by Lynn Oldshue | Aug 8, 2021 | A Southern Soul
I left Cuba by boat in 1994 with my husband, sister, and 10 other people. I was 17 and held my young child in my arms. I was also four months pregnant and terrified. The government warned that if they caught us in the water, they would take our kids away, but things...
by Lynn Oldshue | Aug 1, 2021 | A Southern Soul
“I was born after World War One. I had bronchial asthma for a long time when I was young. The doctors thought I would die. I was confined to my room and books were my only companion. I read a William Wordsworth poem about daffodils. We had daffodils in our yard, so I...
by Lynn Oldshue | Jul 29, 2021 | A Southern Soul
“I’m the seventh of 12 children. We grew up in Gee’s Bend. We didn’t have much, but I never considered myself poor because my parents grew or made everything we needed. We didn’t have beds, so we slept on the floor. Mama made quilts from our...
by Lynn Oldshue | Jul 27, 2021 | A Southern Soul
“I grew up in Lexington, Mississippi. Ever since the day I painted my name on her bedside table at three years old, my mom has said I was artistic. I never stopped. I wrote my name on everything I owned and didn’t own. In high school, I designed yearbook...
by Lynn Oldshue | Jul 25, 2021 | A Southern Soul
“I grew up in Young, Alabama. My mama’s parents’ last name was Irby, but they had to change their last name to Pettway when they got to the plantation. My dad was a sharecropper on Herbert Wilkinson’s place. Then dad bought his own land at...
by Lynn Oldshue | Jul 24, 2021 | A Southern Soul
“My dad started me off playing football at the parks when I was five years old. Then I played for Mattie T. Blount and Jacksonville State. I was an overweight kid and football helped me get in shape. My brothers also played and football was everything in our house. It...
