Jim Spradley - Child of Sharecroppers - Rural Georgia - 166

 Mr. Jim Spradley was born in 1923. He was the child of sharecroppers in Dooly County, Georgia.

This is the first part of my interview with Jim. At the time of this interview he was 91 years old. (By the way, one of his dogs was sitting with him on the couch, from time to time you can hear the dog at his side.)

This episode is focused on growing up in rural Georgia.

Our talk is an excellent source of information for generating discussions with students about life in rural Georgia on farms.

You will hear Jim- also known as Watson and Bud- recall going to school, buying supplies, working on the farm, and daily life.

Food for thought... How could you use Jim's recollections of his life to create an engaging activity for your classes?

He talks about overalls, sharecropper, mules, cotton, and much more. Could you use these words to help explain life on a farm in rural Georgia?

Listen to his story about not wearing shoes for the class picture. What did the boys try to get away with and why?

At the conclusion of this episode we even talk about needing to see a doctor.

By the way, at the beginning of the episode, you hear Jim mentioning an interaction with a WWI veteran who he ran into just before he shipped out to WWII. He was worried about what was going to happen and whether he would return and the gentleman wanted to tell him stories about WWI. He promised himself that he would never tell boring stories of how he won the war. I think that you will discover that these stories are far from boring.

Thanks for listening.

 Enjoy!

Length - 27:17