Audio
Oral History Interview with Annette Warley Pt. 2
Transcript
Oloye Adeyemon: You-you mentioned earlier, Mrs. Warley, that, um—in the first part of the interview—and I wanted to continue talking about it in the second part of your interview—that you had aunts and uncles that were teaching?
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Or were you all aunts?
Annette Warley: Yes, all my mother's sisters.
Oloye Adeyemon: All your mother's sisters. How many of them were there?
Annette Warley: There were nine sisters.
Oloye Adeyemon: That taught at one time or another.
Annette Warley: Or another.
Oloye Adeyemon: Right. And you said that you had one granddaughter that's a teacher as well.
Female Voice: One daughter.
Annette Warley: Oh, that's my daughter.
Oloye Adeyemon: One daughter that's a teacher.
Annette Warley: Yeah. She's a daughter.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. Now, we're going back to the school here. Uh, during that four or five years that you taught school here in Clarendon County, uh, can you describe what the school building looked like on the inside and the outside?
Annette Warley: Then?
Oloye Adeyemon: Then.
Annette Warley: Wooden structure. There were rough edges. Uh, it-it—that could have been more modern if they had the time to do it. Could have been more modern. It was kind of crude. As I remember, the chapel upstairs was kind of bare. The walls were not paneled inside. They weren't paneled, just rough.
Oloye Adeyemon: What kind of heat did the school have?
Annette Warley: A stove.
Oloye Adeyemon: Potbellied?
Annette Warley: Potbellied stove. In each room. Seemed to get along all right. No one froze.
Oloye Adeyemon: Who-who supplied the firewood?
Annette Warley: Children's parents.
Oloye Adeyemon: Would bring firewood.
Annette Warley: Bring wood.
Oloye Adeyemon: What kind of water?
Annette Warley: From well. Well water. Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: Rainwater? Or underground?
Annette Warley: Underground water, just like I have now.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you had a pump?
Annette Warley: Yes, had a pump.
Oloye Adeyemon: The meals were in the school? Because many of the children came from a good far distance, didn't they?
Annette Warley: Now, I got to think. Oh, my mother-in-law, right there by that tree, she had a little store.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was her name?
Annette Warley: Candy. Cookies.
Female Voice: No, she—he wanted to know what was your mother-in-law's name.
Annette Warley: Oh, you asked what was her name? Margaret Camilla Warley.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Margaret.
Oloye Adeyemon: And she had a little store?
Annette Warley: And she loved it.
Oloye Adeyemon: And she sold candy?
Annette Warley: Yes. And now, if they didn't have money, they could bring eggs.
Oloye Adeyemon: Hmm.
Annette Warley: Bring some eggs. And what else? I don't remember anything but eggs. Hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did she have any cooked food?
Annette Warley: No.
Oloye Adeyemon: No, just candy, cookies?
Annette Warley: Just little stuff laying in there.
Oloye Adeyemon: Was that all the children ate at lunchtime? Or did they bring food from home?
Annette Warley: Many brought something. There was nothing brought in.
Oloye Adeyemon: What-what was a common lunch for children then? What would their parents send?
Annette Warley: Bread, sausage. Bread, sausage. They bought their milk or got water. Bought milk, or whatever.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did they buy the milk from the—
Annette Warley: Soda. Soda, not milk. Soda.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did they buy that at the store?
Annette Warley: Right at Mama's store. Nehi.
Oloye Adeyemon: Nehi soda.
Annette Warley: Nehi.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Sodas. And they brought me a little meat and bread.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Many of them. Many of them had a dime and they could buy lunch. For 10 cents.
Oloye Adeyemon: And the Mrs. Warley that ran the store—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: - was related to your husband?
Annette Warley: Yes, his mother.
Oloye Adeyemon: His mother. Was his father also with him?
Annette Warley: Yes. James J.D. Jarrett. Jarrett 04:47 Warley and Camilla Warley. Mother.
Oloye Adeyemon: What—
Annette Warley: That's the only mother he knew.
Oloye Adeyemon: Were the Warleys important in the politics of the state?
Female Voice: Yes.
Annette Warley: Yes. You found out.
Female Voice: Yeah. We recently found out that Jarrett Warley, my great-grandfather, was one of the first—was one of the first Black men—and there were several here in Clarendon County—who were-were members of the legislature. My grandfather was a me-member of—the-the Representative to the House after the Civil War.
Oloye Adeyemon: Your great-grandfather?
Female Voice: My great-grandfather in this documentation. [Unintelligible 05:27]
Oloye Adeyemon: He was one of the—
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: - state representatives.
Female Voice: State representatives to the—
Oloye Adeyemon: In South Carolina.
Female Voice: To the House.
Oloye Adeyemon: To the House.
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Female Voice: In South Carolina. But there were other—there were quite a few Black, uh, that—representives-representatives in South Carolina.
Oloye Adeyemon: State representatives.
Female Voice: Who were Black. State representatives.
Oloye Adeyemon: From—
Female Voice: Out of Clarendon County.
Oloye Adeyemon: Out of Clarendon County. So, would you say that Clarendon County had more than the normal percentage that you would expect?
Female Voice: I-I would not have that information. But I—
Oloye Adeyemon: But there were—
Female Voice: There were several.
Oloye Adeyemon: There were some from—
Female Voice: There were several Blacks who were representatives.
Oloye Adeyemon: That was during the Reconstruction period?
Female Voice: During the Reconstruction period.
Oloye Adeyemon: And your-and your great-grandfather, again, his name was Jarrett?
Female Voice: Jarrett. What's his middle name?
Annette Warley: What? Deles—we never used it.
Oloye Adeyemon: Deles?
Annette Warley: Deleslyn.
Oloye Adeyemon: Deleslyn.
Female Voice: Warley.
Oloye Adeyemon: Warley. How do you spell Deleslyn?
Annette Warley: Uh, wait. Deleslyn was a girl. Delesly.
Oloye Adeyemon: Delesly.
Annette Warley: Yeah, D-E-L-E-S-L-Y. Deles—
Oloye Adeyemon: And his first name was spelled how?
Annette Warley: J-A-R-R-E-T-T.
Oloye Adeyemon: T-T.
Annette Warley: Jarrett.
Oloye Adeyemon: And do you know how long he was a state representative?
Annette Warley: I can't answer that.
Female Voice: We don't know that, yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: Not yet. You're working on it.
Female Voice: We're working on it.
Annette Warley: Uh, yes.
Female Voice: We're in touch with a historian who informed us that she has a profile.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So, they were a pretty prominent family in the county.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: He and his wife.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was your husband's name?
Annette Warley: Uh, Granderson.
Oloye Adeyemon: Granderson?
Annette Warley: Yes. G-R-A-N-D-E-R. Granderson, Wally.
Oloye Adeyemon: Granderson, Wally. Now, when did you—you said you married him sometime after you had come.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: You came first and—
Annette Warley: Yeah, yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: How long was it that you were teaching before you married him?
Annette Warley: I'd say—I didn't teach—about two years.
Oloye Adeyemon: And then you married him.
Annette Warley: We [cross-talking 07:22].
Oloye Adeyemon: What kind of work—you taught only two years?
Annette Warley: Oh, that's what I'm saying. My husband wouldn't stay.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you were gone before 1930?
Annette Warley: Sure. [Unintelligible 07:30]
Oloye Adeyemon: What kind of work was he doing before he left here?
Annette Warley: Oh, my husband?
Oloye Adeyemon: Yes.
Annette Warley: Farm.
Oloye Adeyemon: Farm work.
Annette Warley: And that's what he didn't want.
Oloye Adeyemon: Uh-huh.
Annette Warley: He didn't like. He didn't want to be a—become a farmer.
Oloye Adeyemon: Had he gone to St. Paul's School too?
Annette Warley: Yes. He's gone to St. Paul's School too.
Oloye Adeyemon: And then—
Annette Warley: But I don't know if it was that building or the one room building.
Oloye Adeyemon: There was a—
Annette Warley: One room building.
Oloye Adeyemon: There was a school building that was—
Annette Warley: Right next to Liberty Hill.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So, he might have gone to Liberty Hill.
Annette Warley: He might have gone there.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So, when you left and went to New York with him, where did you go in New York?
Annette Warley: New York City.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did you continue to teach?
Annette Warley: No, I did not. I've-I started having children.
Oloye Adeyemon: How many children did you have?
Annette Warley: Six.
Oloye Adeyemon: Six. And what year—
Annette Warley: And they weren't close together. I had two generations.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was your—what was the birth date of your oldest child? What was the birth date of your youngest child?
Female Voice: 1927.
Annette Warley: 1927, the oldest. Was that right?
Female Voice: Yes. That was my mother.
Oloye Adeyemon: And the youngest?
Annette Warley: Uh, Jeffrey was [unintelligible 08:48] '49.
Oloye Adeyemon: 1949?
Annette Warley: 1949.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, 1927 to 1949.
Annette Warley: '49.
Oloye Adeyemon: Twenty-two years—
Annette Warley: Twenty some years apart.
Oloye Adeyemon: - between the oldest and the youngest.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, were you—you know, you weren't able to teach in between?
Annette Warley: No.
Oloye Adeyemon: You—
Annette Warley: I was not.
Oloye Adeyemon: You had the parent responsibility.
Annette Warley: There was—somebody was always coughing or barking or fever or what have you.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was your husband—what kind of work was he doing in New York?
Annette Warley: He was doing, um—what do you call it?
Female Voice: Like handyman [unintelligible 09:26].
Annette Warley: Yes. Uh, fixing things. Very good at it.
Oloye Adeyemon: What kinds of things?
Annette Warley: Anything.
Oloye Adeyemon: Anything?
Annette Warley: Yeah. Upkeep in the apartments.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Handyman.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. Okay. Did he work in the apartment where you lived?
Annette Warley: No, no.
Oloye Adeyemon: He worked elsewhere.
Annette Warley: At home—no, no. Where we living—
Oloye Adeyemon: What section of New York did you live in [unintelligible 09:53] '27?
Annette Warley: I lived in—oh, uh—oh, what year?
Oloye Adeyemon: What section of New York did you live in when you went there in 1927?
Annette Warley: Uh, not Harlem.
Female Voice: I thought you said you-you stayed with somebody.
Annette Warley: A Hundred—yeah.
Female Voice: A Hundred Ninety—
Annette Warley: No, 116th Street. Is that Harlem?
Oloye Adeyemon: Yeah.
Annette Warley: Yes, it is.
Female Voice: It is Harlem.
Oloye Adeyemon: A Hundred—
Annette Warley: Sixteenth Street. She was from South Carolina. And we took a room.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was Harlem like at that time?
Annette Warley: Oh, Harlem was booming.
Oloye Adeyemon: In what way?
Annette Warley: One thing, people were able to pay high rent, wear nice clothes, save a little. Almost none. All—
Oloye Adeyemon: Was there a lot of entertainment?
Annette Warley: Yes. House parties.
Oloye Adeyemon: Is that how people paid their rent sometimes?
Annette Warley: House parties to help pay the rent. House parties. Sell food. Chitterlings. Potato salad. Red rice. Pig's feet. Went well.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Sold out.
Oloye Adeyemon: Sold out. What was the education like? Even though you weren't teaching, the education that your children were receiving—were you satisfied?
Annette Warley: Yes, I was. I was because things are different now-now. You see, we have white and Black teachers in the system.
Oloye Adeyemon: And white and Black students.
Annette Warley: White and Black students, white and Black teachers.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: There was no difference.
Oloye Adeyemon: And you were satisfied with their education?
Annette Warley: I was satisfied with their education. Uh, Loretta, uh—
Oloye Adeyemon: That's your daughter that's a teacher?
Female Voice: No.
Oloye Adeyemon: Loretta?
Annette Warley: Oh, I [unintelligible 11:55].
Female Voice: School board.
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: Huh?
Female Voice: She's a school board member. She's not a teacher.
Oloye Adeyemon: She was a teacher.
Female Voice: No.
Oloye Adeyemon: Oh, okay.
Female Voice: The other one.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: I said more of my children should have been—
Oloye Adeyemon: Right.
Annette Warley: - teachers.
Oloye Adeyemon: But even one of your teachers—one of your children that was not a teacher is a school board member.
Annette Warley: Yes, yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you had one that was a teacher and another one that was a school board member.
Annette Warley: Uh-huh.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see. So, when you—now, you had children from 1927—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: - to 1949.
Annette Warley: '49.
Oloye Adeyemon: By the time you had—
Annette Warley: Two generations.
Oloye Adeyemon: - given birth to your child in 1949, had any of your chil—your last child—had any of your children started having grandchildren? Had you started having grandchildren?
Female Voice: Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: By the time you were still having children?
Female Voice: Yeah, I was the grandchild.
Oloye Adeyemon: The oldest?
Female Voice: I was in '45.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay, so you were born in 1945.
Annette Warley: '45.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you were older—
Annette Warley: '45?
Female Voice: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: You were older—
Female Voice: Than my—
Oloye Adeyemon: - than your youngest—the youngest of your uncles and aunts.
Female Voice: Yeah, yeah. I have her—the teacher—the uh, the one who's the teacher—her name is Kathleen—she and I are only seven months apart. I'm seven—
Annette Warley: Which—correct.
Female Voice: - I'm seven months older than my aunt.
Oloye Adeyemon: Than your aunt. Who was the teacher.
Annette Warley: Yeah. When she was born, I was pregnant.
Oloye Adeyemon: Right, okay.
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So how many grandchildren do you have?
Annette Warley: I had 12. I got 11—
Oloye Adeyemon: How old is the oldest?
Female Voice: Ayanna 13:18.
Annette Warley: Ayanna.
Oloye Adeyemon: Your daughter.
Annette Warley: Ayanna. Yeah.
Female Voice: No, I'm the oldest grandchild. I'm sorry. I am the oldest grandchild.
Annette Warley: She's the oldest grandchild.
Female Voice: I gotta tell my age, huh?
Annette Warley: Your-your daughter is the oldest great-grandchild.
Oloye Adeyemon: Great-grandchild.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: That's what I'm saying.
Female Voice: I'm-I'm the oldest grandchild—
Oloye Adeyemon: And—
Female Voice: - and at this moment I'm 55.
Oloye Adeyemon: And your-your daughter is the oldest—
Female Voice: Oldest—
Oloye Adeyemon: - of the great-grandchildren.
Female Voice: - grandchild. And she's 28.
Oloye Adeyemon: And how many great-grandchildren do you have?
Annette Warley: Fif—fourteen.
Female Voice: Fourteen.
Oloye Adeyemon: How old is the youngest?
Annette Warley: Who is the youngest? The-the baby that was—
Female Voice: Padilla.
Annette Warley: Padilla.
Female Voice: Padilla? No.
Annette Warley: Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico. Oh. Oh, yes.
Female Voice: I thought her name was Elizabeth.
Annette Warley: No, no, that's Wayne's baby.
Female Voice: Oh.
Annette Warley: That baby's a year old.
Female Voice: Okay. Okay.
Annette Warley: This is, um, Annette.
Female Voice: Annette Fadilla [unintelligible 14:15]? Um—
Annette Warley: What's that name we don't like? Victor—what is it? Victoria?
Female Voice: No, no. Isabella.
Annette Warley: Isabelle.
Female Voice: Isabelle.
Annette Warley: Isabelle.
Female Voice: She's—
Annette Warley: Annette Padilla.
Female Voice: Mm-hmm. And she's how many months?
Annette Warley: She's—
Female Voice: Three? Two months?
Annette Warley: Three.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did I hear you say she's in Puerto Rico?
Annette Warley: Yes.
Female Voice: They—
Annette Warley: My-my grandson-in-law.
Female Voice: Yeah.
Annette Warley: My grandson-in-law is a Puerto Rican.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Female Voice: Yeah.
Annette Warley: Fine fellow.
Female Voice: From New York though.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Fine fellow.
Female Voice: They moved back to Puerto Rico.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So, of the, uh, children here, you have one that was a teacher.
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: Both in New York. And also, here in Clarendon County.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: She taught in New York.
Annette Warley: In New York.
Oloye Adeyemon: For how many years?
Annette Warley: Oh, quite a few.
Female Voice: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Quite a f—
Female Voice: Well, I would say under 10 years, Grandma.
Annette Warley: You could say under 10. Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: Is she still teaching here in Clarendon County?
Annette Warley: Oh, yes.
Female Voice: She certainly is. She's a top teacher. She's the—she's the lead fourth grade teacher at—
Oloye Adeyemon: When did she start teaching?
Annette Warley: '84.
Oloye Adeyemon: '84. You said she's the top fourth grade teacher?
Annette Warley: At, uh, the, uh, uh—what is it? District 1?
Female Voice: District 1. Somerton, um—is it the middle school? Elementary? M-m-middle school.
Annette Warley: Middle school.
Female Voice: Her name is Kathleen—
Annette Warley: McAveen 15:51.
Female Voice: Marley McAveen, and, uh, she is the, uh—what do they call it? Lead? I forgot—head coordinator?
Annette Warley: Yes.
Female Voice: Coordinating teacher for the fourth grade.
Annette Warley: Fourth grade, the whole grade.
Female Voice: For the whole—
Annette Warley: Four teachers.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, she's taught here 17 years, and in New York about 10.
Annette Warley: Oh, yes, yes.
Female Voice: Something-something like that.
Annette Warley: She's looking forward to retiring soon.
Oloye Adeyemon: That's right. When you came—you were in New York, and all your children were born there.
Female Voice: Except one.
Annette Warley: Except one.
Oloye Adeyemon: Where was the youngest born, in 1949?
Annette Warley: New York.
Female Voice: No, 1927.
Annette Warley: Hmm?
Oloye Adeyemon: Oh, that one was born here?
Female Voice: Yeah, in that house.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see.
Female Voice: In that very house.
Oloye Adeyemon: Next door. Because she was living with the in-laws.
Female Voice: My mother.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. When you got—when you had your last child—
Annette Warley: '49.
Oloye Adeyemon: - did you go back to work?
Annette Warley: Oh, yes. That's when I went to the federal government.
Oloye Adeyemon: What did you do for the federal government?
Annette Warley: Well, I-I'm a-a clerk. I start as a clerk.
Oloye Adeyemon: Where? What-what branch?
Annette Warley: At, uh, um, Immigration. Immigration. Department of Justice. INS.
Oloye Adeyemon: What did you do there as a clerk?
Annette Warley: I started in, um, applications. Doing applications. Applications. Then I got a promotion, a big promotion.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: To deportation. Detention, deportation, and parole. Those three. In that one department. Those three. The reason I went to federal government, I got tired of being mistreated on these little two-bit jobs. I wasn't able to stay on any. Because of the children's illnesses.
Oloye Adeyemon: When you say two-bit jobs, what kind of jobs are you talking about?
Annette Warley: Uh, uh, a Jewish fundraising. Jewish fundraising in the office. First, Tots and Togs 17:54 was the first job.
Oloye Adeyemon: What is that?
Annette Warley: Making children's clothing.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: Tots and Togs.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you knew how to sew?
Annette Warley: Yeah. I could sew a little bit. You learn, you learn.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: But, uh, women—I'll make the statement. Women are not kindly spoken to women in business. They're not nice to you. Little women are not nice to women in business.
Oloye Adeyemon: Why is that?
Annette Warley: I can't tell you. But I do know, let a young man come in and he's so nice. I'm not kidding. Those—they weren't—these jobs that I talk about, where they're not nice, they are unioned. Highly unionized. They don't want anybody who is not of a union. And I was not.
Oloye Adeyemon: You were not.
Annette Warley: Nice pla—[audio cuts out 18:56]
Oloye Adeyemon: You—I wanted-I wanted to understand something a little better.
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: You said that the union jobs—the people who were union were treated a little differently than those that weren't?
Annette Warley: That's right, correct.
Oloye Adeyemon: And you were not union.
Annette Warley: It was not union.
Oloye Adeyemon: Yeah. We're talking about the period before you went to work for the federal government. We're talking about doing odd jobs.
Annette Warley: Yes, that was before.
Oloye Adeyemon: Yeah.
Annette Warley: Long before.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, you also said that women in business weren't treated that well by women. Are you saying that the women who came into you would treat you as a-as a person working on the job differently if you were a woman than if someone came in from the street and you were a man? Is that what you were saying?
Annette Warley: Ss—
Oloye Adeyemon: You said that women were treated—not treated the same. That men were treated differently than women.
Annette Warley: Yes, they were.
Oloye Adeyemon: What did you mean? I wasn't quite sure what you meant.
Annette Warley: Well, I don't understand, but I do know that women are not kind. If one were sent over to help me in a new business, a new job, they would do it.
Oloye Adeyemon: Training you, you mean.
Annette Warley: Training.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see.
Annette Warley: If they were sent to train you, they would do it in such a way that you couldn't get it.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. But if you were a man being trained—
Annette Warley: Oh, yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: - then they took time with you.
Annette Warley: This is the truth.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: That was my reason for going to the federal government.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: Because they couldn't treat me that way.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: They couldn't fire me either.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So, what you did then was you went to the federal government—
Annette Warley: Uh—
Oloye Adeyemon: - and you stayed there for how long? How long were you there?
Annette Warley: Uh, around 14 years.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. All the time with immigration.
Annette Warley: All the time.
Oloye Adeyemon: And then you retired from there.
Annette Warley: Retired.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did-did—
Annette Warley: I wasn't ready, but my husband wanted to come back home now.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. Okay. Now, at the point that your husband came back home, was he still doing the same job that he was doing when he first went? When he first went, you said he was doing odd—repairing things, taking care of—
Annette Warley: Well, he—in a way it was better, because he was working on motors.
Oloye Adeyemon: What kind of motors?
Annette Warley: Uh, machinery. Motors.
Oloye Adeyemon: Was he work—was he working at a place that repaired?
Annette Warley: Yeah. No, no. Any factory, any job he was on, he could do—he could work with motors and machinery on it.
Annette Warley: So, they recognized that. They put him in that—
Annette Warley: Yes, yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: - put him to work on that job.
Annette Warley: Recognized.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-Hmm.
Annette Warley: Anyway, he was earning more money.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: Whatever.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, he was ready to come back home—
Female Voice: With Grandma
Oloye Adeyemon: - and—
Annette Warley: Yes.
Female Voice: I think that he had been doing that for a while. Then his health—
Annette Warley: Oh, yes.
Female Voice: He had a heart attack.
Oloye Adeyemon: Oh.
Female Voice: And he—
Oloye Adeyemon: He was forced to take—
Annette Warley: Yes. The fumes. Fumes.
Oloye Adeyemon: From the places where he was working.
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Female Voice: Mm-hmm. And he actually, uh, had—could not work for a very long time.
Annette Warley: Six months.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, was this because of the heart attack or because of the effect-the effect of the fumes?
Female Voice: The heart attack. And-and he had a—he had like a heart attack, and he couldn't go back to those fumes anymore. So, he had to come home. And while—
Annette Warley: Six months.
Female Voice: Six months home, and-and-and Grandma went out to find work. Because there was no money coming in.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, is that when she went to the federal government?
Annette Warley: That's right.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Female Voice: That's exactly right. And Granddad—
Oloye Adeyemon: She had to have something more steady now.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Female Voice: Sure. Granddaddy actually took over the household. Taking care of the children and-and feeding them and cleaning the house, and just—while she was out there.
Annette Warley: He had to work.
Female Voice: He had to work. And then he went back to work, after—while he found a job working for the Y—
Annette Warley: Sedentary.
Female Voice: - WMCA as a maintenance handyman.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Female Voice: And that's where he retired from.
Oloye Adeyemon: All right.
Annette Warley: That's where he retired.
Oloye Adeyemon: And then they came—you both came home.
Annette Warley: We both came home. '71.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. Now—
Annette Warley: Together.
Oloye Adeyemon: - did your daughter that teaches here in Clarendon County—she came later.
Annette Warley: She came in—oh, right—the year after he died. He died in '83. We came '71, he passed in '83. She came January '84.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see, I see. And she [crosstalk 23:29].
Annette Warley: Ever since. Teaching.
Oloye Adeyemon: Looking at the schools today in Clarendon County—and thinking about what schools were like in Clarendon County when you were teaching—how would you compare?
Annette Warley: Oh, I think they're better today. They're better. More modern. Yes. And, um, I wish—because, you see, there is more today to learn.
Oloye Adeyemon: In terms of opportunity.
Annette Warley: In terms of opportunity. There's more to learn. Now, the children—learning foreign languages in early grades. They're learning the computer. Kathy has everything in her room she wants for her children. You know?
Female Voice: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: For the-for the learning abilities. Everything. She gets what she needs. It's better.
Oloye Adeyemon: The attitude of students.
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: Are students as anxious to learn today as they were when you started teaching?
Annette Warley: You know, I think so. Because of the competitive—the market. Be-because, say—they advance the computer today. They want to learn more about that. They want to learn more, as a whole. They want to learn more. There's more to be learned.
Oloye Adeyemon: Are the parents as involved in their children's education today as they were back then?
Annette Warley: I would say 50-50. I would say.
Oloye Adeyemon: Some were then—
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: - and some weren't.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Some are now—
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: - and some—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: What did you know about the period when there was the court case, and then later on there was the-the, uh, desegregation in the school district for a while? It was all Black because the whites had left it and gone to private school. When you were in New York, were you coming back and forth to-to Clarendon County, and did you know what was going on?
Annette Warley: I-I did not know enough. But we learned through the church, when-when Reverend DeLaine had to flee, you know, had to leave, because they were going to kill him. He came with—to New York. Came to New York.
Oloye Adeyemon: We didn't know that.
Annette Warley: And—yes, he came to New York with D. Ward Nichols. Have you ever heard that name?
Oloye Adeyemon: No, we have not.
Annette Warley: D. Ward Nichols. Brought him to New York. And he said, "I am my brother's keeper."
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: And he took over and he raised money for him.
Female Voice: You actually met him, right, Grandmother?
Annette Warley: Yes, we were friends.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you knew—
Annette Warley: Oh—
Oloye Adeyemon: - Joseph A. DeLaine in New York City.
Annette Warley: Oh, yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, even though they—
Female Voice: She actually gave fundraisers in her home—
Annette Warley: Yeah.
Female Voice: - to send money back.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you were raising money, and the people back in South Carolina probably didn't even know where-where the money was coming from.
Annette Warley: We were raising money to sell—and putting money in the bank in Columbia, so that the farmers can borrow money and-and-and till the soil and-and do their farming.
Oloye Adeyemon: Because of the difficulty the banks were giving them—
Annette Warley: They would not—
Oloye Adeyemon: - because of their involvement.
Annette Warley: They would not let them have any money. Stopped borrowing money. The people were suffering. They would—they were, uh, what you call it? Um—
Female Voice: Uh, uh, sharecroppers?
Annette Warley: They were sharecroppers, but they—you know, when they put you out.
Female Voice: They-they—
Oloye Adeyemon: Evict them.
Annette Warley: Evicted.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, let me understand, because you fill in a very important part of the history here for us. When Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine was—you know, had to run—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: - had to leave because of the threats—
Annette Warley: The threats, yeah.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, there was a shootout, and there were charges against him. And part of the reason, I understand, was to keep him from coming back. They dropped those charges against him later. Much, much later.
Annette Warley: Recently.
Oloye Adeyemon: Recently.
Female Voice: Just recently took it off the books.
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: They took it off the books?
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Because in fact there were charges that were there just to keep him from coming back.
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Female Voice: Exactly.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, when he left, um—
Annette Warley: South Carolina.
Oloye Adeyemon: - South Carolina, where did he go? What-what-what-what route did he take when he left?
Annette Warley: He came to—let's see. I'm trying to think. Was it the Bronx? Let's see. Manhattan.
Oloye Adeyemon: He went to Manhattan first.
Annette Warley: I think it was Manhattan.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, the person you said that helped him, who was he?
Annette Warley: D. Ward Nichols. He was a minister.
Oloye Adeyemon: Of what church?
Annette Warley: African Methodist Episcopal, just like Liberty Hill.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, which-which one of the Af-African Methodist Episcopal churches in New York? Which—what was the name of the church? Do you know? Where was it located?
Annette Warley: Emanuel. I think it was Emanuel.
Female Voice: Emanuel.
Annette Warley: AME.
Oloye Adeyemon: What part of the city was that located in?
Annette Warley: I-I was—Harlem.
Oloye Adeyemon: Harlem. Do you remember the street?
Female Voice: That's right. He's a famous minister.
Oloye Adeyemon: Do you remember which street the church was on?
Annette Warley: I can't tell you that right now.
Female Voice: But I think that church is still there.
Annette Warley: [Unintelligible 29:23] sure. Emanuel. All the Southerners ran to Emanuel.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, did—w-was Reverend—did you say Knuckles?
Annette Warley: Nichols.
Oloye Adeyemon: Nichols. How do you spell—
Annette Warley: D. Ward Nichols.
Oloye Adeyemon: How do you spell it?
Annette Warley: N-I-C-H-O-L-S.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, was Reverend Nichols from South Carolina? Is that how they knew each other?
Annette Warley: Yes, he's from South Carolina. Oh, yeah. His father, I believe, was a bishop.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm. In the AME church. But he wasn't from Clarendon County.
Annette Warley: Oh, no.
Oloye Adeyemon: Uh-huh. But he was from South Carolina.
Annette Warley: Charleston. D. Ward Nichols. You know how I know D. Ward Nichols? We were schoolmates.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you knew D. Ward Nichols—
Annette Warley: We were schoolmates.
Oloye Adeyemon: - before, you know—
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now, what church did you attend in New York?
Annette Warley: In New York at that time? What-what is that church we go to?
Female Voice: Um, um, St. Augustine?
Annette Warley: No, no, no, no.
Female Voice: No?
Annette Warley: No, that's Presbyterian.
Female Voice: Oh. Oh, okay. Cauldwell Baptist?
Annette Warley: Cauldwell.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you went to a Baptist church?
Annette Warley: Oh, no. AME. All this is AME.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay, so it's Cauldwell [unintelligible 30:32].
Annette Warley: No Baptist.
Female Voice: No, I have it wrong.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay, Cauldwell AME Church.
Female Voice: Go with her.
Annette Warley: AME church.
Oloye Adeyemon: Where was that located?
Annette Warley: Um, Cauldwell, it says on the—
Female Voice: In the Bronx? On Cauldwell Avenue, I believe.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Female Voice: Grandma [unintelligible 30:46]
Annette Warley: I can't—
Female Voice: In the Bronx. In the-in the South—
Annette Warley: Cauldwell.
Female Voice: In the South Bronx.
Annette Warley: Cauldwell.
Female Voice: East Bronx?
Oloye Adeyemon: Somewhere in the Bronx.
Female Voice: Yeah, like the southeast Bronx.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. So now, you knew—that was your church, but you knew Reverend Nichols.
Annette Warley: I knew him, knew him from Charleston school days.
Oloye Adeyemon: You knew him? Did he go to school with you?
Annette Warley: We were schoolmates, not classmates.
Oloye Adeyemon: But you were schoolmates.
Annette Warley: He was older than I.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, when you arrived in New York, you recognized—you knew each other from Charleston.
Annette Warley: Oh yes, yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, when—
Annette Warley: He brought Reverend DeLaine.
Oloye Adeyemon: To New York.
Annette Warley: To New York. It was a big fundraising event.
Oloye Adeyemon: And lots of people came.
Annette Warley: Oh.
Oloye Adeyemon: 'Cause they knew about what was going on in South Carolina.
Annette Warley: Gave money, money, money. They raised piles of money.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: Not only once.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm. Now, where was—you said—did you say that Reverend DeLaine was living in Manhattan at the time?
Annette Warley: You mean with Nichols?
Oloye Adeyemon: When Nichols-when Nichols brought him to New York, where did he live?
Annette Warley: You know, I don't know where Nichols lived.
Oloye Adeyemon: No, DeLaine. Reverend DeLaine.
Annette Warley: Oh. With Reverend Nichols.
Oloye Adeyemon: He—they lived together.
Annette Warley: Yes, he took care of him.
Oloye Adeyemon: Yeah.
Annette Warley: He was making money on him.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did the people in New York know that there was a serious charge against Reverend DeLaine?
Annette Warley: DeLaine. Yes, we did.
Oloye Adeyemon: In South Carolina.
Annette Warley: Everyone—it was made known.
Oloye Adeyemon: Was there any fear that the New York authorities might return him to South Carolina? Many, many Black men had to flee the South. But they changed their names, they did other things, because the South Carolina authorities could come and arrest them anywhere. Was there-was there any fear that the New York authorities would return him to South Carolina?
Annette Warley: I don't remember such fear.
Oloye Adeyemon: Because they didn't act like they were afraid.
Annette Warley: They didn't act like they were afraid, in any way.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay. But DeLaine did not return to South Carolina.
Annette Warley: He did not come back.
Oloye Adeyemon: But there were people who were coming back and forth to South Carolina, who were actually bringing money and bringing—there were people that were able to come back and forth.
Annette Warley: We put money—even I, in my apartment, had parties, selling food, so that we could put money in the bank in Columbia.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay, I got you.
Annette Warley: So that the farmers will be able to run their farms.
Oloye Adeyemon: How long did Reverend DeLaine remain in New York?
Annette Warley: That I can't tell you. I can't tell you.
Oloye Adeyemon: Now—
Oloye Adeyemon: Because he surely couldn't run back.
Oloye Adeyemon: That's—I understand. Now, when you came back to South Carolina, you went back to your home church, which was Liberty Hill.
Annette Warley: Liberty Hill.
Oloye Adeyemon: Did you say that Reverend, uh—what was the name of the principal at the school across the road?
Female Voice: [Unintelligible 33:38] Pendergrass?
Annette Warley: Pendergrass.
Oloye Adeyemon: Reverend Pendergrass was there when you left.
Annette Warley: Reverend—oh, huh?
Oloye Adeyemon: Did you say that Reverend Pendergrass was at Liberty Hill when you left South Carolina? That he was the—that the principal's husband was the minister?
Annette Warley: Yes, he was. Because I left. Reverend Pendergrass was the minister when I left.
Oloye Adeyemon: At Liberty Hill. When you came back, who was the minister?
Annette Warley: Uh, when I came back.
Oloye Adeyemon: And rejoined your-your home church.
Female Voice: Flowers 34:06?
Annette Warley: Was it Flowers? Uh, before Flowers. Oh. Gee.
Oloye Adeyemon: Flowers is the minister now? Reverend Flowers?
Annette Warley: Oh, no, no. Um, Duncan.
Oloye Adeyemon: Duncan.
Annette Warley: Yeah, Duncan. He's 12, th—12 years now.
Oloye Adeyemon: So before Reverend Duncan, it was Reverend Flowers?
Annette Warley: No, no. Before Reverend Duncan—Duncan was a tall man. This tall, good looking fellow, I forgot his name. What is his—Baker.
Oloye Adeyemon: Baker.
Annette Warley: Baker.
Oloye Adeyemon: And so before—
Annette Warley: Baker was—
Oloye Adeyemon: - Reverend Baker was Reverend Flowers.
Annette Warley: Before Baker, Reverend Flowers. Uh-huh. Reverend Baker.
Oloye Adeyemon: What was Liberty Hill Church like when you left, and what had changed when you came back? Because we're talking 40-some years—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: - difference. What was the difference between Liberty Church—
Annette Warley: Well—
Oloye Adeyemon: - when you left and when you came back?
Annette Warley: Well, you can say money. When I left, it was a board structure, with a potbelly stove. Yet the people were there, and they were happy. But when I came back, they had remodeled Liberty Hill. No pot—we had, um—I think we—we didn't have—that's—I'm trying to think. Was it a stove when I came back? I don't think, in '71, we had a potbelly stove. It's '71. I don't remember central heating. You know, I believe we still had that stove.
Oloye Adeyemon: How many parishioners were there when you left?
Annette Warley: Oh, when I left?
Oloye Adeyemon: In the '20s, how many people went to the Liberty Hill Church?
Oloye Adeyemon: Maybe five hundred.
Oloye Adeyemon: Wow. And how many were there when you came back?
Annette Warley: We have—well, you know, membership and attendance—different. You could say we have a thousand now.
Oloye Adeyemon: Really?
Annette Warley: On roll.
Oloye Adeyemon: They don't all attend every—
Annette Warley: No, they've gone.
Oloye Adeyemon: How many-how many have been—how many will it hold, the church, do you think?
Annette Warley: Oh, we'll hold a thousand. Easily. Easily.
Oloye Adeyemon: Have there been any other additions to the church?
Annette Warley: Yes, we have an addition. We have—we call it a educational building. That's what they call it. But we do more eating than we learn—do learning.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, looking back at everything that happened, and at the fact that there's very little integration in the public schools here, in Clarendon today—
Annette Warley: Yes.
Oloye Adeyemon: - uh, most of the whites are in private school—um, how do you feel about that and-and how do you feel looking back on your life as a teacher? And, you know, how do you feel about what's happened? Uh, what are some of the things that you think can still happen or still need to happen?
Annette Warley: In the schools. What needs? That's hard to do. Then and now?
Oloye Adeyemon: Both then and now, and just what you would like to see happen. What would you—how would you like things to be? And I'm speaking both about the education, but I'm also talking about the segregation. Because the schools today are still segregated.
Annette Warley: Yes. What I would like to see now is that—it seems that they're being taught, but they do not retain.
Oloye Adeyemon: Why do you think that is?
Annette Warley: They do not retain. I think the reason is, it has not been stressed enough.
Oloye Adeyemon: The importance of learning itself.
Annette Warley: Yes. Because you take English grammar—they can graduate today and know very little. Still speaking poorly. I think there could be—just stress it more.
Oloye Adeyemon: Stress it more.
Annette Warley: Stress it more. The main subject that needs to be stressed more is English grammar.
Female Voice: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: Believe me. And why is it so important, English grammar?
Annette Warley: Because—when I-I went back to school in New York, my teacher said it's laziness.
Oloye Adeyemon: What do you mean you went back to school in New York?
Annette Warley: Oh, yes. I went to courses in New York.
Oloye Adeyemon: Where?
Annette Warley: At, uh, New York's—at—evening courses. Evening [unintelligible 40:12]. That's how I was able to—you know, you have to—what you call—refresh.
Oloye Adeyemon: Mm-hmm. What school was that?
Annette Warley: Oh, this was, um, college teachers doing a night job in public schools.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see.
Annette Warley: See. Doing night jobs.
Female Voice: New York Institute of Technology.
Oloye Adeyemon: New York Institute of Technology?
Annette Warley: Yeah. Yes. Downtown too.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Annette Warley: Uh, this is what I see. This is the—am I correct—main subject—
Oloye Adeyemon: Yes.
Annette Warley: - is English grammar.
Oloye Adeyemon: Okay.
Female Voice: And that's because it's important to communicate? What you think communication is?
Oloye Adeyemon: Why is it so important? That particular subject.
Annette Warley: Because they have not learned to speak correctly.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, you think that being able to communicate well is very important.
Annette Warley: Yes, very important. Yes. Some—you can graduate and still not know above the eight parts of speech.
Oloye Adeyemon: How do you think that will hurt them by not knowing that?
Annette Warley: Oh. Well, we hear it on TV, don't we? Do we?
Female Voice: I think the image of—
Annette Warley: Don't we?
Female Voice: Yeah. I agree.
Oloye Adeyemon: [Unintelligible 41:37]
Annette Warley: I think it's very important—
Female Voice: I mean, being able to—
Annette Warley: - to be able to present yourself.
Oloye Adeyemon: I understand.
Annette Warley: Many people, uh, they have the knowledge, but they can't put it into words.
Female Voice: Mm-hmm.
Annette Warley: They have it but can't say it.
Oloye Adeyemon: I see.
Annette Warley: I think that's important. I think it—
Oloye Adeyemon: What advice would you give people today? In other words, what's been your motto? How—what-what can you say to people today as a word of encouragement or as a suggestion or a recommendation? Just in life in—just about life in general.
Annette Warley: Well, school dropout is still strong.
Oloye Adeyemon: So, what would you recommend? Talking to—you're going to have an audience of children—
Annette Warley: Children.
Oloye Adeyemon: - and adults—
Annette Warley: Mm-hmm.
Oloye Adeyemon: - who are going to, you know, read your transcript, and listen to your tape. What is your recommendation or advice—
Annette Warley: Stay—
Oloye Adeyemon: - to them?
Annette Warley: Stay in school. Just to say get to work, that's too weak. I think—select what you want as your life's work. What are you aspiring to become?
Oloye Adeyemon: And stick to it.
Annette Warley: And stick to it.
Oloye Adeyemon: Thank you.
Annette Warley: What? And stick to it. Now, you cannot do well or stick to it or become successful when you say this here and that there.
Oloye Adeyemon: I understand.
Annette Warley: You must learn to speak correctly.
Oloye Adeyemon: Thank you.
Annette Warley: Now, of course, maybe—because my mother was a teacher—she would correct us, you know? But, um, I just—I said if I were 20 years younger, I'd put a little building on my property. And that would be the only thing I would teach. English grammar. Spelling. Spelling—like, uh, in my federal test we had 95 words, in three columns, and only one correct. And they all looked right. All looked right. You've got to know it. So, I went back for a brush-up. Good thing I did. I don't think I'd have made it.
Female Voice: Well, you're an excellent speller, Grandma, now. You know, you ask her to spell—did she get one thing right?
Annette Warley: And you have an excellent memory. Maybe gr—maybe the grammar has something to do with it.
Female Voice: That's it.
Oloye Adeyemon: I'm going to have to practice my grammar.
Female Voice: Yeah, that's it.
Oloye Adeyemon: Thank you so much for taking this time with us.
Female Voice: It's been really great, Grandma.
Annette Warley: Yes.
Female Voice: We-we appreciate you spending the time with us. And let me give you back your—where is it?
Annette Warley: Um, did Lor—
Description
This interview presents the history of an African American school teacher in the segregated South and discusses the differences between public schools in Charleston and Clarendon Counties. Mrs. Warley also discusses a Rosenwald school in Clarendon County where she began teaching in 1925 and describes the differences between life in Summerton in the mid-1920s to life in Summerton in 2001.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
07/13/2001
Copyright and Usage Info