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An Interview With

Mrs. Le La Minerva Graves

March 27, 1978

Interviewed byDaisy Greene

.'

MississippiDepartment of Archives and History

and theWashington County Library' System

Oral History Project:Greenville and Vicinity

MISSISSIPPJ DEPT. OF ARCHIVES & HISTORY

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protected by COpyright

law (Title 17u.s.. CocSe».

f1U75BOH 1979.1.062Interviewee:Interviewer:

Title:

Collection Title:

Scope Note:

Lela Minerva GravesDaisy Greene

An interview with Lela Minerva Graves, May 27, 1978/interviewed by Daisy Greene

Washington County Oral History Project

The Washington County Library System, with assistancefrom the Mississippi Department of Archives andHistory, conducted oral history interviews with localcitizens. The project interviews took place between 1976and 1978. The interviewees included long-termresidents of the Greenville-Washington County area intheir late 50's and older.

Graves 1

GREENE: March 27, 1978. This is Daisy Greeneinterviewing Mrs. Lela Minerva Graves, who is visiting ,Mrs. Luvenia Slay, at 248 North 8th Street. Mrs. Graveshome address is P. O. Box 1015, Yazoo City, Mississippi,zip code 39194.

Mrs. Graves, give me the place of your birth?GRAVES: Meridian, Mississippi.GREENE: Your mother's maiden name.GRAVES: Sarah Smith.GREENE: And your father's name.GRAVES: Riley Jones.GREENE: You were born in Meridian, but you lived

for quite -a while in Greenville.GRAVES: Fourteen years in Greenville.GREENE: I see that you are a retired R. N.

Tell me about your training. 'Vhere did you take yourtraining?

GRAVES: At Matty Hersey Hospital, in Meridian,Mississippi.

GREENE: How did it happen that you began yournursing in Greenville?

GRAVES: Well, the doctor that Signed my diplomawas Dr. H. A. Ware, from Greenville - out from Greenville -and he wanted some nurses to come to the Colored King'sDaughters Hospital, where he had been operating. He probably

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Graves 2

had stock in it. I don't know, but anyway he sent nursesthat would come here.

GREENE: What was his field? Was he a generalpractitioner?

GRAVES: Yes.GREENE: ;Vhat was the set-up at the Colored King's

Daughters? Did you know any of the founders? Did you knowany of the ladies who founded it?

GRAVES: No, I'm sorry. It seems one of them toldme it was Mrs. Kate Lewis. I think I met her once, but shewas an elderly person, and I guess most of them are probablydead.

.'GREENE: Was she a fair lady?GRAVES: Yes, a very light lady, very nice and

intelligent.GREENE: If she was fair, she was not the school

teacher. There was a school teacher named Mrs. Kate Lewis,too, but she was dark.

GRAVES: I don't think I met her.GREENE: Now, tell me about some of your experiences

at the Colored King's Daughters'HOspital, Mrs. Graves.GRAVES: In general, we had a very good staff of

doctors - the Gamble brothers. They lived here out inGamwyn Park.

GREENE: You knew Dr. Hugh and Dr. Paul Gamble, andNOTICEDr. Archer?

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Graves 3

GRAVES: Yes, and Dr. Wilson - on the staff at thattime - just about all the time I was working there, I think -and Dr. Lucas.

GREENE: Were there any specialists on the staff?Did you have a baby specialist?

GRAVES: Yes, Dr. Wilson.GREENE: Do you recall any other doctors?GP~VES: Well, Dr. Lucas - I called his name - but

I didn't say what he specialized in. He majored in obstetrics,and he was great.

GREENE: Was there an over-crowded condition atthe Colored King's Daughters?

0' GRAVES: I would say no. We kept a packed house,but we had porches, you know, where they wouldn't be toocrowded. I think it was pretty good - to my idea.

GREENE: Do you remember about the rates paid?GRAVES: Yes, I think so, but I i,WS:S the Night

Supervisor.GREENE: Oh, you were Night Supervisor.GRAVES: I would collect sometimes, but not all

the time. The rates were usually collected in the day, asa rule; but sometime I cololected. At that time, it wastwenty dollars for a private room. Of course, you wouldhave to pay for extras; that would be just the room. Theother extras that you got - medications and other things.

GREENE: Do you remember the year you came her~ 0 TIC Eas a nurse? MISSISSIPPI DEPT. OF ARCHIVES & HISTORY

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GRAVES: Yes, I came in 1928.GREENE: And you worked at the King's Daughters

Hospital how long?GRAVES: Around two years, as Night Supervisor.GREENE: What about food and the laundry?GRAVES: Well, the food was nice, and we had a

machine there, and the laundry part of the time was doneon the yard, and if it got out of fix, you know, they wouldsend it out to the laundry to be washed.

GREEN~: Did the doctors have many operations?GRAVES: Oh, yes. Sometimes they would operate

all night long, and sometimes all day long.GREENE: In the case of amputation of limbs,

"

how would they dispose of them?GRAVES: Well, I guess the orderly would have

taken care of those. I guess they burned them, becausethey had incinerators where they disposed of those things.But I would never have time to watch that.

GREENE: Was there any provision made for familymembers to stay with their sick people?

GRAVES: Yes, when t~ey had private rooms, we gavethem a cot when they were, very sick.

GREENE: While you were there, did they have manycontagious cases?

GRAVES: No, they mostly were surgical cases, andonce in a while, I can't remember, maybe we had some malaria

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Graves 5

.-cases. I can't recall right now, because it was mostly asurgical hospital. But they did take you if you were ill,of course. I can't remember any typhoid cases.

GREENE: Were there facilities at the hospitalfor sterilizing the inst.:'u;O:l'j~t.'?

GRAVES: Oh , yes. We had a small one that weused to sterilize what we needed to work with, and then,of course, when we had surgical cases, they would alwaysbring the instruments and sterilize them - the linen andinstruments and everything that we needed.

GREENE: Would you say that the rate of recoverywas good?

GRAVES: I would say it was at least 90 percent -yes, we-had all real good doctors. They were very, verygood.

GREENE: What did you say about the Mayo Clinic?GRAVES: Well, most of the doctors, as near as I

can recall, came from Mayo Brothers Clinic.-GREENE: The young doctors?GRAVES: Yes, yes. Dr. Paul Wilson, the Baby

Specialist, I think that's where he was from. I may be.

mistaken, but I know we had quite a few from there. I maybe a little bit off on the names, but I know we had quite afew from there. We had all good doctors - very good.

GREENE: What about the Saturday night fights?GRAVES: Well, I would be working. I wouldn't

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Graves 6

know. But whenever we got them, they would be way out onthe plantations, maybe, or wherever they would be having agood time.

GREENE: Were they brought into the hospital?GRAVES: Yes, they were. Some shot, stabbed,

and you know.GREENE: Now, you say you just worked there two

years?GRAVES: It may be a little longer. I was Night

Supervisor two years.GRE~JE: What happened that you stayed such a

short time?.'GRAVES: Well, I had almost ten months night duty

when I was in Nurse's training. And, you know, I was young,and I liked to ':.'.'to dances; and, of course, the dances allwould be given at night, and I couldn't get to go to all ofthem.

GR~TE: Did you ever do private duty?GRAVES: Yes, I did. I worked here quite a little

bit for well-to-do people, and I liked it fine. Oh, I rememberone time one lady wanted me to uo her housework - and I'm notgoing to call any names. I really liked nursing, and I woulddo what I was supposed to do - clean my place up and tidy theroom, but that was all I was supposed to do. And one ladywanted me to quilt, and I didn't know anything about sewing.

NOTICEUntil this day, I've never made a quilt.

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Graves 7

GREENE: Evidently she must not have been verysick if she was going to give you time to sit down andquilt?

GRAVES: No.GP..EENE: Did you come across many people who

weren't actually sick; they simply wanted companionship?GRAVES: Yes, quite a tew. Quite a few didn't

seem to be very ill. One time, I recall a case that neededcompanionship. They were very nice, too, and very wealthy.

GREENE: They had the money tor it.GRAVES: Sure. Those were the good cases, when

you didn't have too much to do.GREENE: Was the shift an eight-hour-shift, as

.'it is now? As the nurses work now?GRAVES: No. If they weren't very ill, they

wouldn't want you to stay in. Of course, like I said, theywould ease the cases if they got very ill, they would callanother nurse in. We didn't mind it, because you couldsleep most of the night. But they needed someone with them,just in case they would get ill.

GREENE: Let's go back to the hospital for a few.minutes. Suppose a patient needed blood, was there a facilityto give transfusions?

GRAVES: Indeed so. They were typed as patients andwhoever needed it would get it immediately that night while

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Graves 8

the surgery was going on - or in the day either. They hadgood service there. They got just as good service therebecause we had very good doctors, and you got just as goodattention there as you would in a large hospital.

GREENE: Did they have an RN for the day shift?GRAVES: Yes.·GREENE: Did you mow Sarah Williams?GRAVES: Yes, I did.GREENE: Tell me something about her.GRAVES: Well, she would get nurses always to help

her in the hospital, but they said she was a very good nurse.Of course, I don't know anything about it, because she wasn'table to ~-.·that much nursing when I worked for her •

.'

GREENE: Will you locate Sarah Williams NursingHome?

GRAVES: It was on North Broadway, and I canremember the number next door, but it's funny. The buildingis torn down. It was right next door to 449 North Broadway.I just can't remember the number now.

GREENE: And in that neighbor~ood was a FannieMae Murray. Did you know her?

GRAVES: Oh, yes.GREENE: Tell me something about her •.GRAVES: She was very smart and intelligent, very

quick and apt to learn, and she worked tor me while I wasoperating the hospital. She had to be smart, because atterwe closed the Sarah Williams Nursing Home down, she worked NOT ICE

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Graves 9

for Drs. Hirsch, Beck & Payne, and Dr. Eubanks. Those werethe doctors that were there at that time. And she stayed therefor many a year. I don't know how long, but she was good.

GREENE: What happened to the nursing home that itwas closed?

GRAVES: I wasn't there when it was closed down,but we just didn't get the patients in. It was kept upoff private patients as well as the Government patients,but it was mostly kept up by the Government patients. Idon't know. I guess after they built the lev,ee, there justwasn't too much Government work going on. And we used toget the mills. The doctors really did look after the hospital •

.' GREENE: You mean if a man got hurt on the jobthey were sent there?

GRAVES: Like the Chi cago Mill and U. S. Gypsumand places like that. The doctors treated the people whoworked there. They usually had staff doctors on their own,and the Government had their own doctors.

GREENE: Well, at that time Medicare and Blue Crosswere unknown, and insurance for blacks was unknown. How didthe blackS handle their bills? '

GRAVES: Well, they did the best they could. Thedoctors would wait on them, but we had to have the money, if~:,cnsi'tlQ J you know, for the hospital, because the rates werecheap - already just as low as possible. But something I

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remember - I don't know exactly what they called it - butthey got some kind of aid before I stopped working there;because Dr. Payne was sending a lot of patients in there.I don't remember what kind of aid they called it, and theydidn't have to pay very much, but it did help a lot. Maybeyou might remember. I wouldn't know. They gave them somekind of aid. You would not know, because you really weren'tcoming in contact with them. You were teaching, so youwouldn't know, and I have really forgotten what they calledit. But I was here at the time those people were workingon the WPA project. That was the Government furnishing money.

GREENE: How did you come in contact with theseWPA work~rs?

GRAVES: I really didn't come in contact withthem. I would see them working on the streets.

GREllNE: N one were sick?GRAVES: No, but maybe some members of their family

would come in. That's probably a way they would pay the bill.GREENE: Was there some little disturbance at the

Colored King's Daughters once?GRAVES: Well, I really dOI}.'tknow. I heard there

was, but I really wasn't on duty at the time, so I couldn'ttell you anything about that because I don't really know.

GREENE: Are you a registered voter?GRAVES: Yes, I am now.




law \Title 17U.S. Code).

Graves 11

GREENE: When you were in Greenville, were you aregistered voter?

GFAVES: No, the Black Race wasn't voting!GREENE: And that was about what year?GRAVES: It was in the '30's.GREENE: I'll bet you don't have any trouble now.

vfuen you went to register, where did you register?GRAVES: In Detroit, Michigan.GREENE: Oh, I know you didn't have any trouble

there.GRAVES: No, indeed. I registered by the time I

got there. That was one of my reasons for going there. Ireally did like Greenville, yes, I did.

or

GREENE: Do you know many people who left herebecause they couldn't vote?

GRAVES: Oh, yes.GREENE: Have you ever served on a jury?GRAVES: Yes.GREENE: ~fuat was the nature of the case?GRAVES: Well, I nursed a patient - a lady - I

can't recall her name, I'm sorry, but a lady got shot in.Leland, Mississippi. Now, I can't tell you how, but anyway,I nursed her; and they wanted to know if she ever gainedconsciousness. I believe that was about all they asked me.

GREENE: Black or White woman?GRAVES: Black. And I told them no. I said I

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had stood at her beside at all times, and I had to give hertreatments, but she never regained consciousness to my knowl-edge, or anyone's else, so far as I know.

GF~ENE: So she died from this wound?GRAVES: Yes, she did.GREENE: Was the person accused of shooting her

sentenced?GRAVES: I really don't know.GREENE: In your nursing experiences, have you

come across many people who believe in Voo Doo? In spells?GRAVES: No, no.GREENE: What about this: do Some women still

believe t~at if they look at a certain thing they can marktheir child?

GRAVES: Well, I don't know since I retired. Ireally don't know, but I think they used to believe that.I think they did.

GREENE: Is that dying out now? Is that ideaof being able to mark a baby by looking at strawberries -and the baby comes with strawberries on his face - is thatdying out now?

GRAVES: I really don't know. I really don't.I think, though, in a way it is. I mean, to my knowledge,I really believe now that they think using drugs or toomuch liquor is really against the baby, and I think theother is about dying out. NOT1CE

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GREENE: \.'fell,if you had to choose a professionagain, would you choose nursing?

GRAVES: Yes, I would.

(End of Interview){Transcribed by Alice C. Nagel}

FINAL5/2/78Alice C. Nagel

"


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INDEX

OF LELA MINERVA GRAVES

BY SHERIL YN D. ALLEN

Archer, _____ (Dr s }, 2

Beck, (Dr.), 9-----Blue Cross, mentioned, 9Broadway (Street), mentioned, 8

Chicago Mill, 9

Colored King's Daughters Hospital. ~ King's Daughters

Hospital

Detroit, Michigan, mentioned, 11

Doctors Hirch, Beck & Payne, clinic, 9

Eighth (8Y!) Street, mentioned, 1.Eubanks, (Dr.). 9

Gamble, Hugh (Dr.), 2

Gamble, Paul (Dr.), 2

Gamwyn Park, mentioned, 2

Graves, Lela Minerva: born in Meridian, Miss., 1; r-et i.r-ed.;

R. N., 1; training, Hatty Hersey Hospital (Meridian,

Miss.), 1; Night Supervisor, Colored King's Daughters

Hospital, 3, 4, 6; private duty nursing, 6, 7; registered

voter, 10, 11

Hirsch, ____ (Dr.), 9

Jones, Riley, father, 1

King's Daughters Hospital (Colored): doctors, 1-3; con-

dition of, 3; facilities, sterilization, 4, 5; service, 8;

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1

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law ~Tltle 17 U. S. COde).

Graves 2

King's Daughters Hospital (Colored) :':(continued)

mentioned, 10

Leland, Miss., mentioned, 11

Lewis, Kate, 2

Lucas, (Dr.), 3-----Malaria, 5

Mayo Brothers Clinic, 5

Medicare, mentioned, 9

Meridian, Mississippi, mentioned, 1

Murray, Fannie, 8

Payne, (Dr.), 9, 10-----Sarah Williams Nursing Home, 8, 9.Slay, Luvenia, 1

Smith, Sarah, mother, 1

U. S. Gypsum, 9

Voo Doo, mentioned, 12

WPA, 10

Ware, H. A. (Dr.), 1

Williams, Sarah, nurse, 8Wilson, Paul (Dr.), 3, 5Yazoo City, Mississippi, 1

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