Cassette 1 Side 1

Media

Part of Elsie Henderson Interview

Identifier

1:1

Title

Cassette 1 Side 1

Type

Interview

Source

Elsie Henderson Interview, July 26, 1990

Rights

No Known Copyright

Description

**Note** the first 10:44 of this interview is that of an unknown female family member [possibly a niece of Mrs. Henderson's]. This individual grew up on her grandfather's farm (area was known as Moore's Farm). She makes brief comment regarding her grandfather's land and its connection to the construction of the local Southern Railroad, her father's employment as a cook with the Southern Railroad, her educational experiences, local black churches, and her admiration of the way in which the state of South Carolina handled de-segregation, specifically in regards to Clemson University.

Side 1

10:50--Elsie Henderson gives her name and address.

11:25--As a child, Mrs. Henderson attended a school near the Oakway/South Union community. She had to walk three miles to and from school everyday. She can remember having a male teacher, but doesn't provide his name. The children got an hour for lunch, and usually played baseball at recess.

13:14--She didn't attend the camp meetings held at Bethel Grove until after she was married. She can recall ministers from all around the local area attending, along with much testifying, singing, and plenty of food.

14:46--Mrs. Henderson herself was a member of a local singing convention. The event was usually held once a year during either the summer or spring. There was no preaching, just a multi-denominational gathering of local choir groups. Mrs. Henderson and her mother were a part of the WMA within their church. Her mother, in fact, was president of the group for thirty years.

18:33--Mrs. Henderson explains that when she was a child, education had to revolve around the growing season. She briefly explains the different times of the year that children of farming families generally attended school.

19:30--Mrs. Henderson describes some of her experiences picking cotton. She states that the most amount she ever was involved in picking during one day was 350 pounds. In addition, she recalls that after school as a youth, she would help do the wash for local families.

22:35--Her family raised most of its own food, including livestock. There were not many products that had to be store bought in those days.

22:57--Her mother and one sister were especially gifted with sewing. They did their own sewing and repaired their own clothes.

23:39--Slavery--her grandparents were slaves; she particularly remembers her maternal grandmother whose name was Laura Mann. She was from Hartwell, Georgia. She helped raise her grandchildren and would tell them stories of the slave days. Her grandmother had a vivid memory of when troops (not clear whether Union or Confederate) came through the area where she lived and in general were responsible for a great deal of destruction and looting.

29:57--Funerals--the main differences in the way services were held in the old days was that there were no undertakers, bodies were laid out at home on a board, and wagons were utilized for carrying coffins.

31:43--Audio ends.