Featured JRFA Narrative
- July 2008-A conversation with J. Odis. She is the dgtr of the late Estelle Williams Lawrence and John Henry (Joe) Lawrence. She resides in Eufaula, AL, and she is employed as the Director of Nursing of the Bullock County Prison. She explained to me how it was growing up in Eufaula, Barbour County, Alabama in the 40s and 50s. She graduated from T. V. McCoo in 1951, and in the same year moved to Illinois. She recalls memories of the segregated south and in particular living in Eufaula. She remembers that there was a drinking fountain labeled "white only" in downtown Eufaula near Satterwhite's furniture. She does not recall seeing a drinking fountain labeled "colored." She says that the racial tension was not as bad in Eufaula as it was in other places, but it was there. She said that there were two movie theaters in Eufaula at one time-the old Martin that is still standing and one that was down by the old post office. Says that blacks had to sit in the balcony of both movie theaters unless they were chaperoning a white child then they could sit in the lower seats. She said that blacks had to use the side door or the back door to purchase a sandwich or something to eat from restaurants. She does not recall a black owned restaurant during her childhood years. She does say that blacks could go to the front counter of Scarborough Drugs and purchase the best ice cream cone for a nickel, but you could not go to the back and sit at the counter and order a fountain drink or root beer float.
She also remembers the Greyhound bus station in the back ally behind Satterwhite's furniture. She fondly remembers her and her siblings catching a ride on the bus for 15c to take the bus down 431 S from Eufaula to Richards Cross Roads to visit her grandmother and other relatives in the country. Richards Cross Roads was were the Williams family resided, and it is an unincorporated area near the Barbour and Henry County line. She remembers that her family in Richards Cross Roads attended Union Grove Baptist Church. Speaking of segregation, she shared that the bus was segregated, and the only place blacks could sit was the long back seat on the back of the bus. When the bus was crowded, blacks had to stand and give that seat up to the white people. I learned that even if there were other empty seats on the bus, you dared not sit anywhere but on that back seat, and if it was full, then you just stood up. She said that her family lived in close proximity of each other, she is related to the Lawrence's and the Bell's who lived in Bell's Quarters that was near Richard's Cross Road.
She also shared that she was close to her family. Her grandmother moved from the country to Eufaula near T. V. Blvd. She grew up on Western Heights and attended Baptist Academy till the 6th grade. Baptist Academy was a school establish by the Black Baptist Association with her church Star Baptist being one of the founders. It was formed because it was so far for the small children to walk from the Western Heights area down to the bluff. She said that when she was older, she and other older children would walk the railroad tracks from Western Heights crossing through Dixon Lumber Yard to attend Van Buren School on the Bluff.
She credits Dr. Salter founder of Salter's Hospital for saving her life when she was young. According to her account, doctors did often make house calls; however, it was extremely rare for a white doctor to visit the home of a black family. She explains that she was in extreme pain and Dr. Salter was notified, and he came to her house. "He touched me on my stomach, and I screamed out in pain. He quickly grabbed me up and told my parents that I had appendicitis and unless I went to the hospital and had surgery I would not make it." She remembers Salter's Hospital having a large room with about 6 beds that were for blacks. I recalled that Dr. T. V. McCoo was a local black doctor, and I asked her did she see him their. She said no, but she did know that Dr. McCoo sent patients there to be admitted. She remembers Salter's Hospital being located on the bluff near the site of one of the current hotels just before crossing over to Georgia.
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