Lucy Lacy Ballard married Grover Ledwell about 1920. She had one son, Alton Lee Ledwell, who was born about 1921, and died in 1987. Lucy (also known as Lacy) passed away on March 11, 1969, at the age of 72.

Edited interview with Robert Ledwell (RL), grandson of Lucy Lacy Ballard. Interview conducted by Joe Manning (JM) on January 15, 2009.

JM: What did you think of the photograph?

RL: I was very pleased to get it. I'm glad that I had a chance to see it.

JM: Had you ever seen a picture of your grandmother as a little girl?

RL: Never. My grandmother passed away when I was 18.

JM: Did you know that she had worked at that age?

RL: No. I knew that she was employed in textiles. When I was young, she worked in the weaving room at the Cannon Mills when she lived in Concord (North Carolina).

JM: Did it surprise you that she was that young when was working?

RL: It didn't surprise me, but I had questions about whether she was attending school then. I've heard that children worked at a young age in textiles, but I didn't know that my grandmother was part of it.

JM: Back then, it was common for children under the age of 12 to be working in the mills in North Carolina. The textile industry was quite dependent on child labor. Lewis Hine took a lot of pictures of child laborers in North Carolina.

RL: I'm sure glad he took one of my grandmother.

JM: Mr. Hine was taking these photos to convince people that there should be laws to prohibit child labor and keep them in school. What do you think about that?

RL: I agree. I don't really know what kind of education my grandmother had.

JM: Did you know her sister Savannah?

RL: No, but I remember hearing of her at some point.

JM: Did your grandmother ever talk to you about growing up in Gastonia?

RL: I remember her telling me and my sister about growing up in Gastonia, and about some of her relatives that lived over near the mills. But that's all I remember about it.

JM: What did you call her?

RL: Nanny. It's funny, but I remember her being called Lacy sometimes, and Lucy at other times. That always confused me.

JM: So she was your father's mother, right?

RL: Yes. My father's name was Alton Ledwell. I'm Robert Alton Ledwell.

JM: What did your father do for a living?

RL: He was a truck driver. My mother graduated from high school, but I don't believe he did.

JM: Did you go to college?

RL: When I got out of high school, I went to college for a short time, and then I joined the service. I'm in textiles also. I work for a company that makes sports-related t-shirts for companies like Nike and Reebok. I travel down to Mexico and Central America a lot. Most of the t-shirts are manufactured down there. I'm a maintenance director. I take care of the maintenance on the sewing machines.

JM: What was your grandmother like?

RL: She was a very easygoing person. She was very lovable, a real good human being. I never heard her say anything bad about anybody. She was a wonderful grandmother. I used to stay at her house a lot and spend the night. She was a very good cook. I especially loved her potato salad.