Interview with Vernon Gettys, Callie Gettys, and Fravor Miller

Interviewer

Nancy Biggs Thomas Wofford

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Abstract

This interview with Vernon Gettys, Callie Gettys, and Fravor Miller was conducted by Nancy Thomas Wofford for her 1984 Winthrop thesis titled, Fort Mill: Transition From A Farming To A Textile Community, 1880-1920. Subjects include Fort Mill Manufacturing Co., Springs Industries, Ivey’s Mill in Fort Mill, Catawba Power Company, and the Evolution of the Early Cotton Textile Mills in York County, SC

Vernon Gettys (1900- 1985) was born near Santee, SC and came to Fort Mill after the flood of 1916 washed away the land he farmed. Mr. Gettys with his parents lived for a time near Red River Road and talks about the Carhartt Mansion and the area around it. He talks about his father drowning near the Carhartt mansion and talks a lot about the 1916 flood that devastated the area and prompted him to move to Fort Mill where he farmed for A. O. Jones before going to work for the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company. He discusses cotton farming, sharecropping, education, working on a dock, black and white relations especially in regards farms and working at the mill, life working at the mill, and pay.

Callie M. Gettys (1906-1985) was Vernon’s second wife and she worked for a brief time in the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company but spent most of her time working days as a cleaning woman in Fort Mill, SC. She discusses many aspects of her job as a cleaning woman and generally what life was like living in the area. She discusses a lot of her day-to-day concerns and experiences including during the Great Depression.

Fravor Miller (1906-1986) worked in the supply room at the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company for 27 years. He discusses his experiences at the mill and growing up. He talks about his father farmed at Gold Hill. He talks about the hungry and the poor and tells a story about a white man and his wife starving to death in 1919.

Publication Date

10-9-1982

Unique Identifier

OH 175

Format

2 Cassettes; WAV; MP3

Length

01:08:46

Restrictions

This interview is open for use.

Disciplines

Law

Keywords

York County Cotton Mill Workers

Interview with Vernon Gettys, Callie Gettys, and Fravor Miller

LC Subject Headings

Springs Cotton Mills, Textile workers -- South Carolina -- York County, Textile workers -- South Carolina -- Fort Mill, Textile workers -- Social life and customs, Cotton manufacture -- South Carolina -- Fort Mill, Textile industry -- South Carolina -- Fort Mill

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