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    That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then: A Recollection of Events, Stories, and More
    That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then: A Recollection of Events, Stories, and More
    That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then: A Recollection of Events, Stories, and More
    Ebook137 pages1 hour

    That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then: A Recollection of Events, Stories, and More

    By Aretha Dodson

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    About this ebook

    Thats the Way It Wuz Back Then is an overview about a particular period and a particular people in history with limited recorded information about their experiences. The information, gathered from interviews with others and my own experiences, provides a brief depiction of the hardship and suffering of black families during the early twentieth century, segregated schools in the south, and the unrest experienced in the south during the desegregation of schools.

    The main purpose for writing this book is record bits and pieces of history concerning African Americans in Lonoke County, Arkansas, to be placed in the Lonoke County Library. In keeping with that purpose, Thats the Way It Wuz Back Then has chapters that relate to the lives of people who persevered and overcame the difficulties placed upon them and became productive citizens in their communities. The book contains abstracts or clippings of the The Lonoke Democrat newspaper articles relate the physical, cultural, and spiritual existence of African Americans in Lonoke County, Arkansas, during the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The Lonoke Democrat newspaper articles demonstrate the experiences of people and their rich cultural identity and family. I wanted to sustain the language or speech of that period in time; therefore, limited editing of this section of the book was done. It is the cultural identity of our ancestors that we all long to reminisce in family gatherings.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateFeb 3, 2014
    ISBN9781490800608
    That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then: A Recollection of Events, Stories, and More
    Author

    Aretha Dodson

    Aretha Dodson is an educator. She has spent more than forty-two years educating students and leading teachers as an elementary school principal and as an educational consultant. Aretha wants children to know that ideas are important and that shying away from one’s own thinking can be handicapped by doubting the experience of writing. She writes not as an experienced writer, but with a desire to share a time in history with children and her peers. Writing is what she is modeling and encouraging students to do.

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      Book preview

      That’S the Way It “Wuz” Back Then - Aretha Dodson

      Copyright © 2014 by Aretha L. Dodson

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1-(866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-0058-5 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-0059-2 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-0060-8 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911922

      WestBow Press rev. date: 01/31/2014

      Each day of my life, I’m on stage. As the story is told, I’m there acting it out; let me live it one day at a time with the rewards of joy, love, peace, and blessings.

      —January 4, 1997

      For as long as I can remember, I worked hard to move forward in life, but never forgetting my origin. In a way, I am beginning a task that started years ago. That’s because this book is made possible through a recollection of treasured thoughts and events of my heritage. It is dedicated to kindred spirits who enjoy discussing bygone days.

      First and foremost, I give thanks to God for many experiences that remain with me to this day. He has provided me knowledge and understanding of His love which has made me who I am today. My husband, Robert Dodson, has been my second set of hands, eyes, ears, and feet since the day of our marriage, and I am so appreciative of the support and vision that he has provided in the development of this book. I leave this compilation of events for my son, Marcus Dodson, and my daughter, Miriam Dodson, to learn about the early 1900s and the struggles of their grandparents, Eldrich and Bessie Lemmons, and to gain insight into my childhood days. I leave to Lisa a portrait of country life in Arkansas as compared with life in Corpus Christi, Texas.

      I also dedicate this book to my grandchildren, Scarlett, Chloe, Antone, Devon, Julian, Hailey, Amber, and Gerald, and two special young ladies, Chloe Blythe and Olivia. I do not want them to live their teen years and adulthood ignorant of the struggles for freedom once denied to many people, the freedom they enjoy today. Those who came before them achieved an education in the face of many challenges; that education is far more attainable today. I also thank my nephews, Jyusef and Devin, and my nieces, Gilda Murdock, Joyce Jones, and Valencia Guinn (and her husband Marcus), for the motivation they gave me during the many years I tried to educate children. They have been an encouragement to me, and I dedicate a piece of my being to them.

      I am thankful for the freedom that I share because of others who fought battles across the sea and on home ground. I proudly sing our national anthem, which fills my soul. Its lyrics resonate o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

      I invested forty-four years in teaching children and leading educators. I have a strong passion for education, and this book is intended to enlighten the young about an era in history. I want children, especially those who feel that they have no identity, to read about a culture that their grandparents or great-grandparents may have experienced. I hold an advantage in telling this story, since mine was the last generation prior to desegregation of schools in the South. This was the era of one-room schoolhouses, segregated schools, split school years, and chopping and picking cotton by hand. I felt the need to pen this recollection of ideas and events, some told to me and some witnessed with my own eyes. I hope all who read this book will enjoy it for the reasons I have written it.

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Chapter 1   Dreams and Nightmares

      Chapter 2   Children of the Day and Family Life

      Chapter 3   Fields of White On Green Stalks

      Chapter 4   Children of the Day

      Chapter 5   The Stage!

      Chapter 6   Memories Become Lessons for Today

      Chapter 7   Narratives Shine Like Stars!

      Chapter 8   A Spank and the Cry of Life

      Chapter 9   Life on a Plantation

      Chapter 10   A Celebrity

      Chapter 11   The Life of Asa Jones

      Chapter 12   An Unnamed Humanitarian

      Chapter 13   A History of Black Landowners

      Chapter 14   Learned Minds under the Tutelage of Professor Frank T. Bunton

      Chapter 15   Colored Community News

      Epilogue

      About the Author

      Acknowledgments

      It is futile to think that I can recollect the many comments that people have shared since this book was conceived in the early 1990s. I have spoken to many individuals who have left this life: such worthy folks as Sherman Whitehead, a pillar of the community in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Eliza Jane Ashley, who invited me into her home and shared her childhood and teen days working on a plantation in Lonoke County; Asa Jones, who went off to serve in World War I and later became the oldest living person in Arkansas for a time; Leo Miller, who grew up chopping and picking cotton, and Willene Brown, who told me about the establishment of the McCreanor community. There were many more. Bits and pieces of their lives endure in the pages of this book.

      I give thanks to the families of men and women interviewed: Inella Miller, Calvin Dodson Jr., relatives of Asa Jones, the Bunton family, and the Young family. Special thanks to my spouse for his patience, support, and remembrance of the way it wuz back in the day. I am grateful to have sat at the feet of my siblings—Juanita White, Delilah Peaches Johnson, Reta Young, Joan Larry, Eldrich Lemmons, Chester Lemmons, Herbert Lemmons, and Henry Lemmons—as they reminisced about what they experienced during their tender years in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s in the segregated South. I acknowledge Selma Dodson Tyler for research on the genealogy of the Dodson family, and Gertha Phillips for oral recollections. A special thanks to Thelma Johnson. I thank my high school classmates, Annie Cooney and Millie Graham Dowd, for the memories and photographs they shared. A special thanks to Hosiana Robinson for The House that Frank Built; Bridging the Gap.

      I especially thank my sister Joan and her husband Joseph for their technological support. I am obliged to Judy King and Joan Larry for their expertise in proofreading my text. I am forever indebted to them. They have provided a great service. When I asked Judy to proofread, she recalled the many years that she and Joan were responsible for publishing the Lonoke Junior High School newspaper. She spent much time editing this book. Again, I express my thanks.

      I thank Shirley McGraw, Sherryl Miller, and Pat Duckworth for their research of records at the Lonoke County Library and Museum. Many unnamed heroes have helped me. Among them were whites who showed great humanity back in the day and respected the unalienable rights of all, including black folks. I give a shout out to them, especially Mary Ketchum, who walks this earth no more but faced reality and respected all persons. These people knew that holding a race captive was not part of God’s plan. I thank the many white families that respected my parents and siblings and treated the black community with kindness and respect. These people helped shape my spirit and taught me that we must have love for one another.

      I can still see Reliable Insurance representative Dick Moore in the distance, coming down a dusty dirt road. He became a welcome guest when collecting our monthly insurance premium. He was a source of information for the family and we established a friendly relationship. I am also grateful to Alfred and Algarene Watson, no longer on this earth, for employing my parents and siblings to chop and pick cotton as hired laborers on their farm. They respected our friendship and kindly fed us a wholesome lunch at their dining table. I am forever grateful for their hospitality. I still remember the warmth I felt in their airy home as a child.

      With desegregation coming to Arkansas public schools, Superintendent Maurice Sagely hired me in 1969 as the second black teacher

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