Charlotte, NC and Environs - Elder, Thereasea, 1990-1995 / Behind the Veil / Duke Digital Repository

(upbeat music)

0:02

[The Real Estate Report With Lynnsy Logue]

0:18

Minister

Let us pray.

0:33

God of our weary ears, God of our silent tears.

0:34

God who has brought us this far by faith.

0:38

We give you thanks this afternoon

0:41

for bringing us together to share in the Greenville spirit.

0:42

We thank you for our fore-parents who's planted seeds,

0:46

and to this day, we are reaping the benefits.

0:50

Lord, we thank you for the Christian love

0:54

shared with our friends.

0:56

And as we celebrate,

0:58

we ask your blessings to continue to come forward.

1:00

This is our prayer we ask your Son's name. Amen.

1:03

Congregation

Amen.

1:06

♪ I cried and I cried ♪

1:15

♪ I cried all night long ♪

1:18

♪ I cried and I cried ♪

1:21

♪ Until I found the Lord ♪

1:23

♪ I prayed and I prayed ♪

1:26

-

Hi, this is Lynnsy Logue,

1:29

also known as the Real Estate Lady,

1:30

and welcome to "The Real Estate Report".

1:31

Tonight we've got a very special program for you.

1:33

It's called "Welcome Back, Greenville".

1:36

And I'd like to tell you how it came to be.

1:38

I saw an exhibit at the Afro-American Center

1:41

here in Charlotte.

1:42

And I saw some wonderful old photographs

1:43

of a Black community that was taken

1:46

probably in the late 1880s.

1:48

And I saw families working together and playing together

1:50

and children and wonderful photographs of their ancestors.

1:52

And I said, "Where is this community?

1:56

I wanna know where these people are."

1:58

I went in search of them.

2:00

And what I found out is that there was a community

2:01

just north of Fourth Ward;

2:03

and just a hop, skip and a jump from uptown,

2:05

and it was called Greenville.

2:08

And it started, according to the Observer report,

2:09

in August of 1992.

2:12

This is a little bit of the history.

2:14

The community started in the late 1800s.

2:15

And most of the homes were owned

2:19

by the people who lived there.

2:20

They owned their own homes.

2:22

They sent their children to college.

2:23

And throughout the years, up until 1965,

2:25

those numbers dwindled so that 20% of the homeowners there

2:28

actually owned their own homes

2:32

and the other 80% was owned by absentee landlords

2:33

who allowed the property to deteriorate.

2:36

Anyway, in 1965, the homeowners went to the city

2:38

and asked for help for trash collection and street repair.

2:41

But in 1969, it underwent urban renewal.

2:44

And six and a half million dollars

2:49

was spent razing the community, and 283 acres were leveled.

2:51

Over 300 families were were relocated,

2:58

over 100 individuals and over 100 businesses.

3:01

And those are the statistics,

3:04

but what we didn't hear are the stories

3:06

about the woman who lost her mind

3:07

because she lost her friend, she lost her neighbors.

3:09

and she lost a well-paid for house.

3:12

Or the man whose heart was broken

3:13

because the people he had raised his children with

3:15

were scattered all over the community.

3:19

These people are here tonight. They're coming back.

3:21

There's over 200 houses here now.

3:23

They're gonna tell you the story of Greenville,

3:25

a wonderful community that's starting to grow again.

3:27

This is our special, "Welcome Back, Greenville."

3:31

And this is their story.

3:33

(singing ends)

3:36

Lynnsy Logue

Do you like it, okay?

3:42

-

We're in Greenville with one of the first families

3:50

who are gonna speak to us about how they feel

3:54

about their community, Greenville.

3:57

We have the grandmother, the mother and the daughter.

3:59

And our first guest is Frances Stevenson Sloane.

4:03

And Ms. Sloane, I'd like to welcome you to the show,

4:07

and thank you for having us down here

4:10

to tell your story about Greenville.

4:12

Tell us how you feel about Greenville

4:15

and some of your remembrances.

4:17

Frances Sloane

Greenville's a very dear place to me.

4:22

Although I do not, unfortunately,

4:25

I do not live in the community anymore,

4:27

because in the latter part of the 1960s

4:30

and early part of the 1970s,

4:35

the whole community was razed

4:39

by urban renewal and redevelopment.

4:42

Therefore, I had to move, and it kind of broke my heart;

4:47

because I had lived in one house all of my life.

4:53

It was a house that my father built,

4:58

and I suppose we would have still been doing something

5:00

to the weak part of the house,

5:08

and that would pull the strong part down.

5:09

But that was the way it was.

5:11

And I really did enjoy living in Greenville.

5:13

Well, it was a very gentle community.

5:19

It was a community where all families knew each other.

5:23

We knew, at least I did,

5:29

I knew who your mother and father were.

5:32

I knew to what church you belong or attended.

5:36

I knew who your grandparents were.

5:42

I knew what everyone did for a living.

5:45

It was just that kind of community.

5:48

And I suppose one might say

5:52

that it was a comfortable community.

5:55

It was a friendly and congenial kind of community.

5:58

In my remarks today, other people are...

6:05

I will not go too far into different phases

6:10

of the show today,

6:13

because we have a good many other participants

6:17

who will tell you about other phases.

6:20

But I want to tell you how nice it was

6:24

to know for whom the bell tolled.

6:28

That might seem like a rather mundane thing,

6:33

but if the bells started ringing in the middle of the day,

6:35

all I had to do was to go out on the front porch

6:39

or out on the sidewalk and listen carefully.

6:42

I knew that Mr. Brown was very sick

6:46

and that he was a member of Greenville Tabernacle.

6:49

So then I could run back in the house and say,

6:52

"Ma, ma, Mr. Brown died."

6:54

Or I could stand and listen very carefully,

6:57

and maybe the bell was tolling from over at Nazareth,

7:00

and people used to really be able to toll those bells.

7:06

So that's one of the kinds of things

7:10

that I remember about my community.

7:13

Thank you.

7:16

Lynnsy Logue

Thank you.

7:17

So it was a caring and and thoughtful community.

7:18

And Ruth. Ruth Sloane is the daughter.

7:21

Ruth, tell us your feelings about Greenville.

7:25

Ruth Sloane

Well, what I remember as a child

7:29

is that it was a community with educators, domestic workers;

7:30

people who were professionals

7:36

and some people who had no job at all.

7:38

But the one thing Greenville gave us the opportunity to do

7:40

was to learn to communicate and interact

7:44

with different segments in stratums of society.

7:47

We helped each other.

7:51

If someone died, I remember you...

7:52

You're talking about the bells tolling,

7:54

but I remember people coming around with the cards

7:56

and collecting money so that they could buy a community reef

8:00

for that family, so that the family could have flowers,

8:03

so the family could have food.

8:06

And as a child, I had something as a child

8:09

that my daughter now perhaps does not have as much,

8:12

was the fact that any adult in the community

8:16

had the right to discipline us if they caught us

8:19

doing something that we should not do.

8:22

We will tell your mother,

8:25

but we are going to discipline you first.

8:26

And if it meant that you got a spanking or a tapping,

8:29

yes they did, and they were gonna tell your mother, father,

8:31

aunt, whomever, that they did it.

8:35

And they knew that you would be reprimanded again

8:37

once you got home.

8:40

So there was this honor code in the community

8:42

whereby there was a system that we honored,

8:46

that adults, the elders had the right to discipline us.

8:48

They did not have to be our relatives.

8:52

And we did have a respect for elders that

8:54

I think it's kind of different today.

8:57

And the new Greenville is different.

9:00

I don't live in it, but I ride through it,

9:03

and I know people who live here.

9:04

And the one thing I feel about the new Greenville

9:06

that we had in the old community is a love, a pride,

9:09

a togetherness, a warmth,

9:13

a really reaching out and caring for each other

9:16

and trying to find out who your neighbors are.

9:18

And I think that it's valuable

9:22

that we are taking the time today to document this

9:25

because there are a lot of stories,

9:29

and I'm sure you will collect them, they can be told.

9:31

Funny, funny stories.

9:33

I remember a funny story of a man

9:34

who used to ride up and down the street on a broom

9:36

behind every ambulance that came through the community.

9:39

Now, some folks might not wanna remember that,

9:42

but it happened.

9:44

We waited on him like clockwork.

9:44

We knew he was coming.

9:45

Frances Sloane

Was that Herman?

9:47

Ruth Sloane

Yep.

(women laughing)

9:48

Ruth Sloane

That was Herman. That was Herman.

9:50

You know Herman was on the broom.

9:52

And then when he finished running behind the ambulance,

9:53

he would go up to Mr. BBs store,

9:56

he'd go right on back to work and he would start sweeping.

9:57

What happened was that we cared for him.

10:01

Truly, he probably needed some type of care.

10:04

Lynnsy Logue

Some extra care?

10:08

Ruth Sloane

Right, right, right.

10:10

But everyone cared for him.

10:10

Everyone cared for him.

10:12

They made sure that he had something to eat.

10:13

He had warmth, he had a place to live,

10:14

and he had a job that he could handle

10:16

so that he could have dignity.

10:18

And people did not go through red tape

10:20

in order to reach out and to care for others.

10:22

And that's one of the things that I remember.

10:24

And I have my daughter here who doesn't remember Greenville,

10:27

who can probably tell us something about the new community,

10:31

because she has friends here in the new community.

10:34

Lynnsy Logue

Aisha,

10:37

tell us how you feel about Greenville,

10:37

and what your hopes might be-

10:39

Aisha Sloane

Well, I don't know that much,

10:42

but I think that it's changed

10:43

from the way that it used to be,

10:47

because of what my mom and my grandmother tell me.

10:48

Because just the way that the whole world has changed.

10:51

So I think that it could be the way that it used to be,

10:54

where everyone knew everybody, and just things were better.

10:59

Lynnsy Logue

Thank you so much.

11:05

You know, one of the stories, Ruth...

11:05

If I may.

11:08

One of the stories that Ruth was telling,

11:08

and I've heard this in collecting our stories in Greenville,

11:10

that the parents had the right to discipline

11:14

any one of the children.

11:16

But one of those people who was a child and grew up here

11:18

said they also knew that

11:21

those adults would look out for them.

11:22

And if they needed help,

11:25

alls they had to do was go to the first adult they saw-

11:27

Ruth Sloane

That they loved.

11:30

Lynnsy Logue

That they were loved,

11:30

and they were cared for,

11:31

and that they could always get help there.

11:33

So here we are with the Sloane family,

11:35

three generations in Greenville.

11:37

And we have more stories for "Welcome Back, Greenville".

11:39

(upbeat music)

11:44

[Painting Of Woman.]

11:45

[Local Artist T.J. Reddy. Titled: Culture Bearer I]

11:46

(lullaby music)

11:55

[Babies Sleeping]

11:56

Narrator

Here's one time it doesn't matter

11:58

who your neighbor is.

12:00

(screeching and chanting)

12:03

[Pictures Of KKK, Nazi Rallies, And Civil Rights Protests

12:04

Flash on Screen and Shrink into Back of Screen]

12:09

(screeching fades)

12:12

[Pictures Of Graveyards]

12:15

Narrator

Here's the other.

12:17

Life's too short. Stop the hate.

12:19

[Leadership Conference Education Fund, Inc. Ad Council]

12:23

(upbeat music)

12:25

[Collage]

12:26

[Local Artist T.J. Reddy. Titled Culture Bearer II]

12:27

Lynnsy Logue

We are with

12:29

the Greenville Historic Society's

12:30

Business and Entertainment Committee today.

12:31

And the spokesperson for the committee is gonna be Maye,

12:35

with an e, Clark Orr.

12:38

Maye, Welcome.

12:40

Thank you.

Maye Clark Orr

Thank you for having us.

12:42

Lynnsy Logue

Well, and thank you for inviting us

12:44

over to Greenville Community, Senator.

12:46

And we're gonna talk about the businesses

12:47

that were here in Greenville.

12:50

And let's start with, um-

12:52

Maye Clark Orr

We'll start with Romeo Alexander.

12:55

Romeo was one of the young businessmen in Greenville,

12:57

and he was a good role model

13:01

for the many of the young men in our community later on.

13:04

[Picture Of Man Wearing Rameses Shriner Fez

13:07

Captioned "Romeo Alexander]

13:08

He started into business at the age of 26,

13:09

right after getting out of the Armed Forces.

13:13

He started with a snack bar,

13:16

then he had two other restaurants,

13:18

and then he had three altogether.

13:20

He expanded his business into real estate.

13:23

He was able to retire at age 40.

13:27

Well, semi-retired,

13:30

because he's still active in his real estate business.

13:32

Lynnsy Logue

And our next business person is?

13:36

Maye Clark Orr

Well, we're gonna talk

13:39

about someone in entertainment next, if it's okay.

13:40

Lynnsy Logue

All right, good. It's fine.

13:43

Maye Clark Orr

Willbert Harrison.

13:43

[Picture Of Two Men Captioned

13:44

"Harrison Brothers Wrote And Sing 'Kansas City.'"]

13:45

And I think many, many people all over the United States

13:46

remember Willbert Harrison.

13:47

He came from a very large family of talented,

13:49

musically talented sisters, brothers,

13:53

his mother, his father.

13:56

And everybody will know Will,

13:59

but from his hit record "Kansas City".

14:01

Lynnsy Logue

And I think we have a little cut

14:04

from "Kansas City" that Thomas Sadler has given us

14:05

to play, so people can identify with that.

14:09

And our next person, I believe, is the Horton's.

14:11

Now, that's an interesting story.

14:15

Maye Clark Orr

Well, that's another big family.

14:16

And Clifford and Gene Horton had a quintet

14:19

called Jordan River Quintet.

14:24

At that time, it was most unusual to have African Americans

14:27

on the radio, but they did perform on the radio

14:32

and they were quite good.

14:36

In fact, he has sisters now that are singing;

14:39

one sings in Friendship Baptist Church

14:42

as a soloist, Eva Horton.

14:44

Getting back to Will,

14:49

but he also had two brothers that were musically inclined

14:50

and performed in New York.

14:53

Robert and Johnny...

14:56

And Jimmy. Yeah, I think it was Jimmy and Robert.

14:58

That was the two, yes.

15:00

Lynnsy Logue

And after that came Mr. Locke,

15:02

who I understand was also a musician.

15:04

There's really a lot of musicians down here.

15:07

[Picture Of Man And Boy Standing outside

15:07

Captioned "Edward D. Locke Jr. Pianist"

15:08

Maye Clark Orr

Yes, indeed.

15:09

E.D. Locke, if he were living today,

15:10

would be in his 70s, probably mid-70s or late-70s.

15:12

But at that time, I can remember

15:18

all of the people in Greenville,

15:20

when they were going to have some social event,

15:22

they would invite E.D. Locke

15:25

because he could really play the piano.

15:27

And as they said oftentimes, tickle the ivories,

15:30

and he was quite talented.

15:34

Lynnsy Logue

And I suspect if Mr. Locke were here today,

15:36

he would be playing a little background music for us.

15:39

Now, I remember you're telling a story of

15:42

when we were putting this together about Jimmy Clark.

15:45

[Picture Of Man Wearing Hat

15:47

Captioned "James H Clark Boxer and Lifeguard."]

15:48

Maye Clark Orr

Yes, James Jimmy Clark,

15:48

my brother, was a lifeguard.

15:49

We had a swimming pool,

15:52

which was given by the city for our use.

15:54

It wasn't really a swimming pool,

15:59

but it was the old waterworks.

16:01

And the swimming pool was the reservoir

16:03

where the water had been kept previously before they moved.

16:05

Parts of it was very, very deep,

16:09

but I don't know of anyone,

16:12

and I haven't heard anyone say of anyone drowning there.

16:14

So my brother must have been a very good lifeguard.

16:17

On special holidays, he and another very athletic person

16:20

from Greenville, and his name is Harold Heath,

16:26

they would box for our entertainment.

16:30

And this was the highlight of the 4th of July

16:32

or other special events.

16:35

Lynnsy Logue

So that's just a really good example

16:39

about how you all cared for each other.

16:41

And that Jimmy was a lifeguard,

16:44

and also in providing entertainment

16:45

so that you had musical people and you had the boxers.

16:48

And it was just the community spirit

16:51

that just pervaded Greenville.

16:53

Maye Clark Orr

It was.

16:55

Lynnsy Logue

And I remember going through a picture,

16:56

and we have this one picture that's of Hall's Shoe Shop.

16:58

[Picture Of Man And Woman Operating Shoe Shop Machinery]

17:01

Maye Clark Orr

Yes. That was Lewis and Sudi Hall.

17:02

And their son is with us today on the committee, Leeroy,

17:05

And they had a shoe shop.

17:09

It was one of the first African-American shoe shops,

17:12

owned by African-Americans rather,

17:15

in Charlotte that I know of.

17:18

And I guess that's why I'm in business today,

17:19

because of the inspiration I saw around me growing up.

17:22

[Cursive Caption Of Shoe Shop Reads "Dad + Mother At Work."]

17:25

Lynnsy Logue

And our next businessman is,

17:26

I understand the oldest.

17:30

Is it Charlotte's oldest barber?

17:31

[Picture Of Man Holding Comb And Picture Of Barbershop

17:33

Captioned "Walter B Taylor" and "Oaklawn Barbershop."]

17:33

Maye Clark Orr

It's Walter Taylor,

17:34

standing directly behind me.

17:36

He is among the oldest barbers in Charlotte.

17:37

And he owned at one time three barbershops.

17:42

He is still in business today,

17:45

and I'd say among the oldest still in business.

17:47

And his son also has a barbershop on Beatties Ford Road.

17:50

Lynnsy Logue

So we have a lot of history for business

17:55

and for entertainment from the Greenville community.

17:57

And we're gonna hear more about business people

18:00

who are living in the Greenville community today.

18:03

(upbeat music)

18:07

[Footage Of Houses]

18:10

Lynnsy Logue

We're here in Greenville

18:14

with Thomas Sadler.

18:16

Now, Thomas has an interesting story,

18:18

and I read about it in the "Charlotte Observer".

18:20

Thomas was one of the...

18:22

Well, Thomas grew up here.

18:25

Thomas, tell us, what was it like in Greenville

18:26

when you were growing up and why did you come back?

18:29

Thomas Sadler

Well, I'll tell you one thing about it,

18:33

when we lived over here and growing up,

18:35

it was very pleasant.

18:37

I enjoyed it for a simple reason.

18:39

We had a lot of things to do unlike things we do today.

18:41

We did a lot of different things.

18:44

We went into the woods, we played,

18:46

watched Biddleville Park being built, picked blackberries,

18:48

and just a number of things that were adventurous then.

18:51

It's not adventurous today to the kids.

18:55

Running barefoot across the school ground,

18:59

picking an apple off a tree in a field.

19:02

Lynnsy Logue

So it was a good place to grow up,

19:06

wasn't it?

19:08

Thomas Sadler

It was an excellent place to grow up.

19:09

It seemed...

19:10

I hear a lot of people talk about the bad times that we had,

19:11

but I can only remember the good times.

19:14

I guess I didn't have sense enough to realize

19:16

we was going through the turmoil

19:18

that they say we was going through.

19:20

Today, we moved back because of those memories that I had,

19:23

picking up pecans, putting 'em in a pocket for later.

19:27

And memories like that called me to-

19:31

I said that I wouldn't come back to Greenville, and I did.

19:33

I'm back now 'cause I wanted to be a part

19:37

of the direction that Greenville took,

19:39

and I wanted my family to experience some of the things

19:41

that that I experienced.

19:43

And I guess those days will never happen,

19:45

but we got some things

19:48

that just as good in Greenville now or better.

19:49

We've talked about starting over,

19:52

but I can't really say starting over,

19:54

'cause that means we'd be going back.

19:56

We'll never go back there.

19:58

But we can say it's a new beginning.

19:58

We look around at houses that...

20:02

We look at them. I'm proud of them.

20:05

Unlike the houses we had where you saw the air,

20:06

sunshine coming through the walls,

20:09

and bathrooms on the back porches.

20:11

And Charlotte different.

20:14

I'm proud that my family can be back in Greenville

20:15

and have homes such as these, but I miss the old Greenville.

20:17

I live right around the corner back here towards town.

20:23

And we did a lot of things.

20:25

We had us a little old area

20:27

that I know we called a Shady Palace in a clump of trees.

20:29

And that was our club.

20:33

We did so many, you know, things.

20:35

Lynnsy Logue

Good things.

20:37

Thomas Sadler

Yeah.

Lynnsy Logue

And there are

20:38

283 acres that comprise Greenville.

20:39

And we can see from the street we're on today new houses,

20:43

and we can see evidence of construction.

20:47

So Thomas, Tom's wife says that the new Greenville

20:48

is about recreating the better parts

20:53

of the Greenville that you knew.

20:56

Thomas Sadler

Yeah, our motto in the Greenville area

20:58

now is "building a better community through family unity."

21:00

So we still stress, families,

21:04

and the family as a unit in Greenville.

21:06

That was one of the big things

21:10

that was in the old Greenville.

21:11

Everybody stuck together.

21:12

Everybody knew everybody,

21:14

and everybody helped raise all the children.

21:16

If I had to identify who my parents were

21:20

by who spanked my butt, I wouldn't know who my parents were,

21:23

because everybody, I think, they had tabs on it

21:27

if they caught you messing up and everything.

21:31

But it's the good parts of families and the church life

21:34

that's still in existence here in Greenville now.

21:39

You still see people on Sunday morning walking to church

21:41

with their children,

21:44

and getting ready in the evenings, families coming together,

21:46

coming back home for dinner and stuff like that.

21:51

And that's what it's all about.

21:53

The children in the community, it's what we teach 'em.

21:56

A child is born with every ounce

21:59

of senses they're ever gonna have,

22:00

and we have to nurture that sense,

22:01

and that's what we hope to do in Greenville.

22:03

Lynnsy Logue

Tom told me too, when we were working

22:06

on gathering some of the information for Greenville,

22:08

he said you had to be careful around the other adults

22:10

and parents because they might spank your butt.

22:14

But also if you got in trouble, you knew who to go to,

22:17

because you could go to any one of the adults in Greenville.

22:19

Thomas Sadler

Yeah,

22:23

unlike today when you went to a person's house,

22:24

the doors were not locked.

22:28

And you go in there, nobody's home,

22:29

you come back and you sit on the porch

22:30

and you waiting until somebody come,

22:32

and there was no problem.

22:33

When somebody come, they tell you,

22:35

"Well, he's going down the street,"

22:36

so you going down the street someplace.

22:37

But today, it's not quite the same.

22:39

We wish for that atmosphere again,

22:41

but unfortunately we have to lock doors,

22:44

we have to lock church doors and everything.

22:46

But in Greenville, we do have the security

22:48

of knowing that everybody still care.

22:50

Lynnsy Logue

And we know who's here.

22:54

Now, Tom was gonna introduce me

22:55

to one of the new businessmen,

22:57

except for he's been here for a while.

22:59

So Wallace, why don't you come on out?

23:00

And this is Wallace Paseo.

23:05

Tom to stay right with us.

23:07

And you've had your business how long in Greenville?

23:09

Wallace Paseo

13 Years.

23:13

Lynnsy Logue

13 Years?

Wallace Paseo

13 years.

23:15

Lynnsy Logue

So were you one of the original?

23:15

I mean, 13 years, that was before...

23:18

It was before it was torn down, wasn't it?

23:20

Wallace Paseo

It was during

23:22

the time after it had been torn down-

23:24

Lynnsy Logue

After it had been torn down.

23:25

Wallace Paseo

It was just vacant land.

23:26

There's wasn't nothing in sight.

23:27

Lynnsy Logue

Why did you decide to come to Greenville?

23:30

Wallace Paseo

About right when I first

23:35

came to Charlotte in 1957,

23:36

I met my wife in Greenville.

23:39

And as I was visiting her quite often and everything,

23:41

it just seemed like such a pleasant, nice place to be.

23:46

And everybody knew everybody.

23:49

And she was in the Fairview home.

23:51

Her parents was about the third couple

23:52

that moved in the Fairview Homes,

23:56

and I don't know what year that was.

23:57

But anyway, everybody knew everybody.

24:00

Everybody looked out for everybody.

24:02

I remember when the Fairview homes, when you used to...

24:03

At night, you didn't even have to lock your doors.

24:06

When mother had to go to work,

24:09

you had mothers all up 'em down the streets and things.

24:11

Fathers, everybody had 10, 12 fathers.

24:14

I mean, they didn't have to wait to be school

24:18

or anything about anybody.

24:20

Everybody was just nice people back then.

24:22

They cared. They really did.

24:24

And that's what I see in the new Greenville,

24:26

coming back again, by the way.

24:27

Lynnsy Logue

It's coming back.

24:29

Wallace Paseo

It's coming back.

24:30

And it's coming back with people

24:31

that is very, very interested in this section.

24:32

Like we call him "Pop".

24:34

So that's when I say "Pop",

24:35

Mr. Sadler is who I'm talking about.

24:36

It just cares a little more, you know what I mean?

24:39

It's gonna take just a little more responsibility.

24:41

And we see a lot, and a lot of growth,

24:44

and nice things that are happening in Greenville.

24:48

And I'm glad to be a part of it. I really am.

24:51

Not only as a business part,

24:53

but in any way that I can help out,

24:54

or any way that I could be concerned, you know what I mean?

24:56

And different programs, they all coming back to Greenville.

24:59

And we gonna be something to recognize.

25:02

Lynnsy Logue

Go ahead.

25:06

Thomas Sadler

The part about that,

25:07

with Wallace being back in Greenville,

25:08

it brought back memories.

25:09

I was in the store and I saw the young fellas working.

25:11

and I worked in the supermarket over here.

25:13

Everybody started off in a supermarket

25:16

delivering groceries, kerosene or something.

25:18

And I had a bicycle.

25:20

But now that I see the fellas back there,

25:22

they're behind the counter ringing up stuff.

25:23

And so it's still there.

25:25

And I call that creating independence

25:27

and learning responsibility.

25:30

So these are the same things that was there.

25:31

I was so glad to see this happening when I went in there,

25:33

saw all the guys in there working,

25:35

it just made me just feel so elated.

25:38

Lynnsy Logue

The Greenville community.

25:41

It's the spirit that keeps on living and keeps on giving.

25:42

(upbeat music)

25:47

[Children Playing Basketball]

25:51

Lynnsy Logue

Now we'll take a look at the new business

25:55

and new entertainment in the Greenville community.

25:57

And we have a person here

26:00

who just kind of hits on both of those.

26:01

Alterese Goodhoward who is a businesswoman and is currently-

26:03

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Also a children author

26:09

and producer of children's stories,

26:10

as well as been a gospel radio announcer

26:12

at WPEG-WGIV at nine.

26:14

Lynnsy Logue

And tell us what you think about Greenville.

26:17

You're living here now.

26:19

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Yes, I've been here

26:20

for about a year and a half now,

26:21

and I really love the community.

26:23

I love the community-type atmosphere

26:24

where people blend together and join together,

26:27

and help one another.

26:29

And that's something that I've been raised doing,

26:30

and always look forward to other people

26:33

that do the same thing.

26:34

And it's really interesting that we moved back

26:35

into this area, because my husband, when he was a small boy,

26:38

he used to live in this area

26:41

and always wanted to move back here.

26:43

And so we had the opportunity to, we said,

26:44

Well, we'll buy a home over in Greenville.

26:47

And it worked out real well when they started building

26:49

the new homes here.

26:51

So I really enjoyed it,

26:52

and looking forward to spending some more years.

26:54

And my children, they're really, really small right now,

26:55

so I'm looking forward to them being able

26:58

to get up a little size

27:00

and being able to enjoy as my husband did.

27:01

Maybe going through some of the branches and creeks

27:03

and things around here,

27:06

which he always tells the stories about,

27:07

when he used to climbed the trees around here,

27:09

and kind of cross some of these creeks and different things.

27:11

I'm not quite sure why I want my child to do that,

27:14

but those are some of the fun things that he remembers

27:16

about being over here.

27:18

So it's really been a pleasure.

27:19

Lynnsy Logue

Well, they say there's a history

27:21

in the soil of Greenville

27:24

and history on the soil of Greenville.

27:25

So you're a testimony to that.

27:27

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Yeah,

27:29

hopefully I'll be bringing some good history

27:30

for the future.

27:32

There are a lot of things that I'll be involved with,

27:33

which I'd like to get the children in this area

27:34

since I will be starting a children's production,

27:36

which will be gone on the road the first of the next year.

27:39

And hopefully get some of the children in this area involved

27:41

in that, as well as some of the other things

27:44

that I'm doing with the children.

27:45

Videos and different things like that.

27:47

So I'm looking forward to all of this,

27:48

and spending more time out here and getting involved.

27:50

I'm a "get involved" kind of person,

27:53

so I'll be getting involved in more things here.

27:54

Lynnsy Logue

And that sounds like

27:57

what the Greenville community is really about.

27:57

It's called getting involved,

28:00

getting involved with each other,

28:01

helping the children, and creating your own community.

28:03

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Yes, and when it comes to children,

28:07

that's one thing that I always like to do.

28:09

And it's really been interesting.

28:11

I've only been here a year and a half,

28:12

and once they found out I lived here,

28:13

they started calling on me.

28:16

And I said,

28:17

"Well, please let me know whenever I can do anything."

28:18

So I'm helping out with the festival

28:20

that they have every year,

28:22

and coordinating the gospel stage,

28:23

and there were some other things.

28:25

I'll be the guest speaker for the graduation.

28:27

So it really brings in that community talent,

28:29

'cause they don't mind asking you.

28:32

And I said, "Well, I don't mind doing things when I can."

28:33

So that's a real pleasure.

28:36

I like the family atmosphere with everyone.

28:38

Lynnsy Logue

It's very,

28:41

very important. Very important, for all of us.

28:42

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Yes, especially when you see today

28:44

'cause everyone talks about the crime,

28:46

and we see on the news constantly about crime,

28:48

and how the family breakdown is and dysfunctional families.

28:50

So whenever you have people as individuals,

28:53

as well as communities that are willing to bring back in;

28:56

I was raised in a small town,

28:58

and we believed in the community getting involved

29:00

with raising children, and being there.

29:02

When a parent was working,

29:04

maybe someone else in the community would be there

29:06

and help support that family,

29:08

maybe take care of the children.

29:10

So that's one thing that I grew up with,

29:11

and I want to instill in my children so it can continue on.

29:14

Lynnsy Logue

Thank you so much Alterese.

29:18

-

[Alterese Goodhoward] Thank you.

29:21

[Picture Of Two Men

29:22

Captioned "Harrison Brothers Wrote and Sing 'Kansas City.'"]

29:23

♪ Going to Kansas City ♪

29:23

♪ Kansas City, here I come ♪

29:25

♪ Going to Kansas City ♪

29:30

♪ Kansas City, here I come ♪

29:33

♪ They got some crazy, little women there ♪

29:38

♪ And I'm gonna get me one ♪

29:41

Announcer

The books have been collected, sorted,

29:44

and are ready to be sold

29:46

at the Library's Annual June Book Sale.

29:47

Fiction, business, history, sports, travel, and more.

29:49

Thousands of books at bargain prices,

29:52

most for 25 or 50 cents.

29:54

The Library's Annual June Book Sale is Friday and Saturday,

29:56

June 18th and 19th at the International Trade Center.

29:59

Buy a book for the baby or a bag of books for the beach.

30:02

All proceeds will buy new books for the library.

30:05

For information, call 336-2945.

30:08

[Collage

30:14

Captioned "Local Artist TJ Reddy.

30:14

Titled: Culture Bearer I."

30:15

Cartoon of Lynnsy Logue

30:16

Captioned "Welcome Back to Real Estate Report."

30:17

Lynnsy Logue

The Greenville people are very active

30:18

in every aspect of their lives, particularly education.

30:19

And some of the new programs that are coming up

30:23

that we'll hear about are very exciting.

30:26

But let's take a look at the past.

30:28

And Sarah Coleman, you're gonna tell us about what once was.

30:30

Sarah Coleman

Well, Once Was was a Fairview school

30:36

that was located on Oliver Street.

30:40

And the school was really built in 1913.

30:43

And in 1925, some land was bought on Oliver Street,

30:48

and the new building was constructed,

30:54

and it was manned by Mrs. Marie G. Davis, principal.

30:57

And she remained the principal until her death.

31:04

And after that, Mr. Byers became the principal.

31:08

But during those years at Fairview School,

31:12

and it was the only school in Greenville,

31:16

we all had to cross branches and go up hills

31:18

in order to get to Fairview.

31:22

But it was a wonderful school for us.

31:24

And we had teachers;

31:27

and especially one teacher stood out very much

31:29

in everybody's eye, and that was Mrs. Viola Ferguson.

31:32

And because her room was like a little fairyland.

31:37

And she had everything in it:

31:41

She had stairs and all kinds of books,

31:43

and it was beautiful.

31:46

And the teachers were very warm and caring.

31:48

And we stayed there until, and I was one of the ones

31:52

who would always get caught up in a change.

31:55

I went to the sixth grade

32:00

and then I was promoted, was graduated,

32:03

and then they added the seventh and eighth grade

32:08

and the ninth grade.

32:11

And then after that, we went over to West Charlotte,

32:12

which is Northwest Junior High now.

32:17

But that was the West Charlotte High School.

32:20

And it was a beautiful,

32:23

beautiful educational experience there.

32:26

And we had a beautiful chorus.

32:32

We used to go over to Johnson C. Smith

32:35

in order to be with their students in French and Drama.

32:40

And we would go to Second Ward High School,

32:45

which we competed with Second Ward,

32:48

and we would have musicals and just have a wonderful time.

32:50

The Second Vet was a school at Second Ward High School,

32:56

and the veterans from World War II

33:01

went to Second Ward and it was the Second Vet.

33:04

And the name vet, of course, comes from veterans.

33:08

And that was after World War II.

33:12

And that had all kinds of programs:

33:14

They had carpentry, brick masonry,

33:16

and everything that would get the men ready for careers.

33:19

Lynnsy Logue

And of course, one of my favorite stories,

33:24

one of my favorite people is Jessie Bangum Robinson.

33:26

You wanna tell that story?

33:31

[Photo Of Children In Formal Wear

33:31

Captioned "Jessie Bangum Robinson's

33:32

School of Ettiquette

33:33

Mock Wedding 1962."

33:34

Sarah Coleman

Mrs. Robinson

33:35

was a retired school teacher.

33:36

She lived on Oliver Avenue.

33:36

And when she retired, she thought that the girls

33:37

in the neighborhood needed some social graces.

33:41

So she opened her home to these girls,

33:44

and she taught them how to set the table,

33:47

how to use the eating utensils.

33:50

And she taught them how to dance,

33:53

and she also started kindergarten for them.

33:56

But of course, ours being a community family affair,

33:59

as it was, members of the community would come in

34:03

and help her with the children.

34:06

Lynnsy Logue

That is one of my very favorite stories.

34:09

And thank you so much Sarah Coleman

34:11

for telling us what was in Greenville.

34:13

Now, Carolyn Sadler is gonna tell us what what is

34:16

and what's coming up.

34:21

Carolyn?

34:22

Carolyn Sadler

Okay.

Well, currently we have no schools in the Greenville area,

34:24

and we are having to rely heavily

34:28

on friends of the community as well as ourselves

34:30

to develop programs for our children today

34:33

to meet the changing a academic schedule

34:35

that's the kids have in school.

34:41

So we have developed a program

34:43

with the help of Johnson C. Smith and their students.

34:45

We developed a tutoring program for our children here,

34:48

where they meet twice a week for a couple of hours,

34:51

and the students help them out with their homework,

34:56

and any school project they may have that they need help in.

34:58

Lynnsy Logue

That's the students from Johnson C. Smith?

35:02

Carolyn Sadler

Mm-hmm. Yes.

35:03

This, the Greenville community developed this program

35:04

and along with the students at Johnson C. Smith.

35:08

And we also have another program

35:12

that we are pretty proud of,

35:14

and that's the tutoring program

35:15

that's offered to us on Saturday.

35:17

And this is by a group of retired school teachers

35:19

called the Omegas.

35:22

And they come in on Saturdays

35:23

and offer their services to people

35:24

who are unable to come out during the week,

35:26

and maybe possibly to some of those adults

35:29

that might be in an educational program

35:32

that fell out of place with the younger set during the week.

35:34

So they offer their services on a Saturday.

35:37

And we have a program called the Study Buddy Program

35:41

that's here at the center.

35:45

That's offered by Park and Recreation.

35:47

It's for children to get together during the week,

35:49

and study with their friends.

35:52

They can just go in. They don't need the tutoring part.

35:54

They just go in and do their homework in a room,

35:56

in an atmosphere with their friends.

35:58

And we also have Time Out for Tots.

36:00

This is also by the city.

36:03

They give us...

36:05

Well, I say us because I have a granddaughter

36:07

that's in the program.

36:09

Lynnsy Logue

Very important, very important.

36:10

Carolyn Sadler

They give us a couple of hours

36:12

on Thursdays and Fridays.

36:14

They take the children that are three and four year olds

36:16

that are not in school.

36:19

They are here at the center from 09:00 until 12:30.

36:20

So it's like a mom's morning out program.

36:24

And they also have the...

36:27

We have a drug education program

36:31

that's offered to us by the police department,

36:33

by the various programs; mental health program.

36:36

We have the WIC program.

36:41

Okay, we are also involved in the Fighting Back program.

36:43

We are very proud of this program,

36:46

because it's a program that gives the community

36:48

an opportunity to develop programs

36:51

in fighting drug and substance abuse.

36:53

This program is designed where everyone can get involved,

36:56

from the churches to the businesses,

37:00

from the youth to the adults,

37:02

and even the addicts themselves.

37:04

This gives us as a community the opportunity to go out

37:06

and look and see what we need in the community,

37:11

as far as fighting drugs and substance abuse.

37:13

Lynnsy Logue

I know other things,

37:17

Carolyn, that we talked about

37:18

was that you have fun at the community center too

37:20

by teaching creative arts.

37:24

So tell us about the dance and the arts programs.

37:26

Carolyn Sadler

Oh, well, we have many, many programs

37:28

that are offered to us by the city.

37:31

We have a dance program, cultural arts programs.

37:33

We have cheerleading, basketball, swimming programs.

37:37

And we have a full program, a recreational program

37:43

during the summer for the children

37:47

when they're out of school.

37:49

And this is the community...

37:50

Well, the programs that go on here in the community center

37:53

are an asset to the community.

37:56

We couldn't live without 'em,

37:58

because this is where all our children come to,

37:59

to have a good time, to get involved,

38:02

and interact with the other children of the neighborhood.

38:03

But basically, we have a number of programs here

38:06

that are educational and we are proud of all of them.

38:11

Lynnsy Logue

One of the programs

38:15

that Carolyn told me about

38:17

that I'm really excited about is,

38:18

and they're applying for it,

38:19

and she made it very clear that

38:20

they're applying for this grant.

38:21

But the grant seems like a great idea.

38:23

This idea; and Carolyn, tell us about that,

38:25

that was the computers.

38:27

Carolyn Sadler

Oh, yes. Our computer program.

38:28

We have been talking for the last year

38:31

about getting in, in addition to our tutoring program,

38:33

And the city grant matching funds came available,

38:38

and we applied for a grant through that program,

38:42

where we are hoping that we get the grant

38:45

and we will set up a computer program here at the center.

38:48

And this is exciting, because we know that the kids

38:51

have been introduced to the computers in school,

38:56

and a lot of the parents haven't, and I'm one of them.

38:58

And we are hoping that the children,

39:01

along with the parents will come in,

39:03

and give the kids the opportunity to help the parents,

39:05

as well as the parents helping themselves,

39:09

and sort of a reversal role thing.

39:11

And everyone that's in the program

39:14

has promised to help someone else.

39:16

And in helping each other,

39:19

we hope to build a strong community

39:20

through getting to know each other

39:22

through a learning program of this time.

39:24

Lynnsy Logue

Carolyn told me

39:27

when we were working on the show,

39:29

she said that the new Greenville community

39:30

is about recreating the better parts

39:32

of the Greenville community that used to be.

39:35

Carolyn, thank you so much for being with us.

39:37

We'll be back in just a moment.

39:40

Cheerleader

You nailed it.

39:41

Cheerleader

D!

39:45

Cheerleaders

Defense, defense, defense, hey, hey.

39:46

Defense, defense, defense, hey, hey.

39:50

Defense, yeah, yeah. Defense!

39:54

Defense, defense, defense, hey, hey.

39:58

Defense, defense, defense, hey, hey.

40:01

Defense, yeah, yeah. Defense!

40:05

(marching band drums playing)

40:10

-

My hero, Isaiah Thomas.

42:29

-

Kevin Costner.

-

Mr. Wall.

42:34

Narrator

These are teachers.

42:36

But to the kids they've reached, they're heroes.

42:38

-

My hero, Mrs. Wooten.

42:41

-

If I don't get through to that child,

42:43

who knows, maybe no one else will.

42:45

Narrator

Teachers have the power to wake up young minds

42:46

to be heroes, to make a difference.

42:49

Reach for that power, teach.

42:51

Find out how by calling 1-800-45-teach.

42:53

Be a teacher, be a hero.

42:57

(upbeat music)

43:01

["A Few People & Their Careers From Greenville. Teachers:

43:02

Francis Stevenson Sloane. Helen Andrews. Eldora Patterson.

43:03

Mildred Andrews. Dorothy Peoples Stinson.

43:04

Mae Clark Orr. Cyrus Alexander Jr.

43:05

Roy D Moore. Creola Moore. Bessie Dixon. Viola Lee Ferguson.

43:06

Helena Cunningham. Abiah Miller Winston. Lula Harris.

43:07

Elnora Miller. Willie Bell Foster. R.P. Reeder. Dewitt Reid.

43:07

Mattie Cannon Burke. Minne Hannah Gorrlee Davis."

43:09

"A Few People & Their Careers From Greenville.

43:13

Chemist: Goldwyn Foster Harris.

43:14

Engineer: Cedric Elder. Carl Elder.

43:15

Store Manager: Doretha Davis.

43:15

Marketing Research: Mary Harris."

43:16

"A Few People & Their Careers From Greenville. Proprietors:

43:21

Willie Elder. Jacob Davis. Mae Clark Orr. Mary Cherry.

43:22

Oren Alexander. Rena Blue. Grace Phifer Robinson.

43:23

Lynnsy Logue

In the Greenville community,

43:27

churches were very, very important.

43:29

I think they were dotted along every block.

43:31

Frances Sowell is gonna tell us about the churches

43:34

that were in the Greenville of the past.

43:36

Frances Sowell

There were more than 10 churches located

43:40

in the old Greenville community.

43:42

Second Calvary Baptist Church on Fontana Street.

43:44

Greenville Memorial AME Zion on McCall Street,

43:47

Providence Baptist Church on Johnson Street.

43:51

Nazareth Primitive Baptist Church was on Hunter Street,

43:54

and they changed the name from Hunter Street

43:57

to Oliver Street.

43:59

First Mount Zion Baptist Church was on Burton Street,

44:00

New Hope Baptist Church on the corner of Pork and Kendrick.

44:03

Church of God on the corner of Johnson and Canton.

44:07

Greenville Mission House of Prayer on Spring Street.

44:10

Brandon Presbyterian Church on Maple Street.

44:13

Second Calvary Baptist Church

44:19

was established November 29th, 1914

44:21

under the leadership of the late Reverend McDonald.

44:24

The First Mortgage Burning was under the leadership

44:27

of the late Reverend L. Garner, 1945.

44:29

In October, 1947, the late Reverend John Madison Kennedy

44:33

was called to Pastor.

44:38

Under his leadership,

44:40

church members increased more than 500 members.

44:42

Financial contribution also increased.

44:46

First Mt. Zion Baptist Church was organized 1929

44:49

with Reverend WL. Herb as pastor.

44:53

Chairman of the Deacon board was the late Deacon Fred Cup.

44:57

Other deacons, the the late Syler Gray, The late John King,

45:00

the late William Davis.

45:04

Deacon Fred Cup served as the first superintendent

45:06

and treasurer.

45:09

The late sister Maggie Cup served

45:10

as the first missionary president.

45:12

The first offering was $2 and 60 cents.

45:15

Providence Baptist Church,

45:19

it was a group of Christian believers who worshiped together

45:21

at the Providence Baptist Church on Johnson Street,

45:24

under the leadership of the late Reverend Robert Lewis.

45:27

Chappell Memorial Baptist Church on December 11th, 1962.

45:32

The Chapell Memorial was established in November, 1973,

45:37

the Reverend Wilson Mitchell was called

45:42

to pass the congregation, which grew from 45 to 275 members.

45:44

Reverend Mitchell retired on October 23rd, 1987.

45:50

The Nazareth Primitive Baptist Church was organized in 1877

45:55

a few years after the close of the Civil War.

45:59

There was a membership of about 12.

46:03

Reverend Walsh Gray was elected as the first pastor.

46:06

From the beginning, the young church began to grow,

46:09

both spiritually and in membership.

46:12

Brandon Presbyterian Church.

46:16

The late Dr. Charles Newton Jenkins became the first pastor,

46:18

December the 24th, 1899.

46:21

The growth of the church was so rapid,

46:24

at the end of the eighth year,

46:26

a larger place of worship was necessary.

46:28

Mrs. Margaret Barringer gave the congregation a lot

46:31

for the erection of a church in 1908.

46:34

The church was named

46:38

for Mrs. Barringer's eldest son, Brandon.

46:39

♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪

46:42

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

46:46

♪ Ride on, King Jesus, ride on ♪

46:50

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

46:53

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

46:56

♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪

47:00

Lynnsy Logue

We've just heard about the old churches

47:02

that were in Greenville.

47:04

Now, Delores Ingram is gonna tell us about what's going on

47:05

with the new churches in Greenville.

47:08

Delores, thanks for being with us today.

47:10

It's your time to tell us about new churches.

47:12

Delores Ingram

Well, yes, ma'am.

47:15

We have three new churches in the area.

47:16

Okay, The C.N. Jenkins which was here from the beginning,

47:19

but it had a new name, Brandon United Presbyterian Church.

47:23

It name changed in 1975 in honor of the pastor,

47:27

which must have been Jenkins of some nature.

47:31

But now they have the new pastor, which is Reverend Cannon.

47:33

Okay, and we also have Mayfield Memorial Church

47:36

up on the corner of Oakland and Spring Street.

47:40

Okay, it began in October the 14th of '74.

47:42

And here it was started with Burt Durons and Sarah Cook.

47:47

And also, they done many a things in the community

47:54

to help out.

47:57

They pastors now McArthur Sanders.

47:57

Okay, we also have the Jehovah Witness Church,

48:01

which just be started.

48:04

It's just gotten built.

48:05

They haven't started servicing there yet,

48:06

but we have a lot of the members here in the community

48:08

that belongs to that church.

48:10

They have 145 members, and 200 that attend there.

48:12

They don't have preachers, but they have elders.

48:16

And one of the elders, which is Mrs. Armfield,

48:19

lives on Winstet Street.

48:21

We have other churches here that's not in the area,

48:23

but they're service churches.

48:26

We have outreach ministry on Oaklawn,

48:28

and we have Seven Day Adventist on Double Oaks Road.

48:31

Lynnsy Logue

So with the building

48:35

of the Jehovah's Witness,

48:37

that means when built, we're talking about building,

48:38

we're talking about growth.

48:40

That means people are coming back to Greenville, for sure.

48:42

Delores, thanks for being with us today.

48:44

Delores Ingram

Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

48:46

(choir singing)

48:49

["C.N. Jenkins Church Choir."]

48:55

["'Real Estate Report' Will Be Right Back!"

49:09

Narrator

It started with a cry in the night.

49:18

My baby was sick and I was scared.

49:21

Narrator 2

There's an epidemic in America.

49:24

Babies are dying from diseases like measles.

49:25

Narrator 3

Protect your baby,

49:28

get them vaccinated starting when they're two months old.

49:30

Vaccinations are even free or low cost

49:33

if you can't afford them.

49:35

Narrator 1

I almost lost my baby. Don't lose yours.

49:37

Narrator

Vaccinate before it's too late.

49:41

Announcer

Get your child vaccinated

49:43

at your doctor's office or health department.

49:44

Vaccinations are free at the Health Department.

49:46

["For More Information Call:

49:47

Immunization Branch 919 733-7752 and

49:48

North Carolina Pediatric Society 919 833 3836."]

49:48

(upbeat music)

49:52

Lynnsy Logue

In Greenville,

49:58

one of the key words that we keep hearing

50:00

is the word family.

50:03

And families are very important now,

50:04

as they were a long time ago.

50:07

Mary Harris is going to tell us something about the families

50:10

who were probably here during the beginnings of Greenville.

50:13

Mary, thanks for being with us and tell us your story.

50:17

Mary Harris

Thank you.

50:20

Well, there were so many families here,

50:22

but the ones we're gonna talk about

50:24

is the ones that had more longevity;

50:26

like Mrs. Pearl Caldwell Roach.

50:29

She was a mother of 12.

50:31

Her husband died in 1938, and she recently passed,

50:33

but she was 99 when she passed.

50:38

[News Article "Ma Pearl Roach, 99, Dies, Was Mother Of 12."]

50:39

Lynnsy Logue

99.

50:41

Mary Harris

Mm-hmm.

And in not only did she raise 12 children of her own,

50:42

when she passed, she had 26 grandchildren

50:46

and 36 great-grandchildren.

50:49

So I thought that was remarkable.

50:52

Everyone in the neighborhood knew Mrs. Roach.

50:53

They called her Ma Roach...

50:56

Um, not Ma Roach, but Ma Pearl.

50:58

Lynnsy Logue

Ma Pearl.

50:59

Mary Harris

Yeah, Ma Pearl.

And when she died, it was a sad occasion for all of us.

51:01

Lynnsy Logue

I remember

51:06

reading this story too about Ms. Roach,

51:07

and they said that she was somebody else to reckon with,

51:08

that she was very quick to calculate ,

51:11

and could do math in her head

51:14

to just out outbeat about anybody.

51:15

She was very shrewd. She had lots of common sense.

51:18

So can you remember any other sto...

51:21

She has a daughter living now here.

51:23

Mary Harris

Yes.

51:25

She does have a daughter that's living.

51:26

And she dictated her memoirs to her daughter.

51:28

And her daughter can tell you more in detail

51:31

about her mother, but she was a very intelligent woman.

51:33

She did not have a complete formal education,

51:36

but she was a very intelligent woman.

51:39

And she was not someone to trifle with.

51:41

Yeah. She knew...

51:44

Lynnsy Logue

I'd like to read those memoirs,

51:45

wouldn't you?

51:47

Mary Harris

Yeah, I think that would be

51:48

very interesting reading.

51:49

Lynnsy Logue

That would be another story.

51:50

Mary Harris

A long one.

51:52

-

Lynnsy Logue] A long one. 99 years.

51:53

Mary Harris

Yes.

Lynnsy Logue

And what about the other families, Mary?

51:55

Mary Harris

Another family we have in the community

51:57

was the Stevenson's family, Etta and Walter Stevenson.

51:59

Before her marriage, Ms. Stevenson worked as a domestic.

52:04

And after her marriage,

52:07

she settled into life as a homemaker and mother.

52:09

And together, they raised three children,

52:13

two boys and a girl.

52:15

Mr. Stevenson himself was a plasterer,

52:17

and he had an income that was sufficient

52:20

to allow his wife to stay at home,

52:22

which was not an easy feat to accomplish in those days.

52:24

Lynnsy Logue

Certainly not.

52:26

Mary Harris

Yes.

So that was really good.

52:28

He traveled with his trade in and out of Charlotte,

52:29

but for the most part, the family turned out well.

52:32

And the other family includes Mr. William Carr

52:36

and Mrs. Sally Jones Carr.

52:41

They had one child.

52:44

They lived on Spring Street, 901 Spring Street.

52:45

And their son is the one that shows the longevity,

52:48

because we don't have a lot of data

52:52

from his family's period.

52:54

But he worked at Interstate Mills, later was ADM Mills.

52:56

He worked there 41 years before he retired.

53:01

And he and his wife are parents of four children

53:04

who have all done very well in the community,

53:06

and contributed quite a bit.

53:09

Booker T and Odessa Cline Clark were another family,

53:12

they lived at 905 Hamilton Street.

53:15

And Mr. Clark worked at Myers Park Country Club,

53:19

and Mrs. Clark was a domestic.

53:23

They raised four girls and two boys.

53:26

And those children really love their parents,

53:28

because I hear one of them talk frequently of her mother

53:30

and she says, "You know, I really love my mother."

53:34

And from the way she says it, I know that she really did.

53:37

-

Now I understand with the six children,

53:41

didn't everyone go to school?

53:43

-

Everyone went to school. They were all professionals.

53:45

And a credit to the community.

53:48

Yeah. One in particular, Mrs. Elder, Theresa Elder,

53:51

she was an RN,

53:55

and she does a considerable amount of volunteer work

53:56

in and out of the community around the city,

54:00

and has won numerous awards from the city of Charlotte.

54:03

Lynnsy Logue

That's a wonderful story.

54:06

Mary Harris

Yes.

54:07

Charles and Creola Johnson Moore

54:09

were also part of the Greenville community.

54:11

Mr. Moore was a railroad worker.

54:14

And later he owned his own limousine service.

54:17

His wife was a teacher and a principal

54:20

at Newell Elementary School.

54:23

Together, they raised four children,

54:26

three boys and and one girl.

54:29

And all of these children were successful

54:31

in their careers as well.

54:33

That's about all I have for you today.

54:36

Lynnsy Logue

What about the Harrison family?

54:39

Did we get the Harrison's in there?

54:40

Mary Harris

Yes. Yes, we need to get them in.

54:43

James William Harrison met Nancy Grafton in 1926.

54:46

They married and had 20 children.

54:52

Lynnsy Logue

See, I couldn't forget that, Mary.

54:56

(women laugh)

54:57

Mary Harris

Well, when you start talking

55:00

about these numbers,

55:01

I think I've covered 'em and I really haven't,

55:03

but I thought I had gotten them.

55:05

But they began as sharecroppers, and their family just grew.

55:07

And before they were finished, they had 20 children.

55:13

And not only they raised 20 children of their own,

55:16

they had 18 foster children.

55:19

That's a lot. Lot of love to go around.

55:22

Mr. Harrison died in 1985,

55:26

and I think we saw a real large article

55:29

on the Harrison family,

55:34

where she has all of her grandchildren

55:36

and her great-grandchildren just sitting around her.

55:37

And it just looks like so much love in that family.

55:40

Lynnsy Logue

Thank you, Mary.

55:44

I think we also have somewhere else in the program

55:45

that Wilbert Harrison who made famous the song "Kansas City"

55:48

is from this Harrison family.

55:53

So I'm learning a lot about Greenville history

55:55

and loving every minute of it.

55:58

So Mary, thank you.

55:59

We're gonna go on to Tom Sull now,

56:01

who's gonna tell us something about the new families

56:03

who are living in Greenville.

56:06

Tom, thanks for being with us.

56:07

Tom Sull

And thank you for the opportunity.

56:09

Here in the Greenville community,

56:12

we have some families that originally came from Greenville

56:13

and I have moved back into the Greenville,

56:17

such as Gloria C. Torrance,

56:19

who was born and raised in Greenville

56:20

and moved back here in 1980.

56:23

She's employed with Pete Mountain Natural Gas,

56:25

has been employed for 16 and a half years,

56:28

and she's very active

56:31

in the Homeowners Community Association.

56:32

She's a treasurer for that department.

56:36

Also in this area, we have Purpose Lee,

56:38

one of our local talent singers.

56:41

He live in this area, along with Mrs. Byers.

56:45

Along with Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Sadler.

56:50

Thomas Sadler was born and raised in Greenville,

56:52

and moved out, and later moved back.

56:55

These people cherished this community

56:57

because this has a home and family atmosphere.

56:59

That's why many of 'em chose to come back here.

57:03

Lynnsy Logue

Thank you, Thomas.

57:06

Appreciate your work on that.

57:07

And thank you so much for being with us;

57:08

both of you, Mary and Tom.

57:10

And we'll continue now with "Greenville, Welcome Back".

57:12

(upbeat music)

57:16

-

Mrs Washburn, I'm Gerald Fry's mother.

57:28

-

Oh, don't you work nights?

57:32

-

I changed shifts.

57:34

Mrs Washburn, about Gerald,

57:36

I wish I could help him learn better, but I'm no genius.

57:39

-

Well, you don't have to do the homework,

57:43

but ask to see it.

57:45

Let him show off what he learned,

57:46

praise him more, show you care.

57:48

-

You think we got a chance here?

57:50

-

A good chance.

57:51

Show me a parent who really cares,

57:52

and I'll show you a kid who can learn.

57:54

["Ad Council. Education Commission Of The States."]

57:56

Lynnsy Logue

Now we're gonna find out why Greenville

57:59

is so important to the children.

58:00

What's your name?

58:02

Jamal Patterson

Jamal Patterson.

58:03

Lynnsy Logue

And why is Greenville important to you?

58:04

Jamal Patterson

Greenville is important to me

58:08

because it's a fun place to be, and I have many friends,

58:10

and people care about each other.

58:14

Lynnsy Logue

Pretty good.

58:17

And what's your name and why is Greenville important to you?

58:19

Patricia Barber

My name is Patricia Tomeka Barber,

58:21

and Greenville is important to me

58:23

because it's a loving and sharing and caring place.

58:25

And every day you see kids playing with kids,

58:31

and big kids helping little kids.

58:34

And my parents work very hard for us

58:36

to have a decent neighborhood.

58:37

And that's why I think it's important to me.

58:39

Lynnsy Logue

Good, good.

58:41

And we've got a little one around here.

58:42

And what's your name and why is Greenville important to you?

58:44

-

[Takithia Denise Carr] My name is Takithia Denise Carr.

58:47

The reason why I like Greenville

58:49

is because you see kids playing with kids every day,

58:50

and you see kids walking down the street

58:54

talking to each other.

58:58

You don't see people going down the street

58:59

fighting each other.

59:01

Lynnsy Logue

It's a community feeling that feels good,

59:03

isn't it?

59:04

Right here in Greenville.

59:06

(upbeat music)

59:09

[Child Tying Shoes]

59:14

[School Bus]

59:17

Lynnsy Logue

Let me introduce now,

59:21

TD Elder, also known as Thereasea Elder.

59:22

And Thereasea is the founder and the president

59:24

of the Greenville Historical Society.

59:28

And Thereasea's been doing one heck of a job

59:31

of pulling all the information and the history together,

59:34

and the pictures of Greenville.

59:37

And I feel like I've made a new friend

59:39

in the making of this special,

59:41

and one that will go beyond the show on Greenville tonight.

59:43

We're learning from each other.

59:49

And that's in the true spirit of Greenville.

59:51

Thereasea, tell me, what are your hopes for Greenville?

59:54

Or just tell me what you want us to know about Greenville.

59:58

[Thereasea Elder] Thanks so much, Lynnsy Logue.

1:00:02

The Greenville Community Historical Society

1:00:04

was organized August the 25th, 1991,

1:00:06

under the mission of the

1:00:10

Charlotte Mecklenburg African American Research Coalition.

1:00:12

Our aim is to trace our history in religion, business,

1:00:16

entertainment, education, and family life

1:00:21

of the old Greenville citizens.

1:00:25

If our story isn't told, our history is lost.

1:00:27

Our efforts have been and continues to be

1:00:33

that of documenting and preserving the contributions

1:00:36

by the citizens of the old Greenville community.

1:00:40

Our intent is to bring the past to the present,

1:00:43

and bridge a path to the future.

1:00:50

This is what we are doing.

1:00:54

This is what we are intending to bring about

1:00:55

in our community, to keep alive what those citizens

1:00:59

of old Greenville did many years ago.

1:01:04

Thank you.

1:01:08

-

Thank you, thank you.

1:01:10

And let me reiterate again, once again,

1:01:11

if the story isn't told, if the Greenville story isn't told,

1:01:14

then the history is lost.

1:01:18

So you can tell by the way we're telling this story

1:01:20

that the history has just begun.

1:01:23

-

Oh, and that is so true.

1:01:25

We have many portraits, documentations,

1:01:27

and we are doing videos and taping senior citizens

1:01:33

from 80 on up to 95.

1:01:39

[Lynnsy Logue] That is wonderful.

1:01:41

Thank you, Thereasea Elder.

1:01:42

And thank you for all your good work.

1:01:43

[Thereasea Elder] Thank you.

1:01:45

(upbeat music)

1:01:47

[People Exercising And Playing Sports]

1:01:57

(upbeat music)

1:01:59

[Onscreen Text: The Natural Place To Be....

1:02:09

Mecklenburg County Park And Recreation Department]

1:02:10

(upbeat music)

1:02:13

[Collage Art. Onscreen Text: Local Artist TJ Reddy

1:02:14

Titled: Culture Bearer II.

1:02:15

Cartoon of Lynnsy Logue.

1:02:16

Text: Welcome Back To Real Estate Report]

1:02:17

[Lynnsy Logue] And that's our show

1:02:19

on "Welcome Back, Greenville."

1:02:20

And we've heard from the Greenville Historical Society,

1:02:22

the Homeowners Association,

1:02:26

the folks who work at the Greenville Community Center.

1:02:28

We've seen the streets, we've seen old pictures of churches,

1:02:31

and graduating classes.

1:02:36

And you get the feeling of community,

1:02:38

you get the feeling of caring in Greenville,

1:02:40

and that's what our friends in Greenville are doing.

1:02:43

They're recreating the better parts of their past

1:02:47

through a word that's a 90s word, it's called community.

1:02:50

And community means caring for everyone in the community

1:02:54

on an individual basis.

1:02:59

It means loving them, it means correcting the children,

1:03:01

it means helping the old folks.

1:03:04

That's what Greenville is about.

1:03:07

And I like to thank Greenville,

1:03:09

and the people in Greenville for showing us

1:03:11

what community is really about.

1:03:14

And perhaps we can follow their really fine example.

1:03:16

Thank you so much. Goodnight.

1:03:21

♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪

1:03:25

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:29

♪ Ride on, King Jesus, ride on ♪

1:03:33

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:37

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:40

♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪

1:03:44

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:48

♪ Ride on, King Jesus, ride on ♪

1:03:52

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:55

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:03:58

♪ Ride on, King Jesus ♪

1:04:03

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:07

♪ Ride on, King Jesus, ride on ♪

1:04:10

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:14

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:17

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:21

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:24

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:04:29

♪ no man can a-hinder ♪

1:04:32

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:04:35

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:04:39

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:04:42

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:04:46

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:04:50

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:04:53

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:04:57

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:05:00

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:05

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:08

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:12

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:15

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:19

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:22

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:26

♪ no man can a-hinder ♪

1:05:29

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:05:33

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:05:36

♪ In that great getting up morning ♪

1:05:39

♪ Fare thee well, fare thee well ♪

1:05:43

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:48

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:50

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:55

♪ no man can a-hinder me ♪

1:05:58

Charlotte, NC and Environs - Elder, Thereasea, 1990-1995

Transcript

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John Hope Franklin Research Center

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