Follow

• 

  Paul Bromell Interview

  Paul Bromell and The Athenaeum Press

  Paul Bromell, the father of Judge Jan Bromell Holmes, another interviewee, is interviewed at his residence in Bromell Town. His wife was Maxine, from Horry County, and they had four children together. He isn't familiar with any plantations that his family may have originated from. He remembers his father grew tobacco, as did his grandfather. He didn't enjoy working on the farm stringing or harvesting tobacco, but he recollects the process of harvesting the tobacco through taking it to market. He recalls that not a lot of people would interact with the water in Plantersville. Bromell attended Plantersville Elementary and went to Choppee High School. After graduating, he worked at the beach before being drafted into the Army, and he served in Vietnam. After he served, he worked for Georgetown Steel, but lived in Plantersville. His family belonged to St. Paul AME, where he became a church leader. He recalls revivals and the mourning bench, as well as his favorite parts of being part of a congregation. He describes how he got into the bus tour business, and his former affiliation with a motorcycle club. He discusses how properties are developed currently across Georgetown, but he is confident that his family will hold onto his land. He also discusses that he had an opportunity to purchase a former plantation site in the 1970s, and also discusses the different properties available for sale.

• 

  Carrie Brown Interview

  Carrie Brown and The Athenaeum Press

  Dr. Carrie Brown attended Tuskegee University and spent her life in numerous states throughout the United States. Dr. Brown discusses the history of her parents and grandparents in great detail. Brown explained her life in Choppee, South Carolina as a child and shed light on the wonderful childhood that she experienced. Brown also made mention of a popular Plantersville educator, Squires, throughout this interview. This interview took place in February 2021 on the Coastal Carolina University campus by Zenobia Harper and graduate student Sarah Jackson.

• 

  Johnny Clark Interview

  Johnny Clark and The Athenaeum Press

  Johnny Clark spent his childhood with his grandparents at Nightingale Plantation. Throughout his years, he worked at Graham’s industry and owned a number of night clubs, all located in Plantersville, South Carolina. Clark spoke about his family history and made known that he is married to his wife with whom he has three children. This interview took place in May 2021, and it was conducted by Zenobia Harper. This meeting was conducted in Clark’s home, Friendship Saint Mary AME Church in Plantersville.

• 

  Marlanda Dekine Interview

  Marlanda Dekine and The Athenaeum Press

  Marlanda Dekine grew up in Plantersville, South Carolina with her parents and grandparents. Dekine moved to Nashville, Tennessee and later moved back home to Plantersville. She spoke joyfully about her family’s religious history, educational history, and her interests in terms of what she wants to see for Plantersville in the future. This interview took place in April of 2021 and was conducted by Zenobia Harper at Dekine’s residence. A portion of the interview was removed at the request of the interviewee.

• 

  Dekine Family Interview Interview

  Tom Dekine, Marlanda Dekine, Vernetta Dekine, DeAndre Tucker, and The Athenaeum Press

  Interview with the Dekine Family, Tom Dekine, Vanetta Dekine, Marlanda Dekine and DeAndre Tucker. Tom Dekine's mother was a Milton and Heyward, and he explains the migration of the Heywards and Dekines. Tom's father ran away from home after his father died, and walked his way to Columbia, South Carolina. He returned to Plantersville to take care of his grandfather, who gave him his land. Tom has five brothers and five sisters, and he grew up in Plantersville with his surviving brothers and sisters. Tom's family farmed a little on the land inherited from his great-grandfather, growing okra, peanuts, tomatoes, and cucumbers, as well as raising hogs and chickens. He describes that only descendants of individuals who worked plantations or their friends could access the water to go fishing on former plantation property. Vanetta's maiden name was Ford, and she grew up on Exodus Drive in Plantersville. Her mother's maiden name was Grice. Vanetta's father was Reverend Frank Ford, Jr, who presided over a church in Hemingway, and worked at the Paper Mill. Her grandfather, George Ford, brought water to the Plantersville community. She remembers before the roads were paved that some individuals would get killed for being on property where they weren't supposed to be. She didn't know her mother's side of the family. Her experiences growing up in the church and her father made her decide not to raise her children in the same church as her family. She does not recall her experience at Choppee High School fondly, despite being an accomplished student. She talks about going to college and realizing that she used a lot of "Gullah slang," which distinguished her as from Plantersville. Vanetta discusses the sense of safety that she feels, and then she and Tom discuss how the villages became named slowly in the way they are now. This interview was conducted at the Dekine Family home and inside by Zenobia Harper.

• 

  Randy Ford Interview

  Randy Ford and The Athenaeum Press

  Interview with Plantersville native Randy Ford, at his barbershop, Randy's Barber Shop. Ford is the seventh of eight children, and his parents were Joseph and Regina Ford. He can trace his father's parents back three generations, but his mother's mother died at a very young age, and his father left and scattered them amongst different family members. He grew up with his father's family nearby in Plantersville, and he credits a lot of his successes to his grandfather Joseph Ebenezer's influence. Ebenezer was a rice farmer and grew grapes. Ford's father worked in the logging business as well as at a paper plant. His family grew a small amount of cotton and sustaining garden, as well as raising a horse, goats, chickens, and hogs for family use. He recalls everyone working in the field, and that the entire family would go and work larger farms that grew tobacco on a larger scale. His father would take him fishing about once a week. Ford attended Choppee High School, then went to Hartford, Connecticut to work and pay his way through school, because money was tight after his family lost their house in a house fire when he was five. He discusses Squires and the high quality of the teachers that made a positive impact on him, and this led him to be a successful barber. He uses his barbershop as a community center, to promote health and culture among Black men, as well as organizing a space where they can tour young people around the country. He is a member of Triumph Community Church, which also focuses on community development and housing assistance. He hopes that the future of Plantersville will be able to attract more businesses to sustain itself, and recapture some of the vitality from his young life.

• 

  Ray Funnye Interview

  Ray Funnye and The Athenaeum Press

  Vanessa Greene discusses her family history. She also describes her efforts to construct her family tree. Vanessa was born to Cleo Johnson-Greene and Clarence Alvin Greene. Her father was in the military and became a military photographer. He is the parent that connects her to Plantersville. Her mother hailed from Meeting Street, while her father’s family hailed from Nightingale Plantation. Ms. Greene is a photographer who is enthused by the rich culture found in Georgetown and Plantersville. She is performing extensive research to fill in the blanks in her family tree. She has also taken interest in the connection between South Carolina, Barbados, and Ghana. She plans to visit Barbados and Ghana to do further research. Interview took place on January 13, 2021. Zenobia Harper scheduled the interview to learn more about Vanessa Greene’s connection to Nightingale Plantation and the research she was conducting regarding the history of her family. The setting of the interview changes at timestamp 35:26. The official interview begins at timestamp 00:12.

• 

  Susan Grant Interview

  Susan Davis Grant and The Athenaeum Press

  Susan Grant is a native of Georgetown, South Carolina. Her parents were Mary Green Davis (daughter of Sarah Largees) and Joe Davis. Her mother went to nursing school after she had children to make a better living, and often left Susan and her six siblings to do the chores. Grant often insisted on challenging the rules of segregation in Georgetown, and she was escorted out of a pharmacy for sitting at the soda counter. Though she struggled at Howard School because of undiagnosed dyslexia, she found a way of working with understanding teachers. When Susan was 14, she began working as an assistant at Georgetown Hospital, even though her mother and classmates would work at the beach cleaning houses. She refused to do housework, and she was encouraged by Dr. Foster, who worked at the hospital. She moved to New York City, had a job as a file clerk, but then enrolled in barber school when she realized there was no growth potential. She was the first woman to ask to take the exam to be a licensed barber, and she excelled at both exams, then she worked her way into a career as a woman barber. After her divorce, she returned to Georgetown, and managed to become the first woman (and black woman) to become a crane operator at the steel mill using some of the lessons on hard labor that her grandmother taught her. Even though she received death threats by her coworkers at the steel mill, she persisted to find one of the best-paying jobs. Her stories all showcase how strong-willed and powerful she was to make opportunities for herself in circumstances that would discount her because of her race or gender. She credits the women in her life, her two grandmothers, both of whom she described as fearless "but in different ways." She mentions her connection to Plantersville through her Grandmother Sarah, and how some individuals from Plantersville would come and stay in the house while visiting Georgetown. She mentions that she felt the spirit of family at Chicora Wood Plantation, the same feeling she had in Ghana.

• 

  Vanessa Greene Interview

  Vanessa Greene and The Athenaeum Press

  Vanessa Greene discusses her family history. She also describes her efforts to construct her family tree. Vanessa was born to Cleo Johnson-Greene and Clarence Alvin Greene. Her father was in the military and became a military photographer. He is the parent that connects her to Plantersville. Her mother hailed from Meeting Street, while her father’s family hailed from Nightingale Plantation. Greene is a photographer who is enthused by the rich culture found in Georgetown and Plantersville. She is performing extensive research to fill in the blanks in her family tree. She has also taken interest in the connection between South Carolina, Barbados, and Ghana. She plans to visit Barbados and Ghana to do further research. Interview took place on January 13, 2021. Zenobia Harper scheduled the interview to learn more about Vanessa Greene’s connection to Nightingale Plantation and the research she was conducting regarding the history of her family. The setting of the interview changes at timestamp 35:26. The official interview begins at timestamp 00:12.

• 

  Sam Green III Interview

  Sam Green III and The Athenaeum Press

  Sam Green III was a Baptist minister that traveled throughout Sandy Island, Georgetown, and Plantersville over his 50-year religious career. As such, he gained a unique perspective on the personalities within each of the Gullah Geechee communities on the Waccamaw Neck. Green grew up in Plantersville, and is the grandson of Sam Green, who was the first Black postmaster in Plantersville as well as the first Plantersville-born representative at the South Carolina House of Representatives (his term was followed by John Bolts). Green talks a lot about the religious practices and songs sung during his time, as well as the baptismal and worship practices in both Plantersville and Sandy Island.

• 

  Sandra Abdul Hafiz Interview

  Sandra Abdul Hafiz and The Athenaeum Press

  Sandra Abdul Hafiz grew up visiting her mother's family in Plantersville. Her mother, Magnolia Green, was born and raised in Plantersville, but met and married her father, Samuel Keys, in Virginia. She grew up in Hampton, Virginia, but would return to Plantersville for holidays and summers. She admires the connectivity of the Plantersville community and recalls vividly the experience of attending church where her feet couldn't touch the floor. Her grandmother, Margaret Drayton, lived in Plantersville and inspired Sandra's mother to get an education. Sandra continued this legacy by attending Tuskegee University, when her mother passed away her freshman year. She discusses the importance of her family bible, and her research to find her ancestry from the first generation that was enslaved from Cameroon to her great-grandmother, Wednesday, who was enslaved at Brookgreen Gardens. She relates her mother's close relationship with her father, though he died of typhoid fever when she was 12. She relates this experience to losing her mother at 19 and trying to trace through the stories that she knows about. She recalls that people in Plantersville relied on natural remedies rather than medicine, calling the ambulance the "death wagon," because it would take so long to arrive. Though her mother ended up working at a hospital, Hafiz remembers that her mother always kept these concoctions to help supplement the medicine, like Catnip Tea to help with viruses. She also remembers her mother gardening, so they didn't have to go to the grocery store for vegetables. She hopes that the future of Plantersville will be told by the individuals who were successful and can help return and preserve the land. This interview was conducted at the Coastal Carolina Univeristy campus with Zenobia Harper and gradaute student Sarah Jackson.

• 

  Jan Brommell Holmes Interview

  Jan Bromell Holmes and The Athenaeum Press

  Judge Jan Bromell Holmes grew up with her parents, grandparents, and siblings. She attended Plantersville Elementary, Choppee High as well as Fisk University and North Carolina State. She attended Law school and later began her career in family law practice. Bromell Holmes discussed her family’s history in Plantersville and her wishes for the town of Plantersville, South Carolina. This interview was conducted by Eric Crawford and Zenobia Harper in Bromell's courthouse chambers.

• 

  Louis Morant Interview

  Louis R. Morant and The Athenaeum Press

  Interview with Louis Morant at his law firm in Georgetown, South Carolina. Morant's parents were David and Helen Morant. Neither his parents had a high degree of education, but both provided for the family. Helen had her own beauty salon, alongside working domestically. Morant has seven siblings; his eldest brother served in the Vietnam War, he opened a law practice with the second-eldest brother Johnny, and three sisters live and work in Connecticut at United Technologies, and two others are retired schoolteachers or public servants. His family all attended Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, and he describes how Greater Mt. Carmel and Old Mt. Carmel first split congregations, then came together to form a unified church. He also recalls that the Hasty Point owner deeded property for the land on Mt. Carmel. When his father fell ill, his family would make provisions or take turns taking care of him. His great-grandfather Jack Mayrant (pronounced Morant) owned a great deal of land in the area of Jackson Village, and Morant believes that Jackson village is named after Jack Morant. Morant discusses the discipline at Plantersville Elementary, and the connectedness between parents and teachers, particularly Miss Bonnie. He would spend summers with his older sisters in Connecticut and work retail jobs, when he realized he spoke with a Gullah accent, but his time at Savannah State College, he encountered students from Charleston or the Georgia Sea Islands who his classmates would call "Geechee." He recalls the prevalence of growing up with grits and rice, as well as getting produce from neighbors for whom they would help do farm work. After he had become a lawyer, he helped enforce desegregation by closing Pleasant Hill, a neighboring mostly white high school that would only admit Black students to play sports. He discusses this case in detail. Morant was also heavily involved in building the Plantersville Community Center through levying funds, two dollars, from each household in Plantersville. He discusses how the church leadership ensured cooperation across the community through programming and joint Sunday services and baptisms, as well as Watchnight Services. He describes the rivalry between the community members who would frequent juke joints or clubs like Up Jump the Devil and the churches, though he does describe the various singing groups throughout the community, including the Chosen Sisters. He remembers one uncle who was buried at a plantation, but otherwise, they weren't talked about other than as employment opportunities. He hopes for more economic opportunities to come to Plantersville.

• 

  Lillian Tucker Mosley-Campbell Interview

  Lillian Tucker Mosley-Campbell and The Athenaeum Press

  Lillian Tucker Mosley Campbell's parents were from Plantersville; her mother from the Gilliard Village community (no longer extant), and her father was from the Nightingale Plantation. Her father's father was enslaved at Nightingale (Robert Seymore Tucker). Tucker was raised in Gilliard Village with both of her parents. Her family attended Bethel AME (now New Bethel). She and her 20 family members grew up working her father's 3-acre allotment, where he grew sweet potatoes, cotton, and tobacco. She hated working the cotton but would be happy to help with the tobacco. She is also second cousin to Beatrice Funnye. She talks about the closeness of the community in collectively raising and keeping an eye on the children, even when she moved from Gaillard to Jackson Village, then back to Springfield, which was a hunting lodge and garden. She talks about how her entire family worked with hunting tours, from hunting to cooking. She discusses walking to school, how the white children would taunt the children walking, and then she traveled to Howard for high school. She also worked for a hotel in Myrtle Beach. She grew up cooking for her family as the oldest girl. She had difficulty seeking, though she felt the spirit a few years. She later moved to New York City and had several experiences with substance abuse in her family unit. She was a nurse for 17 years, and then she taught at Choppee and Carvers Bay for 19 and 2 years respectively, but she became interested in healing because she grew up working with herbal remedies. She grew up with several medical issues and discusses her long journey for having children.

• 

  Cuffie Tucker III Interview

  Cuffie Tucker III and The Athenaeum Press

  Zenobia Harper interviews Cuffie Tucker III. They speak about growing up in Plantersville as well as Tucker’s student athlete career as he faced a lot of tough obstacles through that time. Towards the end, they discuss what Plantersville may need as well as how kids and technology have connected after Covid-19. Cuffie Tucker III was an All-American athlete given a double scholarship in baseball and football to Knoxville College. Though his journey was cut short due to injury and life events, he was able to obtain his general contractors license where he went on to build houses and shops around various locations around Plantersville. Furthermore, Tucker mentioned that Plantersville needs a laundromat as well as a YMCA for the kids to exercise and play instead of being out in the streets, as well as for adults.

• 

  Betty Vandherhorst Interview

  Betty Vanderhorst and The Athenaeum Press

  Betty Vanderhorst grew up in Plantersville. Her father owned his farm, and she and the rest of her siblings would help. She discusses why she mostly stayed inside to do her chores, including one incident with feeding the family hog. She remembers the spirit of the community throughout Plantersville, where neighbors would help neighbors.

• 

  Keith Vanderhorst Interview

  Keith Vanderhorst and The Athenaeum Press

  Keith Vanderhorst grew up in Plantersville, South Carolina. Keith is Betty Vanderhorst's brother, and he remembers how hard his father worked to keep their farm in Plantersville. He recalls the different crops put up for sale and used for family cooking.

• 

  Melissa Vanderhorst Interview

  Melissa Vanderhorst and The Athenaeum Press

  Interview with Melissa Vanderhorst at her residence in Plantersville. Her parents were Ethel Lance and Henry Vanderhorst. Her paternal grandparents owned a candy shop in Plantersville in Annie Village, run by her grandfather, Henry Vanderhorst, who they called Mr. Kaya. Melissa worked in the candy store for a long time. Her grandfather also had pecan trees and sold watermelon. The store also sold other items, similar to a corner store. She recalls that her and her siblings would sneak to the water to play in the river, but they would be punished by the time they got back. She and her siblings attended Plantersville Elementary School and then Choppee High School. She recalls walking up to Choppee with six or seven other individuals, then they would catch a bus to Myrtle Beach while she was taking care of her mom in Plantersville. When asked about the future or development of Plantersville, Vandherhorst wants to see amenities like a laundromat as well as activities for young people.

• 

  Shameka White Interview

  Shameka White and The Athenaeum Press

  Shamika White discussed what it was like to be raised in Plantersville with her grandparents. She spoke about the importance of family and how she enjoyed choir while in grade school. Furthermore, she discussed the importance of church in her life and how wisdom was obtained by speaking with the elderly. Towards the end of the interview, White spoke of how Plantersville should build more kid-friendly communities to help encourage the kids to become more than what they are told or see. She states that how a YMCA would be a great addition to the community being that children are of high importance in Plantersville.

• 

  Steve Williams Interview

  Steven Williams and The Athenaeum Press

  Steve Williams is a poet, motivational speaker, writer, and historian. His history as an educator and administrator has led to many accomplishments that he has made throughout his life. Williams’ father was known as “Mr. NAACP”. He lived in New York for most of his childhood, then moved to Georgetown with his parents and siblings. Williams attended high school in Georgetown with his siblings. As he got older, he realized that he was an historian like his father, which led to many accomplishments being made such as writing books and petitioning for markers in South Carolina to be established for African American heroes of Georgetown. This interview took place in January of 2021. It was conducted by Zenobia Harper at the Rice Museum located in Georgetown, South Carolina. This interview describes Georgetown, South Carolina, its relation to Gullah Geechee history, and the heroes who played a major role in African American History.

• 

  Rashaud Brown Interview

  Rashaud Brown and The Athenaeum Press

  Rashaud Brown spent most of his childhood between Plantersville and Hemingway, South Carolina. Rashaud then moved to Columbia, South Carolina to pursue his tertiary studies at Benedict College. There, he majored in Elementary Education. Brown went on to work in Memphis, Tennessee then moved to Fort Mill, South Carolina. He travels back to Plantersville occasionally to meet with his family though he currently resides in Fort Mill. Brown shared details about his childhood in South Carolina as well as his family’s history. He expressed his most important experiences as he grew up in Plantersville. This interview took place in December of 2021. It was conducted by Eric Crawford and Sara Daise via Zoom.

• 

  Beatrice Funnye Interview with Zenobia Harper

  Beatrice Funnye and The Athenaeum Press

  Beatrice Funnye has an interview with Zenobia Harper, who improvises on equipment during a camera failure. Funnye discusses the importance of education to her and her son's lives. Funnye graduated from elementary school, walking seven miles one way to attend school. She then took adult education courses at Howard School in Georgetown to finish her high school degree. Her three sons became engineers. She recalls health issues that she had throughout her life, as well as the strength of the community in Plantersville.

• 

  Abie Ladson Interview

  Abie Ladson and The Athenaeum Press

  Abie Ladson is a native of Plantersville, South Carolina, but currently lives in Augusta where he owns Infrastructure Systems Management. He is a family and community historian of Plantersville, and he can trace his ancestry to multiple plantations in Plantersville. Since Ladson was a small child, he was interested in his family history. His great-grandaunt was Patty Anne Deas, who was the niece of John Bolts, the last Black man to serve at the South Carolina House of Representatives. Deas would tell Ladson and his family that Bolts was an intelligent man who taught in both Plantersville and Sandy Island. She mentioned that John Bolts' family member, Sam Bolts, saved up money to send John Bolts to Benedict College. She mentioned that most people from Old Mt. Carmel Church, as well as Plantersville, came from Sandy Island. They left Sandy Island during Reconstruction and formed Greater Mt. Carmel and Old Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. His great-grandfather, Gabriel Deas, worked from 12 to 15 years old to buy his parents five acres of land for his parents to move them off of Hasty Point Plantation, then purchased an additional five acres when he was 21, where his great aunt Eliza still lives today. Some properties were acquired by freedman through the production of rice, and he also mentions Dunbar Plantation, which was purchased by seven or eight freedmen. He later traces the Ladson name and family line back to the 1700s and Barbados, and then discusses the bush doctors who would help provide healing tinctures. He also discusses folk traditions, such as ways to repel hags from your house. He describes congregations catching the spirit during church services, and how they raised songs. His great aunt's was "I'm Gonna Serve the Lord 'Til I Die." Ladson attended Plantersville Elementary, and he describes the disciplinary measures of those teachers and the collaboration between teachers and parents as well as the fact that the bus drivers were students. Ladson's father served in the armed forces, then decided that he was going back to school and got his master's degree from University of South Carolina, then worked for multiple planning departments, including the Myrtle Beach Airport. His mother was a schoolteacher at Choppee High School.

• 

  Marvin Neal Interview

  Marvin Neal and The Athenaeum Press

  Marvin Neal is a former resident of Plantersville and a current resident of Georgetown, South Carolina. He attended Choppee High School, employee of Santee Cooper, a retired Army officer, graduate of Northwestern University and current president of the NAACP chapter of Georgetown. His parents were James Francis Neal and and Carrie Neal, and Neal is one of thirteen children. The Neal family attended St. Paul's AME Church, and Neal describes the services and the various locations of the congregation hall, as well as the circuit of churches that the preachers would preside over throughout the month. He describes the relations between communities in Plantersville and Sandy Island, and how Plantersville was unified by a series of bridges that replaced historic barges. Neal and his siblings attended Plantersville Elementary and Choppee High School, and he remembers the impact of discipline with teachers like Mrs. Flowers and Maclevly, as well as teachers at Choppee such as Miss Squires and Mr. Hayes, and how his mother was called in when they misbehaved. Neal joined the military, despite his father wanting him to either go to college or work with him in his concrete business. All twelve of his siblings also either went to officer's school or went to university at his father's insistence. His father dropped out of high school to make sure his sisters could finish their high school degrees. His mother owned Carrie's Restaurant near St. Paul's AME Church in Plantersville, which she owned after serving as the cafeteria manager of Choppee High School. Neal relates a story where his mother's long-lost brother came to eat. After his mother and her brother connected, he also discovered that there was significant overlap between his military service and his uncle's. His brother Richard, a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander, built his mother the restaurant after their father died at the age of 58. Famous people, such as Ted Turner, came through Plantersville just to eat at her restaurant, and her restaurant served as an economic driver for the area. Neal discusses the Geechee heritage, as well as the closeness of the Plantersville community.

• 

  Gloria Bromell Tinubu Interview

  Gloria Bromell Tinubu and The Athenaeum Press

  Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinubu discusses what her life was like living in Brookgreen Gardens until age 4 and her family’s move to her parents’ (Beatrice and Charlie Bromell) hometown of Plantersville in Georgetown County, South Carolina. She talks about her education and how her time at both Plantersville Elementary School and Choppee High School influenced her outlook of life culturally. Dr. Tinubu is an accomplished scholar and economist (SEAP, SAABB) who was the first African American woman to receive an MS in Agricultural Economics from Clemson, as well as a PhD in Applied Economics. She also served on the Georgia General Assembly and on the Atlanta City Council and was also a candidate for Atlanta mayor. She is the first African American woman in South Carolina to win her party’s nomination for Congress. She conducted the first scientific research on heirs property and later worked at what used to be called the Emergency Land Fund, which did research on black land loss and later that entity merged into the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. The interview took place on September 14, 2020 over Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 

  Beatrice Funnye Interview

  Beatrice Funnye and The Athenaeum Press

  Beatrice Funnye is a native of Plantersville, who has three sons, one of whom is Ray Funnye (also interviewed). She grew up attending a one-room school near Annie Village while she worked for a white family. Because she did not have transportation, she couldn't attend any longer than the fifth grade. She recalls her poor health when she was younger, as well as race relations throughout Plantersville.