HomeUCAC Oral Histories South H-Z

UCAC ORAL HISTORIES: SOUTH COUNTY
H-Z

Drayden

Angela Marie Thomas Maddox

Interviewed on April 22, 1997, Angela Maddox lives off Cherryfield Road in Drayden, Maryland, she was born in Helen, Maryland. She speaks at length about her parents, family trips, and church, she attended St. George’s Catholic Church in Valley Lee. She talks about her childhood in detail and attending school, she mentions Miss Ella. Mrs. Maddox dreamed of becoming a nun but married her husband in Washington, D.C. She speaks at length about living by herself, marriage, religion, community activities, and life in St. Mary’s County. She answers questions about race relations, living in the county, changes, and the Navy Base. Mrs. Maddox speaks at length about her father’s career as a mortician and her Uncle Stanley having a shop in Happyland. She discusses church, Miss Naomi, the Briscoe’s, and church community activities. Mrs. Maddox concludes the interview by talking about how she misses the old days when everyone was more social.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Mary Morgan

Mary Frances Morgan's interview which took place on July 13, 2016. Morgan was the oldest of twelve siblings raised by her parents, George and Louise Green. She remembers her parents being strict but loving. She attended Drayden for schooling. She graduated from Jarboesville High School and attended Cortez Peters, a business school. She met her husband, Dan, when she was 18 or 19, and they were married for 47 years. Mrs. Morgan worked at the Navy Annex for the majority of her career. She concludes the interview by encouraging young people to appreciate the opportunities granted to them because things didn't used to be as fair as they are now. (SCT Interpretive Center in Lexington Park)

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Clarence Caroll Smith

Interviewed on May 31, 2002, Clarence Smith was born and raised in Drayden, Maryland at his grandfather’s house. He speaks at length about his childhood and family life, his family attended St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Valley Lee, MD. He talks about senior citizens, transportation, entertainment, and formal schooling. Mr. Smith attended Drayden School until the fourth grade after that he went to the #1 school in Valley Lee, where he talked about his favorite teachers. His parents allowed him to go to the movies at Happyland Club, otherwise he completed various jobs to support himself. Mr. Smith details a typical day on one or more of his jobs, funny or unusual experiences on the bus, and how he met his wife. He talks about the role of religion in his life and the community activities he participated in, he answers questions about life in general in St. Mary’s County. He speaks at length about the county, addressing topics such as segregation, Patuxent Naval Air Station, government, and whether St. Mary’s County will stay rural or become an urban county. Mr. Smith concludes the interview by reflecting upon personal contributions to the county, awards/certificates he has received, and personal life achievements.

Hear His Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Frank Travers

Frank W. Travers was interviewed on January 20, 2016, for the UCAC. He was born and raised in Drayden, Maryland, as one of 8 children. He was raised by his parents, Mary Ditrin and James Travers. As a child, Mr. Travers and his family experienced the flood of 1933. Mr. Travers attended school in the Drayden schoolhouse when he was not assisting his father with sharecropping. Along with sharecropping, his father also participated in bootlegging. As an adult, Mr. Travers would work many jobs, including working on the river, farming, at the sawmills, and temporarily at a cemetery.

Hear His Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Eliza Isabella Waters

Eliza Isabelle Dyson Waters was interviewed for the UCAC on October 19, 2016. She was born in Drayden, MD, in 1929. She was one of six children raised by her parents, Frank and Lettie Bell Whalen Dyson. She grew up singing, especially in school and Church and participated in Choir Day. She met her husband, Robert Denver Armstrong when she was sixteen and married after she turned nineteen. Waters also discusses her marriages and how segregation varied from region to region in St. Mary's County. (USCT Interpretive Center)

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Park Hall

Emma V. Milburn Hall

Interviewed on June 3, 1998, Emma Hall lived with her aunt until age 10 when her father remarried and brought the family back together. Her mother worked for Spence Howard, and her father raised hogs. She recounts her earliest memory and relationship with her siblings, her family attended Zion Methodist Church. She lived in St. Mary’s City at the slave quarters, where the archaeological digs are, her father then worked at Brome Howard Farm. She talks about family health, chores, relationships with parents, and formal schooling. Mrs. Hall had dreams of becoming a detective and she wanted to get married, have a big kitchen, and enough money to buy ingredients for baking. She talks about having to go to the black movie theater in St. Inigoes, she could not go to the one in Leonardtown and had to sit in the back at the one in Lexington Park. She mentions rooming in Carver Heights for $5/month, race relations, and working at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She has 6 children and her husband owns a septic systems business, she then talks about children, grandchildren, religion, and community involvement. Mrs. Hall speaks at length about segregation throughout St. Mary’s County along with the difference between locals and newcomers. She expresses her views on expansion/land rights and paying property taxes, she talks about her contributions to the community and retiring from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Mrs. Hall concludes the interview by discussing changes in the county, communication, old stores, and learning about slavery.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Ridge

Sister Marilyn Hopewell

Sister Marilyn Hopewell’s interview took place on May 6, 2013. Sister Hopewell discusses growing up in Southern Maryland during the 1960s and 1950s. Her parents, Lila and Benedict Hopewell, raised her in the Ridge. She is the fifth of eight children. Sister Marilyn knew from early on that she wanted to be a nun. She went to Saint Francis to pursue her studies and was typically placed in the top five in her class. When she entered her convent, she decided to become a teacher. Sister Hopewell is very proud of her accomplishments, including her efforts to bring local children to libraries and participation in the Black Movement. (Lexington Park)

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Florence Bailey Lanham

Interviewed on January 16, 1997, Florence Lanham lives in Ridge, Maryland, she was born in Baltimore and grew up in Wicomico County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She speaks at length about her childhood, specifically her parents. They were Methodist and involved with community activities for the church and PTA. She answers questions about health, senior citizens, and the newspapers, she then talks about her siblings and the activities they would do together. Mrs. Lanham went to school in Salisbury and wanted to become a teacher as an adult, she talks about her first job picking fruits and vegetables. She talks about meeting her husband and their wedding day, she also talks about her children and grandchildren. She attends Zion Methodist Church and is the vice president of the Methodist Women, she volunteers for the United Cerebral Palsy and works with AAUW, the League of Women Voters, and the Cancer Society. She discusses race relations and changes in the county along with her thoughts about the Navy Base. She mentions the awards she has received and personal valuable lessons learned throughout her life. Mrs. Lanham concludes the interview by reflecting upon her life achievements and lessons learned in St. Mary’s County.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Elfreda Talbert Mathis

Interviewed on September 18, 2004, Elfreda Mathis started her formal education at St. Peter Claver School in Ridge, Maryland. She and her sister moved to public school when she was in the third grade, and she speaks at length about her formal schooling. She dreamed of going to UCLA but ended up attending Morgan State College and then George Washington for her master's degree. She talks about preparing yourself for life and growing up in Carver Heights. Her neighborhood was segregated except for the Harley Family, she talks a lot about her friends Mrs. Mathis participated in the Newman Club at Morgan State, and she mentions how valuable education is and all of the professors who taught her important life lessons. She speaks at length about her parents and cousins, she started teaching in St. Mary’s County which leads her to discuss how people who make the decisions today, don’t trust children to have any common sense. Mrs. Mathis concludes the interview talking about her daughter and how every task is now counted and measured.

Hear His Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Eva Statesman

Eva Cecilia Smith Statesman was interviewed on July 27, 2016, for the UCAC. She grew up in Ridge, Maryland, as one of seven children. Her parents, Mrs. Elizabeth and Mr. Ellis Smith maintained a large garden, which the children all helped maintain as a part of their daily chores. Mrs. Statesman would attend Scotland School, which was held in a small hall of St. Luke’s Church. She would go on to meet her husband, Alfred Statesman, in school. After getting married, Mrs. Statesman would take ministry classes before having children. Afterward, she worked as a salesperson at Sears. The statesman lived through segregation and later integration. During her young adult years, the norm was to use the back steps for many St. Mary’s Country establishments, including movie theaters and grocery stores. She would raise three children with her husband, both while working jobs. She credits much of her direction to her faith in God.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Scotland

Guffrie M. Smith

Interviewed on July 19, 1999, Guffrie Smith was born in the 1920s, his family lived in the Scotland area off of Route 5, and his mother died when he was five years old. He stayed with his uncle until he went into the Army, he then recounts early memories and his siblings. Mr. Smith attended St. Luke’s Methodist Church and went to Scotland Elementary School and Jarboesville. He discusses his favorite teachers, personal aspirations, and meeting his wife. Mr. Smith worked for Ms. Adele Franz at St. Mary’s College of Maryland after he left home, he was a writer. He started working on the base when he returned from the war, he talked about the role of religion in his life and participating in community activities. He discusses race relations, news sources, his children, and personal contributions to the county. Mr. Smith concludes the interview by talking about the war and how he feels about the way he was treated in the service.

Hear His Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

St. George's Island

Georgia Marie Barnes Milburn

Interviewed on September 26, 1996, Georgia Milburn was born on St. Georges Island, she recalls her childhood being positive. Her earliest memory is of the 1933 flood which swept away her family’s home, she had a good relationship with her siblings. She attended a church that was on the island but they belonged to St. Luke’s in Piney Point. She now attends St. George's Catholic Church in Valley Lee, her family took boat trips in the summer. She answers questions about health, church, senior citizens, and discipline in her childhood. She went to Piney Point Elementary and then Valley Lee School House #1, she dreamed of getting a job and leaving home. Mrs. Milburn went to Happyland where she met her husband, they got married on August 21, 1948. She answers questions about life today, teenagers, segregation, city vs. country, and the Patuxent Naval Base. She reflects upon the most valuable thing she’s ever had and if she has done everything in life that she wanted/planned to do. Mrs. Milburn concludes the interview by talking about her husband and the storm of 1933.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here

Catherine Naomi Blackwell Travers

Interviewed on September 26, 1996, Catherine Travers was born on St. Georges Island at current residence next to Evans Seafood House. She went to Bethany Baptist Church on St. George Island until it was destroyed in the flood of 1933, she attended St. Luke’s Church in Piney Point, MD. She took trips to Marshall Hall, MD as a child and she says that most senior citizens were taken care of in private homes. Mrs. Travers talks about home remedies, games played as a child, chores, and attending St. George Island School. She mentions her favorite teachers and dreams of becoming a nurse or nurses aide, she moved in with her cousin when she first left home. Mrs. Travers met her husband at church functions, she answered questions about people in the county, race relations, living in the county, and locals vs people born outside the county. She speaks at length about courting, social life, the influence of the Naval Base, county growth, and the biggest changes in the County. Mrs. Travers concludes the interview by discussing her contributions to the county, certificates/awards, Torpedo Base, and the flood of 1933.

Hear Her Story

Read The Transcript

Click Here