152

[This page is handwritten]

on as many things as possible, in order to
make ends meet. During these periods of
non-work, many people would continue to buy
off the books. Other families would endeavor not
to buy off the company store books. The
company store would charge a slightly higher
price than the traveling store did. Yet, there
was an advantage to buying off the company
store books. The families which dealt a great
deal with the company store were extended
credit during such time, while those who
dealt with other stores did not receive the
advantage of such credit. Therefore, during
times of great difficulty the people who
bought regularly from the company store had
the credit to fall back on; the others could
not get this credit as readily. Also, Mrs.
Coxe was more ready to help families, in times
of need, who dealt with the company store.
When a man received his paycheck for
his work, the company store bill was subtracted
from the paycheck. Also, the rent
was deducted from the paycheck. This rent
was subtracted from the first paycheck
of the month. The paychecks were given
to the men every two weeks. Many times
the paycheck would have a snake (zig-zag
line) across it. This snake signified that
the paycheck was taken by the company store
to pay off the debt of the family which
was accrued by buying off the books. This
procedure would continue as long as it
took for the family to pay off the compay
debts. This may take a great deal of time,
in some cases, depending upon how long the
man of the house had been out of work,
also depending on how many days of work
the man had gotten in on the paycheck
time.