Local Maid Found Hung, Suicide Suspected
June 10, 1952
Dear Addie,
I know you’ve heard the news. We all have, and we all know that woman didn’t hang herself. The Ws got her. And they got her good. We thought the family would handle the body over in Oakland because that’s where the Ws got hold of her and left the body. But the family wants what’s left of her to come back here to Charleston because that’s where she was born and where her only living family member is.
That means Delwayne has to take care of that body. So tonight, when the dark comes, he and I have to drive to the family’s house and get her. The Ws say she killed that woman she worked for. Say she poisoned that old white woman little by little. Say the husband was the one who put all the facts together and told the police. Supposedly she got so scared that she climbed right up to the top of that red oak tree, tied a piece of old rope around her neck, and jumped down as hard as she could.
I’m sorry to hear our Gertrice is sick. I wish we lived closer so I could come help like I used to in the old days before you and Josiah moved so far away. Now before you say I’m meddling, I’m happy Josiah got a job building the I-55 bridge. It’s good money, and I know how hard it was for him to get on. I just miss you. That’s all.
When all else fails, a good pound cake satisfies. Remember to add fresh lemon to the buttermilk like Mama used to do. I know you don’t need me to tell you this, but it’s my duty (smile).
Rev. Nathan hasn’t said anything yet, but Addie, I’m scared. I don’t know why, but my spirit can’t be still about this woman. This time is different.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
June 13, 1952
Dear Addie,
I knew something was wrong. I just knew it. When Delwayne and I got to that house, the body was laid out in the back room. They had her covered with a sheet.
Addie, the woman wasn’t just hung like the paper said. Her hair is snatched out the roots, and her face is all bashed in, nose gone. She has bruises all over what is left of her body. All under her dress, down to her knees, skin is torn away like she was run over with a blade, and her feet are burned off. She didn’t do that to herself, no matter what the Ws said happened.
Delwayne didn’t want to let it touch him, but he was surprised by what he saw. He’s done a lot of bodies, but to see a woman this way hurt his feelings. I saw him wiping his eyes, but I didn’t say anything to him about it because I didn’t want to upset him any more than he already was.
The husband, Early Shaw, was supposed to be there to help us get the body into the car, but he’s in the hospital down in Jackson. He was at work in the field when he found out. Say his pressure went up, and his heart almost busted wide open. They made it to the doctor with him just in time.
The family still hasn’t told the children what happened. All those babies know is that their Mama is dead and their Daddy is sick. They weren’t at the house when we got there. Right now, they’re staying with one of Early’s sisters up in Memphis. Thank goodness.
Do you know I had to help Delwayne for the first time ever? As long as we’ve been running the funeral home, he has never asked me to help do anything with the bodies at all.
The woman didn’t look very big, but I could tell that she was solid and well-built before everything happened. I can’t say if she was tall, but she was shorter than she would’ve been if she still had her feet. I didn’t realize how much our feet added to our height. I wanted to cry out when Delwayne and I lifted her, but I just prayed and asked God to help me as always.
Delwayne and I didn’t say one word all the way back home.
This time something big is going to happen. All the preachers in Charleston, Water Valley, and Oakland have been meeting. Rev. Nathan announced at church Sunday for everybody to be at Bible study if we could. He said he was coming to choir practice on Thursday and would be at the NBC meeting early Sunday. During his sermon, he reminded us of 1 Peter 3:14, But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. He said it’s our duty to stand up against what we know is wrong and be courageous. All week, I’ve been reading that verse and praying that the truth comes to light.
I don’t think I would’ve gone with Delwayne to the meeting had anybody been in charge but Rev. Nathan. He’s brave and isn’t afraid to stand up and tell the truth right to our faces and to the Ws, too. But still, sometimes I worry about him. He’s been preaching about voting and making sure we stand together as a community. He does good work all through the state and keeps us uplifted even in the hardest times, but lately, he’s gotten too thin, running himself ragged. It’s too bad he doesn’t have a wife to help him. Plenty of women seem to like him, and I was going to ask him about that, but when I mentioned it to Delwayne, he told me to drop the subject. I still prayed about it, though. When the time is right for Rev. Nathan to find a wife, God will provide.
Rev. Nathan also called for all the Negro organizations to work together to support the Shaw family. He’s told us that this is not the time to air our differences or focus on our shortcomings. He said that because a woman has been killed that another door to terrorizing our people has been opened. Is no one safe? When he asked that, I grabbed Delwayne’s hand and sat closer to him because that question sent chills down my spine. Even Delwayne had goosebumps on his arm.
Rev. Nathan asked all of us to be extra careful. No woman should be in town after dark without a ride, and all of us who have cars will take turns making sure everyone in town has a ride anywhere they need to go.
Addie, a woman has never been lynched in Charleston before. This woman kept to herself. She worked for that white woman, took care of her kids, and minded her business. She never got into any arguments and never had a harsh word. Nothing. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if she was Satan’s left claw. She still wouldn’t deserve to be killed.
So glad that Gertrice is better and that it was just her getting her monthly. You know my Annie used to faint and vomit and swell up so big that she had to wear a maternity dress during her time.
Give my love to all the children and tell them that their auntie misses them. I’m going to send them some cookies when I get the chance. I know Gertrice likes gingerbread. But I will make oatmeal for Festus and pecan sandies for Desi. I’m also going to make a few hair bows and bow ties. Before you say it’s too much, just leave it to me. I bake for a living, but sewing helps me show my love in a different way. And with all that’s going on, it helps me calm my spirit.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
June 17, 1952
Addie,
I know I just sent you a letter last week, but I had to tell you this. The Ws wrote the woman’s full name in the paper. They said her name was Ruthie Cossar Shaw. She isn’t a stranger to us. We know her oldest sister. We went to school with her. She’s the school teacher here in Charleston, Ellen Cossar. Ellen Cossar was my classmate. She is two years before you, just like I am. Ellen had fourteen other siblings, and out of all of them, Ruthie was the only one that survived. Ruthie is our classmate’s youngest sister. So Shaw was her married name.
She was only five years older than our Annie.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
July 2, 1952
Addie,
Ruthie’s funeral was packed. Hundreds from all over the state came to the church. We used all the chairs, pews, and benches in the church, and all the men were standing shoulder to shoulder by the time everything was over. Delwayne and I did the best we could to handle the crowd. I used to tease Delwayne about not knowing how to be sweet because he didn’t have sisters to teach him anything. But I was glad to have both of those big brothers helping us. John Hutch and Cleveland got everybody seated in the church, and they carried out anybody who fainted.
Ruthie had eight children, five tiny bright-skinned teenage boys and a set of triplets, brown big-fine girls, who are almost nine. They looked so pitiful walking in, the girls bigger than their brothers, none of them shedding a tear. Early is still in the hospital, but they say he will make it. Say he won’t be able to talk or walk for a while. I am grateful God heard my prayers this time because I begged Him not to take their daddy after losing their mother. Ruthie was a young woman, but Early is well over forty. Please pray with me for his continued improvement.
Ellen said we did an excellent job with the body. Said Ruthie looked just like she was laid up there sleeping. Ellen herself doesn’t look a day older than when we left school. She used to be rather plump, but she’s lost a lot of weight since Ruthie died. Who can blame her for that? She hugged and fell on me and kept thanking Delwayne for doing right by her sister.
Truth be told, I was the most worried about how Delwayne would fix her face since her nose was gone and since the family wanted the casket open. But by the time Delwayne got through with the wax, wood, and clay, she had a nose, just like the picture the family gave us. He matched her skin color perfectly. He had to go all the way up to Memphis to find hair for her. In the end, he got a wig that matched the picture the best he could, and I helped him style her hair a little more modern than the picture. I fixed up one of Annie’s headbands with ribbon and made a few daisies on it with some of the extra fabric I keep to make pillows and curtains. I still can’t get over how close in age Ruthie was to Annie. My stomach drops every time I think about it. It makes me want to be extra kind and loving to her.
Delwayne told me he was going to mail that picture back to them like he does everyone, but I thought it was best for us to take it back to the family in person since we know Ellen. We’re going after church on Sunday. Delwayne and Cleveland caught a few decent sized crappies the other day, about the size of my hand, so I’m going to fry them up and take them, too. I know they probably still have food left over from the repast, but I think it’s the proper thing to do.
I’m glad the children liked the cookies.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
July 29, 1952
Dear Addie,
About two weeks after the funeral, the preacher from Ruthie’s church came to the house when we were eating dinner and paid Delwayne all the money for the funeral, even though we had already decided we wouldn’t charge the family. He even gave us money for filling out the paperwork for the county, even though Delwayne told him that he would take care of it. He said his family wanted him to have it because it’s right, and they wanted to make sure they honor Ruthie in her death since her life was stolen from her so early. When Delwayne refused, he pushed the money into Delwayne’s shirt pocket anyway. I had to go to the back of the house in the bakery and wait until the preacher left because the tears wouldn’t stop coming. I didn’t embarrass Delwayne.
The paper tried to make the woman that Ruthie worked for out to be a saint. I read the woman’s obituary. Linda Boatwright. She was the president of the Women’s Auxiliary. That’s the same group that served plate dinners to the men who shot up the voting precinct when we started trying to vote last year. She was a lifelong member of the Concerned Citizens, and that’s the same group that burned down Rocky Branch Missionary Baptist church over in Tutwiler.
She’s had seven maids in the last two years, and Ruthie didn’t even work there for three months. They say that woman used to cuss at Ruthie, force her to do all types of demeaning things. She tried to whip Ruthie with an old horsewhip when she accidentally dropped a vase on the floor when she was changing the arrangement on the dining room table. She made Ruthie massage her feet and fix her hair like the women on magazine covers. Say the last night Ruthie worked for her, that Boatwright woman threw hot fish grease at her because she thought Ruthie didn’t use enough dressing in her coleslaw. The grease only hit one of Ruthie’s feet, but it burned it up really bad.
A few of the maids who used to work for her showed up with Rev. Nathan to the church meeting and told how nasty that woman’s laundry was and how she wouldn’t even wash her hands after she used the restroom. Say she downright refused to use toilet paper and wiped herself with hand towels instead. Say that woman used to fight her husband with her bare hands like she was a man herself. She had spells where she would rip at him and his clothes and accuse him of cheating on her with any other woman around town, like the sheriff’s wife or the judge’s daughter. Addie, she even accused that man of laying with his own mother.
I’ve seen the husband. He’s a lot younger than she is, dark-haired and tall. They say he came from West Memphis, and his folks are poor farmers who sell pecans and peanuts. That woman was born right here in Charleston and spent all her life here, never been anywhere else. Normally, I don’t keep up with the Ws’ business, but whenever they get through talking, no matter what kind of maid Ruthie was, that poor girl didn’t deserve what she got. Even if Ruthie did poison that woman like the Ws say, she still did the world a favor.
I’m going to close this letter now and make myself some tea.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
August 6, 1952
Dear Addie,
I’m not feeling so peppy these days, but thank goodness Early Shaw is out of the hospital. He is back to himself as much as he can be. He’s thinking straight, walking tall, and ready to raise all types of hell about Ruthie. Says he’s not about to let this go and that if it’s the last thing he does, he’s going to make the ones who murdered Ruthie pay. Rev. Nathan had to keep him from going to the sheriff’s office the same day he got out of the hospital.
The sheriff and judge consider the case closed, first off. And second of all, you know, if he went up there, the Concerned Citizens would be waiting on him before he could turn around and make the first step out toward the door to leave the building.
I’m not saying that Early shouldn’t be mad or that he shouldn’t investigate, but I am saying that he needs to act with care if he wants to keep his freedom and protect his family. What if the Ws do something to his children? Those boys are old enough to get jobs or go to school, but the girls are still young and can get hurt easily.
I’m just glad Early didn’t die and that he will be able to see his children grow up. The children are with Ellen here in Charleston now and going to school over here, too. She still lives in that big house off Highway 32, the same house she and Ruthie were born in. You know she’s never married or had any children herself, so I’m thinking about taking some clothes and some food from time to time, just to help her out, just to make things a little easier for her if I can.
Since I don’t feel quite myself, I think I’m going to just stay down the next few days. We don’t have that many big orders coming in the bakery until next week, and Delwayne has two funerals back-to-back out in the county. Tuesday and Saturday. You remember Mrs. Blackmon that used to teach us in Sunday School? She’s Tuesday. The one Saturday is the Jenner boy that got bitten by a water moccasin when he was out swimming in the river. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen.
I’ve been in the bakery as much as I can but still getting back in bed before the sun goes down. Delwayne comes in, rubs my feet, and reads the Bible to me while I try to relax. You know how much I love Psalms and the Song of Solomon. I feel awful that I’m taking up so much time and can’t get anything done, but Delwayne says that sometimes it’s hard not to have a broken spirit when we see all the death around us. He says that I need to take the time to not be out and about.
Delwayne thinks it’s my spirit, but I wonder, is my heart a little bit broken, too, Addie?
Love, Beulah-Marie.
August 20, 1952
Dearest Addie,
Forgive me for taking so long to respond to your letter. Annie came home from her summer classes, so I have been running around trying to sew a few dresses for her. You know how she is about colors and prints on fabric. Even though she refuses to wear lace or pleats, Delwayne and I couldn’t be more proud of her (smile). You know, desegregating schools up north still has the Ws in an uproar. In Kansas, a family sued because the Ws refused to let their daughter into the elementary school when the state ordered the schools to desegregate back in April. It’s been through all the courts, and now the Supreme Court is going to hear it. Nobody has paid much attention to it here, but you know Delwayne, and I read The Crisis, so anything going on anywhere we hear about through the NAACP.
Rev. Nathan says we need to watch what happens in Kansas because if the Supreme Court actually rules segregation is wrong, that one case all by itself could change the course of history for all of us. The army desegregated itself last year, and the trend is going to continue, or at least that’s what Rev. Nathan thinks. He says we must never normalize ourselves being treated like we aren’t citizens and taxpayers. Our taxes fund all these services, and we should have the same quality as the Ws. The only thing I wonder about the case is whether it’s more about being equal with the Ws and getting what they get or if it’s about us having our own but with the same resources. The Ws are all in the paper writing editorials. Say that regardless of what happens in Kansas, Charleston, Mississippi, it’s going to stay the way it is.
Unbelievably, Mississippi wants to train a few Negro women to work as extension home economists and teachers! I read this in the paper, too. But I didn’t pay much attention until Annie mentioned it, too. The job would be helping people in isolated rural areas learn to live healthier lives with fewer resources, so the women chosen would have to drive to lots of different little places, do presentations, and give talks, from what I understand. The governor here has agreed to try that program, but Delwayne and Rev. Nathan both say he only wants to watch it fail. They chose Hinds, Tallahatchie, and Leflore counties, so I’m guessing that’s down in Jackson, either here in Charleston or over in Webb, and over in Greenwood.
Delwayne says it’s money the government owes us from the New Deal. But here it is 1952, and we Negroes down here in the Delta haven’t seen a dime. I just don’t trust it, but Annie says she wants to do it.
I don’t agree with it, but I am not saying anything about how I feel to Annie. You know how she is. If I say anything, the whole situation will go from her thinking about something she heard about in the paper to her investigating and getting all up in the air about it.
She keeps trying to convince us that a program like that would be safe for her because she knows how to drive, how to take care of a car, and how to use a gun. She keeps reminding me that we have to trust the training we’ve given her, and we’ve had to do that since she left for Valley State in the first place.
Delwayne says we have to be careful about believing in any program because no matter what laws we have in place, the Ws always find a way around it or steal the benefits for themselves. He keeps trying to talk Annie out of being so interested in it. But she can take a little flak from him since she’s such a Daddy’s girl. I just don’t say anything when they’re debating. I close my eyes and press my lips together. I still prayed about it, though.
I understand why ending segregation seems to be a good idea to so many people, but I’m afraid that down the line, it won’t work. It’s true that so many of our schools and hospitals are poor, but we still take care of each other. We work together. If we end up living among the Ws, what will happen to our community organizations? I think we need to think everything through. In the meantime, I’ll bring desserts to church meetings, cook dinner for Rev. Nathan from time to time, and support however else I can.
Speaking of jobs and such, before long, Gertrice will be off to college or work herself. I know it may seem like a few years is a long time away, but it’s really not. At least you have two others coming behind her. Annie is our only one. When she finishes up at Valley State, I’m sure we won’t see her so much. Knowing Annie, she will end up moving far away from me and Delwayne. I don’t like to think about it.
Anyway, I sure would like to have a picture of you, Josiah, and all the children. Will you send me a few? I like to keep pictures of our family and close friends these days.
Addie, I cannot stop thinking about Ruthie and her children.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
Police Arrest Husband of Dead Negress Murderer for Disturbing the Peace, Threats
September 3, 1952
Dear Addie,
I didn’t realize Gertrice had grown so much these past few years. I realize she’s going to be thirteen in October, but I guess I still have the same picture of her in my head the last time I saw her. She was a plump little lap baby, just barely walking. Now she’s tall and thin like you. I can see she looks a lot like Mama did when we were growing up.
Desi reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. Now I know we like to say Desi is fat, but really, she’s big-fine. We can’t all be small, and by the looks of her legs, I think she might end up being even taller than you. Of course, Josiah isn’t that tall, so she might not go too far, now that I think about it. When did Festus get so skinny? That baby fat is supposed to last longer than that. He’s only ten. Please give him a little cornbread mixed up in his buttermilk so he can get a bit more solid. Josiah is solid, and Festus might need a little help getting meat on his bones. Maybe make sure he has a little extra bread at dinner or fry his potatoes, too.
Addie! I asked for pictures to keep the family close, and here I am criticizing. Forgive me, please. You have a beautiful family, and I’m proud of you and Josiah. You’re a great wife and mother. Josiah is a wonderful loving husband. Gertrice, Desi, and Festus are good children. I am proud of all of you. I really am.
The Ws arrested Early. Even though Rev. Nathan warned him against it, he went to the sheriff and demanded answers. He told the sheriff that his wife was innocent and a good woman and that he was not about to let the Ws or anyone else treat her like an animal to be hunted down, strung up, and burnt to pieces. He said he knew the Ws were behind her death and demanded to know why the ones who killed his wife got to get off scott free. He reminded the sheriff that he took an oath before God to serve and protect everyone in the country, and that he and his wife paid taxes just like the Ws, and that he had a right to his justice, too.
They arrested Early on the spot. Because Early had spoken so sternly to the sheriff, Rev. Nathan sent a few deacons to take turns sitting outside the jail. Got them in the front and in the back watching. Some folks are saying that maybe Ruthie would still be alive if we had patrols watching out.
We took up a collection to raise the money to get Early out of jail, but he can’t get bond because they say he threatened the police and is a danger to the community. All the deacons in Charleston, Oakland, Webb, and Water Valley say they will march on the county jail if he isn’t released by next week.
Annie goes back to school this week. She loved the dresses I made for her. She wanted them all yellow, so I did try to make them all look different. The first one was plain yellow. Then I made one with small flowers all over it, one with polka dots, one in calico, another with big flowers, and one that was really more deep golden than yellow, but Annie was pleased.
I’m not pleased, Addie. Annie decided to sign up for that state program. In fact, she had signed up for it before she finished her summer classes. Because her grades are good and because her professors down at Valley State like her so much, she got into the program easily. The letter came in the mail today.
I am upset but trying not to let it show in front of Annie. That girl knew good and well that she was already enrolled in that doggone program and came home talking to us like she was just seeing it in the paper and just so happened to hear about it at school. I guess this was her way of trying to ease us into the idea, but I feel like she deliberately lied to us. Delwayne keeps saying that she will change her mind because she doesn’t like paperwork and that all government jobs are a lot of paperwork. But I know our child. That girl isn’t going to back down. Delwayne just doesn’t want to admit it. Please pray for us. Most of all, please pray for Annie. Didn’t think I raised a liar and a slickster.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
September 27, 1952
Addie,
Rev. Nathan and a few other preachers have visited the sheriff, but nothing has come of it. Early Shaw is still in jail. Rev. Nathan has asked all of us to write letters on Early’s behalf. We are supposed to begin by telling the sheriff how much we love our community and that even through hard times, we work together. Then we point out that Early is part of this community and deserves our support and kindness due to his loss. We close by asking directly for his release and pointing out that he’s had no run-ins with the law.
The Ws can say what they want about Early, but he’s always been a good man from all other accounts. He’s one of the best gardeners in the area. He’s a church deacon and a member of the Lodge. That man doesn’t have not one strike against him. Delwayne says he could be Jesus himself, and the Ws still are going to keep him locked right up in the county jail.
Forgive me for taking so long to get back to you. It’s all I can do is make a few plates and fill the cake orders we have coming in. Now we bring sweets to church meetings all over the county, so whenever anybody meets anywhere, they get us to do the food. I want to be excited about all the new business, but I am not. We are so blessed to be able to have a well-off life, especially these days. It makes me feel like a bad person, that I can’t feel joyful. I just keep thinking about Ruthie and Early and all the confusion happening around us.
We met in Webb this week. Now, I could have sworn I heard gunshots as the meeting let out, but nobody seems to have heard it but me. Delwayne keeps doing his best to make me feel better. He says that I don’t need to be scared of anybody shooting because he’s got something that barks in the yard and bites down the street (smile). He tried to make our dinner last night. He planned to pan-fry a few pieces of crappie and tried to make beans and cornbread, but by the time he got through, only a few beans made it out alive. Bless his heart.
I guess he must have said something to Annie about me not feeling myself because she’s been coming home every week and helping me. As much as she’s said that she hates baking, she’s helped me with my big order the last two weeks in a row. She’s doing well in school, still, and she has already been to two possible work sites for that job.
She’s been over to Greenwood and down in Jackson. Her next site visit is here. Addie, I know that you’ve never been a praying woman and that you don’t run to church every five minutes, but please pray that Annie gets assigned to the position in Tallahatchie County. Her office would be right uptown, right over from the post office. It’s the same building where the white farmers go to get their subsidy checks and the free seeds for all the U.S.D.A. programs. That’s who’s funding that program, the U.S.D.A..
Annie says that at the end of the semester, she will be permanently assigned to an office and do her work there. She calls it a practicum, but it sounds like a full-time job to me.
The U.S.D.A. is paying for the rest of her classes and giving her a $25 stipend every month. Annie is all excited about the money and being on her own, but I just want her right here. I know she’s not going to want to live here with us, but I have in mind for her to build a small house right here on all this land we’ve got. Delwayne says that I would do better to plan to build a house on the moon.
Addie, I am her mother. And no matter how old she gets, she is still my child. I’m getting up in the air now, so I will end this letter. Look for a package from me soon. I’m taking a few of Annie’s dresses and fixing them up for Gertrice. I meant to send them earlier, but I wanted to add a few special details that would make Gertrice happy. I also know how much Desi loves pink and purple, so there may even be a little surprise in there for her, too.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
October 1, 1952
Dear Addie,
There’s more trouble here. Rev. Nathan and a few other preachers finally got the sheriff to let Early out, but he only stayed out one day before they got him again.
He got drunk and went to the Boatwright house, looking for that husband. Say he walked right up to the door, stood on the porch, and told him that both of their wives were dead and that it was a sad thing. Say Early asked him how he could stand as a man and watch a woman get killed. When the man told Early to get off his porch and go home, Early cussed him and slammed the door. He got picked up and charged with public drunkenness before he could take ten steps from that Boatwright porch.
Nobody even knew Early was in jail again until the next day. He had an arrangement with Ellen. She kept the children until he got off work in the evening. He would go to Ellen’s to see the children every single evening. So that evening, when he didn’t show up, Ellen got scared and called Rev. Nathan. That’s when they found out he was in jail. But this time, the sheriff tried to be smart. He moved Early over to the Water Valley jail. When we found out he was there, they moved him to Oakland. Now we don’t know where Early is. Ellen is distraught. The children are distraught.
The men are demanding from the sheriff that Early Shaw be shown to be alive. The sheriff says that we are out of line. Says he doesn’t have to respond to anyone, not even a bunch of uppity Negroes who write letters threatening law enforcement officers. He told Rev. Nathan that he was the law and that it was his duty to keep peace in the county, and that any nigger that had something to say about that could join Early where he was. That’s what he said. Those were his exact words. Called us all niggers right to Rev. Nathan’s face.
So now we’re shopping over in Grenada for the next few weeks. All of us in Charleston, Water Valley, Webb, and Oakland, even if we work for the Ws, will not buy anything in any of these towns. We will only buy from Negro businesses or trade with each other.
All the deacons, preachers, and anybody else with a car will make weekly trips to the big stores over in Grenada for any household goods we can’t get through our own businesses and ourselves. And if there’s anybody who can’t afford anything, we take that out of the benevolent offerings at all the churches. Until Early Shaw shows back up, that’s how we will get what we need.
Addie, I wish you would start going back to church. It’s not even about God or the Bible. It’s about being part of a community where you can be protected and about fellowship. I won’t keep talking about it. I am sorry to bring it up. It’s just that there’s so much going on.
Rev. Nathan gave a beautiful sermon Sunday. He preached all about Jesus and anger. So many times, we hear that we should be forgiving and kind, but that does not mean we cannot hold those who hurt us accountable. I’ve been thinking a lot about what he said. Rev. Nathan usually always is the one trying to make peace, but when the sheriff ran him and the other men off, there was a shift with him. His sermons are focusing more on protecting ourselves, on how even Jesus got angry, and how us not standing up for ourselves is a sin. He reminded us that we must bring justice and called for us to do as Amos 5:24 says, But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
I am so pleased Desi liked her surprise gifts and glad to know that the dresses fit Gertrice. I sent the bows and the skirt for Desi because as much as I know she loves to be outside in the dirt, a skirt from time to time won’t kill her. I know you let her wear pants to school, but I put pockets in the front and the back of that skirt, so maybe she will be inspired (smile).
Love, Beulah-Marie.
P.S. Right before I was going to mail this letter. I found out some terrible news. Ellen has been fired from her job at the school. She went in to work yesterday, and they wouldn’t even let her in the building. They said that her participation in the boycott was against the rules of the state. So, now she’s without a job.
October 20, 1952
Dear Addie,
Please pray for us. We still haven’t heard any news on where Early is. We’ve done a good job of making sure that nobody has to shop here until we know he’s safe and sound. It feels funny driving through town, not seeing anybody we know in the street, or stopping at the gas station to have a conversation with our friends who live in town. But at least we see everybody at Rev. Nathan’s meetings, choir practice, Bible study, and Sunday service. Delwayne says it makes his life easier, that he’d much rather spend his time helping our neighbors and getting favors in return like in the old days anyway.
Addie, I do have some good news. When Delwayne and I saw they weren’t going to bring Ellen back to the school, I went right to that house and offered her a job here with me in the bakery. So now, she’s at the house with me every day. I thought she was going to say no, but she accepted right away.
And guess what?
That woman can cook and bake! So now, we also have hand pies, bread pudding, and cookies to sell. All this time I’ve been baking bread, it never occurred to me to make bread pudding. Can you believe it? I told Ellen she could work here as long as she wanted.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
October 29, 1952
Dearest Addie,
Happy Birthday to Gertrice. I am just glad the gift arrived in time for her to have it on her day. There’s no need in you getting all up in the air about that necklace we sent her. She’s a young lady now, and you know how much she loves Eartha Kitt. She should be in style as much as she can. When Annie and I saw a necklace that was so much like the one Eartha wore on the Jet Magazine cover, we got it for her. You don’t owe us anything, and we have not overspent. Delwayne and I are in two businesses that will never run out of customers. People will always eat, and they will always die. As bad as that sounds, I said all that to say that we love Gertrice and want to see her happy. There’s already enough bad stuff in this world, and if a necklace can bring some happiness, then so be it. After all, we don’t know how long any of us will be here, and life is too precious to wait to show love to those who mean so much to us. A nice gift for a sweet, smart girl like her is our pleasure.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
October 29, 1952
Dearest Addie,
I’m writing this letter the same day as the last one. Annie is here. I knew something was wrong when Annie came home in the middle of the week for no good reason. She busted up in the house, and before she could even say hello, she passed out cold. She scared the stew out of me. I had to call Delwayne home. By the time he got here, I had her sitting up talking. All I can say is that I am glad Ellen wasn’t there when it happened.
Addie, Early Shaw is dead.
They found his body floating in the Tallahatchie River over near Greenwood. Annie said some boys from Valley State were out on the river, and they found him. Say his eyes were gauged out, and his tongue was cut out. Delwayne called Rev. Nathan and left a few minutes later.
I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Now I am going to make some roasted vegetable soup and cornbread for Annie and then take some to Ellen. I have to tell her what happened. And I have to help her if I can.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
November 21, 1952
Dear Addie,
I know it’s been a few weeks since I wrote. Early is buried. I was relieved when his body didn’t come to us. I know it’s awful to say, but I am glad. I knew Early had some kin in Memphis, but I thought they were all from Oakland. I didn’t know he was originally from Memphis. When his family heard about what happened, they came and got the body. That’s where he’s buried now.
Delwayne and I went to the funeral out of respect for Ellen, but I didn’t want to go. Funerals in general leave me with weak legs and a headache, but Ellen’s felt closer to home than ever. The thought of her made my head swim. We don’t know who did the body, but the casket was closed. There were lots of people at his funeral, too, and the newspapers and TV stations were there. All that was a sight to behold.
Early’s sister got up in the middle of the service, walked over to the casket, and started singing “Balm in Gilead.” Do you remember that song? There is a balm in Gilead/To make the wounded whole/There is a balm in Gilead/To heal the sin-sick soul. I wept through the entire song. Maybe I’ve been feeling so down because my soul is sin-sick. It’s a sin that the Ws killed Ruthie and Early and so many others before them and got away with it. It’s a sin for the sheriff to call us niggers and try to scare us into not fighting for our rights. It’s a sin for them to shoot around us at our meetings. It’s a sin for us not to forgive ourselves for being scared and to let things remain as they are until we can find the courage to act.
Sunday, Rev. Nathan preached about the balm in Gilead. The Israelites were in trouble. They turned away from God, and Babylonians were about to make war on them. Jeremiah asked, Is there no balm in Gilead? Nothing to heal them. Nothing to make them turn back to God’s will for them? Rev. Nathan says what happened to them is a warning for us. That we know white supremacists like the sheriff and those who murdered the Shaws are making war on us. They’ve been making war on us since we first stepped enslaved feet on this Mississippi Delta soil. He says that the balm of Gilead was made from the poplar tree. The ones that grow so freely here in the Delta. The one that Ruthie was hung from. He says the blood of those we’ve lost is what we need to heal ourselves because we cannot let that blood be shed in vain. That it is as valuable to us as the blood of Jesus.
Delwayne didn’t like that part of the sermon, but I did.
Addie, that balm of Gilead is supposed to heal and refresh us, but in the Bible, it was hard to find and made of all these intricate spices. I went back and read that passage in Jeremiah 8: 21-22. When Jeremiah was talking about that balm, it was part of a prayer. It says Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why, then, is there no healing for the wound of my people?
I don’t see anything divine in Ruthie or Early dying and leaving their kids. I don’t see God helping us when all the Ws keep getting away with treating us any kind of way, killing us, hurting us, and never getting punished by God for it. The more they do, the better off they seem to be. Since Ruthie got killed, nothing feels like home anymore. I don’t feel at home in my own body. I’m tired and sad, and my feet feel heavy. Annie acts like she doesn’t know where her home is, running around lying and not being upfront with us.
After all that keeps happening, we may have to heal ourselves with that balm. God isn’t going to help us, just like he didn’t help the Israelites. I appreciate the fact that Jeremiah begged God to help, but things had gone too far by the time he did. We cannot wait any longer. Rev. Nathan is right. The blood of our people is our balm. We don’t need to beg God like Jeremiah did. We need to fight back.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
November 25, 1952
Addie,
All I can think about is those Shaw children. Now they don’t have their mother or their father, and they will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. All the children have gone to live with Early’s family in Memphis. I could tell Ellen was sad they couldn’t stay with her, but she was happy they would be able to go to better schools and be close to their aunties and uncles up there. Plus, she can always visit them. When she came to the bakery the next day after the children left, I was surprised. I told her she didn’t have to be here, but she told me she needed to be here. She said she was so hurt and upset that all she wanted to do was bake.
We went through the kitchen and the refrigerator, pulling out whatever looked like it would be good to put in a cake, mashed sweet potatoes, butter, and sugar at first. But then Ellen saw some flour I’d been kneading for bread and ran her hands in that too. We threw flour and cried and screamed and prayed and laughed and screamed some more.
And at the end, we had something neither of us had ever seen before. Addie, we created sweet potato pecan sugar cookies, and we’ve sent you some of them. Here is the recipe for Balm of Gilead cookies.
We used one cup of softened butter, one cup of brown sugar, ¾ cup of white sugar, one cup of mashed sweet potatoes, one teaspoon of cinnamon, one and ½ cup of pecans, one teaspoon of nutmeg, one cap of vanilla, 2½ cups of all-purpose flour, one teaspoon of baking soda, and a pinch of salt.
You start off making sugar cookies by creaming the softened butter and sugars. Then add the sweet potatoes, pecans, cinnamon, and vanilla. Make sure that’s all mixed well. Then your dry ingredients have to be mixed in a separate bowl, so take a fork and stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until you get a nice dough. It’s going to be stiff like sugar cookie dough. Scoop the dough and roll it into balls, then flatten each ball with a fork. Bake for eight to ten minutes, until starting to brown at the edges. This made us about six dozen cookies. We are going to bring those cookies for all the church meetings. Rev. Nathan calls them the official cookies of justice (smile).
Of course, I knew they were good when Delwayne ate five of them in a row. When a man who claims not to be big on sweets does that, I know we did something good. Let me know what you think of them.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
P.S. I hope you read this letter before you opened the box (smile).
November 30, 1952
Dear Addie,
I know I haven’t written with good news in a long time. I am so happy that you liked the cookies and that your recipe turned out well. Congratulations to Desi for winning her school spelling bee and to Gertrice for winning that essay contest. And we’re also proud of Festus. Did he really draw that picture all by himself? It looks like a professional artist did it. Addie, I don’t tell you what to do, but please encourage him. For someone so young to have so much talent is a blessing. You and Josiah are blessed.
Of course, you know where he gets it from. When Daddy was alive, he could draw like that. When Mama died, he spent months just going to church, building furniture, and drawing. All of those fancy carvings on his woodwork were from sketches he had drawn before.
Annie has decided to take that job in Tallahatchie County. Now because she’s chosen her area, she will be here permanently. Once a month, on Fridays, she will go back to Valley State for a test or whatever academic work she has. Do you remember Thomas Williams that was a year ahead of me in high school? His son Elijah is only two years older than Annie, and they have taken a liking to each other. He and Annie come to have dinner with Delwayne and me every Sunday. Ellen and Rev. Nathan have also been spending a lot of time together. Of course, I had noticed that Ellen has left and gone straight home to cook dinner for him every day for the past three months (wink).
Love, Beulah-Marie.
December 5, 1952
My Dearest Sister Addie,
I can hardly wait to see you at Christmas this year. I know it’s still a couple of weeks away, but I am on pins and needles to see you, Josiah, Gertrice, Desi, and Festus. Annie and Elijah will be here, and so will Rev. Nathan and Ellen. And Addie guess what? Rev. Nathan is planning to ask Ellen to marry him!
He and Delwayne went all the way down to Jackson to find her a ring, and I have almost had to tape my mouth shut to keep from telling Ellen. I can tell they make each other so happy.
You know all those pear trees in the front yard have given us more pears than we can handle. I made preserves to sell with our biscuits and gave some to the lodge as I always do, but when we still had bushels and bushels left, Ellen said we should try making hand pies with them.
Once again, her ideas keep people coming to us. Do you know I’m getting calls from as far north as Memphis and as far south as Baton Rouge for those pies?
Annie, Ellen, and I think that we should start sending mailers to all the local churches and NAACP chapters with pictures and order forms for our cookies. Any time Rev. Nathan mentions those cookies, we always get calls and letters asking how to get them.
Addie, I love you so much, and I cannot wait to see you. Please, y’all, be safe driving on the highways this time of year, and we will see you soon.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
P.S. Strange how all of us forgot to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Even Rev. Nathan was quiet about it.
December 26, 1952
Dearest Addie,
It was a blessing to spend Christmas with you, Josiah, and the children. It added twenty years to my life. I am so thankful for our families and how our lives have changed over the past few months.
Rev. Nathan and Ellen getting engaged made me happy, too. I know it seemed awful at first, but her getting fired turned out to be good for her and for me, too. Delwayne says that my being happy and back to my old self was the best gift he could’ve gotten, Christmas, birthday, or anything else. Plus, to know that Annie will be here, close to Delwayne and me, feels so good.
Check the mailbox in the coming days, Addie. Ellen is at it again, but this time, I’m not going to tell you what it is.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
Husband of Slain Woman Implicated in Her Murder
December 30, 1952
Addie,
Early’s family is suing the entire county. News of his funeral and what happened to Ruthie has gotten a lot of attention in the news, and now several lawyers out of California and New York have visited his family in Memphis. They are preparing to sue the sheriff and have accused several of the other local Ws of Ruthie’s and Early’s murders. Rev. Nathan and a few other preachers have been helping them find people with information.
None of us really truly thought that Ruthie killed that Boatwright woman in the first place, but now even the Ws admit there was something else going on. It’s the next to the last day of the year, and the Boatright woman’s husband has finally been arrested.
The woman who plays piano for all of Rev. Nathan’s church meetings has a sister who works as the sheriff’s maid. The sister told all of us at the church meeting about the arrest way before the news came out in the paper. She’s been quiet all this time because she was afraid.
Rightfully so.
That old Boatwright woman once accused the husband of having an affair with the sheriff’s wife, and it’s true. The sheriff’s wife is pregnant. And it cannot be the sheriff’s baby because he got injured in the war a few years ago. Apparently, that Boatwright man has been having women all over the place and not just limiting himself to the sheriff’s wife. Just like his wife accused him of! Except I guess he left his mother alone.
They say that the husband plotted to kill the woman and take her money. And now that the sheriff’s wife has found out about the other women, she’s saying that it wasn’t Ruthie who killed the Boatwright woman. Say it’s the husband himself. She’s turned over letters he wrote her and is telling anybody who will listen that he’s guilty. Delwayne says she’s no good either because if she hadn’t been messed over by the husband then she would still be keeping secrets and going along with everything wrong.
Some of the Ws are beginning to turn on the sheriff. With the lawyers coming down on him, his wife pregnant by some other man, and the Ws blaming him for losing out money from all of us during the boycott, I’d say he’s in deep yogurt.
Love, Beulah-Marie.
P.S. I’ve been thinking about the Balm in Gilead again, and now I don’t think it’s blood. I think it’s the love we hold for each other.
