Tobacco Bag Stringing:
Miss May Brown, 30 years old and single, lives with her parents in Wilkes County, N.C. Her father, aged 60, receives a $7 monthly pension. Her mother is very ill and has been bedridden for five months, but they cannot afford the necessary medical care since the income from tobacco bag stringing has ceased. This work previously brought in about $2 a month. They live in a house on rented land where they pay no monetary rent but give one-third of their crops—corn, potatoes, and other produce—to the landowner. The remaining crops are used for their own food, but they still need to buy over half of their food. The entire pension is spent on food, which Miss Brown finds insufficient.
Their home is a single, crowded, and untidy room without indoor plumbing, running water, or electricity. Miss Brown’s parents are confined to this room and unable to work. All their clothes are homemade. Without the income from bag stringing, they can barely survive and rely on the storekeeper for flour and other essentials. Miss Brown cannot seek outside work as she needs to care for her parents. She has been stringing bags for about fifteen years and enjoys it. Without this work, the family’s situation is dire.
