Back in the South

by Ashley Smith

Was education important in the 1930s? Was experience needed in order to work? What was done for entertainment? Education was not important to some people because it was easier to get a job than go to school. Betty “Retha” Purcell, my grandma, was born in Hoke County, North Carolina, in 1929. She moved to Queens, New York when she was a teenager. Her North Carolina house was built by her cousins. My grandma sang on the “Loving Sisters” for decades at her church. However, she picked cotton as well as tobacco to earn some money. In addition, Betty used to be a slave in her hometown. Although sixty-one years have passed since my grandma was my age, we both enjoyed school, work, and entertainment.

Education was easier in the thirties than today because now a person needs a degree and experience in order to work. My grandma always told me, “I thought I was hurting somebody else for not going to school, but I was hurting myself.” Betty loves cooking and sewing classes while attending Upchurch High School which is now Upchurch Elementary School. In addition, she attended school for nine years. She did not always have the money to purchase books. In 1932, high school kids were allowed to ride the school bus while the elementary school kids walk to school. In this case, my grandma would walk two miles even through the snow; thereafter, the teachers would soak the children feet in freezing, ice cold water for no apparent reason. Her school experiences is illustrated in this view of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

Black folks worked in the cotton fields since they were eight years old; now they have machines to pick the cotton. My grandma worked at The Quartermaster Laundry at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for the soldiers. For example, she would wash, dry, and iron their clothes and pick up their laundry on a regular basis. A couple of years later, Betty worked at Burlington Factory in Hoke County to support her family; meanwhile, she got pregnant with her first daughter, Malinee Lynn Purcell Leigh and left Burlington. In fact, money was very important to my grandmother since she took care of and raised some of her cousins and siblings. Betty’s coworkers and bosses treated everybody equally. My grandma used to raise cows, hogs, chickens, horses, and sheep while she worked on a farm with a Caucasian family.

Hide and seek as well as hopscotch were popular games that are still played today. My grandma enjoyed working because everybody treated each other equally and fairly; therefore, there was no sort of racism or stereotypes. She always played with her cousins. In addition, kids were allowed to go outside and play anytime unless they were not finished with their homework and chores. Betty Purcell never listened to the radio like she does today because she enjoyed working instead of dancing and singing to the radio. Cooking and cleaning were my grandma’s top priorities. By the time I was a teenager, my grandma taught me how to cook some of her favorite homemade recipes. For example, collard greens, beef liver, and candied yams; however, I made my own collards greens recipe, although I’m influenced by her techniques.

I have learned that back then people could leave doors unlocked and open because no crime took place like today. Also, they had a store -- “The Penny Store” -- where everything cost one cent; therefore, you could buy a bar of candy for only one cent. Gas used to cost one dollar per gallon. My grandma learned that everything now is way more expensive than during her time. Even though society has changed, people still have to sacrifice in order to go to school, prosper at work, and enjoy entertainment. As Albert Einstein expressed about relating to different times, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Works Cited

"Albert Einstein." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2011. 7 Feb. 2011.

"Martin Luther King, Jr." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2011. 7 Feb. 2011.

Purcell, Betty. Personal interview. 23 Jan. 2011



Note: Ashley Smith, who is from Raeford, NC, is majoring in nursing at Sandhills Community College.