"I gits a small old-age pension now and live purtty quiet like, but I tell you Sah, times ain't like they use to be. These yer young negroes—I don't think so much of anyhow."
[Madison Frederick Ross]
Interview with Madison Frederick Ross,
Commerce, Missouri.
"Ah was bahn jes ninety year ago, two and one-half mile south of Commerce in Scott County. Mah Fathuh an' Mothuh was Jack an' Mary Ross. Ole Mastuh James Ross was a kind ole man, a'ways good to his cullud folks. Ole Missus died 'fore Ah was bahn. 'Nen dey was young Mastuhs James Jr., John an' William. Young Miss Francis married Joe Anderson.
"They was 'bout six hundred acres in de home place an' a hundred acres in de othuh fahm. Ole Mastuh had 25 or 30 slaves an we hed eight cabins built on three sides o' square with de big house on the othuh side. It was a big house, white with po'ches upstahs an' down. They was lotsa fruit trees 'roun' th' house, peaches, plums, pears, apples, an they was hollyhocks growin all roun' the yahd.
"Ouah cabin was jes one room with a big fiah place at one end. There was a'ways a big kittle a hangin in th' chimbly an' one o' them iron ovens a settin on the hawth. They was five in ouah fambly an' we had one big bed an' a trundle bed thet ud roll undah the othuh bed like that.
"Fethuh beds? Whew! Yessir! We hed the bigges' fethuh beds! You shoulda seen the big flock o' geese we hed. Hey, hey, hey—I'se thinkin' 'bout how us children a'ways crawled undah the house to gathuh the goose aigs. The geese a'ways laid undah th' house, an we'd crawl aroun' unduh there an git um an' when we's backin' out, the ole gander ud ketch us an' flog us. Many's the time he's wahmed the seat o' ouah pants.
"Somehow th' children was skeered o' Ole Mastuh, ah don' know why, 'cause he nevuh hit none o' us. Mastuh was tall an' thin,—an if we 'us sittin' roun' playin' an he come along we'd jump up an' run, an' if we 'ud look back—theuh he'd stan, jes shakin with laffin'. Ah spect he thought it war funny tuh have us skeered.
"Ever mornin' 'bout ten o'clock an' ever afternoon 'bout three all the chillern had tuh have they lunch. You know whut cahn pone is? Mmmm—thet's th' bes' bread! Jes make a sort a hole in th' hot embuhs, than pour it in an covuh it wuth mo' hot embuhs—an when ut's done jes wash ut off a bit. That sho was good bread! Well, each one o' us chillern hed to have a cahn pone—they was about 30 of us—an each take a tin pint cup an' foller the milk woman to the spring house. She'd fill ouah cups an' that was ouah lunch twice evah day.
"As a boy ah tended thuh cows an' sech like, an' built the fires in the fireplaces, later they let me plow an' ah thought ah sure had a big job. Ah wuz so proud at didden wanna stop for dinnah.