TOBACCO MEMORIES. Preservation Virginia s Oral History Project Report for the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region

Transcription

1 TOBACCO MEMORIES Preservation Virginia s Oral History Project Report for the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region April 14,

2 April 14, 2014 Blair Lumpkins, Program Officer The Community Foundation of the Dan River Region 541 Loyal Street Danville, VA Dear Ms. Lumpkins: Thank you and the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region for providing Preservation Virginia the grant funding to complete Tobacco Memories- an oral history project that was part of Preservation Virginia s larger Tobacco Barns Preservation Project. Since they are first-hand testimonies about a person s own life experiences, oral history projects oftentimes produce some of the most compelling historical information available. The Tobacco Memories project was no exception. The Tobacco Memories project complemented the other elements of Preservation Virginia s Tobacco Barns Preservation Project (public workshops on barn repair, an architectural survey of tobacco barns, mini-grant program to repair tobacco barns); by transmitting personal experiences of tobacco farming and tobacco barns that enhances our understanding of local history. The Process Most of the background research on local tobacco heritage and tobacco farming families was done in late spring 2013 during the survey of tobacco barns in Pittsylvania County. During the survey, many individuals and families closely associated with local tobacco heritage and tobacco barns were contacted as potential interviewees. A draft list of people to interview was created in summer This list changed slightly due to the availability of the interviewees. A small group of volunteers were trained to assist with the oral history interviews; however, all of the interviews were conducted by Preservation Virginia staff. The interviews took place between August 2013 and November Sixteen people were interviewed for this project. The names of the interviewees are the following: 2

3 Interviewee Interviewer Interview Interview Date Basic Interview Contents Location Helen Turner Murphy Sonja Ingram Richmond, VA Aug. 7, 2013 Childhood memories of visiting grandparents tobacco farm in Sutherlin, VA Katherine Turner Mears Sonja Ingram Richmond, VA Aug. 7, 2013 Childhood memories of visiting grandparents tobacco farm in Sutherlin, VA Byron Motley Sonja Ingram Chatham, VA Oct. 2, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in Pittsylvania County in the 1950s- 1980s; Motley and Marilla families Billy Johnson Sonja Ingram Mt. Airy, VA Oct. 8, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in Pittsylvania County in the 1940s- 1980s; specific information on barns and on Johnson s Mill Emma Jean Johnson Sonja Ingram Mt. Airy, VA Oct. 8, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in Pittsylvania County in the 1940s- 1980s; specific information on barns and on Johnson s Mill Mary Ann Brumfield Sonja Ingram Renan, VA Oct. 18, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Renan area of Pittsylvania County; specific information on the Brumfield and Toler families Neal Brumfield Sonja Ingram Renan, VA Oct. 18, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Renan area of Pittsylvania County; specific information on the Brumfield and Toler families Wayne Brumfield Sonja Ingram Renan, VA Oct. 18, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Renan area of Pittsylvania County; specific information on the Brumfield and Toler families Shirley Dalton Sonja Ingram Gretna, VA Oct. 27, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Gretna area of Pittsylvania County Emmett Dalton Jr. Sonja Ingram Gretna, VA Oct. 27, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Gretna area of Pittsylvania County Marvin Collie Sonja Ingram Ringgold, VA Oct. 30, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Kentuck area of Pittsylvania County Claude Reynolds Sonja Ingram Callands, VA Oct. 31, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Callands area of Pittsylvania County; specific information on barns Norman Hardy Sonja Ingram Mount Herman (Danville), VA Nov. 8, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Whitmell area of County in the 1940s-1980s Anderson Jones Sonja Ingram Chatham, VA Nov. 19, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Chatham area of Pittsylvania County in the 1940s-1980s; information on African-American tobacco farmers 3

4 Elizabeth Jones Sonja Ingram Chatham, VA Nov. 19, 2013 Recollections of tobacco farming in the Chatham area of Pittsylvania County in the 1940s-1980s; information on African-American tobacco farmers A.J. Nuckols Sonja Ingram Mt. Airy, VA Nov. 21, 2013 Discussion on the early tobacco barns on his farm Since the focus of Preservation Virginia s overall project is tobacco barns, the focus of the oral history project was how tobacco barns were used and the integral role they played during tobacco production. Specific questions designed to elicit in-depth discussions were asked by the interviewer about tobacco barns. These questions generated rich information about barns specifically; however, interesting and vivid information was gathered when the people being interviewed were allowed to talk freely about memories they have of tobacco farming in general. Brief descriptions about each interview begin on page 5. The Films- Exhibiting and Archiving The oral history videos have been copied on archival disks and will be stored in Pittsylvania Historical Society s archives, the Danville Historical Society s archives and the Pittsylvania County Public Libraries at the following locations: Brosville, Chatham, Danville, Gretna and Mount Herman so they can be easily obtained and utilized by historians, researchers any other interested individuals. The films are also being posted to Preservation Virginia s website and Preservation Virginia s You Tube channel. A disk of all ten films is also being sent with this report. Public Presentation A free, public presentation of all ten films was held on April 10, 2014 at the Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex in Chatham. The event was well attended with approximately 65 people present, including eight of the people interviewed. Several images from the event can be found on page 10. Funds Please see the attached budget and receipts. Thank you again for the opportunity to complete this very important part of the Tobacco Barns Preservation Project. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need further information. Sincerely, Sonja Ingram Field Representative Preservation Virginia 4

5 Interview Descriptions Helen Turner Murphy and Katherine Turner Mears Helen Murphy and Katherine Mears are sisters in their 80s. They grew up in Richmond but visited their grandparent s tobacco farm in Sutherlin in Halifax County each summer. The interview took place in Preservation Virginia s headquarters, the Cole Digges House in Richmond, Virginia. It is mainly about their vivid memories of their summers in Sutherlin including descriptions of other families that helped out on the farm, roasting corn at the barns, handing tobacco leaves to the stringers as children on the farm, how their father was able to sell tobacco at age 16, riding mules, polio outbreaks, canning food, descriptions of other relatives, attending church, memories of a peppermint machine, going to Danville to the market, and playing games. Byron Motley Byron Motley is a tobacco farmer in his 60s. He lives on the tobacco farm he grew up on east of Chatham, Virginia in Pittsylvania County. The farm was originally owned by the Marilla Family and passed into the Motley family by marriage. There are two historic dwellings on the farm, an early log dwelling built ca and a frame, I-house with Greek revival additions built in 1866 according to the owners. The farm also has at least 8 tobacco barns in varying conditions. Mr. Motley s interview consisted of his memories of working on the farm in his youth with his family. He described moving some barns and three barn raisings, how much tobacco acreage they grew, the horses that were used on the farm, a skunk that ran into the flues, how tobacco farming was a family affair, how his mother used the barns as a play-pen for him as a baby, taking tobacco to the market in Danville, how his father and uncles would daub the barns, how they used the pack barns and the ordering room, and how the leaves were graded. Mr. Motley also described the barns and how they were constructed and the curing systems. He also discussed some of the history of the two historic dwellings on the farm. Billy and Emma Jean Johnson Billy and Emma Jean Johnson live on a tobacco farm in Mt. Airy in Pittsylvania County. They also own and operate a historic grist mill- Johnson s Mill- and they live in the historic miller s house. The Miller Family built the grist mill in The interview was conducted in the Johnson s house and consisted of remembrances of Billy and Emma Jean s families and how they came to live on the farm. Mr. Johnson s parents moved to the property in His father and relatives built all of the existing tobacco barns except one which was on the property when his family moved to the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson farmed tobacco until 1995, when Mr. Johnson turned 65. Mr. Johnson discussed in detail the barns on his farm, how the use of the barns changed, how they were converted to use oil or gas and the introduction of bulk barns. 5

6 Also discussed were the various mules and horses that worked on the farm, some of the sharecroppers who worked on the farm and how their children- Martha and William- helped them in tobacco farming. Mr. Johnson also discussed how they used to raise hogs and how one hog attacked him and bit and stabbed him on his side, back and leg almost killing him. Emma Jean discussed growing up on a different tobacco farm in the Hollywood community and how her family used to cut the entire stalk versus picking each leaf off individually. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson also described barn raisings and how Billy helped build some of the barns on the farm. He described how the men would use split wood to chink the barn and mud to daub the barn, how two men would be at each corner to do the notching, how they hewed the logs, how they hauled the logs up with a rope to build the barn, how they used 20 logs per side or 80 total logs and how some of the older barns in the community that he has seen were hewn on both sides and were perfectly notched at the corners. They both talked about the big dinners that the women would make during these times. Mr. Johnson also mentioned a tornado in 1955 that blew the top off a barn. Mr. Johnson also mentioned that he felt that tobacco is too often blamed for health problems. He believes that the chemicals that went on the tobacco to kill worms and insects are to blame and should not have been used. He mentioned how his father chewed tobacco and how he always picked out some of the top leaves for himself because these leaves had the best flavor. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson also discussed how tobacco farming brought families together because all members of the family worked in tobacco together. They showed me many photographs from the past of family members, various people farming tobacco, the interior of some of the barns, and images from a seed brochure (Coker 319 seed) of Mr. Johnson holding tobacco. Mr. Johnson also showed images of his great-grandmother McCormick who lived to be 102 years old, raised 10 kids and smoked a corncob pipe all her life. Mary Ann, Neal and Wayne Brumfield This interview was conducted at the Graves-Brumfield house in the Renan community of Pittsylvania County. Wayne, Neal and Mary Ann Towler Brumfield all grew up in Pittsylvania County in tobacco farming families. Neal and Wayne s Great- Grandmother was Julia Brumfield who lived in Renan in the early 20 th century and wrote a series of diaries called the Julia Brumfield Diaries about her life on a tobacco farm. These diaries are extremely informational and have been transcribed and can be read on the internet. Jeremiah Graves, a former owner of the farm, also kept a farm journal from that is in the University of Virginia in which he describes events that happened including people breaking into the house during the Civil War and seeing a meteorite. The Brumfields describe the house in detail and how part of the existing brick house was built by the Graves family in 1844 onto a log cabin that was built in the 1820s. Henry Anderson Brumfield and the Graves family at some point exchanged farms and that is how the Brumfields came to own the house and farm in Renan. In 1884, H.A Brumfield demolished the original 1820s log house and added a brick extension to the house. Originally there was a blacksmith shop, a flue shop and other buildings near their house that the community would use. 6

7 They discussed some of their family history including how their gr-grandfather surrendered with Lee at Appomattox and some history of the Renan Community including how the region was at one time called Canada-land. Mary Ann Brumfield described how members of several families from the area including the Towler, Butcher, Brumfield and Dove families moved to Illinois after the Civil War. Part of the interview consisted of the Brumfields visiting some of the tobacco barns on the farm and describing some of the memories they had working at the barns. Shirley and Emmett Dalton Jr. Shirley Dalton and her husband, Emmett Sr. (deceased) grew tobacco for many years on a farm east of Gretna, Virginia. This interview was completed at Shirley Dalton s house with her son, Emmett Jr. They did not want to be videotaped but agreed to be audiotaped. The Dalton s showed many images of their family working in tobacco including some of the Mexican migrant workers that they hired over the years. They described hiring the migrant workers in the 1980s as well as other modern tobacco farming practices such as how they used bulk barns rather than log barns. They described how the bulk barns were delivered completely assembled but they had to have a foundation prepared as well as electrical hook ups. Shirley described the bulk barns as being much easier to use and how two of the popular brands were Powell and Roanoke. Before they acquired the bulk barns, they used log barns but they only owned one log barn so they used nearby families barns including the Rowles, Bosiger, and Burnett families. The Daltons also described how they took part in the government buy-out. Emmett described how initially families owned tobacco pounds or allotments so they could only produce a certain amount of tobacco. Later, the government bought the allotments back. The Dalton s also described how they would rotate the fields and plant tobacco one year, then beans and then wheat in the following years so the soils would be replenished with the right nutrients. They also described the historic Rockford School that they own, some of the previous teachers from the school, the spring- Rockford Spring- where the students got water and an Indian camp near the spring. Marvin Collie Marvin Collie is an elderly tobacco farmer from the Ringgold community of Pittsylvania County who grew many acres (up to 300) of tobacco for many years. This interview was conducted at his house on Marvin Collie Road. Mr. Collie was a tobacco farmer his entire life and his parents were also tobacco farmers. He described using log tobacco barns until the 1970s when he started to use bulk barns. He described log barns being at his home place which is not far from where he currently lives, how the neighbors and family members would get together and make the barns and how each tobacco leaf was considered precious and how they would pick up any that fell. 7

8 Claude Reynolds Claude Reynolds lives on a farm in Callands, Virginia that was a tobacco farm for many years. Mr. Reynolds described working on the farm until he was nineteen. He moved away to work in a naval shipyard for many years and returned in the 1990s. Mr. Reynolds described five curing tobacco barns on the farm and four pack houses. Mr. Reynolds described various types of tobacco, including red and green tobacco and dead tobacco. He also described taking the tobacco to Danville to the market. During the interview, Mr. Reynolds walked around his tobacco barns describing the various wood types used for the logs, how the tier poles were placed inside the barns, chinking and daubing the barns and corner notching. He also described the other farm buildings on his farm including the smokehouse, the cow barn and chicken houses. Norman Hardy Norman Hardy is an elderly tobacco farmer from the Mount Herman Community, northwest of Danville, Virginia. The interview with Mr. Hardy was held in his house in Mount Herman. Mr. Hardy described building tobacco barns and how he helped build one in one day with his neighbors and family. He described how they used skid poles to push the logs up and how he did some corner notching on barns. Other memories Mr. Hardy discussed were how the women in the family would make a large dinner for everyone after the barn raising, how they used mules to pull the tobacco slides, how one of his barns burned down and how the pack houses were built. The pack houses were not made of logs but were framed. One half of the pack house contained a pit basement where the tobacco leaves were plced so they could be handled and not disintegrate. Mr. Hardy discussed how the older people were good at grading the cured tobacco, carrying tobacco to Danville s warehouses by wagon, and how at times he went to Goldsboro, North Carolina to sell tobacco to try and make more money from the crop. He also described spending the night at the barns while the tobacco was curing, how wagons would get bogged down on certain roads that were prone to flooding. He also related a story about a sharecropper he knew who killed a farmer he was working for and how Mr. Hardy was deputized to help the police find him. The man hid in a tobacco barn but was eventually caught and jailed. Mr. Hardy also described his memories of playing baseball for a local baseball team. Anderson and Elizabeth Jones Anderson and Elizabeth Jones live east of Chatham on a tobacco farm that Anderson s family has owned for many generations. This interview was conducted in their house at the farm. Anderson described how he was born on the farm in 1939 and how his family grew tobacco. He described the phases of cultivating tobacco-growing the small plants in a planting bed in January, pulling the suckers off the plants, pulling the leaves after they were ripe, stringing the tobacco on sticks, curing the leaves in the barns, separating the 8

9 leaves and taking it to the market. He described how he could do almost everything by the time he was 14 or 15 years old. He also described at time when he was 14 and his father was sick but they had two hogs that had to be killed. His mother wanted to get a neighbor to kill the hogs but Anderson shot and bled the hogs before his mother could get a chance to contact the neighbor. He described how his parents were shocked that he was able to do that at so young an age. Mr. Jones also described the self sufficiency of his family and how they had to learn how to do almost everything on the farm. He said they had a car and when it broke down; his father would not take it to a garage but would buy the new part from the auto shop and repair it himself. Mr. Jones also described how his father s tobacco acreage was decreased by government farming officials because they determined that the family did not have enough people to cultivate the acres they owned. Mr. Jones disputed this and said even though they did not hire anyone to help them; his family was always able to do the work themselves. Eventually the acreage they were allowed to grow tobacco was so low that he and his siblings had to work outside the farm in order to make enough money. Anderson explained that he attended Northside High School in Gretna before desegregation and their books were the discarded books from the local white schools. He also discussed how he was involved in farming education in school and how he and his classmates were called New Farmers rather than Future Farmers as the white students were. Mr. Jones described how his mother and father taught him that if he was good to people and was respectable that good things would happen to him. He also reiterated how his father told him that whatever job he did that he should do it better than anyone else and by doing that, he would get recognized. Mr. Jones said he always heeded his parents advice and their guidance has always been accurate in his life. Mr. Jones also recollected how his father told him many years ago not to smoke because he thought the chemical fertilizers were not healthy for people and he preferred to use only organic fertilizers. Mr. Jones explained how he moved to New York because he had limited resources in Virginia. He was not able to get hired at various factories in the Pittsylvania County-Danville area. When he was hired he also had to clean the bathrooms every night before he left. Ms. Jones described how she and Anderson met in New York City while they were both working in the city. Ms. Jones is originally from a farming family in Spartanburg, South Carolina but they moved to New York to find better jobs. She described visiting the farm and the town of Chatham every year with Mr. Jones. She and Anderson would spend a month each summer visiting his family and during this time, Mr. Jones would plant tobacco for his father. Ms. Jones described taking photographs of the farm and taking them back to New York. She was a teacher in a public school and everyone would love to see the pictures of the creeks with fish, the tobacco barns and the fields. She described how she and Anderson enjoy being a part of nature, taking care of the farm and how much they both love the land. Being a former teacher, she said it is important to teach children how to grow their own food. She also described how she is a big proponent of small farms and organic farming. 9

10 Aubrey Jay Nuckols This interview was conducted at Whitefalls Farm in Mt. Airy, Virginia owned by Aubrey Jay Nuckols and his family. His several times great grandfather, Edmund Fitzgerald, bought the farm from Hanes Morgan Jr. in The current house was built in It was the second house built on the farm, the first house burned down. Mr. Nuckols is part of the sixth generation that has lived on the farm. The farm was a tobacco farm up until 2006 when A.J. stopped growing tobacco. There are six tobacco barns on the farm, two of which are likely the earliest barns Preservation Virginia observed as part of the architectural survey of tobacco barns in One of these barns is of log construction and the other is a wood framed barn. They were both originally used as curing barns and both have six rooms rather than the typical four or five rooms. Mr. Nuckols described how both barns held 1200 sticks of cut tobacco, much more than other tobacco barns. The barns were used during the time when famers cut the entire tobacco stalk off and hung it on sticks to cure. This was before priming or pulling the leaves individually became the normal way to harvest tobacco. Mr. Nuckols estimated that it was around 1920 that farmers stopped cutting the entire stalk and started pulling each leaf. These two barns also have three fire boxes rather than the usual two and originally both of the barn s roofs were taller and wider than they are now. In the 1930 s, his Grandfather cut the top roof poles to lower the pitch and make the barns shorter so a tin roof could be installed. Before that, the roofs were made of wood shingles. Mr. Nuckols described how both of the barns uses changed over the years. The log barn was also used as a prizery. Prizing is the term used to describe packing tobacco leaves tightly into a hogshead. The wood frame barn was converted into a pack house at some time in the early 1900s. At that time a floor was added and a pit basement was dug out underneath the barn to get the leaves in order, or make them pliable enough to handle after they had been cured. The wood frame barn was constructed with wood mortise and tenon joints, just like his house. This barn was the only barn observed during the architectural survey that was built using wood mortise and tenon joints. 10