But whatever they wanted, Miss
Polly would go along with them and they would buy it. They went to
Goldsboro. That was the biggest town near us. The patrollers never
bothered any of us. Once or twice they tried it. But Miss Polly wrote to
Mr. John. He'd write it all down like it ought to be. Then they didn't
bother us any more.
There was no speculation wid 'em like there was with other negro people.
They never had to go to the hiring ground. Mr. John built a church for
my mother and the other women who was running mates with her. And he
built a school for the children. Some other colored children tried to
come to the school too. They was welcome. But sometimes the white folks
would tear up the books of the colored children from outside that tried
to come.
Our folks stayed on and on. Mr. John was off teaching school most of the
time. We stayed on and on. Pretty soon there was about 150-200, of us.
Some of them was carpenters and some of them was this and some was that.
Mr. John even put in a mill. A groundhog saw mill, it was. Some white
men put it in. But it was the colored folks who run it. They all stayed
right on on the farm. There wasn't any white folks about at all, except
Miss Polly and Bunk and Margaret.
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