Robert Moses Interview 2

JUDITH HELFAND: You can pick it up on courage.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

HELFAND: Talk about that letter again, George introduce it.

GEORGE STONEY: This - this letter is - shows that some people really had courage.

ROBERT MOSES: Well this is the thing that made us. Even when America - when those poor folk left England and came over on those little ole boats -

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: - it was courage. You know, oppressed and courage. If your back's to the wall, you'll fight.

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hm.

MOSES: And again, survival is the name of the game. And if - if - if you get to - get you down to wherein you got to survive, it makes a difference. I remember when I was - we were growin' up, my sister and I told Daddy, says, "Daddy there's a man down there stealin' your corn." So Daddy says, "Where is it?" So we gonna show him. We went down - we went down to show him the man was stealin' the corn. Had a green sack - looked like an orange sack or an 00:01:00onion sack he was puttin' the corn in. And that guy, Daddy says - he says, "Hey, what are you doin'?" He says, "I'm gettin' some corn." He says, "I gotta wife and six children at the house and they hungry. Mister, I don't know who corn this is and I don't give a D, but I'mma take this corn home to my children." Daddy turned around and came on up back to the house. Scared us to death because we didn't hear no cuss words, you know?

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hm.

MOSES: And we thought Daddy could woop anybody.

GEORGE STONEY: (laughs)

MOSES: But he didn't bother that man, and that scared us half to death. We came back to the house and we just whispered among each other, "that was a bad man."

GEORGE STONEY: But it was a desperate man.

MOSES: You get your back to the wall. I got another sponsor here. These folk want another look now. I'm payin' you, let's do a little somethin' for my money.

(music plays)

MOSES: With studios in South Gastonia, North Carolina, this is WGAS radio. The time is four minutes past seven o'clock. And of course, that was the - what is it, Country Boy Comes Home? Yeah. Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes out of Tyler, Texas. And of course he's on his way to Charlotte. We'll be over there September 6th on Sunday evening, the West Charlotte High School auditorium. And with him, he's gonna have The Bells of Joy, the Gold Crowns, 00:03:00and a couple more groups, but he says he's comin' to do it his way. Usually you let him sing last, but he's not gonna sing last this time. If he sings last, he's gonna sing as long as he wants to and you're not gonna cut any lights on him. That's what he's saying. He said, "This is my thing, and when I do my thing, I do it like I want to." Willie Neal Johnson, the country boy who comes home. He will be in Charlotte, and I've got a few tickets for him, too. I've even got some giveaways. I'm gonna give away a few to some of those folks who would like to go that appreciate it. I'm gonna tell you how I'm gonna give 'em away, too, OK? All right. Brother Bruce Stoney. We're here talkin' about various issues and events and happenings and dealing with the textile. The Gaston County always recognize textile week and have the big showings and all the good things in the malls and the stores and all this stuff. What they say? They got a slogan says, crafted with pride, 00:04:00made in the USA? That's the textile stuff. How about it? OK. He's getting information that is of vital importance to all of us, and makin' a film. I don't know, you might mess around and get in it. You know, you might look pretty good in a film. (laughs) Don't look too good elsewhere. OK. All right, OK. Anyway, that's what's going on. Let's see now. We have a letter here that was written many years ago when Firestone wasn't Firestone, it was Loray. And the young man they had who was workin' at that time had the courage with a shove from one of these good cohorts to write a letter to Washington telling them about the treatments and the things that was goin' on. GEORGE STONEY: This is a letter that Bruce Graham wrote.

MOSES: OK.

GEORGE STONEY: He said -

MOSES: Now, Bruce signed his, didn't he?

GEORGE STONEY: Oh yes, he certainly did.

MOSES: All right.

GEORGE STONEY: And he said, "I'm an inside employee. I'm required to work more than 40 hours a week," which was against the law then, you see.

MOSES: Right.

GEORGE STONEY: That was when the 40 hour week came in. "I operate three machines; a waste feeder, a waste beater, and an opener, and am paid less than 30 cents for an hour's work. My employer is due me extra compensation from July the 17th, 1933 up to the present date." Which was January the 5th, 1934. And he signed it. And he's got down there, may we use your name if necessary, and he says yes, which took a lot of courage then.

MOSES: Uh-huh. That's right.

GEORGE STONEY: And it's co-signed by his old friend, Charlie [McLain?]. So, it's - and this went into the - to Washington, and I asked Mr. Graham if he ever got his back pay 00:06:00and he said he never did.

MOSES: Well, I - I wouldn't expect he did. I was listening to another elderly gentleman a few years ago, 96 years old, he had - his parents were slaves, and he said when they were freed he remembered that they were supposed to been given a mule and five acres of land, I believe it was. Something like that.

GEORGE STONEY: Forty acres and a mule, is what they used to say.

MOSES: Well - well it's something that he was - but he said they never got it.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah. (laughter)

MOSES: Well, it's interesting that Mr. E. M. Wallace, a white man who put in a protest at the same time as Mr. Graham and helped Mr. Graham to do this, finally did get some back pay. He wrote many, many letters and finally - we didn't know he got back pay until Mr. Graham told us. He said yes, he finally got it, but they just took his job away.

MOSES: Oh, well -

GEORGE STONEY: Eliminated his job.

MOSES: Right, right. Well, there's always a way though.

GEORGE STONEY: That's right.

MOSES: They have a system. And this one was written by somebody and they just - just did sign it, but they just wrote this one and sent it into Washington. Well there's a lot of things been going on, and still going on as far as that goes - and it takes courage and somebody's got to put their best foot forward. And this is what we're doing here today; we're trying to solicit, from those folk who have the knowledge, the know and has been experienced - experiencing some of these difficulties, to pass it along so that we might work on it, compile it, and expose it. That's it.

GEORGE STONEY: So please call in to our 800 number. It's 800-786-1767 between 9:00 and 5:00 weekdays, and we'll record your message and we'll get back to you because we want the elderly citizens here who - particularly the black 00:08:00people who worked in the mills, to come forward so we can get the facts and pass them on to their grandchildren.

MOSES: Well, as of - as of me, I'd have to pass it to my great-grandchildren. I messed around here somehow. I don't know - I didn't. They have messed around here and given me seven great-grandchildren. (laughs) But they're wonderful. They are wonderful. More music. We'll be back shortly with more.

(music plays)

MOSES: I wonder who was [T.A. Graham?].

GEORGE STONEY: Maybe his brother.

MOSES: Mm-hm. Elwood Jackson is the man with the plan when it comes to moving dirt, gravel, sand, hauling, back-hoeing, and all that kind of good stuff. And of course, he is one of the persons who sponsor a greater portion of what's happening here on this morning's program. And we want you to know that if by chance you need Elwood's services, all you've got to do is give him a call. He's listed in the telephone directory. He lives on Mary Avenue. That number of course - you can't remember it, I know you can't, but I'm gonna tell you anyway - 864-8586. Did you hear what I said? Elwood Jackson, the man with the plan. Check him out, OK? OK. All right, we have much more here to cover and expose, and of course they want me to read this letter here that comes from one of the employees of - as we call it, the old Loray mill. It is now 00:10:00Firestone. It has changed hands again. I believe it now belongs to a Japanese outfit. OK? Japan gonna buy us anyway.

GEORGE STONEY: Looks like it.

MOSES: Yeah, that's what we're doin'. And this letter says, "I'm writing you this letter to let you know just how we poor negroes are being treated here at Mansville Jenkins company -" which was Loray Mills at that time. "There are some work 8 hours, some 10, some 11, some 12 hours a day, and all from 8 to 12 hours make only 20 cents per hour. And our bossman, T. A. Grim tell us the mill's code law don't cover us, especially us negroes. For $12 a week, it is just for white people only." How 'bout that. "Will you 00:11:00please sir look after this and do something for us poor negroes? A white man told me to write you about this in the main office. At 8 hours a day and 10 cents more, they just show him a fake time sheet." How 'bout that. The letter goes on and on with all kind of information. But it was signed by Gastonia, North Carolina. No name. And it was sent to Washington, D.C., and that was - I don't know the date on it but it's been a long, long time ago.

GEORGE STONEY: Yes.

MOSES: What date was it?

GEORGE STONEY: It was written to Mr. Hugh Johnson, who at that time was over the National Recovery Administration, the old blue eagle.

MOSES: OK. I'm tryin' to see what date.

GEORGE STONEY: You see, that's - you see his handwriting there.

MOSES: Oh yeah, OK.

GEORGE STONEY: On the tablet.

MOSES: Yeah.

GEORGE STONEY: And this is the way - you know, people wrote thousands and thousands of letters to Roosevelt, to Hugh Johnson, to Madam Perkins, our first woman Secretary of Labor, even to Mrs. Roosevelt, because Roosevelt got on the radio. He was the first person - the first President to use radio, and he said if the conditions aren't right, you write me about it. And people believed him and they started writing it.

MOSES: He was a wonderful man, I'll tell you. We don't have many more like Roosevelt. I think all those kind of men have passed off the scene. We might have some to be born, but right now, looking at what we have to pick from for President, I'll tell you.

GEORGE STONEY: Well, I can't argue with -

MOSES: But we've gotta have something.

GEORGE STONEY: I can't argue with you there. (laughter)

MOSES: We've got to have something, but you know - well, sometime I wonder. Anyway, we gonna make it because we are America. Fifteen past 7:00. Let's see who else I got. Duren's Jewelers. That's that time, 15 minutes past seven o'clock, and Duren's is downtown Gastonia, right on South Street in front of the courthouse, where Russ is there to take care and [Lynne?] is always right with him. So in the event that you need jewelry - now this is not the kind that tarnishes after you give that special friend a few years later. It lasts a lifetime. So if you're looking for something for nothing, don't look to Duren's; you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for that jewelry that you can appreciate and that someone you give it to can appreciate it too, then you want to check out Duren's Jewelers. Quality jewelry, lot of styles and fashions to choose from. It's all there, and see for the asking. So go in, browse around, let him know that you're in the market. That's Duren's downtown, 158 South Street, in front of the 00:14:00courthouse. Sixteen past seven o'clock. Here's more.

(music plays)

GEORGE STONEY: Graham's granddaughter is a -

HELFAND: Thelma [Massey?]

GEORGE STONEY: Massey?

HELFAND: It's his niece.

GEORGE STONEY: Thelma Massey?

HELFAND: Yes.

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah. It's his niece.

GEORGE STONEY: What I'll do next is say - explain that Thelma Massey, Mr. Graham's niece, is the one who said look, if you want to - if you want to find more elderly black people, you get on this radio show.

MOSES: (laughs)

GEORGE STONEY: Because half of Gaston County listens to this.

MOSES: They - they're out there. But you know, it's a strange thing about - and I guess it comes from brainwashing, but we are shy people. You can come - 00:15:00you can come into Dallas right now and I don't think there's anybody around Dallas who don't know the Moses. And the only way you would really get a chance to know exactly where I am is, you've gotta gain their confidence. They'll ask you, who are you? What do you want with him? You know, we're just that kind of a people. That's - and it comes from - well, I don't know. I guess it just - you get hit over the head with a drop of rain long enough, I guess it have a tendency to soak in. It doesn't hurt you, but it does something to you.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

HELFAND: At the time that these letters were written they were organizing unions in these mills, and a lot of these black people, they - we just - we don't think that they joined the unions. Either they weren't asked, or they were just too frightened because so few of them -

MOSES: They were too frightened, most of them. Most of them. Most of them were too frightened. You know, I was a union organizer at one time and I have gone 00:16:00to the motel room and would - I found a steak knife in my keyhole with a note on it that says, "Nigger leave town." So I go in, I shake up the bed, and I go back and slide that - I'm driving a car with a Detroit license on it. Detroit, Michigan, but we would drive the car into a van and they'd take me wherever I wanted to go. Then I'd get out of the car and ride around and do my work, then I'd slip the car back into the van. And move it to the next (inaudible). Well, you know there is a way. And that's how I really got my start, was making a little money wherein I could - because they pay you well. But it was dangerous. It was very dangerous.

GEORGE STONEY: You were organizing for what union?

MOSES: I was, uh - uh - United - I worked for Corrugated Box Industry, and they came out of New York, and of course when they set up the plant here is when I 00:17:00went to work for them and got - got this plant organized and well, all of the - it wasn't but two box shops within 200 miles of Gastonia at that time. And now, there might be 100. But it was a dangerous - when I came to work for this station 33 years ago, uh, it was terrible. It was terrible. My boss sit right over there and his shirt - the front of his shirt was wet with tears because of telephone calls I was getting', because he had gotten one report and he talked to me about it, and I told him. I said, "I want you to do something for me, [Duhan?]. You go over there and sit and when the telephone rings, when I pick up I want you to pick up and listen to what's come - going on." And he just flatly told me, he says, "I just don't believe it." I says, no, you don't believe it because you're not a part of the system.

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hm.

MOSES: You're not supposed to believe it. You're not supposed to believe 00:18:00something you haven't experienced, you don't know anything about. But uh, and I don't know. It's - but you have to learn how to survive, and that's the name of the game. And if you tell that guy in power what he wants to hear, you can tear his butt up.

GEORGE STONEY: (laughs)

MOSES: (inaudible) but it's true. You tell him what he wants - and the guy in power, all you gotta do is stay in the background and tell him what he wants to hear and eventually you can be in power. But now, you get the smart mouth and knowing too much -

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: - it just won't work. Not when he's got the power.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah, there's - box factories are organized now?

MOSES: Oh yes, yes. Yes they've been unionized - matter of fact, they went out on strike a couple of times while I was working. They made me go out and work. I was in charge of transportation, traffic department. Uh, I had two guys jump on the side of the truck one day, tell me says, "Where you goin' with this truck?" I says, "Well I'm tryin' to do this job." You're not gonna take this truck anywhere. And I had a brother and another black friend who worked and they says, "Get off from that truck. He's doin' what he have to do, we out here doin' what we have to do. Get off the truck."

GEORGE STONEY: Hm.

MOSES: Jesus made it for us -

GEORGE STONEY: Yep.

MOSES: - and we gotta make it for somebody else.

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hm.

MOSES: And that's the only way to make it.

HELFAND: That's what a lot of these workers - these black workers that wrote these letters, that's what they were doin'.

MOSES: That's right. It was a sacrifice on their part.

HELFAND: So when we were asked to make this movie that included the history of labor organizing in the 1930s, the question - asking the black workers - did you 00:20:00join the union or not? Sometimes that just wasn't a right question because -

MOSES: That's right.

GEORGE STONEY: - then you'd say, I guess they weren't part of the labor movement because they didn't join the union, but...

MOSES: Well, you - you know, that's another thing. Fear is a terrible weapon. It's a terrible weapon. And once you get a little fear built into something, you control it.

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hm.

MOSES: That's even in your kids. That's in us. Still, if fear is built into it - and that's one of the things the Russians always used to say; that the way to control anything is to build some fear in it. Well I guess that's true, but what type of fear? Fear to do the right thing or fear to just leave it alone? So...

GEORGE STONEY: Well I - my own feeling is that I'd rather lean on the love of God than the fear of the devil.

MOSES: That's right, but to - you know, how many of us - of course there's got to be enough of us doin' the right thing or else life wouldn't exist, you know.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah. Yeah.

MOSES: But when you look around and think of how many people it is who - you kind of have compassion for, you sympathize with because of some of the things that's happening to them and it doesn't have to because they just don't know any better or they afraid to put their best foot forward. That's something to think about.

GEORGE STONEY: Hm.

HELFAND: George, maybe you could tell Mr. Moses how tough it's been for us to find the black workers to talk to.

GEORGE STONEY: OK.

MOSES: There's a lot of history began to speak out though the last few years about injustice and things of this nature.

GEORGE STONEY: Oh, I can see the difference in 1940, '41. I was working with Mr. - Dr. Ralph Bunche on a study called The Negro in America. It was my job to go through a number of the southern states and find out how they kept blacks from voting in so forth. And so I helped him write a book on that. And I go back and look at that book now and it's - the conditions then are so shocking compared to what you've got now. I mean, I never thought I'd see the Mayor of Charlotte a black man. I just couldn't have imagined it at that time, and if you read that book you'll see that it would seem impossible then. So it has been a big change, and it's a big change because a lot of people finally 00:23:00said we're not going to take it anymore.

MOSES: That - that's the name of the game, you know? When your back's to the wall you have to come out fighting. It does make a difference. OK. Thank you very much, Brother Owens, of Our Good News. Twenty-six minutes past seven o'clock, and of course it's about 72 degrees now, moved up just a little wee bit, I'm sure. It was 70 when we first came in here and it's not going to 00:24:00be too awfully hot today; in the upper 80s, how 'bout that? Nineties won't see it. Sure won't. And we still have Brother George Stoney here with us, and of course we are discussing and going over some of the pros and cons of the Labor Department when it came to the textile industry of our area, and he's really having himself a time trying to find elderly people who worked in the textile mills and getting their stories. And what we're trying to do is assist him. And certainly we need your help to help us convey to those who are still alive and have some information that they could offer to make this what it ought to be.

GEORGE STONEY: Reverend Moses, we got to you because Mr. Bruce Graham's niece, Thelma Massey said, we can give you some names, but if you really want to get to the black people in Gaston County, you've got to be on Bob Moses' radio show.

MOSES: Well, thank you -

GEORGE STONEY: She said at least - she said at least half of Gaston County is listening every Sunday morning.

MOSES: (laughs) Well I don't know about that, but they sometimes - I think that the whole county is listening, especially when they start these phones ringin' and wantin' this and wantin' the other. But we are - we're all together. We're just a bunch of folk who are tryin' to do what we can to make it, that's all. We appreciate them. We appreciate them very much. Nobody is any bigger than anybody else. All of us the same. Nobody's better than anybody else, but everybody's as good as anybody, so we go from that.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: And they feed me too much, and - but I let 'em. (laughs) There's not a morning pass that they don't bring me some food in, and some of it I need 00:26:00and some of it I don't, and I eat it all. (laughter) Then they tell my doctor about it and he gets on me because he says I'm not supposed to eat this and that and not to eat the other. Then he wants to know how I feel. And that's when we have our falling out, because I tell him, that's what I'm paying him that big money for. (laughs) He's on vacation this week so I can talk all I want about him. (laughter) OK. Mildred Cliffs, I know you're there, and Louise? How about it? So you can give me a call too. I don't care. I'll talk with you this morning. Twenty-nine minutes past seven o'clock here at WGAS in South Gastonia, North Carolina. One more once from the country boy who's on his way to Charlotte. Willie Neal Johnson, The Gospel Keynotes.

(music plays)

MOSES: They're a little quiet this morning, but I can imagine. It's been so hot on 'em and they got a chance to sleep later in the cool morning.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah, yeah.

HELFAND: Did we come too early?

MOSES: Oh no. They'll be all right. We'll keep going on through the morning here after we...

HELFAND: Is there a speaker for that music that I could just put my little microphone to?

JAMIE STONEY: You got a studio monitor (inaudible) the big one there?

MOSES: Probably. Yeah, OK.

(music gets louder)

GEORGE STONEY: Might get some dials and so forth.

HELFAND: (inaudible)

[music playing]

MOSES: Last Sunday I had a lady call me. She celebrated her 90th birthday last Sunday, and I was playing that thing and she says, "Oh, I got the best ol' shout." (laughter) She's 90 years old. Mrs. [McCaskill?]. She is a wonderful old lady.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: But she gets to talkin' and she won't hush.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: She just talk, talk, talk.

GEORGE STONEY: (laughs) Well another thing you're doing is bringing stuff into the homes because so many of them are homebound now.

MOSES: Well that's true. I have one lady who calls me every Sunday. She's been bedridden for I guess 10 years. She doesn't get out of bed and she calls me all during the week. And I try to leave little messages on the machine about the time I think that she's gonna call. All right, there you have Willie Neal Johnson there with his Gospel Keynotes - the New Gospel Keynotes out of Tyler, Texas doing their thing. He say, uh, he's just doin' his thing. When he wakes up in the morning he wakes up doing his thing. And if you want to sing, just sing on. You want to shout? Just shout. How about it Mildred McCaskill? Did you get your shout this morning? I know you did because you tell me the doors of the church is open and you should come on in. What is it, the preacher with the outstretched hands says join me while you can? OK. All right. Brought 00:31:00to you by none other than Mr. K, downtown Gastonia where you'll find him pleading to you to be practical and yield that thing called clothing, OK? The sale is on. The Dollar Days - that's what he calls it. You know, he's already got the prices down where you have to reach up to get 'em and now it's even lower than that. I wonder what you're gonna do. Well, use the old word that the older fellas used to use; he's just lowdown. How 'bout that? Mr. K, big, small, thin or tall, he's got clothes to fit you all. Why don't you check him out tomorrow? He'll be there. He's not there today because he's in Sunday School this morning at 9:45. He teaches a class, did you know that? He's pretty good on it, too. You get to talkin' to him about the Scriptures, he can lay somethin' on you. He sure will. But he loves sellin' those clothes, makin' you look good. Yes he does, I'll tell you. Mr. K, downtown Gastonia, right on the main drag. I tell you, I gotta go 00:32:00in and see him too because I want me some - some of this here latest fall stuff. They got some new colors coming out in the fall and you know, I don't like nothing dead unless you gonna bury it, OK? All right. So I'm gonna check him out. Meet me there, won't you? Clarence Jones, you think you can hang with me? I know you will. Let's do it together. Here's more for you from The Gospel Keynotes.

(music plays)

MOSES: Good morning, Christian Radio. (phone call) Peace, Brother! I'm here. You got your head in my lap? (laughs) OK. Yeah? OK, all right. Right, right, right. Yeah. Yeah, I've got a very fine young man in with me this morning. He's picking up information on the textile industry and tryin' to find some of these elderly negroes that worked in textile mills so they can get their stories. They're makin' a film and it's just too bad that your daddy's not livin'. I'll tell you, most of the guys that was really contributors to this particular has passed off the scene. I was thinkin' about old Big Wit, but I'm just wondering if Wit ever worked in the textile mills worth anything. I don't know either. I'm tryin' to think. 00:34:00Jim Floyd? Now that might be a good man to talk with. Yeah. Now, where - where does he live? Uh-huh. OK, OK, OK. He lives on Salem Drive. Well, I don't know - yeah, I know where Haskell live. Haskell lives on - what is it, Castlebury? Newcastle or Castlebury or something like that. Well I - I call all that area Myrtle School area, you know. So - so you turn right right on the 00:35:00other side of Haskell's house and go up the hill. OK. That's something that, what is it, Captain Freddy Crawford? Freddy lives up in there, too. Yeah, Freddy lives in the circle. Freddy lives in the circle and there's another guy, um, oh what's his name? It was about seven or eight sisters and these two boys, they were terrible baseball players down around Pleasant Grove. They - he's one married one of those girls and they live up there in that circle. Well I - I can see he'd be a good fellow to talk with. Yeah, yeah. 00:36:00Yeah well that's another thing when you come to these elderly people; you gotta have somebody - you're talkin' with somebody who has had some conversation with them, lost their faculties. OK. Uh-huh. Mm-hm. (inaudible). That's right. That's right. You know, last Wed- not this Wednesday night but last Wednesday night, Brother Bryce and I were together at St. Peter's, and man we had a beautiful time there. And of course, the 00:37:00following Wednesday night was when he - he became ill and just went on off. But you know, what sweeter way was it? There's not a sweeter way. Yeah. That's right. Uh-huh. Oh yeah. Yeah. I'm certain she all had a nice time yesterday. Yeah, yeah. Well that's great. That's great. OK, Brother. Appreciate that information. OK. All right. Hey Dave!

DAVE WILLIAM: Hey, I didn't have no - they didn't have no little ole wee cup of -

MOSES: That's all right. That's all right.

WILLIAM: I got you a half-pint.

MOSES: This is Dave William. I was tellin' you about the fella that retired from Firestone?

GEORGE STONEY: Oh, yes.

MOSES: Now this guy, he can tell you something about the textile mill.

GEORGE STONEY: Good.

MOSES: The - these fellas - uh, this is Mr. Stoney. They are making a picture, a film, of the blacks who worked in textile mills, and some of the pros and cons of what happened and how they got - what their jobs, what they did and this kind of thing.

WILLIAM: Well I worked in one 42 years.

MOSES: Well, I'm sure - that's what I was tellin'.

[overlapping dialogue]

MOSES: The time is 20 minutes before 8:00, the temperature is 72.

WILLIAM: If you ask me to.

GEORGE STONEY: OK.

WILLIAM: Nice talkin' to you.

GEORGE STONEY: Nice to see you.

MOSES: OK, Dave. Look here!

WILLIAM: Yeah?

MOSES: I got you some stuff here.

WILLIAM: OK.

MOSES: You better take this with you, 'cause I got your stuff for you. I'm gonna -

WILLIAM: All right. Thank you.

GEORGE STONEY: Now that was Jim Floyd?

MOSES: Uh, William. William Floyd.

GEORGE STONEY: William Floyd.

MOSES: William Floyd.

GEORGE STONEY: And they didn't have a phone number, did they?

MOSES: Uh, he's listed in the telephone directory.

GEORGE STONEY: Salem Drive, wasn't it?

MOSES: Well - yes, I think. Well it - I believe that's - I don't think that's Salem Drive. I believe it's the next street because I know about where the street is and I think I can identify his (inaudible).

GEORGE STONEY: OK. What did they say about him?

MOSES: Uh, he was sayin' that he was well versed - he retired from Firestone, the same place as this guy, and he worked there some 40 or 50 years and he have all of his faculties, he thinks well, and he will be able to -

GEORGE STONEY: Good.

MOSES: - to talk with you and give you some good, solid information. This is a bad habit, coffee. And if you don't get a swallow of it you can't make it.

GEORGE STONEY: William Floyd, 3001 Matthews Drive, would that be -

MOSES: That's it. That's it.

GEORGE STONEY: OK.

MOSES: All right. There you have The Gospel Keynotes working out one more time for you, and that was - what do they call him? Charles? Yeah, that was Charles - or was it Robert? One of the two. I don't know. They switch them around every once in a while. He's got the new group now so I don't know exactly who he's got. But anyway, he's got The Gospel Keynotes. That's it. OK. Powers' Seafood, Franklin Boulevard where there's plenty of free parking in front and on the side of the store. The good is on the inside. That's what you're looking for. How 'bout it? Powers' Seafood. Whatever you might want when it comes to seafood, they've got. Fresh when in season, out of 00:41:00season they have it there frozen, OK? Bill Powers is the man. He knows what's happening when it comes to seafood and he takes care of it to that particular. So, what do you do? You give him a call, let him know that you're in the market for some seafood, whether you want it packaged or you want it fresh. One thing about it, he'll have it ready for you once you're there. And he says, what you do, you let him know a couple of days before hand if you're going to have a big gathering or big cookout like Autoway Floyd had this past weekend over - matter of fact, yesterday, over there at the Bradley Center. A big family reunion. And they put it on; they had the big pot and the little one, then they had a service there after that was saying something too. We had a chat with Flory this morning. She was there. Had a chat with Autoway. He was there. A lot of other folk were there. Now we're trying to catch up with Brother William Floyd over there on Matthews Drive in the Myrtle School 00:42:00area because he was retired from Firestone and he has a lot of good information that we could use if we can get a chance to talk with him. So Brother Mack, if you've got your ears on you can call us. If not, we're gonna call you, OK? So you get ready for us. All right. Anybody else out there that, uh, has been in the textile mills for many years and is retired and can give us some information, or just want to talk with us about it, we'd be happy to do that right here this morning. Since Brother George Stoney is here along with his team. And, they will take all of the information together now because they're trying to get it compiled to wherein they can do this film. And who knows? Who knows? Gotta have somethin' to pass along to our future generation. Everybody else is passing something along to them. Why can't we pass something of vital importance along to them? OK? All right. Get with it. Help us out, won't you? Fifteen minutes before eight o'clock. I would like 00:43:00it - like you to have a little sip, but he didn't bring but one cup. (laughter) Good morning, Christian radio. (phone call) Hey! No, I didn't get that one. I got - well you know, kids are kids. He could have handed it to Mark, and if Mark got it, it's hard to tell what happened. But that's the [subs and the Johnson?], isn't it? Tate (inaudible). Yeah. That's all 00:44:00right. We'll take it. We'll take it. Mm-hm. She's doin' pretty good. OK. All right. Yeah, give her a call. OK. OK. Yeah, what - what time will your - your affair be from? Eleven to 4:00. OK. All right. You want to try to 00:45:00call him, Mr. Joh- Mister -

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah, I would think so. Uh, William Floyd, that's 861-8810.

MOSES: Good morning. Is this the residence of Mr. William Floyd? Is he in, please? Could I speak with him? Must have called his grandchildren. Youngster. What I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna let you pick up one of the other 00:46:00phones -

GEORGE STONEY: OK.

MOSES: - around the other side over here.

GEORGE STONEY: Over there?

MOSES: Yeah. Hello, Mr. Floyd? This is Bob Moses. How are you? Good. I've got a young man here from - with the U.S. Government department checking on some information relative to jobs - past jobs with the Firestone, Loray, and textile and all this kind of stuff. He's makin' a film and he's trying to gather information. And I've been told that you had worked with Firestone and retired from there and might be able to give him some. OK. You're not the 00:47:00one? OK. All right. Well I'm sorry to bother you, but I want you to have a good day. All right. OK. See, this is what happens to folk. They afraid to - to - you know.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

MOSES: And if you don't tell 'em - you know, I don't see no point in wasting time with regard -

GEORGE STONEY: No, no.

MOSES: But - now that's William Floyd, and Autoway has told me that - that -

HELFAND: We're not the government.

GEORGE STONEY: Well, you know -

JAMIE STONEY: That usually scares people off when you're the government.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah, but look -

MOSES: People don't like - black people primarily don't like to give information. They don't like to give information. They won't tell you what time it is hardly. It's just - it's just one of those things.

HELFAND: George, explain exactly where we're from though.

MOSES: All right, it's ten minutes now before eight o'clock at WGAS in South Gastonia, North Carolina, and we're still rolling along and we are still 00:48:00enjoying and getting information and gathering information and making contacts and all that kind of good stuff, and you're a part of it, and we appreciate you a whole lot. And of course we have - were trying to catch up with the - Brother William Floyd who is retired from the old Firestone Mill or the old Loray Mill, and they just want to talk with him a little bit, and I'm sure that he can talk back with us a little bit too, if he wishes to. OK? OK. We've gotta let you know that M&M Seafood and Chicken down on New Hope Road is where you'll find it cooked in that 100% cholesterol free cooking oil, and that doesn't only make it good to you, but it makes it good for you, too. So you can eat that and it don't bother you too much. Check it out. They have a 00:49:00luncheon special going on wherein you can find a whole lot of those special dieters specials for about $3.50. Can you beat that? I know you can't. That's down on New Hope; M&M Seafood and Chicken, open every day, like seven days a week with the luncheon specials during the lunch hours Mondays through Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays of course is a little different. And if by chance you want to take your special group, they do group rates, too and all of that good stuff. Check 'em out, won't you? I know you'll enjoy it. M&M, Massey and Mason. That's who it is. It used to be M, M & M, [Eeny?], Meany, [Miney?] and Mo, but you know Mo had to go. Now it's just Meany and Mo. OK? 00:50:00Here's more for you. One more once from The Gospel Keynotes and we will be checkin' them out, but they're all on their way to Charlotte with you. If you run down to (inaudible) Casting Shadows right after this.

(music plays)

MOSES: Good morning, Christian radio. (phone call) Mm-hm. OK. Jackson family, oh, OK. There. OK. Right, right. Gotcha covered. Sure will. All right.

GEORGE STONEY: Got a request?

MOSES: Yes, Lord.

GEORGE STONEY: You get a lot of them, I guess? Well, this project got started because there were a group of historians who had been writing about the textiles and the felt that the information was incomplete because there was so little written about the workers. So they did - they've done a series of books now; the one called Like a Family out of Chapel Hill. Another called Habits of 00:52:00Industry. They've done a number of books but people don't read as much as they should. And so, they asked us to make a film.

MOSES: And they will watch that, won't they?

GEORGE STONEY: I hope.

MOSES: They will.

GEORGE STONEY: I've - I grew up - was born and grew up in Winston-Salem, went to Chapel Hill, and have made a lot of films in the south. And so, that's the reason they asked me to - to take it on. And Judy here was a former student of mine at New York University, and she's been doing all this research in the archives and has found all of these documents, the - Mr. Graham's complaint for example, 1934, she found all that in the National Archives. And so we're going on that, and the cameraman is my son, James.

MOSES: OK.

GEORGE STONEY: He also went - I teach at New York University now, in the Tisch School of the Arts. I teach film and television, and it's kind of fun to work 00:53:00with former students.

MOSES: I can understand that.

GEORGE STONEY: The only connection with the government is that the Humanities Councils are - they use funds from the federal government, but they're not controlled by the federal government.

MOSES: I see where you're comin' from.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

JAMIE STONEY: (inaudible)

(music gets louder)

[music playing]

MOSES: Let's see. I'll queue yours up again before I (inaudible). I'll be able to play that again.

GEORGE STONEY: OK.

HELFAND: We want to make it - play it out, too.

GEORGE STONEY: Sure

MOSES: These go on at 8:30, so I queue 'em up and stick 'em in and have 'em ready, and you know... That one goes with that one over there.

JAMIE STONEY: Does it go on automation at 8:30 or you get a break at 8:30?

MOSES: I get a break at 8:30.

JAMIE STONEY: It's nice to be in a radio station that doesn't take its entire feed off the satellite.

MOSES: (laughs).

GEORGE STONEY: I know.

JAMIE STONEY: You know what's like? It's like McDonald's; mediocre food no matter where you go, but there's always one wherever you go.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah, yeah.

MOSES: Make the day now.

GEORGE STONEY: Yeah.

JAMIE STONEY: Not supposed to gulp it like that. It'll give you heartburn.

MOSES: Well, it's getting' cold on me.

[music playing]