Q: Today is Saturday the first of January 2003. And we're about to interview one of the students of Christian Home, one room, and two-room school. And your name is?
A: Margaret Sweat.
Q: And you live?
A: Orcutt Avenue
Q: What city?
A: Suffolk, Virginia.
Q: All right. Um, now Mrs. Sweat you grew up in Isle of Wight County?
A: Yes.
Q: Ok, how many sisters and brothers did you have?
A: I had one brother and eleven sisters.
Q: What school did you attend?
A: Christian Home.
Q: What grades were taught at Christian home when you were attending?
A: One to seventh.
Q: How many teachers did you have?
A: Two.
Q: Was that one room or two rooms?
A: Two rooms.
Q: Two rooms when you were attending. And how many teachers were there?
A: Two teachers.
Q: Two teachers at that time?
A: Okay.
Q: Can you remember some of your teachers that you had while you attended Christian Home?
A: Lord have mercy, see if I had thought about that I would have looked through things at home.
Q: Well do you want to think about it later and see if it comes to mind?
A: Okay.
Q: So we'll go on. At that time how far did you live from school? Do you have an idea?
A: I lived a long ways, cause I had to come through the woods.
Q: That means you walked?
A: yeah.
Q: All right. Now, did you have a chore a job that you had to do before you left home? to go to school?
A: Nope.
Q: When you got to school, were there things that you had to do before school began for the day?
A: No.
Q: Ok, now most of the schools at that time used for heat, was wood, now who prepared the heat, can you remember who did the heat?
A: No.
Q: Or started the fire or whatever?
A: No I can't recall.
Q: You can't recall? I believe at some schools they said the boys used to do that.
A: Yeah, cause ______ used to do it too.
Q: Okay so boys did get the wood and start the fire?
A: Uh-huh, yeah.
Q: Okay, now after you got to school what were some of the things you did before school began? Can you remember? You know before your day began before you started getting lessons? Did you all have devotion or anything like that?
A: Yeah, we did.
Q: Ok, so your day began with the devotion at school. Now what subjects, can you remember what subjects you had while you were there?
A: Yeah, I had arithmetic and what else did I have? Reading and what else did we have, I can't recall, I'm an old lady.
Q: I know some of those things do, we do forget. Can you remember about your books? What types of books did you have when you went to school? Did you have reader books?
A: Yeah reader books and what do you call books when you add?
Q: Math book? Well they called it arithmetic at that time. Now sometime later did you have spelling?
A: Yes we did and we read about different countries and things, what do you call that?
Q: History?
A: History yeah that's right.
Q: Now would that be history or geography? Both, I think that's what it was. Now in your reader book I think that with everybody there was some stories or something that you read that always stick in your mind that you remember, who was some of the people that were in this reader book? Do you remember anybody?
A: I can't remember.
Q: You can't remember nobody?
A: Nope.
Q: Ok, all right. About how long was a day at school?
A: We got out at three.
Q: You out at three?
A: Uh-huh.
Q: You got there about eight or nine?
A: Nine.
Q: All right, at that time there was no cafeteria so what did you do for lunch?
A: Had to carry it.
Q: Had to carry your own lunch? So do you have any idea how long your lunch period was? How long you had out for lunch.
A: I think it was about an hour.
Q: And during lunchtime, you had lunch so you had time to go outside?
A: Uh-huh, yeah.
Q: Ok, a question I really forgot to ask you when we were talking about getting to school, who, how did they manage the water?
A: What? At school?
Q: Yeah at school.
A: They had a thing to pump the water with.
Q: So somebody would bring it in? All right, now can you tell me something, do you? remember what your classroom looked like? I think every classroom had something in it that would like stand out. Did you have a blackboard?
A: Yeah, uh-huh.
Q: 1 guess that was something every school had was a blackboard. Now when the weather was cold, how did they heat the school? Tell me about how the school was heated?
A: They never had nothing but fire or wood.
Q: Wood fire? Ok, now and your restrooms?
A: Outside.
Q: Had to go outside? So when you had to be excused to go outside, how did you get your teacher’s attention?
A: We just, we had to raise our hand or go up there to her.
Q: Ok, so can you remember what the teacher's desk was like?
A: It was something like this table.
Q: Square and wood like?
A: Yeah.
Q: You did say you had the chalkboard, did the children clean the board off or did the teacher always do it?
A: Sometimes the children did it because sometimes my brother used to do it.
Q: Now what, other than your books, did the teachers have any supplies for you to do your lessons with? Or did you have to furnish your own paper or did they have something for you to use?
A: I'm trying to think. It seems like we had to furnish everything.
Q: Now can you remember when you were in school how the lights were? Were they electric lights or lights from the window that you had to study by at that tune?
A: We had both of them.
Q: Had both? Ok. So there were windows and you did have some extra lighting?
A: Right, yes.
Q: All right during the winter everybody had coats and hats and stuff? Did you have somewhere to put your coats and hats?
A: Yes we had a coat rack.
Q: What was that like?
A: We had a place were we would keep them.
Q: Now if you misbehaved in school what was the result in that? What was your discipline like?
A: Sometimes we got a spanking or call home and tell your parents. That's right.
Q: Now is there, in your mind can you think of anything else about your school that you often think about that goes through your mind now?
A: We used to really have fun at school. We used to have time to play after school or sometimes at lunchtime, we would have time to play and eat and have time to out in school you know in the mornings.
Q: So the kids that walked to school, when it was time to go home it was a group walking?
A: Yes.
Q: I imagine that was fun.
A: It was that.
Q: You were on your way home to do some more chores when you go there?
A: How about that.
Q: So, after you left Christian Home School, how do you think that helped you get a job as an adult? How do you think that added to..?
A: I think it helped me because I learned quite a bit.
Q: And then how did you get into being a beautician?
A: I went to the beautician school.
Q: Did you always like to do hair?
A: Yes Lord. I used to like to do hair because my momma had all those girls and I started from a little thing.
Q: So they did need some help in the family, huh?
A: Yes Lord.
Q: Well that was great. And I just admire you at your age you're still doing something that you really love.
A: That's right, still doing hair.
Q: It all goes back to your background in going back at learning at Christian Home and you can always let your mind run back to that.
A: That's right, that's true.
Q: And say that was the beginning for you.
A: That's right.
Q. So is there anything else that you want to tell me about Christian Home? Do you remember any of the teachers there?
A: I ought to remember but I can't recall the names, if I get home I..
Q: It would all come to you?
A: Yeah, I'll think about it. I can go through some papers there too.
Q: Ok!
A: I'll give you a ring later.
Q: All right do that And, you have nothing else you want to say to me about it?
A: No I just enjoyed it, I really did.
Q: Did you enjoy it?
A: I really did.
Q: Well you know that was the best part of it, that was your..
A: Walking and riding on the cart.
Q: Riding on the cart? [Laughter]. All right, well we really appreciate this interview with you and we are going to enjoy looking at it and listening to you…and when you can think of some of those teachers you got to let me know.
A: I will.