Interview 8/6/15 Hawthorne Park:
Two women and two teenagers at Hawthorne park, watching a group of children playing in the grass. The group is from a local church. The first response was from the younger of the two women, I didn’t catch her name because she left to go attend to one of the children early on in the interview. The rest of the responses are from the older woman, L. My questions are in italics.
Younger Woman: Bartlett Junior high, and I’m talking… I came out in ‘72.
…
L: And I came out of there in ‘68, I graduated from 9th grade in ‘68.
And y’all are from the neighborhood?
Yes. And it was 7th through 9th grade. It was the junior high school. But the building, the condominium that’s right there on Fitzwater, that’s our elementary school. Nathaniel Hawthorne. And I went from kindergarten through 6th grade there.
And then when you went up, you went right across the street?
Right. And then from there to high school. And it just shows you that down through the years everything has just changed so much.
And, yeah, that was the other thing: have y’all lived here your whole lives?
Yeah, and that’s a whole lot of years! I was born and raised right here.
And how has this whole area changed through the course of that time, in your experience?
Um, I mean, well to me, in the sense… Um… For the better, from one aspect, but personally speaking, a lot of what happened to me wasn’t fair on how it happened, you know, a lot of people lost their homes and, you know, those kind of things. But I mean, that’s the way… It is what it is at this point. The neighborhood is beautiful, I mean, everything is upgraded and all of that, but a lot of the newer neighbors, to me, it’s like, they don’t care about neighbors. When it was, you know, years ago, the neighbors were concerned about neighbors, we looked out for one another. And it seems as though everyone who has just moved into the neighborhood… They all have dogs, I’m a dog lover, I don’t have anything against anyone who has a dog, but I don’t think that it’s fair that you would bring your dog from your house to let him go to the bathroom in front of my house. And then if I say something to you, I’m wrong, and then you have attitude that that’s big, I’ve went through that two days in a row this week. I was sitting on my front step, and okay, yesterday, I would have appreciated if she would have said, “Oh, I am so sorry,” apologize or something, but she let the dog go to the bathroom, and just kept right walking. That’s not fair. When I have to sit out, I can’t enjoy the front of my house. That’s not fair. I mean, little things like that, is really the only downfall that I... But I mean, other than that, everything is new, it looks nice, you know?
So you think it’s lost, kind of, the sense of community that it once had?
Oh yes. Oh yes, very much so. Very much so, from what I’m used to. And I been here all my life, and that’s like sixty some odd years. So right here in this immediate area is where… Yeah, I mean, yeah, the closeness is just not there.
And it seems like, are y’all involved in some kind of organization right now?
Church.
Ah okay, a church organization. Which one is that? This one right here?
It was [name redacted for privacy], it was on Fitzwater street, right here on 12th, I mean, Fitzwater and Bainbridge. But we... we’re moving, and we have a new location, so we’re over here for the time being, just until the end of the summer youth program.
Okay, so is that youth engagement based?
The little one’s behind you, mm hm. And it gives a lot of teenagers the opportunity to work and get that first job experience, which is a good thing because you try to show them and teach them the different values of what goes on. And being responsible, the job, you know, you have to get up when you don’t want to get up. You have to come to work when you don’t want to come to work [laughs]. Those kind of things, you know, so it’s a good experience for both of us, because they’re a big help to us, and I hope, you know, we, you know, be a big help to them, in that sense.
Keeping up that sense of community.
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes.
Have you had any interaction with the school over here? Or with students at Palumbo?
Ah, I think I might have had maybe two or three young people who were youth workers, who do the same job they do [gesturing toward the two youth workers at the next bench], down through the years, I think I might have had three from over there. But I do know some of the children, you know, some from the neighborhood, and then you just get to know people from just walking back and forth here. You know like how you know, you might not even know their name, but you know that that’s the school that they attend.
And you’ve had positive experiences with the students there?
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. Mm hm.
Have you ever been in the school since it changed over? Like have they had any events that have been part of the community or anything like that?
Not, per se, me, but that, I mean, I don’t know about, you know, someone else. We use that as our voting area, you know, when it’s time to vote. That’s where I go to vote at.
So the school is kind of present within the community?
Oh sure, sure, and I’m pretty sure that they do a lot of other things, you know, some of the stuff I might not know about, but that doesn’t, um, exclude, you know, like other people from the community.
Two women and two teenagers at Hawthorne park, watching a group of children playing in the grass. The group is from a local church. The first response was from the younger of the two women, I didn’t catch her name because she left to go attend to one of the children early on in the interview. The rest of the responses are from the older woman, L. My questions are in italics.
Younger Woman: Bartlett Junior high, and I’m talking… I came out in ‘72.
…
L: And I came out of there in ‘68, I graduated from 9th grade in ‘68.
And y’all are from the neighborhood?
Yes. And it was 7th through 9th grade. It was the junior high school. But the building, the condominium that’s right there on Fitzwater, that’s our elementary school. Nathaniel Hawthorne. And I went from kindergarten through 6th grade there.
And then when you went up, you went right across the street?
Right. And then from there to high school. And it just shows you that down through the years everything has just changed so much.
And, yeah, that was the other thing: have y’all lived here your whole lives?
Yeah, and that’s a whole lot of years! I was born and raised right here.
And how has this whole area changed through the course of that time, in your experience?
Um, I mean, well to me, in the sense… Um… For the better, from one aspect, but personally speaking, a lot of what happened to me wasn’t fair on how it happened, you know, a lot of people lost their homes and, you know, those kind of things. But I mean, that’s the way… It is what it is at this point. The neighborhood is beautiful, I mean, everything is upgraded and all of that, but a lot of the newer neighbors, to me, it’s like, they don’t care about neighbors. When it was, you know, years ago, the neighbors were concerned about neighbors, we looked out for one another. And it seems as though everyone who has just moved into the neighborhood… They all have dogs, I’m a dog lover, I don’t have anything against anyone who has a dog, but I don’t think that it’s fair that you would bring your dog from your house to let him go to the bathroom in front of my house. And then if I say something to you, I’m wrong, and then you have attitude that that’s big, I’ve went through that two days in a row this week. I was sitting on my front step, and okay, yesterday, I would have appreciated if she would have said, “Oh, I am so sorry,” apologize or something, but she let the dog go to the bathroom, and just kept right walking. That’s not fair. When I have to sit out, I can’t enjoy the front of my house. That’s not fair. I mean, little things like that, is really the only downfall that I... But I mean, other than that, everything is new, it looks nice, you know?
So you think it’s lost, kind of, the sense of community that it once had?
Oh yes. Oh yes, very much so. Very much so, from what I’m used to. And I been here all my life, and that’s like sixty some odd years. So right here in this immediate area is where… Yeah, I mean, yeah, the closeness is just not there.
And it seems like, are y’all involved in some kind of organization right now?
Church.
Ah okay, a church organization. Which one is that? This one right here?
It was [name redacted for privacy], it was on Fitzwater street, right here on 12th, I mean, Fitzwater and Bainbridge. But we... we’re moving, and we have a new location, so we’re over here for the time being, just until the end of the summer youth program.
Okay, so is that youth engagement based?
The little one’s behind you, mm hm. And it gives a lot of teenagers the opportunity to work and get that first job experience, which is a good thing because you try to show them and teach them the different values of what goes on. And being responsible, the job, you know, you have to get up when you don’t want to get up. You have to come to work when you don’t want to come to work [laughs]. Those kind of things, you know, so it’s a good experience for both of us, because they’re a big help to us, and I hope, you know, we, you know, be a big help to them, in that sense.
Keeping up that sense of community.
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes.
Have you had any interaction with the school over here? Or with students at Palumbo?
Ah, I think I might have had maybe two or three young people who were youth workers, who do the same job they do [gesturing toward the two youth workers at the next bench], down through the years, I think I might have had three from over there. But I do know some of the children, you know, some from the neighborhood, and then you just get to know people from just walking back and forth here. You know like how you know, you might not even know their name, but you know that that’s the school that they attend.
And you’ve had positive experiences with the students there?
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. Mm hm.
Have you ever been in the school since it changed over? Like have they had any events that have been part of the community or anything like that?
Not, per se, me, but that, I mean, I don’t know about, you know, someone else. We use that as our voting area, you know, when it’s time to vote. That’s where I go to vote at.
So the school is kind of present within the community?
Oh sure, sure, and I’m pretty sure that they do a lot of other things, you know, some of the stuff I might not know about, but that doesn’t, um, exclude, you know, like other people from the community.
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