Week 1 - Introduction and Chapter One: Big Dogs
Assignment - Deadline: Friday, February 5
Chapter 1 of the book provides an account of Berry Gordy’s
family history in Oconee County, Georgia. After amassing a “fortune” of $2,600
from the sale of timber stumps, the chapter ends with Berry’s father leaving
the ancestral home and heading to Detroit at the urging of relatives fearful
for his safety due to the windfall. Briefly tell the story of why your family
moved to Metro Detroit.
A. Post your response to this week’s question.
B. Post two separate comments to one or more of your colleagues reacting to their posts for this week.
Born in 1917 in Hatchechubee, AL, my father did not get beyond the sixth grade in school and joined other boys his age working in the cotton fields. During WWII, he was classified as 4F, due to his severe stutter. However, he was recruited to build warships in Portland, OR. While working there, he fell off a ship deck and unto the dry dock – shattering his left leg. From that point on, his family and friends called him “Crip” (yes – these were pre-PC days).
ReplyDeleteMy father heard there were job opportunities in Detroit, so he road a train across country and found a job as a streetcar driver. In that position, he saved enough money to purchase a dump truck, which he used to pick up trash for the city of Detroit (before there were city-owned garbage trucks). From these earnings, he bought a house in Black Bottom and rented out rooms to migrants. Two of those boarders were two recently arrived women from Birmingham, AL, who had heard jobs were plentiful in Detroit. One woman – Dixie Jones – worked as a domestic and her college-educated daughter, Corine Jones, took a job downtown as a secretary until she could obtain a job as a teacher. “One thing led to another” and my father married Corine (my mother) within a year of her arrival.
Dr. Anderson,
DeleteIt's really interesting the events your father went through that led up to the moment he met your mother, it sounded like a journey itself already up to that moment.
Yes - I do think it is amazing how my father was able to make a living for himself, despite his lack of formal education.
DeleteSo my mother was originally born in Lansing in 1959. A majority of my mother's side of the family lived in Lansing, and wanting to make her own lane, she decided to go to U of M, and decided to move to Detroit after my grandmother, her second husband, and younger brother moved to Detroit. She was working as a physical assistant at the Day School for the Deaf. She later met my father, who moved down here for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteMy dad moved out here because after high school, my grandmother said he needed to find work since he wasn't going to college. He then moved to Detroit with the money he saved while being in high school and found a job at a shelter as a night manager and also at the Ford plant. My grandfather just so happened to be his supervisor and took him under his wing. It was through there and a fortunate barbecue invite that my dad met my mother and hit it off from there.
What an interesting story, Gerrard. Does your mother know sign language? Does your father still work at Ford?
DeleteMy mom still knows sign language, but my dad left Ford and started his own business as a landscaper, but left that and is now a truck driver.
DeleteIt's always interesting to see how chance encounters, being at the right place, at the right time, can shape family lineage. Do you know which Ford plant he worked at?
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ReplyDeleteMy great-grandparents moved to Detroit from Jackson, Mississippi in the 1920s. My grandmother was 2 years old and the only child at the time (1 of 5). No family, no friends here, just an opportunity for a better life. My grandfather (here from Virginia) met my grandmother while she was working at a deli. 'Coke bottle Mary' is what they use to call her. The oldest of 6, she mostly tended to her family, but she was amused by my grandfather, the older snazzy gentlemen. My great- grandparents, weren't a fan of him because of this. However, a few years later, they married and went on to have 6 children.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! So, your great-grandmother was part of the "Great Migration" of the 1920s. Where did they live? Do you have any photos from that period? It would be great if we could share photos at our next staff meeting.
DeleteMy grandma was originally from the Metro Detroit area, but my grandpa wasn't. Back in the early 1960's, Jay Hess, my grandpa, just got off of duty from the Vietnam war, when he went to go look for work in Michigan, that's when he met Phyllis Montgomery, my grandma. Eventually they settled in Melvindale and had a few kids, each of them still live within the area in Metro Detroit with the exception of one of them moving out to Brighton just a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, we've always been in Metro Detroit, with the exception of my grandpa, originally from Ohio. Nothing special.
Alexander, great story its interesting that your grandpa came to Michigan after the war instead of going back to Ohio.
DeleteAlex -
DeleteThat's interesting that your grandfather was involved with the Vietnam War. Was he involved in combat? Has he ever talked to you about it?
Dr. Anderson,
DeleteNo, he wasn't involved in combat, I actually forgot what he did. Surprisingly enough, he never talked about it, I don't think he was really affected by it, but rather I feel like he never thought it was important to bring up to me, which is understandable because especially at my younger age, war wouldn't be the best thing to talk about with your grandchildren.
My great aunt Louise moved to Detroit from Little Rock, AR. She wanted to become a model here, instead she became a hairdresser. She lived and had a shop on the north end, near Brush and John R street. Slowly, after moving here her other siblings arrived in Detroit. My Uncle Oatis who is the youngest moved here and started working for Ford Motor in 1966. This was his first and only job that he retired from in 1999. I can't even imagine staying that long on a job nowadays. When I speak to him, he is always proud that his sister got up the nerve and courage to leave from home. If she hadn't he would of ended up with no education and no permanent job.
ReplyDeleteOlea -
DeleteThat is quite an interesting story. I wonder why your great aunt thought she could make a living as a model in Detroit? Did any of your family members come to Detroit, make a living, then returned to Arkansas? Do you ever go to Arkansas for family reunions or visits?
Olea,
DeleteWow, 39 years at one job, that's amazing. After that long, me must of liked it there.
Also, I admire the fact that your aunt had the guts to come all the way to Detroit to start a new life away from home, that's pretty cool.
Olea, thats incredible. Im seriously wondering what kept him going 39 years at one job, but I assumed he loved every minute of it.
DeleteOlea - that's an interesting story. I'm always fascinated by people's histories of what drove them from their international or domestic locations to reside in Detroit.
DeleteThis topic is perfectly timed, as I am currently looking to my lineage to discover more about my family. While I am slowly learning more about my paternal family, my maternal family history is a bit more clear. Both of my grandparent's families on my mom's side came from Poland. Some, fled during the time when Poland was occupied by Germany. Whether they came to America for freedom or opportunity, most of my my family's lineage seems to come almost directly from "the old country" right to Detroit. Whether it was the booming manufacturing industry or proximity to the Canadian boarder (as there is a deep-rooted link between my Dad's family and eastern Canada), Detroit appeared to be the land of opportunity between 1850-1920.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting? I did not know your mother's side of the family are of Polish descent. Does your mother speak Polish? Can you? What is the ethnicity of your father?
Delete