Georgia BIOS:  Eugenia Martin - WPA Worker - Housekeeing Aide   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   0001
   
   Eugenia Martin
   
   1028 Westmoor Drive, N.W.
   
   WPA Worker - Housekeeping Aide
   
   By
   
   Geneva Tonsill Nov. 1939
   
   0002
   
   I MANAGE TO CARRY ON
   
   "I am the offspring of Thomas and Lucy Collier. Their parents were
   slaves. Mother and father were also slaves. My mother was a descendant
   of the Cherokee Indians on her mother's side and Anglo-Saxon on her
   father's side. Mother's father, Dr. Virgil A. Cillar, was well
   educated. He taught school and practiced medicine. As far as could be
   ascertained he was a bachelor and mother was his only heir.
   
   "My grandfather on my father's side was Rage Wooten, who was called a
   free man because his master was his father. Being a free man he was
   allowed to have privileges that were not accorded slaves. He was
   permitted to go and come at will. He was fisherman and spent quite a
   bit of time away from the plantation. He'd visit his wife and children
   every fortnight and he was never molested by those [DEL: is :DEL] in
   authority. He had eight sons.
   
   "Father's mother was of pure African descent. She was healthy and
   strong and , having come from Africa where more or less she was free
   and not curbed as she was forced to be as a slave, she never would
   take floggings from her master. Mother often told us how she would
   fight like mad when they attempted to whip her.
   
   "Father was owned by a rich planter, R. M. Collier, whose name he had
   to adopt. Mother was owned by the Frix family and, therefore, she was
   called Frix. You understand the slaves always took the name of their
   master.
   
   "Several years after the reconstruction period, Thomas Collier and
   Lucy Frix were married. She often told us of her marriage to my
   father. Being owned by very cultured and wealthy whites, both my
   father and mother assimilated some of that culture.
   
   00032
   
   They were also well liked by their master and, when they were married,
   they were given a wedding with all the attendants. They were married
   by a white Baptist minister, a Rev. C. T. Jackson. There were twelve
   children born to my mother and father, six boys and six girls.
   
   "Father was a prosperous farmer. He was successful and accumulated
   very rapidly. Of course, he didn't have the handicap of most slaves,
   that is, starting out without anything at all. Instead , his master ,
   being quite fond of him, gave him a start and , being industrious and
   energetic , father made good. He knew all the herbs of the forest and
   their medicinal value. He spent quite a bit of his time, aside from
   his regular routine, compounding herbs into medicine. Both white and
   black came to him for his medicines.
   
   "Mother was an industrious farmer's wife and a devout Christian of the
   Baptist faith. She was very artistic with the needle, designing any
   pattern of lace, quilt, spread, or garment that she saw. As a
   housewife her work was never done. She looked after her children, kept
   the house and helped father, toiling, toiling[ ,?] from sun to sun.
   
   "Father taught his children to work, to be honorable , and make good
   citizens. He believed in education, although he wasn't permitted to
   get an education. He was, however, able to learn more than the
   ordinary slave and knew the value of an education for any people
   regardless of color and to this end he worked and sent four of his
   children to college. Two of these children completed the college
   course and two married before reaching the end toward which father had
   worked so hard. Father's great desire was to see his race share the
   blessings of other people, equal rights, similar working conditions,
   decent 00043living conditions, and educational advantages
   
   "Mother and father have died. He did, however, live to see some of his
   dreams realized. For he lived to see some of his children through
   college and see the race enjoying some of the things for which he had
   worked, and prayed. Also eight of my brothers and sisters have died.
   Some of them died rather young and others later in life.
   
   "After finishing elementary school I was one of the four who entered
   college. I worked part of my way through school. It seemed that father
   felt that one accomplished more when he too had to help secure it and,
   according to him, 'He could appreciate it more.' I was able to
   complete six years study, and then decided to come out of school to
   work. I succeeded in getting work as a teacher in an A. M. A. school.
   I worked here three years and was quite successful in this work. Being
   a person who liked diversion I resigned this work and accepted a job
   as clerk in a photograph gallery. I learned quite a bit about
   pictures, re-touching, developing , and mounting. One of the most
   interesting things I noticed while working here was, watching the
   homely types come in to be photographed and when they would come back
   for their pictures their vexation at the photographer because he
   didn't make them 'beautiful' on the picture. And although the picture
   would be a perfect likeness they wouldn't want that picture because it
   was 'ugly', or 'it doesn't look like me.' I gave up this work to get
   married.
   
   "I married a young man who was a minister in the Colored Methodist
   Episcopal Church. I entered heartily into this new life - a minister's
   wife. I took an active part in his church work, helping wherever
   possible. I worked from one place to another in the church. Sometimes
   I was a prayer leader in class 00054meetings; other times I was
   working with the Missionary Society, or with the choir as organist. In
   fact, anything that was to be done, I did it cheerfully to help my
   husband succeed in his work. I enjoyed every bit of it. Being a
   Methodist minister we were often moving about. We served both small
   and large charges, sometimes in the rural section and then in the
   city. In fact, we went joyfully wherever the bishop sent us.
   
   "Husband's work in the early days of our marriage was filled with hard
   work and many sacrifices but he was a hard worker and promotions came
   rapidly. He went from the pastorate to district superintendent and
   then was elected was a general officer. As general officer we went to
   Nashville, Tennessee, headquarters for the Sunday School Department of
   the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. His duties in this office were
   to edit all Sunday School literature for the Colored Methodist Church
   in the United States and this consisted of Sunday School Quarterlies
   and Periodicals. In the early days of this work, while still in its
   infancy, husband had to travel everywhere to make the work a success
   and I worked as secretary, assistant bookkeeper , and looked after the
   business side for him. Finally, after several successful years, the
   general conference changed the location of the Sunday School
   Department and we were transferred to our native state, Georgia, and
   the editorial office was established and maintained in Atlanta.
   
   "After coming to Atlanta, and after much of the former duties had been
   displaced by the fact that only the editorial office was in Atlanta, I
   didn't have to spend any of my time helping husband. Instead he hired
   young women to do the office work which I formerly did. I was then
   able to give my, attention to other things. I had more time to look
   after household duties 00065and oversee the work done in the home.
   Husband hired someone to do the heavy work in the home for me.
   
   "The annual conference, of which husband was a member, was in session
   and he left home just three weeks before Christmas to be present at
   the conference roll call. He was stricken ill soon after reaching the
   conference and died before he was able to be brought home , and so he
   was brought back to me a corpse.
   
   "Since his death I was compelled to work. It was very difficult for me
   to readjust myself because he'd alway looked after everything. He even
   purchased my clothes and shoes. [DEL: [?] :DEL] It was so hard at
   first but I came to realization that I had to go it for myself. The
   responsibility was mine and I took hold.
   
   "When we first came to Atlanta husband had a home built, and at his
   death he hadn't finished paying for it. I had to take hold and try to
   pay for it for I didn't have any children or anyone to help me; the
   job was mine. I had the notes readjusted and they/ were cut down to
   $36.00 a month. [this?] was as low as I could get them because the
   house cost a lot , and when he lived he was able to keep up the high
   notes. His salary was good and , being a general officer of the church
   , he was paid [DEL: [?] and :DEL] regularly. With notes on the home of
   $36.00 , plus my living expense and the general upkeep of the house I
   found it next to impossible to live. Of course husband left me a
   little money, very little however, at his death and this was soon
   exhausted. I then tried to get work to maintain myself. I made every
   attempt to get work in private industry and , being unsuccessful, I
   was compelled to get work on WPA. I was reluctant at first to go to
   WPA, for heretofore it had seemingly been the consensus of many that
   only the shiftless, lazy , and lower types resorted to relief
   agencies. The need of work was so great that this barrier was soon
   eradicated. Of course, as many, many others, I'm sure, I experienced
   the 00076humilities that go with the process of securing this work and
   it was disappointing at times but I was growing more and more in need
   and this caused me to keep on trying. I finally succeeded in being
   certified and then was later assigned to work.
   
   "I was assigned to a project known as the Survey of White Collar and
   Skilled Negroes. This was a most interesting work. We first went out
   and found all the white collar and skilled workers among the Negroes
   here in Atlanta. This was done through a house to house canvas. These
   workers were interviewed as to [DEL: [?] :DEL] their father's
   occupation, their schooling , and their occupation. We found those who
   had followed their father's occupation and those who had deviated. We
   checked on how many [DEL: who :DEL] had migrated from rural to urban
   localities, occupations trained for , and whether they were engaged in
   those occupations [DEL: [?] :DEL] or whether , because of employment
   conditions , they were forced to work at occupations not trained for.
   I enjoyed it so much. After we got all of the information together, it
   was then compiled in tables and [DEL: and :DEL] put in book form.
   
   "I worked hard every day and went to school at night , where I took a
   two-year commerical course. I completed the course as prescribed by
   the Board of Education, City of Atlanta.
   
   "After that project ended I was sent to the sewing project , and here
   too found the work interesting. I had a knowledge of sewing and
   because of this experience I was put over a group of women as 'floor
   woman', and like the former project I enjoyed it much. After this work
   I was transferred to the Housekeepers Aid Project. This was a most
   unusual experience for me. I had worked in the church, coming in
   contact with the poor and needy, the / sick and suffering , but it was
   nothing compared with that which 00087I found or experienced on this
   project. I never realized before just what was out there in those
   alleys, in the slums, the poverty and illiteracy that existed there. I
   am glad I have had the opportunity to work on WPA, first because it
   has provided me a livelihood and second for the experience I've
   gotten, which I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It enabled me to keep
   up my notes on my home. I haven't been able to save anything since
   working on WPA but it enabled me to carry on. I simply could not have
   held out this long had it not been for WPA. The experience caused me
   to care for the sick [DEL: [?] :DEL] and the old age pensioners and
   performing their household work which they were unable to do. In fact,
   all sorts of human suffering has been witnessed in my work.
   
   "I have enjoyed working among those unfortunate people, and also the
   pleasant contacts of my supervisors, and I feel in this work I have
   been able to cast a ray of sunshine and gladness in homes and hearts
   doomed without.
   
   "In working in the latter job, where I worked until the recent law was
   passed that all workers who have done 18 months service on WPA be
   released, I was able to learn much about the families and some of
   their backgrounds.
   
   One of the families, an old woman, whose house I looked after and whom
   I nursed, was a remarkable old soul. She was a hundred years old. She
   told me that she lived in Atlanta when it was called Marthasville. She
   had lived in that little cabin on London Lane for forty-six years. She
   told me of the many rich white families she had served before she
   became too old to work. She loved her neighbors and when she was able
   to work she cared for the sick and needy in her neighborhood and
   helped whenever she could, and everybody in that alley loves her and
   calls her 'Mammy.' She is unlearned but very intelligent and was a
   nice old person to work with.
   
   00098
   
   She is unable to do for herself now and has to be dependent upon her
   Social Security compensation and WPA. She gets her pension and surplus
   food. She doesn't have any relatives at all and descends solely on
   relief. She cannot read and gets pleasure out of hearing someone read
   to her. It was a pleasant duty to read to her, she was such an [DEL:
   interesting :DEL] interested listener.
   
   Of course, I couldn't say the same for another old woman I cared for.
   She was just the reverse. No one could stay with her long at the time.
   She didn't have a neighbor that would come into her home to do a thing
   for her and it was because of her attitude toward them. I think I
   stayed in the home longer than any other did. I was with her six weeks
   and after that time I too was compelled to leave her. I was
   transferred to another case.
   
   "This old woman had been a good liver, owned the six-room house in
   which she lived. She was under the impression that everyone who came
   around her was stealing her possessions. She made it miserable for
   those about her. After six weeks, when I was forced to leave her , I
   did hate to leave, because I knew the attitude of her neighbors. I
   knew they would leave her there in that house alone. I knew this
   because on my weekends, when I was not working, I would go around
   before I left and try to get someone to promise that they would go in
   to look after her from time to time, but no one consented to do so.
   Hers was a pathetic case. After I was transferred, some months later,
   I learned that she had in some way during the night turned her lamp
   over in the bed on herself and was a human torch when entrance was
   made in the home. She died from those burns. I made, of my own accord,
   three visits to the undertaker's establishment where she was. I went
   to see if anyone ever came to 00109take her body in charge, any of her
   relatives, and found to my dismay that no one ever did and finally the
   little neighborhood church, the Church of God, sent some of its
   members who had cars to the funeral and cemetery and she was buried in
   a pauper's grave no doubt. I felt quite sad for that old woman,
   although I felt she died as she had lived, alone. She had often told
   me while I waited on her that she had a cemetery lot out on the Tobie
   Grant estate and that her two husbands were buried there. She wanted
   so much to be buried beside them. It seemed I wanted so much to see
   that wish granted but it was nothing I could do and so she was buried,
   in Lincoln [cemetery?], alone.
   
   "I'm telling you of these instances that you may see just what I
   experienced. I don't know whether it is of interest to you or others
   but I tell these experiences that you may see just what I witnessed.
   
   "I also went into the superstitious and very illiterate homes. I cared
   for another case, a woman, who was a believer in witchcraft. Of
   course, I realized that this old superstition was handed down from the
   forefathers, and didn't try to change her views at that age. I have no
   belief in it and really don't want to discuss it because we as a race
   are trying to get away from those old superstitions and beliefs and ,
   I'll be perfectly frank , it galls me to know that it really exists in
   the present day. So great was her belief in this sort of thing that
   she would do [DEL: waht :DEL] what she called 'dress her table' once a
   week to prevent evil from befalling her. She would also 'dress the
   table' for others who would come in to see her. Of course, it was all
   foreign to me and I had no encouragement for such a thing but I pray
   the day is not far away that all of that old fogism is entirely erased
   from our race.
   
   001110
   
   "I had another woman who believed she had been conjured by her husband
   and that her suffering for many years was caused by him putting a
   'spell' on her. She was suffering from a sore leg and hadn't been able
   to walk for many months. She had gone on suffering, not seeking
   medical aid, because she believed her husband had 'tricked' her. She
   had, however, been to different people who practiced witchcraft and
   they had failed to do her any good. A little old white man came along
   one day and told her that he could cure her. He used some medicine
   which he made from herbs. She believed he was a conjurer and permitted
   him to treat her. That man told me that he had to treat her according
   to her belief, so she would take the medicine. He told me she was a
   victim of social disease. He really cured her. I was with her five
   months. She hadn't been able to walk about [DEL: [?] :DEL] or do
   anything , but when I left the leg was cured and she was able to walk.
   The man told me he had to work under the [DEL: guise :DEL] disguise of
   a root doctor because of the medical profession for he would be
   prosecuted. He didn't want his identity known. He told me he could
   surely cure any case of social disease.
   
   "You asked how I accustomed myself to working in such homes and how I
   managed to protect myself. First we were taught hygiene and the
   necessary precautions to take. I had to use rubber gloves, in fact,
   this was required of us all. We all wore uniforms in the homes and
   when we were finished for the day we changed into our street clothes,
   after cleaning up. There were trained nurses who would lecture to us
   on sanitation and we were instructed to carry all personal needs and
   use nothing else. All problems affecting the aides were worked out in
   conference in the office with the supervisor.
   
   "Sometime the person we were sent to wait on resented us 001211using
   gloves or other precautions. They'd say we thought ourselves better
   then they. Of course, we would have to be diplomatic to get those
   things out of their heads. I always had some logical excuse and so I
   was always able to get this out of their mind and everyone I came in
   contact with seemed to like me. I never ate at the homes. I would eat
   my breakfast at home and also dinner. I never carried any lunch. I
   found some of my clients would do little things to help relieve me;
   others I found, although able to do a little something, would just be
   satisfied to wait until the aide came to do everything, even the
   little things that could be done by that individual.
   
   "Our clients were made up of recipients of relief, those people
   receiving aid from the Department of Public Welfare. The visitors of
   that department would turn the cases over to the Housekeeping
   Department for care whenever the individual was unable to do for
   himself or herself. Aides were assigned to those people by the
   supervisor. I was, along with all other aides, trained in our
   department and taught just what to do and how to handle those cases.
   
   "I can't describe to you just what going into those homes has meant to
   me. It taught me many things and greatest of all are tolerance and
   appreciation. If I were ever inclined to be unappreciative of what I
   had I am really cured of that now. For you come to wonder just how
   people really exist and how they have made themselves stay in those
   places. I really came to realize the logic of that statement, 'One
   half of the world doesn't know how the other half lives.' That really
   applies to a city or community for that matter. And to be frank, the
   experience was really an education, for I was always guarded, so to
   speak. Husband always kept someone to assist me with my 001312house
   work and the heavy duties about the home were done by women he hired -
   washing, heavy cleaning , and the like. Of course, you know it was a
   bit strange at first for me but I adjusted myself and the experience
   has been another education to me.
   
   "I have looked [DEL: froward :DEL] forward to being reassigned to WPA
   or getting work in private industry , and something must come up soon
   for me or I don't know what will happen. The notes on my home are
   getting behind. See, I haven't been able to pay anything since I've
   been out of work. The holder of the notes gave me four months grace
   and I have been off three months already. I have made every effort to
   secure work that I may not have to go back to WPA but I have failed.
   There seems so little work for Negroes. We have so few places and they
   are all overcrowded. I am beginning to get afraid for I had only my
   earnings to depend on but I guess I'll be able to carry on somehow ,
   but something will just have to turn up for me soon. It must, I just
   can't give up here. Each new day brings me new hope and courage for
   that day and I can feel the presence of a good spirit with me, and so
   I go on like that each day."

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