Dayton Stories Project
Story Circle Session #052495.1
Mary Scott Nursing Home
Dayton, Ohio
May 24, 1995
Coming to Dayton & Memories of the City
Interviewer: Bob Barr Recorder: Marilyn Shannon Transcriber: Tony Dallas Transcribe Typist: Sue Broadstock
Participants: Rose Brooks, Tony Dallas, Gertrude Fultz, Lester Shepard, Anna Pearl Taylor, Ernest Webb, Anna Wilson
This session lasts approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Due to its length the interview has been split into two parts.
PART ONE
PART TWO
The following transcription of the session has been edited, with repeated phrases or interruptions deleted to make the text flow more smoothly. It is suggested that visitors who find the text interesting take the time to listen to the audio portion of this session. A more detailed text will eventually be added.
Anna 1
I have lived in Dayton for 75 years...This relative was telling us about Dayton, and, of course, he and his wife, they was the only two in the family was willing to bring us up here in the car. This was really amazing. We all were filled in the car. It was filled to the capacity. With several seated on the floor, and everything. But we managed to make it...I think it was Mr. Thomas and his wife that drove us to Dayton, Ohio. And that was in the year of 1924. And, of course, my father and my mother and all of my sisters-I had around about eight sisters, and one brother-we were all filled in this car. And we made it here in Dayton...from Clanton, Alabama... And if I can remember, the first place that we lived was on First Street. And that was with some cousins. And that was temporary till we could have gotten a place at 63 Wella Street, where they have the express highway coming through. And we lived there during the time for school year when we were young children all the way up to adults...I [was] ten [when I came here].
Rose Brooks
I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. I got married when I was 16. My husband was in service. And we came up here in ‘re, but I went back to Tennessee ‘til he come back from overseas, and then we moved back up here to live. My first two babies died at birth. Then I had a little girl, and she was two and a half years old, and we were living here in Dayton then, and she got killed here. Down here on West River road. And we lived on Sough Broadway. My husband worked for the Railway Express, then. Well, I’ve been here ever since. He’s back in Tennessee. We’ve been divorced since ‘76. I had 11 children, I’ve got 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. I’ve got two girls and four boys livin’. And I’ve raised my children b myself. And I’m very proud of ‘em. I was a housewife and I worked. My baby is 24 years old. In ‘79 I had the first surgeries on my legs. Since then I haven’t been able to work. But the doctor always put me back on my feet to where I could take care of my family. I raised four of my grandchildren for eight years. Then I had to come in here. I got sick, and they didn’t think I’d live. And I came in here. And I had to put my grandchildren in foster homes. But I keep in touch with ‘em. I know where they’re at. They keep in touch with each other. And they come to see me. And they’re gettin’ along just fine. Now I’m here at Mary Scott, and I’m going to be married again.
Lester Shepard
I was born here... I was born in Dayton on East Fifth Street. And we lived there till- 1945, I guess it was- we moved to Lynchburg, Ohio, to a farm. Then come back up here in ‘54. Dad got to where he couldn’t take care of the farm an’ stuff, and doctor told him he’d be better off in a factory, so we moved back up here onto Burkhart venue, then. We was there for about 18 years. Then we moved from there up on Smithville after my aunt had died. Mom inherited the house and we moved from there up on Smithville. We lived there almost 10 years.. I worked over in North Dayton about five years as a wire sorter-count wires and solder ‘em and things... Manufactures Equipment Company’s the name of it. Was on Chapel Street at the Railroad there...
Tony Dallas
What do you remember coming here?
Anna 1
I remember...It was a little crowded, a little fussy in the car, but we made it and everything. In other words, we were thankful we did that. And then when we did get settled-my parents got settled with us–well, we were entered into Edison Grammar School. And it was really exciting for me, ‘cause we had never had that experience before-bein’ in school with whites. They had white teachers, and they were very good. And I must comment that we really learned from them And we were eager to get our homework and everything, as I think this is a must for all the parents now that they start their children in schools- in Sunday School or church schooled and grammar school. That is the greatest life for children. And that’s something that we will have been very happy over...
Ernest Webb
That used to be the biggest rival, Dunbar and Roosevelt, back when I was comin’ up... They always consider theyself more better than we were...And so we tried at best to beat ‘em...
... I first joined the church when I was 13 years old. And my father raised me up in church- if wouldn’t go to church, he’d whup us sometime, make us get up and go... My mother died when I was five years old. My real mother. My step-mother raised me. He married again...
We used to have a spring down on the low part of the hill, you know? I used to stoop down there and drink it out of it-get a kick out of that. I used to get the biggest kick drinkin’ out of that spring...
Bob Barr
When I was a kid they said black kids couldn’t swim-they weren’t buit right...
???
I never will forget the first day I went to school I had TB when I was seven years old...They didn’t allow me to get out and carry on. But I did. And then I got my butt busted. And that’s another thing, when they took the rights away from the parents instead of correcting them themself, that is the teachers should be able to correct the kids...
Rose Brooks
...My grandma would tell me, she’d say, “Rose, go get me a switch.” And if I brought her back just a little switch, she’d go get two, and roll em. And right around my legs he’d go - hit. Yeah. But I loved my grandma, and I appreciate every whipping she give me. I sure did...
Miss Biggs was my math teacher...And there was one boy in the class that I had problems with. And he’d do things and blame it on me. So, one day he did that, and Miss Maxi took me to the office. And the principal spanked me. So, when I got home, I told my grandma. And I told her, “Mom, I didn’t do it. He did it and he blamed it on me.” So, the next morning my grandmother went to school with me. She went in and put her finger in that principal’s face and she told him. She said, “She don’t have no mom and no dad; and I’m the only one who spanks her other than her teacher.” And she said, “Don’t you ever lay your hands on her again.” And his name is Mr. Bell. Mr. Bell never did bother me no more. That boy didn’t bother me no more either. I got me a belt, and I fastened my books on it. When he’d get out of school, I’d go after him, swing those books around. Yes, I would. His name was Leland. Leland Copeland. Yes, I remember him...third grade. And they used to be a girl in my class that every day she wore a certain dress, we’d get to fight. We’d have a fight. And one day I started to leave school, and she had a half of a tree out there-and she was going to hit me with that. I had to run from her...
I remember when I was little, we didn’t go to the doctor. My grandmother would go out in the woods and gather herbs. She’d get nollen[?] and make cough syrup out of it. She’d get ragweed tea, catnip tea. All kinds of stuff like that out in the...
???
Turpentine and lard. [Laugh]
Rose Brooks
Them old remedies really worked, too.
Anna
Yes, they sure did.
Ernest Webb
Yeah, I know my father used to know to believe in medicine too much like these days. He used to have a certain time sugar. And sometime they put that in your tongue, you know, when you have a cold. And what they have a coal oil sometime, too, they rub you down.
Rose Brooks
Yeah.
Anna
That’s right.
Rose Brooks
[Over-lapping] When your legs hurt-they rub your legs. [End of side A]
Ernest Webb
And all us get around that stove in the winter time. And we’d keep warm, too.
Rose Brooks
When we did have a fireplace, I remember we’d put roast ears in there and roast ‘em. Potatas. I remember my grandmother cleaning out the hearth, and she’d burn a certain kind of wood. It was a white wood. And she’d bake corn pones in that. They were good...In the ashes. Set ‘em in under the grate...
???
We used to have iron pots that hung in the fireplace. And it was old fashioned, but it sure was good.
Rose Brooks
If you make a big pot of soup in one of them big iron kettles-oh, it tastes good.
Anna
Up until now, my mother was well known about the wile greens that you could pick, and by they were very god and tasty.
Rose Brooks
Yeah. We used to pick poke salad.
Anna
And dandelions.
Rose Brooks
Dandelion greens.
Anna
That’s right. And watercress.
Rose Brooks
Watercress. We used to go down to a spring and get a lot of watercress out of it.
Anna
That’s right.
Rose Brooks
Make salads out of it. It was good.
Anna
That’s true. It was very delicious.
???
I’m getting hungry...
Rose Brooks I’ve graveled many a potata out of the ground. We had a big old cellar. And it was real cold in that cellar. And they put the fruits the vegetables in that. Canned stuff.
Ernest Webb
That’s what my step-mother used to do, we canned stuff-
Rose Brooks [Over-lapping] My aunt, they’d kill a hog-and my aunt would can that hog.
Ernest Webb
Canned it. Canned it. Yeah.
Rose Brooks
Yeah. We had our meat. The only thing we had to buy was like sugar.
Ernest Webb
Flour an sugar.
Rose Brooks
Four and meal. They’d take corn to the mill and get it ground, make our corn meal. So, we had to buy our flour and our sugar. Something like that.
Tony Dallas
Where would they slaughter the hog?
Rose Brooks
My grandpa did it. He had a big 50 gallon drum-
Ernest Webb
Right there on the farm
Lester Shepard
Right there on the farm
Tony Dallas
How would they do it?
Ernest Webb
They’d knock ‘em in the head...
Rose Brooks
[Over-lapping] Or shoot ‘em.
Lester Shepard
{Over-lapping] Knock ‘em in the head or shoot ‘em.
Rose Brooks
[Over-lapping] With a big ol’ ax or something, you know, hit ‘em in the head, you know, ill ‘em like that.
Rose Brooks
Drag that hog up that hoist-dip it down that boiling water. Then pull it back up and scrape it. Yeah.
Tony Dallas
Have you ever heard a hog scream?
Everyone
Yes. Yeah.
Rose Brooks
Yes, I sure have...God, it’s awful [laughing]. Yes. But you hurt a hog, and it’ll kill you...If you hurt a hog, don’t kill it- you better kill it when you hit it, because it’ll hurt you...We used to have a big old smoke house-we had hams hanging in there. Sides of beef and stuff like that. And smoke it. Sausage. Yeah. It was good...
[Talk about the Owl’s Club on West Fifth- you had to belong to get in. Flamingo Nightclub.]
Bob Barr
You know where Hong Town is?....You know about that?
Ernest Webb
Yeah. And I heard of Hog Bottom, too.
Bob Barr
Where’s Hog Bottom?
Ernest Webb
Over there over on Germantown...
Anna
Over there where MacFarland school is.
Bob Barr
Why’d they call it Hog Bottom for?
[Unclear.]
Ernest Webb
And when I was coming up, I used to be on a gang named Dunbar. Gang...If you take a girl home at night time, you know, you might not be caught over on that side of town else you get beat up...Yeah, I was in a gang.
Tony Dallas
What would your gang do?
Ernest Webb
Do the same thing that you’d do to me when I’d go over that side of town...They’ll rob you, too. You got to watch some of ‘em. If you got money in your billfold they’ll take it away from you...I never did go across town...
???
You protesting your territory?
Ernest Webb
Yes.
....
Ernest Webb
We’d have Cab Calloway. Duke Ellington.
Anna
And Tommy Dorsey, and all that-they used to come down.
Rose Brooks
The only band I remember liking when I was young was Glen Miller Band...
Anna
Yes. He used to come out to Wright Patterson. And that’s where we were introduced to Frank Sinatra. And that’s when the jitterbug was on. It was real fashionable.
Ernest Webb
I think that’s the reason I’m in the wheelchair now on account of that jitterbug...
Bob Barr
Did you guys ever go out to Lakeside?
Everyone
Yeah!
Bob Barr
Lakeside Palladium. You ever go out there?
Lester Shepard
Frankie’s Forest Park?
Bob Barr
Yeah, I remember that. That was out on North Main Street. But that was never quite as good as Lakeside, though.
Anna
That’s right...
...
Anna
And they had a beautiful garden out there.
...
Marilyn Shannon
I’d like to hear more about Frankie’s Forest Park. Lester was talking about that. Tell us about that.
Lester Shepard
It was just out on North Main Street. And they had a roller coaster and things just like Lakeside had...
Bob Barr
You used to go out there for Three Cent Day? You remember Three Cent Day?
Everything was three cents. You could be a big man for a dime.
Anna
We used to ride the roller coaster out there.
Rose Brooks
I liked those seats you sit down in and they swing you around?
Bob Barr
Do you remember they had the fun house out there?
Everyone
Yeah. Oh, yeah., yeah.
Bob Barr
Remember that? What do you remember most about the fun house?
Ernest Webb
It was scary.
Bob Barr
Did you all used to stand in front when they’d blow the air up the ladies’ skirts? Hunh? Hunh? You remember that? All us guys just used to have fun and laugh...[Laughter, etc.] What was out in front of the fun house?
Anna
Well, there was Laughin’ Hannah.
Bob Barr
You’ve got it, kid. {Laughs.]
Anna
One of my nephews, he couldn’t understand why she was laughing so hard. He used to say, “Mamma, what are they laughing at?’ Say, “She’s laughin’ at you, honey.” He say, “Her ain’t funny; she’s thinks she’s cute...”
[Talk about how Laughing Hannah wasn’t real.]
Rose Brooks
And then they used to have that fortune teller woman inside-the artificial one? And you’d put a coin in the machine, and she’d look up at cha, then she’d turn and come back around and pick up a card and give it out to ya, and it had something’ on it.
[Laughter]
