R J Reynolds High School - Black and Gold Yearbook (Winston Salem, NC)

Page 15 text:

THE BLACK AND GOLD 13 Qlhrintmaa at thr Img human T WAS just two days before Christmas and lfncle Jan and Aunt Nancy sat by the fire in the cabin, talking of the Christmases that were past and the Christmas that was to come. For the first time in their lives they were to spend Christmas away from home. By '4home they meant the big house on the hill, miles and miles away, where for three score years and more they had been, first slaves and then servants, of the Jeffer- son family. Uncle Jan had been the butler and Aunt Nancy the family nurse. She had nursed all HMiss Annie 's chill- uns, and later, after young Marse Robert had brought his charming young wife home, Aunt Nancy had again be- come mistress of the nursery. Marse Robert's only child was little Miss Elizabeth, and being Aunt Nancy 's charge from birth up, she was naturally devoted to her. Things had changed greatly now. During the past year both the dear old Massa and Missus had passed away. After their death Marse Robert had yielded to his wife 's plans to allow Uncle Jan and Aunt Nancy, who were now very old and feeble, to go live with their son Jacob in a nearby negro settlement. 'LI say, Jan, 'twont seem Christmas dis year t'all. Dis am de fust time in all dis nigger's life dat she did'en hope fix fer Christmas et de Big House, en de fust time dat we aint gwine to eat turkey en de sech like in de kitchen of de Big House, Aunt Nancy remarked, gazing wistfully into the fire. I tole ye so, ole womun. I knowed et wuz gwine ter cum. Las' Christmas I stood by en waited on de Massa en de Missus when dey et dere denner. May de good Iiawd

Page 14 text:

12 THE BLACK AID GOLD siekeningly in the saddle. hut exerting her Will. straightened up. delivered the paper to the man in charge of the soldiers. and told him the story of the afternoons happenings. Then quite overcome and exhausted. she lurehed forvvard in the saddle and would have fallen had not one of the soldiers leaped forvvard and caught her. The next day Janice yvas taken home, and her parents, after hearing of her adventure. were indeegl proud of her. -Hope E. Briggs. '1-L ,...i...-1. En my Iittlr C9112 Come. come. my little vveary one. And lay your head upon my breast. And before the summer day is done Your tired mind vvill be at rest. Avvalte. axvake. my little rested one, 'Tis time for you to rise. For fully an hour the sun Has been sinking in the skies. -Emily Vaughn. 'l5. V QW

Page 16 text:

1!, THE BLACK AND GOLD bless 'emi I sez nuthin' 't all 'gin Marse Robert, but I tell yo' dat's a new Missus ob de Big House, Uncle Jan re- marked, huskily. It jes 'pears ter me dat ef I aint at the Big House to welcum my precious chile hum from school, it won't be Christmas 't all. Dat hit wont, Aunt Nancy replied, re- ferring to Elizabeth, who was now attending a fashionable boarding school in the city. HCose I likes it here wid Jacob, but seems ter me dat my days air done en de Lawd jes' fergits ter let me die, poor Jan slowly remarked from his corner by the fire. 4'Jan, dunno yo' talk lak dat! De good Lawd knows his business mo' den us po' niggers does, Aunt Nancy severely rebuked him. Early next morning Aunt Nancy was brushing up the hearth, and Uncle Jan, who could scarcely walk even with a cane, was laboriously bringing in wood from the snowy yard without, when a big gray touring car came driving up in front of Jacob 's cabin. In an instant, dozens of little negroes were upon the scene, for the appearance of an au- tomobile was quite an event in such a little village at this time. A well dressed little girl of about thirteen years of age got out of the car and hurriedly ran into the cabin. Ch, Mammy Nannie! she cried, Hyou didn't think I'd let you spend Christmas in such a place as this, did you? And she threw her arms around the old negro 's neck. f'Honey! Honey! was all Aunt Nancy could say, as the tears streamed down her black face. '4And here's Uncle Jan, Elizabeth continued. '4How good it is to see you all. Now both of you hurry and get ready, for I've come to take you back home to spend Christ- mas. When I came home and found that you were not at home, I simply couldn't stand it, so I made papa let me come over after you, for it wouldn 't be Christmas if Mam-