OH125 Ananais Whittemore Oral History

Abstract

Ananias Whittemore discusses his childhood while growing up in a African American household in rural Graves County, Kentucky during the first half of the 20th century. He describes the segregated school he attended as a child, daily activities and working in the clay pit alongside his father. He explains the process of growing sugar cane and made making molasses. He began skimming and making molasses with his father at the age of five. He remembers selling molasses for twenty-five cents per gallon. After school, he began working in the clay pits at age fourteen where he worked ten hours a day making 18 cents an hour. He also worked at the local sawmill for a brief time. Whittemore also discusses the two churches that he served as a preacher for and his work in the ministry