Elder Interviews: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Elder Interview: Benjamin G. Neely

What is your earliest childhood memory?

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At four years old, I would wait for Ms. Sally Sullivan, a teacher, and run to meet her after school. I was too young to go to school.

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Describe the personalities of your parents and life in their household.

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Dad was a businessman. His business was farming. Smart dresser. Wore tailor-made suits. He was strict. Mom was the sweetest woman in the world. She was called Missie. She would bake mudhoe pies just for me. On Sunday mornings, we went through the Bible before eating, then we'd pray. Everyone had to go to church. Mama was quiet (and) nice. If other boys had money and I didn't, she'd call me over and give it to me.

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What kinds of games did you play growing up? What was your favorite thing to do for fun?

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Playing baseball and rabbit hunting. We played baseball with other children from nearby churches.

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What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up?

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In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed a law that changed how we were paid. Before that I had been working from the time the sun rose to the time it went down for one dollar a day. After Roosevelt's policy changes, I started making twenty-five cents an hour and working eight hours.

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How was Christmas celebrated in your family?

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Christmas was celebrated for a whole week. We would go house hopping. There was always plenty of food. We spent Christmas in church. There was always a church program.

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When and how did you meet your spouse?

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I met my spouse at church. Everyone from the neighborhood went to church. Our first date was in a church.

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How would you describe your spouse? What did you admire most about her?

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She was very quiet. Loved to cook and loved family, hers and her in-laws.

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Having been married for 67 years, what do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?

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Commitment to God and family.

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Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?

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I admired my Mama for her kindness. I learned from her to deal justly and love mercifully. She taught me to do the right thing even when things are not happening the way you want and it pays off. I learned to help others too.

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What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

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If anyone needed help and I didn't help, I didn't know they needed help and if I hurt anyone, I didn't mean to.

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December 2010

*Interview by Thomas Weldon Garrett Jr.

*Photography by Precious Garrett

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To submit additional Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan elder interviews please contact any member of the 2012 planning committee.

Recipes: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Denise (Garrett) Frederick's Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey or beef

1 large onion

2 tbsp basil

2 tbsp oregano

2 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp thyme

1-2 tbsp salt (to taste)

1 large jar of spaghetti sauce

4 lbs of mozzarella cheese

1 large container (16 oz) of ricotta cheese

1 quarter cup of balsamic vinegar

1 lb of ziti pasta

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Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil pasta until al dente (tender but slightly firm) then drain.

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In a large skillet brown on medium the ground meat, onion, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, garlic, and salt.

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Combine drained noodles, browned meat mixture, spaghetti sauce, 3 lbs of mozzarella, ricotta cheese, and balsamic vinegar into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 pound of mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

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Enjoy!

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To submit additional Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan recipes please contact any member of the GNS2012 planning committee.

Recipes: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Eva Mae Garrett's Lemon Pie

Ingredients:
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip or non-dairy whipped topping
2 lemons
1 graham or shortbread ready made pie crust

Instructions:
Combine sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and the juice of the lemon in a bowl. With a large spoon manually stir ingredients for 15 minutes (time spent incorporating the ingredients improves the taste).

Pour the contents into the ready made pie crust of your choice. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours prior to serving.

Enjoy!

To submit additional Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan family recipes please contact any member of the 2012 planning committee.

Elder Interviews: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Elder Interview: Mary Lee (Garrett) Thompson

What is your earliest childhood memory?

I used to pick berries and pull cotton (smiles)

We worked on a farm and picked cotton and cleaned things. When things needed to get done the children did it. Ain't no one person did it, we all did it.

Who were your heroes growing up?

I looked up to my parents growing up; I also looked up to my uncle Fredrick, he was a teacher.

What was your favorite music back then?

At that time people started buying children small radios and everybody started getting them. We had one for the whole family. We listened to all kinds of music.

How were the holidays?

We went to visit our people. Grandparents and aunts. I had two grandmothers and they all came around at the same time. We played. In the country if it was a holiday and the family got together we would play pitch ball and games like that. We had a good time then because most of the time it was a family gathering. Not one family, all families.

What was your favorite pet?

Country people mostly had dogs. We had a dog named Trouble. He would take care of the family and our home. He was crazy about the family, he knew everything about our family. My daddy used to carry him hunting.

What was your favorite toy growing up?

We all played together it was a big family. Whatever toy one had it was for everybody.

What other chores did you do growing up?

We washed clothes for the family and I helped cook and wash and milk the cows. We did all of that. When evening came we had to feed the cows and milk the cows and my mother always had a lot of chickens. We had a house built special for the chickens. All we had to do was throw food in for them.

What is the one thing you want people to remember about you?

I don't know...I will have to do a lot of thinking about that.


November 21, 2010
*Interview by Albert Elton Garrett III
*Photography by Precious Garrett

To submit additional Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan elder interviews please contact any member of the 2012 planning committee.

Elder Interviews: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Elder Interview: Thomas (Tom) Weldon Garrett Sr.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Riding a mule. When I was coming up we had a mule...three of them. I have been riding mules since I was about 5 or 6 years old. I also had a horse named Texas for 26 years.

What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?

Baseball and The Negro Leagues. When Jackie Robinson made it, I felt that one day I would make it. I was about 14 years old when he made it.
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How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?

More Love...there is no Jim Crow. You get a chance to love everybody. We were taught what to do and what not to do, it was the only way we were going to make it. Most of the time when you respect people they will respect you. Most people respected my dad.

What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents?

They were always good, there were 11 children. We would go to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. On Christmas we went to my grandfather's (my mother's father)
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What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?

You have to find the right one...I still love them, but you have to have the right one.

Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?

I tell you my mama, my daddy always gave good advice but my mom's advice was better...she told me to keep God first.
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What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

The good things that I did and I could name a lot of them (laughs)
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November 21, 2010
*Interview by Albert Elton Garrett III
*Photography by Precious Garrett

To submit additional Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan elder interviews please contact any member of the 2012 planning committee.

2012 Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan Family Reunion: "There's no place like home"

"The Garrett, Neely, and Sullivan families first came together in Laurens County, South Carolina during 'slavery time.' Thus, as is true of most black families in slavery, 'only bits and pieces of their individual histories survive, fragmentary clues about who these people were.'3 In this regard, the descendants of Garretts, Neelys, and Sullivans are somewhat fortunate because their forbears retained strong family identities."

-LaBrenda Garrett Nelson (The Source: The Garrett, Neely, and Sullivan Families, 2008, p.2)