 The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America, transcribed in Hollywood. Tonight's star, Ethel Waters. Tonight's story, 16 Sticks in a Bundle. To the Cavalcade of America, dear sirs, some time ago you asked me to tell you the story of my family. I will do the best I can, as it all began back in 1907, some 45 years ago. Do you, Lear Sykes, take John Young as your lawful wedded husband? I do. After we were married, John and I started out on our share-crop farm in Southampton County, Virginia. We had nothing, just our forebear hands, and faith in the future, but we had each other. And then two years later, our baby Flossie was born. Goochie, goochie, goochie, goochie. It means we'll have to work harder, John. She's got to go to school. But she's only two days old. Just the same. She's got to go to school. I want her to have security. Once she gets it in her brains, nothing can take it away from her. I'll help. I'll plant a vegetable garden. We'll need more help than that, Lear. And I was just getting ready to ask for it. Dear Lord, thank you for sending us our baby. And please help us to rear her to be God-fearing and intelligent. Lord, help us to give her an education, not just grade school, high school. We're dreaming big. That is, if you can manage it. Amen. The Lord did bless us. Before we knew it, Flossie had seven brothers and sisters, eight healthy children, three of them in high school. The farm was doing well, the house was paid for, smokehouse full of hams. All we were so happy. And then one night... Fire? Fire? Fire! Fire! Flossie, Josie, Otis? It's all right, Mama. We're children again. Fine, honey. Your mama's going to take you to your grandmothers. No. Your mama's going to stay right here with you, John. Where? Everything's gone. The chicken house. It's gone. The smoke house? That too. All my hams gone? I'm sorry, Mama. Oh, never mind. We've all got each other. We'll make out. No, we will. The boys and I start building the house again in the morning. And I'll take the girls to Grandma. Come, children. Come on. Now for the post. Over there, Papa. The post, the roof, and then... Papa, look! There's Flossie and Josie in front of us. Papa, the whole family. Well, Mama, what you're doing here? Morning, Papa. My, how nice your floor looks. Oh, John. I brought Mr. Collins from the bank with me. Morning, Mr. Collins. I was coming to see you later today. I'm sorry about your trouble, Mr. Young. The others at the bank asked me to tell you how sorry they were, too. Well, thank you. Now, we'll just have to start again, I guess. Well, it seems like more than one family should bear. First the fire, now your savings. Savings? I don't understand. He means... John, he means the bank has failed. Failed? With all our savings, all our money. What? It seems like everything's washed away at once. Oh, wow. Oh, it wasn't anybody's fault, John. It just happened. Oh. Now, Mr. Young, I came to tell you that I'd make you a person alone myself if I could. If you need help with your house... Well, my back is strong. No, thank you, Mr. Collins. I appreciate that, but I've got some pretty good helpers. My son's here. All right, Mr. Young, sure. But if there's anything, anytime, well, you let me know. Goodbye, all. Goodbye. Goodbye, Mr. Collins. Is that why you brought the children back today, Mama? Because you heard the bank had failed? No, that's not why I came back. Last night, I got to thinking. Thinking about sticks. Sticks, Mama? Mm-hmm. John, one stick can be broken. Just one good crack over your knee and it's gone. Even two sticks. But who ever heard of breaking a bundle of sticks? And that's what we are, John. You, the children, and me. Ten sticks in a bundle. Together, nothing can break us. That's why we come back. Ten sticks in a bundle. Ten going on eleven, Papa. Eleven? Mm-hmm. You'd better get that house built soon, John. I'll be over in the garden plant this evening. Eleven. Oh, my. Otis, Ernie, where those folks? Come on, we've got to get going here now. Where's the nails? And where is the hammer? Here, Papa, right here. Where's Mama? She's lost in just a minute. We'd like to talk to her. Oh, she's in the garden planting seeds. Plantin' seeds? Mm-hmm. But Papa, that won't do any good. That ground's burnt out. The seeds won't ever know a son. Your Mama'll plant them and pray over them so hard they'll never know they weren't supposed to grow. Little seeds, Lord. Make them grow fine. There's so many to feed. Mama. Mama, can we talk to you? Oh, of course, Frosty. What is that? Mama, you'll see Otis and I. Well, we in high school. Yes, I know. Well, we're not going to be anymore. What? We want to help you and Papa now that we're poor. Poor? Why, Josie, we're rich. I thought the bank failed. Oh, that bank? You mean, we've got another one, Mama? The best. And it's right between your ears. You children are going to grow up to be fine, educated men and women. That's our riches. That's how you can help. Now, you and Josie better get the fire going under that stew. And Frosty? Yes, Mama. Don't just cook enough. Cook more than enough. Somebody might become alone hungry. Yes, Mama. Bless these little seeds, Lord. Make them grow fine. Lord, bless all my little seeds. Make them all grow fine. Like always, the Lord heard and helped. The years went by, honest years, filled with hard work. I helped as much as I could. I even made dresses out of feed sacks, bleached and dyed with sweet gumbag. Mama, hold still, Josie. Mama, how many buttons are you going to put in the jacket? Three. But the picture in the catalog shows four. Then we'll have four. Fluffy says, can she have an over-the-shoulder handbag? Is it in the picture she picked out? Well, it's in Maisie's picture, but Maisie wants the one in my picture, and I like the one in Frosty's. The flosser can have the one in Maisie's. It's easy when you think of it that way, don't you think? Uh-huh. Now hold still while I'm working around your waist with these pins. Can you make an over-the-shoulder handbag, Mama? How is that, too tight? Oh, no, it's fine. Can you sit down without his buncher? Sure. Look. Oh. I'm sorry, Mama. Oh, that's all right, sugar. Just pick me out another child. I'll cut it down for her and make you a brand-new one. Which child do you want? Well, it's right to the knee. Better pick me out a small one, and if you can't find one small enough now, we'll just put it away and wait. Can you make an off-the-shoulder bag, Mama? Well, the way I see it, Josie, if it's sewing and can be done, your Mama can do it. I guess that's why the teacher said your daughters were just about the best dressed in school. I can't explain it exactly, but I feel so good when I'm wearing something nice. I guess we're all like that, Josie dear. In a pretty cotton dress, any woman can look like a queen. That's what I mean, Mama. That's just what I mean. We were poor then, but we never took time to think much about it until one Christmas. See, once a year at Christmas time, Papa always managed to buy at least one present for each of the children. But this particular Christmas... I came by the children's presents this year. Well, don't worry about it, Papa. How can I explain it to them? Maybe we will have to explain it to them. Let's pray. Pray, Mama, for presents? Yes, for the children, Papa. The Lord gave them to us. They're his children. He won't forget them. Okay, Mama. Lord, again we seek you. We need eight presents. Papa has worked hard, but we just can't manage those presents without your help. Please, Lord, again, as you always have, help us. Amen, Mama. Days before Christmas... Mr. John P. Young? Yes? I have a package for you. For Mr. and Mrs. John P. Young and family from York, Pennsylvania. It's heavy. Let me carry it in for you. The summer before, some tourists had car trouble near our house. The boys went out and helped fix it. That was six, seven months ago, and now this. Here they went and sent us a box. A box full of toys and shoes and food. To those good people of York, Pennsylvania, God had answered our prayer beyond our foundest dreams. How safe it is to trust in His goodness and His mercy. The years went on. We laughed and sang, prayed and grew. On Sunday mornings, we worshiped God in the church. The church that Papa and the boys had built. There were nine children, then ten, eleven, and fourteen. Sixteen of them in a bundle. It seems like you children and your Papa sing prettier every year. Thank you. And I guess we've got something to sing about. Blossy finished with high school and the others moving right along. Pretty soon, you and I can just sit down and sing all the time. But the Lord had other plans. That evening? Mama. Yes, Blossy? Mama, you and Papa always said that when we want it seven, we should pray for it. That's right. Mama, I want to go to medical college. There's in college. Well, why not? John, John, are you awake? I can't seem to sleep. We've got to help her, Mama. Of course we'll help her. Papa, do you remember when we prayed that God would help us send Flossy to high school? Yeah, I remember. And we thought that was the human being. We taught Flossy the love-learning. We taught them all that. If Flossy wants to go to college, the others will too. Well, what's wrong with that? I don't think you understand. Most folks, even rich folks, have all they can do to send two or three. Oh, well, we'll just worry about them one at a time. Right now, let's just worry about our Flossy. Well, I don't know if we can manage. We'll find a way. But 14. Well, what of it? John, you can do as much as you dare to. In this good country, you can dream as big as you wish, and the Lord willing, make that dream come true. So we'll find a way somehow. Somehow we'll find a way. You are listening to the Cavalcade of America, starring Eiffel Waters, sponsored by the DuFont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry. So Gus and the cow went into Hock again, along with the brood sow and my geese. Flossy sewed up the loose soles on her Sunday shoes and was ready to set off with Papa and me for St. Philip's Nursing School, the medical college of Virginia. Our Father, who art in heaven. One of my children was leaving home for the first time. A family gathered to pray. Father, I believe in heaven. Can we pay Mr. Young? Registration fee? Why, we didn't know there was one. That's right. It's the rule, Mrs. Young. Oh, but Mr. Superintendent, we haven't got the money. Really? Oh, I'm sorry. Well, is there anything we can do? I'm only the superintendent. Believe me, if I had the authority, I'd forget the registration fee. Oh, we don't want you to forget it, if we could wait. Wait? I don't understand. Papa's asking you to trust us, Mr. Superintendent. Until after the crops end. Oh, I see. We can pay you out of Papa's soy beans in my garden. I don't know. It's highly irregular. Not my garden. By one year, there wasn't a green pea between here and Petersburg except for mine. I don't doubt your ability, Mrs. Young. It's not my ability, Mr. Superintendent. I just plant the seeds. It's the Lord that makes them grow. Then you want me to trust in the Lord? Please. All right, Mrs. Young, I will, if you'll help him. In the days that followed, family life continued at home. We cooked, sowed, harvested, sang, and settled family disputes by jury trial. Order in the court. This time Maisie was on trial, Papa was the judge. As a guy, I point you prosecuted an attorney. Mama, you turned him for the defense. Now, what is the crime? Did Maisie have the right to hit Laverne on the head with her history book because Laverne wore Maisie stockings to school? She most certainly did. Mama, you ought to order. Proceed, Miss Guy. Now, Laverne took Maisie stockings by mistake. She was in a hurry to get to school, so she put on Maisie stockings. She explained to Maisie, put Maisie hit her anyway. Is that all? Yes, sir. The prosecution rests. Mama? What was the class the plaintiff was hurrying to get to? A wiring class. Then you do admit that the plaintiff can read. Of course he can read, but what's that got to do with it? Then why didn't she read the name tapes in Maisie stockings? The defense rests. The jury will please take the case. All right, all right. Have you reached a verdict? Yes, Papa. Maisie's guilty. Guilty? Yes, Mama. I'll take it to the Supreme Court. Papa? The Supreme Court upholds the verdict. Worse to punish me. Maybe she ran to the mailbox and back. In the dark, it's scary out there. And just so we know she really doesn't, she's got to hit the mailbox three times with a stick. Mama? Oh, I'm sorry, Maisie, darling, but you've got to. It's the law. All right, Mama. I'll wait for you. All right. What is it, Maisie? What is it? Give it to me. Give it to me, Papa. Now, now, don't get excited, Mama. Yeah, sit down right here. Now, dear Mama and Papa and all of you. Oh, Mama, read it out loud. What's she saying? Oh, well, listen, it says dear Mama and Papa and all of you, the souls of my shoes come loose again. But no one here knows how near barefooted I am as I'm walking real careful. But right now I got those shoes stuck under a study table and I'll make out. Oh, my baby. Mama, you're crying. What is it, honey? It's nothing, Papa. I'm all right. It's just that the house seems so empty without my flossing. Empty, Mama? You know what you see? You've got 13 of us left. Yes, I know, baby, but the Lord gave me enough love for 14. Oh, Mama. And so the years went on. Meanwhile, one by one, the children went off to school. They received honors, too. One the best of all. Mama, it's a special delivery from New York. Open it. My daughter, Lily, won a free trip to New York and the Waldorf Astoria in a flower company's national baking contest. Well, what does it say? Oh, Mama, she baked an apple cover in front of hundreds of people and Mama. What happened? She won. She won? The top prize, $1,112 and an electric stove, a mixer and a dishwasher, and she's bringing it all home to you. Lily, just wonderful, but you want to know something? That particular apple cobbler. My Lily learned right here at home. Yes, you can do as much as you dare to in this good country. You can dream as big as you wish and the good Lord willing to make your dream come true. On the first of January, 1952, our children are men and women now. All 14 attended grade school, high school, most of them college, and their father's father was a slave. So we rejoice and give thanks to God that we are still together, looking forward with faith in the future and confidence in ourselves. That's the story of my family friends. I don't know even if it is a story, but if it is, it's God's story. For without his help, we could have done nothing. Thank you for asking me to tell you about it. Mrs. John P. Young. Ethel Waters and the Cavalcade players for tonight's story, 16 Sticks in a Bundle. The Nights Upon Cavalcade, 16 Sticks in a Bundle, was written by Edith Summer and Robert Soderbergh and was based on an article by Richard C. Davids, published in Farm Journal. In tonight's cast with Miss Waters, Jester Harriston was featured as Mr. Young. Original music was composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster. The program was directed by John Zoller and transcribed in Hollywood. This is Cy Harris speaking. The Cavalcade of America is sponsored by the Defant Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living. Drew Kemeston. Hollywood Theatre stars Claudette Colbert on NBC.