Difference between revisions of "Edwin Davis Sr. Interview"

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(New page: From: Douglas Porter (dp) Medium: Video recording Date: May 13, 2011 Place: 750 W. 26th St. Marion, IN 46953 Collected by: Olivia Ott (oo) oo: All right, please state your name and addres...)
 
 
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From: Douglas Porter (dp)
 
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Medium: Video recording
 
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Date: May 13, 2011
 
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Place: 750 W. 26th St. Marion, IN 46953
 
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Collected by: Olivia Ott (oo)
 
  
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oo: All right, please state your name and address.
 
  
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dp: My name is Doug Porter. Address seven hundred fifty west 26th street Marion, Indiana 46953
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Date: May 7th, 2011
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Place: Home of Kevin Davis, 1612 W. 32nd St. Marion, Indiana 46953
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Collected by: Kevin Davis
  
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oo: Do I have permission to video record this interview?
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KD: Hello fellow classmates, this is Kevin Davis speaking and today I am presenting my grandfather, Mr. Edwin Davis Sr. and he is going to tell about some history of  Marion High School and what Marion was like back in the day. 
  
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dp: You have permission.
 
  
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oo: All right, so what years did you attend MHS?
 
  
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dp: I started attending Marion High School in the fall of 1986 and I graduated in 1990.
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KD: So Grandpa what area of Marion did you grow up in?
  
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oo: All right, where were you living at that time?
 
  
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dp: I’ve lived in Marion my entire life. I grew up in south Marion and, uh, lived there until I got married and we were relocated to north Marion so I’ve lived in Marion my entire life.
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ED: Center Marion
  
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oo: All right, so describe your family like your brothers and sisters and parents.
 
  
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dp: My parents, Terry and Betty Porter, both recently retired professors now at Indiana Wesleyan University. My sister, Deb Porter Wertly, also graduated from Marion High School in 1993 and that’s the only sibling I have. I have, I currently have a wife, Kismet Porter. She’s a music teacher in the Marion Community School system and one son and three daughters, Nathaniel, Sabrina, Maria, and Sophia and they are all in elementary or in intermediate junior high school.
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KD: What was it like growing up in center Marion?
  
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oo: All right, now do you remember your classes or teachers, any experiences with them?
 
  
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dp: We are fortunate to have a wide range of classes available at Marion High School, not only my core classes, but also my elected classes and teachers that really influenced me in becoming, umm, a teacher today and probably a couple of my most influential teachers, uh, number one, uh, Richie Walton who has just passed away but who is the Walton center is named currently after him here at the high school but he was my music theory teacher and, uh, I took music theory. I needed fine arts credit for the, uh, academic honors diploma. I was a horrible artist, could not do anything with art. I had no musical talent with any musical instrument, but I needed a fine arts credit so I took music theory. I had a little bit of experience playing the piano so I knew a little bit of what was going on, but that class was so amazing. Mr. Walton was such a dynamic teacher and, um, a lot of the kids in the, in the class were members of the 26th street singers. Um, you know some of them kind of took it more seriously than others. Some of them were just because Mr. Walton was their director. But um, I took it very seriously and learned a lot from Mr. Walton and still remember a lot of the things he taught in music theory today. Another teacher that was very influential to me was Doctor Ross, an English, English teacher. I had her for advanced placement English my junior and senior year and she challenged us. We read and wrote and read and wrote some more. And we pretty much read a novel every six weeks and had some great discussions. And, um, she was very influential in my moral character as well and we had a lot of discussions in class about morality and the proper decisions you should be making and leading students. It’s where I really learned to become a really good writer. In fact, when I went to college I remember my freshman, uh, English professor told me I needed to pretty much loosen up my writing style because Doctor Ross had taught me so well the basis of writing that, um, I was really well prepared. Uh, another influential teacher I had was Mr. Tippy for Chemistry. And, um, he was always, always interjecting, uh, life lessons into what he was teaching. And you know so, those three teachers, none of which were math teachers which is what I have gone into. But, I have also had some excellent math teachers, some excellent math courses and, you know, was totally prepared from Marion High School, um, before I went to college. Back then, we didn’t go through what we go through today. We offer great courses to get you prepared, more than any other school around here and also the teachers are wonderful. And, um, so Marion High School was, was a great place for my academic. And then also you know in the social environment, um, belonging, belonging to College Wesleyan Church and JC Bodyshop Youth Group at the time. Uh, some of the, some of the Bodyshop students came to Marion High School and so we really formed a neat group of student that could support each other and we met once a week for devotions as a youth group and others that wanted to join. And so that was, that was strong in a public school to still have that, that faith group around you and to help you make decisions and everything like that. And so, but then beyond that a lot of, a lot of a, um, a lot of the friends I had, a circle of friends, did not go to JC Bodyshop but we were yet able to have a strong friendship and, uh, that circle was probably very important to me too and a lot of that competition with extracurricular activities and, uh, between sports and clubs and, uh, what was called, we don’t have it any more, but what was called Project Up. Project Up was the gifted and talented program and you were expected to do additional research beyond, um, the classroom and it wasn’t even for a grade. It was kind of expected that you would do that and, you know, students would want to do that. They wanted to do above and beyond and they had teachers to help them to, to go beyond their experiences in the classroom, to learn more and to experiment more. And then we did things as a group. Project Up, we did things as a group outside of the classroom. We would go on field trips to go see a play or a show or something like that. And, um, you know it seems like life was a little, was a little bit simpler back then than it is now. There weren’t so many things competing for our time. Um, we, we could do more things like that, that involved school. Um, I will always value those memories that we had.  
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ED:   It was well liked and the people got along together because it was an integrated neighborhood. We all played ball together and there was no violence going on in the neighborhood.
  
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oo: So speaking of things that like took up a lot of time, I know that you were on the tennis team. Did you guys have a lot of victories?
 
  
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dp: Our tennis team was very successful back in the late 80s and through 1990. We, um, were state runner up, my junior year, lost to North Central in the State Finals. Two other times we’ve advanced to Semi State rounds, so I had a great career, uh, in tennis. I pretty much played every position from number one singles to number two doubles throughout that time. And, my last two years, uh, my individual record was 51 and 4 in my last two years. So tennis is very important to me. I mean, we had a great, great coach and a good group of guy. And, the tradition for Marion boys’ tennis was really strong and they had a good year in tennis, great four, great four years in tennis. And, um, Mu Alpha Theta, the mathematics honor society, that was my project. I spoke earlier of Project Up, Mu Alpha Theta was my project my senior year and I started the chapter here at Marion High School. And, um, I don’t remember how many students were involved that, that first year, but Mu Alpha Theta has since existed since that, that first year in 1989-90. And, um, some of the things that we did that first year have carried on to today and I’m proud. I don’t know how many years I’ve been sponsoring that about 8 or 9 years coming back to Marion and being a sponsor for Mu Alpha Theta. So, starting that organization was important to me back when I was in Project Up.
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KD: So, how was your household?  How many brothers and sisters did you have and what did they do?
  
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oo: That’s cool. So, what was your greatest difficulty at MHS?
 
  
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dp: Um, probably two, two difficulties and I wouldn’t want to call them difficulties. They were, they were challenges. They were no different than what students face today. One is balancing your time. Um, again, very involved in church events, very involved in athletics and organizations and, and then keeping your school work up. Um, I was fortunate enough to be Valedictorian of Marion. Um, I don’t believe I was the, uh, smartest student in my class. Um, I just happened to have the highest GPA at the end when it was done. But um, but keeping that balance was, was a challenge. Um, but I think that was a good thing. I think that when students are involved in a lot of activities, it, it keeps them focused and it keeps them disciplined and you create, you create patterns in your life that carry on through college. If you’re not organized in high school, it’s hard to flip the switch and be organized in college. So, um, high school taught me a lot of discipline. And another challenge that was, um, there for me in high school, me again being involved in, um, so, with different friends and you know we didn’t have a lot of the same beliefs. We didn’t always have the same, um, outlook on life and life’s choices and standards and, um, balancing those and, and um, being open to other ideas and we had some great discussions on, on issues. Um, we, one thing you know we did in Project Up, we had debates and they were formalized debates and we would pick a side and debate the issue. And, um, I owe a lot of that to Mr. Munn. Mr. Munn was, um, in charge of project up. And, so we were really able to expand our minds and, um, form friendships throughout everything that have stood through today.  
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ED: Well, I had one brother living and one brother deceased. I had three sisters, two worked outside the home and one worked at home.
  
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oo: So, besides like sports and athletics, what did you do for fun?
 
  
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dp: Um, you know pretty much everything I did involved either school or church. And, you know we didn’t have Facebook back then to spend an hour or two on every day. So, you know, um, we actually, um, got together, saw people. You know, those were our social events. That’s how we communicated. And, um, so pretty much school and church pretty much dominated my life. And, and then of course tennis in the off season playing indoor tennis. It was a year round sport for me.
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KD:  How old were you when your brother died?
  
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oo: So, um, what did you do like after high school like which college did you attend?
 
  
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dp: I attended Indiana Wesleyan University. And um, I played tennis there. I graduated in 1994 with a math education major. And um, since then I’ve been a mathematics teacher. Sixteen of the seventeen years I have taught have been at Marion High School.  
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ED: Well, my youngest brother that died Curtis Allen and was about one or two when he passed away.
  
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oo: That’s cool. So, do you have one specific most memorable experience like one point?
 
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dp: Um, you know really anything that, anything that you can remember, being out of high school now for about 20 years, anything that you can remember from high school probably constitutes a, an experience that’s worth sharing. I know my freshman year, uh, in Project Up, well it was called Project Up biology, Project Up biology class. We had a teacher, uh, Fritz Shank, Fritz Shank. Coming in as a freshman to Marion High School, um, Mr. Shank was a teacher you feared but in a positive sort of way. You knew it was going to be a class that you were going to have to work your tail off to be successful in and it prepared you for, basically, the rest of your high school career in terms of study habits, uh, classroom, classroom time management. When we had to do a project for the class, we spent, I know my partner and I, we spent many, many hours outside of school coming in in the evenings, on the weekends for a chance to make yourself available to work on a project. Um, that class was also a class I learned one of my most important lessons of, of what would happen if you cheat. I had never, never really cheated before. We took a test one day and, um, it was one of those test where, a very challenging test, and one of the questions, it was fill in the blank question, if, um, if I had been given a multiple choice question for that question and if I had been given 100 answers for a multiple choice, I would have seen the answer and known it. But, for the life of me I could not come up with the right answer at that time and I, I knew it. I just could not come up with it. So, the bell rings and, uh, we are waiting in line to hand our test in and I, I really didn’t even do it on purpose, but I saw my, uh, neighbor’s paper. As he was waiting in line, I saw the answer and just it just clicked that that was the right answer. So I, I, I filled the answer in. And at the time, I didn’t feel a lot of guilt because I justified it like I knew the answer. You know, I knew the answer. It just did not come to me at the time. So we went down for lunch after that and I, I just had this feeling in my stomach, the pit of your stomach, that I had done the wrong thing. And I needed to make things right so I decided I’d go up and, um, during my lunch and talk to Mr. Shank and explain to him what I did. So I go up there just terrified because Mr. Shank, you, you didn’t want to be on his bad side. Um, he had high expectations for you. Um, and I called him out in to hall and told him exactly what I did and knowing he had lots of choices. He could’ve given me a, a tongue lashing at the time that everyone in upstairs building one would have heard. He could have, I knew he could have failed me for that test. Probably others things he could have done. Um, and so I told him the story and his first reaction, he kind of smirked, the Mr. Shank smirk. Um, he kind of chuckled and, uh, thanked me for being honest. All he did was count that one question wrong, ended up getting an A minus on the test still. I don’t know why I remember that, my grade, but again when you still remember experiences from twenty plus years ago, it, uh, there’s a reason for it. But, you know from that day on I, I never cheated again. Um, it’s not worth it. I don’t know. I don’t know how students can cheat and, uh, have a positive feeling about themselves after that. Um, there’s no justification for it and, um, I really, again, you develop patterns in your life with behavior that carry on through your whole life. You know, cheating in school I really think can lead to other things in life. Areas where you could, uh, cheat or fudge the truth a little bit. And you really, these are important years to establish your values and moral system. And, um, every decision, every action you make, there’s going to be a consequence for it, um, positive or negative. And so high school was a really important time for me to, um, develop my value system and my belief system and then, and then stick up for those. And not everyone around you is going to feel that way and, um, you have to be, um, solid with convictions and it is one thing to talk it, but then to be able to, to, um, live that out in your life is also challenging.
 
  
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oo: All right, and then last question. What’s the biggest difference that you see from Marion High School when you went, when you graduated then like to nowadays like teaching?
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KD: What was your typical day at home?
  
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dp: Um, biggest difference. Again, I said this earlier, there aren’t so many things back then competing for your time like there are now, um, again with the, with the technology, with the, with the video games, with Facebook, with cell phones. Um, you know we didn’t have those distractions. You know, we were, we were focused on school, we were focused on sports, we were focused on, um, church events. And, and back then it was tough to balance everything you know. Um, it was just I think it was a little easier to be committed back then. And again you have to remember that the group of friends that I hung around with in school, we were good students, so you know when I came to teach at Marion I saw a different side of Marion than I had seen as a student. Um, but you know I think basically teenagers today are like teenagers twenty years ago. There’s just more options for them. There’s more options competing for their time. It’s, um, athletics is one example, I mean, back when I played, you know, I played just one sport, tennis. Um, but we had a lot of students that played lots of sports and were committed to all of those. Um, but we didn’t have the pressure back then of, of, of summer, of summer sports now. I mean, with all of the traveling teams and all of the AAU teams and, you know, there’s no break in the summer for athletes. Um, there’s no break for coaches if you want to compete with, with the other schools. I mean, back then in the summer you were pretty much given the summer off, but you were, your coach trusted you to, to get in shape on your own. Do the things necessary to come back and be a better athlete next year. And, um, I don’t think students, or athletes, quite have that same self-discipline today which is maybe one reason why the programs are put into place, um, to monitor their athlete, make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Back then it was just an expectation and if you didn’t do it, then you weren’t going to have your same spot on the team next year. Our tennis team was a great example.  I knew if I didn’t play if I didn’t keep working to get better, I’d lose my spot, um, so and then in terms of academics, um, kind of the same way. We, we all knew we had to be doing our best for, or there was competition but a friendly competition with, with our friends, keep up and do well. Um, and but, but we were kind of a family too. We supported each other, um, then we had our differences, we did. But, it seemed like when we had those differences, it would bring us closer together. (Bell rings) So, not, not a lot of differences I don’t think in the way teenagers are today than the way they were twenty years ago. I just think there are so many choices for me fighting for their attention. Um, really I think it’s harder to be a committed student, a committed athlete today than there was then because there are those choices so I commend those students that are able to do it, um, today. It, it’s tougher. It’s tougher. Um, but you know some of the pressures are the same. In terms, of choices you make on a daily basis and everything. It’s why it is important to have a, a good networking system not just a, a family, but a, a church and friends to help you get through some of those tough times when life gets tough.
 
  
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oo: All right, thank you for your time.
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ED: Well, my father left instructions for my other brother and I to have done before he got home and there were certain activities that we had to do.  We had to take care of the rabbits, chickens, and the turkeys, make sure they were fed and watered two times a day.
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KD:  What other animals did you have?
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ED:  I had one dog that lived to be about 20 years old. We were a well loved and well shaped family during outings  My father took us to the State Fair in Indianapolis, Muncie, Kokomo and Anderson because he loved to watch the horse races.  We got to go to the Carnivals here in Marion and we had a joyful time.  One thing about it, on Sunday mornings, we were all in Church.
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KD:  That’s good, that’s good.  So, now I am going to ask you a couple of questions
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about school. What year did you graduate from Marion High School?
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ED:  1954. 
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KD:  What kind of stars graduated with you that is famous now?
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ED:  Well, we had Otis Archey, if anybody remembers that name.  He and I were on the Track Team in 1952. Most people find it hard to believe that I used to beat Otis Archey in the 100 yard dash, 220, and the half mile relay team.  I had one businessman here in Marion, could not believe when Archey was the Sheriff in Marion so he got on his cell phone and called the city.  He was doing some work in my neighborhood and he came out and we introduced ourselves to each other. And he wanted to know if I knew Oatis Archey, the Sheriff.  I told him yes I do, a good friend of mine and we went to school together and one thing that people do not believe that I used to beat him on the track team at Marion High School.
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KD:  Could you beat him now?
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ED:  Well, I am 75 years old and then young days are gone.  My mind says yes some days but the body says no.  So I don’t know.  I may get a good jump on him if I had a good start.
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KD:  So, running track with the Sheriff of Marion, how do you feel about that?
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ED:  Well, I thought it was a very good thing for the track team.  I used to run the low Hurdles and I was glad to see Oatis come because that was his event.  He and I got along, we ran together and we raised our families together. Our sons all played together and had a good time and good relationship.  When Oatis became Sheriff of Marion, it was a good thing because we needed a change over.
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KD:  So, what was an average day like for you to go to school?
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ED:  Well, it was getting up, taking care of the chores and start walking to Marion High School which was up on Hill Street.
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KD:  How far a walk was that?
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ED:  I tell you it was a rough walk. Started at maybe from 21st street, down to Nebraska, and then to Hill Street up behind Marion General Hospital on Hill Street. 
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KD: How bad was it in the winter time to walk that far?
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ED:  It was tough, through the snow and the wind, we had a tough time.  Sometimes you did not have the right clothes to walk that far but in those days it was tough going.
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KD:  What did you do in your spare time in High School?
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ED:  In High School we had intramural basketball that we played in the girl’s gym.  Some classes had to go to the Coliseum to participate in their gym class because the high school was not big enough but everybody had something to do.  Participating on the Cactus Club and other clubs that they ran and participated in getting things ready.  We had different projects at that time that they don’t do today.  Carnival like things that we did at that time.
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KD:  So why couldn’t you play regular basketball and you had to play intramural instead of playing for the high school.
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ED:  Well, back in those days there were some, it was or segregated.  I mean like this if you wasn’t top ball player you played intramural.  We had teams on the intramural squad that could put the Marion Giants to shame at that time. Our teams consist of all African American and we played ball to the tops.  We even challenged the Marion Giants coach Woody Weir to let us scrimmage with the Marion Giants and it was a protest and we never did get to do.
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KD:  So, is that,  do you feel that is one of your great accomplishments in High School like what are your most proudest moment of your High School career and where do they come from.
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ED:  Well, I feel like my most proudest time, we were #2 in the State of Indiana for the half mile relay team.  We were on our way and had one more tourney to run in and one of the boys dropped the baton and that turned us back and most of the guys were sad.
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KD: So, who was the guy who dropped the baton?
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ED:  Well, I rather not call his name because he lives right here in Marion today and we still are good friends.
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KD:  That’s good, that’s good.  So tell me about your like your High School friends and what you guys do.
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ED:  There are about 4 or 5 that I know today that we started out at grade school at Thomas Jefferson School and they are still around here in Marion. We went all the way from Thomas Jefferson, McCulloch to Marion High School together and we are still good friends.
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KD:  Who are some of those good friends?
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ED:    Well, Jackie Burns, he lives over on Pennsylvania Ave., his dad ran a filling station there.  Some of the old folks probably remember. Burns ran for Mayor here in Marion back in the 50’s and also Joe Huffman, a good friend of mine and Cedric Johnson, he lives in Indianapolis and he is a Neurosurgeon a great man.  He talked to my wife when she was having her cancer troubles and other troubles he encouraged her to press the way, Trust in the Lord and the Lord will bring her through these problems.   
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KD:  Wow!!! That’s amazing.  Uh, so how did you meet grandma, like how did you meet her?  Was she your High School Sweetheart or did you just come across her one day?
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ED:  No, I met grandma through her brother; I did not know her because they lived in a different community than we lived in.  But, one evening we were in one of the little night clubs here in Marion and he brought her in and I was with one of my friends and we made eye contact and the next thing you know we were going together.  And after, going on 55 years we are still together and we’re not making no changes.
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KD:  Wow, that’s a long time.
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ED:  I may throw this in to that I go to Church to the Christ Temple Apostolic Church on 1401 South Adams Street.  And me and her are the same denomination and we have a great relationship with the Lord at that church since we met there.
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KD:  So you originally met at the night club, but you ended up in church.
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ED: That’s right.
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KD: So it all turned out well.
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ED:  Yes
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KD:  So how many extracurricular activities did you participate in High School?
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ED: Well most of my time was spent in the shop doing work; like woodwork in the shop. Always participating you had ... our coach who was Ray Sears and he always had you doing some type of activities year round. Walking or working out at the coliseum different activities. Also I was in the art club and you could always go to the art room and work on your projects. I had two paintings sent to New York. And one painting received honorable mention which was an abstract ... one was a still life. So my accomplishments probably could have been better in art, but different things took place. You had to work; you had to find a job and I went to work just soon as I got out of school and graduated from Marion High school. I went to work there and worked 55 years and one week. And I’m not saddened over having to retire, but I think I can still go there and do the same work today.
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KD: So going back to school before you went to work who were your favorite teachers?
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ED: Well Mr. Miller my art teacher and Ray Sears; well one thing I liked about Ray Sears was this ... if you didn’t think you could accomplish your event during practice session. Ray would go in there and put his short and shoes on and come out there and show you how to run that event. Then if you still didn’t learn he would run the event with you and show you your mistakes.
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KD: How many times did you beat the coach?
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ED: The coach and I would run side by side.
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KD:  You ran side by side.
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ED: Side by side.
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KD: What type of things did he help you out with ... did he run with you?
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ED: Well he showed you how to judge your speed; not to burn yourself out in the first 25 yards of the event but gauge yourself. I use to look at a lot of studies on Jesse Owens and see how he ran how ... how he gauged his speed before putting on the full power.
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KD: Was he considered one of your role models in high school?
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ED: Yes, Jesse Owens was a great track man. If you looked at him and what he done a lot of the college track coaches have modeled their track practices and their running style after Jesse Owens.
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KD: Back to the classroom.
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ED: Yes.
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KD: Tell me two things about your least favorite class?
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ED: My least favorite class, well I didn’t really have a least favorite class. I just really fit right in. The main thing is being obedient and listening to what the teacher is trying to teach you. Keeping your mind elevated to what they have ... to the subjects they have prepared for you in the classroom. I didn’t have a bad teacher and I didn’t have a bad study. I just tried to program myself to do what they had prepared for us to study.
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KD:  So you were a grade “A” student and you liked school and was school a place for you to get away from it all ... like tell me about how you felt about school?
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ED: Well I enjoyed school; I don’t consider myself a grade “A” student, but I consider myself a student who was able to comprehend what the teachers were saying. And the lack of financial means my parents weren’t able to send me to college. That’s the reason I went into the factory just as soon as I got out of school. Most of the guys in our area went to the RCA, Dana, General Motors, and places like that ... but they made good of what they went into.
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KD: Can you tell me about the segregation at Marion High school? Like how did you cope with that? How was that?
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ED: Well we really didn’t have any segregation that I can remember. Only thing that we could see was segregated was the ball teams. As far as the basketball; you had to be tops, you had to be on grade. The football team and the baseball team were open to anybody. Basketball was something different.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: Who was the coach of the basketball team that made it like that?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well his name was Woody Weir, but I think he got his instructions from higher up from affiliation of businessmen here in Marion.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: Okay so basically it was political?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Politically run, where you lived at in Marion. If you lived in Shady Hills, Northwood places like that. And the big businessmen made sure their sons were on the Marion Giant basketball team or else there was something said or done about it.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: So was that like a big deal to be on the basketball team or was it better to be on the football team or the track team?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well the basketball team had the priority of all the teams here in Marion. Because that was tops..! If you were on the basketball team you could figure yourself to be on the top grade. Football ... Baseball ... the Tennis ... it didn’t matter.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: So what would you have changed in high school to make it more enjoyable?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well I would change ... well there wasn’t anything that I can think of grandson that I would change. All the students that I graduated with we all got along together.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: What was the size of the class you graduated with? Was it big or small?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: At that time for our city it was about the same as Anderson, Muncie, Kokomo, Logansport, and Richmond. They all had about the same attendance at graduating time.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: What would you consider your most significant accomplishment in life?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well I would say being A Child of the Good Lord ... His Servant..! When you change your life around and put your hand in the Good Lord. Your life changes you don’t see things as other people see that are not saved.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: When did you start having kids?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: After we got married ... (with a big smile)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: What year did you get married?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Where did we get married?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: Yes.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: We got married at Second Baptist church at 1824 south Branson St. The church still stands there; the Rev J.R. Bradley was the preacher that married my wife and me.  And maybe about two or three years after we got married we start raising a family.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD:  So grandpa I heard you say the high school wasn’t segregated, but what about other areas of Marion ... were they segregated?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Yes, they were you would go to different eateries here in town and you could get food, but you couldn’t go in and sit at a table.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: So you would have to get the food from the back or..?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: No, they would bring it out to you; but they would bring it out in a sack. So you would either have to leave or take it as they would bring it out to you. Meyer’s drive-in would serve you but you would have to get like they brought it to you. Most of the other restaurants were the same way. The only reason that we got to sit down in the different restaurants here in Marion and the cafeterias was because we were a member of the track team.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: So could you go or what public places were segregated besides the restaurants?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED:  The theatres were segregated you had a certain area at the Paramount, the Indiana, and the Leary that you sit in. If you wanted to go to a show and you went there. If you wanted to go to a show and you went there that’s where you sat ... or you didn’t go to the show.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: Any other places?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well most like I say; even at your drug stores at the soda fountain ... you couldn’t even go in and sit down and order a ice cream soda or a sundae. You had to take it off like they brought it to yeah in an ice cream pail. Tompkins ice cream cafeteria, if we were going to the show and we wanted a hamburger to take with us to the show ... they would put it in a sack and we would go on to the show like that.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD:  So did you have to deal with it like when you went to place like we have like the YMCA. Also, when you went swimming and stuff?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: Well the only way that we could get into the Y to go swimming is you had to be a member of a group. Like the gray Y which was sponsored by the Y in the summer time; that’s the only way we got into the pool at the Y. Otherwise the Community Center, that was sponsored by the negro group here in Marion they had a committee or a group and we had to go all the way to Anderson during the summer to find a place to swim. Or, if you was liked us young boys we would have to go to deer creek, lake whana, these places that didn’t have safety on our own to swim. We weren’t allowed in the park, matter park pool.  Although my Uncle Curtis years ago; he was a business man here in Marion and he supplied a lot of the parts swings and things to matter park through the park that he had where I grew up at. He had a small park there in our community where the whites and blacks all come together. And he had a pool there and we swam in and we knew one another. There wasn’t a fight or if there was a fight there wasn’t any killings and the next day the boys or girls or whoever was back together playing together. And he showed movies Wednesday and Friday nights at his park. His name was Curtis Green. Some of you may know his grandson Earl Green who was a postmaster here in Marion for several years. Also had kind of like a flight school for training young men that wanted to learn about flying airplanes at the Westside airport. Right where the General Motors plant now stands.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD: Was that segregated also?
 +
 
 +
 
 +
ED: No, that wasn’t segregated. He tried to get me to be a Cub Scout flyer, but I didn’t take to that learning at thirteen years old in a two winged airplane. That’s something you young guys you young people don’t know about.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
KD:  Well there you have it folks Mr. Edwin L Davis Sr. my grandfather, and a great historian of Marion. Thank you ... this is Kevin Davis reporting..!

Latest revision as of 07:27, 21 July 2011


Date: May 7th, 2011 Place: Home of Kevin Davis, 1612 W. 32nd St. Marion, Indiana 46953 Collected by: Kevin Davis

KD: Hello fellow classmates, this is Kevin Davis speaking and today I am presenting my grandfather, Mr. Edwin Davis Sr. and he is going to tell about some history of Marion High School and what Marion was like back in the day.


KD: So Grandpa what area of Marion did you grow up in?


ED: Center Marion


KD: What was it like growing up in center Marion?


ED: It was well liked and the people got along together because it was an integrated neighborhood. We all played ball together and there was no violence going on in the neighborhood.


KD: So, how was your household? How many brothers and sisters did you have and what did they do?


ED: Well, I had one brother living and one brother deceased. I had three sisters, two worked outside the home and one worked at home.


KD: How old were you when your brother died?


ED: Well, my youngest brother that died Curtis Allen and was about one or two when he passed away.


KD: What was your typical day at home?


ED: Well, my father left instructions for my other brother and I to have done before he got home and there were certain activities that we had to do. We had to take care of the rabbits, chickens, and the turkeys, make sure they were fed and watered two times a day.


KD: What other animals did you have?


ED: I had one dog that lived to be about 20 years old. We were a well loved and well shaped family during outings My father took us to the State Fair in Indianapolis, Muncie, Kokomo and Anderson because he loved to watch the horse races. We got to go to the Carnivals here in Marion and we had a joyful time. One thing about it, on Sunday mornings, we were all in Church.


KD: That’s good, that’s good. So, now I am going to ask you a couple of questions about school. What year did you graduate from Marion High School?


ED: 1954.


KD: What kind of stars graduated with you that is famous now?


ED: Well, we had Otis Archey, if anybody remembers that name. He and I were on the Track Team in 1952. Most people find it hard to believe that I used to beat Otis Archey in the 100 yard dash, 220, and the half mile relay team. I had one businessman here in Marion, could not believe when Archey was the Sheriff in Marion so he got on his cell phone and called the city. He was doing some work in my neighborhood and he came out and we introduced ourselves to each other. And he wanted to know if I knew Oatis Archey, the Sheriff. I told him yes I do, a good friend of mine and we went to school together and one thing that people do not believe that I used to beat him on the track team at Marion High School.


KD: Could you beat him now?


ED: Well, I am 75 years old and then young days are gone. My mind says yes some days but the body says no. So I don’t know. I may get a good jump on him if I had a good start.


KD: So, running track with the Sheriff of Marion, how do you feel about that?


ED: Well, I thought it was a very good thing for the track team. I used to run the low Hurdles and I was glad to see Oatis come because that was his event. He and I got along, we ran together and we raised our families together. Our sons all played together and had a good time and good relationship. When Oatis became Sheriff of Marion, it was a good thing because we needed a change over.


KD: So, what was an average day like for you to go to school?


ED: Well, it was getting up, taking care of the chores and start walking to Marion High School which was up on Hill Street.


KD: How far a walk was that?


ED: I tell you it was a rough walk. Started at maybe from 21st street, down to Nebraska, and then to Hill Street up behind Marion General Hospital on Hill Street.


KD: How bad was it in the winter time to walk that far?


ED: It was tough, through the snow and the wind, we had a tough time. Sometimes you did not have the right clothes to walk that far but in those days it was tough going.


KD: What did you do in your spare time in High School?


ED: In High School we had intramural basketball that we played in the girl’s gym. Some classes had to go to the Coliseum to participate in their gym class because the high school was not big enough but everybody had something to do. Participating on the Cactus Club and other clubs that they ran and participated in getting things ready. We had different projects at that time that they don’t do today. Carnival like things that we did at that time.


KD: So why couldn’t you play regular basketball and you had to play intramural instead of playing for the high school.


ED: Well, back in those days there were some, it was or segregated. I mean like this if you wasn’t top ball player you played intramural. We had teams on the intramural squad that could put the Marion Giants to shame at that time. Our teams consist of all African American and we played ball to the tops. We even challenged the Marion Giants coach Woody Weir to let us scrimmage with the Marion Giants and it was a protest and we never did get to do.


KD: So, is that, do you feel that is one of your great accomplishments in High School like what are your most proudest moment of your High School career and where do they come from.


ED: Well, I feel like my most proudest time, we were #2 in the State of Indiana for the half mile relay team. We were on our way and had one more tourney to run in and one of the boys dropped the baton and that turned us back and most of the guys were sad.


KD: So, who was the guy who dropped the baton?


ED: Well, I rather not call his name because he lives right here in Marion today and we still are good friends.


KD: That’s good, that’s good. So tell me about your like your High School friends and what you guys do.


ED: There are about 4 or 5 that I know today that we started out at grade school at Thomas Jefferson School and they are still around here in Marion. We went all the way from Thomas Jefferson, McCulloch to Marion High School together and we are still good friends.


KD: Who are some of those good friends?


ED: Well, Jackie Burns, he lives over on Pennsylvania Ave., his dad ran a filling station there. Some of the old folks probably remember. Burns ran for Mayor here in Marion back in the 50’s and also Joe Huffman, a good friend of mine and Cedric Johnson, he lives in Indianapolis and he is a Neurosurgeon a great man. He talked to my wife when she was having her cancer troubles and other troubles he encouraged her to press the way, Trust in the Lord and the Lord will bring her through these problems.


KD: Wow!!! That’s amazing. Uh, so how did you meet grandma, like how did you meet her? Was she your High School Sweetheart or did you just come across her one day?


ED: No, I met grandma through her brother; I did not know her because they lived in a different community than we lived in. But, one evening we were in one of the little night clubs here in Marion and he brought her in and I was with one of my friends and we made eye contact and the next thing you know we were going together. And after, going on 55 years we are still together and we’re not making no changes.


KD: Wow, that’s a long time.


ED: I may throw this in to that I go to Church to the Christ Temple Apostolic Church on 1401 South Adams Street. And me and her are the same denomination and we have a great relationship with the Lord at that church since we met there.


KD: So you originally met at the night club, but you ended up in church.


ED: That’s right.


KD: So it all turned out well.


ED: Yes


KD: So how many extracurricular activities did you participate in High School?


ED: Well most of my time was spent in the shop doing work; like woodwork in the shop. Always participating you had ... our coach who was Ray Sears and he always had you doing some type of activities year round. Walking or working out at the coliseum different activities. Also I was in the art club and you could always go to the art room and work on your projects. I had two paintings sent to New York. And one painting received honorable mention which was an abstract ... one was a still life. So my accomplishments probably could have been better in art, but different things took place. You had to work; you had to find a job and I went to work just soon as I got out of school and graduated from Marion High school. I went to work there and worked 55 years and one week. And I’m not saddened over having to retire, but I think I can still go there and do the same work today. KD: So going back to school before you went to work who were your favorite teachers?


ED: Well Mr. Miller my art teacher and Ray Sears; well one thing I liked about Ray Sears was this ... if you didn’t think you could accomplish your event during practice session. Ray would go in there and put his short and shoes on and come out there and show you how to run that event. Then if you still didn’t learn he would run the event with you and show you your mistakes.


KD: How many times did you beat the coach?


ED: The coach and I would run side by side.


KD: You ran side by side.


ED: Side by side.


KD: What type of things did he help you out with ... did he run with you?


ED: Well he showed you how to judge your speed; not to burn yourself out in the first 25 yards of the event but gauge yourself. I use to look at a lot of studies on Jesse Owens and see how he ran how ... how he gauged his speed before putting on the full power.


KD: Was he considered one of your role models in high school?


ED: Yes, Jesse Owens was a great track man. If you looked at him and what he done a lot of the college track coaches have modeled their track practices and their running style after Jesse Owens.


KD: Back to the classroom.


ED: Yes.


KD: Tell me two things about your least favorite class?


ED: My least favorite class, well I didn’t really have a least favorite class. I just really fit right in. The main thing is being obedient and listening to what the teacher is trying to teach you. Keeping your mind elevated to what they have ... to the subjects they have prepared for you in the classroom. I didn’t have a bad teacher and I didn’t have a bad study. I just tried to program myself to do what they had prepared for us to study.


KD: So you were a grade “A” student and you liked school and was school a place for you to get away from it all ... like tell me about how you felt about school?


ED: Well I enjoyed school; I don’t consider myself a grade “A” student, but I consider myself a student who was able to comprehend what the teachers were saying. And the lack of financial means my parents weren’t able to send me to college. That’s the reason I went into the factory just as soon as I got out of school. Most of the guys in our area went to the RCA, Dana, General Motors, and places like that ... but they made good of what they went into.


KD: Can you tell me about the segregation at Marion High school? Like how did you cope with that? How was that?


ED: Well we really didn’t have any segregation that I can remember. Only thing that we could see was segregated was the ball teams. As far as the basketball; you had to be tops, you had to be on grade. The football team and the baseball team were open to anybody. Basketball was something different.


KD: Who was the coach of the basketball team that made it like that?


ED: Well his name was Woody Weir, but I think he got his instructions from higher up from affiliation of businessmen here in Marion.


KD: Okay so basically it was political?


ED: Politically run, where you lived at in Marion. If you lived in Shady Hills, Northwood places like that. And the big businessmen made sure their sons were on the Marion Giant basketball team or else there was something said or done about it.


KD: So was that like a big deal to be on the basketball team or was it better to be on the football team or the track team?


ED: Well the basketball team had the priority of all the teams here in Marion. Because that was tops..! If you were on the basketball team you could figure yourself to be on the top grade. Football ... Baseball ... the Tennis ... it didn’t matter.


KD: So what would you have changed in high school to make it more enjoyable?


ED: Well I would change ... well there wasn’t anything that I can think of grandson that I would change. All the students that I graduated with we all got along together.


KD: What was the size of the class you graduated with? Was it big or small?


ED: At that time for our city it was about the same as Anderson, Muncie, Kokomo, Logansport, and Richmond. They all had about the same attendance at graduating time.


KD: What would you consider your most significant accomplishment in life?


ED: Well I would say being A Child of the Good Lord ... His Servant..! When you change your life around and put your hand in the Good Lord. Your life changes you don’t see things as other people see that are not saved.


KD: When did you start having kids?


ED: After we got married ... (with a big smile)


KD: What year did you get married?


ED: Where did we get married?


KD: Yes.


ED: We got married at Second Baptist church at 1824 south Branson St. The church still stands there; the Rev J.R. Bradley was the preacher that married my wife and me. And maybe about two or three years after we got married we start raising a family.


KD: So grandpa I heard you say the high school wasn’t segregated, but what about other areas of Marion ... were they segregated?


ED: Yes, they were you would go to different eateries here in town and you could get food, but you couldn’t go in and sit at a table.


KD: So you would have to get the food from the back or..?


ED: No, they would bring it out to you; but they would bring it out in a sack. So you would either have to leave or take it as they would bring it out to you. Meyer’s drive-in would serve you but you would have to get like they brought it to you. Most of the other restaurants were the same way. The only reason that we got to sit down in the different restaurants here in Marion and the cafeterias was because we were a member of the track team.


KD: So could you go or what public places were segregated besides the restaurants?


ED: The theatres were segregated you had a certain area at the Paramount, the Indiana, and the Leary that you sit in. If you wanted to go to a show and you went there. If you wanted to go to a show and you went there that’s where you sat ... or you didn’t go to the show.


KD: Any other places?


ED: Well most like I say; even at your drug stores at the soda fountain ... you couldn’t even go in and sit down and order a ice cream soda or a sundae. You had to take it off like they brought it to yeah in an ice cream pail. Tompkins ice cream cafeteria, if we were going to the show and we wanted a hamburger to take with us to the show ... they would put it in a sack and we would go on to the show like that.


KD: So did you have to deal with it like when you went to place like we have like the YMCA. Also, when you went swimming and stuff?


ED: Well the only way that we could get into the Y to go swimming is you had to be a member of a group. Like the gray Y which was sponsored by the Y in the summer time; that’s the only way we got into the pool at the Y. Otherwise the Community Center, that was sponsored by the negro group here in Marion they had a committee or a group and we had to go all the way to Anderson during the summer to find a place to swim. Or, if you was liked us young boys we would have to go to deer creek, lake whana, these places that didn’t have safety on our own to swim. We weren’t allowed in the park, matter park pool. Although my Uncle Curtis years ago; he was a business man here in Marion and he supplied a lot of the parts swings and things to matter park through the park that he had where I grew up at. He had a small park there in our community where the whites and blacks all come together. And he had a pool there and we swam in and we knew one another. There wasn’t a fight or if there was a fight there wasn’t any killings and the next day the boys or girls or whoever was back together playing together. And he showed movies Wednesday and Friday nights at his park. His name was Curtis Green. Some of you may know his grandson Earl Green who was a postmaster here in Marion for several years. Also had kind of like a flight school for training young men that wanted to learn about flying airplanes at the Westside airport. Right where the General Motors plant now stands.


KD: Was that segregated also?


ED: No, that wasn’t segregated. He tried to get me to be a Cub Scout flyer, but I didn’t take to that learning at thirteen years old in a two winged airplane. That’s something you young guys you young people don’t know about.


KD: Well there you have it folks Mr. Edwin L Davis Sr. my grandfather, and a great historian of Marion. Thank you ... this is Kevin Davis reporting..!

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