Sounds Like Home: Growing Up Black and Deaf in the South

8. HOME!!

8 1fO'MT!! IT WAS now April and we started counting the weeks and days until the middle of May when we would go home. I couldn't wait to show offall the things I had learned to do: sign language, handicrafts , and rug weaving. Finally our housemothers saw that all the small children on the first floor had their suitcases packed. We had fresh new underclothes laid out for us to wear home-an unbleached cotton slip, pink cotton panties, brown stockings, and brown or black oxfords. I saved out a pair of white socks to wear in place of the stockings and a pink headband that Eunice had sent me for Christmas. The last morning we had to strip our beds and turn the mattresses back. The dorm looked strange with all those beds in two long rows. It also looked lonely, and somehow I felt a little sad, for I had made friends and I'd miss them. On the great morning, we were separated into groups according to which way we had to go. Some parents came in cars for their children. Others were loaded into the school truck and carried to the train or bus station, all wearing tags with our names and destinations printed on them. My group was the last to leave, and we'd be traveling as we came-by train. We got all the leftover teachers' food for supper and a brown paper bag of food for the overnight journey. About dark, we were loaded in cars and taken to the railway station, herded in, and parked on benches. Some 106 HOME!! 107 White blind children were also in our group. Our superintendent, Mr. Lineberry, strolled about inspecting us. I had noticed him before on our campus but never had talked with him. Now he stood gazing down at me, a tall, white-haired man with goldrimmed glasses. He then asked in sign language what my name was. I started to sign it. He shook his head. "No. Talk," he said, pointing to his mouth. "Mary," I said. "Mary what?" "Herring." "Glad to go home?" "Oh, yes sir!" He stood watching me for awhile longer, then said bye and moved on. After awhile our tags were checked again and we then were herded out a door and down a dark and dirty-looking passageway and onto a cold railway car with hard seats. This particular car was for deafand blind students only, so both Black and White students rode in the same car. We could sit where we pleased, but the Black students sat together and the White students sat together. We scrambled for seats and again I sat with Helen and Elizabeth. Although I had stayed friends with Helen, I'd found Elizabeth to be cranky and kind of sneaky. But the joy of being on my way home made everybody my friend or best buddy. After getting settled, I waited for the choo of the train to start and then the rattle and pull, but nothing happened. All the teachers had departed after seeing us settled except Mr. Slade, who taught the blind children. He had settled down in a seat up front and was reading a paper. At some point I dozed off. I don't know how long I slept before I was jerked awake by the train grinding and jerking as though it was angry at being awakened at such an hour. It was very late by 108 A NEW KIND OF LIFE then. Finally the train started rocking along the tracks heading for Wallace. It didn't begin stopping to let off anyone until well after daybreak. Upon reaching Goldsboro, Helen and Elizabeth both got off. Helen lived in LaGrange, Elizabeth in New Bern. Then the stops became more frequent-Mt. Olive, Faison, Warsaw -I counted them all and then WALLACE! Clutching my bag and comic books, I was helped down the steps by the conductor and there stood Papa, Eunice, and Sam. I hugged Eunice, Papa kissed me, and Sam didn't know what to do-he just stood there. Then Papa hustled us to the truck. It was strawberry time and he had to get back home to pick up another load to haul to market. The very air smelled like strawberries , wild magnolias, and dust. After turning off the highway and onto the dirt road leading to our house and...