Miss Sarah

By R.D. Roberts

Born and reared in China by missionary parents, Sarah Sullivan spent little time in the States. After her schooling, she remained in China, helping her father, Dr. Frederick Sullivan, an obstetrician at the Stout Memorial Hospital in Wuchow. When the Japanese invaded China prior to World War II, life became uncertain for the missionaries, and the mission board suggested they leave. Dr. Bill Wallace insisted those with families leave first. Sarahs family was forced to leave late one night. Only she and her father made it out of China alive.

When we meet Miss Sarah, she is living alone on a farm in the South. Her attempt to hire a young black man to help her was her first encounter with racial discrimination. However, she was not prepared for the prejudice she found, even in the life of her pastor of the local Baptist church.

During the time of segregation and separate but equal there were people both black and white who reached across those lines. I know. I was one of them, as were my parents and the wonderful people of the Baptist church where my dad served as pastor. Miss Sarah is a fictitious story, but it is an outgrowth of my experiences as a young high school boy, teaching piano at a colored one-room school during the 1950s, the example of my parents, their church, and the incredible story of Dr. Bill Wallace, medical missionary in China.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449741136

R.D. Roberts

            I was born and reared in Northeastern Oklahoma. Before retirement, I had the “usual” three professions, all related to music. Between college and graduate school there was a two year stint as a teacher of choral music in the public school at Grove, Oklahoma. After graduate school, I worked almost one-half of my career as a full-time church musician and the other half as a music store owner in South Carolina, dealing mostly with churches and schools. I enjoy spending time with my family—my wife, three daughters and their families including five grandchildren. Hobbies include traveling, photography, and writing. My first novel, Walnut Grove, was published in 2007. It is historical fiction set in Oklahoma between 1895 and 1947 with a flash back to the Trail of Tears. The Church that Love Built is an auto biography and is yet unpublished. Miss Sarah, published in 2012 is fiction. The characters became abundantly real, and I heard their voices as they told the story. I simply wrote it down. I do not claim to be a writer, but simply a teller of stories. Many events in my life helped shape the story of Miss Sarah.

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Miss Sarah

by

R. D. Roberts

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Copyright © 2012 by R. D. Roberts.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-4112-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4113-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903201

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/20/2012

Contents

Preface

Chapter I

Miss Sarah Hires Pearlie

Chapter II

Pearlie Is Arrested and Lands in Jail

Chapter III

Justice Prevails

Chapter IV

The Church Gets a Pastor

Chapter V

The Fishing Trip

Chapter VI

The New Piano and the

New Pastor Arrive in Madison

Chapter VII

The Wiener Roast

Chapter VIII

The Truth Comes Out

Chapter IX

Pearlie Mae Leaves for Memphis

Chapter X

Another Visit from the Pastor

Chapter XI

A Night of Tragedies

Chapter XII

Emma Lou comes Forward

Chapter XIII

The Diversion—Making Hominy

and the Resulting Tragedy

Chapter XIV

The Parade—Madison Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary

Chapter XV

More Sorrow for Ernest Best

Chapter XVI

A New Member at

Madison Baptist Church

Chapter XVII

The Long Awaited Telephone Call

Chapter XVIII

Emma Lou’s Big Request

Chapter XIX

Reverend Weston Says

He Will Make a Big Announcement

Chapter XX

The Big Announcement

About the Author

To all those individuals both

black and white

who reached across the lines of segregation during the dark days in the United States of

Separate but Equal

and especially to the blacks who perservered during this time

Preface

In 1772, Lord Mansfield’s judgment in the Somersett’s Case emancipated a slave in England, which helped launch the movement to abolish slavery in that country. However, the operation of slave trading ships was flourishing. Through the work of such men as William Cowper, John Newton, William Wilberforce, and others, this practice came under attack. By 1783, an anti-slavery movement to abolish the slave trade throughout the Empire had begun among the British public.

William Cowper lived in Olney and was a friend of John Newton (1725-1807) curate [pastor] of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. No doubt Cowper often heard Newton preach. They shared a common interest in poetry and collaborated in the publication of many of their hymns. John Newton, who had once operated a slave trading ship, became a Christian in 1748 on a waterlogged ship when he faced imminent death on a stormy night. His beloved hymn, Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound was first published in 1779 in collaboration with Cowper in a collection called, Olney Hymns.

In 1780, Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, where he continued to preach until after his eightieth year. Here, he also drew large congregations and influenced many, among them William Wilberforce who became the greatest advocate of the abolition of the slave trade in England.

The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire. The Act took effect on August 1st, 1834, and it brought about the emancipation of over 800,000 black slaves throughout the British colonies.

In the United States, slavery was prevalent, especially in the south, until the Civil War. The war ended in April, 1865 and following that surrender, the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced throughout remaining regions of the south that had not yet freed the slaves. The thirteenth amendment, abolishing slavery, was passed by the Senate in April 1864 and by the House of Representatives in January 1865. The amendment did not take effect until it was ratified by three fourths of the states, which occurred on December 6, 1865 when Georgia ratified it. On that date, all remaining slaves became officially free.

This era of freedom for blacks ushered in an era of racial segregation. During the time, of segregation a policy of separate but equal was practiced. Everyone, theoretically, would receive the same public services (schools, hospitals, prisons, etc.), but there would be separate, distinct facilities for each race. However, in practice the services and facilities reserved for African-Americans were almost always of lower quality than those reserved for whites. They were indeed separate, but not equal. Negro and colored remained the popular terms during this time and until the late 1960s. It was at that time that activists promoted the use of black as a standing of racial pride, militancy and power.

It was to the era of segregation—separate but equal—that Miss Sarah was introduced when she returned, from China, to live in the United States. She was simply not prepared for the prejudice or separation that she discovered. Terminology used to refer to the colored people was offensive, the prejudice toward them, despicable. In her own quiet way (and sometimes not so quiet) Miss Sarah lived her life, practiced her Christianity, and gradually helped not only a church, but an entire town see the error of their ways. Fiction? Yes. Fantasy? Hardly. There were many (by no means all) who treated the colored people with respect and reached across the lines of segregation. I know. I was one of them, as were my parents and the wonderful people of the Baptist Church he pastored. [See, About the Author at the end of the book]. The story of Miss Sarah is a tribute to those people, as well as to the blacks who persevered during this time.

The book is set in Madison, Mississippi in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Why Madison? I do not know. It could just have easily been any other small town in the Deep South or even in Oklahoma or Texas.

Chapter I

Miss Sarah Hires Pearlie

T his isn’t a social call, Mr. Smith; I’m here to inquire about Pearlie. Sarah Livingston did not bat an eye as she stared straight ahead at the banker.

You mean that no good for nothing nigger? Blaine Smith did not look up. He just kept working on the papers that were piled high on his desk.

I do not refer to him in that manner, and it ill behooves you to do so. Sarah Livingston knew she was seeing the true side of the banker who had replaced her late husband, Ray. Blaine Smith felt he was above everybody since assuming the presidency of the Madison Bank. Mr. Livingston never spoke unkindly about anyone, but he often indicated Blaine Smith was not a kind person, and was an extremely difficult man with whom to work. Sarah often wondered if the tension between the two might have brought on her husband’s fatal heart attack. To apologize to anyone was beneath Blaine Smith, much less to Sarah Livingston. Sarah was highly regarded in Madison. The untimely death of her husband just a few months after their marriage had seemed to elevate that image, and that bothered the arrogant banker. Sarah felt sorry for anyone who had to deal with him, especially those who had to ask for a loan. The tension in the room was extremely heavy. Finally, Blaine Smith spoke, still not looking up.

Yea, he works here, was his comment.

I’m well aware of that, Mr. Smith; my late husband hired him for the job. I’m not looking for a reference, Mr. Smith; I feel I know him remarkably well. I am just asking if you would release him to work for me. Sarah Livingston worked hard to maintain her composure.

What the hell for, to clean that old, ramshackle farm house of yours? Blaine Smith finally looked up to address Sarah Livingston.

By this time, Mrs. Livingston had had it with his foul mouth and arrogant attitude. She stood up to leave. The banker looked at her and said, Yes, I’ll release him. Take him today if you want him. His kind are a dime a dozen around here.

Sarah Livingston had about all she could take. She pointed her shaking finger at him and replied, "Blaine Smith you are lower than the mat at my front door. I will give him gainful employment, and I will pray for your soul that it will not burn in hell!"

Blaine Smith straightened up in his chair, never standing to see her out, and replied, I’m in church every Sunday, Mrs. Livingston. Thank you very much.

Well it hasn’t helped you any, Mr. Smith. Maybe you need to go earlier next Sunday and stay later too, while you’re at it. Sarah resisted preaching Blaine Smith a sermon, but she could well have done so. She had a respect for all people and it grieved her to see those who did not. As she turned to walk out she looked at him and said, And if Madison had another bank, I would take my business there in a heart-beat.

You do that, retorted Blaine Smith, knowing he was safe in saying it.

Sarah Livingston walked out of the bank, nodding at the silent tellers as she walked by. She knew they had heard the spirited conversation between the two. They had her sympathy.

Out back she walked around behind the bank where her horse and buggy were waiting. Growing up in China she had never learned to drive. After marrying Mr. Livingston, he always drove, so there was no reason for her to learn. Besides, she felt extremely comfortable in her grandfather’s buggy. She usually got a lot of thinking done as she rode along in silence except for the rhythmic hoof beats of her horse on the fully packed gravel road.

However, this time she needed more than just a buggy ride to clear her head. The attitude of Blaine Smith toward the colored people in her community had shaken Sarah Livingston to the core. She knew those attitudes existed in Madison, but she had not experienced such until that day. As she left the bank, Sarah turned her buggy in the direction of the church. She could always find the solace she needed there. She also wanted to pray for the soul of Blaine Smith.

It was a short ride from the bank to the Baptist Church where Sarah attended. The church building was much larger than Madison needed, but it had been constructed before the great depression when Madison was a growing, thriving community. After the great crash of 1929, the growth of the town had stagnated. The building stood as a monument to the faith of those who had gone before. One day Madison would again grow, and the church building would be there to accommodate that growth.

Sarah dropped the reigns of her horse under the shade of a large oak tree that stood out to the left of the church. The door was unlocked. It always was in Madison. Sarah went in and closed the door. Although the weather was warming up on the outside, it was cool in the large brick church. She went down about midway, and seated herself in a pew, next to the aisle. She sat with her head in her hands for a long while. Then she looked up. The beauty of the sun illuminating a stained glass window almost took her breath away. As she gazed upon the window, she felt the anger toward Blaine Smith slowly depart her body. Then she prayed, and while she was praying she heard a door open and close. Finally she heard footsteps coming down the aisle. Sarah did not look around. She was still deep in thought. After a moment, the footsteps stopped, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Then she heard a soft voice.

Sarah? She immediately recognized the voice of the pastor.

Brother Redding, Sarah responded. It’s always so good to see you.

I saw your horse and buggy outside, and I wanted to come over and see if you were all right, the pastor explained.

I’m all right, Brother Redding, And then as if to reassure herself, said again, I’m all right. Sarah and the entire congregation always addressed their pastor as Brother Redding. She felt particularly close to him. He had been at the church a long time. He knew her grandparents and her missionary father and mother. He knew Mr. Livingston and had performed the wedding ceremony for them. He was like a member of the family. He was also her connection with the past as they often talked about her grandparents who were faithful members of the church. She had spent precious little time with them, only when her parents came home to Madison on furlough from their work in China.

Sarah, something is bothering you. I can see it in your face. Please let me share it with you. The compassionate pastor was already a comfort to Sarah by just being there.

Brother Redding, it’s difficult for me to realize there are people in this world who think they are superior to everyone else. Sarah looked at the pastor as she spoke.

"Sarah, there always has been and always will be those kinds of people among us. We just can’t let them take us down with them. When they begin to shine they can cause problems for all of us. However, we must remember we are not responsible for their actions. How they feel and how they talk may make us sad, but that does not change the fact that God loves all of his people. We have to pray they will wake up and realize that truth. Then we have to