Martha Neely Interview, date unknown

INGRAM: Okay, uh, as you know we're trying to, we're doing research on the roots of the black, the black man in Ypsilanti and we're interviewing all of the, uh, people, all the black people in Ypsilanti to find out where all the, all the, uh, history has occurred. Um, and I, we, we've chosen you because you've, uh, been a, a resident of Ypsilanti since 1904. Is that right? Um, could you tell me, um, how is it that you happened to move to Ypsilanti?

NEELY: [Why], uh, first of all [ ] lived out in the country out, out past Windsor. All the way past Windsor in the country.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: And there wasn't any schools there we could attend, except the [ ] school was near.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: And it, [ ] trying to get to another school. Um, our parents thought it would be best if we moved someplace else where the school would to be closer.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: So, well, we moved to Detroit, we stayed there for a few months and then from there we did start school in Detroit. We went, we didn’t go very long because we, all of us got sick [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: So we had to stay out for a long time. Then we was going to move out here so we didn't go back. So after we came here we started school here.

INGRAM: MM-hmm.

NEELY: So that was in March [1904].

INGRAM: Um, what school did you attend while, while you lived in Ypsilanti?

NEELY: Well, when we first came we lived, for just a little while we lived in the, with the Baptist, the parsonage there, not the one [they have now, but another one]. On the inside they had apartments they rented out, so we stayed 2:00there for little while, about three months, I guess. And so during that time we went to school next to the church, [ ] [it was a first floor school].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Can you remember anything about it? Any of your experiences in school?

NEELY: We just had one teacher, [it was a black teacher]. She taught all four classes, [it had four grades]. [ ] [Laughs] [ ]. So we went there until school was out in June. And then, well, we moved in June over to, uh, Forest Avenue.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: The last week or so we had to go [ ] school was out there. Then in the fall we started to, uh, school, Prospect School. [I don’t know what they call 3:00it], they call it Adams School now.

INGRAM: Okay.

NEELY: They used to call it Prospect School. And they also called it for the ward, the Fourth Ward School. Each ward had a different school. And so we went to school there for the fifth [ ], fifth grade. And, uh, it just had four grades that were there so in fifth grade we went to a [ ] school. [ ] Woodruff School. We went there until [ ] sixth grade, seventh grade and then to [Central] School on Cross. That was the same as, it was in the same building as the high school, Central School. [ ] the grades and then the high school [ ]. And then, well, that was before they made the, uh, new, it was the new high 4:00school at that time, the new high school is on Cross Street now.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

INGRAM: And we spent our last half year in high school at the new high school. [ ] My sister and I went to Eastern Michigan [ ].

INGRAM: Normal College? Is, is that right? Did you grad, did you graduate from Eastern?

NEELY: Yes, [ ]. I had a brother, too, but he didn't go. [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. What did you major in?

NEELY: Art.

INGRAM: In art? Were you, uh, was it like, I understand that the school was a teachers college at that time.

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Were you in, did you get a teaching, uh, certificate?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Did you, did you, um, after you graduated, did you teach coll-, teach high school or anything?

NEELY: Uh-uh, no, I didn't teach any high school. I just [ ] work to do there, student teaching there.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [Uh, like scholars]. And no, I didn't, uh, then they weren't hiring black teachers around here anywhere. And if you got a job you’d have to go way down south [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] no chance to teach. And then for a while, after they did start hiring, and then for a while they wasn’t hiring any [ ]. All the teachers 6:00that were married had to leave, you know, and go somewhere else, and they were just hiring teachers, single teachers.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ]. Oh, after a while, later on [did start hiring] [ ]. Now most of them are [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm, right, right. Um, so you, um, graduated from high school in 19-, in 1912?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: You did?

NEELY: No.

INGRAM: What year did you graduate?

NEELY: In 1916.

INGRAM: 1916, okay. And then immediately after that, you went to, uh, Normal College.

NEELY: Yes, uh-huh.

INGRAM: And you spent four years there?

NEELY: No, two years.

INGRAM: Two years. You didn't have to go four years for, uh,

NEELY: No, I went. No, had to go three years to get a, uh, [ ]

INGRAM: Bachelor's?

NEELY: Yeah, I think you got a Bachelor's in three years.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Do, did you, uh, what year did you get married?

NEELY: 1930.

INGRAM: 1930. Um, was your, uh, husband a resident of Ypsilanti?

NEELY: Uh, yes, he hadn’t lived here as long as I had. [He came to Ypsilanti] from North Carolina.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. And what was he, what was his vocation?

NEELY: Uh, he was an electrician.

INGRAM: An electrician. Was that an oddity, a rarity, for a black man to be an electrician back in those days?

NEELY: They didn't have as many as they do now.

INGRAM: Did he belong to any fraternal organizations, or uh,

NEELY: No.

INGRAM: How about the church?

NEELY: Oh, yeah, the Methodist church, [ ].

INGRAM: Brown Chapel?

NEELY: Brown Chapel.

INGRAM: Okay.

NEELY: Uh-huh, [ ], except my brother, because he went, he left when he was very young [ ].

INGRAM: Um, could you, can you possibly remember any of the, uh, black politicians that they had in the Ypsilanti area during that period of time? Like for say, uh, 1914 to about 1945? Was there any like, I understand that there was a black, the first black mayor here in Ypsilanti.

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Do you remember anything about that?

NEELY: Yes, uh-huh, [ ]. [That wasn’t so long ago].

INGRAM: It wasn't?

NEELY: No.

INGRAM: The very first one? Now, I understand that, uh, Mayor Goodman, he, he, he was, uh, he's, he’s the black mayor now, right?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Okay, was there one before him?

NEELY: Yes, um, [ ]. [ ] on city council [ ]. I think just for one term [ ].

INGRAM: How did the white people view him, in general? Uh, you know, the very 10:00first black mayor here, especially during those times.

NEELY: [ ] I don't know so much about politics. [ ] as far as I know he was treated all right.

INGRAM: There wasn't anything bad said about him in the papers by some of the white editors of newspaper?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Okay, okay. Do you have any sons?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Did they, did they participate in any of the wars? Were they ever in the service?

NEELY: Uh, my older son was, he was in active service. He went, he was [ ]. Germany, he was in Germany. [ ] just went to the, he was an active serviceman 11:00[ ]. [LONG PAUSE]

INGRAM: He was stationed in the states?

NEELY: [ ] [Laughs] I was think it was [ ].

INGRAM: Oh, um, Alaska?

NEELY: Alaska. He was in Alaska.

INGRAM: Oh, really? I know he didn't like to stay up there very long.

NEELY: [Laughs]

INGRAM: Um, can we go back a little bit and, like, talk about your parents? Were they, were they ever descendants of slaves, or, or anything? Can you remember anything that they told you about their past?

NEELY: Well no, not my parents [ ]. [I think maybe my mother’s parents] were probably, probably slaves.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [Because, uh,] they came, they came here to Canada when my mother was [just an infant]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: and so I guess she didn't know much about it. I think they [ ]. [LONG PAUSE]

INGRAM: So could, can you remember anything about, uh, how the black people celebrated the end of World War 1?

NEELY: Well, I guess they all celebrated together [laughs].

INGRAM: [Laughs]

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] and they had a big parade.

INGRAM: Did they?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Uh, when you were at Eastern, did you, was it kind, was it hard as a black woman, um, to succeed in that, in that field?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: You didn't come across any kind of discrimination, or, or, uh, um, 14:00trouble, just because you were black?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Were there a lot of other black students up there?

NEELY: No, [ ] mostly women at that time,

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] at the end of the year, [this would be] the end of the fall term, it was all over [laughs]. Wasn't a [ ]

INGRAM: Do you have any old mementos, or old photos from your family that might, that dates back beyond, uh, let's say 1950 or 1940?

NEELY: [ ]

[LONG PAUSE]

INGRAM: How are you?

VOICE: All right.

[LONG PAUSE]

NEELY: Oh. Oh, I guess I have a few around here, I have some snapshots [laughs].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] [Laughs]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Is it all right if I look at them?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Okay. I mean if it's, if it's gonna be a problem for you, that's okay.

NEELY: No, it isn't.

INGRAM: Okay, fine, thank you.

[TAPE STOPPED, RESTARTED]

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Hm. Your father was very handsome, wasn't he?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Yeah.

NEELY: That's me and my sister.

INGRAM: Okay.

[LONG PAUSE]

NEELY: [ ] that's me and my husband [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. He was a handsome man, too.

NEELY: That's my brother [ ]

INGRAM: How is he doing?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Were these pictures taken in Ypsilanti?

NEELY: Uh, yes.

INGRAM: This house right here, is that one of the first houses, is that one of the houses that you lived in?

NEELY: Uh, yes, this is the house that we used to live in over on Forest Avenue.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Did you, did you live,

NEELY: No, no, not that, this, this is not it. This one [laughs], wait a minute, this is one I lived in up off Harriet Street.

INGRAM: Okay, did you own that house at the time?

NEELY: We owned the house, my mother and father owned the house over there on Forest.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: And that house there, no, we just, uh, we were, had an apartment.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

[LONG PAUSE]

NEELY: [ ] [These were in a, in the history].

INGRAM: And your maiden name is Starks?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Okay. Was it, was it hard to, um, purchase a house back in those days?

NEELY: Uh, no. I mean, [laughs] [you have to have the money to buy].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. I mean, but what I was, you know how you do it today,

NEELY: Uh-huh.

INGRAM: you know, you get a house mortgage. What I was wondering is, was the banks loaning money to any black people during that period?

NEELY: I don't think they were loaning any money [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] didn't have much money to pay out.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: We had, uh, [ ] where we lived,

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] farm,

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: so we had everything, chickens and cows.

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: Pigs and [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: Every Christmas, every Christmas, a turkey [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ] We saved up for a long time, [ ] make a down payment [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. How long have you lived in this house here?

NEELY: I lived here, uh, soon to be nine years. [When my husband died I moved here]. We had lived on Huron Street and I stayed there for another year [ ], the kids thought I better get a smaller house [ ].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Who did your husband work for? Or was he self-employed?

NEELY: Um, he worked for an [ ] company.

INGRAM: Oh, did he? Did he like working for that, for that company?

NEELY: Yes, he [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. He worked at the Ford plant, on, uh,

NEELY: River Rouge.

INGRAM: Oh, he worked down at River Rouge?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: So he drove back and forth?

NEELY: Yes.

[LONG PAUSE]

INGRAM: Well, I'm glad that you shared with me some of your memories of Ypsilanti. And the information that you've given us will be very, very helpful, 23:00and I want to thank you very much for giving me the time to come in and interview with you. And, um, if you have any questions or anything that you need to know, you know, feel free to call us. Um, should, did Mr. Marshall leave you his, uh, phone number and address?

NEELY: I have, I think I have it.

INGRAM: Because if he didn't, I have it here for you.

NEELY: Okay.

INGRAM: Yeah.

[TAPE STOPPED, RESTARTED]

NEELY: [ ]. Must have stayed there.

INGRAM: Ohh.

NEELY: Now, he worked, [putting out these lights, they had these tall lights] [ ]

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: and he had to climb up a tall ladder, [get to the top and light ‘em] [laughs].

INGRAM: Mm-hmm.

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Oh, this is about your father?

NEELY: Yes.

INGRAM: Ohh.

NEELY: [Laughs]

INGRAM: Oh. Now, you know, now this, this is very, very interesting, is that he set up the first, uh, lighting system in this, in this,

NEELY: No, he didn't set them up, but he had to climb up.

INGRAM: Okay.

NEELY: To light, see?

INGRAM: Okay, and there were, like, gas lights or something?

NEELY: Uh, yes, I think carbon lights, I think they're called.

INGRAM: Right, hard carbon. That was dangerous, wasn't it?

NEELY: I guess it was.

INGRAM: Yeah, that, that was. And it says here that he had, he had to, uh, climb tall towers and, uh, do it in ice, or snow, or driving rain. Oh, yeah. Okay, um, 25:00would it be all right if, um, I take this, and uh, make a copy of it and return this to you? That be okay with you?

NEELY: [ ]

INGRAM: Okay, I'd really appreciate it, if you, if you'd let me borrow this.

NEELY: Okay.

INGRAM: And I'll get this right back to you.

NEELY: Okay.

INGRAM: Okay.