The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1920-11-27
Y YEARSOLD, BUT ENROLLSMY.MC.
"A. SCHOOL AFTER MAKING SMALL
FORTUNE.
Has Always Wanted to Learn
But Found Only Chance After
Living Was Made Secure;
Was Slave.

To enroll as a beginner at az to
master the three RS is unusual even
In New York. where adults OF for
eign nationality sometimes start their
education rather late. The Y. NJ C.
A.. branch on West 1s5th street has
enrolled a Negro. Claxton T. Gard
ner. who knows that he has seen
seventy-two summers and "mebbe
he's seen more" He knows. too, that
he has worked hard all these years.
and now that he is-weIl. along in
life. and has saved UP enough to
keep him in comfort. he thinks he
viii get some education. A laudable
desire.
This extraordinary Negro was born
on a plantation in Warren county.
Georgia. His mother was the .old
NANNY In the home OF Curren Bat
ties. Gardner's father was a slave
on an adjoining plantation. and the
pair were married with the consent
OF their two owners. TO his mother
fell the task Of rearing all the bab-
les. her own and those Of the mis-
tress Of the Battles plantation, as
the latter was In frail health. Often
there was white baby and a black
baby nursing at the same time.
Because OF this the NANNY held
an esteemed place in the family and
her own progeny did not suffer the
rigors Of the slave life. though they
were expected to do their share Of
the work. and the boy Gardner was
trained/to hoe corn. pick cotton and
do odd Jobs on the place.
How He Learned the Alphabet.
Claxton at an early age wanted 10
earn, There was no chance for
a little fellow when he carried water
70 the field hands he took q spelling
book book along and puzzled over the
WORDS. .s Later his duty was to take
and by listening to the scholars and
asking questions he began to find
out what some Of the strange SYM
Dois IN MS Dog cared book stood for.
II was so he learned the alphabet.
and he could put some Of them TO-
gether and comprehend the woods
when got that far" said Gard
ner In describing his childhood. Il
thought l had about all the learning
needed and decided to graduate
didn't understand half the words
l could spell. but I could spell them,
later years could spell out the
words in the Bible or newspaper
and get a dim comprehension OF the
sense. but II was very dim. as knew
Gardner was between IL and is
years old when the Emancipation
Proclamation was issued. This Is only
a guess, for he does not know the
however. would give him a present
age Of ~, which would mean that he
was nearly ~. His mother was dead.
tfou he took hfe hrofhcru ~ sfafer.
TO his father. He was pursued and
arrested. charged with having threat
ened the family OF his former own,
gave him into the custody OF his
father.
The owner Of the plantation whore
his father had been slave was
from north OF the Mason and Dixon
line. and he allowed Gardner and
HIS sister to remain with the faith.
er. After while the father married
again and the two children went to
live with their grandmother in Aug
usta.
Gardner went to work doing a lit
tend the Theological School in Aug
usta, but after a few months decid-
ed he did not want TO be either a
preacher. or doctor. or a lawyer.
to read a little BIT better and how
TO write, after a fashion
There was a carpet Dagger post
master in Augusta. and he put Card
( ncr to work as a roustabout and then
a clerk. He became in time the regis
try clerk. and then worked for a
time as substitute postal clerk on a
train running out OF Augusta. He
talks proudly OF the time when he
was able to cancel 100 stamps per
stamp. He made friends with the
postmaster, and used TO have many
vacations out with the fatters chill
dTen while the postmaster did the
work around the office.
When Cleveland was President the
victim Of the Turn the RascaIs Out''
movement, and all Of his Droteges
went with him. Garner went to
Louisville and became a pullman por-
ter. having in that capacity gone
pretty well over the country In this
ing dead. She left no children
During the World War he was enl-
ployed at Army headquarters in JET
fersonville. Ind. and when mustered
out went to Asbury Park to live
with his sister. and from there came
as switchboard operator in an apart
rnent house and In now employed as
porter at Roosevelt Hospital He en-
tered the Y. u. G. A. School on 155th
street this fall to learn how to read
and understand what he reads. also
will not admit that the latter is be-
cause he needs this knowledge 70
handle personal Investments and ac-
counts His eyesight is falling. so
new learning largely. but he IS DE-
termined to show that he can make
| good