Preview

Audio

Description

Interview with Willie Gray Arrington (b. 1/17/1932) as part of the Nash County Cultural Center Oral History Project. Arrington says he was born and raised in Franklin County. His parents, George Strickland and Annie Arrington Harris, were sharecroppers who raised tobacco, corn, and cotton. Arrington recounts his own start to farming; says he was about 14, living with his grandfather who fell ill. This led to Arrington having to quit school and carry on the farm. He recounts working on a farm owned by Taylor Boone; had 5 acres of tobacco; says tenant farmers often worked together; describes payouts as minimal. He speaks about plowing fields and the mules used on the farm. He details his grandfather’s illness, and mentions having to give him morphine shots as directed by the country doctor. Arrington says he stopped farming in 1965. He worked as trash collector in Louisburg, NC; worked for 12 years at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount, NC; worked for Westinghouse until retiring in 1993. Arrington reflects on meeting his wife and speaks about their children: Willie Glenn and Annette. He says he enjoyed playing baseball; lists teammates on church baseball team. Tells a story about his granddaughter, Wakenda.

Details

Files

Comments

Statistics

from
to
Export
Download Full History