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Black Heritage in the Upper Piedmont of South Carolina

Strickland Cassette 1 Side 1

Media

Part of Interview: Strickland, Bertha M.

Title

Strickland Cassette 1 Side 1

Source

Bertha M. Strickland Interview

Date

1990-07-08

Description

Side 1

1:05--Biographical Information

2:07--She can recall that her paternal grandmother's name was Donna Strickland. Her great-grandmother was Sadie Collins.

3:30--Strickland's father worked with the railroad in NC, and was often away from home. Her mother worked for the Lunney family locally for 50 years. Dr. Lunney predeceased his wife, so Strickland's mother was largely responsible for the day-today operations of the household. Strickland discusses at length life in the Lunney household.

13:43--Mrs. Strickland, as a child, did domestic work for the Joe Bird family locally. She started work for them when she was in the sixth grade. Her brother did landscaping work for the Burton family.

14:55--Financially the family didn't earn much, but they made ends meet. Clothes were often passed down to them from whites families.

16:10--Strickland's neighborhood was racially mixed, with houses of large white families and black domestic workers just one block away.

19:05--Education--Strickland attended Oconee County Training School. There were occasional problems with white's going to and from school.

22:15--Church--She has always attended St. James United Methodist Church.

28:10--Strickland mentions that her mother was a member of the Mary McCloud Bethune Society.

31:44--Audio ends.

Rights

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.