Re: [at-l] bivies- and wet sleeping bags

[WHHAWKINS@aol.com]

In a message dated 01/28/2000 1:30:50 AM EDT, lwbooher@evansville.net writes:

<<   Can we change the subject?  How do you like
 Chinese art?  Leslie >>

I did two days ago.
Would you like to read about Life During Confederate Days?

Wildbill

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 
1936-1940

[Life During Confederate Days] 
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LifeConfederateDays 

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LIFE DURING CONFEDERATE DAYS 

Written By: 
Mrs. Ina B. Hawkes 
Research Field Worker 
Georgia Writers' Project 

Athens - 
Edited By: 
Mrs. Maggie B. Freeman 
Editor 
Georgia Writers' Project 

Athens - 
WPA Area 6 

October 18, 1939 

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October 3, 1939 

Mrs. W.W. Mize (White) 
198 Elbert Street 
Athens, Georgia 
Housekeeper 

I.B. Hawkes LIFE DURING CONFEDERATE DAYS 

Mrs. Green's house completely fitted the description given me by a 
delivery boy about 15 years of age. Located on a hill with a front yard 
practically covered in green grass with the exception of the front walk, 
shrubbery here and there and a few blooming flowers about the yard, 
trees whose leaves are beginning to show various colors, presented quite 
a pretty picture with a two story frame house painted white with green 
trimmings in the back ground, seemed a typical place to find just such a 
lovely old lady as I found occuping this home. 

In answer to my knock a lady appeared in a printed frock, rather spick 
and span with quite a puzzled look on her face. She probably took me for 
a book agent since I carry my writing material etc. and book agents are 
not given a very cordial welcome by most people. "Good morning," she 
said, "won't you come in?" Introducing myself I asked, "is there an 
older Mrs. Green who lives here than you?" "Yes, come in." I accepted 
her invitation quite readily and on entering the living room there was 
an old lady with white hair, rocking to and fro with glasses on and 
knitting something that seemed very interesting to her. 

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The heater was of medium height, well polished and displayed cleanliness 
itself. On this heater a kettle of water was boiling furiously. Over the 
mantle was a picture of very old style with wide frame. In the corner an 
old spinning wheel, a settee covered with worn silk tapestry and little 
silk balls dangling from it in another corner. The chairs of antique 
style were showing their wear and a large artsquare with a few rugs 
covered most of the floor. "Howdy," said the elder Mrs. Green, before I 
could tell her my name. The young Mrs. Green following behind said, "Ma, 
this is Mrs. Spence, she wants to see and talk to you a while." "Yes, 
yes, I am just knitting some lace for some pillow cases, I am allus busy 
at something." 

"Don't you want to tell me something about your life history, Mrs. 
Green?" I asked. At first she didn't know what to say, but then she 
said, I can generally tell whether I like any one or not time I see 
them, and I believe I will like you fine. 

"Well, Honey, my troubles and my joys might not be very interesting to 
you, but they have proven to be both interesting and sad to me. I shall 
be glad to tell you something of my life history if you care to hear it, 
do you?" 

"Of course I do, Mrs. Green." 

"Well, I was born 87 years ago, June 22, 1852. My father was shot in the 
arm while in action during the first 

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year of the Confederate War. He was sent home later because of illness 
and finally died with typhoid fever. He left ma with six chilluns, three 
boys and three girls. I was the oldest and I had to help ma raise the 
chilluns, but we worked hard, everybody had to work hard then. I have 
seen people cry and beg for something to eat. But I took those chillun 
and sent them to school, and I made them help me when they got home. We 
did all kinds of field work. Mother and me had to make all our clothes, 
spin the cotton and weave the cloth. Child, we have had to sit at night, 
spin cotton and weave by a light'ood knot for light a many a time. Our 
salt we got from the smoke house. We have had folks to come to our smoke 
house a many a time and get the dirt and boil it for salt. And we didn't 
have no sugar either. Ma never let the syrup barrel get empty, unless, 
she was cleaning it out to fill it again with fresh syrup. We sweetened 
pies, cakes and coffee and liked it as good as we like sugar today. Yes, 
sometimes now I make some old fashion sweet bread, ginger bread and I 
like it to this day for coffee. We parched wheat or rye. We didn't make 
enough wheat to have biscuits every day, we just baked biscuits twice a 
week. My mother would never let us cook on Sundays, we had to cook 
enough Saturdays to last till Monday. 

"We was raised to go to church. I allus saw that my brothers and sisters 
had good enough clothes to go. You see my oldest brother was a preacher 
and a fine Baptist preacher 

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he was. 

"My mother's father was a preacher, she had three brothers and one son 
that was preachers. I ain't bragging but my people on both sides were 
good. 

"Well, I began to think that I was grown about this time, and I married 
Mr. Green, a fine young man, too. His father was the richest man in 
Franklin County. His land was five miles long and he owned two big 
stores. About the time we married, this land was in Franklin County. It 
was decided that Franklin County was too large, so it was divided, and 
the house that my husband was raised in is now the courthouse in 
Stephens. 

"I married in 1869, one night by candle light. Times was a little better 
now, we could afford candles. Carnesville was the nearest town to the 
Green place. There was a lot of talk about the Greens them days. Don't 
get me wrong, hear! I mean when they put the courthouse at the Green's 
place. My mother was with us, and she wanted to go back to Tennessee. 
Mr. Green said he came through Tennessee on his way back from war, and 
he thought it was a beautiful country. I could not let Ma leave me, and 
we went back with her and stayed four years. I had two chilluns while I 
was out there. Mr. Green was in the war too, and he would sit and tell 
me lots of things that happened. 

He said, 'one time him and one more of the men hid behind what they 
called the breastworks, he says it is 

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something built of sticks and brush, just anything to keep the Yankees 
from seeing and killing them. One night it was raining and the trenches 
was full of mud, him and this man got sticks and rails and put one end 
up on the fence, the other was down in the mud, but they rolled up in 
their blankets and stayed till day light on these sticks, so they could 
see. Then they crawled out and saw a mother cat with three little 
kittens behind the breastworks. Well, he said, they had not had a bit to 
eat in three days, and they was so hungry that they got the little 
kittens, but they noticed that a mule had been shot and they cut a plug 
out of him and cooked it and ate it.' 

'Oh, he said, he had to do so many things like that,' but he got back 
all right and we married. 

"Well, Honey, I kept on till I had fourteen chilluns, eleven boys and 
three girls. We went back to Franklin County and Mr. Green's father 
died. So all his land and stores had to be divided up in eight parts. I 
took Mr. Green's mother to live with us. We was not so well off and I 
had to work. Our wheat was not so plentiful either, but his mother had 
to have her biscuits three times a day. She had always been rich, you 
see, and she had to have anything she wanted. You see, when Mr. Green's 
father died, his mother just got a child's part, but I didn't mistreat 
her. Mr. Green thought sometimes that she was overbearing, but she was 
getting old, and we both looked over it the best we could. She lived 
with 

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us and was 97 years old when she died. My husband was her baby, too. 

"Well, Honey, as I told you we had fourteen healthy chilluns, and we 
were proud of every one of them. Some of them married before Mr. Green 
died, in good families, too. Well, after Mr. Green's death, I lived with 
my oldest son till he died. He was taken sick with pneumonia fever. Then 
I moved to Athens and have been here fifteen years. I got settled here 
and still sew, and do most anything that I could do, to help out as a 
boarder. I get $30.00 a month from Mr. Green's death. 

"I had a daughter to die last year with appendix, but her husband has 
plenty, so he and the chilluns are very comfortable. My son had a bad 
wreck not long ago in his car and broke his neck. All this has caused me 
a lot of sorrow, but now I take my pension, and rent this house, because 
all we had has gotten out of our hands with all these hard times. My 
daughter, her husband and son, and his wife, and grandson and his wife 
stay here with me. I could not live if they didn't stay with me. You see 
they archilluns are very comfortable. My son had a bad wreck not long 
ago in his car and broke his neck. All this has caused me a lot of 
sorrow, but now I take my pension, and rent this house, because all we 
had has gotten out of our hands with all these hard times. My daughter, 
her husband and son

"I have forty grandchildren and fifty great grandchildren. 

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I am always getting some kind of little present because there is 
Mother's Day or Christmas and my Birthday's too. Last birthday I had 116 
here, that's why I like roomy houses. We have right big rooms and two 
big porches to sit on." 

Her daughter said, "here Ma, here's your check". Mrs. Green's face 
brightened. The young Mrs. Green says, "Ma's always glad when her check 
comes, she wants to go to town right then and get it cashed." 

"Do you go about much {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} [,?] 
{End handwritten} {End inserted text} Mrs. Green?" I asked. 

"Why yes, I don't give up for little things such as a touch of 
rheumatism." 

The noon train went by so I decided I had better get to lunch. Mrs. 
Green got up to go to the door with me and she said, "I am sorry we 
didn't know you was coming out, we would have had our house a little 
more in order." {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End 
handwritten} {End inserted text} That's all right, everything look's 
very nice. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} 
{End inserted text} It was just fairly furnished but clean. 
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