Berry College

Education of the Head, Heart, and Hands

Several pieces had to fit together just right for it to work, that is to change Daddy's life, and in turn, that of every member of his family. Several years before he was born, Martha Berry declined the expected life of a privileged southern woman and sought to educate, at many levels, poor rural southerners. In fact, being rural was a requirement for admission at one time! Daddy graduated from high school, after dropping out three times, in 1931 (Outlaw-261), just a year after Berry expanded to a four-year college. The timing was perfect, but who might have pointed out the opportunity to Daddy is lost to us, and is a question I have pondered ever so many times as I realize that for many of us, life is a series of accidents. Daddy was able, but he had few prospects; in short, he a "perfect" candidate for Berry. He came from an uneducated family (his father and mother had only completed the seventh grade). He had no place to live (his stepfather had tried to kill him) and though he inherited from his father, L.G. Outlaw, a 1/3 interest in his maternal grandfather's previous farm (the Jerry S. "Buck" Sutton place), he did not otherwise have the means to farm. He did have a source of ready cash, albeit small, a half-interest in a tobacco crop that he was share cropping during his senior year with Aunt Lena and Uncle Cornelius. (By this time, he had removed from Lenox, GA,—near his mother's farm, on which she lived with Price—where he attended the penultimate year in high school (see Outlaw 267) to Nashville, GA.) So, he sold his portion of the crop to Uncle Cornelius for $10 and put more than seven of it on a train ticket to Rome. He was put to work and graduated 4 & 1/2 years later.

(Many may wish to skip this parenthetical paragraph, but others are interested in the real truth, which is always more complicated (interesting?) than the essence of the truth. My grandfather Lucious G. Outlaw died intestate and unexpectedly after a drinking binge at age 45 when he had the idea to walk to town and sign up for WWI. (That's another story . . .) There were 4 heirs--Granny Della, Aunt Lena (by Lucious' first wife) and Daddy and Uncle Buren (by Granny Della). Originally, Daddy inherited a 1/4 undivided interest in the Buck Sutton place (which Lucious Outlaw owned outright) and a 3/16 undivided interest in the L.G. Outlaw place (which Lucious Outlaw owned 3/4 of and Aunt Lena 1/4 of). Acting on her behalf and that of her sons, Granny Della essentially—by which I mean the truth gets really complicated—gave up her right, Daddy's right, and Uncle Buren's right, summing to 9/16, to any part of the L.G. Outlaw home place and Aunt Lena, in turn, gave up any rights to the Buck Sutton place, being 1/4. Thus, after that agreement, Daddy owned 1/3 of the Buck Sutton place. Granny Della was murdered without a will. Thus, her 1/3 of the Buck Sutton place went to her estate. (The farm up near Lenox, which she did not own free and clear, is yet another story and will come to light later.) So, the administrator (Uncle Jerry) sold Granny Della's 1/3 interest in the Buck Sutton place to the highest bidder in an advertised legal public auction. Aunt Lena bought it for $35, only a token of its value and I think that though it was a public auction, Uncle Jerry must have spread the word that there would be only one bidder. [For perspective, this is the same Jerry M. Sutton who would not allow the county sheriff to take custody of his brother following a homicide. There was another Jerry M. Sutton living in Berrien County in the first part of the 20th Century.] Later that same day, Aunt Lena sold that 1/3 interest, again for $35, but reserving the turpentine, to Uncle Buren and Daddy. There must have been a reason for this legalistic contortion; why Della's 1/3 of the Buck Sutton place did not go directly to her heirs was probably aimed at protecting it from any claims by Price (who, as a spouse, would have been entitled to a child's part, viz. 1/3 of Della's 1/3, thus 1/9). This latter interpretation is consistent with the low price of the land sale, i.e., any claim by the Price connection would have been trivial. In the end, Daddy owned 1/2 (his original 1/3 plus 1/6 from his purchase from Aunt Lena) of the Buck Sutton place (and later he bought the other half from Uncle Buren). Sometime, I will lay all this legal business out in the open and trace the ownership of the Buck Sutton place from the time that Grandpa Buck bought it from Uncle Steve and Aunt Polly (Grandpa Buck's sister) in 1885, and by original papers I have, adjacent landowners Tally Sutton (unrelated) and Connell, relinquished any claim in 1887, to present. I get exhausted just to think of it all, but that is part of the thread, too, and can't go ignored.)

Daddy entered Berry College in Summer, 1931 and worked in the Brick Plant, but did not enroll in classes until Fall, 1931. He worked in Spring, 1932, at Berry, but was not enrolled in classes. He was in Berrien County for a visit when his mother was murdered. His Berry record doesn't have an entry for that semester (he stayed in South Georgia for the remainder of the semester). I recall his recollections of desolation after his mother's death when in his misery, he succumbed to the bottle regularly, on one occasion freeing all the animals, including the fish (which required that he break a dam). Fortunately, it goes without saying, he pulled himself together and returned to Berry in Spring, 1933, with whose help, again, I don't know. I infer he hadn't planned to return to Berry since he bought livestock (including a mule) at the public auction of Granny Della's belongings, consistent with a plan to remain and farm. As mentioned, a lot of pieces had to fit together to reach the endpoint of this story. Transcript. Work record and evaluation.

Daddy's major was English; I had thought journalism so I was reconciled to note that he took more journalism courses than English courses. Not a lot can be taken from a young man's academic record, especially if he had no role model and an imperfect background. Notwithstanding, I noted wryly that Daddy was a little slow on the uptake with "Conduct." It was probably hard for him to come to terms with Miss Berry's expectations; he never liked for anybody to tell him what to do (which I am not proud to have inherited), and I know that he took a good many shortcuts when he was young (which I am also not proud to have inherited). It was very very strict at Berry (a student had to get permission to leave campus, had to wear uniforms (for boys of Daddy's vintage, overalls and blue work shirts), had lights out). Early on at Berry, Daddy and an accomplice would convince a newbie to sneak off campus at night with pillow cases to steal apples from a distant orchard. Daddy always laughed when he explained how he would heighten the tension by giving detailed instructions on what to do should the newbie be accosted by the night watchman ("Drop the apples, run . . . ."). Later on in the night, Daddy and his accomplice would hide in the shadows near the pre-ordained route for the newbie's return. Daddy was proud of how well the newbies followed directions: when he or his friend shouted "Halt! Night watchman!" the newbie would indeed drop the apples and run. Daddy and his friend picked up spending money by selling the apples on campus. I can understand why Miss Berry might not like thievery, lying, conspiracy and especially violating HER rules. It would definitely be a markdown in someone's leadership potential.

As Daddy's opportunity and choice to attend Berry set the course for me and mine, and for simple sentimental reasons, I had planned to make a pilgrimage for decades. Finally, in the fall of 2008, I did, and the following photos were taken there. Berry is fascinating, and I hope that you will look deeper than my superficial brushes at these images.

The Gate of Opportunity No longer open, it would have been what Daddy viewed first as he come onto campus. I have wondered many many times what Daddy must have thought when he entered Berry for the first time and when he returned after Granny Della had been murdered. It is hard for me to imagine his feeling of isolation, so far from anything he had ever known and with no lifelines--only questions marked his future. On the other hand, it might have been the only stable and secure location he had known for a long time. (Recall, as alluded to, that he jumped through a window one night to escape his stepfather, who came into his room with a hatchet., after which he lived in a back room of a store and then with relatives from his Outlaw side.)

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the gift of time that Shane West, Berry graduate and currently Berry coach (below left), and Steve Patterson, fellow syrupmaker from Rome, GA (below right), contributed to this page. Both volunteered and showed me around, without which my trip would have been only skeleton.

Ms. Jeanette Chambers kindly corresponded with me and provided Daddy's record. Thanks so much!

Berry's peerless web site has been a valuable source of information. I enjoyed with special interest and appreciation of the scholarly history of Berry by alums, Dickey, O.& Mathis, D. ( Berry College: A History (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005). ). To the extent that I can judge, this book did not shirk the responsibility of providing a balanced account of the complex history of Berry, including controversy.

Already, more has been posted on Daddy's Berry years (his diploma, letters from his mother while he was at Berry, letter from his boss, the infirmary directory) and more is forthcoming. Visit again as the notion strikes you.