My sister had came from the country, you know, where my Aunt Kate and
uncle raised her. Well, and we was a-getting dinner one day, and
Florence and Harry both were just little things, you know. And Florence
and Harry went to church with the other children. Now we was getting
dinner. And I had a great big old white apron on, I remember. And some
of 'em run in there and said, "Aunt 'Omi!" said, "the church is on
fire." And like scared me to death. So I forgot I had on that big old
apron, you know, I lit out after the church. Wasn't but a little piece
to the church, we lived right up there at it. And that smoke was coming
right out, up top you know, and my children was in there. And I never
was scared so bad in all my life. Well, and then Percy, he scared bad as
I was. And they had to hold him, almost, to keep him from going in. They
wouldn't let nobody go in, you know. And they almost had to hold him,
keep him from going in.
Well, and we kept a-waiting there, and he'd try to go in, and wouldn't
let him. 'Rectly here come Harry, and they'd just turned him loose, and
let him roll down steps. They's in a hurry, you know, getting 'em out.
And Florence, I hadn't seen her nowhere. Hadn't seen her. She was still
in there, I thought. But there was a girl by the name of Cora Ward, she
knew me, and she had got Florence, and went off the ground. They had to
come way 'round, you know. And it's a long time before we could see her, you know. And I was scared to death. I
just knew she was in that burning building. They wouldn't let us go in!
[laughter] Boy, was I glad to see her
come around. Now, I want you to know, that was a time. That church
burned. [Interruption]
I forgot who that other girl was. Pearl Wilson. And they had fellers, you
know. And at dinnertime, we got a hour off for dinnertime. So they'd
want their hair fixed up good, you know, because talk to their feller at
dinnertime, while the mill was stopped, you know. And I wasn't big
enough to go with no boys, I was just a kid. And they'd run my spinning
frames, and I'd go fix their hair. And I don't know the girls, I
wouldn't fix their hair. I especially remember Annie Wilson. She was
going with Claude Hemphill, there at Greer. And he got to be a big boss
man up there, you know, at the Greer Mill, up at Greer. And I'd always
comb her hair, and comb a girl's hair, while they's running my spinning
frame. Let me comb their hair, and fix their hair.