"During Alabama's Depression years, nomadic clans became
common sight. A group of "gypsies" traveled through Randolph County
with a stop in Malone, Mt. Olive, Motley and finally, Wadley. A woman dressed
in a red and yellow floral-print dress asked, "How much for the string of
dried peppers hanging on the wall?" Elliott said it wasn't for sale. He
would need it "come winter" to rub into his homemade sausage. At the
same time, a gypsy elder requested a cut of hoop cheese and five saltine crackers.
As the cheese and crackers were placed in a brown paper bag and two nickels
exchanged, the unusual group waved goodbye as they loaded onto their panel
truck. The next day, Elliott noticed the string of peppers was no longer
hanging on the wall. The gypsy woman must have taken it! The pepper thieves didn't account for much,
but now, the merchant had lost a sizeable amount of cash, 30 pounds of sugar
and several Blue Buckle overalls. He was so troubled over the invasion, he
decided it was God's will to search for the identity of the robber—to make
things right and to seek justice. He left his wife, Emily, and daughter, Sadie,
at home and traveled across the Georgia line to Heard County for a visit with
the mysterious woman named Mayhayley. Surprisingly, after placing a deck of
cards across a tabletop, Mayhayley not only told him the trespasser's name,
which door the intruder used, but even recalled some of the items taken.
Elliott was shocked and left in bewilderment. However, he never confronted the
man. He was still half unsure, but really just didn't want his neighbors to
know he'd succumbed to the mystic woman. So he counted his losses and placed
another order to the Knight & McIntosh Overall Factory in Roanoke." I had the students all read the story and answer the following questions about the
reading….
- Who
- What
- Where
- When
- How
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