Mae's Journey

By Lillie Butler

It is the Deep South in the 1930s. Mae is just three when her father is tragically killed by white men. A short time later, her distraught mother flees the plantation for the big city. Now left in the care of her grandmother, Big Mama, little Mae has unfortunately already discovered that life is uncertain and that nothing is promised. Despite her best efforts, she cannot forgive or forget her beloved daddy’s death.

As Mae continues her coming-of-age journey in a wooden-drafted four-room building, she learns how to love, pray, and hope for better days, even as she faces obstacles and negative forces that make her life almost unbearable at times. Because of her strong moral values, she is called “Miss Goody Two-Shoes” by her classmates. Still, Mae presses on, attains good grades, and sets a lofty goal for herself to attend college. But will she be able to persevere and find a purpose for her life, despite her trials, tribulations, and disappointments?

In this historical tale, an African American girl growing up on a plantation must learn how to endure her challenges and dream big in order to escape her fate and realize happiness and success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665733168

Lillie Butler

Lillie Butler is a retired teacher, a retired librarian and widow who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. When she is not writing, she enjoys reading, enjoys classic music concerts, attending live performances, acting, and directing plays and skits. Lillie has three children, three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and resides in Covington, Louisiana. This is her first book.

Book preview

Mae’s

Journey

LILLIE BUTLER

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Copyright © 2022 Lillie Butler.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Graphics/Art Credit: Sandra Williams

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3314-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3315-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3316-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022920812

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/11/2022

Contents

1Mae

2Big Mama

3Pawpoo

4Do-G

5Jenesa

6Mr. Boo

7Home on the Plantation

8Big Mama’s Sunday Dinners

9Hog-Butchering Day

10Big Mama’s Tales

11Grade School

12Middle School

13The Big House

14Vacation

15Church

16Baptism

17Monster

18Siblings

19The Doctor Is In

20First Love

21Big Move

22High School

23The University

24Seeking Employment

25Mae’s Delights

26Mae’s Displeasures

Questions Suggested for Book Club Discussion

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

Here is a glimpse into the life of Mae, who struggled with the loss of both parents and experienced other obstacles that sometimes made her life seemed unbearable.

She set goals for herself and was determined to achieve them. She didn’t give up but worked hard until they were accomplished.

Throughout her journey, she endured ups and downs, but they made her a better and stronger person.

For my children: Germaine, Florence, and Frederic; my grandchildren: Jennifer, Christine, Matthew, (Maddy): and my great-grandchildren: Caleb, Kylie, Marleigh, Madison, Maci, and Kaiden.

For Colleen Early Hoover, Lonzetta Burris, and Faye Prendergast who kept me on track with encouragement and prayers.

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Innocent we come into the

world unaware of what

life has in store for us

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One

MAE

The morning light shined through the open blinds on one balmy morning in May. It was going to be a beautiful day, not yet hot and humid as usual in Xavierville, the big city, this time of year.

Everything was all set and ready for the arrival of Jenesa and Do-G’s firstborn. Jenesa had been experiencing labor pains for several hours, so the midwife had been summoned and had stayed overnight, waiting in great anticipation. This was something she had done for many years for many families in this area of the city.

Just as everyone was about to sit and have breakfast, the little bundle of joy decided to make her entrance into the world. First, there was the muffled sound of Jenesa throughout the little shotgun house and the voice of the midwife calmly telling Jenesa to breathe, push, and relax. She gently placed a cool cloth on Jenesa’s forehead. You are doing fine, she said.

More pushing, relaxing, and breathing followed; then finally the tiny, long-legged baby girl emerged and immediately exercised her lungs. Although she was full term, she weighed less than six pounds.

It would seem the biggest thing about her was her mouth. She had no problem being heard.

Jenesa and Do-G couldn’t be prouder despite the squalling. They waited anxiously while the midwife washed and prepared their baby for a formal presentation.

Jenesa, you done good, and this child sure has a good set of lungs. You going to have to learn how to feed her. Lord, this child sure is ready to eat already, and she just got here, the midwife said proudly with her hand on her hips.

Breastfeeding was easier said than done, and Jenesa hadn’t looked forward to it. After days of useless attempts to get her baby girl fed properly, she was on the verge of tears. Do-G tried to console her, but his effort was unsuccessful.

We have to do something, or this child is going to starve, he said to Jenesa. She isn’t getting enough to eat, and no one is getting much sleep.

What do you want me to do? Jenesa said. The tears started to flow again, and so did the squalling.

All night Do-G tried to think of what to do. He thought of his mother, Big Mama, for he knew she would know what to do, but it was in the middle of the night, and he had no way to contact her anyway. He would have to wait until the weekend to find a way to get to the plantation to speak with his mother. In the meantime, he had to come up with a solution to their problem.

Early the next morning, as soon as the little grocery on the corner opened, Do-G was there. He bought cans of evaporated milk, two baby bottles, and some nipples. He rushed home to put together some type of formula that might satisfy his baby girl until he could get to the plantation to speak with his mother.

He boiled the bottles and nipples and set them aside. Then he boiled more water and poured it into a bottle, added an equal amount of evaporated milk, put in a small amount of honey, placed a nipple on the bottle, and gave it a good shake. He tested the liquid’s temperature by letting out a little drop on the inside of his wrist. It was perfect.

Daddy’s coming, baby girl, he called from the kitchen. He was so proud of himself, but he wondered whether his formula would work. It wasn’t the best solution, but it was all he could think of at the time.

Jenesa smiled as she took the bottle from Do-G’s hand and placed it in the baby’s mouth. The little baby girl was sucking on the nipple and trying to get as much as she could from the bottle as fast as she could. They looked at each other and smiled and waited. As soon as the baby girl had as much as she wanted, she fell asleep. She slept for a long period and seemed happy. Jenesa took this opportunity to get a little sleep as well. Do-G, in the meantime, went into the kitchen to prepare a second bottle for when their baby girl woke up.

The weekend wasn’t coming fast enough. Things were better but not the best. Jenesa was restless and not doing well with this mothering thing. She wanted Do-G to speak to Big Mama to see what she had to say.

Big Mama had answers to every question and didn’t hesitate to let you know what she thought. She had warned Do-G about this big city girl who she felt knew nothing about taking care of him, and now there was this baby.

Do-G had spoken to his mother about the issues they were having, and she hadn’t said, I told you so. She’d just looked at him and shaken her head.

Lord, have mercy. I can’t move to the city, so you will have to move your family here, if you want to do that, she said to Do-G. Big Mama was willing to help with her first grandchild. She had helped other mothers with their children and would be happy to do the same for her own flesh and blood.

Big Mama didn’t know how Jenesa would take the idea of them moving to the plantation if only for a few weeks or months, but she immediately started to prepare for their arrival.

When Do-G returned home, he told Jenesa what Big Mama had suggested. She didn’t want to leave the big city, but she didn’t have a problem with having someone help her to care for the baby and do the cooking and cleaning. However, she didn’t look forward to living on the plantation. She had spent a few days visiting there before and spent the whole time waiting for the day she could return to the big city. Plantation life wasn’t for her. As soon as the baby was older and needed less care, she would be moving back to her life in the city, she thought.

Big Mama and her husband, Do-G’s stepdaddy, had been on this plantation since 1930. It was located not far from an area everyone called down the bayou. When you arrived at Highway 1 on the way from the big city to Sugarville, Louisiana and turned left, you were headed down the bayou. If you turned right, you were headed up the bayou to Tuckerville, the largest city in the parish.

Do-G and Jenesa decided they would start packing to make their way with their newborn and spend time on the plantation with Big Mama and Pawpoo.

Pawpoo would speak with the overseer of the plantation to see about getting Do-G hired as a field worker, for he would need the money to take care of his family.

She was excited but restless while thinking they might have a change of mind before the day arrived. Big Mama’s worries were all in vain, for Do-G and his family arrived on the day expected. Everyone was happy, and it didn’t take long for them to settle in with this new arrangement.

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Some are born into riches, fed

with a silver spoon, while others

must be hard workers, determined

and resourceful despite many

obstacles, if only to survive.

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Two

BIG MAMA

Nobody knew for sure where Big Mama had been born, perhaps somewhere on a plantation where her daddy had miraculously escaped, avoiding a brutal beating or death by a disgruntled overseer on the plantation where he had previously lived.

Somehow, she had found her way down the bayou to a little plantation between Merlinville and Bayouville.

She didn’t arrive alone, for she brought her three-year-old son and her youngest brother. Her son, whom she called Do-G, was an offspring from a previous relationship, which she didn’t discuss with anyone. God forbid that anyone would dare to ask. Her brother had been in her care since the passing of her mother at an early age.

This little woman was small in stature, about five feet and a couple of inches tall. She weighed about 120 pounds and didn’t take sass from anyone.

At an early age, she had to work to help support her family, which included an ailing mother and four siblings. She had no former education; therefore, she didn’t know how to read or write. What she lacked in education, she made up in wisdom and love for other people. She had a big heart and never failed to help others in need. They didn’t have to ask if she knew they needed help.

Big Mama was a nickname given to her by the children of a woman she had invited into her home. She had taken care of them until the woman found a man who later became her husband. He was able to provide a home for her and her children.

She loved to cook and had cooked since she was a young girl. Her daddy had made a wooden bench for her to stand on so she could reach the stove. Some foods, such as sweet potatoes and corn, were placed in the hot ashes in the fireplace.

Soon after arriving on this little plantation, she met the man she would end up marrying. His nickname was Pawpoo, which he had acquired from the children on the plantation. He was the overseer over the Blacks on the plantation and took his orders from the White overseer, who oversaw this sugarcane plantation for the plantation’s owner.

At one time upon her arrival, she ran what she called a boarding house, but she provided food for only the single or married men who were living there temporarily to help harvest the sugarcane.

Sometimes there was trouble with the men who came to dinner because they liked some meals but disliked others. She simply told them, Enjoy the ones you like and let others enjoy the ones they like. I can’t please all of you all the time. This seemed to work for them mostly because they had nowhere else to eat and couldn’t cook for themselves. Another big problem they had was not much money. They were paid very little and had to save most of what they were paid to take home to feed their family when harvest time was over.

Another thing that attracted these men to Big Mama’s cooking was the home brew they on various occasions got to drink. This was a type of beer Big Mama made, which they enjoyed sipping after a long, hot day in the fields.

These workers and others who lived permanently on the plantation worked for several months manually cutting sugarcane stalks and loading them onto makeshift trailers connected to tractors. After this was done, the sugarcane was transported to a sugar mill not far from the plantation.

These men worked hard by cutting the cane, burning it, and getting it ready for loading from early morning to late evening. They weren’t given breaks but were allowed to stop for a brief lunch.

Women worked in the fields as well, and so did Big Mama at times. The women had to endure more heat and discomfort than the men due to how they dressed.