Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2022/Fall/Section087/Willard and Cornelia Mitchell

Overview
Willard and Cornelia Mitchell are referenced as Frank and Ella Merryvale in the article. They were interviewed by Barbara Berry Darsey for the Federal Writers Project on February 8, 1939 in Sebring, Florida.

Early Life
Cornelia Mitchell was born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in Avon Park, Florida. Cornelia's family are all Floridians. Her father, Ben Wilkins, was born in Polk County, and her mother was born in Lake County. Cornelia mentions her mother was a "Dale." Cornelia's great-great-grandfather, on her father's side, was from England, then moved to Virginia and eventually Florida. Her mother's family was from Birmingham, England. Cornelia was raised on a farm where her father worked. On the farm, Cornelia often made quilts. She said it was their "chief and only recreation." Cornelia's skill for quilting carried on into her adult life. Cornelia quit school in sixth grade to work at the orange and grapefruit canning factory, where she sectioned the fruit. Her father's health was declining, and he was low on money, so she and her brother started to work. When Cornelia did canning plant work, the acid burned the skin of her fingers. The workers had rubber gloves, but Cornelia thought she worked better and faster without the gloves. When she started work, she made one dollar a day, but after working hard, she started making two dollars, eventually $2.50.

Willard's family is from Georgia. He was born near Oakland but raised in Florida. His family still lives in Georgia, where his father is the superintendent of a peach orchard. Willard started working when he was young. He used to make one dollar a day and worked three days a week. Later, Willard was sent to CCC camp. After six weeks, he quit because he got homesick while in Western Louisiana. Willard used to smoke, drink, and do drugs when Willard was not much older than his son, who was six. He was also getting into fights with others. However, after Willard married Cornelia at 17, he quit all his "bad habits."

Adult Life
Cornelia was 26 years old at the time of the interview. She was a Baptist and was part of the church. To help with money, Cornelia picked up "little odd jobs", such as shelling peas and creating wreaths during Christmas. She'll quilt in between jobs, and since she's been quilting since she was young, all of her quilts have intricate, attractive designs. Cornelia had plants lining the kitchen windows. She collects Government bulletins that tell her how to raise flowers. The bulletins also tell her how and what to cook. Since she dropped out of school, reading the bulletins helped increase her knowledge. Cornelia and Willard are Democrats, but Cornelia always makes sure to vote, saying, "it's a great privilege." Cornelia and Jamie got examined for tuberculosis because the State Board of Health and the Government advised it. While Jamie tested negative, Cornelia tested positive. The doctor explained that the positive result didn't mean it was an active case; Cornelia may have had tuberculosis years ago and recovered. Cornelia believed she got it from her grandfather because he lived with her family when she was young and was sick with tuberculosis. At the time of the interview, Cornelia would have had to wait another two months before finding out whether she had tuberculosis.

Willard was 24 years old at the time of the interview. Willard worked hard to correct any leftover bad habits before joining the church. Willard has two jobs, as a grove duster and pruner, with the Caretaker Company and Sebring Exchange. Willard worked nights and days. The night work paid 25 cents, and the day work paid 20 cents. During the day, Willard and the other workers worked from seven to five. They met at the office in the morning then company trucks took them to the groves. While they didn't get paid for the time they traveled to the first grove, the workers got paid for the time it took to transport to the next grove once they finished the previous one. The night work didn't have regular hours. Sometimes Willard would haul wood to earn extra cash.

The Mitchells had been married for seven years at the time of the interview. They lived in Florida and were working hard to fix up their farm so they could be farmers like their fathers. Their farm is 40 acres and located near Lake Istokpoga. Their six-year-old son, Jamie, was attending school because they wanted him to have a good education and be excited about learning. They lost three babies after Jamie was born, all dying at birth. Since Jamie didn't like staying in the upstairs apartment all the time, Cornelia would let him go down to greet Willard. Cornelia always worried about his safety, but Jamie stayed on the sidewalk where she could call for him.

Tuberculosis in the 1930s
There was a spike of tuberculosis cases in poor neighborhoods. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria, which can spread across populations through tiny droplets released into the air. Symptoms of active tuberculosis include coughing, coughing up blood or mucus, chest pain, and fatigue. Since many poor neighborhoods were crowded, it was easy for tuberculosis to spread from person to person. However, outside of crowded neighborhoods, tuberculosis cases declined due to better education and improved hygiene.

One of the greatest tragedies regarding tuberculosis in the 1930s was referred to as the Lübeck disaster. The article explained, "During the 1930 Lübeck Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) disaster, 251 neonates received three oral BCG doses accidentally contaminated by virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis; 67 (26.7%) infants died of tuberculosis." In result, "live-vaccine opponents claimed reversion of BCG to virulence" and the events were documented, including details about the consequences of infection. The infants were regularly clinically evaluated.



Canning Plant Work
During World War I, the Federal Government searched for ways for food preservation. One of the methods was canning. Government agents met with individuals to help teach safety skills when participating in canning practices. "Community canning centers provided rural communities with communal access to equipment, like pressure canners, which might otherwise have been cost prohibitive.These centers also increased the safety in home canning through supervision by trained staff, which assisted in adherence to proper safety measures of the time." Technological advances in the 1930s allowed the canning process to be safer and faster, and even lowered can prices.

Not everyone was on board with the government's food preservation methods; some people feared commercially canned foods. Canned food was accused of being unhealthy, having a lack of cleanliness, and lack of regulation. So, the American canning industry worked to create canned goods that were safe from food poisoning and provide vitamins and minerals.