The Key West Citizen Newspaper, January 10, 1953, Page 8

THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Saturday, January 10, 1953 COLORED COMMUNITY NEWS WINIFRED SANDS JOHNSON, Editor Mr. Pinder, Ambassador Of Good-Will Continues His Mission In Africa CHAPTER I! In the first installment of the story of Frank Pinder, you were told that the Africian mission was not his first experience in helping others. Maybe, you did not take that expression at its true value. To have you fully understand what is meant by helping others. I feel that it is necessary to have you understand the man himself. When Frank came along (boy- hood) conditions were not as they are now. It was hard - very hard to make a living. In a large family such as Frank was a member of, it was necessary for everyone to work in order to have a pot on the fire each day. Few young boys could think of furthering their edu- cation; yet, Frank knew that he wanted to study in order to be able to help others. You may recall the story of Franklin Higgs which was told to you in the first issue of the Color- ed sheet. In it, you were told that Franklin had no money, but he did learn to play the violin and the use of a typewriter. And how with this knowledge he was able to pay his way from Douglass Junior High School straight through to the obtaining of an LL. B. de- gree at Howard University, Wash- ington, D. C. Well, Franklin and Frank were staunch friends. Top ranking stu- dents in school, they along with several other boys, whose out- standing lives I plan to review, would often sit and wonder what would become of them after com- pleting their studies at Douglass Junior High School. These boys had heard and read success stories of other Colored boys. Being inspired, they organ- ized a club. In order to be a mem- ber of this club one had to pos- sess high ideals - a goal in life. They worked, helped their fami- lies, and saved a few pennies each week. Knowing that music often proves to be an ‘open sesame” to many an individual, each member of the club worked most zealously in order to play an instrument. God has a way of helping those who help themselves and demon- strated His interest by sending Rev. Logan and his brilliant wife to Key West. While Rev. Logan acted as pas- tor of Behtel A. M. E. Church, Mrs. Logan taught a private class in typing and shorthand. “The club soon heard of this and fifteen strong, they went. The very first lesson proved interesting. While all stayed on, all did not Van Dyke’s Barber Shop Specializing in LADIES’ WORK 1015 Thomas Street Sands & Williams Licensed Electrical Contractors 316 AMELIA STREET * Phone 2-2700 Marcia’s Place GROCERIES & SUNDRIES Open Until 11 P. 313 TRUMAN AVE. Ph. 2-2249 Imperial Bar & Package Store Serving Whatever Brand You May Call for with Courtesy 1109 Whitehead Street Phone 2-9461 GLOBE SHOE STORE “We Fit The Hard to Fit’ 510 FLEMING ST. MIAMI STORE 30 .N. E. Ist STREET Shenanigans Heydays Life Stride Buxkens FULL LINE OF MEN’S and CHILDREN’S SHOFS PRICE RANGE $1.99 to $18.95 become great typists. Franklin and Frank did. Now in grade 10, the grade for graduation - Frank knew that he had a tool with which he could earn money. With his typewriter, he headed for Florida A. and M. College, Tallahassee, Florida. The story continues... .. . For a time Frank taught agri- cultural subjects at Tuskegee In- stitute. Then he served as an economist in the Farm Security Administration. Early in World War II, when violence flared up between the Jamaicans brought to this country as emergency labor- ers and their American employ- ers, he had been called to arbi- trate the differences between them. As Pinder went about his work in Liberia, there was none of tie fanfare usually associated with a visiting diplomat. Liberia had no loading is the method of carrying supplies. Pinder did not then, and never has, ridden in a hammock slung between -four bearers. In- stead, a sturdy man of medium height, he walked aiong a narrow trail worn through the jungle by generations of native citizens. As he walked along, clad in a ragged white shirt, khaki pants, and heavy work shoes, he puffed away at his pipe, observing the soil, the plants, the trees. He was intensely interested in every as- pect of this countryside which he would do a great deal to change in certain localities. As he went, his soft voice and friendly smile made him more welcome than any official trappings could have done. Wartime shortages made it im- possible to get any of the supplies that Pinder needed for a trek through a tropical country. He did not wait for supplies. He lived on the land as he went along, and he lived with the people, learining to fit himself into the customs of the country. He learned to know the peoples’ problems and their needs at first hand. When he came to a village, he went immediately to the palaver house - which was also the guest house - and presented himself to the village chief. Toward sundown, when. the day’s work was over, the chief would summon the village elders and long talks followed. These talks might be continued on the several nights of Pinder’s visit. He found it necessary to listen sympathetically to accounts of a variety of troubles such as boun- dary disputes, domestic squabbles, and tales of hunting prowess. He managed, always, to turn the con- versation back to crops, seeds, Plants, seasons, and methods of cultivation. This was not too diffi- cult because everywhere the people lived on a day-to-day basis and the threat of hunger was constant- ly with them. What Pinder found in the coun- try back of the coastal strip point- ed to the need for some drastic changes in methods of farming. The Liberian custom of moving on to a new clearing each year, al- lowing the cultivated land of the previous year to go back to bush, was wasteful of manpower and land. There was very little pro- tein food, meat, fish, eggs - in the diet of the people. Fresh vege- tables were always scarce and practically nonexistent in the dry season. Rice and Cassava were the prin- cipal foods. Often, they were the only foods. A little corn was grown in a haphazard manner among the other crops. Rice was planted in the uplands in the rainy season between April and November, but not enough was grown to carry through the dry months. Hence, the “hungry season.” Talking with the village chiefs and elders, Pinder pointed out to them that if they would clear the inland swamps a crop of rice could be grown which would carry them through the dry months. They protested that it was impossible to clear those swamps {was too dense. Men were not strong enough to do it. Besides, it had never been done before. Patiently Frank Pinder assured them over }done. He would show them how |with the help of the steel tools |he had brought along. Finally one village decided to | try it. Once the decision was made. leven the grumblers came along DIAZ— GROCERIES AND MEATS 728 Simonton Street PHONE 2.6222 Lincoln Theater 805 Emma Street Phone 2-6642 beasts of burden. Human head- | The growth | and over again that it could be | A Pioneer nomic Mission.” It is his duty here to teach the Liberians to liv MR. FRANK PINDER, a native Key Wester, is now stationed in Liberia, Africa with the “Eco- e richer and fuller lives. since they had had their say in the palaver house, very much in the manner of a New England he had promised, helped in the strenuous task of clearing the bush. Afterward he kept in close touch with the village, offering sug- gestions about the planting and re- joicing when signs of sprouting be- gan.) At'the time of the harvest, Pin- der saw to it that a meeting of chiefs and elders from nearby vil- lages was called so that they could see with their own eyes the mir- acle of a rice crop in the dry season. The demonstration was more persuasive than a dozen argu- ments to communities which al- ready had begun to tighten their belts, In the next dry season, other “hungry farms,” as they are called began to appear in the swamps. The Liberians took other steps followed Pinder’s instructions about planting hybrid corn, giving it the special attention it needed. In some places they experimented with open ditch irrigation to grow vege- tables in the dry season, using seeds given them by the American. Frank Pinder never went out on an expedition without seeds. He was both an itinerant preacher of agri- culture and a Johnny Appleseed of Liberia. Now, cabbage which used to sell for a cent a leaf costs only a few cents a pound; a small onion which used to be worth five cents, sells for about the same price as it would in the United States. Tales of the improvements crops, trees, poultry were carried to the tribal chiefs. When Pinder called at the palaver house of one of these important personages, he found the chief and his council were interested and would take suggestions. Since the word of such a chief was law all down the line, the area grew where people not only were raising more and better food for themselves but al- sd had some left over to sell. These first important steps were not without their cost. In seven years of making what the Libe. rians call “patrols,” Pinder suffer. ed attacks of malaria, dysentery, and other tropical ills when he was in the interior from medical help One of the first plans out in the early days of nomic Mission was the t Liberians in modern farming. Sixty tr Ihave been sent 0 jimportant farmi {the use of impr fa oft far ma to the area to oved seed, Drop-Inn Liquor Siore 504 Petronia Street Phone 2-6432 Town Meeting. The American, as | toward helping themselves. They | | WOMAN’S CIVIC CLUB ‘SPONSORS PROGRAM dered an Emancipation program in the Douglass School Audi- | torium. | PROGRAM | America __ Audience | Invocation Rev. W. N. Mc- Lean, pastor of Trinity Pres- byterian Church. | Choral Singers Miss | Mercedes Hannibal and group. Gettysburg Address 2 Miss Jean Tynes | Lift Every Voice and Sing ts -.. Audience “I Speak for De- mocrac’ Miss Joyce Mounts Selection Choral Group Reading—‘“Emancipation: Proc- lamation R. Franklin Smith Introduction of Speaker lisse Mrs. Arsenia |. Dean, Mistress of Ceremonies. Emancipation Address Rey. A. Franklin Hooper, pas- tor of Cornish Chapel A.M.E, Zion Church, Response Reading _ Mrs. Mary On Thursday, January 1, 1953,) the Woman's Civie Club” ren-| Club Activities By Mrs. Grace Palacios The Woman’s Civic Club will jhold its regular meeting on Mon- day, January 12th at the Communi- ty Center at 7:30 p. m. As this will be the first meeting of the |New Year, all members are asked to attend. : Mr. and Mrs. George Dean, Sr., jentertained the Woman's Civic Club on the occasion of their fifth marriage anniversary. Many congratulations and toasts | were extended to the couple, after which a delicious buffet-supper was | served. Needless to say, that this entertainment was greatly enjoyed by all. | Rev. and Mrs. Hooper were the honored guests. | | Moreno, past president of Woman's Civic Club. | Civic Club |The Star Spangled Banner -. Audience. Benediction). ee ~ Rev. A. Franklin Hooper. in | IF MRS, EDNA CAREY Blue Heaven illiard 729 Thomas Street | They Head The March Of Dimes Drive |\to underwrite vast j/gia, Kentucky, MANI PEREZ — Prop. 316 Petronia Street Phone 2-9272 Mrs. Carrye Minor|KEY WEST PLANS CENTER Loses Only Child |FOR COLORED SERVICEMEN One of the most touching scenes of grief displayed in Douglass School in a long time was that shown by Mrs. Carrye E. Minor, teacher of home economics, upon receiving word of her son’s death on Monday, January 5, 1953 as a result of a tonsillectomy performed in the general hospital of Jensen, Florida. Mrs. Minor had returned only the night before from a holiday vaca- tion spent with her family at Jen- sen Beach, Florida. While there her son, Don, age 9, and two younger brothers suffer- ed severe throat troubles. Ever on the alert to make her family as happy as possible, she placed all | three in the hospital to be attend- | ed to. Surgery was recommended for her son. Leaving him in the care of the hospital personnel and her mother, she left on Sunday morn- ing, January 4th in order to be at her teaching post for the opening of | School on Monday morning, Jan- | uary 5th. At exactly 10:00 a. m. Monday, a scream that had all the anguish | of death in it was heard. The, whole school community wonder- ed what could have happened to have caused such an outburst from one so sedate and reserved as Mrs. Mrs. Minor, the whole community shares your grief. you personally, know what hopes and dreams you had for Don’s fu- ture. We know how dearly you loved him. Your every plan was to make him happy. We can only ask that his cherish- ed memory ever remain with you and that your great loss be a con- tinuous reminder to all of us that man proposes and God disposes Accept our deepest sympathy in your hour of trial. MARCH OF DIMES DRIVE BEGINS BY Mrs. Edna Carey The vital need for putting the 1952 March of Dimes over the top was stressed today by Mrs. Edna S. Carey and Mr. Floyd Hanni- bal, following their return from a pre-campaign meeting held at Tus- kegee Institute, October 29-30. The meeting, which was attend- ed by Negro campaign leaders and delegates from 15 states, was call- ed for the purpose of outlining specifically the gravity of the polio situation in the nation, campaign, January 2-31, to secure sufficient funds to carry on the work of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. “The 1953 March of Dimes,” they said, “‘must be the greatest ever conducted. During the past j year polio struck the nation with the worst force in history. More than 50,000 American boys and} girls, men and women, were hit by the disease, and patient care cost to the March of Dimes, for 1952 alone, ran to an estimated $30,000,000!"” Mrs. Carey and Mr. Hannibal pointed out that polio is still on for the past five years the inci- dence of cases has been over- jwhelming. “‘Consequent they said, ‘during the i952 drive we | must work unceasingly to replen- hh the depleted March of D.mes treasury. For not only does patient |care consume tremendous sums of money, but it is also imperative |that the March of Dimes continue scientific re- search and professional training Programs.” Among speakers at the meeting were: Dr. G. Foard McGinnes, a regional medical consultant of the National Foundation; Jossph Nee assistant fund-raising medical con. sultant of the National Foundati +; Dr. Clair E. Turner, the Natio Foundation’s school consultant, 2 Charles H. Bynum, director of in |terracial activities. States repre sented at the two-day meetin: |eluded: Alabama, Florida Mississippi Carolina, South ¢ see, Virginia, Arka Missouri, Oklahoma, ia and Texas. Floyd Hannibal, .ch March of Dimes, Colore Mrs. Edna Carey, ch Mothers’ March on P. To help raise f{ March of Dimes a d show will be given at Hall on 5S. i Lew na West Virg CHILDREN’S WEAR — Chubbies Also 534 Duval Street | children Minor. Cause? the death of her} only child. } We, around Douglass, who know | and for | planning an all-out March of Dimes | the increase in the nation, and that | As a result of the extensive work: and foresight of Wallace Coleman, steward first class of New Orleans, and others, a service center for Colored personnel will be establish- ed in Key West, Florida. Coleman, who is presently serv- ing with Submarine Squadron Twelve, aboard the U. S. S. Bush- {nell resides with his wife, the for- mer Miss Emma Martin of New Orleans, Louisiana and their four (ranging from seven years to one year in age) at Fort Village. Realizing that Key West has many enlisted men and little or no recreational facilities for Color- ed service personnel, Coleman has given ‘up much of his own time and energy to assist in establish- ling this center for personnel and |dependents with the greatest em- phasis being placed on entertain- ment for younger men. As plans move forward toward a “home away from home” for the large number of Colored per- sonnel in the area, we can see this well-conceived plan (by res- ponsible civilians and naval per- sonnel develop into maturity. On the 12th of December, the Mayor of Key West, the county recreation commissioner, church leaders, and naval personnel met and chose officers for the group. |They are Mr. Roy Allen, princi- pal of Douglass School, president | Mrs. Marie S. Welters, secretary; Mr. Joe Allen, county commission- jer, treasurer. | Starting from scratch, not much in the line of facilities or money is available. There is still a great |bit of work to be done, | The center will be housed in the former V. F. W. Hall (Dixie) which has facilities for dancing and games. There will be a kitchen where refreshments can be pre- jpared. The main features will be |dancing with hoste: and a |place for relaxation. Instruction in {all types of handicraft will even- tually be added. A bid to be united with the |United States Service Organiza- |tion has been made, hewever, not allowing financial barriers to hind- |er them, the committee is working straight ahead. The city has | agreed to pay electrical and water maintenance, and the V. F. W. will donate the hall, rent free for a period of four months. A formal request has been sub- | mitted to the Navy charity fund for $2,500, and along with this a |“Smoker” is planned in January te raise additional funds. It is interesting to note that the hall served as a Y. M. C. A. and | USO annex during World War II, operating under the same proposed program but differing in activi- j ties. | The date of the opening is still uncertain (about the first of the year), When it is finally opened the hours will be from 12:00 a. m. to 12 p. m., seven days per week. | WILL HOLD MEETING The regular monthly meeting of the Douglass School P. T. A. is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p. m. in the school audi- | torium All parents, teachers and friends are cordially invited to attend SHORTY’S BAR 416 Petronia Street Air Conditioned Under New Management BLUE GOOSE RESTAURANT 801 THOMAS STREET Food at All Times Juan Sorriano 1011 Whitehead Street MEAT and GROCERIES PHONE 26122 Modern Cleaners 701 Thomas Street Blanche Jones, Prop 24 HOUR SERVICE News Of F.F.W.3 American Legion Events By DONZEL LEGGETT, JR. Approximately 500 persons at- |tended the opening night dance at the new V. F. W. American Legion Clubhouse. They danced to the mu- sic of Jackie Brenston and his “Rocket 88” Orchestra. It will be a date long to be remembered. We would like to point out some facts at this time, (for the benefit of the “orchestra critics’), as to |why Jackie Brenston’s Orchestra was selected for the Dedication dance. Every effort was made by the dance committee, for three months prior to the 13th, to ob- tain a more outstanding band for that occasion. But every effort failed. Since no other bands were available in this territory at that particular time, we had to settle for Jackie Brenston's band. The new “clubhouse” provided many nights of entertainment for the public during the holidays. A Christmas Eve Breakfast Dance, Open House Dance on Christmas day and a “Free Dance on the Saturday after Christmas. There was also a Breakfast Dance on New Year’s Eve night. All of these affairs were well attended, The Posts are pleased to an- nounce two coming attractions that will be staged at the “hall” in the near future: On Saturday night, January 24, 1953, the Griffen Brothers’ Orches- tra will play a return engagement for us. This is a fast rising young “combo” orchestra which has gained tremendous popularity in |the past year, with their record- |ings and personal appearances. One week later, January 3ist, Johnny Otis and his “All Star Re- vue” will be making their third appearance in Key West. This at- traction drew capacity crowds both times they were here and is one of the most popular bands that ever played in Key West. Little Esther is no longer with them, her stock having risen immeasurably, she has branched out as a “Single” vocadynamic singer who created and creates a sensation wherever she goes. Then, there is the versa- tile singing star, Mel Walker and an added attraction, Jimmy Wea- therspoon, popular Blues singer. These are only a few of the “Stars” that V. F. W. Post 6021 and American Legion Post 168 ex- pect to bring you in the future. 0. K. SHOE SHOP 706 Duval Street Men's Work and Dress Shoes | SHOE REPAIR LEO THOMAS | TAXICAB SERVICE Phone 2-9125 \ Home 2-5698 | Acme | Package Store 309 PETRONIA STREET Phone 2-9400 Tropical Hat Cleaners 714 Thomas Street Key West. Fla. GRACE WALKER SHOES EXCLUSIVELY AT Appelrouth’s CUWAL ST aT NDITIONED F Shoe Center Proms 225%2 OR YOUR COMPORT