Nov 28, 2016 Orange County Review
The trip to Manhattan was productive, informative and bodes well for future connections and fascinating stories. We conducted several interviews, met first-hand with relevant museum professionals and prepared for shipping Mrs. Clara Payne’s remarkable collection of African American family histories native to Orange County, Virginia. The days were non-stop but most gratifying. I came home with a nasty cold that I have nursed all weekend. Monday’s hours will be spent in follow-up calls and the unpacking and initial examination of the 70 binders of the Clara Payne Collection that will be housed at Montpelier.
So, that’s the overview. Now, for some tantalizing highlights.
The plan had been to interview separately two women who knew one another and had spent their early years in Orange County but 20 to 30 years apart. For one, what was it like to grow up Black in a rural Virginia town in the 1920s and, for the other in the late 1940s and early 1950s? However, as the two casually sat together in a comfortable living room, a bit of magic began to permeate the room and the plans changed.
They began to talk with one another exchanging stories, comparing notes and laughing! We spent the next 90 minutes interviewing them together, capturing their individual memories as well as their dialogue with one another.
At times, it was difficult to rein in our own sadness and anger as they reflected on the discrimination and potential for repetitive humiliation as they recounted experiences of exclusion and ill-treatment. One recalled being able to order a medical prescription at the local pharmacy but disallowed from waiting inside for it to be filled while another remembered being forbidden to try on any clothes in the department store stating, “You bought it and hoped that it fit once you got it home.”
Our own less-than-pleasant reactions were assuaged by the storytellers themselves; neither of them spoke with bitterness or resentment. Mrs. Payne, the elder of the two, consistently reminded us that despite the lack of practiced equality, it was a happy time for their families.
Throughout the county, regardless of color, the vast majority of residents raised their own food, sustained their families with honest work, and had little to spare for luxuries.
With a smile on her face, Mrs. Payne recollected a Christmas that she with great delight received a small handmade box; the box had no wheels but was equipped with a lengthy rope fastened to the front. “What a treat,” she thought as she envisioned loading the box with her prized rock collection and dragging it along the dirt road to her friend’s house.
Now nearly 85 years later, she announces with embarrassment how foolish she must have appeared dragging a box of rocks down a dirt road. “And worst of all,” she said “they could hear me coming.”
The stories were bountiful, enlightening and inspirational; it was tough to close the interview, but we could tell it was necessary, at least for this trip.
Stay tuned for more highlights from the New York City trip and finding Orange County, VA connections.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving and until next week, be well.