The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1952-02-15
coRNlE COPE. COOPER
TALKS AT GAR CREEK

(Reprinted by Request From The files OF
The Coastland Times, Dec. 3, iS4Sl
CATFISH CORNER - The recent
meeting of the Gar Greek Ladies
Aid Society will not be forgotten
in many a day. Aunt" Cornie
Copie Cooper, SO years old, the
oldest woman in the neighborhood
came to visit the club, and look
on;.s before she left she made a
speech that has been talked about
all over the country for many
days and miles around,
Aunt Cornie, who says her dad
dy named ierk fors the horn of
plenty, back in the dark days of
1849, when Gar Creek had no gold
rush nor glut of fish, was little
tired from walking two miles to
attend the meeting, so one of the
younger women thought it would
do her good to give her toddy to
warm her up. Some of the more
settled old sisters thought she
got warmed up "leetuI" too
much.
Anyway, the trouble started af-
ter Miss Ferrie Belle Farrow,
home for the holidays from Feth-
erpeke Institute for women, made
a talk to the club on the advan-
tages of higher education. Not
all of the women of the Society
can read or write, but all of them
declared it most unusual talk,
and listened quietly-all of them
except "Aunt" Cornie Copie, who
snorted now and then as the toddy
began to warm up her insides.
Miss Ferrie Belle said every
girl ought to have an education.
at brings appreciation of the finer
things" she insisted. 'The young
woman of this day must learn to
brush her teeth, to use scented
soap; to tactfully urge her hus-
band to take a bath; to avoid
b. o. and to use listerine and many
other things"
"And," she added, "every young
woman should know how to avoid
raising large families. What's
the use in working ones self to
death to raise lot of children.
Modern science is teaching women
how to avoid all this and to get
more out of life than their moth
ers and grandmothers."
1t was at this point that Aunt
Cornie rose to her feet, a little
unsteadily at first, but her totter
ing was not from age, but rather
from the toddy.
81 don't mind sayin' a word
myself" said the old lady. This
kind of talk makes me sick. This
kind of advice you are giving is
the wrong kind Of advice. 1t
brings on pains but not in the neck.
"Eddication is bad stuff, spec
tally for fools. A girl gets it and
comes home too tony for her
raisin. She is too tony for the
boys in Gar Creek. So they do
smell bad; maybe fish scales and
tar do smell bad but that's how
our men always got living, and
paid for the youngun's schoolin'.
If we girls 80 years ago had de-
manded our man to take off his
socks and wash his feet on the
wedding night, lot of us wouldn't
be here. A lot of US wouldn't got a
husband; some of these glrls'H
never get one either.
They may learn about how not
to have children, and talk about
living their own life and getting
fun out of it. They don't know
how much fun we did have. This
birth control business is all bunk.
Folks who practice birth control,
spend the rest of their lives won
dering what they are living for.
That's the trouble right now with
the country. The women don't have
enough children to allow time and
hard knocks to Gull out few with
sense and grit enough to run the
country. Our birth control still
leaves us with a lot of children,
and most of them are cuils.
"This birth control business has
ruined the country. Why, there