It was very nice to read the positive responses to my posting of the photo of Hattie McDaniel as Mammy on my post from the other day, Hattie truly touched hearts with her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind.
I’m sure most of you know that she was the first black actor/actress to win an Academy Award and that it was for her work in Gone with the Wind. I bet a goodly number of you, my readers have read Hattie’s story and learned how she truly rose from the ranks of dishwasher to singer and actress, and how she embodied the “person of gumption” that Margaret said was the central theme of her book, but do you know the real connections of Hattie’s character that is found in the real history of the little town of Jonesboro?
Although Wilbur Kurtz said it was necessary to, “ride the red earth trail from Jonesboro to Lovejoy to find the true stories in Gone with the Wind” we really don’t have to go that far to find many of the characteristics of Mammy. While Mrs. Camp and her house servant, Aunt Cilla were out on the battlefield searching for their wounded friend Confederate Colonel Allen Candler after the first days carnage; the Mammy of the Stewart home (Aunt Francis) was busy stirring the filthy rags of the soldiers (north and south) that had been brought into their home as it was turned into a make shift hospital,…but there is no record of her complaint of “crawling clothes and dysentery” (ala Gone with the Wind). Meanwhile Lucy, the Mammy of the house at the Oaks, was hunkered down with the family after their confrontation with a group of Sherman’s Bummers intent on turning their house upside down in their quest for food. But the stories continue as you follow the life of Mrs. Holliday who as a recent widow, worked alongside of her former mammy as they made sandwiches to sell at the railroad depot to, “keep body and soul together” after the wars end. And finally end your search at the feet of Margaret’s great grandfather Fitzgerald (her stated model for Gerald O’Hara) as you read the inscription on the small stone at the foot of his grave, “Grace, negro servant of the Fitzgerald’s”.
But rather than spoil all the surprise by offering up all there tales here, may I suggest you follow the link on this page to Lost in Yesterday to purchase the book and read the stories for yourself? The link is US…https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=U6GH7A63SWBZ2 and International…https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T22K6SHXPDR96. Simply highlight the link and paste to go to paypal.
And may I suggest you not stop there for I have a few more copies of The official Guide to the Saving Tara Project currently being discounted due to the generosity of a benefactor and thus you can save $5.00 off each copy and learn what happened to the movie set built for Hattie and her fellow actors as they breathed life into Margaret’s reminiscence? That link is US…https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WGDAXQ5AAW69N and International…https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=AV4LHLBGFXK3U. Simply highlight the link and paste to go to the paypal site.
I’ll be looking for you up at the gate.
Peter
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