Smith-Reid, Loreatha, 2010-05-24
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Scope and Contents
Loreatha Smith-Reid recalls her experiences growing up in Arkansas in a sharecropping family. Smith says she and her 19 siblings picked cotton and started working at a young age to help the family. She recalls that when she was nine years old, she started her first job cleaning houses for the Bowes family. Smith-Reid says that there was a dirty outhouse reserved for the use of “Coloreds” and that the husband, Lehman Bowes, was an angry and violent man who tried to sexually assault one of her sisters. In contrast, Smith says she had a friendly relationship with the white women whose houses she worked in as a child.
Dates
- Creation: 2010-05-24
Creator
- Smith-Reid, Loreatha, 1937- (Interviewee, Person)
- Jackson, David W., 1972- (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Audio recordings of three oral history interviews are closed, but the associated transcripts are open.
Biographical / Historical
Loreatha Smith-Reid was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, in 1937. Her parents were sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Smith had 19 siblings. When she was nine years old, Smith started her first job cleaning houses. Loreatha Smith married Willie Reid. She later moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where she worked at Hotel Fort Des Moines. Smith-Reid later moved to Davenport, where she worked in the emergency room and intensive care unit at Osteopathic Hospital. She began pursuing an education in nursing before having to retire for health reasons. Loreatha Smith-Reid was active in her church and served as a caretaker for her grandchildren.
Extent
From the Collection: 5 linear inches
From the Collection: 19 audiocassettes
From the Collection: 31.5 Gigabytes
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)
lib-women@uiowa.edu