R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On living outside of city limits (clip)
Interviewed by Alexander Stephens and Alex Biggers on January 20, 2011
Euzelle Smith (ES): This area was— was not in the city limits. We had no paved streets, no city services, the nearest traffic light was at the corner of McDade and Church. No fire protection, no garbage pickup, no city services at all. And it was long after that when, I remember when, one summer, we had a grass fire, in this field— it was a field right out here, and the firetruck came and they parked right there and people were putting out the fire and they didn’t even get out because we were not in the city so we didn’t qualify for city services. We had a septic tank when we first got here, right there in the back, and um, so when they annexed the city— the street to the city, then we were entitled to city services.
Alexander Stephens (AS): So when that fire up in the— I'm just trying to understand. The fire department, they sent a truck?
ES: A truck came.
AS: And they came but they didn’t do—
ES: And they sat in the truck and they watched the people— it wasn’t a huge blaze you know, but the people, they were right out here, you weren’t here.
R.D. Smith (RDS): I was at service.
AS: How were they putting it out, with buckets? Or—
ES: Buckets. Anything— anything they could do to smother the flame. But like I said, now it wasn’t like a big, a big blaze or anything.
AS: Right, but how did—
ES: But it could’ve been if they hadn’t been able to put it out.
AS: How did people feel about that— or how did you feel, to see that truck standing there?
ES: Well we were scared but there wasn’t a thing we could do.
AS: But then were you angry that the fire department wasn’t..?
ES: That was just the way things were. We, you accepted it, you know.
