Home Blog Page 868

Ancestral Calling: My Grandmother Wilhelmina

Editor, Our Time Press
-
57

By Linda M. Jones
Wilhelmina Johnson Hamlin was the grandmother I never knew, personally. I never knew her because she tragically died at age 26, just ten days following the birth of her sixth child.
My mother, Dorothy, the third-born, was only six at the time of her mother’s passing. She knew very little about the details of her mother’s life. As my sister, the author Wilhelmina Rhodes Kelly, and I pursued our genealogy, searching for answers to questions never before raised, the facts we gleaned about Wilhelmina’s life a century ago and the institutions that once comprised the African-American township of Weeksville were total revelations not only to us, but to our mother as well.
My grandmother was born in 1903 in downtown Brooklyn near the Navy Yard. She was of mixed heritage, having an African-American father, William H. Johnson of Dutchess County, New York and an Irish mother, Catherine Cannon Qualters, a widow with two surviving daughters. These discoveries were both fascinating and instructive. I learned that her parents were married in 1899 by the Rev. William T. Dixon, the distinguished forty-six-year pastor of the Concord Baptist Church.
Although she had both parents, Wilhelmina Johnson’s early years were spent with her brother John in the now-long-disappeared (but hopefully to be remembered) Howard Colored Orphan Asylum, originally in Weeksville (Dean Street between Albany and Troy Avenues). They remained in the Howard through at least the 1915 New York State Census when the Howard was then based in Kings Park, Long Island.
She married John Francis Hamlin, son of Rev. John W. Hamlin, pastor of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, in 1920. He was 21 and she 17. John worked as sorter for the post office and Wilhelmina worked in a wig factory at the beginning of their marriage. Once the children started coming (six children born between 1921 and 1930), Wilhelmina became a full-time mother. They lived in various Brooklyn locations, first in the downtown area, then moved to several Weeksville addresses.
Following Wilhelmina’s death, oral history has it that John’s family suggested that the children be separated and put in orphanages, but he would not hear of it. During these very difficult Depression years, John always found work to help support and keep his family together.
Wilhelmina was gone too soon, but her memory remained alive through her descendants.
That young woman was the grandmother I never knew but whose life has had an enduring impact on my own. Learning of her brief life and times, with its limited opportunities for education and employment, so very different from my own, resulted in my being even more sensitive and appreciative of the life I now live, eighty-five years after her passing.
That is why it is so critically important that we learn, record and share our family histories with the next generation so that they may appreciate the sacrifices of the elders and be inspired to do even more with the abundant choices never dreamed of in the past.
Vivid memories, as related by my mother, taught me that the mother-child bond is irreplaceable and if absent, remains an elusive goal in the search for love and personal validation. I am forever thankful to my mother for remembering Wilhelmina and for sharing those precious few memories of her with me. My grandmother Wilhelmina is gone from this realm, but her spirit lives on through the inspiration her legacy provides.
About the Author: Linda M. Jones, a native Brooklynite, is a product of the NYC public school system. She earned her Master’s in Management from Polytechnic University. A retired career Civil Servant, her last position was as an administrative manager in the Office of the Inspector General of the NYC School Construction Authority. She is the Regent of the Manhattan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is actively pursuing her personal genealogy as she teaches others how to uncover theirs.
More about Wilhelmina Johnson Hamlin:
Join author RJ McCarthy as he takes us on a journey through his perspective of the life and legacy of Wilhelmina Johnson Hamlin on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at the Central Library, Brooklyn Collection with a (7:00p) talk and book-signing for “Wilhelmina: An Imagined Memoir”, preceded by a wine-and-cheese reception (6:30p). The talk is co-sponsored with the Info Commons genealogy workshop. To contact Ms. Jones, send an e-mail to: lmrhojo@optimum.net.

(“Ancestral Calling” is a new column produced by Legacy Ventures and edited by Bernice Elizabeth Green for Our Time Press. Send stories or story drafts of 400 words for placement consideration to bgreen2075@aol.com.)

Community Questions about… Herbert Von King Park Cultural Arts Center #1

Bernice Elizabeth Green
-
6

By Bernice Elizabeth Green
Last week, Our Time Press reported the closing of Von King Park Cultural Arts Center. In fact, as reported in local media, there were two closings. The first was the announcement that the center at 670 Lafayette Avenue, would close in the fall for needed repairs. That notice was followed by another at the advent of Earth Month; Parks Dept. stated that the center, that houses administrative and managerial staff, would close down abruptly due to a faulty fire alarm system that could cost lives if not repaired. In part, due to its long-term coverage of Von King Park activities for more than 10 years, and our own involvement as a media partner for those years, we know that the center also is a home to a community-centered, rotating strategic think tank that collaborates with individuals, residents, businesses, schools and community to develop mostly non-funded but impactful year-round programs and activities.
Mr. Lemuel Mial, manager of Herbert Von King Park, a former longtime resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant and an heir to the late environmentalist Hattie Carthan, guided and oversaw the organization of those projects with special permission from the Parks Department. In the past few years, we have enjoyed a relationship with Von King Park coordinators who created the highly original Green Tree and Tree Talks literacy program cheered by parents and principals in the neighborhood where kids immersed themselves in ecology through music and reading under Von King’s towering Linden Place trees. The latter was covered extensively by Brooklyn News 12.
While we understand the need for repairs to properties and buildings in distress and we support all efforts to provide safe conditions for our fellow citizens, we did feel (as a media partner) to the people of Central Brooklyn neighborhoods, a need to reach out to the community for any thoughts and concerns and then we reached out to the Parks Department and the Fire Department with separate questions from the community for each. Parks responded this week through spokesperson Maeri Ferguson. The FDNY’s communications representative, Elisheva, with whom we spoke, has not responded to the e-mailed questions as yet. The questions to each organization addressed their respective roles in the closing of the center with the purpose of clarity to the community beyond a flat announcement. Below are the community questions, followed by Parks Dept. responses on Tuesday, April 21. The answers appear to raise even more questions.

Questions from the Community to Our Time Press
Lead (Questions): What are the architectural, service and function plans for the CAC, and will the plan include spaces for some of the same programs that existed prior to the closure? Also, Von King Park CAC is located in a primarily African-American community, are plans on the drawing board to hire minority building contractors and to have majority-experienced construction workers, decision-makers and design-team experts as part of this process?
1. Was NYC Parks & Recreation aware there were hazardous conditions at Von King Park Cultural Arts Center, enough for it to be closed immediately?
2. Is it true that there are other Parks Dept. centers in Brooklyn and other boroughs that have more hazardous conditions than the VK CAC? If true, are they also being closed?
3. How long has the hazardous conditions existed at VK CAC? Please cite the years, months, etc.? Are the conditions due to aging or neglect — what are the causes of the conditions and how long have they been in existence? If lengthy — beyond a year — were lives in danger for that time?
4. What other buildings have been closed recently? What is the policy of the Parks Dept. in investigating buildings that house community and family programs?
5. Did the Parks Dept. initiate actions to alert or reach out to the community to let them know the center would be closed, or that it had been closed?
6. What was the timetable for this closure? And why will it take two years. Discuss the process, if possible.
7. Where is the money coming from to build a new structure and how much is it going to cost?
8. Are you working out a partnership with 500 Men Who Make a Difference and/or The Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant as was alluded to in a comment in the DNAinfo articles? Or what other community centers can residents visit to enjoy quality programs VK once offered – ceramics, theatre, green projects? Will those programs … and the people who ran them … return to VK Cultural Arts Center?*
9. What are the VK Park resources that will be available for the remainder of this spring, the summer and during the fall?
10. Are there other plans on the drawing board related to Von King Park and the Cultural Arts Center of which the community should be aware?
The above is the gist of our canvassing. Deadline for e-mailed answers: Saturday, April 18th morning for the story which will be out in the Thursday, April 23 paper.

Responses from NYC Parks & Recreation Department
April 21, 2015

Apologies for the delay on this. See below for our statement and background on this:
Statement:
Community safety is Parks’ first priority, and although we have attempted to identify a means to repair the fire alarm system at the Von King Cultural Arts Center, we have discovered that it is not operationally feasible in light of the upcoming capital renovation project. In the interest of protecting the community, it has been decided that the center will close effective April 11th. The renovations are expected to begin in October, and will include a complete overhaul of the current fire alarm system.
Parks will continue to serve the Bed-Stuy community by offering quality activities during the exciting renovations to the Von King Cultural Arts Center. As part of this preserved programming, there will be a host of recreational activities after school in April and May, on weekends in May and June, and weekdays in July and August. The programs will range from fitness classes and arts, to bike riding and games for all ages.
Background:
· Parks met with Council member Cornegy, the community board and local community officials to notify them of the upcoming closure.
· The community board held a public meeting on April 6th to announce the closure.
· Parks posted a closure notice on our Web site prior to the closure of the center.
· Programming will still occur at Von King Park.
· The park is in a Community Parks Initiative (CPI) zone, so it will host a Kids in Motion site with activities hosted by a Playground Associate Monday through Saturday afternoons until 6pm.
· Kids in Motion gets children in NYC “off the couch” and into playgrounds to get fit while having fun. Sedentary children are likely to become sedentary adults, but by introducing children to physical activity in a fun, noncompetitive environment, Kids in Motion can help them achieve and maintain an active lifestyle through adulthood. Kids in Motion staff lead four to seven hours of free activities for children per day, including organized sports, games, fitness demos, guided walks, board games, water games and more!
· For more info about CPI, check out our Web site: http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/framework-for-an-equitable-future/community-parks-initiative

Background Information on the Upcoming Renovation:
The facilities being renovated at this beloved neighborhood cultural center include the Eubie Blake Auditorium. This multipurpose room will be reconstructed with new wheelchair lifts, new seating, new stage, a new light and sound booth, and new equipment. New sprinklers will be installed on the lower level. Dressing rooms will be reassigned as electrical & pump rooms and ceramic firing kilns will be relocated. All new features will be designed to provide accessibility, meeting established Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) design standards.
Thanks,
Maeri

Following receipt of Parks’ statement and background, Our Time Press replied that we will reach out to Tremaine Wright and Community Board 3 for their background. We also noted that Parks’ responses raised more questions than it answered. A second set of questions for clarity, this time from Our Time Press, asked: Will the wall illustrating beloved African-American musicians, artists and other icons, such as the great American pianist/composer Eubie Blake, be saved or demolished? Will Parks reach out to the (North Bedford-Stuyvesant) community for a Playground Associate or consider a former Von King worker to fill the position?
We appreciate Parks’ response, and await a new one to these new questions. We also await a reply from the FDNY to our questions to them.

OTHER PARKS NEWS
In other news, DNAinfo.com reported on April 10 that City Councilman Robert Cornegy (36CD) has “secured $2.5 million to save the four-feet-deep pool at Jesse Owens Playground on Lafayette between Stuyvesant and Malcolm X Blvd”.
According to DNAinfo reporter Carmen Bautista, the four-foot-deep “public amenity was in danger of being shut down due to lack of funding for proposed improvements from the city’s Parks Department”.
“During a March meeting, city officials unveiled plans to renovate the park and presented an option that completely eliminated the pool.”
“The current facility is in disrepair and not wheelchair-accessible, according to the Parks Department. The city’s $4.6 million allocated for upgrades to the 2.3-acre park would not cover construction to the pool.
“Local residents, Community Board 3 and the leaders of the adjacent schools made it very clear that a renovated Jesse Owens Playground without a pool might have been beautiful but would not have provided the same recreational and health benefits to the community,” Cornegy said in a statement.
“The additional capital funds from the councilman allows for a larger swimming facility as well as new handball courts and a synthetic turf area with a walking track,” according to Martin Maher, Brooklyn Chief of Staff for the Parks Department.
Jesse Owens is the only playground in the community’s eastern end that has a pool on its premises.
Community residents applauded the announced preservation at CB3’s meeting this month.
“It is important that we maintain our playgrounds and parks and provide our community with active living options,” said CB3 Chair Tremaine Wright.
“The playground is one of 35 sites the city is planning to redo as part of the $130 million Community Parks Initiative.”

“Locals can provide input for the Jesse Owens park design at the board’s Parks, Arts & Culture meeting on May 6. The committee will meet at the CB3 office, 1360 Fulton St., at 6:30 p.m.”
Note to the Community: Parks’ reports that the Olympic-sized K-Pool or Kosciuszko Pool, Marcy Avenue between DeKalb Avenue & Kosciuszko Street, reopens June 15, 2015. (718) 622-5271
Also, Parks’ Black History Web site is worth checking out: http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/black-history-in-NYC-parks

Wellsprings of Faith Kitchen of Faith: The Bridge Street AME Missionary Free Food Program is Celebrating 25 Years

Bernice Elizabeth Green
-
7

Faith-stirrers: Bridge Street boasts a Free Food program, where all the supporters, unpaid, cook and clothe those in need, from the heart. They include, from left to right: Delores Canty, Carrie Barfield, Beatrice Shavers, Carol Nether, Helen Jefferson, Juliette Thornhill, Charleen Croom, Elizabeth Ferdinand (background), Helen Jones, Earl Batts, Patricia Mitchell, Phyllis Johnson, Colin Johnson,Priscilla Sedney and, far right, Irene Evans. Retired Medgar Evers College educator , a pianist (unpictured), awho plays music for the staff’s devotional every Wednesday preceding each meal, was on his way. (Photo credit: Bernice Green)
Established 25 years ago, The Bridge Street Missionary Free Food Program has nourished seniors, adults, men, women and children, in the church’s Richard Allen Fellowship Hall with open arms and hearts.
Every Wednesday, from 11:00a to 1:30p, the Feeding Program opens its doors to whoever needs a meal. After a short devotion, the guests are seated and they dine on a home-cooked meal, and tablecloths, napkins, utensils adorning the long tables.
The Free Food initiative aka “Bridge Street Soup Kitchen” was created by The Reverend Dr. Barbara Austin Lucas for homeless men of the Sumner Avenue Armory, two blocks west of the church on Jefferson Ave. The men could come in, get food, clothing, encouragement and prayer.
“The first nine months of the Kitchen’s operation was funded by members of the Missionary Society and Bridge Street parishioners,” says Irene Evans, 88, currently in her 16th year as Chief Coordinator of the program, and who has been with the Soup Kitchen since its inception. “Since 1991, the program has been funded by HRA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP), United Way of NYC, FEMA and the Food Bank for New York City.”
In the early years, the Free Food program received several grants that allowed The Missionaries to purchase winter blankets for some of their clients and anyone else in need, and hundreds of nightgowns for women incarcerated at Rikers.
“On the Soup Kitchen’s first day of operation, twenty-five men were served homemade soup, sandwiches, fruit, cookies and punch. Each week the numbers increased until they reached approximately 225 persons.
The work of the Missionary Society is to meet the needs of the people in the community. Though clients are mostly from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ms. Evans says, “People come from all over … even the Bronx to our program.”
And the city-wide impact can be understood. When this reporter arrived yesterday at 8:15am, the chefs, clothing handlers and support teams were vibrant and working. The tables were already set, and we were greeted with a warm drink.
“Our operation is run solely by volunteers, between 25 and 30 per week, many of whom have been with the program since its inception,” Ms. Evans told us.
Original members of the group included Bridge Street church icons: Lubertha Steele, Rosa Hite, Victoria Harris, Bernice Carroll, Vivian Bennett, Helen Chestnut, Mildred Cumberbatch, Ed Kirkland and his wife, Beverly, Spencer Burton, and Ms. Evans, Ms. Phyllis Johnson and Mr. Elker Smith who serve to this day.
A Church where Faith is Fashionable: At Bridge Street AME Church, many thousands of people over the past 25 years, have benefited from warm blankets and clothing for the winter months, and comfortable new and slightly used outfits for warmer months. Here, Bridge Street Missionary volunteers help Earl Batts, a member of their Bridge Street support team, try on a sharp sports jacket for size. Supervising the clothing desk is Audrey Harvey (right) supported by Virginia Risbrook, far left, as Irene Evans, Coordinator of the Bridge Street Missionary Free Food Program, which is now celebrating 25 years, looks on. (Photo credit: Bernice Green)
The success of the program is registered in the success stories of several of those who were fed by Bridge Street AME Church, which is pastored by The Rev. David B. Cousin, Sr. Ms. Evans says, “One of the first men to come to us from the shelter was hired by Bridge Street member Dr. Edison O. Jackson, then President of Medgar Evers College, to work in maintenance at the school. “He was employed at Medgar Evers for about 20 years, and recently retired,” according to Ms. Evans.
“Another young man came out of the shelter, got rehabbed and was given a scholarship to attend seminary school. Now he’s a reverend.” Yet, another received a scholarship and went on to school.
The program hosts special holiday meals (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter). Sometimes, it takes three days in advance to prepare. “It takes us three days to prepare turkeys, dressing, collard greens, for hundreds of people.
The current group of workers in the program comprise ushers, church members and missionaries, and some non-members. Ms. Evans, a 1989 retiree from the Port Authority of NY and NJ, works with chefs Carrie Barfield, Elizabeth Ferdinand, Juliette Thornhill and Helen Jefferson. She also is supported by custodians William “Lance” Millington and Patrick Lawrence, and volunteers, Earl Batts and Percy Weathers.
The Bridge Street Soup Kitchen will host a 25th anniversary celebration for its award-winning Free Food program on May 22, 2015. (Bernice Elizabeth Green)

Our Time AT HOME:  As the Village Sleeps, Changes Come to our Neighborhoods; “Salvation’s Gone”

Bernice Elizabeth Green
-
29


No more going around the corner for a cheap designer blouse in the dusty throes of Quincy Street’s Salvation Army.  It was inevitable: the massive, stone edifice that forms one of the huge, muscled south wings of the cul-de-sac crowned at Quincy’s west end by the former castle mystery, now luxury high-rise-elect, is going, going gone to a bidder for $30,000,000.
 
According to Brownstoner.com, “The former warehouse and stable at 22 Quincy Street is in contract for an amount around $30,000,000, we hear. The asking was about that, and there were multiple bidders.
As far as we know, it is an off-market transaction. The buyer was not revealed”.
 
“It was designed in 1899 by Francis Kimball for one of Brooklyn’s largest and most prestigious department stores, Frederick Loeser & Co. The top three floors served as the company’s warehouse. On the bottom floor was a stable for deliveries. Inside, ramps for vehicles still connect the floors.
 
“Although the original stable doors are gone, the building retains its stable door openings and all its other features. 
 
 
“Fortunately for those who rely on Salvation Army, the charity recently opened another location on Fulton in Bed-Stuy.”
 
An Our Time Press reader told us, “The Salvation Army is a hell of a lot smarter than NYC and NYS.  The SA bought low, did business while real estate went on a wild hay ride and then cashes out.  They’re just a charity.  
    
“Government pretends to be smart but plays the market backwards:  Doesn’t buy when the market was low, doesn’t maintain properties, warehouses them as they deteriorate, then gives them away when the market’s so hot to developers who will pay anything and bid up the price.”
 
Three years ago, the Brownstoner.com reported about the sale of the Salvation Army on the corner of North 7th and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. It was replaced by a two-story building.
 
Regarding Salvation Army’s Quincy location, Brownstoner.com says,
 
“Given the price, it will likely be made over into a residential building, our source speculated, despite its enormous footprint and relative lack of windows. The building is 70,158 square feet and is over FAR, so demolition is unlikely. It is not landmarked.”
 
 
(Compiled from sources by Bernice Elizabeth Green)

Our Time At Home: Getting to the Roots of Bad News … 

Bernice Elizabeth Green
-
0

 The Herbert Von King Park Cultural Arts Center, 670 Lafayette Avenue, is the true nerve center of the North Bed-Stuy community, and gives us seasonal direction.
 
So it should come as no surprise that many residents are reeling from the news and the reality of its abrupt closure, April 13th, shutting down the after school program and dashing plans for summertime activities. 
 
The effort, according to the Fire Department, was for good safety reasons: the fire alarm is faulty.
 
Yet, the community has raised questions that cannot be ignored. They are raising them in the spirit of one of the park’s greatest cheerleaders, the late environmentalist Hattie Carthan, who lived nearby and developed the neighborhoods first organized ecology with the park as a nexus.
 
Within the confines of Herbert Von King Park’s Cultural Arts Center, additional programs for  and by the people were born, nurtured and flourished; from family fests to encourage unity; to culinary workshops to establish careers; to bookfests and sing-alongs (most notably The Tree Tales project) to engage children in literacy and green movements.
 
The closing of the center, though reportedly necessary for life-saving measures, will not go down so easy in an elegiac fit.    Of grave concern to the community is, the Center will be closed for 18 months to two years.  Parks announced earlier that fall start of rehab and renovations would necessitate the closure.  So the whys and wherefores– in the light of gentrification’s low clouds — persist.
 
Our Time Press has sent those questions to New York City Parks & Recreation Department and the Fire Department of New York.  We will report those questions and the responses during this April Earth Month, when the nerve center usually is at its most forceful, brimming with ideas to enrich the community,  saluting spring and planting seeds..
 
Meanwhile, The Almira Coursey Amphitheatre, the park grounds, and the lavatories will be open to the public.  Following is the story that broke April 8 on www.DNAinfo.org.  (BG)
 
 
 

Bed-Stuy Cultural Center Closed After City Finds Faulty Fire Alarm
by: DNAInfo.com

The city will close Von King’s Cultural Center for up to two years for necessary repairs to the fire alarm system and scheduled renovations.
 
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A Bed-Stuy community center slated to close down for renovations in the fall has had to close its doors early after the city found its fire alarm system was faulty.
 
The Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center had to call a halt to all of its classes on Monday, after FDNY officials inspected the complex in February and found it failed to meet minimum standards, the Parks Department said.
 
“Community safety is Parks’ first priority, and although we have attempted to identify a means to repair the fire alarm system at the Von King Cultural Arts Center, we have discovered that it is not operationally feasible in light of the upcoming capital renovation project,” the parks department said in a statement.

                                   

The agency had already been planning to close the building, located between Lafayette and Greene avenues at Tompkins and Marcy, for up to 18 months starting in October to accommodate renovations to the center’s multipurpose room. 
 
The early closure is “in the interest of protecting the community,” parks officials said.
An announcement of the early closure at Brooklyn Community Board 3’s general meeting this week surprised residents, prompting one board member to call for a possible Kickstarter to fund expedited work within the building.
 
CB3 Chair Tremaine Wright said the board has a commitment from the Parks Department to press for an earlier construction date.
 
The space includes a dance room, computer resource center, arts and crafts room and auditorium. In addition to planned improvements such as a new stage, seating and wheelchair lifts, the space will now receive a “complete overhaul” of its fire alarm system, officials said.
 
The facility, housed in one of Brooklyn’s oldest parks, had to cancel planned classes. Among the classes on the roster include ceramics classes, fitness programs, Tae Kwon Do, musical theater workshops and teen programs five days a week.
 
Workers began clearing all items out the building starting on Monday, according to an employee at the center.
 
“For almost two years, that’s it, we’re out,” said one employee who declined to give her name.
The city agency will continue to offer activities in the park itself, including fitness classes, arts and bike riding. Those programs will resume in May and June, a spokesperson said.
 
Von King Park will also host a Kids in Motion site in the summer from Mondays through Saturdays with free organized sports, games and demos. It is unclear if outdoor programming will continue following the end of the summer season.
 
The cultural center already saw cutbacks in operational hours and services late last year when the city ended a longtime after-school program due to low enrollment numbers.
In the meantime, local nonprofit 500 Men Making a Difference hopes to draw residents to Von King with an array of outdoor activities, according to founder Wayne Devonish.
 
The group, which has helped improve the cultural center through volunteer paint projects, is also spearheading a conservancy to spruce up the park.
 
“The cultural center is a vital piece of the fabric of the community where kids and families can go,” Devonish said.
 
“It’s definitely unfortunate that the official building won’t be operating for so long but hopefully we can work to involve the community in other ways.”
Devonish added that he is looking to move the center’s programs to Magnolia Tree Earth Center, another community outpost adjacent to the park.

1...867868869...1,292Page 868 of 1,292