Sue Poag Mullins, South Carolina ca. 1941

There was an old mansion with a brick wall around it. I would climb over the wall and look at the once glorious formal gardens, sometimes visiting the garden. The people knew I was there but we never spoke.

We had gardenias all around our house. They perfumed the June nights. We had pecan trees that stood next to the long drive or alley beside our house. We had bushels of pecans.

Mother took in boarders to supplement our income. So Easter came to help her with house work. We all fell in love with Easter and she could get us to do anything to please her.

There was a rock wall beside the pecan trees. One day she sat on the rock wall and told Gene and I she was nothing but an old n______. We said, "You are not! You are beautiful and we love you."

She replied, "I aint even got me no pecans."

Gene climbed those trees like a monkey and shook the limbs. We picked up enough pecans to fill a big grocery bag for her.

Sometimes in the afternoon, mom and Easter sat down to iced tea. I could hear them laugh. Mom didn't do a lot in the church, she really didn't have friends. I think Easter was her friend. When Easter got married and quit work, Mom somehow found for her a pair of silk stockings (almost impossible in 1941). She also got her a mixing bowl. I remember how pleased Easter was with the silk hose and how sad we were to see her go.

The library was right across the street. They let me have seven books a week. Mom had a very small bulb in the hallway. I would put my pillow at the foot of the bed and read by that little hall light. I read seven books every week, books like the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew.

In October that year, I turned eleven years old. On December 7, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we were at war. My dad would bring soldiers home to dinner. Mom never knew how many people she would have at the table.

Sugar, coffee, meat and gasoline were rationed. She mixed saccharine and sugar in the tea. She was really good at making ends meet.