Speakers-James Benson, Kate Meacham

Audio Quality-Good

Location-Clemson, SC

Cassette 1

Side 1

00:19--Mr. Benson gives his biographical information. He was born on June 23, 1905 at his home in Central, South Carolina. Patrick Benson and Annie Reese Benson were his parents. Isaac and Emily Benson were his father's parents and Jim and Tila Cannon Reese were is his mother's parents. The family owned their own home on three acres. They sharecropped at first to raise the money to build the house.

6:59--The whole Benson family lived in the same area so they spent time with each other often.

7:30--Mr. Benson's grandparents were sharecroppers in their early life; they did not mind because the farm owners were fair towards them. Slavery was not often discussed in his household.

12:18--Meacham asks Mr. Benson to recall weddings. Mr. Benson explains that weddings were either small ceremonies or carried out at the courthouse. He himself was married in 1936 at the courthouse. Mrs. Benson's parents were Frank and Ann Madison.

16:51--Mr. Benson explains that the only family members to leave South Carolina were his uncle and aunt who moved to Cleveland, Ohio.

18:48--Mr. Benson recalls the jobs available to blacks in the early days. Blacks farmed or did manual work and the wives stayed around the house.

20:05--Shopping--the family would go the Hunter's Store locally to purchase staples. They grew potatoes, corn, peas, pumpkins, and carrots at home.

25:04--The family bought their own furniture and the women made quilts. Mr. Benson's wife had quilts and all of the bedding ready to be used before they married.

28:27--Mr. Benson recalls that he joined the church when he was 20 years old and has been a member ever since.

32:29--Audio ends.

Cassette 1

Side 2

00:04--Church--church services were long but there were lots of songs performed. He was a member of Abel Baptist Church.

2:57--There were camp meetings in Pendleton where several churches would come together for a weekend full of worship.

6:03--Mr. Benson went to Pickens Country District 7 schools. He finished grammar school and went to school until he was sixteen years old. The children went to school seven out of the twelve months. Mr. Benson's parents did not care much about education, and would rather have had their children helping them in the fields.

12:32--Mr. Benson explains that his three children were the first to attend college in his family. He and his wife had five children.

16:51--Benson recalls that in school they did not study black history nor did they have books regarding the subject.

23:10--Blacks did not talk much about how white people treated them. They simply thought that was the way of the world.

25:30--There was a very bad earthquake in the area when Mr. Benson was young. Local people had real trouble explaining what happened because they did not know what was going on.

28:23--The flu epidemic in 1917 killed a lot of people. There were whole families dying and doctors did not understand why.

30:05--Mr. Benson discusses marriage roles. He believes that most relationships are equal, but the man often considered himself to be the head of the household.

31:06--Audio ends.

Cassette 2

Side 1

00:06--Mr. Benson continues to talk about marriage relationships. Families get along better when the couples both have respect for each other.

1:23--Benson explains that there were few black/white romantic relationships that he knew of. The children of interracial couples were picked on more than blacks; he recalls one child that ran away from home.

6:02--Mr. Benson believes that Native Americans in the area were more respected than blacks.

8:42--He recalls that the family would take a trip to Greenville, South Carolina once a year for the circus.

11:48--The community celebrated 4th of July and Thanksgiving. The church would donate food to the poor during these holidays. Christmas was not as a big deal but they would celebrate it.

20:08--Mr. Benson recalls that the happy period in his life was when he had no real responsibilities.

21:43--Meacham asks if being black affected him. Mr. Benson explains that he did not think it was wrong how people sometimes treated him because he did not know any better.

24:29--Benson recalls the construction of Clemson College. The college employed many blacks for free labor during that time period. Mr. Benson wasn't paid much at Clemson University but enjoyed the work. He would work there after harvest. He was paid $1.28 an hour and over time got a raise to $1.50 an hour.

31:59--Mr. Benson would not change anything in his life because God has a path for him.

32:31--Audio ends.

Cassette 2

Side 2--Blank