8 - Hazeline and Josephine

Hazeline and Josephine, Midway 2003

     Hazeline and Josephine were twin sisters who sometimes looked after me when I was a small child.  They were little more than a dozen years my senior, so they would have still been in their teens then, and their job was presumably confined to baby sitting.  They were the children of Leanna who worked for many years for Renata Fairchild (see musings no. 4, "Renata").  Hazel and Jo sometimes worked for Renata also, helping out in the kitchen.

     Growing up in the Sandhills as black females was certainly no bed of roses in the 1940's.  As soon as they were old enough, they headed North where life was supposed to be easier.  In many ways it was, but they were disappointed to discover that the same racism they had grown up with was just as prevalent in Philadelphia or New York as back in Aberdeen.   Prejudice manifested itself differently, often more discreetly, but it was never far away.          

     They eventually found relative financial security, working in a variety of factory jobs, sometimes taking domestic work. They had several husbands between them, and plenty of children and grandchildren.  When I next saw them in the 1990's, Hazel was already a proud great grandmother.

     For as soon as they were able to retire, they had what seemed to me to be an odd dream --to move back to Aberdeen!   And even odder in my view, the first person they thought to reacquaint themselves with was one of their old employers, my mother.

     Mother was never anything of a liberal, but neither was she particularly retrograde.  During the South's difficult period of desegregation, after the federal laws had long been passed, she tended to say that she wasn't against change, just thought it needed more time.  Most of the blacks felt that a hundred years or more was plenty long enough!

     Things may have been tough when the twins were growing up, but by the time they returned as mature women, life in the South had profoundly changed.  More than the North, they told me more than once.  For people like themselves, of modest means, living in the Sandhills now seemed infinitely preferable to the alternative in a big city ghetto.   I think Mother was as happy to see them as they were to see her, and she enthusiastically  piled them into the car, and off they went to visit all the old ladies --Juanita, Gala, Ulma and the others-- who had once been employers to them or to their mother. Everyone was truly delighted to see them and to welcome them back to the area.

     As children, they couldn't do most of the things that I would have taken for granted.   You tend to  read more about separate water fountains or riding in the back of the bus, but these were ultimately minor inconveniences when you think that they couldn't even go into the drugstore to spend their money.  And of course they weren't allowed anywhere near the town lake!  So it must have been a special satisfaction to return to their hometown with all the rights they were once deprived of.

       We went with my friend Judy (another one of their cares) to a deli in Pinehurst some years ago.   Pinehurst is a particularly chic golf resort a few miles west of Aberdeen, and I hadn't realized what an exceptional treat it would be for them.   Josephine told me that, growing up, she would have never dreamed of  one day going to Pinehurst for lunch.

     Their younger brother, Lacy, had also returned to Aberdeen after a successful career as a brick mason.   He had built a fine home for himself, and when his sisters arrived, he had the means and talent to convert Leanna's old run down  cabin into a  comfortable and attractive home, too.

 

    Hazel's pride and joy was Brandon, her five year old great grandchild.  His mother was dealing with her own problems, and Hazel's big dream was to have him start school in Aberdeen where she felt he could have a real head start.

     Though already  over 70, she and Jo brought Brandon  South to begin first grade in the new Aberdeen Primary  school.   The experiment only lasted a year, but he got a taste of  community life and personalized small town schooling before returning the next year to Philadelphia.   He was an especially bright and personable little boy, and the year in Aberdeen seemed to be a success.
 
     Unfortunately, the twins were too old by this time to be raising a small child, and they had no choice but to return Brandon to the care of one of his  grandmothers at the end of the year.  It broke Hazel's heart, but she had the satisfaction of having tried.
    
     When Brenda arrived on the scene, they seemed crazy about her, and we always visited with them when in North Carolina.  I never actually remembered their caring for me as a small child, but I developed a special affection for them in later years.

     Josephine had never learned to drive, and she always depended on Hazel for getting around.  By the time the twins reached their 80s, she was feeling more and more isolated living on the outskirts of Aberdeen.   In 2014, a few months before Hazel's death at 87, she moved back to Philadelphia.   The last I heard, she was missing Aberdeen.  I wish I had a more upbeat ending, but then that's life.



Your input is welcomed:  frank.pleasants@libertysurf.fr

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

Renata is also featured in  "Renata" from  Musings and Meanderings No. 4; Mother in "A Christmas Gift ... or the Little Red Lamp", Hotel Musings No. 51  (to access, click on highlighted titles).