The Girl from 21 Wakullah Street

By Rev. Diane Bradshaw

The Girl From 21 Wakullah Street is a memoir about the life of a family of six children with a single-parent mother living, loving, and making the best of their situation. Diane and her family grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts during the 30s and 40s which was Depression and War Time. Roxbury in the 30s was a poor neighborhood, but a happy one. There were many children to play with and people were happy with what they had. We never felt poor. We were just like everyone else in the neighborhood. The education system was outstanding. Parents made sure their children attended school and did their homework. The Truant Officer was very present if anyone tried to play hooky. We had a beautiful Park, Washington Park, and we played there every day. We played jumprope on the streets and had 15 kids playing with us, even some boys. If anyone had a disagreement, there was always someone to play with. We were part of a neighborhood and felt like we belonged. She and her family were very active in our church, The Salvation Army.

Things changed in the 40s because of the Second Great Migration. Many hundreds of Negroes were brought up from the south to live in Roxbury. They were promised housing and jobs in the nearby factories. We who were already in Roxbury fought against these newcomers. They were not welcome at all in our neighborhood and yet, here they were. All of a sudden, we were all living on a battleground. Why couldnt we have welcomed the newcomers? Im sure they were not happy about coming to Yankee Land. They left their whole lives behind to try to make a living for their families. All we who were already in Roxbury, including the negroes living there, did not welcome the newcomers and because of that, everything changed for the worse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481741651

Rev. Diane Bradshaw

This is the second book written by Rev. Diane Bradshaw. The first book, I Am Arnold, was about her as a caregiver for her retired military husband. He had Alzheimer’s Disease for the last five years of his life. Diane was able, with the help of the Veterans’ Administration, to care for him at their Transitional Care Unit, and for the last two years, at home. This new book, The Girl from 21 Wakullah Street is about Diane’s Family Life, with her five siblings and single-parent mother. Diane and her family lived in Roxbury, Massachusetts which at that time (the 30’s and 40’s) was a poor, hard-working, family neighborhood in a Boston suburb. Diane graduated from Roxbury Memorial High School for Girls in 1951. In 1954 she graduated with a certificate from Boston Clerical School. In later years Diane received a Bachelor of Science degree from Empire State College in New York and a Master of Divinity Degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. She has been an ordained minister for 45 years; first with The Salvation Army and finally with the United Methodist Church. Her appointment before she retired was in Pennellville, New York for eight years. After her retirement she joined Pennellville Church and is very active there.

Book preview

THE GIRL FROM 21

WAKULLAH STREET

REV. DIANE BRADSHAW

US%26UKLogoB%26Wnew.ai

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 by Rev. Diane Bradshaw. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/29/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4164-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4163-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4165-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907226

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Chapter One Roxbury, Mass.—Mom’s Background

Chapter Two Mom’s Belated Marriage

Chapter Three Holidays With Six Kids

Chapter Four 21 Wakullah Street

Chapter Five Our Neighborhood: World War Ii Air Raid Wardens

Chapter Six What Happened To Dotty?

Chapter Seven School

Chapter Eight Farm & Trade School/House Fire

Chapter Nine The Salvation Army/Camp Wonderland

Chapter Ten Family Outing

Chapter Eleven Forgetting Boundaries

Chapter Twelve Long Bicycle Ride And Mischief

Chapter Thirteen Moving And Graduation

Chapter Fourteen Leaving Roxbury

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

25155.jpg

I would like to thank many people for their help in getting this book into print:

First of all, I would like to thank my brothers and sisters: Jim, Margaret, Beverly, David and Les for remembering so many things that are now in this book.

I’d like to thank my mother, who is now deceased, for all of her stories over the years. It was fun racking my brain trying to remember them.

My children: Anne, Wendy, Bruce, Wayne and Sam remembered things I told them through the years about my siblings.

I would like to thank my friends from the Pennellville United Methodist Church who told me over and over again that I should write this book about my childhood.

I’d like to personally thank Jim Callen for his computer help and hours and hours of labor helping me get this book together.

Finally, I’d like to thank God for the wonderful family he gave me to love and share.

CHAPTER ONE

25158.jpg

I’ve written this book because I think a lot of people might be interested in reading about a poor, happy, single-parent-family living, working and growing up in what is now called a ghetto and was then called a poor neighborhood in Roxbury Massachusetts before, during and after World War II. When my brother was drafted into the U.S. Army years later, the Sergeant asked him this question, Can anything GOOD come out of Roxbury? Even he had his doubts.

Roxbury did not have a very good reputation at that time and it’s worse now. During The Second Great Migration, after World War II, many black people moved from the south to the north in order to get better jobs and have better living conditions. Many moved into our neighborhood in Roxbury and they were not welcomed with open arms. In fact, just the opposite occurred. We who were already living there resented these new people coming in great numbers. We were already overcrowded. We didn’t need any other people moving in. We also heard that our government paid these black people to move north, promised them a job and also a place to live. We could barely make a living ourselves, and now we heard that black people from the south were given money from our government, our taxes, to come up and dispossess us. The black people who already lived in the neighborhood didn’t even welcome the newcomers. Our neighborhood tried to hold together and keep the newcomers out, but it didn’t work. They outnumbered the residents by a goodly number and Might seemed to be right. The white people were now in the minority. There was much violence on both sides. Gangs were formed overnight (black and white) and no one seemed to be able to come together and institute a truce. It was not safe to live in our friendly, happy neighborhood anymore. Our neighborhood turned into a War zone. This is where my family lived. This is what we experienced. This is MY truth.

What guide do people use to determine if a neighborhood is good or not? What do most people want for themselves and their loved ones? What are the guidelines? The first thing we might ask is this: What kinds of people are living in Roxbury? Do they care about each other? Are the children loved and cared for by everyone? Does everyone have a voice? Is there a way to move up and out? Is there a good education system? Are differences in living and learning respected? Can people agree to disagree and still be respected? Do the people have a way to make a living? What is the answer?

It’s difficult for some people to realize that wherever you are and no matter where you live, there are always some good people. Poverty has nothing to do with goodness or badness. When some people hear the word ghetto they think of poverty, of alcoholism, of hunger, of people with horrible medical problems, of children with no education, of gangs and crime of every kind. Many don’t think about all the good, law-abiding people living there because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. They don’t think about the elderly who have lived their lives there and love their neighborhood. They seldom think that, There, but for the grace of God, go I. It’s difficult for some to put themselves into the shoes of the very poor, of the outcasts of society, of those Below the Salt. Every inner city has its problems and it’s too bad that some governments either throw a little money at the problem or try to forget it ever existed. Of course, there is no easy answer to the problem. There cannot be an answer to the problem if people can’t work together and make a difference, if they can’t put their priorities aside and work for the benefit of all.

When people were forced to live in one new housing project in Roxbury, like the one the city put up in the 50’s, it was a prelude to disaster. This particular housing project was located at Roxbury Crossing near Ruggles Street. I remember when rental house after house was torn down and people were forced out of what had been their homes for years; homes they felt comfortable in, neighbors they respected and counted on in a crisis. They were all put into this huge brick building that held about 200 or more families. That building was demolished in less than two years. The tenants demolished it. That housing project (it was never a neighborhood) was infested with drugs and alcoholism and crimes of every kind including murders. The decent people who lived there took their lives in their hands every time they stepped outside their brand-new apartments that the City of Boston thought would be the answer to housing problems. It sure wasn’t! This was not what the people wanted or needed. They wanted protection from harm in that neighborhood but didn’t get it. There were poor families, there were struggling families, and decent people thrown in with criminals, and it didn’t take long for evil to prevail. Children coming home from school were attacked by drug addicts and criminals right in their own homes. This was no way for children to grow up. Old people were robbed and beaten. They were afraid to call for help. It could mean their very life. The housing project needed supervision. The good people seemed to be outnumbered by the others. How frightening it must have been for a decent family to try to live under these conditions. Can you picture yourself and your family trying to live and grow in that setting? Our family was supposed to move there, but someone else was chosen before us. All we could say was, Thank You Lord.

Our family was mostly grown up at this time but a few of us were still living in Roxbury. We were part of this history.

We became a single parent family when my father left us when I was seven. My oldest brother was 11 and my sister was 9. Mom now had six children. She was our only breadwinner for many years until we kids were older and able to help out. There were many neighborhood changes in my lifetime and we as a family were right in the middle of those changes and the changes were not for the better. Our neighborhood went from being a family neighborhood where children could learn and grow, a safe place where neighbors helped neighbors, to a wild jungle where only the strongest (or the meanest) could survive.

I’m the girl from 21 Wakullah