Local History Interview

    Mrs. Mary Emma Turner Whitaker
    (Mrs. Cecil M. Whitaker)
    Smithbridge Road


    "Somebody at school made fun of my brother, Abe, because he had

    on patched pants.  Roscoe was such a hornet that he just beat the

    devil out of the kid who was taunting his little brother.  The

    principal of the school whipped Roscoe with a switch.

    Unfortunately, Roscoe, Abe and I all have thinnest skin you ever

    saw.  You can just touch me and my skin will break.  This

    principal whipped Roscoe with a switch and Roscoe's skin was so

    thin it cut him.  When he went home Roscoe was bloody from his

    hips down where he had been whipped.  Papa said he walked miles

    around the place just back and forth.  He said, 'I wanted to beat

    the principal to death so bad, I didn't know what to do.  I knew

    if I took up for the child against the teacher I'd ruin the

    child.'  And, Papa said that he just got out and walked until he

    could bridle his temper."


    Questions Regarding Education:

    SLS - Roscoe reported that he ran away from home at 16

    Mary Emma:  "I'm not sure about that.  I know that he went to

    Memphis and was chauffeur for this wealthy man.  So he would have

    had to be more than 16 to drive.  I don't know about that

    episode."


    SLS - Did Roscoe go to Business College in Memphis or Corinth?

    Mary Emma:  "I think it was Memphis, but I am not positive and I

    do not know a living soul who knows positively.  It is my

    understanding that we had relatives in Memphis that were in the

    same income bracket as the Hills.  It is my understanding that

    one of the Memphis relatives told Mr. Hill about Roscoe's

    maneuverability.  I was under the impression that Roscoe went to

    business school.  I don't know if it was at night or how.  I

    wasn't even born yet."



    March 12, 1993

    Interview by:
    Stephanie L. Sandy
    P. O. Box 1535
    Corinth, Mississippi  38834
    601-287-2921