“On Christmas mornin’ all of us would come up to de yard back of de Big ’Ouse and Marse Billie and de overseer handed out presents for all.  Dey wuz a little dram and cake too.  Us chillun got dolls, and dresses, and aprons.  Them stuffed rag dolls wuz de prettiest things!  On New Year’s day all de mens would come up to de Big ’Ouse early in de morning and would work lively as dey could a-cuttin’ wood and doing all sorts of little jobs ’til de dinner bell rung.  Den Marse Billie would come out and tell ’em dey wuz startin’ de New Year right a-workin’ lively and fast.  Den he would say dat dey would be fed good and looked atter good, long as dey worked good.  He give ’em a good taste of dram and cake all ’round, and let ’em go back to dey cabins for dinner, and dey could have de rest of de day to frolic.

“Dem cornshuckin’s us used to have sho’ wuz a sight.  Corn would be piled up high as dis house, and de folkses would dance ’round and holler and whoop.  Ma ’lowed us chillun to watch ’em ’bout a half hour; den made us come back inside our cabin, ‘cause dey always give de corn shuckin’ folkses some dram, and things would git mighty lively and rough by de time all de corn wuz shucked.

“On bright moonshiny nights folkses would invite de neighbors to come for cotton pickin’s.  After the cotton wuz picked dey would eat barbecue, and dance and have a big time.

“I never seed but one weddin’ ’fore freedom come, and dat wuz when Marse Billie’s daughter, Miss Lizzie Glenn, married Mr. Deadwyler.  Dey had everything at dat weddin’.  Yes, Ma’am, just everything.  Miss Lizzie had on a white silk dress a-trailin’ so far behind her dat it took two ladies to tote her train.  Her veil wuz floatin’ all ’bout her, and she wuz just de prettiest thing I ever did see in my whole life.  A long time atter dat, Mr. Deadwyler, he died, and left Miss Lizzie wid two chillun, and she married Mr. Roan.

“I never seed no slave marriage.  Ma went to ’em sometimes, but she never ’lowed us to go, ’cause she said us wuz too little.  Marse Billie sont atter his own preacher, and de couple would come up to de Big ’Ouse and stand in de parlor door to be married ’fore Marster and Mist’ess.  Den de colored folkses would go back down to da cabins and have a weddin’ supper and frolic and dance.  Dat’s what ma told me ’bout ’em.

“Us used to play lots, but us never did have no special name for our playin’.  ‘Swingin’ the Corner,’ wuz when us all jined hands in a low row, and de leader would begin to run ’round in circles, and at de other end of de line dey would soon be runnin’ so fast dey wuz most flyin’.

“Us all de time heared folkses talkin’ ’bout voodoo, but my grandma wuz powerful ’ligious, and her and ma told us chillun voodoo wuz a no ’count doin’ of de devil, and Christians wuz never to pay it no ’tention.  Us wuz to be happy in de Lord, and let voodoo and de devil alone.  None of us liked to hear scritch owls holler, ’cause everybody thought it meant somebody in dat house wuz goin’ to die if a scritch owl lit on your chimney and hollered, so us would stir up de fire to make the smoke drive him away.  I always runned out and tried to see ’em, but old as I is, nigh 86, I ain’t never seed no scritch owl.