1 10 1003 https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Mobile_Exhibit.pdf 6b5c0a516ac995db6a1501abdc4e4716 Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. 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 Mobile Exhibit Slide Deck https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Origins.pdf df26b03b7a2c1a5a48d72451d6b15862 Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. 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 Origins Slide Deck https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/2015-2016.pdf 24284b1f8416eb14838d72ee14f4545f Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. 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 2015-2016 Slide Deck https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Refinement_and_Reflection_[1].pdf ba52419c6dbc018e5db0ccfe1b82fb13 Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. 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 Refinement and Reflection Slide Deck https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Simms_2.0.pdf 705f971b4770aa89a866114d85b6836c Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. URL file:///C:/Users/kateb/Downloads/Simms%202.0.pdf 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 Simms 2.0 Slide Deck Screen -reader accessible Simms 2.0 Slide deck https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Celebrating Simms Collection The Story of the Lucy F. Simms School/Celebrating_Simms_Exhibit_Panels.pdf d1bf89c61d0a95befe6ca1f7ebbbd657 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 Celebrating Simms Collection: The Story of the Lucy F. Simms School Description An account of the resource The first series in the Celebrating Simms Collection consists of approximately 450 items that were digitized to support the development and design of the 2016 Celebrating Simms exhibit. The series consists primarily of photographs and some historical documents related to the Effinger St. School (1882–1938); the Lucy F. Simms School (1938-1966); the Simms Reunion Committee (1982–Present); private family photographs documenting life in the Northeast Neighborhood of Harrisonburg, Virginia (1882–1966); and official photographs documenting Harrisonburg’s R4 Urban Renewal Project (1955–1964). The Celebrating Simms Collection consists entirely of digitized materials. It is a post-custodial collection, meaning that all original materials were returned to the custody of their original owners immediately after being digitized. The individuals who shared their private collections with this project for digitization include: Doris Harper Allen, Howard Curry, Dorothy Dickerson, Twyla French, Billo Harper, Greg Johnson, Wilhelmina Johnson, Dale MacAllister, Edna Mitchell, Deanna Reed, Jennifer Vickers, and Betty Lou Winkey. Some items were also digitized for Celebrating Simms with permission from JMU Special Collections, the Massanutten Regional Library, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society (now Rocktown History), and the Daily News-Record. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Celebrating Simms Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available JMU Libraries Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1867-2016 Interactive Resource A resource requiring interaction from the user to be understood, executed, or experienced. Examples include forms on Web pages, applets, multimedia learning objects, chat services, or virtual reality environments. 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 Downloadable Copy of the Celebrating Simms Exhibit Description An account of the resource Screen-readable , downloadable copy of Celebrating Simms Exhibit https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Interview_with_Anne_Byrd,_Carol_Raymond,_and_Tonnette_Jackson.pdf bd6cc6fe518211c89d793ee032d21e05 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 Interview with Anne Byrd, Carol Raymond, and Tonnette Jackson https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Simms School Oral Histories/Interview_with_Alice_B._Davis.pdf ca3c98d6aa809b1a31872081fdd9e45e 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 Interview with Alice B. Davis https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Simms School Oral Histories/Interview_with_Billo_Harper.pdf 0f3539b3eb8eb1e19062d01824ad72ca PDF Text Text Interview with Billo Harper Lucy F. Simms School Oral History Project Interview status: Open to the Public Name of interviewee: Billo Harper Name of interviewers: Katelyn and Dylan Logan Date of interview:Feb 28, 2023 Duration of interview:00:33:47 Place of interview: Virtual – Google Meets Language of interview: English Katelyn Lough 00:03 Okay, so this is February 28. I'm here with Dylan Logan. And my name is Katelyn Lough, and we are here to be doing the interview today with Mr. Billo Harper. Mr. Harper, can you please verify that you're aware you're being interviewed and this conversation will be recorded? Billo Harper 00:23 Yes, I approve of the audio recording. I don't approve or give any rights of use of my images, my images, but my image in relationship to these questions, but all audio, all comments that I make may be used as needed. And I give approval. Katelyn Lough 00:43 Yes, sir. Thank you so much for being with us today. So to start off the interview, we're going to start with the first question, I believe all of these you have received already. So when did you attend the Simms School? Billo Harper 01:01 Okay, can you do your introduction again? Your name and Logan's name? Katelyn Lough 01:06 Of course. So my name is Katelyn Lough. Dylan Logan 01:09 And I'm Dylan Logan. Billo Harper 01:11 And Katelyn, what year are you at Turner Ashby? Katelyn Lough 01:14 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 1 �I'm a senior at Turner Ashby Billo Harper 01:16 And Logan? Dylan Logan 01:17 I'm a junior. Billo Harper 01:17 Okay. All right. I am ready. Logan and Katelyn. Let's go. Katelyn Lough 01:23 Alright. So when did you attend Simms School? Billo Harper 01:28 I attended Lucy Simms segregated school in 1957 to 1963 when the school closed. I think it closed in '63. But anyway, when it closed... Katelyn Lough 01:38 I believe you're right. Yes. Okay. So did you graduate from the Simms School? Billo Harper 01:43 Yes. I graduated from the middle school of Simms and then I- It only went to the sixth grade when I was there. And after that, I went to Thomas Harrison Middle School in Harrisburg High. Katelyn Lough 01:58 Okay, so how did you get to the Simms School every day? Billo Harper 02:03 The entire Newtown community which was the Black community known as where the Blacks live. We walked to school every day. Everybody [laughs]. Everybody walked to school. Katelyn Lough 02:14 Alright, so it wasn't like nobody drove any cars? Billo Harper 02:19 No. I mean, people - some people - had cars, but we still didn't--we just walked school. Katelyn Lough 02:24 Okay. Billo Harper 02:24 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 2 �You was an adolescent, you know. Whether you was with your mother or father or just with a guardian who took care of you. And someone had a car, they went wherever they was going, but you walked to school. Katelyn Lough 02:39 Even if you were say 10 miles away, you would walk out? Billo Harper 02:44 Now 10 miles away like people from Elkton, they caught a bus... Katelyn Lough 02:48 Okay, there was a bus. Billo Harper 02:49 The people from Luray [as well] because it was segregated. So, Blacks that lived in Luray, lived in Elkton, which is Rockingham County. Katelyn Lough 03:02 Yes. Billo Harper 03:03 They all caught a bus and rode into Simms, which they had to get up like 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. They'd get up early. [Laughs] I just came out of my back door. Katelyn Lough 03:15 [Laughs] So you were close to the Simms School? Billo Harper 03:19 My house was- My house connected to Simms. Lucy F. Simms School was my playground. Katelyn Lough 03:26 Oh, really? Really? That's amazing. Billo Harper 03:29 Ain't that cool? Katelyn Lough 03:30 Yes. That's the same. So I'm next to Pence Middle School. So, I understand when you say that it's your playground. Dylan Logan 03:41 Me too actually, I used to live next to the elementary school when I went there. Billo Harper 03:44 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 3 �Ain't it beautiful? Katelyn Lough 03:46 Beautiful yes [laughs]. Dylan Logan 03:48 It's a funny coincidence. Katelyn Lough 03:49 So, this bus that you mentioned, was it... So when we--in our classroom--we learned that many of the things were passed down. Was the bus also passed down from like... Billo Harper 04:02 I have no idea because I never rode it. Katelyn Lough 04:04 Okay. All right. I gotcha. Dylan Logan 04:06 Yeah. Katelyn Lough 04:07 So what do you recall from the beginning of your experience at the Simms School? Billo Harper 04:14 The school was an extension of the family and community that raised us. Katelyn Lough 04:23 Yes. We spoke to a few of--some of your classmates. I don't recall their names right now. But they said the community was very strong. It's very tight-knit community here. Billo Harper 04:37 Yes. Yes. It was very tight, Newtown. It was a community and so your home life and your school life was all one and the same. Katelyn Lough 04:49 Oh, wow. So everyone knew everyone. Billo Harper 04:52 Oh! It was no question. No question. No question. Katelyn Lough 04:55 That's great. So were there any specific staff members that you were close to or that you remember very well? [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 4 �Billo Harper 05:02 Well, my kindergarten teacher was Miss Blakey and you know, she was really unique. She provided me with the foundation for learning. There was a Miss Awkard Fairfax. She was also the co-director of pianists for the Simms Mass Choir. I'm quite sure you have seen that mass choir picture. Katelyn Lough 05:26 Yes. Dylan Logan 05:27 Yeah. Billo Harper 05:28 Well, she was educated at Columbia University Teachers College. And she helped me learn the importance of applying myself when doing homework. Also, I'd like to mention Dr. David Hedgley. He was a high school science teacher on the second floor. At Simms, the elementary and middle school was on the first floor and on the second floor was the high school. Katelyn Lough 05:52 So we're on the second floor right now. Billo Harper 05:54 Okay, wonderful. So if you go visit Simms and you go up on the second floor, that was high school. Katelyn Lough 05:59 Yes. We're in what they call the music room right now. So we're in the Simms School. And right before... Billo Harper 06:07 Wait, you're in the Simms School now? Katelyn Lough 06:08 Yes. Yes, sir. Billo Harper 06:09 [Excitedly exclaims] Oh! You guys are interviewing me from Simms? Dylan Logan 06:11 Yeah Billo Harper 06:12 I was getting ready to tell y'all that class right there. That was my sixth-grade class. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 5 �Katelyn Lough 06:19 This right here. Wow. Billo Harper 06:20 You can look out the window and see my house. Dylan Logan 06:23 Whoa what! Billo Harper 06:24 Yes, you can look out the window and see my house! Katelyn Lough 06:27 [All laugh] That's amazing! Billo Harper 06:30 Oh, also, I wanted to talk about the science teacher, Dr. David Hedgley. I never forget him because my sister and other relatives took his class. And he went--he was only at Simms for one year. He was a science teacher. And he's known as the father of computer graphics. He's a genius! He's 86 years old now. And he left Simms and went to NASA and became a scientist. Katelyn Lough 06:57 Wow. Billo Harper 06:58 He created computer graphics. So, Todd, Katelyn whenever you get a chance, type in Dr. David Hedgley in your Google search and it's gonna come up 'the father of computer graphics'. He taught at Simms. Katelyn Lough 07:15 That's amazing. Billo Harper 07:17 But he only taught one year. Katelyn Lough 07:19 One year. Did you have him for that one year? Billo Harper 07:22 No, he's high school. He was upstairs. Katelyn Lough 07:24 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 6 �Okay. I gotcha. So what was the curriculum or grading like at Simms School? Did any of you have any difficulty with it? Or did you help each other out? Billo Harper 07:39 No, it wasn't for me any issues... major issues. Because we had master teachers. Okay. All of them were Black and had been educated at schools like Howard University, Virginia Union, Fisk, Hampton. And they were all educated from HBCUs. And they were exceptional teachers. Now, sure, there was some young people that had--might have had challenges or learning challenges. But the reality of those challenges was that, you know, they would... What would I say? They would, you know, get attention that they needed. And, you know, that's just the way that came down. Yeah. Katelyn Lough 08:19 Yeah. And those teachers were willing to help. They were very willing to help them. Billo Harper 08:23 Yeah. And then you had some students that were disruptive. And we had some teachers that would straight up just tell you, "Bend your knuckles and hold it out like this." And BOOM! That's right. There was no play. I mean, and this was third and fourth grade. So you knew he was getting a spanking in front of all your classmates. Katelyn Lough 08:58 And is this Miss Awkard Fairfax that you're talking about? Billo Harper 09:02 No, no. I'm not gonna say the name of that teacher. Katelyn Lough 09:05 Oh, you're not going to say, okay. Billo Harper 09:06 No. You know, you have to get that in another conversation. Maybe we talk in private. Katelyn Lough 09:11 Of course, of course. Yes. Billo Harper 09:15 I'm not gonna put one of my favorite teacher's name out there and say, "Oh, she beat you on the knuckles,"' because she did a lot of other things, too. Katelyn Lough 09:22 Oh, of course. We understand. When we were talking with some of the fellow students of your classmates that used to go to the Simms School, they said that Miss Awkard was very well respected with the school. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 7 �Billo Harper 09:39 And she was a pianist and she was the co-director of the Simms Mass Choir. You see her picture? When you see that picture, you see her standing over on the one side down on the bottom? Dylan Logan 09:48 Yeah. Billo Harper 09:49 And then she was a master pianist. Well, she didn't play. No, she didn't play. But all the teachers had ways of disciplining if you went, excuse me, if you was, you know, acting up. We didn't have social media. We didn't have social media and phones and all of that. Katelyn Lough 10:12 So you just talked. Billo Harper 10:14 Oh, you gotta... It's talking. Yeah. Talking and acting up. Pushing your friend next to you. And yeah, smack him upside the head [laughs]. Stuff like that... Adolescent stuff. Katelyn Lough 10:29 Yes, of course. So, during your time there... When it came to lunchtime, what were the meals like? What was the community like? Did you... Who did you sit with? Where did you sit? Billo Harper 10:42 The food was good. The chef was a local resident of Newtown and was a master cook. The food was also locally grown from local farms. Although we had some manufactured food from some warehouse that the city of Harrisonburg School System, you know. And they were sending food by a truck. But many times, the chef who was in the kitchen, her and most of the time, it was a female, in my years. And Miss Washington was the chef. And I mean, the food was like you had it from your kitchen table at home. Katelyn Lough 11:24 Oh, that's amazing. So, what were your favorite parts of the school? What events did you participate in? What activities? Billo Harper 11:39 What I want to say about that is... Let me see here. I want to be sure I covered this... May Day! Katelyn Lough 11:56 May Day, yes. Billo Harper 11:59 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 8 �May Day was special. Basketball games that we played other schools. Because I was the basketball manager. And y'all seen the picture with me? Right? As the basketball manager? Katelyn Lough 12:17 I believe so. Once or twice. Yes. Billo Harper 12:20 Y'all seen it? Yeah. Yeah, I was the basketball manager of Lucy F. Simms. Y'all not gonna have a problem picking me out, are you? Katelyn Lough 12:37 Oh my... [laughs] Billo Harper 12:41 Y'all can't pick me out. I'm 10 years old. Can you pick me out? Where am I? Katelyn Lough 12:47 You're far left on the top row. Yes, sir. Billo Harper 12:52 Hey, Logan. I was 10-years-old, man. Dylan Logan 12:56 Yeah. Billo Harper 12:57 So that's why I'm saying it's my playground. So when they would go around to Stanton, Winchester, Richmond, Lexington, Clifton Forge, Madison County, Orange County. I would- My mother was working. So after school, the guys would get on the bus and little Billo... I would get on the bus. And I was 10 years old. I'd be carrying the balls and the uniforms. And I did that for like, probably four or five years. Dylan Logan 13:35 Wow. Katelyn Lough 13:37 So that was what you did after school? Most of the time. Billo Harper 13:41 Yeah. And don't ask me when I got homework done [Katelyn laughs]. During basketball season, and I wasn't a particularly bright student, I mean, I'd struggle. Katelyn Lough 13:53 Okay. So how long did that season last? The basketball season? Was it in the fall? [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 9 �Billo Harper 14:00 Probably, you know, at least three or four months. Katelyn Lough 14:04 Okay. So, you mentioned May Day. Can you expand on that? What was it like? What was the start of the day and what was the end of the day? Billo Harper 14:18 You know, May Day was a fun day. And it was acknowledging that spring had arrived. Wrapping the flagpole in the front of the building with confetti paper was the official May Day ceremony. And concerts, food, and school activities made it fun for the whole day. And most of the time, I mean, you know, they had the May Day Queen and so that meant all the mothers and grandmothers and aunts would do dresses for all the girls... And I mean, you know, fellas, we didn't... It didn't mean nothing to us. But the girls would dress up. And then the fellas, it was just a fun day. And it was May Day. It was the first Friday of May. That was May Day. Katelyn Lough 15:04 So to your knowledge did May Day.... Did that happen at every other school? Or was it just at Simms? Billo Harper 15:12 Just Simms, as far as we know. Oh! The other Black schools. But I don't know if it happened at the white schools. I really don't know. Katelyn Lough 15:22 So.. Billo Harper 15:23 Uou have to understand. During Jim Crow and during Newtown. Where the Blacks live. That's what Newtown meant, where the Blacks live. You have Newtown and other cities around America. And it was referred to as... y'all do your own research to see what--any other history in the context of Newtown. But Newtown was where the Blacks lived. That's where we lived in Harrisonburg. So sometimes we didn't know what was going on over by JMU or where Harrisonburg High is now. We just knew Newtown. Downtown was the divider for our community. Katelyn Lough 16:08 So... Billo Harper 16:09 Sometimes we didn't go past Main Street. Katelyn Lough 16:14 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 10 �Okay. And because it was... It felt... divided that way. Did it ever feel suffocating? Or with that community...? Billo Harper 16:27 No, no, no! You didn't feel it. Now, you understood Jim Crow. I mean, the reality of the Virginia Theater that was downtown. As Blacks, we had to sit up in the balcony. So we would go to the movie and just go up to the balcony and watch the movie. We didn't think about "Oh, wow, we want to sit downstairs." Because many times our friends, some of our white friends, that we would meet over the years, they would--we would open the door and they would sneak in upstairs and watch the movie in the balcony with us. Katelyn Lough 17:00 Oh okay. How often did you see movies with your friends? Billo Harper 17:07 Well, when a movie will come out, I mean, remember, and this is... It's horrible. All the movies that would come out would be like Tarzan and Jane. You know, we got tired of Tarzan. Like he's a white man that can control animals. I mean... Oh, that's horrible. That's a whole other conversation. Let's stick to the script. Katelyn Lough 17:30 Okay, okay. So your friendships and relationships at Simms? Did you have a few really close friends? Or did you have a whole group of friends? Was it your whole family? Billo Harper 17:44 Um, we had a lot of friends. Because you live together in a community. I would... The question is...? Ask me the question again. Katelyn Lough 18:11 So can you recall your friendships or relationships that you made during your time at the Simms School? Billo Harper 18:20 Okay, me and my best friends... Because I had numerous best friends. We had wonderful and challenging experiences growing up Black during Jim Crow, with his functional, confrontational reality of that law and the way people's attitudes about it. But for us, we weren't walking around worried, oh, day in and day out about Jim Crow... Our adult parents may have been. The community was beautiful. We had gardens and I mean, we just loved-- We loved the Northeast, we loved Newtown. I mean, Newtown... My mother [Doris Harper Allen]. She has a book coming out about Jim Crow. But once in her earlier book, "The Way It Was, Not the Way It Is," she says in her life, she came up in the '30s and '40s. And she says, "We were poor. We had fun, but we didn't know it." And that was really interesting. And I use that and refer to that because you know, we can get all into what is poor. What is poverty? You know, depends on how you want to frame it. But in terms of our adolescent experience, Katelyn and Logan. We just lived and had a [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 11 �lot of fun and a lot of experiences as friends and we just, you know, we kind of kept it... We kind of kept it moving. And we love Newtown. Katelyn Lough 19:58 Great, that's good to hear. So, what kind of things did you and your friends do after school? You mentioned the movies and you mentioned basketball. But other than that? Billo Harper 20:11 Many of us worked around the house because you always had chores. Katelyn Lough 20:15 Yeah. Billo Harper 20:16 And you got community jobs, you had gardens. And then I was one of the first Black paper route boys in Harrisonburg. I delivered the Daily News Record. Katelyn Lough 20:29 Oh, wow. Billo Harper 20:30 I had to get up at about 4:30 in the morning, and my mother would take me to Daily News Record. And then I would get my papers, and I'd deliver papers. Katelyn Lough 20:42 So did you do this...? How long did you do this for? Throughout high school? Billo Harper 20:46 About four years. I think three or four. But then, that's a whole other story. In terms of being a paperboy, and then deciding that you don't feel like getting up. Then all of a sudden, you're thinking about girls and all of that. A whole lot of other stuff [laughs]. Sometimes, you know, you tired. You played basketball, football. So you don't want to get up. Katelyn Lough 21:14 Of course. Billo Harper 21:15 Yeah. Katelyn Lough 21:17 So you said that you had this newspaper job. But did you have any other jobs growing up as a teenager in Newtown? Billo Harper 21:27 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 12 �Yes, I had a job. I used to go door to door with Sears and Roebucks. And people would order it. And then they would get the products delivered to their house and then I'd make money. And then I had one of my friends be my assistant. Katelyn Lough 21:39 Oh, okay. Billo Harper 21:43 I've been an entrepreneur all my life because of my family. I come from three generations of business owners. Dylan Logan 21:48 Wow. Billo Harper 21:50 Business, I've never known a time when my family didn't own and operate their own business. Katelyn Lough 21:56 So this is, you would say your passion? It's not... You didn't feel forced into business at all? Billo Harper 22:05 No, it's a lifestyle. Katelyn Lough 22:07 Yeah, Billo Harper 22:08 Business was my lifestyle. Yeah, my grandfather's, my grandmother's. Everybody owned and operated their own businesses in Newtown. And they were destroyed by urban renewal. That's a whole other conversation. Let's stick to the script. I'm getting five minutes, and then I'm gonna have to head out. Katelyn Lough 22:33 All right. So what were some of the activities in the community that were available to you? Billo Harper 22:42 In terms of activities, church. Church. What happens at the church was real significant. And in the summer, we would have... I'm not recalling the name... Oh, lawn parties. We had lawn parties, and you'd play games. And lawn parties, I would say were similar like to a circus. Because, you know, the craftsmen of the community would build all kinds of playing objects for games. And then also, we had back in the day, we had a group that came to Harrisonburg from Louisiana. And what was their name... They were called... I can't think of it. I'll think of their name before it's over, or I'll mail it to you. But they used to come from New New Orleans and they would set up a tent over by Washington Street. And they would have dancers and that was [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 13 �like a summer program that would come to the community and they would be there for like a week in the summer. Also, we used to have we used to have our own Black baseball team that would play every Sunday. And that was like a...like a festival. Because, you know, they was playing baseball. So there was picnics. There was car shows because there was a lot mechanics always fixing cars. So they showing off the cars on Sunday. And the baseball games were right there at Lucy F. Simms. Right there on the baseball field. Katelyn Lough 24:39 Wow. Billo Harper 24:40 It was always kind of like I say, we stayed among ourselves. Katelyn Lough 24:48 It sounds like you had a lot of fun. Billo Harper 24:50 Yeah. And it was okay. I mean, there are certain challenges within a family that happen and you have to deal with it. Some of our parents went to war. And so different things happen. And it would test your family. So, you know, life is... Life is beautiful, but sometimes life isn't fair. Katelyn Lough 25:11 Of course. So as we get to kind of the closing of the interview, are there any other stories or memories that you would like to share? Billo Harper 25:24 Um well, you had a question here. Did you finish your questions about why we moved? There was a question. Katelyn Lough 25:36 There was, but I want to respect your time, sir. Billo Harper 25:39 No, but I want to finish up. I'm going to hold for another 5-10 minutes. So we can finish your questions. What's the other question? Katelyn Lough 25:48 So, I was going to ask. When did you move away from Harrisonburg and why did you move? Billo Harper 25:56 I moved 1970. And we moved to Huntington, West Virginia. And my mother got married. She remarried. Her second marriage. But she wanted to get us out of Newtown. She wanted to get us somewhere that was more progressive. Because she felt that there was communities happening somewhere else. And in Huntington, West Virginia. They were very progressive. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 14 �They had all kinds of really unique, innovative community businesses, housing developments, and she wanted us to be around this. So when my brother and we moved to to Huntington, my brother, so he got there, he was 18. He had graduated from Harrisburg High. He got a job driving a van for this church selling fish sandwiches. Yeah, so she wanted to get us in a more progressive life. So this was 1970. Katelyn Lough 26:50 Okay, and if you could give any advice to your high school self, what would it be? Billo Harper 26:58 Did we miss one of the other questions? Katelyn Lough 27:01 I don't believe so. Billo Harper 27:03 Okay. All right. If you could give advice to your high school self? Why did you move? Okay, I answered that... To my high school self... Wow, you got me on that one. You know, I saw that one earlier. Katelyn Lough 27:23 Take your time. Billo Harper 27:24 Yes, Logan, Katelyn. Let me tell you. I thought about this earlier, I saw the question, my staff is telling me, I missed it. If I could give it, I would say to myself... I would be saying, If I could have asked Mr. Hedgley if I can sweep his floor after class, and carry his bags to the car every day. That would have been just phenomenal for me to say that, Mr. Hedgley... That I swept the floor of Mr. Hedgley for three or four months. And then I'd take his books to his car. And now he's known as a father of computer graphics that we use every day. That would... That's what I would have told myself. Because I was old enough, because I had to clean at home. But when you saw me at 10 years old be a manager. So you know, I could do things. Katelyn Lough 28:28 That's great. Billo Harper 28:29 And I was disciplined. Because my mother... My mother and father and grandmother and grandfather, all of them... They had their own businesses. They didn't tolerate nothing but respect and discipline. So, I came up in that world [laughs]. Oh, and also I love being around geniuses. Dr. Hedgley was a genius. And he still is today. Katelyn Lough 28:55 Of course, of course. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 15 �Billo Harper 28:57 And he still is at 86. Katelyn Lough 29:00 If you could give advice to high schoolers now, like Logan and I, what would it be? Billo Harper 29:07 Be open to learning from your teachers who care about you. Katelyn Lough 29:13 Yes, sir. Billo Harper 29:14 However, be serious about completion of assignments before they are due. Katelyn Lough 29:21 Yes, sir. Billo Harper 29:22 Don't be waiting. Hey, don't be waiting on the due date. Finish it. Have it ready. That's what I would recommend. Katelyn Lough 29:33 That's great advice for us. Thank you so much. Billo Harper 29:36 Hey, you're most welcome. Y'all take care. And I look forward to... Let me treat both of you to lunch one day in Harrisonburg. I'm up all the time. And I love to treat both of you to lunch. We can go to lunch in Dayton at one of your favorite places. Katelyn Lough 29:52 I live in Dayton. Billo Harper 29:53 I love Dayton. In 1970, the summer of 1970, I was a junior at Harrisburg High. I did it. I worked as a research assistant at Bridgewater College for the Department of Psychology. Katelyn Lough 30:14 Wow. Dylan Logan 30:15 Wow. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 16 �Billo Harper 30:16 I got--Hey! I got $750 for the summer for working two months. And I did research on the hooded rat. And I was the only one in the lab. And I would give them these little pills. And when we meet and have lunch, I'll tell you more about it. But I would give them these little pills and it was... The research project was studying the non-prescription and prescription drugs. And I did these on a hooded rat for two and a half months. From June and July. And in August, I was on a U-haul, going to Huntington, West Virginia. Katelyn Lough 31:05 Wow. Billo Harper 31:06 All right, y'all take care? Katelyn Lough 31:08 Well, before you go, I'd like to say thank you so much for meeting with us. And I wanted to reiterate what Mr. Van Schaick said before. James Madison University will transcribe our audio and then send it to you so you can get final approval. And then also, they will send you a consent form which you'll sign and send back to us. And once we get your final approval, it'll be up on the Simms website, and you'll be a real part of history that people can listen to, can go on that website and learn more about you and your story. So thank you so much. Billo Harper 31:47 The other thing that I want to be critical of in the consent form have them put my statement about the video piece, of course. Katelyn Lough 31:55 And we will make sure to add that. Billo Harper 32:01 And I didn't tell you, you know other things that I used to do. I used to... I used to ride and take care of horses. Dylan Logan 32:08 Wow. Katelyn Lough 32:09 Wow. Billo Harper 32:10 Yeah. Yeah, I was. I was a groomer for horses. But anyway. I got to head out. And it was really nice meeting you. Katelyn Lough 32:19 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 17 �It was nice meeting you too. Billo Harper 32:20 Yes. Oh, where's Tim at? Is Tim still sitting by you? Katelyn Lough 32:24 He is not in the room with us right now. Would you like me to call for him? Or do you need to leave right now? Billo Harper 32:30 I need to leave but I just want to thank him. Katelyn Lough 32:33 Of course we can pass on the message. Billo Harper 32:35 Okay. And then where's Jennifer? Katelyn Lough 32:38 She's also... She's in the building but not in the room. Billo Harper 32:41 Tell Jennifer, thank you very much. And y'all were exceptional. Katelyn Lough 32:45 Thank you so much. And what is your plan after school and high school? So I want I'm going to Bridgewater College. It's supposed to be a secret right now. But I figured I'd share that with you. I'm going to Bridgewater College. Billo Harper 32:58 Awww! Congratulations. I want to introduce you to my wife, Dr. Harper, who has a new program in the city and she's looking for young leaders like you and Logan. Katelyn Lough 33:09 Oh, wow. That'd be amazing. Dylan Logan 33:11 Yeah. Billo Harper 33:11 She has a program now nonprofit program in downtown Harrisonburg. You can both Google: "Faces For Change." Dylan Logan 33:20 [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 18 �I think I might have heard of that before, actually. Billo Harper 33:22 Yeah, Google it, take a look at it. And if you're interested, reach out, send her an email and say, 'I met Mr. Billo and he told me to reach out to you. I'd be very interested to know more about what you do.' Katelyn Lough 33:35 Thank you so much for letting us know. Billo Harper 33:39 Alright. Hey, listen, y'all take care now. Katelyn Lough 33:42 You too Mr. Harper. Dylan Logan 33:44 Have a nice day. Billo Harper 33:46 Bye. Katelyn Lough 33:46 Bye bye. Billo Harper 33:47 Okay. All right. Are we done over here? What else we got to do? Okay, let me get off. I don't take them off. Okay. [Billo Harper – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 19 � 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 Interview with Billo Harper https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Simms School Oral Histories/Interview_with_Sam_Ewell_and_Elizabeth_Rohrer.docx.pdf c8d291d006969dff43d90259d06d881c PDF Text Text Interview with Sam Ewell and Elizabeth Rohrer Lucy F. Simms School Oral History Project Interview status: Open to the Public Name of interviewee: Sam Ewell and Elizabeth Rohrer Name of interviewers: Brody Sigman, Sierra Flowers Date of interview: Jan 20, 2023 Duration of interview: 00:52:16 Place of interview: Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center Language of interview: English Interview with Elizabeth Rohrer and Sam Ewell Brody Sigman 00:00 And then I will ask if it's alright if I record this interview? Elizabeth Rohrer 00:05 Yes, of course. Sam Ewell 00:06 Yes. Brody Sigman 00:07 Thank you very much. All right. This is January 20 [2023]. It's a Friday, we are at the Lucy Simms Center and we are interviewing Mr. Sam Ewell and his sister, Mrs. Rohrer, Ms. Ewell as well. So... And the interviewers will be Brody Sigman and [speaking simultaneously] Sierra Flowers. Sierra Flowers 00:26 [speaking simultaneously] Sierra Flowers. Brody Sigman 00:28 Alright, let's get started. Sam Ewell 00:30 Okay. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 1 �Brody Sigman 00:31 So, first thing that we'd like to ask you is just how it is being back at the Simms Center. I'm sure it's been--it might have been a while since you've been here. Sam Ewell 00:39 It's been a few years. Brody Sigman 00:40 Yeah. Sam Ewell 00:40 No but I was here a couple of years ago. Maybe there was a dance or, last time I was here, there was a dance on. You know. Brody Sigman 00:50 That's fun. Dances are fun. Sam Ewell 00:51 I've seen it, you know, just redone. So they've done a marvelous job. Brody Sigman 00:56 Is there anything that really rings any bells? Brings back some good memories? Sam Ewell 01:01 Well, the auditorium. That's where we had our school meetings and et cetera, et cetera. So, I remember that. Remember that well. Elizabeth Rohrer 01:12 The auditorium was also our gym. Sam Ewell 01:14 That's right. Elizabeth Rohrer 01:15 I do remember that. That the boys played their basketball games, of course on the gym floor. And then we would come to watch the game, we actually set up on the stage to watch the games. Brody Sigman 01:30 Did either of you participate in anything that you would be involved in in the gym and auditorium there? [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 2 �Sam Ewell 01:36 Too young. Elizabeth Rohrer 01:37 Too young. Sam Ewell 01:38 Yeah, because I was here for the... I was here with third, fourth and fifth grade. So, you know... Elizabeth Rohrer 01:44 And I was here for first, second, and third grade. Brody Sigman 01:48 Right. So fairly young, but I'm sure... Sam Ewell 01:51 I still remember. Absolutely. Because I was here. I was here on the day that Kennedy was shot. I remember that exclusively. We called school out around one o'clock because of the news. Brody Sigman 02:05 Did you guys have like a TV in your classroom then, or? Sam Ewell 02:08 No, no. [laughs] Elizabeth Rohrer 02:15 Although, we did have a television in our home, and that wasn't... That was somewhat rare for African Americans to have a television. So I do remember watching it at home. Brody Sigman 02:28 Watching what? Elizabeth Rohrer 02:29 Watching... You know, the news of it. You know, for the rest of the day, there wasn't any other regular programming, you know? So it was all the news about what was happening. Sam Ewell 02:43 Because they dismissed class that day, awfully early. Of course, we were upset. Obviously. I was. Elizabeth Rohrer 02:52 I was, but I think I was ignorant of the political world. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 3 �Sam Ewell 02:57 Well, yeah, you were what, second grade? Something like that. Brody Sigman 02:59 Pretty young, so... Well, I mean, you guys did say you were here pretty young. But that does mean that you went to some other schools during your school life. So, how does the Simms school compare to those? Sam Ewell 03:18 On a scale of one to five? For Simms, I give them a five. Brody Sigman 03:21 Oh, yeah. Sam Ewell 03:22 Because of professionalism, the principals, the teachers... It was just a cut above. That's what I remember. Because after I left here, I went to Parkview Elementary, in Parkview and it wasn't bad or anything, but you know, just Simms was... Simms was unique and very professional. Matter of fact, the principal, he was very involved. He would stop, ask you questions, quiz you. The principal! I guess that's unheard of today isn't it? Yeah, just... And I guess it also helped that our father and the principal were friends. So he kind of took, he took I guess a little special interest in us. Which, you know, I appreciated. Brody Sigman 04:22 Was the principal at the time Mr. Harris or? Elizabeth Rohrer 04:24 Mr. Giles. Sam Ewell 04:26 Mr. Giles. Leslie H. Giles. In the time I was here. Elizabeth Rohrer 04:33 I have a funny story about Mr. Giles, outside of school. We were visiting in the home where he stayed and his home had a porch swing. And so on this porch swing, I remember sitting with Mr. Giles, and sitting right next to him, and there were two other siblings on this porch swing. We were just swinging along, and the side of the chain breaks. That was just a very comical thing. Sam Ewell 05:11 No one was injured, right? Elizabeth Rohrer 05:12 No one was injured. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 4 �Sam Ewell 05:13 All right, mmm hmm... So, you know, the memories... The teachers, they were involved. They were... We only... our class sizes was maybe 15? 20? So relatively small classes but the teachers... And we had we had one teacher, Miss Arrington, she was known for her ruler, and you got out of line, you got smacked. You know, she'd smack you across the knuckles. Didn't matter, you know, male, female, you know if you... But everybody, everybody knew it, going into the situation. So she had some things in order. I guess that'd be cruelty today wouldn't it? [laughs] Brody Sigman 06:04 Just a little rough parenting, you know. Sam Ewell 06:09 Just across the knuckles. It'd make you think about it [laughs]. Elizabeth Rohrer 06:15 I was in the second grade in this classroom. So I did have Mrs. Fairfax. Sam Ewell 06:21 This was second grade, wasn't it? [speaking simultaneously] Yes. [speaking simultaneously] Right. Elizabeth Rohrer 06:26 And, you know, I don't really have much memory of... You know, of course we had our individual desk. I think we had individual desks in here. And... yeah. Sam Ewell 06:42 [speaking simultaneously] We did. They were old and beaten up and just marked up, and well, of course, you know we got our school equipment from Harrisonburg High. Elizabeth Rohrer 06:53 Leftovers. Sam Ewell 06:54 Leftovers. Well after they were through with it, they'd pass it down to us. That's what we had to work with--books and everything. Books were are all written into. But hey, it is what it is. But, we flourished. So... Even with ill equipment. So, but that's I guess that's a tribute to the teachers. And adversity. Brody Sigman 07:24 Speaking of teachers, Mrs. Rohrer and Mr. Ewell. But you seem to have fonder memories of the classroom or at least more vivid ones. Did you happen to be educated by Ms. Awkard in this classroom? [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 5 �Elizabeth Rohrer 07:40 It was Mrs. Fairfax in this classroom and-Brody Sigman 07:43 I'm sorry. Elizabeth Rohrer 07:44 No, it's okay. And I guess-Sam Ewell 07:47 I had Ms. Awkard. No, I had Ms. Eubanks. Elizabeth Rohrer 07:50 She was fourth grade, Ms. Awkard was all, was fourth... Oh no [speaking simultaneously], she was second. Sam Ewell 07:53 [speaking simultaneously] Miss Arrington was fourth grade. Elizabeth Rohrer 07:55 Arrington was fourth grade. Sam Ewell 07:56 And Ms. Eubanks was fifth. Elizabeth Rohrer 07:58 Ok, I don't remember the third grade... Sam Ewell 08:00 Ms. Bates, Ms. Bates was third grade. Elizabeth Rohrer 08:02 Ok, so that was third grade. And another memory that I had was going down to the cafeteria that was in the downstairs area. And I remember lunch was 25 cents and I always had to make a big decision. I can either buy the full lunch for 25 cents, or I can get the hot dog and the ice cream sandwich and water. So, I always did like hot dogs and I still like hot dogs today. So it was always a toss up. But the lunches were, you know, full-course, they were a very well-balanced meal. I do remember that. Sam Ewell 08:08 Mmm hmm. Good food. [speaking simultaneously] Elizabeth Rohrer 08:20 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 6 �[speaking simultaneously] And the big trays. Sam Ewell 08:34 Very good food. It was very good food. Elizabeth Rohrer 08:54 And then the school that we went to after this. It was a three-room school, from first grade to sixth grade. Sam Ewell 09:03 Oh Parkview? Elizabeth Rohrer 09:04 Yeah. And we did thatSam Ewell 09:04 [speaking simultaneously] They didn't have a cafeteria. Elizabeth Rohrer 09:06 We did not have a cafeteria. Sam Ewell 09:08 We were expecting a cafeteria. Uh-uh. You had to pack your lunch. Elizabeth Rohrer 09:08 We had to pack a lunch. So that was a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. [laughs] Sam Ewell 09:16 And potted meat. Who likes potted meat? Elizabeth Rohrer 09:21 They don't even know what potted meat is. Sam Ewell 09:23 You don't know what potted meat is? Elizabeth Rohrer 09:24 That's a good thing. [speaking simultaneously] It's bad stuff. Sam Ewell 09:27 [speaking simultaneously] It's a gourmet dish. It's gourmet. If you're a bum. [laughing] Yes, next. Sierra Flowers 09:44 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 7 �Speaking a little bit back to talking about the underfunding of the school. Did it really affect you guys as a kid having to understand very quickly what you were at odds with? Elizabeth Rohrer 10:02 I don't believe I had any knowledge of that. But again, I'm six, seven and eight years old. Sam Ewell 10:09 Yeah. What was the question? Sierra Flowers 10:11 Did segregation bother you as a kid, and knowing the underfunding of the school? Sam Ewell 10:20 Well, matter of fact, we just accepted it because we had no other option. Either you accept it or you don't go to school. So we, you know, being in elementary, didn't like it. Because, well, we came from Farmville and we... I went to first and second grade in a one room school. And they had all 12 grades in that one room, with an outside john. In Farmville. [laughing] So Simms was actually a step up for me. Elizabeth Rohrer 11:03 Yeah, actually, yeah. Sam Ewell 11:04 It was. Elizabeth Rohrer 11:05 Quite a bit [laughs]. Sam Ewell 11:05 It was more and more or less a modern facility because the school in Farmville was, you want to talk unequal? Good God. Potbelly stove, windows were leaking in air. And roof leaking, and just... Just it was destituted. Old building. We have 12 grades in one room. But we persevered, because we had no other option. Elizabeth Rohrer 11:38 Now, I think I remember that. I never went to that school. But I do remember the building. It had steps and we would kind of walk up to it. And the building was supported by stone columns, you know? Sam Ewell 11:54 Yeah. Elizabeth Rohrer 11:55 Brick, well not bricks, but they were... [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 8 �Sam Ewell 11:56 [speaking simultaneously] The building was dilapidated. Elizabeth Rohrer 11:58 [speaking simultaneously] Uneven, a stack of stones, you know, in the four corners? Sam Ewell 12:02 Totally dilapidated. Elizabeth Rohrer 12:03 I remember that. Because you could... [speaking simultaneously] Yeah, you know [unclear] [speaking simultaneously] Yeah, you could actually go, you could look under the school... Quite a bit. And I used to go to meet them when they got out of school. Sam Ewell 12:17 And of course when you had to go to the bathroom, you had to go outside. And hopefully there's no line. Elizabeth Rohrer 12:25 Or snakes. [laughing] Sam Ewell 12:27 Or snakes. [laughing] You all just don't know. Just don't know. Elizabeth Rohrer 12:37 But back to Simms... Brody Sigman 12:40 Yeah. On the note of Simms, I know there's a big sense of community here. I definitely get that when I come to the school, when I hear from you guys, I can tell-Sam Ewell 12:48 Oh, absolutely. Brody Sigman 12:49 Lots of community here. And I'm curious about how you were able to feel that sort of in the area around Simms, in the town where you live nearby... Sam Ewell 12:59 Well we lived right up the hill here. In the projects, for three or four years or so. So we, you know, we were definitely part of the community. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 9 �Elizabeth Rohrer 13:10 And we would have walked to school-Sam Ewell 13:11 Oh yeah, we definitely walked. By the old swimming pool. Brody Sigman 13:16 Harris Pool, I think it was called, right? Sam Ewell 13:18 Yeah, Harris Pool. That's correct. That's correct. That's right. That's right. I remember when it was built. Brody Sigman 13:23 Do you have fond memories of that place? Sam Ewell 13:25 I do. I learned how to swim there in Harris Pool. Elizabeth Rohrer 13:27 I learned how to swim in that pool as well. Sam Ewell 13:30 Right because the lifeguard, the lifeguard threw me in. [laughing] He was a good friend of the family, but he threw me in so I didn't have much of a choice--on the deep end too. So I was scrambling. I learned how to swim though. [laughing] See fond memories, fond memories, yeah. Elizabeth Rohrer 13:55 I remember the highlight of my day, every year here would have been May Day, because it was the event of... the music and wrapping the May pole and... Sam Ewell 14:10 [speaking simultaneously] Warm May, and the weather was warm, after coming through a harsh winter... Elizabeth Rohrer 14:14 [speaking simultaneously] And so May Day was a very wonderful [unclear]Sam Ewell 14:17 And the whole school participated. The whole school participated. Never any violence, dysfunction, none of that. It was amazing. School was amazing. Brody Sigman 14:37 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 10 �And I know the May Day tradition was carried to a couple other schools by some of the teachers from the Simms Center. Elizabeth Rohrer 14:44 Okay. Brody Sigman 14:45 I don't know that either of you ended up going to any of those schools, but it is still carried out today at some elementary schools and... Yeah. Elizabeth Rohrer 14:53 Good, good. Sam Ewell 14:53 Where they wrapped the May pole? Yeah. That was deep. Never did understand what May Day was about. [laughing] It was a day out of school, that was all I cared about. [laughing] Elizabeth Rohrer 14:56 But I'm pretty sure the teachers probably told us what it was about. But we were there [speaking simultaneously] for the song and the dance. Sam Ewell 15:19 [speaking simultaneously] I wasn't paying attention. I wanted to go outside [laughing]. Brody Sigman 15:30 If you'd like to ask a question Sierra... Sierra Flowers 15:32 Yeah, I was trying to... Ok, walking into the Simms Center, which was the old Simms School, I know that there wasn't a lot saved. Like, reserved, a lot of it is modified and a little bit more modern, like the projectors and everything. Do you think that it takes away some of the memories? Or do you still remember how the school was even after all of the modifications? Sam Ewell 16:12 Oh, I do. Elizabeth Rohrer 16:13 Oh, yeah, I do. Sam Ewell 16:14 Absolutely. Well, third, fourth, and fifth, that's three years. So I have fond memories, you know. I remember exactly how it was. And of course, upstairs was high school. Down here was Elementary. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 11 �Elizabeth Rohrer 16:29 Which I never would... never had the nerve to walk up those steps. Sam Ewell 16:33 We weren't allowed upstairs either. If the principal called you going upstairs? Uh uh. You in trouble. Elizabeth Rohrer 16:41 Speaking of going upstairs, I do remember one of the things that I had looked forward to, is that it's, and I don't know if I made this rule myself, or if it was reality, but I remember for first, second, and third, I always walked into the building from the back of the building. And I had made it-Sam Ewell 17:06 From back there right? Elizabeth Rohrer 17:07 From back there yeah. And I had made it my goal that when I was coming from fourth grade, I was gonna walk up those front steps. And in my mind, they were a lot of big tall steps. And I was looking forward to walking into the front of the doors. Sam Ewell 17:27 Didn't make a difference to me, front or back. Generally came from the back, because we lived back that way, so we had to walk down to the school. Sierra Flowers 17:43 While, researching about the Lucy Simms community, we read a lot about how it was the only school that was available for black Americans in Virginia. And there was also a lot of students who came from all around like West Virginia. And just like, like really far places from here just to go to this school. Did you guys know about that? Sam Ewell 18:15 Yes. We knew a family called the Moats. They lived in Moatstown in West Virginia. But that was, eventually they got their own school. So you know, I remember I'm vaguely remember some students from West Virginia. But they weren't here [unclear]. When I was here they, I vaguely remember, but you know, they weren't really. Because they built a school over Moatstown in that area there, so obviously they had to come across the mountain. But can you imagine having to come from Moatstown, West Virginia to come to school every day? Man. What do, if you want an education, what you gonna do? You can't go to school five miles away. Brody Sigman 19:07 Gotta travel. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 12 �Sam Ewell 19:09 You gotta go where the education is. Things have definitely changed, a little. [laughing] Sierra Flowers 19:19 Do you think that there was anything that you were taught or anything big from your experience as a kid in the school that influenced your adult life? Sam Ewell 19:34 They taught us manners. Big on that. Yeah. And respect. You know respect for [speaking simultaneously]. [speaking simultaneously] And respect. That's right, respect for teachers. I don't know what's going on in high school today but I'm willing to bet is not as intensified as it was back then as far as manners and respect, etc. etc. Because, you know, it was Mr. Giles, it was always Mr. or Mrs. And we never really, with the teachers, we never really mingled. They were over here we were over here. And no one, you know, didn't cross that line. You stay in your place. Absolutely. Because if you didn't you had to go home. And then when you were home you're in trouble. They used to call or whatever get word back to your parents that after the day, whatever, you know. And of course, you would suffer the consequences when you get home. Well we never misbehaved, did we? . No. Well, especially not me. But now, hey. We called her super B. Elizabeth Rohrer 20:54 One unspoken rule, or maybe it was spoken, is that the authority, that teachers had authority. Sam Ewell 21:01 Absolutely. Elizabeth Rohrer 21:02 And our parents, the parents always supported that authority. Sam Ewell 21:09 100%. 120%. Well, our father taught here for some years, so. And of course, they knew us, so the teachers all... We were... Our parents were friends with the teachers. They socialized together and stuff, so... Elizabeth Rohrer 21:30 You could never get away with any of that. Sam Ewell 21:34 Right, we had... beeline right to father. Elizabeth Rohrer 21:38 No. Mother. Sam Ewell 21:39 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 13 �Mother, well, we... You didn't want to go that far. [laughing] Elizabeth Rohrer 21:44 Mom was the disciplinarian. Sam Ewell 21:48 She hit you in your face. And anyway, you learn a lot. Brody Sigman 21:54 Would you say that connection between your father and the teachers was one of the biggest impacts of having him also teach here? Sam Ewell 22:02 Well, we used to go to teachers' homes. You know, when they visit, we would, they would they would pull some of us along with us. And of course, you know, you stay in his room while they conversed over here. And you stay put too. You sit in the chair and that's it don't move. Until you're gotten. Elizabeth Rohrer 22:27 Now, in our family, there would have been six of us kids, you know, so we certainly knew how to entertain ourselves quietly. We would not go interrupt the parents, or interrupt the adults. Sam Ewell 22:46 And plus, we were actually, we came to Simms, then we went to Parkview, making new friends, then we went to John Wayland and John C. Meyer and making even more friends, and went on to High School. So we were... I guess we were used to transitions. [laughing] Elizabeth Rohrer 23:10 [laughing] Living our life. Sam Ewell 23:14 Yeah. Smooth transitions. Elizabeth Rohrer 23:18 Yeah. Sam Ewell 23:19 That was a smooth transition. Sierra Flowers 23:23 Speaking of transitioning, when you had to move schools, how as a brother, did you notice the effects of moving schools had on Mrs. Rohrer? [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 14 �Elizabeth Rohrer 23:38 Hmm, that's a good question. Sam Ewell 23:44 Hmm, what kind of effect did it have on us? Elizabeth Rohrer 23:47 Well, you know, our experience going to a different school. We went from Simms, which was a very large school. And then of course, we went to a school that was just a three room school. And also one of the differences is that when when we left... We left Simms a year before segregation happened. And when we entered Park school, I don't remember that we knew we were going to a school with all white children. We were not told that. And I guess in our minds, it wasn't necessary to be told. Our parents were a part of a plan to help integrate schools in a peaceful way. You know. And I think the biggest difference, it wasn't the color of our skin, the biggest difference is that I came from a classroom of maybe 20 or 30 kids, and in the classroom there, there were six of us. And I was in the fourth and fifth... No, I was in the third and fourth grade, and a total of the third and fourth grade was probably 23 kids. Sam Ewell 25:22 What, in Park school? Elizabeth Rohrer 25:23 Yeah, and that was two classes. So, the major difference was just the size of the building and the size of the room, and no hot lunch. They did have the ice cream though. Sam Ewell 25:42 And also, there was never really a problem with us as far as Black and White. Never a problem. Smooth transition. I've never been involved in a fight in my life; not physically. So, all through school, never any fisticuffs. I was ready. [laughing] But anyway, I never had any problems, even in Broadway when I was the only Black student there. Out of 800 students. I never had any problems as far as any physical altercation, the whole four years. I came close, but then I thought, truly you're not going to win this. So, you know it's you against 800. No. The odds weren't good, so I kind of had to back up or whatever. I didn't back down, but I reasoned, I said, 'Hold it. You fight one, you might have to fight 30. Hmm... That's not good odds.' But anyway, I came to Broadway High School without any altercations whatsoever. Am I right there Beau? [speaking to Beau Dickenson] You wouldn't know that would you? Beau Dickerson 27:12 I don't have access to the records. Sam Ewell 27:15 You went to Broadway right? Beau Dickerson 27:17 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 15 �I did, yeah. Sam Ewell 27:17 Right. You're a Gobbler. Beau Dickerson 27:19 I am. Sam Ewell 27:20 You're a Gobbler, that's right. Elizabeth Rohrer 27:22 A decade later? Sam Ewell 27:27 You were there the 80s? 90s? Beau Dickerson 27:30 I graduated high school in '97. Sam Ewell 27:35 Oh, wow. Elizabeth Rohrer 27:35 '97? So that's two decades. [laughing] Sam Ewell 27:37 I graduated '71, so... Beau Dickerson 27:41 I was the last year at the old Broadway High School. Sam Ewell 27:43 Yeah, I was at Broadway when they first installed lights on the football field matter of fact. That was a big deal. Because before then, we played Saturday afternoons. Now we went to Friday nights. Big deal, big deal, but anyway. Sierra Flowers 28:08 What was the average school day like for you guys, and what teachers did you spend the most time with? Elizabeth Rohrer 28:17 Okay now we're back at Simms? [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 16 �Brody Sigman 28:19 Here at the Simms Center, yeah. Sam Ewell 28:26 That's when I had Ms. Eubanks. Fifth grade. Well you know... Not anything extraordinary but just, you know, well the good thing was you got you got equal attention from your teachers. I did. I mean, the whole class got got equal attention, that I remember. Elizabeth Rohrer 28:52 I would remember that as the same. I would have been an extremely shy, quiet person. So, I never would have drawn attention to myself or asked for... Sam Ewell 29:05 We were taught not to draw attention to ourselves. Elizabeth Rohrer 29:12 So to answer your question, spending the most time, I would, I guess-Sam Ewell 29:18 I'd say it was Mrs. Eubanks, fifth grade. Elizabeth Rohrer 29:20 And I think for me, I didn't have any more time with any one teacher. Sam Ewell 29:24 Yeah, I was closest to her [Mrs. Eubanks] I know, of all the three teachers here. Brody Sigman 29:31 How about any specific memories from the Simms school, like any stories you'd just love to tell that are about this place, or something that might have been fun or funny that happened here? Sam Ewell 29:48 Whenever we walk down the hall, and we saw the principal, Mr. Giles, coming we all got to the side [laughing]. I remember that. And walked in a straight line, because he, I remember, he stuttered. He had a stutter. And if he pointed you out, or, what he would do, he would pull you to the side, and have you spell 'Philadelphia' [laughing] in front of your, you know... So the pressure was, you know, and of course, you know, 'sausage' or whatever... I remember that. So, that's one of the memories I have of here. I learned a lot too, so. And, like I said, this is a community school. Yeah. Very, very tight. Because, you know, our uncles went here. Our aunts went here. The teacher knew my uncles, aunts, mother, etc. etc. So very close knit. Elizabeth Rohrer 31:08 I remember learning to read, and the books, the little paperback, little flimsy books. It was-[Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 17 �Sam Ewell 31:17 Dick and Jane? Elizabeth Rohrer 31:18 See Dick go. See Sally run. See Timmy in the wagon [laughing]. But, I enjoyed learning to read. Sam Ewell 31:28 I guess, when I got here I could read, because I was third grade. So you, you got to experience the beginnings beginnings. Elizabeth Rohrer 31:43 See, there was one particular, one day that everyone else left for school on time and I was late. And then I had to walk by myself. And then, I knew that I was out of notebook paper. And I was supposed to go into my sister's second grade classroom to get some notebook paper from her. Well, I have mentioned that I was a very shy child, and so I walked partway to school. And then I stopped at the corner of where the swimming pool was, and I was just crying, and some neighbor woman called my mother. So mom came up to get me, she took me home. She spanked me with a bedroom slipper [laughing]. Sam Ewell 32:41 That's the only beating you ever got, wasn't it? Elizabeth Rohrer 32:44 I got two [laughing]. I remember that. That was a bad day. Sam Ewell 32:53 When we first got here we were at a disadvantage too, because we had lost a whole half a year of school, where we could not attend. So we got here, we started school in January. So January through the spring. The decision was made to hold us back a year, so we, they held us back a year so, so I had to repeat third grade. Did you repeat first grade? Elizabeth Rohrer 33:20 I had to have, but I have no really memory of first grade. Sam Ewell 33:26 I remember. Elizabeth Rohrer 33:26 This and then-Sam Ewell 33:28 Which I didn't mind because it didn't matter then. School was school. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 18 �Elizabeth Rohrer 33:32 Yeah. Some background. The reason we missed six months is because our family, we were in Farmville, Virginia and in 1959, of course, Farmville closed the schools. And, so that is why when we moved then back to Harrisonburg. And we missed all that time. Sam Ewell 33:56 And also our father taught at Robert C. Moulton. He was the vice principal. He lost his job. So we had to end up coming up here. Boom. So we lost like six months of schooling. But then again, there's some kids that when Farmville lost four or five years of school. Horrible, just horrible. Elizabeth Rohrer 34:27 And then, that being said, I would say that our parents handled the situation very, very well with us. They... We were never taught to have any resentment, any regrets. You know, it was just the way things happened, and then we just do the best we can, and move on. Sam Ewell 34:53 Roll with the punches. Sierra Flowers 34:59 How did being forced to move schools affect you and the attitudes of those around you? Elizabeth Rohrer 35:08 I guess for us we were not forced, it was a family decision. Well, it was our parent's decision, you know, for us to move and like I said, we were... Sam Ewell 35:19 We accepted it. Elizabeth Rohrer 35:20 We went... We were there a year earlier in 1964 when, for Simms, they were open until 1965. Brody Sigman 35:33 I've noticed you guys have both mentioned the pool in some of your stories. So, I just wonder if there's any other locations you remember like restaurants or maybe like, I believe there was a barber shop called Turner's or... Sam Ewell 35:46 Blakey's. Brody Sigman 35:46 Blakey's. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 19 �Sam Ewell 35:46 Blakey. Mr. Blakey, 25 cent a haircut. I remember that. The skin too. You know, back then you got, you know, a kid got out of the barber's chair. Elizabeth Rohrer 36:01 Looks familiar? It's just white now. Sam Ewell 36:03 I'm just saying. I wasn't asked how I wanted my hair cut. You sit in the chair, you got a buzz, that was it. 'I want a fade.' 'Uh-uh.' [laughing] Not then. But you know so, ladies barbershop. You used to be a customer, etc. etc. Elizabeth Rohrer 36:31 Because it was a Roses department store, which is still here, and there was a Safeway... Sam Ewell 36:36 W.T. Grant. Elizabeth Rohrer 36:38 Grocery store. W.T. Grant? Sam Ewell 36:41 Which is Roses now. It opened as a W.T. Grant. Elizabeth Rohrer 36:45 Really? Really. Mmm hmm. Okay. Sam Ewell 36:50 Of course, W.T. Grant's out of business, but hey, that's what it opened as. And that was a big deal too. It was right, right below the section. Elizabeth Rohrer 37:02 Another location, I remember: Broad Street Mennonite Church. Which is on Broad Street. And that that was a church that was started, I believe, by Eastern Mennonite College as an outreach. And we would go there for Bible school. And... Sam Ewell 37:27 That's right. Vacation Bible School, exactly. Elizabeth Rohrer 37:29 And we had an aunt that lived right at, a great aunt that lived across the street. So I do remember that we would, at my great aunts house, she would get a watermelon, and we would [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 20 �take our slices of watermelon and sit on the church steps to eat and spit the watermelon seeds out. And why I remember that, who knows? Sam Ewell 37:51 And of course, during the 60s, we weren't, we didn't have the opportunity to go to a lot of restaurants because we weren't allowed, because of the segregation laws, etc. etc. So, and there weren't really a lot of Black restaurants? No. Not in Harrisonburg, no. Elizabeth Rohrer 38:07 I don't think we have any now. Sam Ewell 38:12 We ate home a lot, so. We had a Kenney Burger. Elizabeth Rohrer 38:14 We didn't go out. Oh, yes. [laughing] That's not school related [laughing]. But I'll tell you anyway. Brody Sigman 38:24 All right. Elizabeth Rohrer 38:25 As a teacher, dad got paid once a month, and so one of the most family fun things we would do would be to, so there's eight of us in a car, go to Kenney's Burgers and we would all get our drink, our french fry, and our hamburger. The hamburger was 15 cents a burger. Of course, we ate in the car because mom didn't let us get out. But, that was... Sam Ewell 38:53 That was a big night. Elizabeth Rohrer 38:54 Oh, yeah. Sam Ewell 38:54 Big night, big night. Elizabeth Rohrer 38:56 And they were big spenders. That night. Sam Ewell 39:02 Going back to when you mentioned the Mennonite school, how did... Was there any was there, like a culture shock of Mennonites versus the Simms school, or the community? I never attended the EMHS. I went to Broadway High. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 21 �Elizabeth Rohrer 39:29 No, I think she's talking about the elementary school. Sam Ewell 39:31 Oh, Parkview? Elizabeth Rohrer 39:33 Are you talking about Park school, the elementary school? Sam Ewell 39:35 No, it wasn't a culture shock, to me. Elizabeth Rohrer 39:40 Is that your question? Sierra Flowers 39:44 I thought you mentioned the Mennonites' school for... Sam Ewell 39:48 She went to EMHS too. Elizabeth Rohrer 39:49 I did go to the high school. So was there... There wasn't for me because I was a part of the--very very much a part of the Mennonite community from the time I was 10. You know, because we attended the church and we attended in the summer times...to go to Bible school. I think I probably went to every Bible school out there if time allowed. So, that was not--I was already immersed in that community. Brody Sigman 40:31 Would you say then, that the churches were a big center of community for the Black community in the Harrisonburg area? Or... Elizabeth Rohrer 40:39 No... Sam Ewell 40:40 Not the Mennonite church. Elizabeth Rohrer 40:41 No. That was a big center for our family because we actually moved into a Mennonite community. But, to answer your question about church, I do remember going to, when when we lived in this community, I remember going to AME... AME? African... [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 22 �Sam Ewell 41:06 Methodist Episcopal. Elizabeth Rohrer 41:07 Episcopal Church, on Kelly Street. And it had a potbelly [stove]-Sam Ewell 41:12 Remember Miss Stewart? Mr. Stewart's mother and Mr. Stewart? Yeah. Elizabeth Rohrer 41:17 [simultaneously] Yeah, that's right, they had the store. I would go and get my penny cookie. Oh, yeah. But the church. We would go to the church, and for Sunday school, and we didn't often stay for the worship service. But I do remember one time that we decided that we were going to stay for the worship service and that was a very... The adults got very, very emotional. They were literally standing up singing, dancing in the aisles, and my aunt did it too. I thought, what are they doing? But anyway, I remember that particular day. And so, then, the church was a part of the African American community. Yeah. Sam Ewell 42:12 Oh, that one? Yeah AME. Yeah, absolutely. Elizabeth Rohrer 42:14 It was. Sam Ewell 42:15 And Miss Stewart. Elizabeth Rohrer 42:16 Yeah. And then he had mentioned the grocery store. And we lived close enough to the grocery store that we would--we could walk. And... Sam Ewell 42:30 The only grocery store in the community. Elizabeth Rohrer 42:31 Yeah, and our... Sam Ewell 42:33 [simultaneously] or, convenience [store]. Elizabeth Rohrer 42:33 Our parents never gave us money to go to the store to buy the bubble gum and the cookies, but we always looked around the neighborhood and we picked up pop bottles, and you got two cents deposit for a pop bottle. So I'd get three bottles, and then go down and get my one penny [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 23 �cookie and I'd pay five cents for my chewing gum. That was my thing for the beginning of the weekend. So that I could chew gum all weekend. Brody Sigman 43:08 What was that store called? Elizabeth Rohrer 43:11 We called it Miss Lena's. Sam Ewell 43:12 [simultaneously] Miss Lena's. Elizabeth Rohrer 43:13 Miss Lena's store that was... Sam Ewell 43:14 Lena Stewart. Elizabeth Rohrer 43:16 And it was a situation where the store was in the front of a long house, and so... Sam Ewell 43:27 No, it was to the side of the house. Because the house was here, and then the store was over here. Elizabeth Rohrer 43:33 Yeah, and it was a long narrow store then. Sam Ewell 43:35 Well, it only had one aisle. Yeah, it had one aisle. Yeah, okay. You had the candy cases, etc, etc, and the pops and all that-Elizabeth Rohrer 43:44 And it seems like she just sold candy-Sam Ewell 43:48 She sold junk, that's basically what she sold [laughing], nothing but junk. Elizabeth Rohrer 43:53 You know I don't remember ever seeing food, but we wouldn't... Sam Ewell 43:55 Junk. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 24 �Elizabeth Rohrer 43:56 But we wouldn't have looked for food either. Sam Ewell 43:58 We weren't interested in food. Elizabeth Rohrer 44:01 But, I guess, and our mom, if we took the time to gather the pop bottles, she'd let us walk down to the store and buy what we wanted. Sam Ewell 44:15 It's your six cents. Elizabeth Rohrer 44:16 Yep. [laughing] Sam Ewell 44:20 What would six cents buy you now? Brody Sigman 44:22 Probably nothing. Elizabeth Rohrer 44:23 Nothing. I don't think you could get anything for six cents. By the way, I was born in 1954, so I'm not but so old. Sierra Flowers 44:35 Thinking about Harrisonburg as a kid to Harrisonburg now, how do you think the city has changed over the years? Sam Ewell 44:47 Two words. James Madison. Elizabeth Rohrer 44:53 Well, that's why the city has changed. Sam Ewell 44:56 Absolutely. That's the reason why they--the growth. Elizabeth Rohrer 45:01 I would say yes to that. But I would also say that our city has changed because we have churches that welcome immigrants. And immigrants just gives us so much flavor and so much [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 25 �diversity and so much good. And if we, you know, if we think about the foods that are available to us in this--and I consider has a small community--the different variety of foods that are available, it's just a wonderful thing. And that is a very good difference, and it's because of the--it's because of our attitude of accepting and welcoming immigrants. Sam Ewell 45:55 Right, because 70s--60s ,70s--Harrisonburg was not very inclusive. At all. But then the 80s, it opened up so immigrants... Farmville, Turkey plant... We had a lot immigrants through there, so you know, anyway. Things changed. Brody Sigman 46:19 What were maybe some of the first sights and smells you remember when you came to Harrisonburg? Sam Ewell 46:26 When I came to Harrisburg? Brody Sigman 46:28 Yeah, like when you were forced to move from the Farmville area, and you came up here towards the... Sam Ewell 46:34 Well we left country and came to country. [laughing] Brody Sigman 46:35 Yeah, I guess that's a good point. Sam Ewell 46:38 Farmville? Elizabeth Rohrer 46:39 No, but Harrisonburg was a bigger area. Sam Ewell 46:44 Well it's bigger than Farmville Elizabeth Rohrer 46:46 Harrisonburg's a bigger community. Sam Ewell 46:47 Not much. Any anyway, right. Well... Elizabeth Rohrer 46:52 [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 26 �Well, and I would say when we lived in Farmville, we were in, you know, of course, in a house. And we were--our neighbors were pretty far apart. And then moving to Harrisonburg... Sam Ewell 47:06 On River Road, right? Elizabeth Rohrer 47:07 Yeah, and we lived a couple places there. But then, and then coming to Harrisonburg, when we moved here, you know, we went into what, we called it the projects or the Federal Housing up on up on Lincoln Circle. But, an experience that is unique to Sam and I is when our family moved here, and we did not have... our homes not available. The federal housing was not available. And so we moved into a two room duplex house with my great aunt. Two bedroom. Two bedroom. So there's two bedrooms, living room in the front, and a kitchen in the back with a wood stove. Cook stove. I loved that cook stove. It did have a bathroom, an indoor bathroom. But, there was... in our family there were eight of us. And already at that house, my great aunt lived there, she had a bedroom, and in the other bedroom there were three uncles that live there. So then where we stayed for, I don't know, a couple of months? My memory isn't very good. It's kind of like we were camping out-Sam Ewell 48:50 Along with Anthony, Sherry. Wasn't very long. --the whole time. But, mom and dad slept in a chair and us six kids, we had a sofa that laid flat and us six kids slept on the sofa. Brody Sigman 48:54 Wow. Elizabeth Rohrer 48:54 You know Margaret talks about them being there but I think-Sam Ewell 48:57 They were there. Elizabeth Rohrer 48:58 You sure they weren't just visiting? Sam Ewell 48:59 No they lived there too, for a minute. It was like twenty people in that house, it was unbelievable. Elizabeth Rohrer 49:05 But you know, it's a time, people do what they have to do-Sam Ewell 49:10 Absolutely. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 27 �Elizabeth Rohrer 49:12 Family does what you have to do, to kind of hold each other until-Sam Ewell 49:17 And always orderly, very orderly. The whole situation was orderly. Elizabeth Rohrer 49:22 Oh, yeah. They wouldn't-Sam Ewell 49:23 No fighting. No arguing. None of that mess. Elizabeth Rohrer 49:24 They wouldn't let us fight with each other. Absolutely not. Sam Ewell 49:28 Iron fist. Elizabeth Rohrer 49:31 Well, we knew that there was a threat. You know, we talked about that, there was the threat of an iron fist, but it was never needed to use it, because we knew, you know, when mom would say, "Now, I did say stop." She doesn't have to tell you a second time because if you don't stop, she will smack you across the face and tell you, "Go over there and sit down." And you don't want that smack. So you know it just, we just, it never really would happen because-Sam Ewell 50:03 All it took was a look. Elizabeth Rohrer 50:05 Yes. [laughing] Sam Ewell 50:08 You knew when to stop. Anyway. Beau Dickerson 50:11 Mr. Longacre texted me that they're about to wrap up. So we, I don't know if this would be an opportunity to ask if there's anything that we failed to ask that you would you like to share? Sam Ewell 50:23 I think we pretty well covered it. As far as I-Elizabeth Rohrer 50:26 You all have asked very good questions. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 28 �Brody Sigman 50:28 Thank you very much. You've given awesome responses. It's been great to talk to you. Elizabeth Rohrer 50:32 We hope it is something useful. Sam Ewell 50:36 Childhood through high school. Then you get married, have kids and all that. So... [laughing] And grandchildren. Brody Sigman 50:51 I've got, yeah, I've got a grandma that's close to your age. And I was telling her about the visit yesterday. She was very excited to hear about it. So I'll be-Elizabeth Rohrer 51:00 Good. Brody Sigman 51:00 --sure to tell her. Sam Ewell 51:01 This is important. This is important. Brody Sigman 51:03 Yeah. Sierra Flowers 51:03 Did you think I was like, having firsthand experience from being at the Lucy Simms school? Did you think like, it would ever become this important time in history? Elizabeth Rohrer 51:17 Oh, no. Sam Ewell 51:18 No, not a time, it was just school. But you know, just, as time went on, you know, so... It's vital that this story gets out to people. Of Lucy Simms and the history etc. etc. Because we have some folks in government that's trying to squash it. As you all well know. Elizabeth Rohrer 51:43 Well, that being said, I would say that all of us, all of you, have important things in your life that happens. And you too have a story. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 29 �Sam Ewell 51:55 You got your whole life in front of you so, choose wisely. [laughing] Mmm hmm. Brody Sigman 52:05 With that, I think we'll call the interview to a close, we'll let Josh stop the recording and we'll just thank you for your time. Elizabeth Rohrer 52:14 You're certainly welcome. [Sam Ewell & Elizabeth Rohrer – Lucy F. Simms School Oral Histories] 30 � 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 Interview with Sam Ewell and Elizabeth Rohrer