talk about anything, discuss anything. A lot of times I would make things. We would do a lot of picnics with different families, old picnics and that, just have good clean fun. JW: All right, moving forward a little bit, what were some of your memories of the Second World War? SC: Ok, some of my memories from that, I was still young and I was still at home and I do remember we had what they called blackouts at night and everybody had to turn their lights off. You didn‟ t have no lights on whatsoever and you‟ d hear the sirens and it was scary. It was scary but everybody worked together and we tried to do the things we were supposed to do. And I was always happy when the war did end because it was just, it was something that you just don‟ t realize, I mean you always remember you don‟ t never forget being scared or being I guess not protected or the feeling of fear. JW: Right. So what were some of your recollections about the ending of the war? Do you remember when and where you were?
SC: Yes I do. I sure do. I remember it very well John. We was at home and I can remember the people were… sirens was blowing, the whistles was blowing, the mills, the car horns was blowing, everybody was singing and laughing and just having the best time, in fact that night or later that afternoon they had a big dance. I don‟ t know people from… I don‟ t know just everywhere I guess round here around in town, there‟ s a big place up there on Hill Street and it 4
was just a big place in the road. And that place was filled with people dancing and singing and everyone was loving one another and just having a joyous and happy time. JW: All right. What were the years like just right after the war? What do you remember about those years— maybe late forties, early fifties? SC: Ok let me see… that was about the time I was working for Southeastern Textiles. Well people back then loved one another; they respected one another and loved one another more than they do today. It was just a pleasure, they were friendly, people were friendly and if they saw somebody that needed help they‟ d stop and help them or you just tried to help anybody anyway they could. And, let me see John, I just know people were very happy that the war was over and everybody was coming back home. JW: Right. SC: And years ago you would see somebody that was in the service and had a uniform on and you‟ d always, most of the time you‟ d go up to them and tell them that you appreciated what they did while they was you know, while they was in the service and thank them for doing what they did. And most of the time they said that was, they would say, well they loved their country and they would do it again. Most of them would say that. JW: Just following the war, there was, we study in history that there was a lot of fear of communism in the country with Russia, of course, and later with Cuba. What was it like to raise a family during that time period? And did you ever have any fears of communism? SC: Yes, I did John. I did. I always felt, you know America is a wonderful place and the Lord has blessed us so much and you just had a fear of somebody coming in and just taking over and being mean to you and you can‟ t do a lot of things you would if you were free. And it was very, it was scary. It was scary. JW: Right, so that was a time of fear in a lot of peoples‟ lives? SC: Uh huh. JW: So did you ever feel threatened about the ideas about nuclear warfare and things like that with the Soviet Union? SC: Yes and no. I felt that they might be ahead of us on some of the weapons and things because you don‟ t know, they wasn‟ t very close to us…. It helps you think about things like that and but I felt like the Americas, that the Lord had taken care of us because we‟ re a Christian country and we try and respect and love Him and go by His rules and I think as long as we honor Him then He will look after us too. JW: Right. Again, moving forward just a little bit in time, do you recall when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and what were some of your feelings at that time, when that happened? 5
SC: Yeah, I do remember when he was assassinated. And he was very, very… it was very sad. It was very sad and I remember it was during the daytime and I don‟ t remember exactly what time it was but I do remember watching the TV and the kids were small and we was watching the parade and all and we saw that when it happened on TV and it was very, very sad. JW: Right. And do you remember, what were your feelings about President Johnson when he was the Vice President that stepped up to the Presidency. What were some of your feelings about that, having the Vice President becoming President? SC: Uh, we didn‟ t know too much about him. But we was hoping and praying that he would go in there and do the right thing and lead us in the right way. And we said a lot of prayers for him and for our country. JW: Absolutely. What are some of your recollections of the civil rights movement? SC: I have to talk about that one a little bit John. It had some good to it and some bad to it too. I think all people no matter what color they are, they should be treated as human beings. I don‟ t care, you know, what color you are, you are one of God‟ s children and [ I] think we ought to love one another and respect one another enough not to just lay on one another and be mean to one another. JW: Right. How did that movement affect your area? How did it affect Griffin? Do you remember? SC: I don‟ t think it affected it very much. I really don‟ t because the black and white here most of them were friendly and a lot of us grew up together as kids. We didn‟ t go to school with one another, but we did lived right close to one another. And the ones we had that were close to us, we was always very friendly and helpful to one another. JW: Right. Do you recall when President Nixon resigned from office and if you do, what are some of your thoughts about that? SC: I remember when he resigned John, but I wasn‟ t really interested in that back then and I wasn‟ t very much into politics and I was just never that close to it, but I liked Nixon. I liked him as a person and I thought he was doing good as President, you just don‟ t never know. I just don‟ t know… you know what he was thinking. JW: In your lifetime, what do you think has most changed in the world? SC: What do I think has changed the most in the world? I think people‟ s reactions towards one another and they‟ re just not a loving people today like they were back when I was coming up. They don‟ t respect one another like they used to. I mean you find some that do, but most of the people today are for self. 6
JW: Do you recall when man first landed on the moon and if you do what were some of your feelings about that? SC: Yes I do remember that, I remember that very well. I thought that was just something very exciting and you just didn‟ t know whether to believe it or not because it was so outgoing you know and you thought well how in the world could we get up that high? But if the lord giveth man knowledge enough to do things and they did it and I just think it‟ s wonderful. I think it‟ s brought a lot of good things. JW: Going back a little bit, as far as schooling goes, what schooling did you have in life, growing up I guess? SC: I‟ m sorry John. JW: Just going back a little bit, where did you attend school and at what ages did you attend school? SC: Ok, I attended Northside School from the first grade to the sixth, and then from the seventh grade, I went to Sam Bailey, from the seventh and eight grade, and then from the ninth grade to the twelfth grade I went to Griffin High and that‟ s as far in schooling I went. JW: Ok, how many grades were there at that time? SC: Twelve. JW: Ok, lets see here, since your lifetime what do you think has changed the most in your area? What has changed the most in Griffin since you‟ ve been alive? SC: Well, what‟ s changed the most… ok, back when I was coming up we had a lot of mills, we had the Spalding knitting mill, let me see if I can call some of them off, Dundee and Thomaston Mills, and I can‟ t remember if there was any more or not. Anyway there was five or six mills here that made sheets, they made table cloths, they made towels, washrags, stockings, and socks and things like that and there was a lot of good jobs for people and there was a lot of people here. But since they‟ ve been moving out and a lot of them have moved out now and Griffin is not, you don‟ t have as many people here as you did. JW: So the population has changed a lot? SC: Yeah. JW: What do you consider to be the greatest invention during your lifetime?
SC: Lets see John, well I can go back… we always had electric lights in town here when I was a kid, but out in the country where my grandmother and granddaddy lived, they didn‟ t have lights and that was one of the best things that ever helped us was when we had lights to turn on the 7
porch at night and read. And granny could sit down and read and she would read us the Bible when we were little, and she had light where she could read in place of having a lamp. Back then you‟ d have to take the lamp from room to room to see, but it was really good to have lights in the house, lights on where you could see. JW: So the electric light then? SC: Uh huh. JW: Made a big difference I‟ m sure. SC: Yeah it did. JW: As far as household appliances and things like that were there any big inventions that you can recall that really changed running a house? SC: Yeah, the washing machine, the dryer. We used to have to wash clothes in the tub and hang them out on the clothes line. Now today, you just throw them in that washing machine and wash them and then put them in the dryer you don‟ t even have to go outside to do it, your inside and you don‟ t have to walk from here to there to get everything done. JW: Now you mentioned that you had to take a job when you were younger because your father died, what time was that? Was that during the depression? SC: No, this was in 19… my daddy passed away in 1943. JW: So you would have actually been working during the Second World War? SC: Yep, yeah, you‟ re right, you‟ re right. JW: Were there any times when you felt like you had a life changing experience, any life changing experiences? SC: Let me see John, no I can‟ t… I always remember my granny and my grandmother, other grandmother, was Christian ladies and Granny Smith would read the Bible to us when we were small and she would you know teach us about Jesus and then when I was coming on up I always knew who he was because I was taught that. But as I grow older and I accepted Christ, that was the best time in my life when I met my Savior. JW: Were there any times when you felt that your life was affected by historical events with the economy? Any recessions that affected family life at all? SC: Like the depression when we was young? 8
JW: Right or even later on in life, maybe even where there ever any times when you felt like business… just felt like life at home was affected, maybe you had to use less ? SC: Oh yeah, when Sam and I was first married he [ was] running a place of business and I was working at the telephone company and trying to help with the bills and you know paying rent for food and all, trying to help him, and then his business grew. He asked me if I could stop working at the telephone company and help him. And I told him sure I would, I‟ d enjoy that. And I did, and I worked with him up until we sold the business. JW: Just going back, what were some of your memories of your parents? And if you don‟ t mind, could you state their names as well, so I can get those? SC: I‟ m sorry John, I didn‟ t understand? JW: Ok, I just wanted to find out some of your memories of your parents? SC: Oh, ok. JW: And if you don‟ t mind, if you could state their names as well. SC: All right, my dad‟ s name was John Curtis Smith and everybody called him J. C. And my mother‟ s name was Margaret Ann, her last name was Lindsey before she married a Smith. She worked too; they both worked. And some of the best times coming up, were sometimes daddy would get off of work and of course mother was working and they both got off around five or so or sometimes a little earlier, she would come on in and he would come home, he‟ d say lets go, down to the country. He always loved to go back to his home where his mother was, and she was still living in it at the time and we‟ d go back there in the old late model Ford and have the best time. [ We‟ d] go down and sometimes we would go out and help feed the chickens or go down to the milk barn, go down and milk the old calf and then she‟ d come back up to the house. Sometimes she would ask us if we wanted a chocolate milk because she knew we loved chocolate milk and she‟ d fix us a chocolate milk. And then sometimes when we were there and it was in the daytime and it was pretty and if we wanted to do something, we‟ d go and ask her to do it. Get a broom, a yard broom and it was made out of branches off of trees and we would sweep the yard and it would look so pretty and clean. Of course we‟ d help her in the kitchen, wash the dishes, and sweep the house, and do anything she wanted us to do. We always helped her and tried to do things for her and then we‟ d get outside and play. Ok? JW: Oh yeah, that‟ s great. So your memories of your parents are really happy memories? SC: Uh huh. Happy memories. JW: What were some of your memories as a mother, as raising your family, what are some of your memories you have from that? 9
SC: Ok, all right, ok… After Sam and I married he had been in the air force and they had told us that we wouldn‟ t have any children and so we decided, I asked him one day, I said “ Sam if we can‟ t have any children lets adopt a child.” And he said, “ Ok, let‟ s wait and see, let‟ s just wait a while.” Well, I started praying and I‟ m sure he did too and I started praying and asking the Lord if he would let me have children. I would raise them to love Him, they would be mine on earth but they would be His, you know, they would be His children. And so it wasn‟ t… I guess about a year maybe after that, that I did have my first child which was a little girl and I had two more girls and a boy. I had four children in all and I‟ ve always told the lord that if he would let me have children they would be His and I would raise them to love Him and all that He was. JW: Was it a doctor that told you that? SC: Yeah, uh huh, a doctor. [ The] doctor told us that. It was because he [ Sam Cooley] was in the Air Force and they thought that made him sterile because he had to fly up so high, he was in the Air Force during WWII. JW: Right now granddaddy [ Sam] he had returned from the Air Force when you had met, but what are some of the stories that you recall him telling you about his service in the military? SC: Oh ok. Well I heard him tell these stories about being… he was stationed in Italy, but he flew over in Africa, Sicily, and Italy, and all up into Greece and Yugoslavia and all up into France, not France, but back up towards Germany, because that‟ s where they bombed. And he would tell some of the tales about that and about flying over some of the most beautiful country, it was just so pretty. And then when he was an officer, him and some of the boys would get together and they would just look at places. He said it was some of the most beautiful churches he had ever seen and over there then, they did not bomb the churches, they didn‟ t even… that was just one thing they didn‟ t do. They respected them. JW: Later on during the Korean and Vietnam War what were some of your feelings as you were raising a family during that time period? SC: Well, you do worry about… because you don‟ t know people, what‟ s in their mind, whether they going to bomb us. You just keep praying and ask the lord to keep us safe. Of course my children weren‟ t old enough to be in that. Neither one of those, they was too young. But there was a lot of people that I did know that did go and most of the ones that I knew came back. JW: Right. The people that you knew that did serve, did they change at all when they came back, or did they mostly come back about the same as they did before? What are your memories of that? SC: The ones that I knew, you know, came back about just like they was when they left. It was their intentions, they went there and did their job and came back home and started their life over again. JW: You mentioned that you worked for granddaddy. Do you mind explaining his job to me and explain what you did when you worked with him? 10
SC: Oh ok. Ok. Well, he was in the service and he came back out of [ the] service and he wanted to start a business of his own. He came through Griffin after he had gone down through Macon and all back down in that way looking for a good place he thought he could start a business. And when he came back through Griffin, he came back up through old 41 Highway and he found a little building that was empty and he stopped and asked some of the people who owned the little building and they told him the man‟ s name and where he lived. So Sam went to see him and ask him would [ if] he[„ d] be interested in letting him have it so he could use it as a junk yard just for cars and trucks and Mr. Akin, I thought was his name said yes he would rent it to him. So he did and I didn‟ t know Sam then. Anyway so he brought cars up and trucks up and sold parts off of each of the ones that he had and then he had a wrecker service, he had a wrecker that he used and he had wrecker service too. And then I met him about a year after he had been here, maybe not quite a year and that‟ s when we started dating and the next thing you knew we was together. And then I quit working at Southern Bell and I helped him. I‟ d wait on customers and see what they wanted and tried to help him with his books and try to keep the place clean and just little things and we always worked together. JW: Was that a pretty enjoyable experience then, being able to work with your husband? SC: I loved it. I loved it, John. I loved being with him and he enjoyed being with me and we enjoyed being with one another. Most of the time when you‟ d see one you‟ d see the other. JW: That‟ s good. You mentioned that you worked at Southern Bell, could you explain a little bit more about what you did there and what it was? SC: I was a telephone operator and that was back when they didn‟ t have air condition, the windows was open and you had a board, a big long board there that had lights that would light up when anybody was trying to make a call. And then you had a cord that you would punch in to the little hole under the light and ask them and say, “ Number please.” And I enjoyed that too because we had a lot of good people here that were in business and you would hear the sound of their voice and you almost knew what they were going to call because they was in business and I really enjoyed it, I really did. JW: Are there any times in your life that you felt were more difficult then others? If so could you explain some of those times? SC: Hold on a minute, [ I] need to get a little water down my throat. Difficult times? JW: Yes ma‟ am.
SC: Well when we was first married it was a little bit difficult because both of us were young and we just started out and we didn‟ t have any running water at the house when we were first married and we had just two rooms there. And I remember we had to take a bath in the number two tub and had to warm the water on the little stove that we had. It didn‟ t have a television. All we had was a radio and Sam loved the radio and I did too. He said he never did want to have a car unless it had a radio in it „ cause we both loved music. And then when he got sick he had 11
appendicitis and that was a very scary moment. But he made it through ok. Then neither one of us… we‟ ve always been pretty fortunate and the Lord has really blessed us because both of our health was pretty good, up until he had his heart attack in ‟ 91. Ahat was a very scary moment. And he went through a lot going through that. In fact, they told him he had only a thirty percent chance to live. He had six bypasses and that shows you that prayer… the Lord does answer our prayers because I know when he was going down the hall, when they were taking him down the hall he told me, he said, “ Senea, if I don‟ t see you here any more I‟ ll wait for you. I‟ ll be waiting for you up yonder.” And then of course then he had that aneurism in his brain. He lived about ten years after his heart attack and then he had that aneurism of the brain and that was something they couldn‟ t do anything about. JW: You mentioned a couple of things, you mentioned that he had appendicitis at one time, about when was that? SC: That was, let me see John that was probably 1950, it was close to that anyway. JW: So when he was younger. Another thing, you mentioned a number two tub, would you mind explaining that a little bit, I‟ m unfamiliar? SC: Ok. A number two tub is like a big wash tub, you know, you‟ ve seen people, the old ones that they‟ d have apples in what you dunk an apple in. And [ a] number two tub was a pretty big tub that old folks used to wash clothes in. Yeah that was fun. One thing, you don‟ t appreciate something until you get it and then you really appreciate it. JW: Before you had running water where were you able to get your water from? SC: Ok. I had to get buckets to the Part‟ s place because they had running water there, it was just next door. JW: So you brought it home in buckets then? SC: Uh huh. JW: You mentioned doing laundry before the washer and the dryer, how did you do that? SC: Now that was when I was at home. We had to wash clothes in the bath tub. Sister and I would help mother because she was working and we was in school. And we would wash clothes and [ at] the tub at home and then hang them out on the clothes line. JW: When were you married and what are some of your memories of that time in your life? SC: We married November the 26th, 1949. That was one of the happiest days of my life. JW: Do you have any specific memories of that time period in your life, or that day even? 12
SC: Oh yes, I sure do. The day that I met him, I met him while I was working at the telephone company when I met him because I had placed a telephone call earlier for him to talk to his girl in Atlanta. And he had called back, wanted to know how much the telephone cost because he [ was] working with a man at his shop and he wanted to pay his bills because he didn‟ t want to charge it to the place. He wanted to make sure everything was right. Anyway, I placed a call for him and he asked me… he wouldn‟ t hang up, and he said, “ What kind of car do you drive?” And to get rid of him I told him, “ I drive an old ‟ 37 Ford.” And he said, “ Ok.” And that was it. Well I didn‟ t think nothing about it and so when I got off from work that night, it was about eleven o‟ clock when I got off, he was down there parked close to where I was and he watched to see me get in that car and he walked up and spoke to me. [ He was a] nice looking guy, had a white shirt and pair of pretty tan pants and his shoes just shined like crazy. And [ he] had nice hair and it wasn‟ t kinky, it was just enough curl to be nice and big old pretty brown eyes. And he started talking to me and he asked me, he said, “ How about let‟ s go get a cup of coffee.” And I said, “ I don‟ t know you and you don‟ t know me.” And I said, “ I‟ m going home. My grandmother is expecting me and I‟ m going home.” And he said, “ Oh ok. Ok.” And later on he told me he said he fell in love with my voice. But anyway, he followed me home to see where I lived and he said, “ I‟ m going to call you tomorrow.” And from that time on mother said she couldn‟ t go out the door or come in, he was either coming in or coming out, but he was there. And I told her when I went home that night, I said, “ Mother, I just met the boy I‟ m going to marry.” And she laughed because I was always cutting up and she just thought I was cutting up. But I said, “ No mother. I‟ m serious, there was something there that I had never felt before.” And I said, “ I know that he is the one I‟ m going to marry.” And that‟ s the way it ended. I did marry him and I‟ d do it all over again. JW: Wow. Now that was in Griffin, correct? SC: Uh huh. Yeah. JW: And that would have been, you said 1949? SC: 1949 is when we got married, that‟ s right. November the 26th. JW: You mentioned that you went through school. Do you have any recollections of being in school? What are some of your memories of that? SC: Ok. Yes, I have some good memories of school. I had a lot of good friends, friends that I still keep in contact with them, some of them. I still have contact with them and talk to them and we all are getting up in age now, most of us are up into our seventies. And we had some good times. We‟ d sit up on the steps of the school sometimes and we‟ d sing after we went to lunch. We‟ d sit on the steps and sing songs and just have good clean fun. JW: All right. What would you say that you learned the most in life? What‟ s been the greatest thing you‟ ve learned, do you think? SC: Most I‟ ve what? Say it again sugar. 13
JW: What do you think has been the greatest thing you‟ ve learned in life, maybe the greatest lesson, anything like that? SC: Ok, ok. The greatest thing I think I‟ ve lived… of course I‟ ve always loved the Lord like I said. I‟ ve always loved the Lord and I‟ ve always known who He was and I think just raising a family and being close to one another and just caring for one another and just making a good home, making a good home for the family, that‟ s some of my happiest days. And I still love them because the children are gone, I have the grandchildren come in and I try to make them feel like they‟ re loved and you know, my home is my home for them too. JW: Absolutely. What are some of your hobbies in life? SC: I used to love to sew, but I‟ m getting where I can‟ t sew because I [ can‟ t] see that good. And I crocheted and I love to do ceramics. I used to carry the kids when they was small to ceramics to keep them busy and do little things for them. I always cut up outside and played with them when they were coming up and take a lot of time with them and I think that that‟ s one of the things that my children, I think that‟ s the reason I didn‟ t have any problems with them coming up because they knew they was loved and they was wanted and they knew that mother had time to take up with them. Of course dad did too to a point but he wanted to work and have it where I could stay at home with the children. JW: Right, now I know you like to dance… SC: I do love to dance. JW: Could you describe what you like and what you like to dance to? SC: I love just about any good sweet music. I love gospel music. I love music back in the 1940s and 50s. I love music and let me see… makes me think of Stardust, that‟ s one of my favorites. Stardust and Begin to Begin and a lot of those songs was really popular when the war was going on. And let me see if I can think of some… and the Apple Tree. And I do love to dance, I can‟ t dance like I used to because I‟ ve done got too old, but I enjoyed doing jitterbugging and I love good clean fun. Now I don‟ t like … I just away from it, if it‟ s not right, but I‟ ve always enjoyed good clean fun, having fun in the right way. JW: What type of music would that have been? What would that be called? What was it that you listened to mostly? SC: John, I love most all music. Like I said, I‟ ve always loved gospel music. I like the Gaithers. Today I love the Gaithers because it makes you feel good to hear, it lifts you up. And back then we had, before the Gaithers ever came, I can‟ t remember any… Vaughn Monroe was one of the singers I remember hearing him sing. And I can‟ t remember any of the others. I wish I wrote this down. If I‟ d have known it I could have wrote it down. But the songs during World War II, they was real good, they was, most of it was soft music and you can slow dance to it, kind of like love music. 14
JW: Now you mentioned that you like to sew, crochet, and do ceramics. What were some of things that you were able to sew or crochet? What were some of the things that you were able to make? SC: Ok, I can sew almost anything you wanted to be sewed. I sewed and made my dresses, a lot of my dresses that I made. And after I had my first baby I made little dresses for her and made blankets and crocheted around the edge of the blankets and let me see what else. And I learned how to crochet, mother showed me how to crochet. And then when I learned how to crochet I would make little jackets and pants and little booties for little babies, and I would crotched little pieces that you would put on the table, put forks on them, anything you wanted to set on the table and let me see, what else John. I‟ ve always enjoyed sewing and trying to make pretty things. I learned that from my mother, she used to sew and she would sew when she got off of work. She would sew on a machine at the house and make clothes for people. They would come to the house and bring material and patterns for her to make clothes for them and of course they would pay her for making them, and that‟ s the way she made extra money to help us come along and pay our bills too. JW: You mentioned both your parents were working. Could you explain both of their jobs and kind of what they did? SC: Ok, now my mother worked at Spalding Knitting Mill. She knitted socks for people you know for children and for grown ups too. That‟ s what she did and after she left that place she went to Southeastern Textile. And that was where they made tablecloths and sheets and I think there was diapers too. And she was one of the people that folded cloth, you know, put it in bundles. And that‟ s what I did too while I was there. Daddy, he was working at the Gulf Oil Corporation for Mr. E. E. Milton and he worked there from about… he was about eighteen to nineteen years old when he started working there and he worked there for eighteen years. And then when the war came along the gas was rationed out. Mr. Milton didn‟ t have enough gas for him, he was the last one that he had hired, and he didn‟ t have enough gas to let him keep working there, so he told him that he‟ d help him find him a job. And daddy got out and he told him he said, that‟ s fine, he said, “ I‟ ll find something.” And so he did, he went down to Warner Robbins and went to work down there at Warner Robbins Air force Base and that‟ s where he was. And he was working there when he was on his way home one night from work and had a heart attack and died. JW: What were your memories about that time period? How old were you when he died and what were some of your memories about that? SC: Ok, I do remember when he died. My mother‟ s brother had called him and told him that Daddy had passed away and he was the one that came to the house and told mother and Kathleen that he had passed away. And that was probably about one- thirty or two o‟ clock in the morning, because he didn‟ t get off until about eleven- thirty or twelve and that he died on his way home and… 15
JW: I think you‟ ve already mentioned it, but how old were you and, I guess, how did it really affect your family? You mentioned that your mom was working and that you had to work as well. SC: Yeah, uh huh. Yeah, it affected us a good bit because she was the only one that was able to work because my sister and I, we was young, we was young, and of course people… and this goes back to tell how people were back then. People were precious, they‟ d bring us food and canned goods and stuff like that, helping us, you know, trying to help us. And mother‟ s family, they helped too and daddy‟ s family helped too and they looked after one another back then. That‟ s the reason I said people back then loved one another more back then than they do now. They showed it more. JW: So you would say that the community and the extended family really stepped in to help a lot? SC: Exactly. Exactly. JW: You mentioned that you worked at, I believe it was the textile mill, was that at the same time as your mother? SC: Uh huh. Uh huh. JW: So you guys worked together. Cool. Is there anything that you would like to just share… some fun memories in life or just anything you‟ d like to say, about maybe any memory that sticks out that you‟ d like for everybody to know? SW: Some of the best memories of my life was when I was coming up because I had a good mother and a good dad and they loved us and they made us mind. We had our jobs to do to help and they taught us how to do and how to you know go ahead and make a way for our own life when we got older. And well they did, they made us… we was raised with respect and love. Some of the best times in life was when daddy was living. He alwayed loved to go to camp meetings. We‟ d go to camp meetings at Indian Springs and I remember that place would be so full of people you couldn‟ t hardly walk, all day singing and preaching. And he enjoyed going to church and he enjoyed taking us to church and we‟ d go to different places where they‟ d have all this singing. It was just something special. We‟ d go there and you‟ d see people you hadn‟ t seen in a long time and just enjoy good, you know just good, get togethers. JW: Absolutely. You mentioned being involved a lot in church, what were some of… now growing up did you guys usually attend church? How was that?
SC: Yeah, I didn‟ t go every Sunday, but we would go. What I‟ m saying is sometimes we‟ d skip, maybe one of us would be sick or something like that and maybe we just didn‟ t go because something else came up in family and we‟ d do something else. But we were brought up in church and Daddy was a member of the Baptist Church… Baptist Church. And mother was a member of the Methodist Church. And then she went up to town, she went with her mother up here at … I can‟ t remember that little church up there close to that airport, but I can‟ t remember 16
the name of it now. But it was a little Methodist church. My mother was a Methodist and daddy was a Baptist. It didn‟ t matter because it was so much alike. JW: Right. So you were raised in a very religious home then? SC: Uh huh. Uh huh. Like I said, I‟ ve always known who the Lord was. My sister and I we used to sing, “ Jesus loves me” a lot when we was little. And I‟ ll tell you something else we did in church when mother and daddy was both working. We had a cook lady that was working for us, her name was Rosedale and she was one of the sweetest, just one of the sweetest ladies you‟ d ever know, and we would come up… or something, she‟ d get Kathleen and I to sit on the couch or sit on the floor and she would read us novel stories. Isn‟ t that something? JW: That is. SC: That‟ s something you don‟ t forget. She was sweet and I know when Sam and I got married and… Kathleen was at home and I came home one day from work and she told me she said, “ There is somebody here that you hadn‟ t seen in a long time.” She said, “ And guess who it is? I said, “ Who?” She said, “ I‟ m not going to tell you. You‟ re going to have to find her.” And I started to the living room and she was hid in the closet and she jumped out and grabbed me and well I‟ ll be. And she said, “ Ms. Senea, I loves you.” Oh me, she was talking about when she was reading bible stories to us when we were kids. She loved the Lord and she enjoyed doing that. JW: Well, I think that‟ s it. SC: Well, I hope I‟ ve helped you sugar. JW: Definitely. Thank you.