Dublin Core
Title
Oral history Interview with Regina Thomas Barton
Subject
Family history, location of neighbors, physical map of Lakeland, educational experiences, community values, activities for youth, jobs, and family living arrangements
Description
This interview with Regina Thomas Barton begins with a discussion of why her grandparents, Andrew and Alice Thomas, moved to Lakeland from Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Ms. Barton describes that she thinks it was to create a community of their own, where they felt comfortable and could own land. Then she provides genealogical detail on her first cousins in Lakeland, Betty Greene, whose mother was sister with her grandmother, Douglas Walls, whose mother was a Lancaster, and the Randalls, whose father and her father were brothers.
She then spends some time describing the geography of Lakeland, describing the different sections as the west side across the train tracks, the south side, and the north side (the two together are what the University of Maryland report called the east side). She then describes the location of her grandmother’s house on 54th Avenue, which was next door to the Lomax’s house. When asked about how many generations have lived in Lakeland, she was not sure because there are so many cousins and close family, but upon reflection thinks that it was at least three generations, though unfortunately, all of the previous generations before her are now deceased. She then describes her family, with two brothers and one sister, none of whom currently live in Lakeland.
Responding to the interviewer asking about the ethnicity of the neighbors and what she remembers about the community, Ms. Barton quickly lists all of the neighbors in Lakeland, who were all African American families. She mentions the Lomaxes, the Russells, the Powers, the Bransons, the Thomases, the Stuarts, the Waters who became the Sellers (who are now on Navajo) and the Lancasters. Then she explains a bit more about the geography of the town, describing a vacant lot that was previously used as a CCC camp and a road that separated the houses. On the other side of the road she talks about more neighbors, including Mrs. Russell who had chickens, a rooster, and a cat; and Mrs. Miranda Powell and Frank Powell who were her father’s neighbors; George and Alice Branson, who were older and originally came from Virginia; the Powers who moved from Laurel; Faye and Andy Thomas who came from Anne Arundel County or Laurel; Charles (Charlie) and Alberta (Bertie) Stuart, who lived on the west side until Mr. Charlie died, and then Ms. Bertie moved into her family’s house.
This memory of Ms. Bertie starts a discussion about the family structure and living arrangements in Lakeland and for African American families in general at the time. Ms. Barton explains that it was common for people to live with their parents because they could not make enough at their jobs to immediately have a house of their own. She and her brothers and sister lived with their grandparents until she was in the 4th grade, when her father built their house. It was built by Mr. Bell from Hyattsville, a man her grandmother did domestic work for. Ms. Barton goes on to describe the house physically: 2 floors, 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, basement and attic. They used well water until they were later connected to city water.
The next section of discussion is free flowing between the themes of more neighbors, the kinds of yards and animals they kept, and the activities there were for young people when she was growing up. She provides an extensive discussion of the ways that families in Lakeland were able to use their property for subsistence. Ms. Barton describes the livestock that her grandfather and Mr. Charlie kept; her grandfather had a horse to help plow the land for crops, even though the lots were only ½ to ¼ acre. Her mother also made soap and clothes.
Next she begins to describe the south part of Lakeland across the train tracks, and lists the families living in that part of town who included the Carters, Charlie Hamlin, Mr. James Edwards, the Giles, the Shorts, the Smiths, the Weems, the Harrison/Blackstons, Miss Ellie Falls and her daughter, and the Hills. She also mentions Ms. Mattie Jackson who was related to Mary Sellers and the Campbells who originally came from the Carolinas. Also discussed was Mr. John Brooks and his 3 daughters Ceily, Viola, who did hair, and a third whose name she is unable to remember. She describes the Giles house with a fishpond and the only strip of sidewalk in Lakeland that they passed on the way to the two-room school house where she attended 1-3 grades. In 4th grade Ms. Barton attended Lakeland Elementary/Junior High that was in the old high school building. Her house was right across the street from the high school.
This discussion leads Ms. Barton to discuss education in Lakeland, and the teachers who used to board in houses in the community, including her aunt and uncle, Lucille and Josey Johnson, who lived next door to Elmer Poole. She then pauses to reflect on the character of the people, who she describes as protective, encouraging, nice people who were excellent role models for the young. The teachers she also describes as second to none; along with pastors, ministers and other adults, they were challenging and wanted you to learn. She states that they took for granted these values, but that what you saw as a child shapes you in your adulthood. Ms. Barton describes her observation that now youth are crowded out by adults who want to stay young forever, and so they do not develop into healthy adults. She continues to describe activities and groups for youth, and states that in the separate but equal world of Prince George’s County, they did not lack for experience in Lakeland.
The next section of the interview leads Ms. Barton to discuss her specific education experience, taking the civil service exam in high school to prepare for government stenographic service, attending Bowie State where she received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in education, and several other universities in the area where she has studied. Ms. Barton then describes her 40+ year career in Prince Georges County Schools, where she was a teacher as well as an administrator. She describes the connection she feels with her father who was a night janitor at the Lakeland High School, among other jobs in his career. She also describes how both of her children now work in education; her son as a 5th grade teacher in Hyattsville Elementary and her daughter as a school librarian in the District.
Talk of careers leads to a discussion of the differences in gender roles for men and women when she grew up, as well as how she sees those roles in today’s society. Ms. Barton connects these thoughts with community values, and describes how having an intact family (mother and father at home) is best for children’s development because of the complementary styles and skills each parent brings. She attributes much of the dysfunctionality that she observes today to the lack of stable families like she had. She describes how she did most of her activities with her family—cousins as well as siblings. They did not go to the city or spend time with friends. They also did not go to restaurants to eat out because of segregation laws. This thought leads Ms. Barton to describe the foods that her mother canned, the typical balanced meals that they ate, and the favorite foods family members had. Next she describes the annual church picnic at Carr’s Beach where everyone in the community, as well as people from Muirkirk and Brentwood, brought their special dishes and celebrated.
The conversation turns back to discussion of the physical neighborhood, with descriptions of the east side with the stores, businesses, street car and night club, and the differences on the west side that was very quiet. Ms. Barton talks about Black’s store as well as Mack’s store and the apartments that were close to each. She also mentions that Black’s store had an area for kids to dance, which leads to descriptions of other gathering places such as the Hall off Navajo that showed movies on Saturday nights.
The next section of the interview is centered on the question of open land in Lakeland, and eventually the interviewers bring out a map from the 1940s to help orient and direct her descriptions of the woods, streams, and the CCC camp.
The final portion of the interview is composed of Ms. Barton reiterating the community values of self sufficiency and opportunity as well as her family values such as education and reading. The interview then moves to a more noisy space and she recalls more youth activities such as the tin canteen run by Clement Martin in the school multipurpose room. This leads to one last description of her love of the teachers and education she received in the segregated schools, which she feels is not matched by today’s education. She laments that teachers don’t push for excellence in their students and correction is taken personally, rather than as an opportunity for personal improvement. The interview concludes with what appears to be descriptions of a group of photographs and identifying the people in each one.
She then spends some time describing the geography of Lakeland, describing the different sections as the west side across the train tracks, the south side, and the north side (the two together are what the University of Maryland report called the east side). She then describes the location of her grandmother’s house on 54th Avenue, which was next door to the Lomax’s house. When asked about how many generations have lived in Lakeland, she was not sure because there are so many cousins and close family, but upon reflection thinks that it was at least three generations, though unfortunately, all of the previous generations before her are now deceased. She then describes her family, with two brothers and one sister, none of whom currently live in Lakeland.
Responding to the interviewer asking about the ethnicity of the neighbors and what she remembers about the community, Ms. Barton quickly lists all of the neighbors in Lakeland, who were all African American families. She mentions the Lomaxes, the Russells, the Powers, the Bransons, the Thomases, the Stuarts, the Waters who became the Sellers (who are now on Navajo) and the Lancasters. Then she explains a bit more about the geography of the town, describing a vacant lot that was previously used as a CCC camp and a road that separated the houses. On the other side of the road she talks about more neighbors, including Mrs. Russell who had chickens, a rooster, and a cat; and Mrs. Miranda Powell and Frank Powell who were her father’s neighbors; George and Alice Branson, who were older and originally came from Virginia; the Powers who moved from Laurel; Faye and Andy Thomas who came from Anne Arundel County or Laurel; Charles (Charlie) and Alberta (Bertie) Stuart, who lived on the west side until Mr. Charlie died, and then Ms. Bertie moved into her family’s house.
This memory of Ms. Bertie starts a discussion about the family structure and living arrangements in Lakeland and for African American families in general at the time. Ms. Barton explains that it was common for people to live with their parents because they could not make enough at their jobs to immediately have a house of their own. She and her brothers and sister lived with their grandparents until she was in the 4th grade, when her father built their house. It was built by Mr. Bell from Hyattsville, a man her grandmother did domestic work for. Ms. Barton goes on to describe the house physically: 2 floors, 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, basement and attic. They used well water until they were later connected to city water.
The next section of discussion is free flowing between the themes of more neighbors, the kinds of yards and animals they kept, and the activities there were for young people when she was growing up. She provides an extensive discussion of the ways that families in Lakeland were able to use their property for subsistence. Ms. Barton describes the livestock that her grandfather and Mr. Charlie kept; her grandfather had a horse to help plow the land for crops, even though the lots were only ½ to ¼ acre. Her mother also made soap and clothes.
Next she begins to describe the south part of Lakeland across the train tracks, and lists the families living in that part of town who included the Carters, Charlie Hamlin, Mr. James Edwards, the Giles, the Shorts, the Smiths, the Weems, the Harrison/Blackstons, Miss Ellie Falls and her daughter, and the Hills. She also mentions Ms. Mattie Jackson who was related to Mary Sellers and the Campbells who originally came from the Carolinas. Also discussed was Mr. John Brooks and his 3 daughters Ceily, Viola, who did hair, and a third whose name she is unable to remember. She describes the Giles house with a fishpond and the only strip of sidewalk in Lakeland that they passed on the way to the two-room school house where she attended 1-3 grades. In 4th grade Ms. Barton attended Lakeland Elementary/Junior High that was in the old high school building. Her house was right across the street from the high school.
This discussion leads Ms. Barton to discuss education in Lakeland, and the teachers who used to board in houses in the community, including her aunt and uncle, Lucille and Josey Johnson, who lived next door to Elmer Poole. She then pauses to reflect on the character of the people, who she describes as protective, encouraging, nice people who were excellent role models for the young. The teachers she also describes as second to none; along with pastors, ministers and other adults, they were challenging and wanted you to learn. She states that they took for granted these values, but that what you saw as a child shapes you in your adulthood. Ms. Barton describes her observation that now youth are crowded out by adults who want to stay young forever, and so they do not develop into healthy adults. She continues to describe activities and groups for youth, and states that in the separate but equal world of Prince George’s County, they did not lack for experience in Lakeland.
The next section of the interview leads Ms. Barton to discuss her specific education experience, taking the civil service exam in high school to prepare for government stenographic service, attending Bowie State where she received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in education, and several other universities in the area where she has studied. Ms. Barton then describes her 40+ year career in Prince Georges County Schools, where she was a teacher as well as an administrator. She describes the connection she feels with her father who was a night janitor at the Lakeland High School, among other jobs in his career. She also describes how both of her children now work in education; her son as a 5th grade teacher in Hyattsville Elementary and her daughter as a school librarian in the District.
Talk of careers leads to a discussion of the differences in gender roles for men and women when she grew up, as well as how she sees those roles in today’s society. Ms. Barton connects these thoughts with community values, and describes how having an intact family (mother and father at home) is best for children’s development because of the complementary styles and skills each parent brings. She attributes much of the dysfunctionality that she observes today to the lack of stable families like she had. She describes how she did most of her activities with her family—cousins as well as siblings. They did not go to the city or spend time with friends. They also did not go to restaurants to eat out because of segregation laws. This thought leads Ms. Barton to describe the foods that her mother canned, the typical balanced meals that they ate, and the favorite foods family members had. Next she describes the annual church picnic at Carr’s Beach where everyone in the community, as well as people from Muirkirk and Brentwood, brought their special dishes and celebrated.
The conversation turns back to discussion of the physical neighborhood, with descriptions of the east side with the stores, businesses, street car and night club, and the differences on the west side that was very quiet. Ms. Barton talks about Black’s store as well as Mack’s store and the apartments that were close to each. She also mentions that Black’s store had an area for kids to dance, which leads to descriptions of other gathering places such as the Hall off Navajo that showed movies on Saturday nights.
The next section of the interview is centered on the question of open land in Lakeland, and eventually the interviewers bring out a map from the 1940s to help orient and direct her descriptions of the woods, streams, and the CCC camp.
The final portion of the interview is composed of Ms. Barton reiterating the community values of self sufficiency and opportunity as well as her family values such as education and reading. The interview then moves to a more noisy space and she recalls more youth activities such as the tin canteen run by Clement Martin in the school multipurpose room. This leads to one last description of her love of the teachers and education she received in the segregated schools, which she feels is not matched by today’s education. She laments that teachers don’t push for excellence in their students and correction is taken personally, rather than as an opportunity for personal improvement. The interview concludes with what appears to be descriptions of a group of photographs and identifying the people in each one.
Creator
Katie White, Sarina Otaibi, and John Heermans
Source
[no text]
Publisher
Lakeland Community Heritage Project
Date
November 2009?
Contributor
[no text]
Rights
[no text]
Relation
[no text]
Format
MP3
Language
English
Type
Sound File mp3
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]
Contribution Form
Online Submission
No
Posting Consent
[no text]
Submission Consent
[no text]
Contributor is Creator
[no text]