1 10 4 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/46085/archive/files/c6288924eada01c9b1214d53eb5cd70d.WAV?Expires=1793232000&Signature=JZkK69PqVKeU3ZX1OHggeb93puC781g7i0xd%7Ef9BjuxadnCvGTnbpg6enaZhjkWRslXprgNLBkR43B6qc2f2Zx0w8e1%7E-FYoHDi6yK5BOl9WNSsCdFnZfzlNiW1OGMseYOlceyd4F4KDmn%7E2yF8uc58QnRJhgCwjvDaOQV4ICPS2TtdZN9nqtpCTf77yY9MdVAzqCnleH32dd6JRNSp0SiyaMzzCiZJny0DHQ%7EomyL26IylLl9tZhxsQgf0GqZrLeJgLsJqcq7ElhvWL3z2zQozim28Gt-hOS0UoIPD0YQ1GVY697X1X8XxGaTLRDvoss88pK4VEyReLbdpsm51drg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM caa4441770aaa1bf4240fa30ee5e8f1f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosedale Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale, Alabama Description An account of the resource Oral histories recorded in Rosedale, Alabama by Samford University students. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rosedale Residents Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Samford University Howard College of Arts & Sciences Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Various dates Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Shae Corey Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Phyllis Theresa Shepherd Location The location of the interview Lee Community Center, Rosedale Alabama Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound SHAE COREY: So, if you wouldn’t mind starting just saying your name… PHYLLIS SHEPHERD: Phyllis Theresa Shepherd. SHAE COREY: Perfect, and have you lived in Rosedale your whole life or…how long have you lived here? PTS: Well, I was actually a visitor, my grandparents, both sets of grandparents lived here and they lived across the street from each other. SHAE COREY: Really? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: My maternal grandparents uhm lived on 25th Court and my paternal grandparents on 19th Street South. SHAE COREY: Wow and so did both of your parents grow up here? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: They did. SHAE COREY: And where did they live after they moved, did they move away from Rosedale, or? PTS: They did when they married. Uhm, when my parents married in February 1957, they moved to the Woodlawn area of Birmingham, that was more or less their first residence as newlyweds. They roomed with an elderly lady uh and they only stayed there maybe barely a year. And then they moved to the Titusville area of Birmingham. SHAE COREY: Wow, so did you grow up there? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yes. SHAE COREY: But you came and visited here to see your grandparents? PTS: I sure did. SHAE COREY: So, what did they tell you about Rosedale, like your parents and your grandparents? PTS: They really, they you know always spoke about you know the good times, the fact that it was a traditional neighborhood. Uh it was a neighborhood in which uhm black people were very affluent, uh they had, many of them had their own businesses, and it was a—it was just really a very tight-knit community uh everyone knew everybody. Uh adults could chastise anybody’s child if they were doing wrong, that kind of thing. It was sort of like a community you’d see on T.V. like The Waltons or something. SHAE COREY: Mhm! (Laughter) Yeah. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm. SHAE COREY: So, do you go to church in Rosedale or… PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yes. SHAE COREY: What church do you go to? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: I go to Bethel A.M.E. Church on Mamie L. Foster’s 18th Place South uh and the street in recent times and uh the latter part of the twentieth century was named for educator Mamie Labon Foster. SHAE COREY: Mhm, who was she? So, I’ve heard a little bit about B.M. Montgomery, I believe, but I don’t think I know anything about her specifically. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yes, mhm. Miss Foster was a uh, she, she was an educator and she was also I think a member on the Homewood City Council at one time. SHAE COREY: Oh, wow. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: So, she was, she is very well known, very prominent. Later years, of course, she ended up I think uhm living with her niece in California. SHAE COREY: Oh wow. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: When she couldn’t, you know, take care of herself anymore. SHAE COREY: Mhm. So, did your grandparents, or your parents ever talk about, like any problems within Rosedale? Or…anything like that? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Very few, I, I didn’t hear. You know there’s no place or no sense of people that are perfect but uh the problems to me were minimal. Not like now. SHAE COREY: Mhm. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: They didn’t have the levels of violence within the community like now. No. Even, even uh, African-American white relations were different. As opposed to Birmingham. Uh when my father was growing up uh the police used to watch little black boys and white boys play football. There in the field for example. There was, however, surely discriminations as far as schools. They attended Rosedale High, which was all black. And of course, the white kids went to Shades Valley, Shades Cahaba. At the time, Shades Cahaba was actually a high school. Now it’s an elementary school. But uh, just in general, kids had a tendency to play together, believe it or not. Mhm. (Microphone crackling) SHAE COREY: The black and white students? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm, yeah. In some of the neighborhoods, yeah at least I know that dad mentioned about the boys playing football, mhm. SHAE COREY: Well—wow… so you mentioned that your grandmother was 105? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: 105, that’s my paternal grandmother. SHAE COREY: And she lived here her whole life? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: She did. SHAE COREY: Wow. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: She moved here 19—around 1933. She actually was born in Barbour county in Eufala. Mhm. SHAE COREY: Interesting. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: So, I guess—that, she would’ve moved here I guess when she was about 23, 24 years old. SHAE COREY: Mhm. So, did your parents and your grandparents talk a lot about Rosedale as uhm like did they ever talk about the changes in the community after uhm the end of segregation or anything like that? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm. I would say mostly it would seem like they were losing uh a whole on the, so to speak, on the land, on the property. It seemed like it was slowly eroding away, people were selling out. Uh, land wasn’t necessarily being just taken or anything without compensation, people were just selling out. Uh, I don’t know sometimes when people see money they’ve never seen before… SHAE COREY: Mhm. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Some people have never seen fifty, twenty-five, even twenty-five thousand dollars at one time. SHAE COREY: Yeah. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: They’ve seen it on paper, in figures, but that’s it. SHAE COREY: Yeah, that makes sense. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm, and so they just, they sell out and this is why you have the, the freeway you have because there were houses all down that way. SHAE COREY: Mhm! What was, what do you think, if your grandmother was still here, what do you think she would say was her favorite part about growing up in Rosedale, or something that she just loved about this community? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: I would think she probably would’ve said there was more love, everybody was close. SHAE COREY: Mhm. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Uhm, you could be, you know that was the thing, it was the type of environment where a neighbor could borrow a cup of sugar, a cup of flour—maybe adults could be out talking across the fence, so to speak and somebody could tell a child, “Baby, go in the house, go in my house and, and check on those peas that were on the stove and turn them off.” Uh, people didn’t lock their doors. SHAE COREY: Yeah. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: People as a whole, they uhm slept on the porch if they wanted to when it was hot yeah during the summer because they had screened-in porches, lot of people did. SHAE COREY: People used to sleep on the porch? And keep their doors unlocked? (Laughter) PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yeah. People, people didn’t bother them back then. They just didn’t bother folks. SHAE COREY: So, I know earlier you mentioned different types of violence in Rosedale, now. Like what types of violence? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm. I think even now, I, I still think this is a low crime area. Even, I really do. This is low crime as opposed to where I am in the Birmingham area unfortunately where it looks like every time you turn on Fox 6 it’s who got killed last night. It’s, it’s a different culture. Different feeling. It’s just different now. SHAE COREY: Yeah, yeah. I think everywhere is a little different, now, probably. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: It is, and I think it’s upbringing. That’s another thing, you know like I was mentioning earlier, uh you know adults could chastise other people’s children. And what would happen, and it was like that somewhat when I was growing up even in Birmingham. You didn’t bring shame to your family. So, yeah you were hoping word didn’t get out that Miss Brown or, or, or Mr. White had to say something to you. You were hoping it didn’t get back to your parents you know, yeah. SHAE COREY: Yeah. A different culture of honor, I guess. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: That’s true! That is so true, mhm. SHAE COREY: Yeah. That’s very interesting. Well, is there anything else that… PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: I can’t think of a whole lot, but it just to me was so unique knowing that my maternal grandparents lived here on 25th Court and my paternal grandparents were on 19th Street, they of course, were neighbors they knew each other. My parents were five years, had a five-year difference in age. So, quite naturally they wouldn’t have socialized as kids because it made a difference. Dad was graduating high school and he went to the Korea conflict. He did enlist in the air force. And mom was back here in school, in high school. So, it made a difference. Yeah. SHAE COREY: Yeah. So, did they meet when he came back from the air force, did he come back to Rosedale or? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yeah. Yeah, he did for a while, because they married in ’57 and I was born during that time. So yeah, they hooked up so to speak. SHAE COREY: (Laughter) PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: It was interesting. SHAE COREY: That’s funny that they lived right across the street from each other and didn’t know. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Yeah. They didn’t—you know, they knew each other and all but, you know it’s, it’s different if a girl is five and uh, a boy is ten. You know, that kind of thing they have different classmates, different everything, yeah. Different friends. SHAE COREY: Yeah. But they still fell in love! PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: I’m telling you. (Laughter) PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Still, it’s been really interesting. You know, we miss dad. Dad passed away in ’17. So, it’s been one of those things. Adjustments, adjustments. Yeah. That’s him on the screen over there. SHAE COREY: Yeah. Oh, really, he got interviewed too? PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm, he was interviewed three times. SHAE COREY: Oh wow. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: It was a part one two and three. My grandmother’s on there too somewhere. They’re all on YouTube. And two other old Rosedale residents too. Miss Doris Cunningham, and Miss Mary Edwards, was yeah, mhm. SHAE COREY: Cool. Well it’s kind of cool that you got to be interviewed too! Get your whole family. PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: Mhm. Yeah! Well it’s been enjoyable, it’s very nice what they have set up for you all. And this is a good project for you in school. SHAE COREY: Mhm, absolutely well thank you so much for— PHYLLIS T. SHEPHERD: You’re welcome. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 9:50 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Phyllis Theresa Shepherd Interview Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale History Harvest, Rosedale Memories Description An account of the resource Phyllis Theresa Shepherd describes her numerous visits to Rosedale to see her two sets of grandparents, who lived across the street from one another. She speaks of her time within the community, the churches in the neighborhood and the changes she has seen in past years. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 24, 2019 Alabama Birmingham community family generations home Homewood Alabama neighborhood Rosedale https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/46085/archive/files/7be950e360e60b1baa73c7420cf5b442.mp3?Expires=1793232000&Signature=k7IhXCU9PV9nCIowpBicf6fk%7Ew61vLgkr75jvQyik%7ERVfNxO%7Ej0UIyP92K63epi6vQhkrz3KHahQtDSfVQ5cG3q0nJzvaBbRgHFDkRMIDGPxU8VCuKzxOwxV-RxEHLAlN4efznUPanf49lp1zbjr8ZIJELmpmnZXCbrLxwAuJSt6llIxIPMgEUDjYM-kn8GJP2Gqq9i2gLvJqWETjEhIItK3E4z8TeIkUp7jX9GtCUMtKIhowMgPaq9NdMEQCFG60RYou%7EJlnyGEzCQZb9WlYu3MBSDt5h%7EbA4MvDEy3Em5J3pbBzlelnVrRY5qykEw44rN2DL08JHoHGsJFAyhMqw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 3cf4646db970f32079e20ff2a9ca0e5c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosedale Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale, Alabama Description An account of the resource Oral histories recorded in Rosedale, Alabama by Samford University students. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rosedale Residents Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Samford University Howard College of Arts & Sciences Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Various dates Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jonathan Lawson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Harriet Hall Pullom Location The location of the interview Lee Community Center, Rosedale AL Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound JONATHAN LAWSON: Alright, so this is Jonathan Lawson, uh would you mind telling me your name? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: My name is Harriet Hall Pullom, I was Hall when I grew up in Rosedale so that's my maiden name, Hall. JONATHAN LAWSON: Okay. HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Yeah. JONATHAN LAWSON: And how long have you lived in Rosedale? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I just turned sixty in November and I've been in Rosedale ninety percent of my life. JONATHAN LAWSON: Wow, wow. HARRIET HALL PULLOM: And I wouldn't live anywhere else. JONATHAN LAWSON: Why is that? Tell me what you love about Rosedale. HARRIET HALL PULLOM : Uh, the thing that I love about Rosedale is the community aspect is that I always felt like we were always family, that you were never by yourself, that no matter what street you went on there was somebody who knew you and related to you and who would help you if you got in trouble, I just liked the community aspect of it. JONATHAN LAWSON: Mhm, so tell me about some of the things that you remember growing up… maybe church or school or something along those lines? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: So, I went to Rosedale High School until that closed down, so it was always, we walked to school, we walked up the hill to school. And you knew all the people in your classroom and the teachers they were more than they--your teachers, they were your family. You could tell that they cared about you getting an education and wanting you to have an education and so they didn't put up with foolishness. That you had to do what you were supposed to do while you were there. Best cooks in the world, the lunchroom you know they were just they were on point, they always had good food, cinnamon rolls, peanut butter cookies, everything they all had their specialty. JONATHAN LAWSON: You're speaking my language, now! HARRIET HALL PULLOM: (Laughter) And the thing about it is, not only were they the people in the lunchroom, they were the people at your church. So, if you did something wrong at school, your parents would be in the know because they were going to tell on you. And that was the thing is that it takes a village, people say that now but actually when we grew up, it was a village. I mean, if you did something on one street, by the time you got home, somebody else already told your mom and you were going to be in trouble. And you better not say you didn't do it because you could not talk or tell adults were telling a story on you. If they said you did it, you did it. JONATHAN LAWSON: So, I know you've been here, a long time-- HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Yeah. JONATHAN LAWSON: What were some of the challenges you remember about this area growing up that you think really shaped your views of this area? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I think--I don't think we understood the challenge until we got older. I think because if I had sugar, you had sugar. If I had something you didn't have, then you could ask me for it and they would provide it. We used to call it like a cup, if you didn't have sugar then you sent next door and said, “Tell Mrs. so and so to send me a cup of sugar.” And if you needed something—and everybody on our street didn't have a telephone so if one person had a phone, it was the community's phone, you know they would say, “Go down the street and tell so and so they have a call,” so I don't think we really understood just how poor we were, because we never felt that. Because our parents never, never let us feel that way. Because if we needed something, there was going to be a way for us to get it. I can remember that, when we had to go to Edgewood and the Homewood High School and the middle school our parents got together, and they got a bus. You know they put their money, their resources together--we had a bus to take us to school because the school system did not provide that for us, so our parents always made sure that we had what we needed. JONATHAN LAWSON: Is there a location or a building that is no longer here that you really miss? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I mean even this building is not the same way when we grew up, you know and the thing I miss is the High School from Rosedale being there, the school being there. We had stores, we had corner stores, you know, laundry mats, I can honestly say everything we needed was in our community. We had everything we needed in our community and so we didn't have to go out looking for things. And we were saying this in a meeting not too long ago is, I lived on the other side of the highway and we weren’t allowed to come on this side of the highway without adult supervision because it was always a highway, you know it was always dangerous and stuff so you kind of stayed on your side and they stayed and the only time you came together was either church or school. JONATHAN LAWSON: So, my history of the area is not as, as good as it probably should be, uhm, was the highway built during the time that you were here, was it there already, how, how did that come about? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Yeah because even when you came up here today, all that that's highway now used to be houses. We can remember when people lived there you know that it's, that it’s not there anymore and even going down there where there’s buildings are, where businesses are there were families that lived there so a part of Rosedale is missing because it's gone, it’s business now so a lot of what we knew as Rosedale isn't there anymore. JONATHAN LAWSON: How do you think that shaped the community as it is today? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I, it's like when you grew up you really didn't really know what you had until it's gone, so I think people moved away, looking for better but didn’t realize they had it all the time. And so, when they grew up, they went to another community they didn't want to come back and now they wish they had that, because we had everything right here but as you grow up you think, you know, “I'm going to do better for myself” and instead of investing in this community, they invested somewhere else. JONATHAN LAWSON: So why did you choose to stay? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I, I don't even know if I would know how to function anywhere else. You know, because, I still have that love for my community, even though it's not the same, I still have a next-door neighbor that if I need sugar, Miss Barbara gives me sugar, if she needs something you know. And so, uh I went to visit my daughter in D.C. and they were like do you have a security system, yeah, it's called Barbara Pope! (Laughter) And so, I know that if something happens, she's going to let me know, you know what’s going on and so we always had that. If somebody died in the community we went around we took up money for flowers or if somebody died and they didn’t have insurance, we would take up money to help the family out. So that’s why I say we always had the support we needed right here in our community. JONATHAN LAWSON: What do you want the people of Birmingham as a whole to know about this area? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: It's that we love our community. We love our community. I would not move away. I just turned sixty in November, my kids say, “Ma you need to!” I want to be here. This is where I want to grow up and spend my life because it’s community, it’s love, it’s networking. And even though a lot of people have moved away, it’s nothing like coming back home and seeing those people. JONATHAN LAWSON: That's wonderful, that's wonderful. HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Yeah. JONATHAN LAWSON: Are there any areas that I haven't asked you about that you'd like to talk about or? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: I think you've done a good job! JONATHAN LAWSON: Pretty good, okay. HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Yes yes, you've done a good job and I'll just say that when we grew up there was always something for us to do. Like in the summer time we have Spring Park we used to have a swimming pool, we could go, and swim and they had programs in the summertime for us to have, we had programs we went on fieldtrips, they, like I said, they always provided us with what we need to grow so we never felt left out. We went to different trips, they would take us to Six Flags and you know we've always every summer we did a trip. JONATHAN LAWSON: So, I'll ask you one last question, what are your dreams for this area in the next few years? HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Ah! I wish, it is my prayer that people would reinvest in the community that people would see the value of growing up in a community, the thing that I am proud of is that my kids got to experience Rosedale, so they know what it is to grow up in a community. My daughter lives in D.C. She doesn’t even know the person that lives next door to her. You understand? But we knew everybody knew everybody, so if I was in trouble, they would see about me. if they didn't see me, they would call and say hey are you alright over there? People miss that now, you know you walk in your house and you, you just an island. It's nothing like being in a community. JONATHAN LAWSON: That's wonderful, thank you so much for your time. HARRIET HALL PULLOM: Thank you, for your time, Jonathan! (Laughter) Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 8:38 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Harriet Hall Pullom Interview Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale History Harvest, Memories of Rosedale Description An account of the resource Harriet Hall Pullom narrates her experience living in Rosedale "90%" of her life. She recalls childhood memories of the area and speaks of her current living situation in the neighborhood. She speaks about her intense love for her community, the safety she feels within Rosedale and her hopes for the neighborhood's future. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 24, 2019 Alabama Birmingham AL community encroachment family generations gentrification home Homewood AL houses memory neighborhood https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/46085/archive/files/f00a6fa1428e43010b0a7bc3cc528f28.mp3?Expires=1793232000&Signature=eJlzemLD8MI6tasQocjQiMUhLvMNuayJZIuWaDIjYxi2YMJ4V676dj96ODruTk9jZTWlrhfx94mmsXV2MNUVEPMsf3PQEa352zqcIAXXvwGKdaLnnRVDrXjd8v-XEYHdoLA5NPsIrWlsbu3W6Z79RAnXVJ48AYD9uSZ7JdLw73%7Ejx22yaNsiLFi2g4T3%7EsOKvKAtx8vskbsD-q1%7EO2gl0SScT2QrSQIYZlP%7EpkRppZdf6U-2Wj9M8TuMuu3QPpdGHc75YFdWpzSnTzyfCRgVR43DYSWeZf7aW%7E5QTGYKM5wh2600Czh6xVmo5wyfHbp5hJki74yxDxZQ73Gwg395Yg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM dbd5319fde7abb82cb5f45f0ec4c0c08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Marlene Burnett Interview Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 24, 2019 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosedale Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale, Alabama Description An account of the resource Oral histories recorded in Rosedale, Alabama by Samford University students. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rosedale Residents Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Samford University Howard College of Arts & Sciences Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Various dates Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jonathan Lawson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Marlene Burnett Location The location of the interview Lee Community Center Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound JONATHAN LAWSON: So if you would tell me your name and uh how long you've been in Rosedale? MARLENE BURNETT: My name is Marlena Burnette, uh I was born here in Rosedale I have moved around quite a bit but I am back permanently since I retired from the workforce, I beeline just straight back home and I love it because this is always and will be home. JONATHAN LAWSON: So what is it about this area that you love? MARLENE BURNETT: You know, I guess what I love most, is, is I can tell kids...being a child here I mean I can go back to that part it's because you can actually experience being a child back in the day when I lived here we played from sun up to sun down throughout the whole neighborhood, everybody knew everybody's child, there wasn't a whole lot of watching going on but if I mean it was just, we experienced something then that children can't experience now because there's too much danger. We knew where our boundaries were, where not to go, and we knew uh what it was like when your mama, when somebody said your mama calling you and you knew you better get home and you'd hear it somebody told you and you'd go home. That was it. We just had a real nice village. Of people that cared. Uh now coming back as a retired adult I just like it because it's laid back. My mom and I live together in our home, it's the same home house that my parents purchased back in the 20s. JONATHAN LAWSON: Wow. MARLENE BURNETT: And uh my grandfather worked really, really hard on that house to make it what it is today, I believe when he bought it, it was like three rooms and now it's like eight. I mean, you know, it's a nice large house. He completely dug a basement out himself, by himself. And that is, after working he would come home and always put a little work into his home. He made a family house for us and that was his intentions. Because he was always family first, take care of your family. So he always wanted us to have a place to come, to come back to. So that's what I did as an adult, I came back home and its quiet here. Uh, I don't really worry about anything going on and I think that's just what drew me back. You know, it's just home here. Now it's just, what's going to happen is me getting to remember the people that which were children we, when I mean young adults when I left because I been gone so long. But I'm working on that, yes. (Laughter) JONATHAN LAWSON: SO along those lines is there a restaurant or a location or somewhere that you remember from when you were younger that you really miss that may not be here anymore? MARLENE BURNETT: Couple places, actually. That I can, that come off the top of my head is across from this community center, well now actually it's three because this center has evolved into a different center than what it was when I was a child. It's always been in this location but it definitely looked different on the inside. JONATHAN LAWSON: How so? MARLENE BURNETT: Oh, we used to, there were windows along this exterior wall that actually those windows that would push out and you'd pull them in and push it down to lock it those kind of things, it was a much smaller court area, that was flipped the other way. Every- I mean this place is definitely larger but I, I remember that center uh especially during the summer because there was always, there were activities for us to do. We did the uh we made potholders, key chains, and what is that stuff you do the molds? You pour the white stuff like the plaster? JONATHAN LAWSON: Yeah, the plaster of Paris and all that? MARLENE BURNETT: I think? Yes and you pour it in these little molds and you might have to wait until tomorrow or next day for it to harden up enough. Then you peel it off. I mean you had something you could actually sit out and play and paint, and when we did that along with, with some of these, like making the potholders and key chains was another place right across the street was the playground where they had actually a few picnic tables and a real sand bed that was used. It was awesome and a playground with a swing and a seesaw and your monkey bars and your slides. I remember and I miss that. Because it was, there was something for us to do and there was always activity there, kids laughing and playing and running and carrying on. But when I, that playground also has a memory for me because my great grandmother kept me when I was a child so she could, we could see the playground from our house and if there was someone at the playground that I wanted to go up there she wouldn't let me go, because she thought "oh I'm not going to send you, you might get in trouble". I don't know what it was about it but I would go grandma can I go to the playground and shed look out and oh okay you could go. But it was just like radar, as soon as another kid would come I had to leave, but mostly just good memories about this whole area and you know uh I do miss also the pool at spring park, that was, that was a real treat in the summer you'd go and swim every day and you know just hang out with your friends and it's gone. You know, I mean yeah there's a park you know but my god it's like now you've you got to travel to get to it, you got to pack up to get to it. While like Spring Park, we just had to take our towels our flip flops and be careful crossing that major highway there to go have some fun. You know, so and I miss the little store, there was a little store, the cooks, my neighbors had a little store there you could go and get your chips and your pickles if you wanted, your whole pickles and get little two for a penny candy, cookies, you know, you don't even know a thing about two for a penny cookies. But you go down there with a nickel you got ten cookies, right? And so, but hum, I don't mind change it's just that when you take away some of the things that negatively impact a community and cause kids now need somewhere to run and play safe, I mean all they do now is this with their fingers and by the time they're six or ten they're going to have arthritis in those thumbs. This gave them an outlet for them to do something outside. JONATHAN LAWSON: I know it's difficult to see when you're that age but looking back what were some of the challenges that you may not have seen at the time that the community faced that you all made it through? MARLENE BURNETT: Well, I mean the discussions in our household we could hear them. Some of the challenges were voting, just actual, to vote. I can remember being a kid I mean little child and I would go to the polls with my grandparents and my mom. I can remember then making sure everyone had their two dollar poll tax because you had to pay to vote. And so, you know, I'm glad that that's gone, I think that was more of a challenge to them but it instilled in me just what a privilege it is to vote if you had to pay-- two dollars back then was a lot of money hum I've seen, I saw my grandfather make sure everybody in his family had that two dollars, not just in his household but everybody in the family had to have that two dollars. So uh and the other challenges here was just watching how the community changed dynamically with the structure, structurally. You know, I miss some of the wooded areas. It was beautiful, it was nice to see the animals come out of the woods and kind of prance around. Actually, we still have a cat, cats, feral cats that come up and we feed them every day They know when the garage door comes up that it's time to eat but we also before they did all this building with that huge bank that's really sitting in our backyard we had foxes, raccoons, we had the cats of course and they all would eat together, it was the most amazing thing to see. How they would all just wait, that raccoon would just sit down right next to you and I'm not crazy I'm not going to put my hand down there but he would sit there and wait for the food and they all would eat and it was just, it just dawned on me one day that these animals came and sit and eat with each other and we as people can't do anything together without squabbling or trying to get more than your share and this that or the other. But that was, that just put something in my head that was amazing about the animal kingdom other than man. They smarter than us! (Laughter) MARLENE BURNETT: You know, they try to survive and they know that they all have to eat and that's what they did so you know. And I know, I think I went off on a tangent. (Laughter) JONATHAN LAWSON: You know it's funny how God puts things into perspective that way sometimes. MARLENE BURNETT: Yes, yes! JONATHAN LAWSON: We were talking about some of the challenges and... MARLENE BURNETT: Oh, okay. JONATHAN LAWSON: And how you know you feel like the change is tough but you have to adapt and... MARLENE BURNETT: Yeah, you know like I said about the pool's gone and they did that before I was an adult or whatever but that highway when they made it bigger, that's just challenging to get across that darn thing, it's like you're risking your life cause you got so many things going on an one time to get across to the other side, there's no cross walk there's no nothing. JONATHAN LAWSON: What was the community response to that? Was, do you remember, were there groups that formed that tried to fight that, how did that go down? MARLENE BURNETT: Well, I wasn't here but I do remember the conversation around it within my family and some other people that actually. You know sometimes people don't actually contribute to the cause but they're willing to squabble because it happened. So, yeah, there was some resistance to it. I can remember at one point actually going to a council meeting and it kind of got emotional uh and ask them why, why do you keep disrupting this side of Homewood? Push back the other side a little bit sometimes. Go that way, but you know it's, it's a challenge now, you know, another big one is getting the community to come together, we are so diverse, now, Homewood, uh has changed, or Rosedale has changed dynamically it wasn't all black, African-American I don't know, I don't care what that Vulcan thing says about this nursery man, I've never heard that. First time I've ever heard it, not to say that's not true but a few of us read it and we go hmm don't remember that. Well, uh so just being that kind of dynamic and now the diversity is to include everybody but everybody doesn't think the same and we know we never will but you need to know that your neighbor we need to know what you feel how do you feel when you look around your surroundings don't look like what your used to so let's discuss that. You know and make it so that we can be a community that cares about each other, not just a few people trying to drag the whole load. Because it's only a few, I mean seriously let's just get everybody involved. You know one day you might have your home and the next day just because you aren't paying attention it's gone. Because of something that the city decided they needed to do, but you need to know that. I mean you know it's like pulling teeth, you can't do it if people don't want to participate. They're adults, you can't make me. JONATHAN LAWSON: So I know you've touched on a little bit, but what is your dream for the next few years for this area what would you love to see happen in this community? MARLENE BURNETT: Okay what I would love to see happen is for a massive, it's a lot of things, I don't want to call it clean up but we have a lot of vacant properties here, I would like to see it come back to--it'll never be like it was but come back to a community that I would love to just ride through and be like "Oh my God, that looks lovely" and "That looks gorgeous" and everybody is taking care of their properties and it looks good. You know to have some, some accountability of what your stuff is supposed to look like, that's what I would like to see you know it's a beautiful community, because it was it used to be roses everywhere, that's how it got its name. It's gorgeous and I like to see less commercial building, because these, these commercial buildings, they're taking over. And you stick these buildings in the middle of our neighborhood saying, and we're at the tail end of knowing that this is what's about to happen. By the time we know, typically, it's done. It's done. So I would like to see that changed where we-you're given a, a fair opportunity really, a fair opportunity not just say come to the meeting but listen to me if I have an objection to what you want to do. Don't just hear me, listen to what I'm saying. I don't think, I don't think, I think that's, that needs to change. We need somebody that really listens and cares. JONATHAN LAWSON: Well this is, this has been great. I'll ask you one last question, what do you want the people of Birmingham in general as a whole, what do you want them to know about Rosedale? What is it about this place that is special? MARLENE BURNETT: What's special is that because we're a small community that we can come together and, and make it, it's safe, make a safe environment for the generations to come. Let's, let's pull them from areas that don't give them the same opportunities to run and play, even though we don't have the playground anymore but just they can be outside and somebody's not going to come snatch them away. You know, come live in Homewood and see the diversity and just in this small area and there's no issues, and if there are issues I don't know about them because I've never heard about them. It's too quiet. It's quiet here, you know and I would have to support that it's quiet because there are certain people who do watch the community, the community watches people that, and they're silent about it but they watch and they know nothing really happens here. So I would say people of Birmingham, just come check it out. And, and see what Homewood or Rosedale has to offer. (Child in Background) JONATHAN LAWSON: Thank you so much. MARLENE BURNETT: Thank you, Jonathan. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 17:08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Marlene Burnett Interview Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale History Harvest Description An account of the resource Marlene Burnett describes growing up in Rosedale and living there as an adult. She shares her memories about Spring Park, the Lee Community Center and the Montgomery's store. Marlene also describes her feelings regarding Homewood City Council meetings and issues of encroachment. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 24, 2019 Alabama childhood community encroachment gentrification home Homewood houses neighborhood Rosedale https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/46085/archive/files/99bd5839f92f46eb147fd0f65de29200.jpg?Expires=1793232000&Signature=e1OhE%7EWr2bRcb0rFwFMs7skRPMyROxdO3doNqBDo0xlD%7Ecv59APfhlg2AmFQhoYaqWVh%7ErXbpqvqKX8HiY%7E1x5Q46mWq84ydmyvLsDxekbDzuonKB2YkQvnt88S2VX8DOvBJML-WFxlA1ip9Z6E9cU9oGnV%7E2%7EgE%7EBntyy2Ibq7qRMNGSUhqT0SUX3vKYlaYMlIH4ltF3SZHye63pe12YHatPkHIBJHvcyG6Iz22GvSXf94r-2fF838XnkUW6jjeMuaQ74%7EE0yPyRkyKpAXX6a8U2TkZw0MCvicoH-bni8DR84gG1rlAu4%7ET91XuY6AxbyUqtIfuKlFDH8kNhp%7ECyw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 99c96c99d8c1834ed2f7076b44683e69 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosedale Artifacts Description An account of the resource Artifacts collected from Rosedale community members. Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale, Alabama Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rosedale Residents Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Samford University Howard College of Arts & Sciences Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Various dates Legal Document Papers dealing with the legal affairs of residents or the community. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Land Deed 1949 Subject The topic of the resource Rosedale History Harvest Document Description An account of the resource Land deed in Rosedale, 1949. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Provided by Virginia C. Shepherd Mcknight Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1949 Alabama Birmingham AL deed home Homewood AL houses land ownership property property usage