Nathan Branch: Early Evanston Settler

— by Rhonda K. Craven

Nathan Branch, edited from a group photo of postal workers c1900. Photo by 20th Century Studios

After the Civil War, a number of blacks moved to Chicago and then to Evanston. Among them were men such as Daniel F. Garnett, Green A. Bell, Andrew Scott and William Ender. Some worked for prominent businessmen and politicians, while others started a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors. In 1870, many of these and others were listed in the Evanston census with their wives and children.

Born a slave in Virginia

Nathaniel Branch, more commonly known as Nathan, is in this number. Born a slave in Virginia to Esther and Nathan Branch in 1828, he had three brothers. His family was split up several times, and he lived in Kentucky and Tennessee, working for different plantation owners. He was a defiant slave who ran away briefly when he was 17, and he had several run ins with his masters over the years. Eventually, he became an overseer at one of the plantations.

When Branch heard about the war, he and his wife escaped to Columbus, Kentucky, where he found the 134^th Illinois Infantry Regiment, as well as Green Bell, another slave who had also escaped. They served as cooks for Company D and in 1864, they were mustered out at Camp Fry in Chicago (the Clark/Diversey/Broadway intersection).

Branch worked two years as a waiter at the Sherman House (Randolph between Clark and LaSalle) in downtown Chicago. He learned to read and attended night school during this time. His first wife had died. He came to Evanston ca. 1867 and worked for various local families. After he married Ellen Gordon of Nicholasville, Kentucky, who had a daughter, Mattie, they continued growing their family. Nathan transferred his church membership from Olivet Baptist in Chicago to the Baptist church in Evanston on July 4, 1869. A Miss Wheeler taught him to write.

In November, 1872, after the Baptist church building had been moved from another location, half the floor collapsed during worship, and many members fell into the basement. Nathan was sitting next to a window in the gallery with other members and visitors. He decided to break through and jump out the window. The next day, he paid for the window repairs.

1705 Lake Street. Photo by Rhonda Craven

Branch, along with Bell, were appointed as lamplighters in July of 1873. A year later, the Evanston Index reported that Branch had brought the first dray (a cart) to town and was “ready to haul to order anything from a box of peaches to a load of lumber.” He was the sexton at the Baptist church and felt privileged that he could ring the bell. Nathan had an express company at Oak Avenue and Church Street near the train depot. The family purchased a home at 1705 Lake St. (now an Evanston landmark) in 1879. He was a participant in the union prayer meeting held at the Presbyterian Church and led a session that same year.

In December, 1880, during his first trip to the South after he had escaped slavery, Branch visited family and friends in Kentucky, including an aunt who had raised him after he was separated from his mother during his teen years. After he encouraged Jordan, one of his brothers, to move to Evanston, Jordan began his own express business.

The Branch family was well-respected in the community

In the summer of 1882, he and other black Baptists participated in union services with black Methodists in a room over the post office on Davis Street west of Chicago Avenue. Branch reported in an Index item published October 14, 1882 that the Baptists voted to organize as a mission on September 29 after the Methodists voted to establish their own church. During the November 8^th Baptist church prayer meeting, Nathan and his wife Ellen were among ten black congregants to request letters of dismission, which they received a week later. The new church was established on November 17 with 20 charter members. It’s been said that Nathan named the church since it was indeed the second Baptist church in Evanston!

For at least 30 years, the two churches continued varying degrees of fellowship. First Baptist provided its facilities, counsel, financial and community support as needed, in part because they still saw Branch as “our brother”. He was invited to the church’s major anniversary celebrations, during which a poem written for the occasion mentioned his service at First Baptist. That ongoing closeness, however, is cited as a reason for the very public church split in 1894 that led to the establishment of the Berean Baptist Church, now known as Mount Zion.

The Branch family was well-respected in the community. At Second Baptist, he was a deacon and a trustee. In 1888, the post office hired him to carry mail to and from the trains. Soon after, he became the special delivery letter carrier, a familiar figure with his horse and buggy. Ellen and daughter Helen were dressmakers. Sons William and Robert were cooks who later worked for the railroad. Ida was a servant in private homes. Mattie had married George Brown in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1881, and she was an active churchwoman.

A September 1889 fire destroyed the schoolhouse that had served as the church building for six years. In spring, 1890, the congregation purchased an edifice from Second Methodist in North Evanston and planned to move it to a lot Branch owned on Wesley Avenue between Lake and Grove Streets, near his home. He and other church leaders petitioned the village to make this move, but his neighbors wrote a passionate counter-petition, citing the potential fire hazard (the fire department was ill-equipped) and damage to shade trees (house movers had destroyed many of them).

In October, 1890, the congregation sought to purchase from Northwestern University the original lot on Benson Avenue (the current church location) NU had leased to them in 1883. The plan was to have NU purchase Branch’s lot on Wesley; the church would then pay the difference for the Benson lot and move the building there. However, NU declined the original deed in Second Baptist’s name because of property line issues. A revised deed, in Branch’s name, was approved soon after. By December, the church was worshiping in its 20-year-old “new” building on Benson.

Many details about Nathan’s family, his life as a slave, his escape and his time in Chicago and Evanston were included in articles that ran in the Index. At Green Bell’s death in 1890, Branch spoke at length about their shared experiences. In 1897, there was a two-part feature story about his life. Two years later, he went to Macon, GA to find his brother, Lee, after a local businessman met him there, but they were unable to connect. The paper recapped his career when he retired from the post office in 1902 and covered Ida’s wedding to John Sherrod later that year.

Nathan died on March 10, 1911, and the local papers published extensive obituaries. William, who died in 1929, was a cook on the railroad. Ellen was a faithful Second Baptist member through her death in 1934. Robert became a deacon and a trustee after he returned from Colorado. He also died in 1934. There is a photo of him in the church foyer gallery. Helen, who never married, was an organist and a longtime Sunday School teacher. She died in 1970. Ida, another active member, died in 1972. Her husband, John, had attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Robert’s son, Nathan, died in Evanston in 1975, while living in the family home on Lake Street with his wife and children.

Mittie Conner and Effie Setler, the daughters of Nathan’s brother Jordan, were also involved in Second Baptist’s ministries. Mittie’s daughter, Thelma, who graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1923, worked at Wieboldt’s for many years and was an assistant church organist. Effie’s daughter, Ione S. Brown, was a longtime church clerk and one of the first female trustees appointed at the church. After her death in 1973, the church’s scholarship fund was named after her in recognition of her commitment to help young people get an education, even though she didn’t have biological children of her own.

Although Nathan Branch came to Evanston nearly 150 years ago, his family’s influence is clearly woven into the city’s history!

Products and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

—By Dino Robinson

While William Twiggs was a locally, and historically well documented businessman and an active member of several organizations, little has been mentioned about his wife, Martha Twiggs. Family decedents mention that she had a home-based business, selling wigs for women made from natural hair first at Oak Avenue near Church Street in Evanston then later in a storefront next to her husbands print shop on Emerson Street. There, she marketed her own product, “Twiggaline”, a hair growth product.

In 1916, Madam C. J. Walker’s came to Evanston to deliver her Lecture on “The Negro Woman in Business” at both Second Baptist and Ebenezer A.M.E. Church.¹ In her lecture, Madam Walker “Urges her Sisters to Rise above the Wash Tub and Cook Kitchen and Make a Place in the Commercial World.”² One wonders if Martha Twiggs may have been inspired by the lecture and ventured off to follow the shared tenants from Madam C. J. Walker lecture. Shorefronts only wish is that someone may have a sample of the Twiggaline package or product today.

Several years ago, Shorefront began acquiring samples of contemporary “products” for Shorefronts archive that illustrate the entrepreneurial ethics of these North Shore communities. Which leads us to wonder . . . who we have not come across at this time that have produced their own product for distribution . . .

Carrying the tradition of Martha Twiggs today includes, Georgia Parker, Larry Alexander, Ashley Askew-Bell and former Evanston resident Lauryn N. Nwankpa, all have products geared to hair and skin care.

Lauryn, through her business Hair To There LLC, produces a product for natural hair care. She markets her product on line, at related conventions and other showcase venues. Recently, she redesigned her packaging and website and included an infomercial focused on natural hair care.

A degreed chemist, Georgia Parker has over 20 hair and skin care products under the name Ashley Lauren Products. Ashley Lauren at one time had a storefront on Davis Street in Evanston across from the post office. Now, focused on distribution, her products can be purchased on line and at a few retail outlets in the Chicago area.

Scrubfusion owner Ashley Askew-Bell, offers several body scrub products, beard oils and candles on her site for both men and women. Customers can also request custom orders for special events.

Patent holder, and former Salon owner, Larry Alexander, also known as Mickey III, developed an applicator instrument for laying relaxer in a clean and consistent manner under the name AppliTech. Video demonstrations showcase the proper use of his patent protected tool.

A couple of Food and edible products are offered by barbeque owner Hecky Powell and Chef Journey Shannon.

A chocolatier, Journey Shannon has a line of chocolates and other crafted editable foods under the name Noir d’Ebene, and can be ordered online, at select events, fairs and industry shows.

And of course, Heck’s Barbeque line of sauces, spices/rubs and most recently added, soda. The product can be found in retail, online and at his place of business. Proceeds from his “Juneteenth” soda sales, helps to fund projects through the family’s Forrest Powell Foundation.

Shorefront is sure that it is missing so many more entrepreneurs who have packaged products. Though this article focuses on products, we know there are some interesting inventors who lived in the North Shore area. Industrial Designer Charles Harrison who’s work with Sears has designed many iconic items. Evanston residents Delbert Alexander Sr. and Jr. both have created workable prototype machines (baseball and tabletop bowling). In the 1950s, Glencoe resident Asa Taylor prototyped what would lay the foundation of the modern hydraulic hospital beds used today . . . But that is another article and initiative in hopes to acquire prototypes if they still exist.

 

Sources:

1. Chicago Defender: “Will Lecture in Chicago”, January 29, 1916, p. 8; “Prairie State Events. . . ,” By J.R. Moore, Feb. 12, 1916, p. 5; “MME. C. J. Walker Royally Received Here”, Feb. 19, 1916, p. 2.
2. Indianapolis Freeman, “The Negro Woman in Business”, September 20, 1913, p. 1.

The Grandmothers. . .My Queens: Laura Belle

—By Bruce Allen King

Laura Belle. Photo courtesy of Bruce Allen King

I have been blessed with having a very close and deep relationship with both of my grandmothers.

Laura Eubanks Hadley, born January 9, 1907 in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the daughter of John Eubanks. She never knew her mother and her father was, from all observation, a white man, but legally classified as a Negro because of that one drop of black blood coursing through his veins. John left his daughter in the care of relatives, one of which was her half-sister Ora Castleberry, who would later become an Evanstonian. Laura “Belle” wouldn’t see her father until her late-teens. She traveled to Pennsylvania and spent time with her dad while in route to Illinois to join her sister Ora in Evanston. Growing up as a farm girl, tending chickens, ducks, the garden, and honing the skills she would need later in life by also taking care of the household chores.

Grandma Laura was a short, slightly built, very light-skinned woman with freckles and straight auburn hair. She could neither read nor write, so she had to live by her very gentle spirit, her very humble nature and ability to perform hard work. She was well aware of who she was in society, but never hesitated to do whatever she had to do to better herself and others. She was a devout Christian and lifelong member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Clark Street in Evanston. Her laughter was soft and she offered few opinions.

It is from my Grandma Laura that I was gifted with oral history

Arriving in Evanston in late 1927, she did odd housekeeping jobs, sometimes “staying on the place”, as a live-in housekeeper. Soon after she met and married Lawrence Michael Hadley, an Evanston High School graduate, charismatic, dashing and very street wise. Within the first five years of the Depression she bore four children: Norwood, Delores, Nadine and Peter.

Grandma Laura struggled against amazing odds; those of our racially troubled society, with great poverty and few skills to overcome it, in addition to a troubled and dysfunctional marriage. Despite it all, she never uttered a bad word against anyone. In fact, she would cease to talk when the conversation became negative and driven by deprecating gossip. If you came to her with negativity, she would, without hesitation, say, “Don’t come tome with that he said, she said, who shot John!” All got the message.

It is from my Grandma Laura that I was gifted with oral history. Her memory was phenomenal, many times down to the day and most times even remembering what the weather was on any given past event.

If the truth be told, I think all people have their favorites, even parents and grandparents. It was apparent who her favorite grand boys were. I was not one of them, but I NEVER felt slighted in anyway. Her love was that great and complete.

Grandma Laura had an intense love for gambling, particularly “the horses”. Her off days from “the place”, she and her friend and companion Roosevelt Reeves, aka “Toby”, would take us to Arlington Racetrack to the north and Washington Park to the south. Sportsman’s “trotters” were their least favorite, but would fill the need for enjoyment many evenings. The experience was one that has given me smiles and personal laughs to this day. I would watch with great joy at the gestures and animated conversation, as she and Toby would pick and choose the day’s winners. On those days when they would win “big”, the ride home was full of laughter, songs and ice cream cones.

On our family trips to Pennsylvania to visit her dad, whom she doted over with great pride and pleasure, she would show us the point where the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers merged behind her dad’s tiny house. I would watch with wonder and listen, mesmerized, to her dad and his many tall tales. The one that has stuck with me all my life was the story about his coming to Pennsylvania from Virginia.

He, in a drunken brawl, killed a man and ran up into the hills surrounding McKeesport, PA to escape the law. On the road up into the hills, he was met by the constable who asked him if he knew of a man called John Eubanks. My great-grandfather replied, “Oh yeah, I know that ole nigga, he’s down the mountain.” Knowing that “John Eubanks” was classified a black man and him looking like a white man, he used this ruse to make his escape. My great-grandfather was eventually caught and served out his time on the chain gang and lived out his life without further trouble with the law.

Grandma Laura’s love was shared with countless Evanstonians

My grandmother, most of my life, went to night school at ETHS to learn to read and write. I remember her great excitement upon being admitted to night school when I was in the second grade. Despite the fact that she always had two jobs and many times three and four, she would never miss school on an evening she was not working. Her great desire to learn was apparent because she would forgo the night races in order to go to night school. But, know this . . . thanks to the local bookie at Jack Pass’s store on Church Street, she was able to get her bet in and still go to school.

Many, many years later, she called me with great excitement and joy in her voice. She was then living at Ebenezer Primm Towers and I lived across the alley on Garnett Place. She told me to come quick because it was very important. I ran across the alley to meet her at the back door. She took me into her apartment and asked me to sit. She went to her room and brought out her checkbook. I thought she wanted me to write out a check for her, something I had been doing for many years. Instead, she sat down with pen in hand and began to slowly write the needed words on her check. Finished she beam with great pride. I cried with joy and we celebrated with her favorite . . . a cup of extremely strong black coffee.

Years after that, I graduated from college. My grandmother was sitting on the couch when we arrived at my dad’s for the graduation dinner. . . which I was tricked into cooking. As I entered and gave her my obligatory hug and kiss, she handed me a ballpoint pen with a congratulations card. I said thanks and read the card. I said thanks again and was about to move to greet others when she asked me, “Brucie, do you know why I gave you a pen?” I told her that I figured it was because I had graduated. She said, “Yes Brucie, but more importantly, you can read and write and because you can, you should always carry a pen with you”.

Grandma Laura’s love was shared with countless Evanstonians of all ages, races and socio-economic status. She would introduce herself to those she shared bus rides with, telling them proudly of her “boys”, Roy Jr., Bruce, Dion, Brian King and Joel Hadley.

Of all of my relatives and loved ones who have passed on, Grandma Laura has been the closest to an angel I’ve yet to meet. I am truly the better for all of my encounters and circumstances in life, because of her.

Shorefront Memories #004

Bonus Thompson (center), circa 1914. Courtesy of Linda Varnado

Bonus Thompson, from Bcauedan (Greenville), South Carolina and his wife, Leithe, from Georgia, migrated from the south to Evanston and lived at 2242 Dewey Avenue from about 1909 to 1910. Mr. Thompson was employed as a “tinner” at that time. A tinner generally shaped and molded with tin. It was used in a variety of applications. A common usage was in ceiling tile–some of which you can see as original or as reproductions in store fronts today.

1910 U.S. Federal Census, Evanston, Illinois

By 1914, Mr. Thompson ventured into his own business and opened Bonus Thompson Hardware, located at 1910 W. Railroad Avenue, now Green Bay Road in Evanston. It was approximately one half block north of Emerson Street before its reconfiguration. The hardware store offered stove and furnace repairs, parts, tin and metal work.

His wife, Leithe operated the business after her husband’s death in 1929 for an additional six years. After it closed, a grocery store opened in its place.

There are two interesting observations to make about this photograph unrelated to the hardware store. The first is a hard-to-read banner in the window advertising the “101 Ranch Wild West” rodeo show that came to town August 24, 1914. The other is the reflection of a railway engine that appears to be on ground level across from the hardware store. In looking closely at photographs, it is an extra bonus to find information that might lead to new research efforts such as the 101 Ranch Wild West rodeo. . .

Tradesmen

— By Bruce Allen King

Q. B. Frazier, plasterer

Coming from a family that was grounded in Marcus Garvey’s theories of self-respect self-reliance and self-sufficiency, there was never any talk of “I can’t”, “I don’t know how” and “It can’t be done”. What I know now to be encouragement was, to a youth of 4, 5 or 6, more akin to abuse and denial. Being “post-depression era” children of “depression era” parents, meant you learned how to fix things and learned to think 3 or 4 times before throwing anything away.

My very first job in the family business was to pick up all loose nails and to straighten any and all of them out that could be salvaged, to be used later.

My family, on my father’s side was in the construction business. My grandfather, Arthur Chester King, from Abbeville, South Carolina was a carpenter, who after being run out of town amid threats against his life, came to Evanston and settled here, making a home for himself and soon after his arrival, marrying Ella Childs on September 28, 1916 at 1107 Emerson Street. Together they had a family of nine, 5 boys and 4 girls.

Arriving here in 1913, before the digging of the Sanitary District Channel, he chose the West Side of Evanston, Dodge Avenue in particular, to build his home. So, in 1916, my grandfather began building his empire. His first house was at 2031 Dodge Avenue. Northwestern University was expanding and with the work there, there was also demolition. The door frames and windows of his first house came from such expansion/demolition, not to mention framing lumber. It was also a place of work for a few of the “colored” tradesmen.

Because of the times, particularly Jim Crow, it was essential that my grandfather align himself with other “colored” tradesmen. At that time, he was aligned with Black plumbers, Black electricians, Black plasterers, Black bricklayers and Black laborers. Many, many of the houses, churches and businesses in the 5^th Ward were built, moved in, converted, enlarged and repaired by this consortium of Black tradesmen. In addition to “tradesmen”, there were businesses; grocers, butchers, ice-men, coal men, lawyers, accountants, teachers and people who filled in for most other professions needed. We “made do” in a lot of situations.

They were teetotalers for the most part.

Black Evanstonians, understanding that they had only themselves, the families of the tradesmen, their church members, neighbors and those they knew in Abbeville, Due West, and McCormick, South Carolina, went about building what they knew. . . “The Village”. With the abundance of land, every house had a garden next to it and in the case of my family, we had a very large community garden. My grandfather was a very good friend of the patriarch of the Perrin family, Miller, a friend from Abbeville, S. C. In fact, my grandfather introduced Miller to the woman who became his wife and the mother of his 13 children, 9 boys and 4 girls. In fact, the “community garden” was on Simpson, on the north side of the street between Dodge and Brown (now Bridge St.) where the park is today. Miller Perrin had horses and wagons and plowed the fields where the larger gardens were and the “community garden” was first every season. What I remember most fondly of the Perrin enterprise were the fall and winter wagon rides along the “Bridle Path”, which was an old fire break that traveled the length of the wooded area next to the Channel on the Evanston side from Greenbay Road all the way to Main Street.

On my family property was two Bartlett pear trees, an apple tree, grapevines, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peanuts, chickens, pigeons, rabbits, a cow and a personal garden with corn, cabbage, collards, mustards, turnips, spinach, beans, peas, peppers, onions, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, hollyhocks, roses, lilacs and marigolds. My grandmother salt cured meats, put up preserves and wintered over root vegetables. There was always enough to share.

The days and evenings were for working and preparing for work. The tradesmen would get together and confer, inform, plan and do whatever was necessary for one another to make it through another year. These gentlemen networked long before the term came into vogue. Remembering how truly gentle and civilized they were is awesome. They were teetotalers for the most part. They were all very quiet and pretty soft spoken, unless there was eminent need to raise your voice. There was always a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order somewhere close. But, what I find most fantastic was their sense of humor. In the life of the “Villager” there was something only the villagers understood and that was signifying. To some, it would be considered a form of mean sarcasm, but to most it was way more circumspect. To be able to signify well was a much valued and greatly honored art. It was as much for building up and redress as it was for tearing down and pointing out and correcting those actions, words and thoughts of the ones targeted. Few, if any were beyond being signified on. Most didn’t like it and the only ones who really appreciated it being done, were beneficiaries of the good that came from it. . . truly they were rare.

Today when I travel Dodge Avenue, from Simpson to Church Street, or from Greenbay Road to Hartrey, I am truly humbled at what my grandfather, my father, my uncles and the members of the my extended family accomplished for themselves and others by way of building houses, moving in houses, adding onto houses, fixing up houses and building a wholesome and viable community. In the chaos of today, I truly appreciate the rare gifts and principles that allowed them to thrive in an era of lynching and racial tensions. . . very similar to today.

I Believe I Can Fly: William “Wild Bill” Holmes

— By Kimberly Holmes Ross and Brittany Estell, Esq.

Signature Move

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

—Leonardo da Vinci

William Allen Holmes was a pilot who acquired an appetite for flying. Not a pilot in the traditional sense, a man in a captain’s hat, white shirt, and pinned wings greeting you at the front of the plane, and responsible for getting you to your destination. No, that’s not “Wild Bill.” Bill’s airplane was a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and he was dressed in his denim, leather, a hat, and he flew! Feet standing on top of a two-wheeled pedestal, traveling at 10+mph arms stretched across the air, eyes wide open and the crowd going wild.

William “Wild Bill” Holmes was born in Columbus, Ohio, January 15, 1932. He ironically shares the same birthday as the great Martin Luther King Jr., both having a tenacious spirit, unwilling to give up on what they believed in, and unapologetically themselves.

Bill spent his early years between Columbus, Ohio, and Cokesbury, South Carolina. As a small child he loved everything on wheels. It was rumored that at the age of 3 he began “trick riding” on his tricycle. As a teen his zeal/zest for life came through bikes, motorcycles, and cars. Through his antics, he earned the nickname “Wild Bill,” never knowing what he’d do next on wheels. After high school he joined the United States Army 82^nd Airborne where he jumped out of planes and was involved in live combat. He was honorably discharged with a Merit Unit Citation, a Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars and the United Nations Service Medal.

“Wild Bill” Posed on his bike

Upon on returning to the states he joined his mother in Evanston, IL, where he explored many professions, including: Clayton Marks, Evanston Bus Company, the City of Evanston – Sanitation Department, Jewel Food Store which all led to him to owning trucking company “Holmes & Sons Trucking.” Even with the many jobs he took on he always made time for his first love, his Harley. Wild Bill was a “Harley Man” who began to teach himself to do tricks and stunts on his bike. One of the first tricks he learned was the legendary “wheelie”, a stunt where you pull the bike up and ride on one wheel. He was known for doing it for blocks! In fact, he had been recorded performing the stunt at a little under a mile. What made this extraordinary was that because he rode a full size Harley, the bike was heavier than most bikes, making the stunt that much harder to execute. Once he accomplished this stunt, his passion and education for stunting took off!

Performing in front of audience

He taught himself more and more tricks including the “slow drag,” “switch back,” “one-handed wheelie,” and “lazy boy.” As he attended and performed at field meets, rodeos, and drag races, people around the country began to know who he was and look forward to him appearing at many of their events. You could find him at rallys hosted by Hurry Kane Riders Motorcycle Club, C.T.M.C., Rough Riders Motorcycle Club, M.T.T., Apache Motorcycle Club, C. J. Harley Davidson, Mighty Romans Motorcycle Club, Magnificent Spoilers Motorcycle Club, Columbus Big Three MCC and many more. He became a legendary stunt rider and competitor who won hundreds of trophies; so many that my brothers and I often wondered if he was ever going to stop winning! Our basement was filled wall to wall with trophies, certificates, and awards, the more he won, the more we had to dust.

Although he loved touring independently he knew he could pursue his passion and make it his life’s work if he was able to obtain a sponsorship. As a loyal customer, he approached Harley Davidson. With his portfolio, references, and a vision in hand, he reached out seeking an endorsement. The powers that be at Harley explained that “Wild Bill” was not the image that was their interest and there was no market for a Black stunt rider. A few years later they signed Evil Knievel.

This obstacle did not stop or discourage him. No, this only fueled his fire. He went on to sponsor his own motorcycle meets and tour around the country supporting other Black riders and their events. He was among the founders of “The Untouchables Motorcycle Club.” Formed in the 1960’s, The Untouchables were a group of Black motorcyclist in the Evanston community who did not limit their activities to cycling, but also provided toys for children at holidays, hosted picnics, field meets, and other community gatherings. The group was active through the 1990’s.

Back view of vest

Front view of vest

In addition, as a member of the American Motorcyclists Association, he helped organize the National Bikers Roundup in 1977 encompassing a group of African American motorcycle clubs. The round up is a five-day event where attendee enjoys exhibits, vendors, stunt shows, entertainment, and a host of other motorcycle-related experiences. “Wild Bill” attended every round up, many times as a performer, until 2007.

One of my most cherished memories of my dad is when he rebuilt a 1973 Super- Glide bike by hand in our basement. When he finished, everyone wondered how he planned to get it out. The bike was huge while the stairs and door were narrow. It didn’t faze him; he rode it right up the stairs into the back yard, it was like magic! Today, that bike is still in running condition, and sits in our garage, like a plane waiting on its pilot.

William “Wild Bill” Holmes

August 2007 William Allen “Wild Bill” Holmes took his last ride, 1,046 miles round-trip. He rode from Evanston, IL to Kansas City, MO, for the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club National Bikers Round Up. October 18, 2007, he transitioned and completed his flight log. No longer flying on his Harley, but now soaring with angel wings, he left us with the reminder, “if you believe in yourself, you can fly too.”

An Unassuming Place: My Internship Experience at the Shorefront Legacy Center

— By Nicole Gibby Munguia

Pyramid Club members on one of their many outings, 1982

I can’t recall just what I expected to happen when I, an LIS graduate student with no prior archival experience (and admittedly, a vivid imagination), walked inside the Shorefront Legacy Center: the sound of the heavens opening? Angelic choirs singing the Hallelujah Chorus and precious collections bathed in rays of sunlight? Granted, the Center is located on the lower level of the Sherman United Methodist Church in Evanston, Illinois, and I do tend to view archives as somewhat wondrous places containing fascinating history; however, I discovered that the wonder I anticipated was actually to be found within the collection of materials that I processed this semester.

Almost three years ago when I started down the path toward earning my MLIS, I was utterly convinced that my career would focus on knowledge management (KM). But the Shorefront Legacy Center and my internship experience have since broadened my perspective and given me a stronger sense of where my interests and strengths might actually lie. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to realize that I may have found that ever elusive “fit” and sense of belonging that I’ve sought within this professional community to which I’m drawn.

Founded in 1974 and active until 2009

One of the first tasks was to select a collection as a focus for my internship. One might think it’s as simple as choosing which collection presents the most interesting topical matter, or accepting the challenge of diving into the most complex collection. I can state for the record that as an anxious perfectionist, and one without archival experience at that, the choice was a bit more fraught, shall we say. I’ll spare you my torturous inner dialogue and quickly confess that I selected The Pyramid Social and Civic Club Collection. Founded in 1974 and active until 2009, the Pyramid Social and Civic Club hosted civic events for community members such as its salad luncheon, holiday dinner for the residents of the Ebenezer Primm Towers, and Spring Fling Dinner. And during its 35-year existence, Club members enjoyed annual social events such as bus tours and cruises to exotic locales.

Samples of programs and events

I began by unpacking and inventorying the collection materials, marveling at how 35 years’ worth of memories could be contained so neatly in one box. Four photo albums, some loose photos, and a manila folder. I would be responsible for organizing this content, making it accessible to future researchers, and ensuring that it represented the history of this club in a way befitting its legacy.

Over the next several weeks, I worked my way through the box, emptying one album at a time, carefully peeling back the plastic covers from the photos that were stuck to photo album sheets; sorting each club event’s memorabilia into its own pile on the processing table. In quiet moments, I gradually began to notice how the shape of the collection wasn’t the only thing shifting – I was changing too. I began to view the Center as a refuge. I would enter, feeling more energetic than I had in days, excited and ready to take on a day’s new work. My body would automatically sigh with relief as I shook off the layers of the previous week’s stress, and my mind would clear as I began to work through the list of tasks before me, mapping out next steps.

The Pyramid Club. . . decades of close friendship and laughter

1978 Luncheon Program

One evening, I began processing the fourth and final photo album of materials. Within its pages, I noticed the funeral program for one of the members. As I continued disassembling the contents of the album, I discovered another program, and another, and another, until it occurred to me that this was the album – the album containing funeral programs and death notices for all of the club members. I remember feeling unusually emotional, trying to surreptitiously wipe away tears. I found it difficult to reconcile how much loss I felt at the passing of women I didn’t even know, feeling inexplicably as though I’d somehow lost dear friends. In processing this collection, this history of friendships spanning 35 years, I found that faces had become familiar to me, naming those in photos became second nature, and smiles had stayed the same throughout the decades.

Was I grieving the loss of these women, or was it tinged with something more? Was I affected by the impending end of both my internship and the processing this collection? Do all archivists experience this level of emotional attachment to a particular collection at some point during their career? Am I a singular hopeless case because of my sappiness? I’d like to think that my sensitivity bodes well for a future as a particularly intuitive and intentional archivist; on the other hand, chances are equally high that I may just make a lousy archivist because I’d quickly become known as “the woman who cries every time she processes pictures of people”!

Final archival boxes before labeling

I spent the last two weeks of my internship labeling folders carefully and consistently, filing materials in corresponding folders, and storing items in their storage cases. With each folder I completed, I found myself gaining closure, both in processing the Club’s collection, and in completing my internship. I felt that I’d evolved somewhat during my experience – learning a bit more about my professional capacities, about the rich social and civic history of Evanston, and of the enduring legacy of friendships that, if we’re lucky, we might all have the chance to experience.

I am grateful to the members of The Pyramid Club for allowing me a glimpse into their decades of close friendship and laughter, and for the honor of being able to process their collection as my very first archival opportunity. And I remain grateful to the Shorefront Legacy Center for providing a refuge, for allowing me to identify and experience another skillset that I possess, and for not only serving as a keeper of North Shore history, but also for playing an important role in mine.

A Family Legacy: Esther Pringle Weldon reflects on her Family History

— By Dino Robinson

Pringle Family

Organized and to the point, Esther Pringle Weldon sat at her folding table behind several organized stacks of albums, obituaries, photographs and other family memorabilia. She is surrounded by photographs in her living and dining rooms meticulously displayed on the family piano, the couch and on chairs representing five generations of the Pringle family. On a folded sheet of paper is a hand-written account of her 92-year family history in Evanston in the very house her father built at 1827 Grey, Evanston.

Charles George and Carrie Watt Pringle left Level Land, South Carolina (Abbeville) in 1913 with four children, James, Spurgeon, Ruby and Thelma who was born en route. The Pringle family’s intended destination was California. However, after visiting friends in Evanston, IL, the Pringles decided to stay. Evanston offered land to build a home and available employment opportunities.

In 1916, Charles Pringle built the family home at 1827 Grey, the same home were Esther Pringle still resides. There was a total of seven children in the family with birth dates ranging between 1909 and 1924. Esther’s siblings included James, Spurgeon, Charles, Dorothy, Patricia and Howard. Ruby and Thelma passed on early in their lives, at four years and 18 months respectively.

Charles Pringle found employment as a laborer, first as a bricklayer in Evanston then later with the railroad where he shoveled coal in engine furnaces. Their dreams and aspirations were being realized until an unexpected and life-changing event occurred.

“When my father knew he was not going to get better,” Esther says, “he wanted my mother to go back south. She was only 37 when my father passed, and he was 39. But she did not want to go back. She just stepped out on faith and stayed.”

Charles untimely death in 1924 left the Pringle family without a father for his seven children and husband for his wife. Carrie took care of the home but had to find employment as a laundress after her husband passed. With the trust in their faith, Carrie’s ongoing mantra when difficulties arose was, “Let’s pray about it.”

“Before his death, my father kept two promises to her, he built her a home and he purchased her a piano,” Esther says. The Pringle home and piano are central to the Pringle family. “We always had a piano. My mother played church songs on it, the neighborhood kids would come in and play it, and my sisters played it.” Esther added, “Everyone in the neighborhood knew of the
Pringle piano. Children who were taking piano lessons would come over and practice, and my brother, Charles, would play the ‘Bogie Woggie’.”

Esther’s daughter, Renee Weldon, would later learn on that same piano and grow to be an accomplished pianist, well regarded in area competitions.

The Pringles worked as a well- organized family. After the death of their father and at the beginning of the nation’s Great Depression era, the older siblings did what was necessary to assist. “My older brothers, James and Spurgeon, had to quit school to help my mother.” Esther says.

Despite these times, recreational activities took up a big part of their formative years. They often engaged in activities in and around Foster School as well as at Mason Park on Church Street. Esther enjoyed dramatics and poetry at Foster, her church and within the organizations in which she participated. At Mason Park, the Pringles played baseball and hop-scotch. They went to the circus when it was in town, watched parades and went to the Church Street beach. “My brother, Howard, was a lifeguard there at one time,” Esther says.

They often saw movies at the Valencia and Varsity Theaters. “They talked about it being segregated and all, but we all just went to the balconies anyway. My brother, Spurgeon, and one of his friends went onto the first floor. The ushers tried to put him out, and of course when one of them put their hands on him, a fight broke out. They put my brother in jail, but my mother got him out and placed a suit against the judge who put him there and ended up getting her bail money back.”

As music was part of the Pringle family, so was education. Whether in school or out, reading was important. It was expected to always read and become knowledgeable about something. “Even though my older brothers had to drop out of school, they later took correspondence courses.” Esther says. “James eventually went back to high school to get his G.E.D.”

Let’s pray about it.

The foundation of the Pringle family lays within their faith. Throughout their family history in Evanston, members of the Pringle family have been involved with Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church, Long Memorial Baptist Church, which later merged with Springfield Baptist Church, and New Hope Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charles and Carrie have been instrumental in the formation of the early New Hope C.M.E. Church when it was located at West Railroad (Green Bay Road) and Asbury Avenue in what was then Ford’s Hall. “Now there is a filling station there,” says Esther.

Long Memorial Church

“My parents helped to organize New Hope Church. But we also went to Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Clark Street and we were baptized at Mt. Zion.” Esther continued as she circled among her photographs and other memorabilia, “As a family, we became more active at New Hope when it moved over to Grey and Emerson. But we were active with a lot of churches, because that was where all of our activities were.” Many of the youngster’s as well as other youth went to many church-organized picnics and hayrides.

Most of the Pringles went to Foster school and the high school with the exception of James and Spurgeon who went to Dewey School and later to Boltwood Junior High School. Each of the surviving seven siblings made their own stamp on life while in Evanston and throughout their adult lives.

James “Jay” Pringle, who had been born in 1909 in South Carolina, used to play on the Flashers basketball team at the Emerson Street YMCA. He also played golf and worked as a caddie. His first job was at the Evanston Hotel and later worked as a Pullman Porter for 37 years. After his retirement, he volunteered as a crossing guard for Dewy School at Lake and Asbury for 14 years until his health gave way.

A little known bit of history of Penny Park bordering Lake, Florence and Ashland, is that after James passing in 1989, a name that was considered for the park was “Pringle Park” in memory of James Pringle and his community service in the area.

Esther’s other siblings went on to be productive in all of their aspirations in community engagement and career choices.

Esther Pringle

Esther Pringle Weldon, born in 1922, attended Foster School, Evanston Township and Roosevelt University. She worked in a factory for a “very short time” during WWII, then as a daycare provider for the nursery school at Bethel AME Church. She later worked with the Chicago Board of Education and then at Northwestern University in the Tech Library. She was later transferred to Tech Administration until her retirement after 22 years.

From an early age, Esther was active with New Hope Church where she took an interest in poetry. She represented the church in youth contests at St. Paul C.M.E. in Chicago. At the age of fifteen, she won first place in the competition. She was also involved in other organizations such as the Girls Reserve and the Junior League. During the eight years of her involvement in the League, she served as President of her chapter for a number of years. “One of the fundraisers we often held were plays. I often played the villain in the mystery plays,” she laughed.

Today, Esther is the only surviving sibling of Charles and Carrie Pringle. Family members are either interned at Rosehill or Sunset cemetery with the exception of Thelma who is interned in Abbeyville, South Carolina.

The Pringle family was a cohesive family. “As we grew up, we all lived within six blocks from each other.” Esther Says, “We would often walk to each others homes and visit… Those were the good-ole-days.

“We spent most of our time growing up on the ‘west-side’”, Esther reflects. “We didn’t have much money, so we didn’t go downtown often. We didn’t run into too much segregation because we stayed out, by choice, of that type of atmosphere.”

Esther’s daughter, Renee Weldon Wright, was an accomplished pianist and violinist, winning several competitions. Upon graduating from ETHS, she attended Grinnell College in Iowa on the Le Jeune Fisher-Vera Bentley Music Scholarship. Renee was the first African American recipient of that scholarship. She left music and went on to obtain a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She later became Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Delaware State University and opened her own business, The Pringle Group, specializing in grant writing, business plans and marketing. Recently, Renee earned her M.B.A. at Delaware State University.

The Pringle legacy of struggles and accomplishments resembles that of many who grew up in the same time period. The responsibility lies with us to record and share these experiences with future families. Esther gives credit for the success as a family to her mother. “My mother was a smart person. You couldn’t put anything past her.” Esther says “She was a praying mother. When any difficulties came before her, she always said ‘Let’s pray about it’. She always stepped out on faith.”

Charles and Carrie Pringle stepped out on faith, leaving family in Level Land, South Carolina with the goal of migrating to California. Their chance decision to stay in Evanston and build a home, laid the foundation of a new chapter in the Pringle family legacy. Esther takes pride in the 92-year-old house her father built in 1916. “Not too much has changed,” Esther says. “The siding, the back room, and the front façade, but it is the same space where we all grew up.”
Note: Article first appeared in the original printed Shorefront Journal, Volume 6, Number 4, Summer 2005 and has been edited for length.

A Family History Remembered

—By Priscilla Giles

James Martin Thompson, c.1880s

Ordinary people make up the majority of any city and the Thompson-Mack families are just that. Their distinction is that they can trace the family to the North Shore in the day when Black people were pioneering with whites.

The family story begins with the kidnapping of James Martin Thompson from the Buffalo, New York area when he was about seven years old by two white “drummers” (traveling salesmen) pretending to need help opening a turnpike gate. They took him to Guelph, Ontario, Canada where he lived until he was an adult. He married Edith Alice Lipscomb (Lepscomb) daughter of Julia, a run-away slave from Kentucky. Their first daughter, Ora, was born there in 1879.

Smiths owned a grocery store in Wilmette

After Julia died, Edith and James along with Edith’s sister, Ellen and her husband John Smith moved to the United States. The Thompsons first lived in Lake Forest, Illinois where a second daughter, Minnie, was born in 1882. Later they moved to Wilmette, Illinois where the Smiths owned and operated a grocery/candy store with the help of the Thompsons. The store operated until 1925 when Ellen died. The Thompsons moved to Evanston where their last children, Jessie and Wilbur were born in 1885 and 1891 respectively in the family home at 2455 Prairie Ave. Today, the home is now the site of an apartment building just north of Haven School.

The children attended the Crandon Elementary School later called the Central Street School. It was a small one-room school building that stood at Steward and Central Street. The family held membership at Ebenezer A. M. E. Church, where Minnie and Jessie were bonnet sisters until they relocated to Detroit, Michigan where Jessie’s husband, the Rev. Benjamin Brooks, pastored until he died. Their great neice, Helen Thomas and niece Constance Bell are still members there.

Ora Thompson, the oldest child, married William Howard Mack. They had four children; a girl, Mabel, twins Everett and Paul Dunbar, and William Howard Mack Jr. Paul married Georgie Gilbert and they had four children; Roger, Diane, Paul and Helen. Helen, who with her children and grandchildren still live in Evanston.

Minnie Thompson Williams had three children, twins, who died in infancy and Alice, who died young. Jessie Maud and her husband had no children.

Howard Jr., a member on the Umbrarian Glee Club and bass horn player, was a postal worker until 1969. He married the former Hilda Gordon of Glencoe, Illinois. They had two children Marjorie and Gordon, who retired after a long career as a director of American Humanities Program with the YMCA and is now a university professor. Gordon married the former Kay Bell of another old Evanston family and had four children none of whom live in Evanston today.

2455 Prairie Ave, Evanston, c,1900s

Wilbur Thompson and Bertha Jones were married in 1915 by the Rev. I. A. Thomas of Second Baptist Church. It was a garden wedding at his parent’s house at 2455 Prairie in Evanston. They first lived on Central Street, a block west of Green Bay Road but later moved to 2115 Forestview Road next door to Bertha’s sister Carrie and brother-in-law Isaiah and children. Wilbur and Bertha had five children; Wilbur and Millard who died in childhood, Edith, Marjorie, and Constance. They lived in Wilmette attending school there. Marjorie started kindergarten in the Wilmette Public Library. She later attended Lincolnwood, Willard, Foster, and Haven Schools in Evanston.

A small Black community developed in early Evanston in which families like the Thompsons, Suttons, Collins, Frazier’s and Logans homes stood. The Sutton’s house was moved to 2317 Foster Street while other homes on Bauer’s Place were bulldozed as if to erase the very existence of their former neighbors. It is now the site of a Christian Science Church. Other Black-Americans living in North Evanston on Park Place and Isabella were forced to move to the westside of Evanston the new place for the growing Black population. Wilbur and friends built their new home at 2225 Foster Street where other homes were moved from North Evanston when it was being “gentrified”.

Marjorie now lives in Chicago where she married Errill Sanders and remains ever willing to add another memory for a new chapter in the history of the Thomspon-Mack history. Her oldest daughter and her sister Connie, continue to live in Evanston.

The grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren of run-away slaves, kidnapped free blacks and former slaves were blessed by God and have a rich legacy to impart to their children and generations to come. They are ordinary people who wish to share a history that is a part of the North Shores and of Evanston.

 

Notes: Article first appeared in the original printed Shorefront Journal, Spring 2000, Vol 1 No. 4

Shorefront 2015: Continued Advocacy for Community Archives

Reading room at the Shorefront Legacy Center

— By Shorefront Staff

2015 has been a busy year for Shorefront as we have settled into our new home in the lower level of Sherman United Methodist Church, and there are a few more months left in the year. During the year, we have continued to create an inviting facility for visitors, researchers, room for a growing archive, forged new partnerships and received local and national recognitions.

The Society of American Archivists recognized Shorefront with the 2015 Diversity Award for outstanding contributions in advancing diversity within the archives profession, SAA, or the archival record. Shorefront was also the recipient of the 2015 Award of Excellence from the Illinois Association of Museums for our work with the Shorefront Journal.

For the last six years, Shorefront has continued its involvement with the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) and as a model “second space” organization for others entities to pattern. Shorefront founder, Dino Robinson, was a keynote presenter at the BMRC 10th Anniversary reception that was held on October 15, 2015. BMRC Fellow, Megan Klein, spent two months at the Legacy Center while working on her research on and about housing patterns and its ties with segregating a school system in Evanston, Illinois. Her work is on-going.

Shorefront also facilitated an intern from Dominican University. Nicole Gibby Munguia fulfilled a 40 hour internship in the last quarter of the year that will result in at least one processed project and one article for publication in Shorefront Journal.

Shorefront’s library of books have been cataloged with the Evanston Public Library in WorldCat and is now searchable. This completes a short-term goal to have our holdings of over 500 titles incorporated with a national and standardized library cataloging service. In addition, Shorefront assisted the City of Evanston in reestablishing the Fleetwood Jourdain Art Guild’s collection for permanent display at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center in Evanston.

For the third year, Shorefront, in partnership with Evanston chapter N.A.A.C.P., the African American Genealogy Consortium, and The Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti, hosted two consecutive lectures that facilitated discussion involving “Black Lives Matter” and “The History of Black Entrepreneurship”. The second lectured launched a Shorefront led presentation on the history of Black-owned businesses in Evanston that was presented at various public gatherings and the installation of a wall exhibit at a newly opened community center.

“Legacies” exhibit at the A Bright Night For the Arts event

Shorefront prepared a new traveling exhibit entitled “Legacies”, consisting of several oversized panels showcasing people and organizations. The first series of panels were displayed during the One State conference, a program of the Illinois Arts Alliance and at the A Bright Night For the Arts event. The exhibit will continue to grow and travel to various schools, libraries and other venues.

Shorefront’s resident scholar, Doria Johnson, completed a recent fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem New York for a exhibit entitled “Black Suburbia” through end of 2015. Evanston is one of the featured “suburbs” with a large and historic Black community.

Shorefront’s work in launching its publishing arm, utilizing its growing archives as primary sources has grown. Shorefront has identified 15 potential titles, three of which is a three volume series by Spencer Jourdain entitled Dream Dancers that follows the legacies of two families and their eventual migration to Evanston. The reissue of A Place We Can Call Our Home has been widely accepted and several schools have purchased copies for both the student body and teachers. Look for more during the 2016 year.

The online Shorefront Journal has been live since August 2012. To date, the journal has had over 30,000 visits with over 70 posts. In addition, there are three printed annuals available for purchase that combine the articles for that year. The Online and printed journals were recognized by the Illinois Association of Museums with the 2015 Award of Excellence for printed materials.

In 2014, we reported a 50% growth of our archives to a little over 100 linear feet. Since then, the holdings have grown to over 175 linear feet— and it is still growing. New collections include the Evanston Neighborhood Conference, North Shore Chapter Jack and Jill, Inc., a significant addition to the Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, Delta Alpha Boulé and North Shore Illinois Chapter of the Links, Inc. archives, and several family archives.

Shorefront owes thanks to Robin Simmons of Signature Construction Services for remodeling work done in the Legacy Center that has added over 300 square feet of storage and public space to accommodate new archives. We also would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Megan Klein, Fran Joy and Toni for furniture file cabinets and artwork that has enhanced the centers work space.

Shorefront has always been a strong advocate for groups with a passion in archiving subject specific items. Earlier in the year, Shorefront partnered with the Modern Dance Music Archives and Research Foundation, providing guidance and space while housing their archives at Shorefront. The organizations focus is on the history of the Chicago House Music Scene with a focus on the work of pioneering DJs and clubs.

Our outreach includes participation in the Chicago Open Archives multi-day events where archivists tour different Chicago area repositories and for school and summer camp tours. Our social media presence continues to capture a growing audience on Facebook, Twitter the online journal and our redesigned website.

Shorefront is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit historical organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and educating people about Black history on Chicago’s suburban North Shore. It is publicly supported through grants, contributions and membership. The Legacy Center is open to the public for research initiatives.