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http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/files/original/a6e6790e95f0b357ea79275049b2f1aa.mp4
7b2609cab8ee3d98d2a572d8c7dbc103
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 Tricentennial Video Oral History Project Interview Clips
Subject
The topic of the resource
Mobile, African American History
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interviews of elders in Mobile's African American community. These items are clippings, and the full interviews are available for viewing at the Local History & Genealogy division of the Mobile Public Library. A full listing of available interviews may be viewed <a href="http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/items/show/2732">here</a>.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-2002
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kern Jackson
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interviews
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Mobile-VOHP-Clips
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Kern Jackson
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
James Arthur Reed
Location
The location of the interview
2151 Jewel Court
Mobile, Alabama 36617
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Reed: Yeah but in the early, in the latter part of the 30’s yeah we had a recreation center up on Davis Avenue, people used to go in there and play you know, tennis, I mean basketball, table tennis, that’s where they used to have the basketball games at, and if its dancing, we used to go to a place called Gomez Auditorium up there on Davis Avenue.
Jackson: Now tell me about this Gomez Auditorium, was that, from what I could understand was that a upstairs place?
Reed: Right, upstairs on the…
Jackson: What was underneath of it?
Reed: They had a shoe store was under there, they had a bakery shop under there, Jim’s Bar-b-que, it was under there, no it wasn’t, yeah it was on the side of it, but that’s where all the bands used to come the big bands.
Jackson: Like who?
Reed: Oh, Carolina Cottonpickers, you don’t know, your dad probably remember that, the Carolina Cottonpickers. Coolie Williams, Erskine Hawkins, What's that other band that used to come through here, Clean Head Eddie Vincent.
Jackson: Clean Head Eddie Vincent?
Reed: Yeah he used to be terrible saxophone player.
Jackson: Yeah?
Reed: He lost his hair in a big fire in Mississippi. Jamos Shane, I can remember all of those, cause I used to slip in. You know I was a kid then you know, Chuck Web. Ella Fitzgerald. That’s the first time I heard her right there at the room called the Old Dunbar High School now.
Jackson: Ella Fitzgerald?
Reed: Yeah, came with Chuck Web. When she wasn’t nothing but a girl. A- Tisket, A-Tasket. Boy, you sho’ carried back some memories.
Jackson: But they would have dances up in there, now what would call the dances at that time, like, how would you dress for a dance?
Reed: What they call, a Zoot Suit, then you had about 18 or 16 in the bottom, they would come up large, then they have long coats, almost down to your knees. We used to call that the Zoot Suit, that was the thing to have you know.
Jackson: So this was all before World War Two broke out.
Reed: Right after World War Two. During World War Two, was ‘40 what, ‘41? Yeah ’41, during that ’42, 43 long in there. ‘41, ‘42, ‘43, yeah, yeah.
Jackson: So now can you tell me what your first job experience, the first time you got paid a little something for doing something, I guess that would have been your momma, work for your momma sort of.
Reed: Oh I didn’t get any money for that.
Jackson: Naw.
Reed: No, my first job was actually at Albright and Wood’s Drug store on Davis Avenue and Hospital, I was a soda jerker.
Jackson: What’s a soda jerker?
Reed: Serving ice cream, mixing just drinks which wasn’t nothing but milk shakes, vanilla and strawberry milk shakes. $15 a month. $7.15 every 1st or 15th. And believe it or not I dressed out of Besteda Brothers bought a tailor made suit. I paid for my graduation suit out of Besteda was tailor made. Black and I never will forget it, Black, chalk-black suit. Paid $2.00 a month, every month every week on it ‘til I finished paying for it. During that time you can get a pair of tailor-made pants for $6.00. We had 2 owned English factory tailors, there was 2 Syrian Brothers on Dauphin between Jackson and Claiborne called English Factory Tailor, ask your daddy about it, he’ll tell you about it. And the Besteda Brothers on Davis Avenue. Well we didn’t have no money, that’s why we had deposit,, measure it up, put it on lay-away, we pay 50 cents, $1.00 a week ‘til we finished paying for it and that’s the way I paid for my graduation suit.
Jackson: What you do, so that’s the job you got immediately out of high school?
Reed: Right, soon as I came out of high school. I was working at ??? long in high school.
Jackson: Oh I see.
Reed: But when I left there I went to a place down on Dauphin and Royal called Simon Hat Shop. I was the porter down there.
Jackson: What was your duties as porter?
Reed: Just cleaning up and running errands. That had to be ’40, yeah it had to be ’41, ‘40-‘41 yeah, then the war broke out in ’41 and I had a choice, either go to the army or join the merchant marine. So I joined the merchant marines. I went to sea for 16 years.
Jackson: All over the world.
Reed: Oh just about. You name it, I've been there.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
VHS
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
5 min 38 sec
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
James Arthur Reed Interview Clip
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral History
Description
An account of the resource
James Arthur Reed talks about Gomez Auditorium, the bands that used to play there, and his first job at Albright and Wood's Drug Store.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
James Arthur Reed
National African American Archives & Museum
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2000
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interview
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
VOHP-JamesArthurReed-Gomez
Albright & Wood
Arthur James Reed
Besteda Brothers
Carolina Cottonpickers
Davis Avenue
Ella Fitzgerald
Gomez Auditorium
Simon Hat Shop
zoot suit