Walker Grady Oral History Program
April 11, 2010 UNC-Charlotte Special Collections
Grady Walker
Interviewed at his residence
April 11, 2010
Interviewer: Bagley, Katy
Transcription completed: April 27, 2010
Transcriber: Katy Bagley
Editor: Sara Blanchett
Title: Interview with Grady Walker
Keywords:
Description:
Contributor:
Interview Date: April 11, 2010
Format: Marantz
Indentifier:
Transcriber: Katy Bagley
Participatnt description:
Age:
Birth Date:
Birth Location:Charlotte, NC
Residence: Revolution Park
Education: Barber School, High School
Occupation: retired Barber
Setting Description: Living room of Interviewee
KB: Kathryn Anne Bagley
GW: Grady Walker
Begin Transcribing Interview Below.
KB: Today this is Katy Bagley interviewing Mr. Grady Walker at his residence on April 11, 2010. This interview is taking place in conjunction with the Revolution Park oral history project under Dr. Karen Flint for the archives at UNCC. Thank you for meeting with me today.
GW: Nice to meet you.
KB: Ok, Mr. Walker, can you tell me your fondest memory of Revolution Park?
GW: Yes, the fondest memory I would say was the swimming pool.
KB: Swimming pool. Did you go there a lot?
GW: All the time when we first moved here. I was like 11, and that’s where everybody around here would go. That was the hang out place.
KB: Cool. When did your family move here?
GW: In ‘68 I think June of ‘68.
KB: Why?
GW: Because it was a house, and someone in my family wanted a house.
KB: That’s cool. Was it a safer neighborhood than you moved from? Or was it cheaper? Was it more…
GW: It was, the house was expensive, but safer? The neighborhood now is considered bad, but I, it was safe to me. Both areas, I’d say.
KB: Did the pool and the golf course, were they both big draws for your family to come here?
GW: Ah, my father loved to play golf, you know, and I loved to swim
KB: [laughter] And where did you move from?
GW: A place called South Side. That’s right over, about 6 blocks, from here.
KB: 6 blocks, cool. Did you go to the same school after you moved?
GW: Well, uh, at the time, there came integration, so I went to the school which used to be called York Road, they changed it to Kennedy Jr. High, and uh, then, because of the busing, in the 8th grade, I went to Smith Jr. High. In the 9th grade, I went to SpawlingJr. High. Uh
KB: So how many? 4?
GW: 3 high schools, 3 junior high schools.
KB: Wow. Was that tough?
GW: No, because everybody who that I was with they were going to the same schools.
KB: So were you with both blacks and white?
GW: Yes, uh-huh
KB: And obviously you were bused. Is that correct?
GW: Yes, uh huh.
KB: So were whites bused as well or just blacks?
GW: Most of the whites lived in the area, lived around the area, and we were bused.
KB: OK, OK, wow. Were the race relations ever tense at school? Or how were they?
GW: Yes, it, only in high school, and that’s when it started to get sort of tense, and that was at Olympic.
KB: Oh, Olympic high school. Did anything ever happen?
GW: Oh yeah, they had a few fights rise, uh, a few dangerous.
KB: Really?
GW: Yes.
KB: Wow. Do you remember any specific examples?
GW: Yeah, I can’t remember the guys that did it, but these two black guys, they threw a white guy off the 2nd story, and it paralyzed him for life.
KB: Wow.
GW: I remember that.
KB: Did they get in trouble?
GW: You know, I really don’t know what happened. I really can’t remember what happened after that incident. Yeah.
KB: Wow. Wow. That’s intense. So back to Revolution Park. When you moved here, what was the community like?
GW: It was still a mixture of blacks and whites, and which it is still a mixture of blacks and whites. Not as many whites as we have around here now, but still a mixture and everybody gets along.
KB: OK. Who were your neighbors?
GW: My neighbors if I can remember their name were the Griffins, which stay over here on the left side of Beech Nut, and the Jeeters next door, and they’ve been there ever since we’ve been there.
KB: Are they still there?
GW: Yeah
KB: So maybe they would want to do an interview
GW: They’re kind of old, so I… [laughter]
KB: You doubt it. Fair enough. So can you give me, were they black or white?
GW: They’re black.
KB: And were the other neighbors black or white?
GW: They were black.
KB: OK, so what do you think the percentage would be of black to white ratio in the neighborhood when you moved here?
GW: I’m saying a little less than half and half.
KB: Less blacks, or…?
GW: More, yeah, when I got here a little bit more blacks than whites, but --
KB: Half?
GW: Yeah, yeah.
Kb: Was the neighborhood full of families?
GW: Yes, it was.
KB: Did you play with a lot of kids then, since you were 11?
GW: Mainly, more of the people that I grew up with moved to Clanton Park, so I had a tendency of going there, either go in there back or to my old place and hanging out instead. I met some people around here, but I still stuck with the people that I used to.
KB: Did you play with them at the pool?
GW: Yes, uh huh
KB: So pretty much all the neighborhoods they came to the pool?
GW: Yes, from Clanton Park, South Side, to and Revolution Park.
KB: So then did you go to school with the Revolution Park kids?
GW: After starting around the 9th grade, I did.
KB: OK. What kind of interactions did you have with your neighbors?
GW: Good. Everybody had always gotten along.
KB: Did you ever notice any racial tension?
GW: No, I didn’t.
KB: So was this then, you said this was seen as a safe neighborhood?
GW: Uh-huh, yes.
KB: Did you lock your doors at night?
GW: Well, not, like I mean, you could keep the doors open and sit on the porch without worrying about anything, but by this time, people, everybody has started locking their doors at night, [laughter] you know?
KB: Yes, I do. I understand that. Do you think, was crime ever an issue?
GW: Crime, I mean, like anywhere else, you’re going to have your crime, but crime has never been a big issue around here, and still isn’t.
KB: Really?
GW: Uh-huh.
KB: Where did you parents work?
GW: My father worked at uh, well at first it was Mary Oats school as a custodian, and my mother worked as a director over a nursery at South Tryon Presbyterian, which is about 2 miles from here.
KB: OK, wow, so then was your father, was that school close by, or was it far?
GW: No, the Mary Oats School is, out of central Avenue and the Plaza, but finally he retired from Carmel Jr. High, which down by the South Park area.
KB: So then your parents did not necessarily move here because it was close to their jobs?
GW: No.
KB: It was just a good neighborhood?
GW: Yes.
KB: Can you describe what your house looked like when you moved in?
GW: Almost the same as it does now [laughter] outside.
KB: So it was brick?
GW: Yes, well it was brick, and, well it was brick and wood. Now it has some aluminum siding, you know.
KB: Um hum.
GW: Yeah, I’ve just had some work done to it.
KB: OK, is the inside the same?
GW: Yes, still the same.
KB: How many rooms are there?
GW: Only two bedrooms
KB: Two bedrooms?
GW: And a bathroom, and this part out here as you notice, I don’t know as you came in, it has always been, it’s a built on a garage, it was here when we first moved here, but it’s used as a little room because no cars can fit in
KB: [laughter] OK, so who lived here before you did?
GW: I can’t remember the people’s name. She was a, I think a middle age lady, and was selling.
KB: White or black?
GW: She was white.
KB: OK, so did she add on the garage?
GW: I don’t know. It was added on when we came here
KB: So it was like that?
GW: Uh huh.
KB: OK, so what was your yard like? Did you play in it as a child?
GW: Yes, I’ve always had a dog, so...
KB: Is it big?
GW: It’s pretty huge, I’m sure we’re sitting maybe a little less than an acre. I know, but, maybe a little less than half an acre.
KB: That’s pretty good.
GW: I’d say it’s all out there.
KB: OK, cool. Did you go to church in the area?
GW: Yes, I went to South Tryon Presbyterian Church.
KB: Where is that?
GW: About 2 miles.
KB: Where your mom worked?
GW: Uh huh.
KB: And did that church, did many people from this neighborhood go there?
GW: No, no, a lot of people went to Galilee.
KB: Where is Galilee?
GW: It’s over here right off Mint St. West Blvd and Mint.
KB: OK. So that was a community church then? A neighborhood church sort of?
GW: Not a neighborhood, just more people went there that I knew of. More people are Baptist than, I’m a Presbyterian.
KB: Me too
GW: OK.
KB: Ah yeah, there are definitely a lot of Baptists in the South. When you first moved here, and the, you said it was half and half, was Galilee a white church or a black church?
GW: This Galilee over here was a white church then, uh but the Galilee that’s sitting off South TryonSt., over the years, they’ve moved it into this church over here on Mint St.
KB: Oh, OK. So why did it change from a white one to a black?
GW: I’m not sure. I’m not sure. I’m not sure if the church advanced and went somewhere else.
KB: So it was probably a move?
GW: Yes, uh huh.
KB: So they just kept the name?
GW: No, they didn’t keep the name. I’ve forgotten the name that it was before then. It was, I’ve forgotten the name that it was before then.
KB: OK, we’ve heard of a Mt Zion church that was white, is that?
GW: Uh huh, First Mt. Zion over here on Remount. I used to go there too.
KB: OK, so was it black or white when you went there?
GW: At first when I moved here, it was a white church, uh huh, but the guy, he went to school with us. I won’t forget his name, his name was Jan.
KB: Jan.
GW: Uh huh.
KB: And Jan was the, was he the preacher’s son?
GW: Yeah, the preacher’s son.
KB: OK, the white preacher’s son. Ok, and did you hang out with him?
GW: Yeah.
KB: Did they live in the neighborhood?
GW: Yeah, uh huh the house was beside the church.
KB: Oh, OK. So when it--
GW: For the preacher and his family.
KB: So when it, I think we’ve been told that when it was sold, a black church moved in.
GW: Yes, uh huh.
KB: So did they keep the house for their preacher, do you know?
GW: No, if I’m not mistaken, that house has been torn down.
KB: OK.
GW: Yeah.
KB: Have many of the houseshere been torn down?
GW: No, I’ve only known of one, two. Two or three houses have all that’s been torn down over the years.
KB: How many houses would you say are in this neighborhood?
GW: I can, now that would be hard, for me
KB: I don’t know either.
GW: I think John has the estimate on that.
KB: So most of themthen are the original houses then.
GW: Yeah.
KB: Do people renovate them?
GW: What they’re doing, a lot of people are coming in a buying them and trying to buy them, but I’m like this is not going anywhere, but they’re renovating and renting them out.
KB: [laugh]
GW: Which a lot of people around here, the people that I used to, well there’s still a lot of people around here that I know. But, it’s a mixture because they’re renting them out now.
KB: Oh, OK. So would you say on your street now, are they mostly renters or owners?
GW: I’m going to say about half and half on our street.
KB: Really? Has that changed the feel of the neighborhood at all?
GW: Sometimes, because the older ones that knew each other, tend to stick together because a lot of times, the ones that move in don’t stay there long enough for you to get to know them.
KB: Got you. Um, so in 1968 when you moved, where did you go shopping? Grocery shopping?
GW: Um, there used to be a Harris Teeter up here off of Remount Road in the shopping center. It’s a new shipping center now, but it used to be a Harris Teeter.
KB: And that’s where yourfamily went?
GW: Yep.
KB: I guess you probably didn’t do too much of that, did you?
GW: No, well there was a drug store up here, Eckerd’s drug store, so that was a little hanging place too. They had a little old timey soda fountain where you could get hamburgers and milkshakes and stuff like that.
KB: So would the kids go there much?
GW: Yeah.
KB: Was it expensive?
GW: Not that I can recall. I think maybe then a hot dog was like a quarter.
KB: Oh wow, awesome. So ok, in the summer then, you would go up to the soda fountain and did you hang out at the pool the whole time?
GW: Yes, the pool was like almost an everyday thing.
KB: Really?
GW: Yeah.
KB: Would you go there all day long?
GW: I have gone, well, the way they had it set up, well when it was first open, they would have a big, because it was an Olympic size pool, they would have Olympic meets up there for two weeks
KB: Ah.
GW: And they would have the Winnebago’s you know, just families from everywhere. And then after that, our swimming season would start, and they had what was, free swimming was from ten to twelve, and then after twelve, it was a quarter to get in. And a quarter to get in and a dime to rent you a locker to put your clothes in, and I have gone up there at ten in the morning. The swimming pool didn’t close until ten at night because they had lights, and staying till ten at night.
KB: Wow.
GW: Yeah, because we had a juke box, we had a place that sold snow balls, hot dogs, and stuff right in at the pool.
KB: Nice.
GW: Yeah.
KB: So these Olympic meets, were they actual Olympians?
GW: I guess they were preparing for the Olympics, but they were big meets.
KB: So you had people from all over the country coming?
GW: Yes.
KB: Wow. That’s cool. Did you ever go watch any of the…?
GW: I never did. Iwas just waiting on the pool
KB: To swim?
GW: yeah to swim.
KB: Ok, I have a question. So free swim, from ten to twelve, if you stayed, like if you went in at ten and got in for free, would you stay the whole time for free?
GW: No, you would get out.
KB: Oh, you had to?
GW: Yeah, you had to get out, but it was kind of like an honest thing you know. They would tell everybody to get out, then you’d go get back thru the line and pay your quarter.
KB: Did you have to re-pay for another locker?
GW: No, because you still had, you had a key that you pinned on your trunks.
KB: OK. Could you kind of describe the facilities for me?
GW: Uh like the inside?
KB: The whole thing.
GW: OK, well there was a, as you go to the, in the driveway, at the top of the building, there was a building downstairs, you paid to go in swimming, and then you went straight through to the shower room where your lockers were and stuff like that, and you would come out this little door, exit, and go swimming. Upstairs was the center, and it had like, I don’t know, something young people are familiar with like foosball and pool--
KB: Uh huh.
GW: --and ping pong and stuff like that that was upstairs. Of the building.
KB: Were those free as well?
GW: Yes, those were free.
KB: Wow. Ok, so it’s an Olympic size pool, did it have a lot of chairs and lounge chairs around there?
GW: It had a place, an area, where you could sit and be under the shade for the meets.
KB: Oh cool.
GW: Yeah
KB: Was that on the upstairs level? or
GW: It, no it was like down on by the pool, but you had, I mean, it was, I know it would hold over I know, a hundred and fifty, 200, maybe 200 people.
KB: Wow.
GW: I’m sure 100.
KB: At least.
GW: Yeah
KB: Wow. That’s impressive.
GW: Yeah.
KB: So were you pretty upset when they decided to shut it down?
GW: It hurt, because I was so used to seeing it.
KB: Did you still use it?
GW: No, I didn’t use it , as just, just it being there.
KB: Good memories?
GW: Yeah.
KB: So in the summer, you would go from ten to ten sometimes. What all would you eat, just the hotdogs and?
GW: Most of the time, yeah, yeah, you know. I would eat breakfast before I’d leave and you know.
KB: [ laughter]
GW: Just go down there and enjoy the day.
KB: Were there a lot of kids there?
GW: Yeah.
KB: Is that what you did with the friends?
GW: Yes because we have Clanton Park right over here in this area, so everybody from Clanton like I said, a lot of people that I moved from Southside with were from Clanton Park.
KB: OK, got you.
GW: So everybody, Clanton Park would walk there to the pool. Even they have this place called Arbor Glenn, it used to be called Arbor Village, and they would come, and I mean, it was just a place where everybody met and had a good time.