PIECE-A-WAY CROSSROADS

By Gloria Gipson Suggs

Piece-A-Way Crossroads is a work of fiction used on the life of a couple, Peter and Rhea, who lived in Marshall County, Mississippi, from the 1930's through the 1960s. It is written from the perspective of Jeannie, one of their daughters, who invites the readers t

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC
• Release date: Jun 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890910554

Gloria Gipson Suggs

Gloria Gipson Suggs is a native of Marshall County, MS, where she continues to reside with her husband Franklin; she is a mother of two children named Michael and Linda, and a grandmother of a grandson named Langston. Gloria is the eleventh of seventeen, born to Sam Percy and Versie Ree Jones Gipson.After attending one-and two-room elementary schools, she received a diploma from St. Mary's High School in Holly Springs MS. She accomplished her B.S. degree in Biology from Rust College and a M.Ed. degree in Curriculum Development and Instructions from Memphis State University which is now U of M in Memphis, TN. When her 20+ years career as an educator was brought to a sudden halt after several accidents, she turned to things she loved as a child-performing, writing, drawing and published 3 books, one in 1983, 1998, and 2013.As a multi-talented artist, she uses the creation of her art, poetry, short stories, and songs to tell the stories passed on to her of African and Native American heritage and rituals.

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Piece-A-Way Crossroads

Copyright © 2023 by Gloria Gipson Suggs.

Published in the United States of America

ISBN Paperback: 979-8-89091-054-7

ISBN Hardback: 979-8-89091-058-5

ISBN eBook: 979-8-89091-055-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of ReadersMagnet, LLC.

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Contents

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Come Piece- A- Way With Me

Ancestral History: The People Who Made the Difference

Leah: A Long Ways From Home

Jeremiah and Ruth: Freedom And Land In Marshall County

Isaac: The Community Merchant

Jacob and Sarah: Community Planners With A Big Red Truck

Martin and Rachael: The Molasses Man And The Midwife

Barbara: The Stork Lady

A Place Called Home

Peter and Rhea: They Said It Would Not Last

Their Second Home

Just Another Ghost Story?

Education is the Key

People and Their Crossroads

Ralph and Hannah: Keep The Family Together

Louis and Lula: New Meaning To A Helping Hand

Benjamin and Victoria: That Beautiful Couple

TJ and Beth: Humor Will Go A Long Way

Robert and Mandau: The Hospitality Couple

Walter and Mary: Where Color Did Not Matter

Wayne and Emma: The Chulahoma Connection

Teachers Of Teachers And Other People

Paul and Jewel: Supporters Of Others, Especially Children

Russell and Vera: An Encouraging Word

Zack: The Student Who Could Not Read

Jeannie: The Smart Girl Who Stuttered

Roads to St. Mary’s: Narrated by Jeannie

Integration of a Different Matter

Fun Times

Timothy and Sylvia: A Teacher And The Picnic

Man’s Call To Play Ball

That Fishing Pond

Luke: The Hunter and carpenter

Tell about that Honky-tonk

Christmas with Little Willie and the Five Keys

Scary and Bold Times

Henry: The Snake Catcher

The Dogs Howled All Night

Narrow Escape: A moment of danger

You Are Gonna Get a Whoppin’ for That

Questionable and Uncertain Feelings

Who Sees the Beauty?

Life’s Ups and Downs

A Child in Despair

We Did Not Know You

The Depot, Country Stores, and Experimental Farm

The Depot

That Country Store

The Experimental Farm

It Was All About Cotton

The Choppers

The Pickers

Put Away the Hoes and Sacks

It’s Church Time

Gatewood Missionary Baptist Church

Hudsonville Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Isom Chapel CME Church

Kimbrough Chapel Missionary Baptist Church

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank her immediate family, Franklin, Michael, Linda, and Langston for the love, patience, suggestions, and encouragement given during the writing of Piece-A-Way Crossroads.

She would also like to thank her parents, sisters, brothers, and the many relatives, friends, and families of North Mississippi who helped to shape the way she viewed life in rural America.

Introduction

Piece-A-Way Crossroads is a story of fiction that is based on the life of a couple, Peter and Rhea, who lived in Marshall County, Mississippi during the 1930s through the 1960s. One of their daughters, Jeannie, invites the readers to come piece-a-way with her as she tells their story. She invites them to come along and meet some of the people and see some of the places her parents encountered during difficult, turbulent and sometimes beautiful times; The Great Depression and the desegregation issues. To show how her parents, Peter and Rhea, dealt with these difficult and sensitive situations and issues, Jeannie integrates stories, poetry, and art in a story telling format.

Come Piece- A- Way With Me

Come piece- a- way with me

I am afraid

I have not traveled this path before

I have not gone that distant path

That leads to a distant shore

Come, hold my hand

Show me the way

Help me prepare myself for things ahead

Help me gather my thoughts

Tell me what to say

Come piece- a- way with me

Down the long road

And into the dark

I am just a little afraid

I hope my nerves want soon depart

For generations, you came with me

Down the road

A few miles from home

The distant crossroads I had to travel

I knew I would not be alone

Ancestral History:

The People Who Made the Difference

Leah:

A Long Ways From Home

Leah was brought from Africa to Mobile, Alabama, in the early 1840s. She was sold and transported to the McGhee Plantation in Florence, Alabama. While in slavery, she had a son named Jeremiah. She died in Florence during the 1860s

Jeremiah and Ruth:

Freedom And Land In Marshall County

When Leah’s son, Jeremiah, was set free from slavery, he met and married a lady named Ruth who was a descendant of the Native American tribe, Choctaw. They had 10 children, one of whom was named Sarah. They thought about joining the Underground Railroad in search of a better life after slavery until they heard land could be bought for $0.25 an acre in Marshall County. So Jeremiah, Ruth, and their family, left Florence, Alabama and traveled on foot to a plantation called, Twenty-Four. This plantation was located on the Benton and Marshall County lines, near old highway 7. In order to earn and save money, they worked as sharecroppers on this plantation for several years. Then, Jeremiah moved his family to Marshall County in 1906 and bought land that was part of the Graves Plantation.

Forty Acres and a Mule

When they got their papers

Stating they were free

Generations of bonded brothers

Shouted out with glee

Some felt it did not matter

As long as they were free

They were given a mule and forty acres

And forty dollars to buy some seeds

North they went looking for fortune

East and west- for fame

South they went seeking shelter

And to see a familiar face

They were bonded together as brothers

For generations or two

They united again as brothers

Forty acres and a mule didn’t do

They united again as brothers

Forty acres