A is for Albert Buford Cleage

A-Z Challenge 2014, Cleages
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My grandparents - Albert B. Cleage & Pearl D. Reed in 1909.
My grandparents – Albert B. Cleage & Pearl D. Reed  Taken from a 1909 group photograph at Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church.

Today begins the 2014 April A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging everyday using items taken from the letters written by my grandfather to my grandmother from 1907 to 1912, starting with “A” and moving right through the alphabet to “Z” during April.

Albert B. Cleage’s letters begin in 1907, shortly after he met Pearl D. Reed.  The letters end in 1912 as they prepare for a move from Indianapolis, IN to Kalamazoo, MI.  This is the first letter in the collection.

a is for albert

Monday, 9 a.m. at school

Miss Reed; – I have lots to say to you, but will refrain from writing, and beg of you the opportunity to call Wednesday evening at 7:45 P.M.

Albert B. Cleage

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Albert B. Cleage. This photograph was enclosed in a later letter.

 My grandfather was born Albert Cleage in Loudon County, Tennessee on May 15, 1883.  He was the 5th and youngest child of Louis and Celia (Rice) Cleage.  His parents were born into slavery and were free after the Civil War. They married in Athens, TN in 1872.  By 1880 the family was living on a farm in Louden County, TN. Louis sharecropped 15 acres.

By 1891, the family was back in Athens. Albert was 8 years old. His parents were divorced and in 1897 his mother was married to widower Roger William Sherman, a successful carpenter. His father worked at laboring jobs in various places, from the railroad to the mines of Birmingham, AL.

In 1902 my grandfather graduated from Henderson Normal and Industrial College in Henderson, NC where his brother-in-law was teaching. He attended Knoxville College 4 years where he played football and wrote for the school paper in addition to studying.  On the way to one of these schools my grandfather decided that he needed a middle name and chose the name of “Buford” from a sign he passed on the train going to school.

In 1906, after graduating from Knoxville College, he followed 2 of his older brothers to Indianapolis, IN and attended the Indiana University Medical School. In 1907 Albert, his brothers and my future grandmother all signed a petition asking for the formation of Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church. During the summer of 1909 he worked as a waiter on the steamer, Eastern States which ran from Detroit to Buffalo NY. The money he earned funded his college education. He graduated with his MD on September 1, 1910.  He received appointment as an intern at the City Dispensary. On September 21 he and Pearl Doris Reed were married at her home.

In 1911 Pearl’s mother died and the first of their 7 children was born – Albert B. Cleage Jr, my father.  In 1912 the family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where my grandfather set up in private practice.  And that takes us to the end of the time covered in these letters.

Birth Story – Ife

Biography, memories

header_ifebabyI wrote this soon after the birth of my second daughter, Ife in 1973.  We had been in Atlanta almost a year. Jim was printing and I was working at the Institute of the Black World doing clerical work. My sister Pearl and her husband lived within walking distance. Jilo attended preschool at Martin Luther King preschool.

Birthday. Why isn't she wrapped up like a little burrito? Poor baby.
Birth day. Why isn’t she wrapped up like a little burrito? Poor baby.

March 29, 1973 – 9am – 8lbs 3 ounces – Holy Family Hospital, Atlanta, GA

 I continued working at the Institute of the Black World until Monday, March 27, when the braxton hicks contractions were too uncomfortable. For the next three days I slept until 1 or 2 PM or later. Jilo was at school and Jim at work.  We were living in a duplex at 2600 Cascade Rd. SW in Atlanta.

At midnight of the 28th the contractions became regular.  I threw up.  They were not too hard.  Jim timed them.  He’d read a chapter of a book about birthing this time.  Daddy called about 12:30.  At 4:10 we called Dr. Borders. Contractions were 8 minutes apart.  Pearl and Michael took us to the hospital.  Jilo stayed with them. I had one contraction on the way, about a twenty minute trip.

I was checked in, shaved with a dull razor, given an enema. It seemed like the contractions were gone forever.  They weren’t.  Jim was a lot of help saying don’t panic, don’t breath so fast. I really didn’t need to pant except when they were checking the dilation then it was so cold.  In fact the room was freezing and next time I’ll wear a sweater.

Dr. Borders checked every half hour. At 8:30 am, I felt a mild desire to push and told Dr. Borders. She said go ahead and I was moved to the delivery room.  Although I had been drowsy I immediately woke up alert and not at all tired. However once again the contractions disappeared.  No one panicked though, they just sat and waited.  At this time I kept expecting Dr. Borders to say it was taking too long and she’d have to give me a spinal. The nurses tried to help find the right breathing breath, breath push and confused me at first. The contractions were mild and not strong, they said, so gave me something to strengthen them.  The one nurse pushed down on the stomach while I pushed. Jim was there in blue but didn’t get to say much.  I was quite discouraged, but Dr. Borders said it was coming along and finally THE HEAD CAME OUT!  I didn’t feel it come down or anything, it just popped out, I had an episiotomy.  The cord as around her neck, but Dr. Borders got it off and out came Ife.  It was something as I said before. They showed her to me and they hit her heels and she started crying. She had dark hair.  They took prints, cleaned her nose, etc.  And it was cold again. I got a heated blanket and we all congratulated each other.  It took awhile to get stitched. I felt fine. I didn’t go to recovery, just to the room.  Ife was supposed to come with me, both my doctor and her pediatrician okayed it, but the nurses never brought her.  They told me her temp had to stabilize.

I felt fine, excellent, never really bothered by stitches. Roommate was weird, had a c-section and kept saying morbid things and complaining. A real drag.  I had rooming in. I nursed her when she wanted and was never engorged.

I hadn’t realized before that my first daughter’s birth had been so messed up by the hospital staff coming in every five minutes like it as a public event, my Doctor’s lack or interest and knowledge of natural childbirth, Jim’s absence and lack of knowledge of how to help, the length of labor.

 In Ife’s birth all of these things had an influence on me, which I hadn’t realized until labor really started.  If I had known I was only going to be 4-5 hours in labor at the hospital instead of 14 and that Ife would indeed get herself born without forceps, etc. I would have been more relaxed and could have enjoyed it more.  Things to remember next time-take a sweater, take a bag or breath under covers to avoid hyperventilation, which puts you out of it. THE BABY WILL COME OUT!  Get a single room, leave as soon as possible, the hospital that is.

Atlanta Flood of 2009 – SepiaSaturday #221

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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)???”

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“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.”

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“With Our Cars and My Apartment.”

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

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For more SepiaSaturday links, CLICK!
For more SepiaSaturday links, CLICK!

 

My A – Z Challenge Calendar 2014

A-Z Challenge 2014, Cleages

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.

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Click to find more blogs participating in the reveal!

 

 

 

 

Old County Building and Mary V. Elkins

Cleages, Detroit, Grahams, sepia saturday, ,
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Henry Cleage 1955

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.

Old Detroit County Building
Old Detroit County Building

“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.

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“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.

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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.

For More Sepia Saturday posts CLICK!
For More Sepia Saturday posts CLICK!

My Parents

Cleages, The Book of Me,

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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

Biography, The Book of Me

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

purseI 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.

stuff in purse

  1. Altoids case – actually has various pills in case I get caught out at dinner time without them.
  2. Bimah case with drivers license, debit card, cash.
  3. Two ball point pins.
  4. A pencil from Ikea.
  5. A dime.
  6. A striped case holding my checkbook and various papers.
  7. A glass case for my distance glasses.
  8. A glass case for some extra reading glasses.
  9. My keys with a reindeer horn thing from Norway and the car open/closer.
  10. 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

memories, sepia saturday

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.

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Woodward Entry.  Click to enlarge.
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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.

New addition.
Cass addition.

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.”
To see more SepiaSaturday posts, CLICK!
To see more SepiaSaturday posts, CLICK!

Fannie Mae Turner Graham 1936

Grahams,

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.

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“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.

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