Church Hill - West

Virginia Black History Archives

Church Hill Oral Hirtory Project

Transcript of interview with Mrs. Melissa West, conducted September 2, 1982 by Akida T. Mensah.

Tape interview with Mrs. Melissa West. Mrs. West presently lives at 2117 Braddock Road in Henrico County, however she for many years lived in the Church Hill area and attended Good Shepard Baptist Church. Good Shepard being one of the old churches of the Hill, one of the noted churches of the Hill. Mrs. West has agreed to share her remembrances of life in Church Hill and we are happy to be able to present her recollections.

I = Interviewer

N= Narrator

I - Mrs. West, where were you born? You were born in Church Hill?

N - 813 31st Street.

I - And when was that?

N - 93 years ago.

I - And that would mean you were born around 1889. And what month were you born?

N - March 29th.

I - And you lived at 813 N. 31st Street. And you lived there most of your life?

N - Yea.

I - Where did you go to school?

N - George Mason.

I - Was it called George Mason then?

N - Yes.

I - What was it like going to George Mason, who were some of the teachers, if you can remember them.

N - Right at 29th Street there at the corner, I lived in the 800 block this building was in the 800 block. I can remember Ms. Keen, and Rev. Bowler.

I - They were all teachers at that time. You said Rev. Bowler and Mrs. Kane. Who were some of your classmates?

N - Marth Banks sister, I can't remember her name.

I - Are these the Banks, Benjamin Banks, and related to them.

N - They kin to this girl that married the Clark boy, lived there on P Street, 32nd and, P.

I - Well what was it like going to school, you were about a block from school, so I take that you walked to school. What was it like going to school? Did you like it?

N - Yea, I lived right in the 800 block and school was in the 800 block on 29th Street.

I - Did you enjoy school, did you have fun going to school?

N - I used to know... Scott and a whole of lot of them like that went with me to school, Martha Banks and Sarah Jefferson.

I - Mrs. West what were your parents names?

N - My mother married more than once I know.

I - Well, what about your grandparents, do you remember them?

N - Winston Brown was my grandparent, and Julia Brown, too ....

I - And your mother's name?

N - When she died, her name was Sara Trice.

I - And did they also live in the area you grew up in, your grandparents and your mother, were they born in that area?

N - Every since I been knowing them.

I - So your grandparents also lived in the 800 Block.

N - She moved out once when she married the Trice.

I - How large was your immediate family, did you have brothers and sisters?

N - I'd have no brothers, had sisters.

I - How many sisters did you have?

N - Two. Luberta and Alice.

I - And did they go, were that about your age, older or younger.

N - No they weren't as old as I. I was the oldest.

I - Did you all go to same of the same school?

N - Yea, right here at the corner of 29th Street.

I - Can you describe some of the things that went on when you were growing up, you mentioned thet band that used to march from 17th up to Oakwood. What was the name of that again?

N -Rose Sharon Band.

I - And when did this band play, was it special occasions when they played?

N - For funeral occasions, they would be marching from where ever that company was with a dead body, then when they come back was the time they would be playing hymns. Austin Bingham would be in the front with a great tall switch, children would run with the music, down to Jefferson Avenue, then the white boys would rock you back when you go certain distance.

I - You say Austin Bingham was the drum major.

N - Naw, he won't in the Rose Sharon. This was the Rose Sharon Band. But he was just ordinary with a pole longer than Ida Coleman's husband, he was the drum major.

I - What was his name, do you remember, Ida Coleman's husband?

N - I know he was in front the band, I know he was the major in the Rose Sharon Band.

I - Well Austin Bingham was just a child just running along.

N - Just a boy in the street, he'd always have a pole, long tall as could be. He'd be in front, but they'd come back, couldn't go but so far .... that meeting place was somewhere downtown I never knew how far.

I - But you say you could only go so far because they would throw rocks at you?

N - I knowed when you went down to Jefferson Park.

I -S o it was Jefferson Park where the boys would come out and throw rocks at you. Can you remember any other interesting things that happened, like the band or people who lived in your block? What did you do for recreation, what did you do for fun?

N - We'd go on picnics and down the boat and things like that. Up to the corner my husband used to be there working, but then we took on more church work as we got older.

I - Your mentioned the boat. Where was the boat down? At the James River?

N - Yes.

I - Do you remember the name of it?

N - Berkeley and Brandum, I think it was two boats, I used to know some of the men works on it.

I - The reason I asked that question, is because they are trying to get something like that started again, in fact in Thursday's paper, they had a boat that came up from Norfolk to bring some things. They've had a boat, the Richmond on the James, have had a boat to go down the James, down to Berkeley Plantation, so it's interesting that they are trying to bring some of those things back, the boat rides and things like that.

N - And different clubs when they would go down there on say picnics and things, they go down there and that Rose Sharon Band would be playing and people would just be gathered there and go down to Main Street and I was working up there on 2708 Franklin Street for years and years.

I - 2708?

N - Yes, working for the Saunders, E. C. Saunders was the ... some of thrm still living, that girls still talks like I am talking to you now. I was there before she was born.

I - You mentioned St. John's Episcopal Church, you marched from that church once, for some reason. What was that occasion?

N - We had a fire at church one time, we moved down to St. John's Church. All of this won't come out in the papers, will it?

I - No maam. But you're saying you had a fire at your church, Good Shepard and ...

N - And they went down to this white people's church that I used to work for .... and then sometimes they went to East End School.

I - To have church services or ...

N - Some church services or baptism.

I - Well in growing up in Church Hill during the time, can you remember the Nickel Saving Bank and Dr. Tansel?

N - Dr. Tansel used to live on 30th Street.

I - Was the bank on 30th Street or where was the bank?

N - The bank was down on 29th Street if I'm not mistaken, right at the corner down there. That's been a long time.

I - You got any idea how long that bank lasted? I understand they closed it down, and people moved to the Mechanics Bank or something like that. Do you have any idea how long that bank stayed open?

N - Yea, I know it stayed open some time and people be ....

I - Did you ever have occasion to go to the bank with your parents or any adults to see what it looked like?

N - Can you ask questions to you?

I - Yes mlam.

N - Course, one time I got lost coming down, they had a time finding me.

I - Got lost coming back.

N - From one them branches, because some man come up to me talking this, that, and the other and kind of made me not being used to going uptown so much, but I finally found my way back to 813 31st Street.

I - So it wasn't a totally bad experience, how long were you lost do you remember?

N - One day I went to put something in the store up there and then I felt I'd go by the bank and put my money in got lost, course this man come up talking to me, trying to ell me 'bout some things that a good bank at this place or the other.

I - Was this the Nickel Saving Bank or was it some other bank?

N - It was at 29th Street at the corner, that's the same colored bank isn't it?

I - How old were you then do you remember?

N - I can't remember, I know I had children.

I - You mentioned going to George Mason, did you finish George Mason?

N - I went to Ms. Keimer before I went to Rev. Bowler, I was in the next grade.

I - So Mr. Bowler

N - Rev. Bowler was the last one that you could get.

I - So that would have been the 7th grade, I think?

N - You be even out the smaller grades and go to this higher class over there.

I - Are there any other things that you can think about that happened or places that are interesting, things that you did?

N - Well I know one thing, I joined church and they always used to be getting other people to come join. I used to love to do that that was a big part of my work.

I - And the church you joined was which church did you join?

N - Good Shepard.

I - You joined Good Shepard. Where was it located when you joined it?

N - At the corner of 31st Street. Well, a church is on the corner now.

I - So you enjoyed your church work.

N - Oh yea, I used...

I - Your daughter say you're the mother of the church, how does that feel?

N - Wonderful.

I - Good. So you joined Good Shepard and were you working then when you joined Good Shepard, you mentioned the Saunders that you worked for, were you working for them when you joined the church or did that come later?

N - Well I joined the church, I used to go to Sunday School, I had to go there and every year I'd say I'd going, they uesed to have old time revival in those days and people you know would have mourners' benchers and you'd talk about religion in the street and all in them days. So I said I was going and kept putting it off.

I - Working over in the Franklin Street area, was it, how was it then, what did it look like, did you have any trouble, how did you get to work for example?

N - Well I could write up long lists of it .... I used to get up in the morning at 8:13 and walk over there, and they'd buy a pass for me to get on the bus coming back and forwards sometimes. The girl one of the girls, the oldest daughter, the man married his sister-in-law, Mr. Saunders did, and the oldest sister had a friend, she used to be so nice, she'd buy a pass.

I - So you would ride the bus or the street car.

N - Bus, or the street car when it was passing there.

I - Do you remember what street car it was?

N - Jefferson. One time that said it wasn't 31st street for a long time. Passed right by our door.

I - I asked that question because I was talking to a lady and she had mentioned the Broad and a quarter.

N - Jefferson, and that went uptown and the Clay Street went downtown.

I - Are there other things that you can remember about living in Church Hill and getting around in your church?

N - How long do you want this, I been living up there all my life.

I - So you say you went there when you were a young girl and you stayed there a long time.

N - They didn't pay much now, I remember, they didn't pay nothing much. But Lottie Braxton would lead the white folks, every time she would hear talk of more money, she'd go an try to get more. But I stayed with them. I didn't feel like moving. Stayed on 2708 Franklin Street. She lived up in the 2800 block up near 29th over there the Liberty Hill Park. Used to have them children carry them all over Chimarazo Park down to the spring.

I - Were there houses, can you ever remember houses being in the area where Chimarazo Park is now?

N - Yes, it used to, Noldes Bakery was the one right at the monument. 29th and Main Street. And Hancocks were in the block. I know when they put the monument up-on that park at 29th and Franklin. Of course I was working in the block, 2708, Lottis Braxton was 2709 up in the next one.

I - I think we call it the sailor's monument.

N - Liberty Hill.

I - Liberty Hill Park. You remember when they put that up.

N - I have a book that would tell me when they put that up, but I know when they put it up, Mr. Higgins was the manager that kept he was kind of funny about colored people, but when we went we had those white children, the Saunders, lived 2708 all those many years and she still living. I was there when that St. John's church, I went up there when they got married, in the church and all. I've been in Chruch Hill all my life. Do you remember Hill Shoe Shop?

I - What block of 29th Street?

N - Joe hold the store in the back of them. 1000 block.

I - I vaguly can remember Hill, that name Hill.

N - My boy used to work for them. Then Dan Woodrum had a shop on Q Street where Billy's Barber Shop is now. They pulled the houses down and the buildings down and Dr. Harris built that building, but that's where that used to be. Woodrum Shoe Shop.

I - Were there other businesses that you can remember?

N - Right on the corner. Where was Scott's Undertaker's Shop, down on Q Street. That was on 29th Street.

I - I understand that his father had a place on P Street, Alpheus Scott.

N - Yea, Robert Scott's daddy. That was between 30th and 31st Street. I went to school with Bob Scott, I used to know a whole lot of they business. I used to take that white girl down to the shop on Main Street. Jew Jake's store was down on 28th and M. He was an old Jew. Chruches then would have a good way of giving entertainment for children to be in these plays and things, come from every which a way then in those times, now they don't want to give nothing like that. Had Queen of May, June Wedding and things, come in contact with more people, even when Batavia Vender was around here, she was a great worker. And Joe every time he see me want me to talk about some of the things momma used to do to him in prayer meeting. She used to work for white people, and she used to tell that white man, God, almighty got me in this kitchen, don't you come in here and tell me what I ain't done and all. I used to tell him, momma was dead then, and Joe used to send for me, when he see me in the street, come here, tell me 'bout this here thing when my sister got hurt that night on the car and they went up to 900 block 31st Street for to get my mother for the church, and she said, ride on King Jesus, my legs ain't going to carry me nowhere. Every time he see me today he want me to tell that over to him. And when they told her say momma we have got to go up there for to identify Olivia, she said, let her stay up till Jesus come, cause she won't hear me. And momma when she married Mr. Dandridge, then moved down in bungalo city, I told the people down there when Mrs. Dandridge come in here, don't let her sit near a window, I mean that, have all the prayer meeting you want, cause she come in there, these men down in bungalo city ain't serving no God. I got a picture of the old church. I mean the one before, I'm not talking about the original, the church they have now, but I got a picture old, when it was founded, with its steeples all to it. I kept that picture a long, long time.

I - I'd like to see that.

N - I trying to think which book is I got it in. Up until today they remembers me working there helping with the clerk work. At that time Rev. Williams was there. It come out from down at the corner there. Our corner. And they took over the name, it was Fountain then, Fountain took 32. [End of transcript.]

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