"When I first went to farmin' I rented the land and the cotton was all
mine, but now you work on the shares and don't have nothin'.
"If I keep a livin', I'm goin' away from here. I'm goin' up north. I
won't go fore it gets warm though. I seen the snow knee deep in
Cleveland, Ohio.
"I was workin' up north once. I had a pretty good job in Detroit doin'
piece work, and doin' well, but I come back here cause my wife's mother
was too old to move. If I had stayed I might have done well.
"I own this property but I'm bout to lose it on account o' taxes.
"I got grown boys and they ain't no more help to me than the spit out o'
my mouth. None of em has ever give me a dime in their life. This younger
generation is goin' to nothin'. They got a good education. I got a boy
can write six different kinds a hands. Write enough to get in the pen. I
got him pardoned and he's in Philadelphia now. Never sends me a dime.
"I never went to any school but night school a little. I was the oldest
and it kep me knockin' around to help take care of the little ones.
"I preach sometimes. I'm not ordained--I'm a floor preacher, just stands
in front of the altar."
Interviewer: Miss Irene Robertson
Person interviewed: Lizzie Dunn, Clarendon, Arkansas
Age: 88
"I was born close to Hernando, Mississippi.
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