All posts by Kristin

Mystery Class photo

Cleages, Detroit
Students at Norvell School 1940s. I noticed the strip of airplanes above the students and wondered about that. There is a story below about a Xmas drive for the pilots at an air force base.

A few years ago one of my cousins sent me the above photograph. They didn’t know anything about it. Unfortunately my aunt Gladys Cleage Evans, who was an art teacher from 1944 to 1948 is no longer with us to identify. I’m assuming that this was one of her classes during that time. She taught at Norvell elementary school on Detroit’s East side in the old Black Bottom neighborhood, since urban renewed out of existence.

My maternal grandfather lived in Black Bottom when he first arrived in Detroit from Montgomery, Alabama in 1917. It was the ghetto where the vast majority of black people in Detroit lived and where all the people he knew that had gone to Detroit from Montgomery before him, lived. Anyway, back to the photo.

My cousin Dee Dee with her younger sister Barbara. Dee Dee was a Student at Smith Elementary School.
My aunt Gladys Cleage, art teacher at Novell School

Then I remembered that my cousin Dee Dee on my mother’s side had lived in the Norvell neighborhood at that time and I wondered if she had attended Norvell. She didn’t, she attended Smith Elementary, a few blocks away in a different direction. On the map below you can see both schools, plus where Dee Dee lived. Gladys lived with her parents over on the Old West Side of Detroit.

The neighborhood. Norvell Elementary School up on the left. Click to enlarge.

Students Set Fine Example in Goodwill

Oscoda Fliers Will Get 450 Box Presents

The Michigan Chronicle
Saturday October 30, 1943

The children of the Norvell school are attempting something rather unique this year as a Christmas project. They decided that it would be a nice thing and entirely in keeping with the Christian spirit of the Yuletide season to devote their entire efforts to packing Christmas boxes for the fliers of the Oscoda Air Base.

David Blair, captain of the Safety Patrol and Sophie Smith, captain of the Service Girls’ club, head a committee of fifteen students who are doing all of the work within the school. It is planned that 450 boxes or, one for each two children in the school, will be the result of this project.

Extensive Program

The children are writing up their own publicity, drawing posters to be displayed in the halls and conducting speaking programs in the various rooms to stimulate interest in this activity.

It is hoped that officiers from the Oscoda Air Base will visit the school while the project is in being, and give the children first-hand information about life in the United States Army Air Corp.

A board of directors has been selected to supervise the buying of materials for the Christmas boxes, and generally oversee the project. This board is composed of: Miss Carolyn Dunbar, teacher, Norvell school; Mrs. Fannie Goodgame, director, Nursery School, Gleiss Memorial Center; Mrs. Laura Ford, a parent, 2916 Jos. Campau; Owen F. Stemmelen, principal, Norvell school.

The philosophy of the staff at the Norvell school is molded around the theory that, the enthusiasm and activity of children, if guided into well directed channels, will furnish much needed power, and that busy hands have no time for mischief.

The students who are working on the committee with Sophie and David are: James Finley, Elbert Foster, Herman Parks, Helen Johnson, Betty Matthews, Mildren Remsing, Albert Grimaldi. Charles Hollins, Eileen Brown, Helen Taylor, Frank Lauria, Mary Bologna, Delores Berry, Calvin Montgomery, Leroy Dennard, Robert Ketelhut, Alphonse Stafford, Joan McAlpin and Dora Davis.

Quizdown

I stumbled across Quizdown while investigating the Smith and Norvell schools. Quizdown was held every Saturday morning at Detroit Institute of Arts and broadcast on the radio. Sponsored by The Detroit Free Press and featured teams from two local schools competing against each other by answering general knowledge questions provided by other Detroit area students. Various famous people appeared on the show and interacted with the students.

Other School photo stories

Eighth Grade Graduating Class – Wingert Elementary School Detroit, 1922

The Afram River and Freedom School – 1964

Working on the D. & C. line

African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Detroit, Grahams
Clifton Graham
Mershell Cunningham Graham, my grandfather.

The first job my grandfather got when he came to Detroit was as a steward on the Detroit and Cleveland fleet. His friend Cliff Graham worked as a waiter on the same fleet.

Mershell C. Graham’s WW1 draft registration card. Address and employment given. Race erroneously written as “caucasian”. Click to enlarge in new window.
John Clifton Graham’s WW1 draft registration card. Click to enlarge.

Traffic on D. & C. Route Increases

Two Boats on Cleveland Run Handle Larger Business Than at Start Last Year.

Yearly season Passenger traffic between and Cleveland this year have been somewhat in excess of the business carried on during the similar period a year ago, according to officials of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation company.

The two boats of the line covering the route, the Easter States and the Western States, have been in operation since April 2. Besides an increase in passenger business the line has handled large shipments of automobiles and trucks in addition to the usual amount of package freight.

“W are now carrying about 50 more passengers on a trip than we did last year.” says A. A. Schants, vice-president and general manager. “To meet the increased operating costs we must do more business this year than ever before. With the larger boats in operation early in the season our costs are higher, but we feel that the prospects for a large passenger and freight business have justified this policy.

Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan • Tue, Jun 19, 1917 Page 1

Passenger Boat Rams Freighter

On her way down the Detroit river bound for Cleveland, the Eastern States of the D. & C. fleet collided with an upbound freighter opposite Ecorse about midnight.

The freighter, formerly the Pioneer, now the Natironco, was damaged to such an extent that she was put on the bottom.

The bow of the eastern States was considerably damaged and she was brought back to Detroit, arriving a out 2 a. m.

People on the Eastern States made the assertion that the freighter was seemingly improperly lighted, her lights not showing clearly.

Part of the crew of the Natironco were taken aboard the Eastern States by Captain Lee C. C. Nike. The others made their way ashore in the steamer’s yawl.

__________

On May 10, 1918, my grandfather started work at the Ford Motor Company.

Click photo for more sepia posts.


Other posts about my grandfather’s move from Montgomery, Alabama to Detroit, Michigan
Prologue: Montgomery
Bound For the Promised Land
The Land of Hope
One Way Ticket
The Steamer “Eastern States” – 1917


The Land of Hope

A-Z Challenge 2022, African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Great Migration
My grandfather Mershell “Shell” Graham.

The Land of Hope

I’ve watched the trains as they disappeared
Behind the clouds of smoke,
Carrying the crowds of working men To the land of hope,
Working hard on southern soil, Someone softly spoke;
“Toil and toil, and toil and toil, And yet I’m always broke.”
On the farms I’ve labored hard, And never missed a day;
With wife and children by my side We journeyed on our way.
But now the year is passed and gone, And every penny spent,
And all my little food supplies Were taken ‘way for rent.
Yes, we are going to the north!
I don’t care to what state, Just as long as I cross the Dixon Line,
From this land of southern hate, Lynched and burned and shot and hung,
And not a word is said.
No law whatever to protect- It’s just a “nigger” dead.
Go on, dear brother; you’ll ne’er regret;
Just trust in God; pray for the best,
And in the end you’re sure to find “Happiness will be thine.”
William Crosse’s poem appeared in the Chicago Defender, c 1920

The Montgomery Advertiser 12 Oct 1916, Thu • Page 10 Click to enlarge.

When my grandfather, Mershell C. Graham arrived in Detroit he already knew people there who had come up from Montgomery earlier. At that time they all lived in Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. These were segregated, crowded and thriving black neighborhoods. That is where my grandfather found lodging with friends from home.

I found the names in letters he wrote and received from friend back in Montgomery. Using City directories and other records, I found out where he lived and who owned the houses and who lived in the area.

Charles Whyman was in Detroit in 1903 working as a waiter. In 1915 he owned a restaurant on St. Antoine. Lowndes Adams asked about him in a letter in 1917.

Moses Walker, Mershell’s future wife’s cousin’s brother-in-law, was in Detroit in 1915. He worked as a deputy collector with the United States Customs office. After their marriage, my grandparents roomed with his family.

Frank McMurray and his wife were mentioned in several letters that my grandfather received in 1917. They appear in the Montgomery directory in 1915 as grocers. In the 1919 Detroit directory he is listed as a carpenter. They also took in roomers at their residence, 379 Orleans Street.

My grandfather’s play brother, Clifton Graham was worked on the D & C Line as a waiter according to the 1917 Detroit Directory. Letters from Montgomery ask about him that same year.

Arthur Chisholm was mentioned in Lowndes letter as having gotten away without his knowing. On his 1917 draft card, his address is 379 Orleans St. Detroit, the same place my grandfather was living.

Feb 16, 1917: weather. “At Detroit the weather was fair during the day with the temp at 18 at 8 AM rising to 23 at 11 AM and falling again to 22 at 8 pm. Cloudy Friday and Saturday probably snow flurries” Free Press.

All three of the houses that Shell lived in during his first years in Detroit were two story frame houses with upper and lower porches in the back. It would be useful as a fire escape.
  1. in February 1917, my grandfather lived at 293 Catherine Street between Dequindre & St. Aubin. It was in Black Bottom. It was a two story wooden house with a two story back porch and a small side porch where the entry door was. In the back of the lot there was another dwelling house, smaller than the one in front, also two stories, with a one story kitchen on the side. 
The house is labeled. Click to enlarge.

“Women Likely to be Given Ballot,” a headline in Lansing’s local newspaper read on March 13, 1917. “Unless something unforeseen happens a bill giving the women of Michigan the right to vote for presidential electors will be passed by the Michigan legislature, and a constitutional amendment to be submitted at the general election in 1918 providing for universal suffrage will also be ratified,” The State Journal reported.

Apr 4 US Senate agrees (82-6) to participate in WWI

Apr 6, 1917, US declares war on Germany, enters World War I

On  June 4, 1917, according to his WW 1 draft registration card my grandfather, Mershell Graham was single, responsible for his father, living in Detroit and working as a steward for the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company on the Lakes and living at 2021 Orleans, a boarding house owned by the McMurrays. Formerly of Montgomery, AL.

Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company
Mershell Graham’s name appears on the list. Detroit Free Press 25 Jul 1917, Wed  •  Page 14
House labeled. Click to enlarge

2.  In May 1917, Shell was living at 379 Orleans, half a block from Maple. This was a two story frame flat with a wooden shingle roof. The alley was on the right side. There was a 1 story porch across the front and a one story kitchen in the back.  McMurry and wife, who are mentioned in several letters, lived here and ran a boarding house. This house was also in Black Bottom.

May 27, 1917 Race riot in East St Louis Illinois, 1 black man killed
Jun 26 1st US troops arrive in France during World War I

To Be Continued.

Related Posts

Letters from home
The Steamer “Eastern States” – 1917
The Migration Part 3 – Those Left Behind

Leaping at the Meadows

Cleages, ,

There seem to have been at least two photographers taking pictures of the event. Louis Cleage, laying on the ground in the background, is seen taking photos at one point. Someone was also taking them from the front. Who that was, I don’t know. Maybe Henry.

Click on any image to enlarge in a different window.

Hugh Cleage running to jump. Unknown youth watches, becomes inspired.
Hugh’s flying leap. Louis watches.
Hugh Lands.
Unknown youth taking a running leap. Louis Cleage taking a photo
Flying
Landing

Memories of the Meadows from my Aunt Gladys via FB message and her daughter Jan in 2010:
“Albert Senior and a bunch of fellow doctors bought it. It was to be a place where everyone could get away and the kids could meet and play.. big house on the property with a porch that wrapped around 2/3 of the house… (Plum Nelly was the conscientious objector farm) … dances on the porches… near Capac Michigan… Apparently they sold it later. she kind of remembers parties on the porch… a get-a-way other than the Boule or Idlewild. Mom remembers the boys spending a couple weeks at the meadows during the summer and Louis packing the provisions.”

For more Sepia Saturday Posts, Click photo

Other posts about the Meadows

Hugh Fishing At the Meadows
‘Rocco, Smitty – Getting a ticket for fishing!
D – DIARY Entry – Henry 1936
Henry’s Diary Part 2 – 1936 with photos from the Black Album
Follow up on Henry’s Diary
The Meadows 1940s
More About The Mystery Couple
My parents about 1943

Evans’ in the 1950 Census

1950 Census, Cleages,
Warren Cleage Evans
Head nurse, Mrs. Turner and Dr. Eddie Evans 1952
Gladys holding baby Warren on a trip home. Sister Barbara stooping down.

In the 1950 Census Eddie and Gladys (Cleage) Evans and their one year old son Warren, were living in Tuskegee, Alabama on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute. The U.S. Army Air Corps had established a training program at Tuskegee in 1941. That is where the Tuskegee Airmen were trained.

All three were identified as Negro. Eddie and Gladys were both 27 years old. Eddie Evans had been born in Alabama and had worked 70 hours the previous week as a resident doctor of internal medicine at the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital. This hospital opened in 1923 and was the first and only staffed by Black professionals.

Glady Cleage Evans was born in Michigan. She had not worked outside of the home in the past weeks and was listed as “H” – being home. Her hours of work in the home were not counted. She was also listed as having an occupation as an art teacher in an elementary school, even though she was not at present engaged in it.

There was a note concerning their address, which was given as “8th house on right”. The note said: 2) Line 28, items 3, 8th House on right from Lincoln Gates on Franklin Road was omitted to meet schedule given the serial number 47. It was later discovered this house had 5 dwellings units. These units were given the lowest unused serial number beginning with 58 to 61 inclusive, with no. 62 given to unit 50 – last available no.

Lincoln Gate is the main gate into Tuskegee Institute. Franklin road goes around the edge.

The housing was somewhere along the Franklin arrows. Could not find exact location.
The Lincoln gate, Tuskegee Institute, Ala 1906. The New York Public Library Digital Collections

Warren Cleage Evans was one of the numbers that were enlarged upon at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, since he was only one year old, he did not really have any information to enlarge upon.

Memories of the Tuskegee hospitals here -> I Remember The Hospitals

The Grahams – A Day In 1931

Detroit, Grahams, sepia saturday

My grandfather Mershell C Graham was the son of Mary Jackson Graham who we saw scheduled to be auctioned off with her family after the death of slave holder Crawford Motley Jackson in 1860. We move forward 70 years to to see what was happening with the Graham family in 1931,

Click on any image to enlarge in another window. Click on any link to open relevant information in another window.

“Doris – Mother – Howard – Mary Virginia ’31”

These two photos of my mother, Doris (wearing the dress with scarf) and her family were taken in the backyard of their Detroit home in 1931. Doris was eight, her sister Mary Virginia was eleven. Baby brother Howard was two years old.

Dad – Howard – MV and Doris (Actually Doris and M V)

Maybe they had just come from church, or were on their way. I wonder if my grandfather was pointing to one of the airplanes that were just beginning to become more common.

Mershell was 44. My grandmother Fannie was 42. They kept chickens, had a large garden and several fruit trees. The girls attended Barber Elementary school several blocks away. My grandfather rode the streetcar to work and they took the streetcar to church. They didn’t have a car until 1934.

From my grandfather's little pocket notebook. This was the only entry from 1931. 
"Transferred from HP (Highland Park) plant to Rouge plant Mar. 14, 1930
Went to work in Elect(rical) Stacks
 Mr. J.H. Arthiston foreman"
Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · 24 Jul 1931, Fri · Page 15

Below are some 1931 comments from Howard’s baby book, written by my grandmother.

Saw his first circus – 2 1/2 years old – and what a thrill. July 1931
On Oct 23 1931 – Howard came into bathroom while Dad was trimming my hair.
Where have you been I asked?
Answer …In the children’s room.
Question—What doing?
Answer – “Lecturing on common-sense.”
The above is true – Believe it or not.
Had more sense then any child his age we’ve ever seen.

In my grandmother Fannie’s scrapbook, I found two library cards made by my mother, Doris and her older sister, Mary Virginia in 1931. My mother was 7 and Mary Virginia was 11. There is no book listed on my mother’s card but Mary Virginia names “The Children’s Story Hour” on hers. I wonder what other books they borrowed and lent or if this was a one time happening. I notice that Mary Virginia returned her book on time.

Related Posts

The Graham’s in the 1930s
Mershell Graham’s Notebook – 1930s
Home Library 1931
Births, Deaths,Doctors and Detroit – Part 1- Grandmother Fannie’s notes

Memories of Cats

sepia saturday
James and Taffy – 1986 Idlewild, Michigan

As far as I know my ancestors did not have cats, although many had dogs. We had some cats in Mississippi, they lived in the barn and were sort of wild. Where did they originally come from? I cannot remember.

We moved to Idlewild, Michigan in the fall of 1986 and brought our cat Taffy with us. She had been gifted to us by our neighbors in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Taffy founded a dynasty that lasted over 20 years. We spayed and neutered the last batch. Most of the cats eventually wandered off and never returned, but one named Panther stayed for over 17 years and moved to Atlanta with us where he soon died, never adjusting to city life at all.

Taffy’s children

Memories

James: Wow. Mumia enjoyed the photo of me and the cat.
Me: Do you remember that? Or the cat on your shoulder.
James: When I saw it I was like “Aaaaaargh – Why do I have the cat all up in my face like that!!!” I remember the hat and know where I must have been standing on the deck. But I don’t remember the actual picture. I first asked Mumia if he recognized anyone in the picture, he thought it was his friend Levon. We were trying to figure out how old I was. That cat looks pretty big. I was thinking sixish?
Me: It was our first winter in Idlewild, 1986/87. You were about 4/5.

In Mississippi I remember a lady who bought our goat milk and wanted one of the wild barn cats. They were a variety of colors, but she only wanted a white cat. His name was Peter Pan and he bit my husband’s hand while he was trying to catch him. He was finally caught and handed over.

Peter Pan

Ife: I remember dropping kittens over the railing at the house in Mississippi to see if they would land on their feet.
Me: I remember telling you all to stop dropping them.
James: Did you ever try it after clipping their whiskers?
Ife: No. We didn’t strap buttered bread on their backs either.
James: I remember the results of an experiment we did involving falling cats – with and without whiskers. but I don’t remember doing the actual experiment.

Sydney with big weed.
James and his children found gigantic dandelion sculptures even bigger than the originals shown below.

Sydney: those dandelions are huge
Me: They must be dandelions big sister.
James: Or the children are tiny
Me: They weren’t that tiny

Ife: I just saw some of those and asked the person whose garden they were in because I remembered these pictures. They are wild onion/garlic (alums). They are purple before they go to seed.

Tulani: Memories of cats?! I have plenty… I remember when cutie pie climbed up your leg trying to get to what you were cooking on the table, and that the second taffy used to be able to pull open my bedroom door….I remember bottle feeding kittens…
Plenty more…I’m sure…

James: I remember the kittens being found in the pile of wood over by the rabbits. Also, I remember Cabral naming one of the kittens Cutie Pie…I have that sad memory about the cat and mailbox.

Me: I remember one mother cat who was hidden in the car and chewed Cabral’s bottle . I put her out at Head Start and she was gone forever.  Never made it home. Her kittens must be the ones Tulani remembers bottle feeding.

A variety of cats with family members.

We did this experiment as part of our home school science class. We buttered a piece of bread and tied it onto the back of a cat. When dropped from the height of a picnic table, the cat landed on it’s feet. I think to be a real test of the sayings – bread always lands buttered side down and a cat always lands on it’s feet – we would have had to have a piece of bread the same size as the cat, which we didn’t.

My sister Pearl’s memories of her cat, Scatter

That was Scatter. Here he is. A great cat. He came to our door one day when he was tiny. I tried to shoo him away but when Zeke walked up behind me, he let out a loud cat wail and leaped up on the screen like he was finding his long lost friend. Zeke gave him some water. Then some milk. Then some tuna. Then he moved in! Lol. For almost 20 years!!

We had to stop letting him out because we live on such a busy corner. He used to hunt when he could go out. He’d bring home a dead chipmunk and eat it on the porch! Yuck! He was fast. He ran from our porch across our street one day and pounced on a blue jay in a tree across the street!

Only cat we ever had. He was very cool. He’s buried in the backyard.

Click for more Sepia Saturday

Extended Family Gathering – Memorial Day 1922

Cleages, Detroit
“Daddy, Grammom, Uncle Jake. The whole bunch” Written on the back.

Memorial Day in 1922 was on a Sunday. The temperatures were in the 70s. My paternal grandparents with their five children joined the extended Cleage family at a picnic. There are several photographs from the day. Unfortunately both group photos are damaged – the one above has pieces missing and the one below is very blurry. Both group photos are hard to identify because people are so jumbled up instead of standing in easy to see straight lines.

Starting from the left of the first photograph from the outing are two headless women and I don’t know who they are, although the second one is wearing an identical coat (click link to see it) to the one Uncle Henry’s wife wore the next year. The little girl is my Aunt Barbara, next to her is my Uncle Hugh, Uncle Louis, Uncle Henry, Theodore Page (who looks like he has a double). My great uncle Henry’s little daughter, Ruth, who is holding the same ball the catcher is holding in the action shot. Behind her is my grandfather Albert B. Cleage Sr., with a cigar and a flag stuck in the ground in front of him. In back of them are, an unknown man, my great grandmother Celia Rice Cleage Sherman, her son Jacob, my father Albert “Toddy”, three people I don’t know them.

Another photo from the day is a very blurry group photo. 

Above is a very blurry group photo.  My grandmother Pearl on the far left. Looking over her shoulder is Aunt Gertrude (Theodore’s aunt). Next to my grandmother is a woman I don’t know, next is my great uncle Jake (Gertrude’s husband.)

with little Barbara in front of her. ,   Hugh is next to Barbara,  My father is in the front row center, next to him is my great grandmother, Celia Rice Cleage Sherman, a little kid, probably my uncle Louis is next.  Behind Louis we see Theodore Page.  My grandfather is on the end holding a flag.

“Theodore Page and Toddy”

My father’s cousin, Theodore Page, is ready at the bat while my father, “Toddy” seems oblivious to the fact that he could have his head knocked off when Theodore goes to hit the ball. 

My uncle Henry loved baseball and often described the game in terms that made it seem like a work of art or a piece of music. My mother’s mother used to listen to games on the radio. I never liked playing the game – I could not hit the ball. I didn’t like watching it, compared to basketball, baseball games seem so long and slow moving.

More about Theodore Page, the batter above, from The Church Calendar in 1960

Mr. Theodore Page was a charter member of Central Congregational Church. He was Deacon-Trustee of the church from it’s organization until the time of his death. He was a member of the Men’s Club, the Usher Board, Area Group III and was co-chairman of the Stewardship Committee. He accomplished an effective job in evangelism.

Mr. Page loved three things, his church, Masonic Lodge and his music. He was a very active Mason, a musician and a conscientious church worker.

(unreadable) minister, one of four children and born in Helena, Arkansas, Aug. 24, 1902. At the time of his death, he was working as a Final Inspector in the Automotive Department for the U. S. Government. His wife and daughter, Ann, will always remember him as a dedicated husband and father. Mr. Page succumbed May 22, 1959.

My paternal grandparents. Dr. Albert B. Cleage with a flag and a cigar . Pearl Reed Cleage pregnant with their sixth child, Gladys.
Clifton, Mary V, Lewis, Mershell Graham. 1922 Brighton Gardens, Michigan

Meanwhile, my mother’s family was celebrating at Brighton Gardens, a black resort about 45 minutes from Detroit. My mother wasn’t born until the following year.

A clipping from the same Memorial Day outing above that comes from my maternal grandmother’s scrap book.
Click for more Sepia Saturday Posts

Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church – 1909

Cleages, Indianapolis, sepia saturday
Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church Congregation 1909 Indianapolis, Indiana

This is a photograph of the congregation of Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN in 1909, two years after they organized. This photograph is from the personal collection of my cousin Vivian Vaughn McDonald.  My grandmother Pearl Reed Cleage is the third person on the top right. My grandfather, Albert Cleage is next to her.  They wouldn’t be married for two more years. Next to Albert is his brother Jacob and next to him is their brother Henry.  Directly in front of my grandfather Albert is Jacob’s wife, Gertrude.

I was told that my grandfather’s sister Josephine, also a church member, was not there for the photograph, but was home pregnant with Hattie Ruth, the youngest of her five children. Her husband, James Cleage  stands four people to the left of Henry.  James Cleage was from a different branch of Cleages.  In the second row, second from the right, is Henrietta Cleage, oldest daughter of James and Josephine.

In the 1909 Indianapolis City Directory Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church is listed as located in Realty Hall with Rev. David White as Pastor.  I wonder if he is in this photograph and if so, which one he is?

From “History of the American Negro Virginia Edition” published 1921

I finally found a photograph of Rev. David French White! He was older, but I think he is the man in the front row holding two boys on his knees, seventh from the left. What do you think?

The history below was from the Witherspoon web page, however they  have taken the history section down. My grandparents, Albert Cleage and Pearl Reed, are both listed as founders.

On April 30, 1907 the Presbytery of Indiana of the United Presbyterian Church held a called meeting at Realty Hall in response to a petition signed by 31 persons asking to be organized into a United Presbyterian congregation.

Begins With 31 Members

Prof. David Graham of Rushville was moderator and Rev. W. W. McCall of Greensburg was secretary. Other members present were Rev. Fred W. Schmuch of Milroy, Rev. N. B. McClung of Vevay, Rev. Mr. McDill of Madison, and Dr. Cowan of Indianapolis.

The petition was discussed at some length. By unanimous vote an organization was decided upon. The 31 members who signed the petition were as follows: Henry W. Cleage, Mrs. Carrie Perkins, Mrs. Emma Moore, A. T. Roney, Mrs. Cora Donann, Mrs. Cathern Crenshaw, Mrs. Daisy L. Brabham, Albert Cleage, Mrs. Gertrude Cleage, James Myers, Mrs. A. L. McElrath, O. F. Dennis, Mrs. Hattie  Mitchell, H. M. Mitchell, Mrs. Theresa Finley, Othello Finley, Miss Edith Finley, Miss Luell E. Hibbett, Mrs. Mary Peterson, Mrs. Anna Bowman, John T. Fox, Miss Pearl Reed, Thomas H. Bransford, Mrs. O. F. Dennis, Miss Alice Mathews, Miss Hilda Reeder, W. J. Perkins, Henry Moore and H. L. Hummons.

The Bus Ride

sepia saturday

I graduated with a BFA in December of 1968 and caught the Greyhound bus out of town right after Christmas. I had $500 from savings and graduation gifts. Bus fare was cheap. I can’t find the fare online, but $35 comes to mind. At the time, it was the only way I could figure out to leave home. That was my only plan – leaving home. Until this trip the farthest west I’d been was to Ludington, Michigan on Lake Michigan.

My grandmother Cleage said she wanted to pack a box lunch for me. She packed lots of fried chicken, bread and butter and various fruits. And I think I remember some pound cake. There was so much food, I couldn’t have eaten it before it went bad on my cross country trip. I remembering sharing some with a young man also heading west. And when we crossed into California I only had an apple left. We were warned to turn over any fruit and a fruit smelling dog walked through the bus, sniffing for fruit. He missed my apple and I hope that I didn’t import any virus or bugs with my rogue apple. Here are my memories of the five day bus trip west.

From a letter I wrote on Christmas, 1968 “My father said I’m crazy, but if that’s what I want to do he’ll try and give me some money if i need it. But he didn’t think it was good planning etc.”

My cousin Jan, me, my sister Pearl. The night I left.

My cousin Jan remembered: I remember being there and thinking it was very romantic and grown up you going away and all. You always did what I wanted to do before i was old enough to. And you and Pearl were my idols.

… i think it was my idea to go over and send you off properly. plus i wanted to pack myself in your luggage  

My sister Pearl remembered:
here’s what i think i remember. you had on a pea jacket and a long scarf looped around your neck and you were grinning sorta like in this photo. you had on jeans, i think, maybe bellbottoms… almost certainly… but mainly what i remember is that you didn’t seem scared (i was terrified for you!) and you seemed really happy to be going/going/gone! i also remember how weird it was going home with ma and henry. whew…]

January 5, (I think, the date is smeared) 1969

Dear Ma and Henry,

I am in Utah.  Ech.  So far no lechers for seat mates, only soreness.  I’ll never ride a bus again.  The country looks just like Michigan until Wyoming when it got hilly and now is getting more and more mountains.  I’ll write more later.

I knew you would like the patriotic pic on front (Monument to Mormon Pioneers in Temple.

love,

Kris

January 7, 1969

Dear Mommy and Henry,

            I’m doing O.K. so far.  It’s really strange not to know where anything at all is.  Today I’m going over to Berkeley, if I don’t get lost on the bus.  I’ll never ride on another bus trip!  I thought I’d never walk again. 

The people on the bus were O.K  That is everybody minded their own business, but the seats were too small you couldn’t get comfortable or sleep.  And no water.  My whole face was flaking off from dehydration when I got here.  I opened a back, I mean bank account and so my money is safe.  The Y is okay.  I don’t see anyone up here but I hear them moving so they must be here.  There’s a sink in the room, so I can get lots of water and last night I washed my hair.  The bathroom is across the hall.  This morning I woke up to the sound of some construction work at 5 – what were they doing working at 5?  Downtown here looks like Detroit downtown, but bigger.

            The towns I went through on the bus were Chicago, Des Moines, Salt Lake City (not a very interesting place, don’t go there) Reno, (Is it easy to get married there?  They had churches with Christmas lights and lit crosses. Pathetic)  Also Wyatt Earp’s town in Wyoming.  Up to the end of Iowa the scenery all looked alike, but then there were mountains.  From a distance, they looked low, like you could run up the side.  There was a shepherd herding sheep and leading a horse.  I’ll write later, now I’m going to get something to eat.  My phone and address are:

415-775-6500   ext. 402
YWCA
621 Sutter Street #402
San Francisco 94102
Write soon,
love,
Kris

On envelope:  I got luggage

January 8, 1969
Dear Aunt M.V.
          I went over the bridge to Berkeley and it’s really high.  Every student at Berkeley seems to have his own personal dog that runs along with them.  I never saw so many dogs.  They must take them to class.
Kris

By January 16, I was writing my parents from Washington, D.C. where my sister was a student at Howard. You can read more about the next parts of this trip “Once I worked in a sewing factory“