Building a Life

[22:30] When I came back from Montgomery, I did not go back to teaching school of course. I was still at Papa's until '49. You know, in 1949 three of us went into business for children ready to wear.

My two sisters-in-law—one was their sister and one was his sister-in-law. They made draperies and bedspreads, and I sold children ready to wear. I guess until about '52 maybe, or '50, or somewhere, '51 or '52.

And they decided that they didn't want to do it. And Theron said, "You just go back to teaching school. We'll be better off in the long run."

What if I had stayed in that store and didn't have any income now? Would it be awful? But anyhow.

[23:30] In 1952, after I was out of the little shop—and it was pretty close to Main Street, and it used to be a dry cleaners, and it was just a cute little shop, that's what it was, a cute little shop, and we had quality stuff.

But in '52, I had already stopped the store. And they called me at Rock Chapel and wanted me to come out there. They didn't have a teacher.

And I said if I could get somebody to keep them off... Well, the Lord just sent the nicest nineteen-year-old girl with this bright smile and enthusiastic lifestyle to keep Martha. And she would walk her and she would read to her. And so therefore Martha was pretty smart.

[24:30] One day when I was at Rock Chapel, there was a thing on the bulletin board that said if you wanted to teach special ed, you could go to Georgia and get a fellowship and teach special ed at Stolzview—that's the Lithonia school, grammar school.

And I had 42 children that year and they did great. But about five of them needed special help. And I worried my life away because I couldn't give them much special help.

But I did try to get them a church where they could go to. But anyhow, I wasn't the only one—you understand that now—a lot of people helped out. And they're still helping out.

[28:30] He kept those kids when I was going—taking three courses of history in the last quarter I was at Georgia State. I took off a year. And he looked after the kids to the degree that I could come home and study history until—I guess I had to get supper, I don't remember if I did. But if I hadn't, it would have been perfectly alright with him I think.

But anyhow, the kids—I would wash the clothes and put them in a box and they were responsible for ironing theirs. And I read till I couldn't see and go to bed and get up in the middle of the night and read some.

And then go to—because when I asked the advisor, I went to him and he says, "All you lack is three courses of history." And I don't know if anybody can pass three courses of history.

And I said, "What I want—if I don't try, I won't know till I try." So I did. And I made three C's. I did pass.