Mrs. Smith discusses her parents' lives as slaves and as free citizens. Particular topics of interest include the circumstances surrounding the sale of her mother from Hyde to Edgecombe County owners. Also two fables are recited, "The Lark and the Young Ones," and "One Simple John Proctor," originally told to her by her father.
Some material in the interview concerns Mrs. Smith's years as a student at Bricks School. She describes how the school was established and recalls student life and her own experiences there.
An educator for at least forty-four years, Mrs. Smith taught in several elementary schools, including a one-teacher schoolhouse. She describes her teaching methods, problems with attendance, tuberculosis among children and its treatment, student-teacher relationships, and general reminiscences of her career.
Mrs. Smith briefly discusses her retirement years. Accompanying the twenty-six page transcript is her newspaper obituary dated May 15, 1978.
To hear an excerpt from this Oral History that has been digitized, please follow this link:
http://web.lib.ecu.edu/images/sp/sp87-3.wma