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

["Leslie W. Booher" <lwbooher@evansville.net>]

Oh, and, after spending 35 years in Mississippi, I don't want to discuss
life in Confederate days.  That was one of the joys of moving to Indiana:
we didn't refight the Civil War every day.  After living in Columbus, MS
(big pilgrimage town), and Vicksburg (big everything-Civil-War-related
town), it was pure pleasure to get far enough away that that wasn't the
basis of our tourist industry.  Leslie

On Fri, 28 Jan 2000, WHHAWKINS@aol.com wrote...
>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] 
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>LifeConfederateDays 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page}
>
>
>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 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page}
>
>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. 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page no. 2}
>
>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 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page no. 3}
>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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>{Begin page no. 4}
>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 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page no. 5}
>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 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>{Page image} 
>{Begin page no. 6}
>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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>{Begin page no. 7}
>
>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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