<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</SPAN></span></p>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="annawright">
<tr><td align='left'>District:</td><td align='left'>No. 2</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Worker:</td><td align='left'>Mary Hicks</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>No. Words:</td><td align='left'>580</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Subject:</td><td align='left'>A SLAVE STORY, ANNA WRIGHT</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Person Interviewed:</td><td align='left'>ANNA WRIGHT</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Editor:</td><td align='left'>George L. Andrews</td></tr>
</table></div>
<p>[TR: Date stamp: AUG 17 1937]<br/></p>
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<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</SPAN></span></p>
<h2>ANNA WRIGHT</h2>
<h4>An interview with Anna Wright, 72 years of age, of Wendell,
North Carolina.
</h4>
<p>"I wus borned de year de war ended so I can't tell
nothin' dat I seed, only what my mammy tol' me. We lived
dar on Marse James Ellis' plantation till I wus five or
six years old, so I 'members de slave cabins an' de big
house.</p>
<p>"De plantation wus in Scotland County an' de big
house set on a little knoll. Back of de big house set
de rows of slave cabins an' back of dem wus de apple orchard
an' de bee orchard. Hit wus a purty place sho' nuff, an'
dey tells me dat dey wus happy 'fore de war, 'case Marse
James wus good ter dem.</p>
<p>"Dere must of been 'bout two hundret slaves, 'cordin'
ter de number of cabins. De slaves wurked hard in de fiel's
but unless de wurk wus pushin' dey had Sadday evenin' off
ter go a-fishin' er do anything de wanted ter do. Two or
three times a year Marse James let dem have a dance an'
invite in all de neighborhood slaves. Dey had corn shuckin's
ever' fall an' de other slaves 'ud come ter dem.</p>
<p>"De candy pullin's wus a big affair wid de niggers.
Dey'd come from all over de neighborhood ter cook de lasses<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</SPAN></span>
an' pull de candy. While de candy cooled dey'd play
drappin' de handkerchief an' a heap of other games. De
courtin' couples liked dese games 'case dey could set out
or play an' court all dey pleased. Dey often made up
dere min's ter ax de marster iffen dey could narry [TR: marry] too,
at dese parties.</p>
<p>"De weddin's wus somethin' fine, believe me. De
niggers dressed lak a white folks weddin' an' de circuit
parson married dem in de big house parlour. De marster
an' de missus wus dere, an' dey always gived presents ter
de bride too. Atter de ceremony wus over dar'd be a feas'
an' a dance. Most likely dar'd be a heap of noise. I've
heard mammy tell of seberal big weddin's.</p>
<p>"Mammy tol' me dat Marse James wus a very religious
man, an' dat wus why de preacher married de slaves, an'
why he made all of de slaves go ter church on Sunday an'
say de blessin' at meal times.</p>
<p>"My pappy wus named Tom, an' he wurked in de fiel's
fer Marse James. Hit wus pappy dat haul up de waremelons
in de wagin body atter I could 'member, an' dey said dat
he haul dem up in slavery times too. Marse James raise a
plenty melons fer all of de slaves an' he raise plenty of
hogs ter eat de rines. De slaves uster have a watermelon
slicin' 'bout once a week an' sometimes dey'd invite de<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</SPAN></span>
neighbors in.</p>
<p>"You wants ter know 'bout some ole slavery foods, well
I'll tell you what I knows. Did you ever hear of kush?
Kush was cornbread, cooked in de big griddle on de fireplace,
mashed up with raw onions an' ham gravy poured over hit.
You mought think dat hit ain't good but hit am.</p>
<p>"Fried chicken wus seasoned, drapped in flour an' den
simmered in a big pan of ham gravy wid a lid on hit till
hit wus tender, den de lid wus tuck off an' de chicken wus
fried a golden brown as quick as possible.</p>
<p>"Does you know de old southern way of makin' baked
chicken dressin'? Well, it wus made from soft corn bread
wid bacon grease, onions, black pepper an' boiled eggs.
Some of de folks used cheese too in dis dressin'.</p>
<p>"De griddle cakes wus flour an' meal mixed, put on a
big ole iron griddle on de fireplace an' flipped over two
times. Ashe cake wus made of either meal or flour, wrapped
in a damp cloth an' cooked in de hot ashes on de h'ath.
Taters wus cooked in de ashes too an' dey wus good like dat.
I'se heard mammy say dat de slave chilluns uster bake onions
dat way.</p>
<p>"Fish, dem days, wus dipped in meal, 'fore dey wus
cooked, 'cept cat fish; an' dey wus stewed wid onions.</p>
<p>"Cornmeal dumplin's wus biled in de turnip greens,
collards, cabbages, an' so on, even ter snap beans, an' at<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</SPAN></span>
supper de pot licker wus eat wid de dumplin's. Dat's why
de folks wus so healthy.</p>
<p>"Speakin' 'bout sweets, de blackberry or other kind of
pie wus cooked in a big pan wid two crusts. Dat made more
an' wus better ter boot. Cakes wus mostly plain or had
jelly fillin', 'cept fer special company.</p>
<p>"From the first I could 'member de white folks an'
niggers alike ain't had much ter eat. A heap of our rations
wus vege'ables, squirrels, rabbits, possums an' coons. We
drunk parched meal water fer coffee an' we done widout a
heap of things, but atter awhile we got richer, an' Marse
James got some money for something from de No'th, so dey
got 'long all right.</p>
<p>"When I wus twelve we moved ter Wake County, out near
Wendell an' when I wus thirteen I married Sam Wright, an'
we got along fine till he dies 'bout ten years ago. We
ain't had but three chilluns but we lived through a heap
of bad depressions.</p>
<p>"What we needs mostly am law an' justice. Why hit wus
better when de Ku Kluxes had law, dey tells me. Now-a-days
de nigger fights on de streets like dogs. Back den de
bossman seed to hit dat dar wus law an' order in de town an'
in de country too fer dat matter, an' dem wus de good ole
days."</p>
<p>EH</p>
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