“Well, my father ended up as a peddler selling ladies dresses. And from that, he made enough money to open a small clothing store in the Black business district in Jacksonville.”  “Yes, we actually became aware and acquainted with some Black…

"Yes, rationing started early. People who owned cars would get a ration stamp for five gallons of gas per week. Of course, there was a black market too, with counterfeit stamps just like today. But for the most part, there was quite a bit of…

"The depression had a devastating effect on all of the families because most of the workers were dependent on manufacturing products. And families really struggled. The families were too proud to apply for welfare. And they tried to do this on their…

“I was with them, oh about 8 months. But I quit the job and they wanted to, you know, retain me. But when I quit we got a, oh my gosh, a half a million dollars. See, so I was leaving them in good shape. When I was hired they had no money.” The…

"Well, eventually my father took a job as a salesman in a company that was based out of Pittsburgh, so we moved briefly to Pennsylvania while he was in training, and then he was assigned to the New England territory. So we moved to…

"We moved to Queens for a while, and then in 1954 my brother was born."My Aunt Edie and her three daughters lived in Brooklyn with my uncle. They lived in the bottom part of a two-storey house, and on the top were my uncle’s parents, Mr. and Mrs.…

"And then they went off to Illinois to see Uncle Julius as well. And they lived there for a while. They were living in this small town in Illinois. And they were just so excited to be with family again. Uncle Julius was a wonderful man, and his…

“Steering a city through troublesome times is just like piloting a ship through stormy waters. You don’t know what you are going to run into but you are going to be ready for anything. You may have to go through obstacles instead of around them. Or…

“But the most important thing about our city, with its natural ad­vantages, as the great southern regional capital and center of south­ eastern trade and commerce, is its good name and its image before the balance of the nation. In this electronic…

“The Plan of Improvement has unshackled our town, given it new life and hope. A new spirit of optimism is in the air. True, there are still those who for selfish reasons will try to impede our progress and place obstacles in our path, but we are…