DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Reuben Gaines' memoir, undated

Transcribe
Translate

Page 47

PAGE 47 Buxton.
THE DIVISION SHEET BETWEEN THE ETHNIC GROUPS AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTR
In 1902 I never found out sure who made the contribution that built the Buxton Y M C A. Julius Rosenwall, the president of Sears Roebuck was mentioned at that time; but Ben C. Buxton was a very generous man to his employees and he from his company may have made the contribution. In Buxton he also had trenches 3 feet wide dug in the park and several steers over the trenches being barbercue for the whole town and it was free for all for several years, during a holiday. 
My mother and her friends would discuss everybody's business in the neighborhood and out of the neighborhood except their own and with me quitely sitting over in the corner looking at a picture book; when they did not realize that I was alive. I know they would not have said the things that was mentioned if they had any idea that I knew what they were talking about because I am only 8 years old. I was not as stupid as they thought I was because I knew where babies cam from when I was only five years old I had figured out how they got there. The first event that they discussed was about a family that lived on the main street and she was very light with fine hair and her husband was a school teacher and his color was Congo, shinola, lamblack or dam black; you can use your own choice and her two boys were white and another family not too far away the mother had brought 22 children into this world but there was a weakness somewhere because several sets of twins were still born and other died from early age up to 21 but there were only three out of the family that lived to a mature age and the boy at that time was the white one from the third family. All the rest of the children from that family were brown in skin texture; So this busy business man had two boys in his immedient family and two in his second family and one in his third family. I would like to supply all the names and other details. 
My sister's 3 year old son was sick with polio and sent for a company doctor to examine the child so he did but after he left my sister was moving the child around and the therometer fell from under the childs arm. My Mother awaken me early one morning and inform me that the dogs got to fighting and killed my little dog of 5 or 6 lbs named cute. I do not believe I cried but I felt very sa I placed a rope around my dogs leg and pulled him a hundred feet up the hill to our east fence boundry and then I went over the sty and got the rope and pulled him over the grass 100 yards to the mine shaft. Took the rope off and rolled him over the edge for 20 feet until he got to the wooden structure that was 10 feet down to the bottom and that was a straight drop. I always went over to that sty to get in the pasture to go to school so in two or three days I went to the shaft to look down to see if he were still in sight and he was standing on the bottom looking up at me. I had a most convincing time making them believe my dog was alive.

Saving...

PAGE 47 Buxton. THE DIVISION SHEET BETWEEN THE ETHNIC GROUPS AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTR In 1902 I never found out sure who made the contribution that built the Buxton Y M C A. Julius Rosenwall, the president of Sears Roebuck was mentioned at that time; but Ben C. Buxton was a very generous man to his employees and he from his company may have made the contribution. In Buxton he also had trenches 3 feet wide dug in the park and several steers over the trenches being barbercue for the whole town and it was free for all for several years, during a holiday. My mother and her friends would discuss everybody's business in the neighborhood and out of the neighborhood except their own and with me quitely sitting over in the corner looking at a picture book; when they did not realize that I was alive. I know they would not have said the things that was mentioned if they had any idea that I knew what they were talking about because I am only 8 years old. I was not as stupid as they thought I was because I knew where babies cam from when I was only five years old I had figured out how they got there. The first event that they discussed was about a family that lived on the main street and she was very light with fine hair and her husband was a school teacher and his color was Congo, shinola, lamblack or dam black; you can use your own choice and her two boys were white and another family not too far away the mother had brought 22 children into this world but there was a weakness somewhere because several sets of twins were still born and other died from early age up to 21 but there were only three out of the family that lived to a mature age and the boy at that time was the white one from the third family. All the rest of the children from that family were brown in skin texture; So this busy business man had two boys in his immedient family and two in his second family and one in his third family. I would like to supply all the names and other details. My sister's 3 year old son was sick with polio and sent for a company doctor to examine the child so he did but after he left my sister was moving the child around and the therometer fell from under the childs arm. My Mother awaken me early one morning and inform me that the dogs got to fighting and killed my little dog of 5 or 6 lbs named cute. I do not believe I cried but I felt very sa I placed a rope around my dogs leg and pulled him a hundred feet up the hill to our east fence boundry and then I went over the sty and got the rope and pulled him over the grass 100 yards to the mine shaft. Took the rope off and rolled him over the edge for 20 feet until he got to the wooden structure that was 10 feet down to the bottom and that was a straight drop. I always went over to that sty to get in the pasture to go to school so in two or three days I went to the shaft to look down to see if he were still in sight and he was standing on the bottom looking up at me. I had a most convincing time making them believe my dog was alive.