Cassette 1 Side 2
Media
Part of Alice Gassaway Interview
Identifier
1:2
Title
Cassette 1 Side 2
Type
Interview
Source
Alice Gassaway Interview, November 30, 1989
Rights
Description
Cassette 1
Side 2
00:07--Gassaway explains that some of the children's nice shoes and clothes were donated by whites that her mother worked for. She mentions Dr. Austin's (he was the local dentist) wife and Mrs. Hunter (her husband ran the local shoe store).
2:10--Miss Gassaway recalls helping her mother do the wash as a youth. She would carry the clothesbaskets on head, hips, or shoulders. She describes the steps commonly utilized in the washing process. Homemade lye soap was often used. Pay was not good; they made perhaps $1.50 per load.
9:25--In order that Miss Gassaway could attend school, her mother sold a cow for $75 and also mailed monthly payments to her daughter at school with earnings from her domestic work.
11:36--Her mother worked Monday through Thursday washing and ironing for local whites. In the days before electric irons, her mother would have eight or nine irons available, all heated in the fireplace. The general steps in the ironing process are covered. There was no extra charge for ironing.
14:00--Different charges according to the size of the wash are discussed.
16:17--Miss Gassaway briefly left the Seneca area for New York. About three years after she first started teaching, she decided to move. Domestic work up north at the time was proving to be lucrative for blacks, so she decided to give it a try. She recalls several stories of her experiences before her return to the Seneca area.
26:16--Miss Gassaway recalls the types of jobs that were commonly available to blacks. Black men usually farmed or did odd jobs. Many did blacksmith work. There were really no employment opportunities for black women other than domestic work. Young blacks often did baby-sitting work.
29:40--Shopping--The family shopped at Hunter's Store in Seneca. They used the credit system to pay for the goods. Miss Gassaway was aware of no black-owned local stores.
31:44--Audio ends.
Side 2
00:07--Gassaway explains that some of the children's nice shoes and clothes were donated by whites that her mother worked for. She mentions Dr. Austin's (he was the local dentist) wife and Mrs. Hunter (her husband ran the local shoe store).
2:10--Miss Gassaway recalls helping her mother do the wash as a youth. She would carry the clothesbaskets on head, hips, or shoulders. She describes the steps commonly utilized in the washing process. Homemade lye soap was often used. Pay was not good; they made perhaps $1.50 per load.
9:25--In order that Miss Gassaway could attend school, her mother sold a cow for $75 and also mailed monthly payments to her daughter at school with earnings from her domestic work.
11:36--Her mother worked Monday through Thursday washing and ironing for local whites. In the days before electric irons, her mother would have eight or nine irons available, all heated in the fireplace. The general steps in the ironing process are covered. There was no extra charge for ironing.
14:00--Different charges according to the size of the wash are discussed.
16:17--Miss Gassaway briefly left the Seneca area for New York. About three years after she first started teaching, she decided to move. Domestic work up north at the time was proving to be lucrative for blacks, so she decided to give it a try. She recalls several stories of her experiences before her return to the Seneca area.
26:16--Miss Gassaway recalls the types of jobs that were commonly available to blacks. Black men usually farmed or did odd jobs. Many did blacksmith work. There were really no employment opportunities for black women other than domestic work. Young blacks often did baby-sitting work.
29:40--Shopping--The family shopped at Hunter's Store in Seneca. They used the credit system to pay for the goods. Miss Gassaway was aware of no black-owned local stores.
31:44--Audio ends.