42

Waln K. Brown
8/14/72
Eva Sulkosky
3

The families who dealt a great deal with the company store were extended
credit during such times, while those who dealt with other stores did not
receive the advantage of such credit. Therefore, during times of great
difficulty the people who bought regularly from the company store had the
credit to fall back on; the others could not get this credit as readily. Mrs.
Coxe was more ready to help families, in times of need, who dealt with the
company store. When a man received his paycheck for his work, the company
store bill was subtracted from the paycheck. Also the rent was deducted from
the paycheck. This rent was subtracted from the first paycheck of the month.
The paychecks were given to the men every two weeks. Many times the
paycheck would have a snake (zig-zag line) across it. This snake signified that
the paycheck was taken by the company store to pay off the debt of the family
which was accrued by buying off the books. This procedure would continue as
long as it took for the family to pay off the company debts. This may have taken
a great deal of time in some cases, depending on how long the man of the house
had been out of work and on how many days of work the man had gotten in on
the paycheck time.