SAVANNAH MAYFIELD

AN APPRECIATION & REMEMBRANCE

BY NOWELL BRISCOE

            Several days ago, perusing through my bookshelves, I happened across a favorite reminder of my early school life, a book which was one of my first introductions to literature.  As I pulled “The Favorite Uncle Remus” from the shelf, my thoughts turned immediately to the teacher who introduced me to Uncle Remus and Joel Chandler Harris so many years ago, Savannah Mayfield, who died recently.

             Leafing through the well-worn book, I was again reunited with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Brer Possum, the tar baby, Miss Sally, her son, Miss Meadows and the gals and of course Uncle Remus .

             Pasted on the fly-leaf of the book was a column by my friend, the late Celestine Sibley, longtime columnist for the Atlanta papers.  The column was dated March 25, 1959 and the first line read, “There’s nothing like Uncle Remus to bring out the nostalgia in folks.”

             Her column centered on the search for a definition of the word “sivvigus”, which was taken from a line in the story, “Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength.”  Through the help of various friends and readers she was able to give definition to the word, which meant “a corruption of vigor.”  Finishing the column I thought, “If Celestine had known Savannah Mayfield, she would have gotten the definition at once.”  Savannah was an authority on Joel Chandler Harris and Uncle Remus.  The inside of her book, “Uncle Remus: His Songs & Sayings”, was annotated with pronunciations of hundreds of words from the book along with their definitions.

             Settling back in my oak desk chair, I closed my eyes and traveled back to those long gone days when I was a fifth grader in Miss Mayfield’s room in the old , red junior high building on Church Street.  Our room was upstairs on the back side of the building and our class was admired as we had the room that had the old metal fire escape tunnel to the ground.  I can remember only one time we all got to slide down that route to the playground.  It was close to the end of the year and after much pleading and begging, permission was granted for us to enter the playground for recess in such fashion.  We were the envy of all the other classes as we slid, skidded and tumbled down the tube to the playground.  Savannah once told me every time one of us slid down that tube, it took several years off her life, but we all survived and lived to tell the tale.

             Savannah introduced us to Uncle Remus and his critters at the beginning of the school year.  Every Friday after lunch, she instructed us to lay our heads on our desks and close our eyes.  She then opened her well worn copy of Uncle Remus and began our introduction to all the characters in the wonderful world only Joel Chandler Harris could pen.  In her smooth, rich voice, it sounded almost as if we were seated on the earthen floor of Uncle Remus’ cabin, with him seated in his chair by the fireplace, and corn-cob pipe freshly lit as he spun stories about the lives of his “critters”.  Her dialect was perfect, possibly from years of reading these stories to generations of her students.  The stories I heard fueled a passion in me for more stories from a time long vanished.  As Christmas approached, I begged and pleaded with my parents for a copy of Uncle Remus or anything written by Joel Chandler Harris.  My pleas were happily answered on Christmas day when I pulled from under the big cedar tree in the living room of our house on Walton Circle, a package wrapped in red foil containing “The Favorite Uncle Remus”.  This gift was due in part to the ingenuity of my great aunt, Ruby Landers, who was city librarian at the time (you will hear more about Ruby later).

             Some years ago, on a trip to Monroe, I stopped by to visit Savannah at her home in Loganville.  As we reminisced about my school days, I asked if she still had her copy of Uncle Remus.  She left the room and returned, holding the treasured book in her hands.  By now it was even more worn and tattered than before, possibly resembling the way Uncle Remus would look if he were alive.  I had brought my copy from so long ago and asked if she would inscribe the book for me which she did in her still beautiful Spencerian script.

             Savannah and I stayed in touch over the years until illness erased her memory.  Many times during those last years I wondered if I had taken my copy of Uncle Remus to her bedside and read stories of the plantation and critters to her as she did to her students, would she have understood and appreciated my gesture?  I like to think that it might possibly have brought  a smile to her face.

             Thank you, Savannah Mayfield, for being such a wonderful teacher and for introducing your students to Uncle Remus and his world.  As Celestine said, “There is nothing like Uncle Remus to bring out the nostalgia in folks.”  How very true.