Although she has gone by the name of Mary, her first name is Timmie. She was born in Mallet, La. They lived in a large house out in the country with her grandparents. The house had a very large kitchen with two fireplaces in it and a large woodburning stove. She recalls that they used to put sweet potatoes in the ashes at night before bed and they would be baked and ready to eat for breakfast. Also, they used to bake cornbread in a large pot in the fireplace and on New Year's Day they burned a special log in the fireplace. Her grandparents had fruit trees of all kinds. They would go to "town" (Opelousas) to shop, and sometimes she would ride the train there. They were Catholic people and would pray on large rosaries, and when someone would die, the wake would be held at their house. They would wear black for one year when a spouse died and then black and white for six months. Also, they would go to the dead person's house, drink black coffee and eat pound cake. They would say the rosary there for nine days.