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"Be it Ever So Humble..." |
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Check out these amazing individuals: Jane
Condon
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“Home, sweet home.” These sentimental words, whether enthusiastically declared or lovingly hung framed on a wall, demonstrate a simple truth: Neighborhoods are a part of our lives, indeed, a part of us. And so they have been for centuries. Of course, over time neighborhoods have changed dramatically, and neighborhoods today are different from those even 40 years ago, in the era of the Civil Rights Movement. How so? Neighborhoods then were very close-knit, according to Jane Condon and Glorious Johnson. “If I was in trouble, not behaving, the neighbors were always there…it was a close kind of family feel,” Condon recalls. “It was the kind of neighborhood where if you needed peanut butter, you could walk across the street and your neighbor would butter your bread.” Rodney Hurst says he knew everyone in his neighborhood of twenty-five people per block or more. Ms. Johnson continues, “It was an extremely tight neighborhood where we all respected our elders and we all played with each other.” However, “it was certainly segregated.” Even the kids were affected by this segregation. Black kids rarely played with white kids and vice versa. Even though children didn't play with other races of kids, they sure did play. An immense amount of time was spent playing outdoors, and kids only went inside for meals. “Being indoors was punishment,” remembers Glorious Johnson. Another important aspect of neighborhoods forty years ago was spending time was family. “Family was the emphasis,” recalls sheriff Retha Smith. Like today, teenagers were often more
interested in talking on the phone than playing outside like the younger
children. During this time were party
lines. “Oh I was so nosy,” laughs Smith. Click here to read a
humorous poem on
party lines. Neighborhoods of now and then are very different. The question of which era's neighborhoods are more idealistic is neither relevant or answerable. One thing's for sure, though, neighborhoods are an important part of LaVilla's living legacy.
This web page by
Alyssa Stubbs |
