8

A day with Lula Wright 8

Than she began to tell me about her community club. "Ev'ry, yeah,
for about thirteen years I have been havin' a little community club.
We has twelve members an' each dese members pay a little along till
August. By dis time de each must have four dollars. At Christmas
time de each must be done paid in five dollars. Don we takes dis money,
an' buy, rashunas in August and at Christmas. We gits heap no' by buyin'
thirteen years I have been bavin* a little community club.
in bulks lack dat. We git lard, flour, an' sugar. We go ter de chain
store, he treats us nice. See dat's a good way ter do. Work together
an' we all has plenty all de yeah, near 'bout hit!
"Ay, that's fine," I said. "Yas' I ast de Lard for help me an'
make a way, 'n he'll sho answer prayer. Me and my granddaughter was both
members so dis Christmas we had ten dollars. I got thirty-two pounds
lard, forty pounds sugar, and six twenty-four pound sacks of flour an'
den we had some lef' for ter git flavor, soap an' little things lack dat.
Come on.' she said, standing up. "Come on, go in de smoke house an' let
me show you what I got"
She continued to talk as we walked slowly out of the room into the hall,
on out the door. "We got our seketary, president an' treasure. We allys
sing an' pray in our club an' jes' have a good time. When we gits ready
ter buy, we gifts us a wagon, goes ter town (Tuskegee) an' buys our things."
When we were into the yard I mentioned several nice-looking chickens
that I saw. "Yas,n, I got 'bout eighteen hens. A'terwhile dey all gwinter
be layin'." By this time we had reached the smokehouse. She unlocked