Master taught pa to make shoes an the way he done, they killed a cow an took the hide an tanned it.  The way they tanned it was to take red oak bark and put in vats made somethin’ like troughs that held water.  Firs’ he would put in a layer of leather an a layer of oak ashes an a layer of leather an a layer of oak ashes till he got it all in an cover with water.  After that he let it soak till the hair come off the hide.  Then he would take the hide out an it was ready for tannin’.  Then the hide was put to soak in with the red oak bark.  It stayed in the water till the hide turned tan then pa took the hide out of the red oak dye an it was a purty tan.  It didn’ have to soak long.  Then he would get his pattern an cut an make tan shoes out’n the tanned hides.  We called ’em brogans.

They planted indigo an it growed jus’ like wheat.  When it got ripe they gathered it an we would put it in a barrel an let it soak bout a week then we woul’ take the indigo stems out an squeeze all the juice out of ‘em an put the juice back in the barrel an let it stan’ bout nother week, then we jus’ stirred an stirred one whole day.  We let it set three or four days then drained the water off an left the settlings and the settlings was blueing jus’ like we have these days.  We cut ours in little blocks an we dyed clothes wid it too.

We made vinegar out of apples.  Took over ripe apples an ground ’em up an put ’em in a sack an let drip.  Didn’ add no water an when it got through drippin we let it sour an strained an let it stan for six months an had some of the bes vinegar ever made.

We had homemade tubs and didn’ have no wash boa’ds.  We had a block an battlin’ stick.  We put our clo’es in soak then took ’em out of soak an lay them on the block an take the battling stick an battle the dirt out of ’em.  We mos’ly used rattan vines for clotheslines an they made the bes clo’es lines they was.

Ol’ master raised big patches of tobaccy an when dey gather it they let it dry an then put it in lasses.  After the lasses dripped off then they roll hit up an twisted it an let it dry in the sun 10 or 12 days.  It sho’ was ready for some and chewin an hit was sweet an stuck together so yo’ could chew an spit an ’joy hit.

The way we got our perfume we took rose leaves, cape jasmines an sweet bazil an laid dem wid our clo’es an let ’em stay three or fo’ days then we had good smellin’ clo’es that would las’ too.

When there was distressful news master would ring the bell.  When the niggers in the fiel’ would hear the bell everyone would lis’en an wonder what the trouble was.  You’d see ’em stirrin’ too.  They would always ring the bell at twelve ’clock.  Sometime then they would think it was some thin’ serious an they would stan up straight but if they could see they shadow right under ’em they would know it was time for dinner.

The reason so many white folks was rich was they made money an didn’ have nothin’ to do but save it.  They made money an raised ev’ything they used, an jus’ didn’ have no use fo’ money.  Didn’ have no banks in them days an master buried his money.