U Can Learn Alot from Your 'Elders'!

Elder Conversation

Written by: Kenneth-Michael

In the living room of the northwest Baltimore home, sixty-eight year-old Eli Hinton reclines in this over-sized chair, as he watches television. Hinton is originally from Chester County, South Carolina, but moved to Baltimore in 1964. Chester County is 72 miles away from Columbia, South Carolina. He says that growing up in the south, all he knew was farm life and hard work. Slouched in the chair, Hinton reminiscences about growing up in the south, working hard, the things he cherishes, and the biggest challenge he deals with daily…

What kind of jobs have you had?

I worked as person planting trees. I worked in a lumber yard. All of that was in Lauren, South Carolina, which is just a couple miles from Chester. In Charlotte—I worked in Charlotte, too, before I moved here [to Baltimore]. In Charlotte, I worked for the construction and repair shop and I tried demolition, but I didn’t like that. I only worked like three days in demolition and I had to give it up.

How much were you getting paid at the time you held these jobs?

I think I was getting paid a dollar and half an hour I believe at the lumber. In construction, I was making about $2.00 an hour. Even when I lived in Baltimore, I was only making about $3.10.

What could a dollar and a half get you?

The price of living was real cheap. So, a dollar and a half an hour then was about like $20.00 an hour today. Basically, a lot of times you worked by the day. A lot of jobs you had, they paid you by the day. So, when I was picking cotton, they paid you by the hundred pounds and I never picked over two hundred pounds in my life. They only paid you $2.00 per a hundred pounds. I never picked over two hundred pounds, so I never made over $4.00 a day. Growing up in the south, the things that you might have faced depended on the area you lived. Now, the part of the south I was in, it wasn’t too bad, but down like in Georgia, Alabama, and all them places, it was hard. When I was going to plant the trees, I planted some trees in Georgia and I hated Georgia. It was some times in Georgia that I wouldn’t even leave the site. Back then, you had segregation. You couldn’t go into stores.

The stories that we’ve read about and seen on television, Mr. Eli says that he lived it. He said that he decided to move to Baltimore, Maryland for a change. The moved landed him a job in the Baltimore County Public School system as a custodian…

Interview of an Elder

Written by: MARKEZZACKUI

***For this assignment, ETM West Correspondent MARKEZZACUI conducted an interview with his mother via email…

What were the popular hairstyles and clothes while you were growing up?

Ponytails, bobs, french roll, natural (afro) & braids. Bell bottom pants, neru/dashiki tops, hot pants/mini skirts, platform shoes. (lol)

What were the popular T.V. shows you enjoyed watching the most?

Bugs Bunny, Marcus Welby, M.D., Julia (1st black nurse/black woman with own TV sitcom), Star Trek, Perry Mason, Roller Derby, Dark Shadows, Bewitched, I Love Lucy…

Was there a strong unity amongst African-American women? What is the difference today?

Strong unity among the women in the family. In general, not too much competition. Today, it’s beautiful. Women are talking, trusting, helping, [and] truly befriending each other again.

What was the economy like when you were growing up?

Economy—compared to today—very inexpensive. Didn't have all these regulations. California-specific laws driving up prices.

Who were the most popular role models of the day? Who were yours?

Role models: women in the church, my mother & sister. Popular role models [were] like today: models, singers, TV stars…

A Conversation With An Elder:
Eugene McWilliams

Written by: Renee BlackStar

As I’m typing this up, I am really wishing that I could give you this conversation with my grandfather in its entirety. I love talking with him and hearing stories from his bottomless bag of adventures. But, it would probably take a good year of listening to hear them all, or even ten years for me to type them all up! My grandpa has an absolutely fantastic sense of humor (I can’t tell you how hard I laughed throughout this entire interview). Not only is he very funny, but he is also very intelligent, in a street-wise way, and he’s not afraid to keep it all the way real. It’s part of what I love most about him. I’m telling you, there was just so much material that I was forced to edit out a lot of it. So, depending on the feedback I get on this, I will most definitely have to revisit this topic and write up the complete interview for a future ETM article. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

Eugene McWilliams, born in Chicago, Nov. 23, 1938

On being married 48 years…

It’s okay.

That’s it? It’s just been okay?

Yeah. [We both burst into laughter.]

Honest message to his wife…

Hang in there! [laughs]

“Don’t think that every person that’s got old got wisdom. They done had fools since before I was born. They
was back there talking crazy as hell! You got just as good a chance of having an analytical mind at fourteen or fifteen as you would at eighty…”

Life lesson he wished he’d learned sooner than later…

I would say, I wish I had learned… shit, damn near everything. [chuckles] No, but let me think. I would have to say Algebra and Calculus and all of that math stuff.

Advice to young people…

Go to school as much as you can, even if it’s hard. No matter what you have to sacrifice, stay in school. Save your money! Budget your money and save it the best you can. Always put something up and remember to pay yourself first.

Thoughts on today’s violence…

People like to talk about “now-a-day’s people this, now-a-day’s people that”. The only difference is then people didn’t have automatic weapons, but every Friday and Saturday night the county hospital was full of people cutting people’s throat with razors.

Thoughts on today’s independent women…

More women got their own jobs, and they got better jobs. They got their own cars. When I was coming up, if a brotha had a car, he had every woman on the block. If he was the one that had a car, that was all you needed, and you were good. Now, every woman has a car, or two cars. That makes women more independent. There’s still some of the hangover from a lot of guys thinking that the guys are supposed to be the boss, even though when the guy was so-called “the boss” it was because he had the job and the money. And that’s what made him the boss. Not that he was any brighter.

To see more of the staff's Elderly Conversations, click on the link below:

http://etmmagazine.info/Editorials/2009/12/articles/2009_12_elders.html