"The Life and Times of a Black Man from Georgia"

By Coach James Carr

The "Life and Times of a Black Man from Georgia" provides profound stimulating and fun reading for people in all walks of life: high school, college students, teachers, housewives, employers, employees and retirees. It is a book that can make you feel better about yourself. It provides an opportunity for in dept soul searching and the chance to look at various aspects of your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496923479

Coach James Carr

Coach James Carr was born in Grantville Georgia, November 20, 1937. Graduated from central high school in Newnan, Ga. 1956. Moved to Atlanta, Ga. attended Atlanta Area technical school for two years he transferred from the electrical appliance repair class to the electronic class at Dekalb Area Technical school. Out of 300 white students and 25 black students he was the student body president. He met Gena, his wife to be, Friday November 13, 1959. They got married March 19, 1960. In 1963 he became the first black man to be employed by western union telegraph company in a position other than janitor or messenger. He was not welcomed by the white employees, after 135 years in business they had never worked with a black man.  He worked in the installation dept for eight years, during this time he had the opportunity to work in 30 different states. In 1970 he was offered a promotion in Richmond Va. from Equipment Installer to Assistant Equipment Inspector. He and his wife moved from Richmond to Falls Church, Va. In Falls Church he was promoted to Plant Layout Supervisor. He was in charge of routing and re-routing circuits for the president of the United States, "HOT LINE" phone and the uninterrupted power for the White House. Circuits had to be routed from three different directions (states) every 30 days. He also helped to engineer all of the original circuits for MCI telephone co. from Florida to New York. In 1979 he was promoted to Director of Project and Materials in Upper Saddle River NJ at Western Union national headquarters, on his way from Atlanta (installer, level 6) to Upper Saddle River (level 28), he retired 1986. He and Gena celebrated their 54 anniversary March 19, 2014. They are now back where they started in Newnan, Ga.

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"The Life and

Times of A Black Man

from Georgia"

Coach James Carr

26798.png

AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2014 Coach James Carr. 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 10/01/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2348-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2347-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911781

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

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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.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Quotes I Learned To Love

Things I Think You Should Know

Introduction

My Prayer

1937-1956 The Life Of James Carr From Grantville, Georgia

What This Book Means To Me

1969-1970 Our Last Night In Georgia

Through It All

1916-1970 My Mother – Jane Bailey

1909-1987 My Dad - Jeff Carr

1941- My Brother – Lee Arnold

1943-2006 My Sister Lesa

1947- My Brother Marvin Finley Jr.

1882-1964 Marvin Finley Sr. – An Amazing Man – My Step Dad

1936-2014 My Friend Edward Grant

1938-2005 William And Rachel Jordan

1957-1958

1956-1957 Mary Ellen Power

1936-1969 Ricky And Jane Smith

1985-2004 Jessie Hart

1985-2004 Mary Joyce Jones

1986-2004 Henry Blake

I Shot Pool To Make Friends

Me And James

My First Assignment

1970 Falls Church, Va

1973-1980 Judy Wilson

1979-1980 Leaving Falls Church, Va

1980-1985 Life At Headquarters Upper Saddle River, Nj

Go Back In Time 60’S And 70’S

Back To The 80’S

Charles Stanley

Perry And Mara Turner

Henry Jackson

Melba Frank

Small Business

Janell Shaw

Coach Collier And Sara, Of Newnan, Ga

Our Church Life

People We Met In Church

Frank & Dorothy Jeter

Hanna And Candy

Gregg Morris

Calvin And Lynn Peters

Jim And Catherine Benson

God Had A Better Plan

New Orleans

My Favorite Men And Why

My Favorite Movies

My Favorite States

When Preperation Meets Opportunity – That Is A Great Day

Poems

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to give special thanks to

Reverend Crawford Black for the guidance and encouragement he gave me in my young life. Special thanks also to Perry and Mara Tucker for efforts beyond the call of duty. I’m convinced God gave me the right people to work with to bring this book about.

DEDICATION

With loving appreciation I dedicate this book to my loving wife Gena and our two respectful children, Marcus and Sandy. These three special people helped make my life fulfilling and exciting.

QUOTES I LEARNED TO LOVE

• Don’t drag the disappointments of the past into the opportunities of the future.

• In the opportunities of the future, all things are possible.

• I think the greatest thing that binds and confines us is FEAR.

• One of the great things keeping us in our prisons from which God wants to release us is FEAR.

• Many people never really bury the hatchet. Instead they build a monument to it and talk about the incident again and again. I can forgive, but I can’t forget is only another way of saying I can’t forgive.

• With just three words you can bury the past, heal the present, and open your heart to a promising future. Those words are I forgive you.

THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW

• When you get to the fork in the road; Make a right turn.

• There are times in your life you need to take control of yourself. You need self-discipline. God provides us the perfect example in Jesus Christ.

• Most white men that I have met will tell you a lie or lie about you.

• Black women were in double trouble when they worked in the white peoples’ homes. In many cases the white men would abuse them. If they told their black man, he would blame her only because he could not protect her by defending her.

• You can tell a person’s character by the way they shake your hand.

• The nicest thing about the future is; that it always starts tomorrow.

• Money will buy a fine dog; but only kindness will make him wage his tail.

• If you don’t have a sense of humor; you probably don’t have any sense at all.

• Seat belts are not as confining; as wheelchairs.

• A good time to keep your mouth shut is; when you’re in deep water.

• How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark; to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

• Business conventions are important; because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.

• Why is it that at class reunions; you feel younger than everyone else looks?

• Scratch a cat (or dog); and you will have a permanent job.

• No one has more driving ambition than the teenage boy (or girl); who wants to buy a car.

• There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4am; like it could be the right number.

• No one ever says It’s only a game; when their team is winning.

• Be careful about reading the fine print; there’s no way you’re going to like it.

• The trouble with bucket seats is that; not everybody has the same size bucket.

• Do you realize that, in about 40 years; we’ll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos?

• Money can’t buy happiness; but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Cadillac than in a Yugo.

• Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind; and the ones that mind don’t matter.

• Life isn’t tied with a bow; but it’s still a gift.

• Politicians and diapers should be changed; often, and for the same reason.

INTRODUCTION

We all want to be healthy; mentally and physically. We all want to be happy. We all wish to be successful. Sometimes we find this to be a tall order; often we are responsible for the obstacles and stumbling blocks in our way.

It has been said that people get out of life whatever they are willing to put into it. This is determined by your life style, in term of your self-identity, self-respect, and modesty; what you believe and stand for and what you do in terms of your actions, your career activities and human relations.

These things would be the determining factors or I should say, the contributing factors to the quality of life ones leads.

Life offers no easy formula for a life of greater abundance. We all want more that is our main concern; more for our children, more for our church, more for our community, our job or one’s self, etc.

This book does not claim to provide any such formula either. This is not a book of recipes for happiness; it is a book about some friends, people, places and things accomplished.

MY PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, right now, I pray that you will place your loving arms around this precious person reading this book and that by your Holy Spirit, you will begin to reveal and release anything in his or her life that has been keeping them from your blessing. Lord, please help them to be totally open to your Spirit and to your way. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus. AMEN

1937-1956

THE LIFE OF JAMES CARR FROM GRANTVILLE, GEORGIA

I was born in Grantville, GA in 1937 to Jeff Carr (24) and Jane Bailey (17). The black population was around 300 people at that time. There were 4 classified communities in the area and 2 churches within the black communities. The people of Dark Town were mostly associated with the John Wesley Methodist Church. The people of Summer Hill were mostly associated with the Jehovah Baptist Church. Jersey City was a community built for the men and their families who were associated with the rail road. The area had special housing for the workers. The Underpass (or Overpass) community consisted of 5 houses along the railroad. This area was established when state highway 29 was re-routed so traffic went around the town, instead of through downtown.

Grantville was my world. We lived close by to our relatives. My mother and father were married just before I was born. My father was a young man who enjoyed signing with the church choir or at special functions. He did not like the idea of working at the cotton mill or working on a farm. That just wasn’t in his plans for his future. Well, about 6 months after I was born, my dad had made up his mind that he would do whatever work he could find, save his money and buy a bus ticket to ‘somewhere’. In 1938 he had saved enough money to purchase a one way ticket to New York City. He got a job at a dry cleaner and worked there and saved his money.

When the owner grew older and tired and decided to retire, He sold the shop at a price my Dad could afford. Now he was the owner of the place where he had started as a worker!

My mother was 21 years old, with a 3 year old child and no husband. She started dating again and found herself pregnant. 9 months later I had a baby brother, Lee Arnold. As my father had done, Mr. Arnold (Lee’s father) up and moved to Montgomery, AL. Both men moved away and didn’t look back. Neither man considered the cost of raising a child. But we were blessed to have good grandparents who provided us a place to live and helped out with food and clothing.

I was 5 years old when I first saw the love of my life. Emma was 5 years old when I saw her one day walking to church with her mother and father. A little bow legged pretty girl. I knew that was reason enough to go to school. I wished for 9 months for school to start! When school finally started the next year, I was so happy. In my 1st grade class there were so many girls and all of them were pretty!

But I was scared and didn’t know what to say to them.

Then someone showed me a baseball….now I’m confused! Girls or baseball? From 1st grade through high school, I must admit, baseball won out. It became my first love and is still high on my list.

In high school, sports were my main interest. I joined the basketball team with my cousin Horace Sewell, who was a great player. I was a smart player who could understand what the other team was doing. Horace had a speech problem, so most of the time I would speak for him. We played our home games in the white gym. Let me explain.

The deal was the black school (Grantville Training) played their games in the white gym because we did not have a gym. We agreed to clean the gym if they allowed us to use for our games.

My grandfather coached me on being obedient. Thou shall do that which is right and good in the sight of God. His words to me were always obey your mother help her in every way you can. Psalms 37:23 reads: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

My grandfather was the strongest positive force in my life and as far back as I can remember, he was the first person to tell me that he loved me. He said it so often that I began to hear him and believe that he did love me, which made me trust him more and love and cherish him that much more. Papa had many grandchildren, but I was the first one born in the same house with him, by his baby girl. Papa was a strong spiritual force in our family. He was sure of himself.

Growing up in a totally black community, you had to learn how to deal with the first enemy that you were to face. Your life problems began in your home. The adults in the home lived with fear. They knew there was another side of town in the town where we lived. In other words, there was a black side and a white side.

One morning Papa was cooking breakfast for me and him. As he was cooking some pancakes he called me to show me how flat he could press the cakes, after pressing one side of the pancake with the spatula, he said; it doesn’t matter how hard I press this cake, it will always have two sides. Grantville had more than two sides because I had to learn how to live in my own house. I mostly grew up in a house with my Papa; we shared the house with a stepfather, who was not kind to me. I know now it was because during the early years, my step dad did not have a son, and he also had other problems, like not being able to read or write, which he saw me as a threat to him. I didn’t know how to treat a stepdad and he didn’t know how to treat a step son. I had to be very careful of what I said or what I did. I lived in the community were you were classed according to your skin shade. If you were my shade of dark skin, you were placed in the back of the school classroom. There were two class of color. If you were the color of