Oral history with Mrs. Boyd O'Neal Keith

              Oral history with Mrs. Boyd O'Neal Keith
F341.5 . M57 vol. 749
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Biography
Mrs. Boyd O'Neal Keith was born on July 17, 1918. Her parents are James Byrd O'Neal and Margaret Josephine Edwards. She had one brother, Bea, and another sibling. They passed away when she was a child. At ten years old, Mrs. Keith began to help her family in whatever way possible. Thus, she helped her family plow the O'Neal homestead that consists of 328 acres and dates back to an original Spanish land grant. She often plowed the land effectively with oxen and her favorite mule, Hickey.
Mrs. Keith attended Daisy Vestry High School, and she was on the girls’ basketball team. Although the sport was more for recreational purposes than competition, Mrs. Keith still committed to practice under less than favorable conditions. She practiced on a dirt court without any lights and when she went to the Perkinston gym, she had to cross the " cattle gap," which are iron rails planted in the ground as a way of fencing in cows. But she enjoyed sports and her classes of which she excelled in, such as math and chemistry. Later when she attended college at Perkinston, tuition, textbooks, and private housing as a boarder with the Broadus' in 1936, caused Mrs. Keith to earn her money in creative ways. She ironed and plowed land for the Broadus family, and she assisted Perk students with their homework.
Mrs. Keith is also strongly committed to her church and her faith. She always goes to church. She would often invite her roommate Birdie to her Baptist Church, and she and Birdie worked to be good Christians. At one time, she and Birdie took Spanish moss, boiled it and fashioned it into a soft bed for some children in their community who were in need of a bed. She also taught children in her Sunday School about the power of prayer and that heaven has spectators on a football field cheering and motivating the living to live right. Her motto, " How strong is your faith?" has been picked up and used by various members of her church. This motto helps her and others see the beauty of God's " handiwork." She even met her future husband, Robert Keith, through a Daisy ministry box supper fundraiser.
At one point, Mrs. Keith worked at a wool mill in Hurley, Mississippi, while also farming and sewing clothes for her children, Charlie and Margaret. She also had another daughter, now deceased, for whom she made a beautiful bedspread. She has now retired from all formal work, but she is no less active. She continues to work on projects in her church and for church- sponsored camp meetings. And she spends her leisure time quilting with her daughter, Margaret Andresen. mus- coh. keithb. doc Page 1 of 22