Atlanta Flood of 2009 – SepiaSaturday #221

March 28, 2014sepia saturdayKristin

My flood photographs are not sepia but they do involve cars and a flood. In 2009 my daughter’s Atlanta apartment complex flooded as a result of days of rain, flooded Peachtree Creek and blocked drains. My daughter didn’t have to stay in a hotel because she has family in town. The quotes below are her comments.

“Yesterday they put up notices on half of the buildings, all the ones that didn’t have steps to the first floor apartments, that their leases were terminated and anything left in the apartment would be thrown away today! They haven’t let any of us back in and we are free to break our leases. Today we were told it will be 60 more days before they are able to let people back in. No one has to pay rent until they can move back in, and they are putting people in hotels until they can get back in but how can anyone move back to a place that has flooded this badly twice in 5 years (and they didn’t tell anyone about the previous flood)???”

“Some photos I took off of news websites like CNN and local tv… others I got from folks who were there and some were taken by Ayanna and Daddy… I didn’t have my camera with me. Most of the photos were very early in the flood. The three buildings to the far left ended up with over 3 feet of water in them… and in this photo the water hadn’t reached them yet.”

10224_1120205888870_58906_n — “With Our Cars and My Apartment.”

: “Getting the kids out… Wading through the waters to the drier side of the parking lot…”

My A – Z Challenge Calendar 2014

March 21, 2014A-Z Challenge 2014, CleagesKristin

This is my second year doing the A-Z Challenge. Last year I used the broad theme of my blog – family history.

This year my focus will be the letters and postcards written by my future grandfather, Albert B. Cleage to my future grandmother, Pearl D. Reed. from 1907 – 1911. I will be using people, places, addresses and events mentioned in his correspondence, to learn more about my family and the times.

I have more of a head start this year. Although I have not yet written any posts, I am researching and narrowing down the scope of posts. As I go along, I may change the word for the day if something else draws me in. Now to see what others have planned.

themebadge-1 — Click to find more blogs participating in the reveal!

Old County Building and Mary V. Elkins

March 21, 2014Cleages, Detroit, Grahams, sepia saturday#Henry Cleage, #illustrated news, #Mary V. Graham ElkinsKristin

When I saw the prompt, I immediately thought of some photos of a building in Detroit that my uncle Henry Cleage took. I found them in the first place I looked (amazingly). They aren’t labeled or dated but looking at a few old Detroit buildings I found they are of the old County Building. I would date them around 1950 from the people and cars. These are only a few of the many. Court was held in the building and Henry was a lawyer. Perhaps he had some cases there.

“The cornerstone was laid Oct. 20, 1897, in a ceremony that the Detroit Free Press called at the time “simple but impressive.” Under a headline in capital letters proclaiming, “It is laid!”, the Free Press wrote that it had rained all morning the day of the ceremony, but just at 2 p.m., as officials were gathering at Old City Hall, the sun broke and the clouds parted. A band led the procession down Cadillac Square to a platform decked out in American flags in front of the county building, where Judge Edgar O. Durfee had the honor of laying the cornerstone. Judge Robert E. Frazer gave what the Free Press called a “stirring address,” and Mayor William C. Maybury also participated.” Go to Old Wayne County Building – Historic Detroit to read a detailed history of the Old County Building.

“One of the building’s most prominent features is the pair of large sculptures flanking its center tower and portico. The copper sculptures are known as quadrigae, a Roman chariot drawn by four horses. The pieces were done by New York sculptor J. Massey Rhind, who intended the quadrigae to symbolize progress. They feature a woman standing in a chariot led by four horses with two smaller figures on either side.” From Old Wayne County Building – Historic Detroit

Mary Vee 1940 - In front of Plymouth Congregational Church. — Mary Vee 1940 – In front of Plymouth Congregational Church.

My mother’s sister, Mary V. Elkins, got a job at the County Building in 1940.

“June 10, 1940 — Mary Virginia has just gotten (through Jim and May) a good job at the County Bldg — God is so good to us. M.V. won high honor in her business Institute for typing and short hand.” Fannie Mae Turner Graham’s little diary.

Mary V. attended business school after she graduated from Eastern High School, then worked for awhile at her cousin’s Newspaper office until he helped her get a job in the old county building. She held the job for many years and received a proclamation from the City of Detroit for her service to the city during a Family Reunion when she was in her 80s.

Wayne County Courthouse (2) — Wayne County Courthouse

Old Wayne County Building could soon be allowed to seek buyers. “A Wayne County Commission committee approved a nonbinding agreement today that would settle a nearly 3-year-old lawsuit against the owners of the Old Wayne County Building and allow the owners to seek potential buyers.” From an April, 2013 article in the Detroit Free Press.

My Parents

March 17, 2014Cleages, The Book of Me#Albert B. Cleage Jr, #Doris Graham CleageKristin

Prompt for week #28 in The Book of Me is – My Parents, This is a very surface description of my parents. I have written other posts about them. Links to two are below.

"Dr. Albert B. Cleage Sr and son Albert Jr" — Dr. Albert B. Cleage Sr and son Albert Jr – about 1913

My father, Albert, was born in 1911 in Indianapolis Indiana. His parents, Albert and Pearl Cleage, met in 1907 when his father came from Athens, TN to attend Medical School. His mother was born in Kentucky and moved to Indianapolis with her family before 1900. In 1912 my father and his parents moved to Kalamzaoo, MI where his father started his practice. By 1915 they were in Detroit where they remained. He was the oldest of 7 children. His nickname was Toddy and his friends and those who knew him in his youth continued to call him that throughout his life. My father was one of the most intelligent people I have known. He was well read and could think and understand both history and current events. I wonder what he would have to say about the state of the world today.

poppy_baby_doris — My mother with her father – 1924

My mother, Doris, was born in Detroit in 1923, the third child of Mershell and Fannie Graham who came to Detroit from Alabama in 1917. She lived in Detroit, in the same house on Theodore, until she married in 1943. The only nickname she had was “Stubs”, and the only person I heard call her that (a name she wasn’t fond of.) was her sister’s husband, my uncle Buddy Elkins. My mother was one of the most independent people I have known. She taught in Detroit elementary schools for almost 20 years. She taught reading during the last years before she retired and loved helping children discover reading.

They met at Plymouth Congregational Church and were married there in 1943. In the early years of their marriage they moved several times – to Lexington, KY, to San Francisco and then Los Angeles, CA, to Springfield, MA and then back to Detroit. Judging from letters my father wrote home, their marriage seemed to be one of shared interests and activities, until I was born. At that point, it seems to me, that my father expected my mother to become a traditional wife and mother while he continued the interesting life of organizing and running the church.

They were divorced in 1954. They remained on friendly terms. We saw a lot of my father as he was home during the week so my sister and I ate lunch at his house during school week. When we were older, we spent the weekend with him frequently.

In 1960 my mother married my father’s brother, Henry. They remained together until her death April 30, 1982. My father never remarried. He died February 20, 2000.

me_parents — My father, me, my mother, Henry. Photo by my sister Pearl Cleage. 1966.

I’ve written about my parents in these posts.

100 Years – 100 Photos – 100 Sepia Saturdays – Commemorating my father’s 100th birthday.

Growing Up – In Her Own Words – By and about my mother.

H is for a Nostalgic Interview with Henry – an interview about the Freedom Now Party. 1990s.

What’s in your bag?

March 15, 2014Biography, The Book of MeKristin

Prompt #29 from The Book of Me – What sort of purse do I carry and what is in it?

I usually carry this bag with me. I made it from scraps of mud cloth several years ago. It’s lined with some navy blue fabric I had on hand but it should have been lined with black. There is plenty of room for the items below, plus my camera, a notebook, a book or whatever else I need at the time.

Altoids case – actually has various pills in case I get caught out at dinner time without them.
Bimah case with drivers license, debit card, cash.
Two ball point pins.
A pencil from Ikea.
A dime.
A striped case holding my checkbook and various papers.
A glass case for my distance glasses.
A glass case for some extra reading glasses.
My keys with a reindeer horn thing from Norway and the car open/closer.
My cell phone.

I usually carry this bag with these things in them. I keep meaning to make a very small, under my coat/jacket/shawl bag just large enough for cell phone, keys and license. Unfortunately, I don’t remember until I’m on my way out the door.

Memories of the Detroit Main Library

March 15, 2014memories, sepia saturdayKristin

When I was growing up, this was the entry way to the Detroit Main Library. It opened onto Woodward Ave. We probably started going soon after we moved back to Detroit when I was 4. There was a man who stood there, a very friendly older man who looked at your books when you were going out to make sure you had checked them out. Younger than I am now, he was very friendly and always smiled at my sister and me. He wore a blue suit and had a round head, with little hair.

entry_old_library — Woodward Entry. Click to enlarge.

To the right was the check-out counter. The door you can see to the right led into the children’s room. The picture books and early reading books were right inside the door to the left. Straight ahead, against the back wall were the books for older readers – “Invisible Island”, the Narnia books and others. My mother brought us here often, interspersed with trips to libraries closer to our home.At the time I don’t remember noticing the high ceilings and the murals specifically, but they were the background for my library experience. In 1963, an addition was added on the Cass side of the library. With building and lawn, it occupies the entire block. For reasons I don’t understand, most of the books were moved into the new area, leaving the old one behind. The book checker moved to the new side of the building and continued to sit there all day and look at books. He was there when I studied on the new side all through college and he was still there in 1972 when I started taking my two year old daughter to the library. I wonder what his name was.

To read more about the Main library

I Met My Husband in the Library “I usually studied in the sociology room of the Main Library, which was in the middle of Wayne’s campus. As I was leaving to go to my next class that day, a guy came up and asked if I was Rev. Cleage’s daughter. I said I was.”
Detroit Public Library “Designed by Cass Gilbert, the Detroit Public Library was constructed with Vermont marble and serpentine Italian marble trim in an Italian Renaissance style. His son, Cass Gilbert, Jr. was a partner with Francis J. Keally in the design of the library’s additional wings added in 1963. Among his other buildings, Cass Gilbert designed the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, the Minnesota State Capitol and the Woolworth Building in New York City.”
Historic Detroit Library “In March 1910, after some surprising opposition, the Common Council voted to accept an offer from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie to provide money to go toward improving the Detroit library system. Following two years of court cases and legal mumbo jumbo, the city finally got the go-ahead to start issuing bonds and moved ahead with building a replacement for the structure downtown, a building that was still only 35 years old.”

Man of the Year – Detroit’s Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr. (1963)

March 14, 2014Cleages#Albert B. Cleage JrKristin

Today I saw a mention of the Liberator and thought of 1963, the year my father, then Rev. Albert Cleage and later known as Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, was chosen by Liberator magazine as person of the year. Sterling Grey (who wrote the article ) was a pen name of Richard Henry. He was later known as Imari Abubakari Obadele, and served as president of the Republic of New Africa.

Fannie Mae Turner Graham 1888 – 1974

March 12, 2014Grahams#Alice Turner, #Fannie Turner GrahamKristin

Today would be my grandmother Fannie’s 126th birthday, had she not died in 1974. Here is a photograph of her with friends standing on the steps of Plymouth Congregational Church on Detroit’s Eastside, in 1936.

1936hatsfanniechurchsteps — “Mrs. C. L. Thompson, Miss Watt, Mrs. Martha Lee (Died July 1937), F. Graham
Taken as we talked on our Church steps 5/17/36
By Jim Dunbar” The Church was Plymouth Congregational Church. F. Graham is my grandmother Fannie Mae Turner Graham.

When my sister, cousins and I were growing up in Detroit, my grandmother would make us birthday cakes. They were always yellow cake with pineapple filling between the layers and chocolate icing over all. The recipe below is in the front of my mother’s falling apart cookbook. My daughter is going to make one for us this weekend and I will take a photograph and add it to this page.

5 Generations of Marie: 1891 – 2003

March 7, 2014Williams#Theola Davenport WilliamsKristin

Today would have been my mother-in-law, Theola Marie Davenport Williams, 94th Birthday. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since she left us much too soon in 1981. In honor of the day I am sharing the Marie’s in the Davenport/Williams family. There may also have been some cousins with the middle name of Marie but I am unaware of them at this time. Click to enlarge the chart.

1. Amy Marie Jackson Davenport was born in Portland, Arkansas on March 17, 1891 to Allen Jackson and Lettie Gray Jackson. She married James Davenport of Mer Rouge, LA in 1909. They made their home in Portland, Ashley County, Arkansas. They were the parents of 7 children. Most of the children migrated north to St. Louis, MO and Chicago, IL. In 1967 Amy died in Chicago, IL. I wish I had a better photograph of her.

2. Theola Marie Davenport Williams was the daughter of Amy Marie Davenport. She was born March 7, 1920, in Portland, Arkansas, the fifth child of the late James and Amy Davenport. Arkansas was her home for many years, where she attended Dermott High School and Arkansas State University at Pine Bluff. The greater part of her adult life was spent in St. Louis, Missouri where she attended Meramec Community College and Washington University.

Theola married Chester Arthur Williams on June 20, 1938. Together they had 12 children – 6 sons and 6 daughters. She was an active member of the Church and Community, which involved the following; Sunday School Teacher, Primary Department, Women’s Missionary Union and was named to the Deaconess Board of Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church; she was a secretary at the Webster Groves High School; an active Top Member and a member of the In Roads Parents Association for the City of St. Louis. She was 61 years old when she died September 21, 1981. I remember her as a very calm, accepting and thoughtful mother-in-law.

3. Linda Marie, born in 1954, is the daughter of Theola and the granddaughter of Amy.

4. Ife Marie, born in 1973, is the daughter of Theola’s son James (and me!), granddaughter of Theola and the great granddaughter of Amy.

5. Louisa Ann Marie, born in 1990, is the daughter of Theola’s daughter Deborah, granddaughter of Theola and the great grandaughter of Amy.

6. Brianna Marie, born in 1995, is the daughter of Theola’s daughter Deborah, granddaughter of Theola and the great grandaughter of Amy.

7. Sydney Marie, born in 2003, is the daughter of Ife, granddaughter of James, great granddaughter of Theola and 2X great granddaughter of Amy.

Men Wearing Hats in Poppy’s Yard – 1961

March 6, 2014Grahams, sepia saturday#backyard photosKristin

On May 21, 1961, my grandparents, Fannie and Mershell Graham, lined up their guests for the ritual photographs in their Eastside Detroit backyard. These are streaky polaroids. One of the first things I noticed about the lower photograph is the uncut grass. I don’t remember ever seeing it like that.

"Theodore backyard Rance Allen" — Verso: “Our backyard 9-21-1961 (right to left) John Wesley, John Bishops son, Ernest and Shell”

In the photo above (from left to right), my grandfather Mershell stands on the left. Ernest and John Bishop’s son are in the middle and my grandmother’s first cousin, John Wesley Allen is on the far right. I don’t know who Ernest, John Bishop or his son were and I don’t have enough information to look into the matter right now. John Wesley was visiting from Chicago with his wife, Bobbie, who appears in the women’s line below.

"theodore backyard bobbie visits" — Verso: “Bobbie, Bluetta, Mrs Bishop, Daisy, Fan, Alice, Abbie. Taken by John Wesley Allen in our back yard 9-21-61. Daisy passed 11-24-61. Her last picture.”

We start this picture with my 2x great Aunt, Abbie Allen Brown on the left end. Abbie was aunt to my grandmother and her sisters and to John Wesley Allen in the other photo. Next to Abbie is my grandmother’s youngest sister, Alice Turner; then my grandmother Fannie Turner Graham; sister Daisy Turner. Next in line are two women I don’t know. I’m not sure the one second from the right is named Bluetta but that’s what it looked like to me. On the far right is John Wesley Allen’s wife, Bobbie Conyer Allen.

All of my direct family members in these photos were born in Alabama. Bobbie was born in Sumter county Georgia. Their ages range in age from Alice, who was 53 up to Aunt Abbie, who was 85. Daisy died unexpectedly from an aneurysm on November 11 of that same year. This was her last picture. After that Alice moved in with my grandparents and Aunt Abbie.

This weeks prompt shows a row of fenced yards with three men in hats standing in the alley.

Finding Eliza