The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter
The true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership

This is a true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership. Descended from slaves and sharecroppers in the Black Belt region, this family of hard-working parents and their thirteen children is mentored by its matriarch, Moa, the author’s beloved great grandmother, who passes on to the family, along with other cultural wealth, her recipe for moonshine.

Without rancor or blame, and even with occasional humor, The Pecan Orchard offers a window into the inequities between blacks and whites in a small southern town still emerging from Jim Crow attitudes.

Told in clean, straightforward prose, the story radiates the suffocating midday heat of summertime cotton fields and the biting winter wind sifting through porous shanty walls. It conveys the implicit shame in “Colored Only” restrooms, drinking fountains, and eating areas; the beaming satisfaction of a job well done recognized by others; the “yessum” manners required of southern society; and the joyful moments, shared memories, and loving bonds that sustain—and even raise—a proud family.
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The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter
The true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership

This is a true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership. Descended from slaves and sharecroppers in the Black Belt region, this family of hard-working parents and their thirteen children is mentored by its matriarch, Moa, the author’s beloved great grandmother, who passes on to the family, along with other cultural wealth, her recipe for moonshine.

Without rancor or blame, and even with occasional humor, The Pecan Orchard offers a window into the inequities between blacks and whites in a small southern town still emerging from Jim Crow attitudes.

Told in clean, straightforward prose, the story radiates the suffocating midday heat of summertime cotton fields and the biting winter wind sifting through porous shanty walls. It conveys the implicit shame in “Colored Only” restrooms, drinking fountains, and eating areas; the beaming satisfaction of a job well done recognized by others; the “yessum” manners required of southern society; and the joyful moments, shared memories, and loving bonds that sustain—and even raise—a proud family.
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The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter

The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter

by Peggy Vonsherie Allen
The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter

The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter

by Peggy Vonsherie Allen

eBook

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Overview

The true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership

This is a true story of the struggle, survival, and ultimate success of a large black family in south Alabama who, in the middle decades of the 20th century, lifted themselves out of poverty to achieve the American dream of property ownership. Descended from slaves and sharecroppers in the Black Belt region, this family of hard-working parents and their thirteen children is mentored by its matriarch, Moa, the author’s beloved great grandmother, who passes on to the family, along with other cultural wealth, her recipe for moonshine.

Without rancor or blame, and even with occasional humor, The Pecan Orchard offers a window into the inequities between blacks and whites in a small southern town still emerging from Jim Crow attitudes.

Told in clean, straightforward prose, the story radiates the suffocating midday heat of summertime cotton fields and the biting winter wind sifting through porous shanty walls. It conveys the implicit shame in “Colored Only” restrooms, drinking fountains, and eating areas; the beaming satisfaction of a job well done recognized by others; the “yessum” manners required of southern society; and the joyful moments, shared memories, and loving bonds that sustain—and even raise—a proud family.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780817384548
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication date: 11/17/2009
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

Peggy Vonsherie Allen is Deputy Director of Traffic and Safety Engineering for DeKalb County, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction I. The Beginning In the Beginning Sunshine Mama Moa Four Bales Are Not Enough Mama’s Medicine II. The Work The Pecan Orchard My Hoe Crowder Peas Hog-Killing Day The Cotton Field The Strawberry Patch Gee Haw Running Beans III. The Business A Year and a Day The Recipe Big Meeting Sunday D. C. Harper’s The Delivery IV. The Characters Black Coffee Shoot Me, Miz Joe Mr. Steve Mr. Gary’s Clothes Please, Lord, Help the Bear Miz Lady Bug Get Off My Road Mr. Will V. The Stories The Sit Up Mornin’, Miz Lula Chicken Soup Full Ain’t Nothing but Full Stomp and Pack The Brown Bomber The Old Swimming Hole Baptism Day Simpson Chapel The Boogeyman Uncle Snow’s Hole Turtle Soup Civil Rights Cottonreader A New Pair of Shoes The Picture Show Separate but Equal Sadie vs. the United States To Be Continued
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