"Short Stories," Conecuh County
Folder contains 11 pages of Alabama short stories by Annie Dee Dean, compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s., • Al.' • "Obt11t." 110 un tJl u\ll Ala, • 414 P'U'. _11&4, .oftr til. 1...... 80re MauUflll17 t.......pre • b7 .. pluuUoa dant......
| Format: | Electronic |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/wpa/id/845 |
| format |
Electronic |
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| collection |
WPA Alabama Writers' Project Collection |
| building |
Alabama Department of Archives and History |
| publisher |
Alabama Department of Archives and History |
| topic |
WPA Alabama Writers' Project |
| spellingShingle |
WPA Alabama Writers' Project "Short Stories," Conecuh County |
| fulltopic |
WPA Alabama Writers' Project African Americans--Alabama--Biography; Alabama--Biography; Alabama Writers' Project; Alabama--Social life and customs; Conecuh County (Ala.); United States. Works Progress Administration |
| description |
Folder contains 11 pages of Alabama short stories by Annie Dee Dean, compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.,
•
Al.' • "Obt11t."
110 un tJl u\ll Ala, • 414 P'U'. _11&4, .oftr til. 1...... 80re
MauUflll17 t.......pre • b7 .. pluuUoa dant... re ••
tlU.'••p n U, '0 11'0••p 1a 'Ila ._"",re or tIla ....wrtou.,
10ftl, )Ai ,.t... ro.wrt.\l. ot lit. 0,1••
ro1Jl7 4q .\ troft 'Ila .h..4o \0 ••1'.1', to \
'01. Lon' •• lID.........: 10........1\7 IIore; u.4 ror,.ro
l'loctJl .Ula'. 1'1Ula or • llffU. to.\. t • 0010001 or .d 1
pert • •
It •• 1. \Ill.. 001 tllat tllt. dt Oftre4 lala Wl••t ••
~, ••lre tor .'u47. • •••oot.'10. wt\ll \lit. ra. raal1, oat
.. .rtal tJl 7 01 ...,., • Ill. 10ral\, •• ....urpo...d. Ill.
"loU. \0 ••, llo lla. Doy.r toll•• to pI... tlDft.!'. o. Ill •
••wr'. 1J'8"., 0 11.1' '1'11..... or reo at 10)'alt, II.
Il...r tor •••
aU ot lila .0Ilt.ft..D'., tlla\ J'1ll1 .rwroOOD, lla 00141
-r••OII., I 11ft. ra.... OU 0 liP 1Jl CIll. 0, Mat I • '0.. OIl
\Ila' lA. Too blo., I 4140' \ ...\ \0 1001< 111<0 I '1'J' \0 abo.
ott," u. 4 u\ ...41, Ila od.. "I'. J ' 00 llap ,. M
Ila.... • • 11. pnlOh•• \0 wr1'....\1l1aa .!lou' Ill. 11to llare 0Jl4
1Jl • It •••_ \11. lowr .1107 110 U'O.., 004 n. toU••u
18 _ .. tJ..1O 111. 1.'''1'1
"48 )'OW _ 10ll \lah poor17 wrU". 40 .\«', ot
... Ut.. I II" '0 n •• lUn. d • \1M .... lla". 0 lao • roll
, ... I ... Ilardl)' 0011.0' lit' \0.
-I ft. bora ,. ,1181. '.'., 1.1a.. . Clt1'. a' rt•
• 1 • fift roor. 01', ... _n... 410' u. Ion _ 1Jl 'Ila 40 or
... ..tiler. At \lad \1_ \llare lift4 tJl ... 1M,.
•
Annie D. Dean, Evergreen
Ira Jordan, Editor
•
•
NO PLACE LIKE CONECHY
In Georgia they call them "Crackers"; in Indiana, Hoosiers",
and in Tennessee they are "Hillbillies". In the sandy piney-woods
country of Alabama the CaJans call them "Gophers."
Teetering far back on the legs of a stout home-made chair,
the Gopher hitched his two thumbs under his overall suspenders, spat
and proceeded to orate:
"Repton allus makes me think 0' what the papers used to say
about Maine, You kllow: 'as Maine votes, so does ever'body else--
( exceptin' the 80uth@. Well, that's Jest the way she goes in
Conecby bounty. The way Repton votes, that's the way the whole
shebang goes. Which Jest goes to show that we-all sticks together.
"Co'se now, you know Repton natcherly ain't no city. Hit's
Jest a leetle shoat of a town, whar ever'body is a-pullin' for
ever'body else. Lookit the school super'ntendent election.
very sams fellers that ole Doc. f whupped the hardest when he
The
a-teachin' got out an' hustled up the votes that elected him.
"Now take me. Ole Doc. ner no other school teacher, fer that,
ain't never laid er han' on me, ner sont me to home neither. Because,
fust off, I ain't been to school none to brag on, an', to tell the
natchal truth, I calcurlates he wouldn't a-been no ways particular
about doin' it hohow.
'Yes, I reckon as how I'm purty ign'rant about books, but I'm
here to tell you that my chillun an' my gran-chillun shore has went
to school. They ain't a-skippin' nary thing that's in the books-ner
nowhars else fer that. An' I shore don't want 19u to think
•
•
Alabama - 2 -
• that jest because I ain't had no chance at book learnin' that my
sight's been 'fected none,--- an' thar ain't no thi n , wrong with my
hearin' neither. You can jest count on it that I knows a thing er ,
two about Repton, and the whole county fer that matter, that ain't
never been wrote in no book.
"No Suh, they ain't no other place like Conechy. I wuz born
right heah on my farm, an' heah I been ever since. Nigh on to fifty
year' ago this settlement shoved off and commenced to be a town.
That wuz back in '85 when the railroad wuz fust cut through, but
e'en back 0' that time folks wuz livin' all around heah. A'ter that,
folks got to emmigratin' allover the county and a big swarm of them
tuck up in this neck 0' the w ods. Amongst 'm wuz the pa's and maws
of a heap 0' Repton's leadin' fol s todaY."
Across the cotton field a puffing freight train let out a
wailing screech as it aoproached the station.
"Jest look at 'erl When I sees her pullin' like that, I feels
so little an' good fer nothin' I'm plumb 'shamed 0' myself. Sometimes
it fires me up so much I gits out in the field an' does a whole days
work in half the time. To my dying day, I'll never fergit the fust
(J time she come puffin' an' er blowin' eround that bend out thsr. Hit
made the cold ohills run down~ baokbone and pimples popped out on
w
my skin. Folks 'round heah wuz tearing up they hats an' a.hoopin'
an' a-hollerin' like lunatics. Then when that train pUlled up
to the atation an' stopped, them as wuzn't afeard she wuz a-goin'
to blow up, teohed her like they wu. afeard she wuz a-goin' to bite.
They had been a-oongregatin' heah all day from miles eround. They
wuz speskin's, an' vi tles spread out like at all-day-sin n's an'
atter the train oome you ain't never seed sioh shindiggin' in all
yo' bo'n days.
~Alabama - 3 -
•
MAtter that, it. looked li~e ever' time the train come through
heah it sllus stirred up somethin' inside 0' me that dared me to git
on her an' ride. An' one day it looked liKe she blowed harder an'
louder 'n ever when she seed me standin' thar a-looking with my eyes
popping out and my mouf wide open. When she got close to whar I wuz,
she wuz a-steamin' an' a-spittin' an' blowin' like hell afire. I
Jest shuck my fist at her an' says: 'Blow durn yer! I'm goner
ride yer termorrer! ' An' I'm heah to tell yer I rid her too.
"That wuz the fust an' only time I ever stepped out 0' Conechy
County. I rid that train plunb to Pensacola, Floridy. Now you talk
sbout steppin' out! That's Jest what I done on that trip to Pensacola,
an' I come purty nigh gittin' turnt out 0' church account 0'
tellin' what I done down there. That shore wuz a lesqon to me. An'
if I ever does git out 0' Conechy ag'in, I shore ain't goner tell
has
what I/done.
"I ricollect it wuz July or August when I went down to take
in the town. When I come back home I got to braggin' what 1 had
seen. I said I seen a heap 0' ice for one thinge I orter knowed
folks wcrn't goner b'lieve me. I Jest kept on braggin' eround 'tell
the fust thing I knowed the talk wuz scattered erbout that I wuz
goner git turnt out 0' church. Kin you beat that? I wuz shore
skeered.
'Well, the way the whole thing turnt out wuz, the preacher
went down thar hisself an' they showed him the ice Jest like I said
it wuz. That's what saved my hide.
R.L.D.
7-23-37 |
| title |
"Short Stories," Conecuh County |
| titleStr |
"Short Stories," Conecuh County |
| url |
http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/wpa/id/845 |
| id |
ADAHwpa845 |
| thumbnail |
http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/wpa/id/845 |
| _version_ |
1743797183275073536 |
| spelling |
GSU# SG022775_00200-00211SG022775_00200_00211"Short Stories," Conecuh CountyFolder contains 11 pages of Alabama short stories by Annie Dee Dean, compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.1939 circa1930-1939African Americans--Alabama--Biography; Alabama--Biography; Alabama Writers' Project; Alabama--Social life and customs; Conecuh County (Ala.); United States. Works Progress AdministrationTextDocumentsAlabama. Dept. of Archives and HistoryWorks Progress Administration filesSG022775WPA Alabama Writers' Project, Short Stories by Annie Dee Dean, Conecuh CountyAlabama Dept. of Archives and History, 624 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36130EnglishThis material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.96 dpi tiff,
•
Al.' • "Obt11t."
110 un tJl u\ll Ala, • 414 P'U'. _11&4, .oftr til. 1...... 80re
MauUflll17 t.......pre • b7 .. pluuUoa dant... re ••
tlU.'••p n U, '0 11'0••p 1a 'Ila ._"",re or tIla ....wrtou.,
10ftl, )Ai ,.t... ro.wrt.\l. ot lit. 0,1••
ro1Jl7 4q .\ troft 'Ila .h..4o \0 ••1'.1', to \
'01. Lon' •• lID.........: 10........1\7 IIore; u.4 ror,.ro
l'loctJl .Ula'. 1'1Ula or • llffU. to.\. t • 0010001 or .d 1
pert • •
It •• 1. \Ill.. 001 tllat tllt. dt Oftre4 lala Wl••t ••
~, ••lre tor .'u47. • •••oot.'10. wt\ll \lit. ra. raal1, oat
.. .rtal tJl 7 01 ...,., • Ill. 10ral\, •• ....urpo...d. Ill.
"loU. \0 ••, llo lla. Doy.r toll•• to pI... tlDft.!'. o. Ill •
••wr'. 1J'8"., 0 11.1' '1'11..... or reo at 10)'alt, II.
Il...r tor •••
aU ot lila .0Ilt.ft..D'., tlla\ J'1ll1 .rwroOOD, lla 00141
-r••OII., I 11ft. ra.... OU 0 liP 1Jl CIll. 0, Mat I • '0.. OIl
\Ila' lA. Too blo., I 4140' \ ...\ \0 1001< 111<0 I '1'J' \0 abo.
ott," u. 4 u\ ...41, Ila od.. "I'. J ' 00 llap ,. M
Ila.... • • 11. pnlOh•• \0 wr1'....\1l1aa .!lou' Ill. 11to llare 0Jl4
1Jl • It •••_ \11. lowr .1107 110 U'O.., 004 n. toU••u
18 _ .. tJ..1O 111. 1.'''1'1
"48 )'OW _ 10ll \lah poor17 wrU". 40 .\«', ot
... Ut.. I II" '0 n •• lUn. d • \1M .... lla". 0 lao • roll
, ... I ... Ilardl)' 0011.0' lit' \0.
-I ft. bora ,. ,1181. '.'., 1.1a.. . Clt1'. a' rt•
• 1 • fift roor. 01', ... _n... 410' u. Ion _ 1Jl 'Ila 40 or
... ..tiler. At \lad \1_ \llare lift4 tJl ... 1M,.
•
Annie D. Dean, Evergreen
Ira Jordan, Editor
•
•
NO PLACE LIKE CONECHY
In Georgia they call them "Crackers"; in Indiana, Hoosiers",
and in Tennessee they are "Hillbillies". In the sandy piney-woods
country of Alabama the CaJans call them "Gophers."
Teetering far back on the legs of a stout home-made chair,
the Gopher hitched his two thumbs under his overall suspenders, spat
and proceeded to orate:
"Repton allus makes me think 0' what the papers used to say
about Maine, You kllow: 'as Maine votes, so does ever'body else--
( exceptin' the 80uth@. Well, that's Jest the way she goes in
Conecby bounty. The way Repton votes, that's the way the whole
shebang goes. Which Jest goes to show that we-all sticks together.
"Co'se now, you know Repton natcherly ain't no city. Hit's
Jest a leetle shoat of a town, whar ever'body is a-pullin' for
ever'body else. Lookit the school super'ntendent election.
very sams fellers that ole Doc. f whupped the hardest when he
The
a-teachin' got out an' hustled up the votes that elected him.
"Now take me. Ole Doc. ner no other school teacher, fer that,
ain't never laid er han' on me, ner sont me to home neither. Because,
fust off, I ain't been to school none to brag on, an', to tell the
natchal truth, I calcurlates he wouldn't a-been no ways particular
about doin' it hohow.
'Yes, I reckon as how I'm purty ign'rant about books, but I'm
here to tell you that my chillun an' my gran-chillun shore has went
to school. They ain't a-skippin' nary thing that's in the books-ner
nowhars else fer that. An' I shore don't want 19u to think
•
•
Alabama - 2 -
• that jest because I ain't had no chance at book learnin' that my
sight's been 'fected none,--- an' thar ain't no thi n , wrong with my
hearin' neither. You can jest count on it that I knows a thing er ,
two about Repton, and the whole county fer that matter, that ain't
never been wrote in no book.
"No Suh, they ain't no other place like Conechy. I wuz born
right heah on my farm, an' heah I been ever since. Nigh on to fifty
year' ago this settlement shoved off and commenced to be a town.
That wuz back in '85 when the railroad wuz fust cut through, but
e'en back 0' that time folks wuz livin' all around heah. A'ter that,
folks got to emmigratin' allover the county and a big swarm of them
tuck up in this neck 0' the w ods. Amongst 'm wuz the pa's and maws
of a heap 0' Repton's leadin' fol s todaY."
Across the cotton field a puffing freight train let out a
wailing screech as it aoproached the station.
"Jest look at 'erl When I sees her pullin' like that, I feels
so little an' good fer nothin' I'm plumb 'shamed 0' myself. Sometimes
it fires me up so much I gits out in the field an' does a whole days
work in half the time. To my dying day, I'll never fergit the fust
(J time she come puffin' an' er blowin' eround that bend out thsr. Hit
made the cold ohills run down~ baokbone and pimples popped out on
w
my skin. Folks 'round heah wuz tearing up they hats an' a.hoopin'
an' a-hollerin' like lunatics. Then when that train pUlled up
to the atation an' stopped, them as wuzn't afeard she wuz a-goin'
to blow up, teohed her like they wu. afeard she wuz a-goin' to bite.
They had been a-oongregatin' heah all day from miles eround. They
wuz speskin's, an' vi tles spread out like at all-day-sin n's an'
atter the train oome you ain't never seed sioh shindiggin' in all
yo' bo'n days.
~Alabama - 3 -
•
MAtter that, it. looked li~e ever' time the train come through
heah it sllus stirred up somethin' inside 0' me that dared me to git
on her an' ride. An' one day it looked liKe she blowed harder an'
louder 'n ever when she seed me standin' thar a-looking with my eyes
popping out and my mouf wide open. When she got close to whar I wuz,
she wuz a-steamin' an' a-spittin' an' blowin' like hell afire. I
Jest shuck my fist at her an' says: 'Blow durn yer! I'm goner
ride yer termorrer! ' An' I'm heah to tell yer I rid her too.
"That wuz the fust an' only time I ever stepped out 0' Conechy
County. I rid that train plunb to Pensacola, Floridy. Now you talk
sbout steppin' out! That's Jest what I done on that trip to Pensacola,
an' I come purty nigh gittin' turnt out 0' church account 0'
tellin' what I done down there. That shore wuz a lesqon to me. An'
if I ever does git out 0' Conechy ag'in, I shore ain't goner tell
has
what I/done.
"I ricollect it wuz July or August when I went down to take
in the town. When I come back home I got to braggin' what 1 had
seen. I said I seen a heap 0' ice for one thinge I orter knowed
folks wcrn't goner b'lieve me. I Jest kept on braggin' eround 'tell
the fust thing I knowed the talk wuz scattered erbout that I wuz
goner git turnt out 0' church. Kin you beat that? I wuz shore
skeered.
'Well, the way the whole thing turnt out wuz, the preacher
went down thar hisself an' they showed him the ice Jest like I said
it wuz. That's what saved my hide.
R.L.D.
7-23-37http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/wpa/id/845 |