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Mary B. Billie has been a dollmaker since she was 17. She learned the skill by watching her mother, who had learned it from Mary's grandmother.

Accompanying note: "'She said if she can find it early enough, she sometimes gets about fifty, but it depends on the day. If she finds it late in the afternoon, she cuts about fifteen. She's looking for the ones that are smooth. You have to cut it and see, you know, take it apart and see if it's good or if it's not she'll just go on until, you know, she'll look for it until she finds it.'"

"The best palmetto fiber comes from plants that have recently been burned by fire. People used to set small fires in order to get the right kind of palmetto fiber. 'That's what they used to do. But ever since that forestry came in, I don't think they allow anybody just to start a fire. They have to watch it. They have to ask the forester to help them. If it's not burned, it's really no use, I guess, unless it's burnt for at least maybe two months, you know, later.'"