Frank and Zelda Gosset Interview 1

00:00:00

ZELDA GOSSET: -- they wasn't shooting when you was talking about -- they come in later, not back in the 30s. The -- after the NRA.

FRANK GOSSET: Oh. The -- they started -- you talking about the swimming pool?

ZELDA GOSSET: Uh huh.

FRANK GOSSET: Well, the only thing that I can figure, that come up late 30s, early 40s, when there wasn't no help. In other words, anybody could walk out of the cotton mill and get a job somewheres else, making more money, so they started paying better, and treating them better. Before that, there was nothing. Now we got the union in, like I said, they had to start treating the people more, you know what I mean? But your cotton mills, they didn't have the unions. These people you talk to did the, they have, any of them have a union? That's 00:01:00what I'm getting at. We was the only, only -- Burlington Mills in Chattanooga was a woolen mill. And we got our union in, and after we got a contract settled and got a raise, Burlington Mills had to raise their employees because they was wanting to come down here and get a job. And so they got good to their help, and I don't understand, they built a clubhouse for their men, you know what I mean? They trying to -- they were scared they'd lose their help to us, experienced hands. Because we -- we both had pretty near the same type machinery. Machinery in the wool's entirely different -- not any of it, like a cotton mill. 00:02:00Everything is different, you got looms, but you got different type looms, and --

ZELDA GOSSET: Took a little more skilled help to run those looms.

FRANK GOSSET: Well, you carding, you spinning, and everything else was, was entirely different.

GEORGE STONEY: Now, I know that you came from an army family. I believe you came from a textile family, didn't you?

ZELDA GOSSET: Yes, Mother and Daddy --

GEORGE STONEY: Tell me about the background of most of the people you worked with.

ZELDA GOSSET: They were all in the mill, worked in the mill, most of them. A whole family. What I mean -- but -- my generation, the children -- the biggest part of them did not go in and follow quite as much. They beginning just to get out, got more education and beginning to get out and going in secretarial or salespeople and all. More than than all -- few went in and worked some in the 00:03:00mill, but as soon as they could get another job they'd go to work somewheres else.

FRANK GOSSET: Well when the [inaudible] --

GEORGE STONEY: When the lady told me, the day before yesterday, that when they were living in the mill village, when they went downtown they got all dressed up. Could you talk about that?

ZELDA GOSSET: Yes, we dressed the best we could. We'd go downtown to dress, to buy what we wanted. To church, and we tried to be clean and all. And yet, we're like same -- I dress the same way now I would back then, because around the house I might have on some clothes that I can guess [messed out in?] run down, jump in the lake with or whatever. And I still -- back then we had certain clothes to play with, to play in, and put on clothes, better clothes to go to school and all. And it did make a difference.

FRANK GOSSET: Well, I'll tell you back --

GEORGE STONEY: Did you dress up and wear silk stockings and all that?

00:04:00

ZELDA GOSSET: After I got old enough.

FRANK GOSSET: Well, yeah. But -- most people, not all -- only the aristocratic dressed all the time. Because during the Depression, there wasn't many people that had much. And they had what they called work clothes and dress clothes. You go downtown or something you dressed up a little bit. If you just working in the yard, around the house, anything, or slipping down to the corner, you just want to wear what you call your work clothes. And I still do the same thing, I've got clothes around here I usually wear just cutting grass and trimming trees and stuff. I've got other clothes I'm going downtown to get groceries or something I wear.

GEORGE STONEY: But there wasn't anything like being casual then, was there, downtown?

ZELDA GOSSET: No, you didn't -- it wasn't exactly casual. Because -- uh, and you 00:05:00-- I wore slack though, as most of, all my life, after I got up say 12, 13, if I wanted to wear a pair of slacks. A lot of girls' parents wouldn't let them wear slacks. We didn't learn to swim because we -- we'd go to the creek or the river, and tuck our dresses in our bloomers (laughs) just pure and simple. We could wade in that, but we never had a bathing suit, never learned to swim! But uh, then generations later, they all knew how to swim and more. But I did dress up, but when we went downtown or went to church, we were entirely different. Clothes we wore.

00:06:00

FRANK GOSSET: The parks just began in the late 20s and early 30s mostly the parks and swimming pools and stuff like that. I know back when I was small, the parks didn't even have a swimming pool. But by the time I got up teenage, there, your parks began to have swimming pools and everything, ball diamond, and stuff like that.

GEORGE STONEY: What about the colored in the mill?

FRANK GOSSET: Well --

ZELDA GOSSET: I don't re--

FRANK GOSSET: Only thing is, people -- ninety percent, I'll say, you had some [drastic ones?], but ninety percent of the people treated colored just like anybody else. They just didn't socially -- and they still don't socially. Rare occasions they do. But what I mean, basically the white don't invite the colored 00:07:00in-- the niggers into their home for supper, and parties, and stuff like that. They still don't as far as I know, they might in some areas.

ZELDA GOSSET: At work, they were the same as anybody, they -- they done their job, you done yours, and you speak to them and talk to them and all, but that was it.

GEORGE STONEY: Were they able to work in the mills?

ZELDA GOSSET: They had a few --

FRANK GOSSET: [overlapping dialogue; inaudible] The only ones they had working in the mills when I went in was in maintenance. Sweeping and helping clean up in the shop, and helping the shop men haul stuff around and stuff like that. That was the only niggers they had in there. As far as weaving and all that type of work, fixers and all that, they had no niggers. In fact, I think, I been told, 00:08:00now I don't know, but about 20 years ago, I recommend they put a nigger up to loom fixer in the mill where I was and they said that's the first nigger in the South ever went up to loom fixer. I [inaudible] -- I happened to run into him the other day, and he went to school after he -- after that. And he's supervising there now. But he was the type, he was willing to work and do what you told him and try to figure out. And he was hesitated a lot of times about -- I'd tell him, "How about doing this job for me?" He didn't have, he was scared he didn't have the experience. I said, "Well, try. Go ahead." And he come out pretty good, so. He just learned all different jobs in the mill, I used him as -- where I needed him, see, and he always worked out. He come on up to be supervisor over at [Sibley?] right now. But I was told that he was -- by m-- Big Will from Milligan come down, they had to have a meeting ever s-- once a month 00:09:00down here. And I was told that he was the first nigger promoted to loom fixing in the South. Now I don't know if that's true, that's just -- that was 20, about 20 years ago.

GEORGE STONEY: [Anything, gentlemen, that you'd want to know?]

JAMIE STONEY: [inaudible] bid on a lot.

GEORGE STONEY: Okay.

ZELDA GOSSET: He wants to bid on a lot (laughter).

GEORGE STONEY: Jamie, I know your [parking book?]

JAMIE STONEY: Dad, stand back here, I want to do a wide open --

GEORGE STONEY: Okay. Yeah, I know how he's --

FRANK GOSSET: I tell you, if you want to see the prettiest view there is on this lake, this -- go down far enough to get past where you see it, past [black town?], all the way down there and all the way that way. I mean it's pretty out that island out there. It's wide open. See most lots up here, I got it back in 00:10:00time, it's on the grandfather clock. You can't mow your lawn down at the lake. Government property.

ZELDA GOSSET: It's Corps of Engineers, uh huh.

GEORGE STONEY: Oh you can't? How far can you mow to?

FRANK GOSSET: You can, you can mow down to the Corps of Engineers property. (break in audio) (machinery noise; shots of mill exterior)

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(Crew member dialogue begins at 00:13:18 and continues until 00:14:40)

(Shots of mill and other building exteriors continue until 00:23:00)