Dublin Core
Title
Interviews with Mr. Johnnie Smith (December 4, 2009 & December 10, 2009)
Subject
Oral History Interview about Mr. Johnnie Smiths' Experiences growing up in Lakeland, College Park
Description
Topics Discussed:
Family
Childhood
Employment (His Parents & His Own)
Education
Activities/ Entertainment (Ice-skating, Carr's Beach)
Sports: Baseball
Underground Economies- Selling Lily Pads
People: Paul Parker/ Parker family
Urban Renewal
Train Crash into Lake Artemesia
Family
Childhood
Employment (His Parents & His Own)
Education
Activities/ Entertainment (Ice-skating, Carr's Beach)
Sports: Baseball
Underground Economies- Selling Lily Pads
People: Paul Parker/ Parker family
Urban Renewal
Train Crash into Lake Artemesia
Creator
Stephanie Stevenson, Gregory McCampbell, Adele Thies
Source
[no text]
Publisher
[no text]
Date
December 12, 2009
Contributor
[no text]
Rights
[no text]
Relation
[no text]
Format
[no text]
Language
[no text]
Type
[no text]
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]
Contribution Form
Online Submission
No
Posting Consent
[no text]
Submission Consent
[no text]
Contributor is Creator
[no text]
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Gregory McCampbell
Stephanie Stevenson
Adele Thies
Stephanie Stevenson
Adele Thies
Interviewee
Mr. Johnnie Smith
Location
phone interview & in person
Transcription
Updated Oral History Notes from Interviews (one & two) with Mr. Johnnie Smith
Full Name: John Fred Smith
Birth date: July 8, 1940
Current Residence: In Prince Georges County near Andrews Air Force Base
Family Life
-Residence at Birth: 4906 Lakeland Road & lived on the east side of Lakeland
-Mr. Smith doesn’t know the year that his parents moved in the house, because he was a baby
- He describes the home as a big three story home
- His parents stayed in this house for a long time
-Residence during second part of childhood:
a.) Mr. Smith says that his family moved to the building that held Lakeland Elementary School. The building was remodeled so that the family could live there comfortably.
b.) Mr. Smith moved with his grandmother when he was about 13-15 years old. He did not say why he moved with them. He said, “I just went to live with them.†He notes that he enjoyed time with his grandparents.
c.) His house on Navaho Street burned down and they he lost all of his family documents.
-Parents: Father- James Smith (died 87), Mother- Anna Betty Smith (died at 85 or 86)
-Siblings: 17
-Mr. Smith has one sister that lives in Fort Worth, TX
-Three of his oldest brothers passed away.
-All of the girls are alive
-Family Reunions: He and his family have family reunions every October, with approximately 600-700 people in attendance
- All of his family lives in Prince George’s county
Family Member Roles
-He and his brothers played football, and he & his brothers and sisters played basketball
-his mom cleaned & cooked, but she did not force the children to do chores
Parent’s Employment
Mother: homemaker
Father: Berwyn Bee House- truck driver/ labor
Mr. Smith’s Employment
-From 1959-1980 he worked for the Washington
Sanitary Commission as a truck driver & laborer. He earned about $1.30/hr when he first started. In the late 1970s his salary was raised to $14.00. Mr. Smith was laid off in 1980.
-Mr. Smith worked at BFI (a waste management company now owned by Republic Services) for 13 years as a supervisor *(We did not learn the years of his employment here)*
-Mr. Smith worked at the Department of Justice for 17 years. He worked as a truck driver and he delivered furniture to different places in the government.
Education
-Mr. Smith attended Lakeland Elementary School
-The average class size was approximately 20/30 kids per classroom
-The school was located across the railroad tracks, but Mr. Smith does not remember the address
-The elementary school stopped at the 6th grade
-He stopped attending school after completing the 9th grade
Activities at school
-Physical Education
-Shop- he built several crafts, but he mainly remembers building benches.
-His shop teacher’s name was Mr. Clemons (who passed away).
Transportation: Mr. Smith remembers riding the streetcars a lot, but not the trains
Activities outside of school
* Entertainment on Beaches*
-Mr. Smith, classmates, and friends went to Carl’s Beach, starting when he was 13 yrs old. He mainly remembers dancing there and listening to bands.
-He says that 5000 or more people would go to Carr’s Beach on a weekly basis for entertainment from Lakeland by car.
Bands that played at Carl’s beach were:
-Billie Stuart, James Brown, the Clovers, the Stanleys
-Ernest from the Eastspots- (from Lakeland???-not sure)
-the Fat Dominos
-Went to Sandy Point Park- which was integrated at the time
Sports
- He played baseball, basketball, and football
-He shot pool, swam, and fished for big Bass in Lake Artemesia
*Ice-skating*
- Mr. Smith said that when he was approximately 16-18 years old, he and about 50 other young Lakelanders used to ice skate on Lake Artemesia and make fires. He said that they all spent the night there and had fun.
-Mr. Smith describes about 50 to 100 people ice-skating on Lake Artemesia on a regular basis, circa 1955. He says they would make fires from tires to provide light and heat.
*Integrated Social Sports*
- He says that black boys from Lakeland played football with white boys from Berwyn Heights. They had fights sometimes, but they were not racially based. The fights just resulted from simple disagreements amongst the boys.
*Baseball*
- Mr. Smith remembers the Lakeland White Socks (a youth baseball team). He says that Leonard Smith was the bat boy. The team played all over North East, Washington D.C., Mitchellville, MD, Brandywine, MD, and in Green Valley, VA.
-He notes that a baseball diamond used to exist where the current soccer field is located at the College Park Community Center.
-Mr. Smith recalls that there were Negro baseball leagues, such as the Black Socks. They were located in Glenarden, Laurel, Bliffend, Pomonkey, and Mitchellville, Maryland.
-Mr. Smith remembers the Maryland White Sox of Lakeland that played on Sunday afternoons after church.
-He says it was so crowded you could not get into Lakeland (there were crowds of 300 to 400 spectators).
-The games had concession stands for foods etc. Mr. Smith was a batboy when he was a pre-teen.
- He says the adult player affectionately called him Johnny Cakes.
-The teams disappeared after Urban Renewal occurred.
Buying snacks at the corner stores
- Mr. Max and Mr. Blacks’ stores were very similar, he liked both stores
Church: His family attended First Baptist Church in Lakeland
Relationship with older boys in the community
- He played with older teenage boys who served as friends and mentors. They taught him how to ride a motorcycle, hunt, and swim.
-He says that the boys threw him and others in the water to teach them how to swim
Adult Activities
*Gambling*
-Mr. Smith says he used to play billiards or pool at the Lakeland Tavern/Beer Garden that was owned by Henry Conway. He says he won more than 10-thousand dollars in a game of pool in Lakeland.
People
-He knew that Paul Parker and his family lived by the railroad track. He says that they were nice people. They went to the University of Maryland to buy live chicken for five cents
-The Parkers had cottages on the side of their home, and borders stayed the entire weekend
Other memories of Lakeland
-Mr. Smith remembers collecting lily pads flowers to sell them in College Park, and catching frogs in the lake for food.
-Although Lakeland and Berwyn were segregated communities, Mr. Smith never experienced any problems with white residents
- Mr. Smith remembers train and car accidents, and when a train crashed into Lake Artemesia that caused a big fish kill.
Urban Renewal
-He says that Urban Renewal did not affect him because he only lived on the East side in the 1950s
-When asked how his acquaintances felt about Urban Renewal he notes that they “did not say anything too bad about itâ€
- One of his daughters lived in one of the new apartments created after Urban Renewal
Full Name: John Fred Smith
Birth date: July 8, 1940
Current Residence: In Prince Georges County near Andrews Air Force Base
Family Life
-Residence at Birth: 4906 Lakeland Road & lived on the east side of Lakeland
-Mr. Smith doesn’t know the year that his parents moved in the house, because he was a baby
- He describes the home as a big three story home
- His parents stayed in this house for a long time
-Residence during second part of childhood:
a.) Mr. Smith says that his family moved to the building that held Lakeland Elementary School. The building was remodeled so that the family could live there comfortably.
b.) Mr. Smith moved with his grandmother when he was about 13-15 years old. He did not say why he moved with them. He said, “I just went to live with them.†He notes that he enjoyed time with his grandparents.
c.) His house on Navaho Street burned down and they he lost all of his family documents.
-Parents: Father- James Smith (died 87), Mother- Anna Betty Smith (died at 85 or 86)
-Siblings: 17
-Mr. Smith has one sister that lives in Fort Worth, TX
-Three of his oldest brothers passed away.
-All of the girls are alive
-Family Reunions: He and his family have family reunions every October, with approximately 600-700 people in attendance
- All of his family lives in Prince George’s county
Family Member Roles
-He and his brothers played football, and he & his brothers and sisters played basketball
-his mom cleaned & cooked, but she did not force the children to do chores
Parent’s Employment
Mother: homemaker
Father: Berwyn Bee House- truck driver/ labor
Mr. Smith’s Employment
-From 1959-1980 he worked for the Washington
Sanitary Commission as a truck driver & laborer. He earned about $1.30/hr when he first started. In the late 1970s his salary was raised to $14.00. Mr. Smith was laid off in 1980.
-Mr. Smith worked at BFI (a waste management company now owned by Republic Services) for 13 years as a supervisor *(We did not learn the years of his employment here)*
-Mr. Smith worked at the Department of Justice for 17 years. He worked as a truck driver and he delivered furniture to different places in the government.
Education
-Mr. Smith attended Lakeland Elementary School
-The average class size was approximately 20/30 kids per classroom
-The school was located across the railroad tracks, but Mr. Smith does not remember the address
-The elementary school stopped at the 6th grade
-He stopped attending school after completing the 9th grade
Activities at school
-Physical Education
-Shop- he built several crafts, but he mainly remembers building benches.
-His shop teacher’s name was Mr. Clemons (who passed away).
Transportation: Mr. Smith remembers riding the streetcars a lot, but not the trains
Activities outside of school
* Entertainment on Beaches*
-Mr. Smith, classmates, and friends went to Carl’s Beach, starting when he was 13 yrs old. He mainly remembers dancing there and listening to bands.
-He says that 5000 or more people would go to Carr’s Beach on a weekly basis for entertainment from Lakeland by car.
Bands that played at Carl’s beach were:
-Billie Stuart, James Brown, the Clovers, the Stanleys
-Ernest from the Eastspots- (from Lakeland???-not sure)
-the Fat Dominos
-Went to Sandy Point Park- which was integrated at the time
Sports
- He played baseball, basketball, and football
-He shot pool, swam, and fished for big Bass in Lake Artemesia
*Ice-skating*
- Mr. Smith said that when he was approximately 16-18 years old, he and about 50 other young Lakelanders used to ice skate on Lake Artemesia and make fires. He said that they all spent the night there and had fun.
-Mr. Smith describes about 50 to 100 people ice-skating on Lake Artemesia on a regular basis, circa 1955. He says they would make fires from tires to provide light and heat.
*Integrated Social Sports*
- He says that black boys from Lakeland played football with white boys from Berwyn Heights. They had fights sometimes, but they were not racially based. The fights just resulted from simple disagreements amongst the boys.
*Baseball*
- Mr. Smith remembers the Lakeland White Socks (a youth baseball team). He says that Leonard Smith was the bat boy. The team played all over North East, Washington D.C., Mitchellville, MD, Brandywine, MD, and in Green Valley, VA.
-He notes that a baseball diamond used to exist where the current soccer field is located at the College Park Community Center.
-Mr. Smith recalls that there were Negro baseball leagues, such as the Black Socks. They were located in Glenarden, Laurel, Bliffend, Pomonkey, and Mitchellville, Maryland.
-Mr. Smith remembers the Maryland White Sox of Lakeland that played on Sunday afternoons after church.
-He says it was so crowded you could not get into Lakeland (there were crowds of 300 to 400 spectators).
-The games had concession stands for foods etc. Mr. Smith was a batboy when he was a pre-teen.
- He says the adult player affectionately called him Johnny Cakes.
-The teams disappeared after Urban Renewal occurred.
Buying snacks at the corner stores
- Mr. Max and Mr. Blacks’ stores were very similar, he liked both stores
Church: His family attended First Baptist Church in Lakeland
Relationship with older boys in the community
- He played with older teenage boys who served as friends and mentors. They taught him how to ride a motorcycle, hunt, and swim.
-He says that the boys threw him and others in the water to teach them how to swim
Adult Activities
*Gambling*
-Mr. Smith says he used to play billiards or pool at the Lakeland Tavern/Beer Garden that was owned by Henry Conway. He says he won more than 10-thousand dollars in a game of pool in Lakeland.
People
-He knew that Paul Parker and his family lived by the railroad track. He says that they were nice people. They went to the University of Maryland to buy live chicken for five cents
-The Parkers had cottages on the side of their home, and borders stayed the entire weekend
Other memories of Lakeland
-Mr. Smith remembers collecting lily pads flowers to sell them in College Park, and catching frogs in the lake for food.
-Although Lakeland and Berwyn were segregated communities, Mr. Smith never experienced any problems with white residents
- Mr. Smith remembers train and car accidents, and when a train crashed into Lake Artemesia that caused a big fish kill.
Urban Renewal
-He says that Urban Renewal did not affect him because he only lived on the East side in the 1950s
-When asked how his acquaintances felt about Urban Renewal he notes that they “did not say anything too bad about itâ€
- One of his daughters lived in one of the new apartments created after Urban Renewal
Original Format
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