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Evelyn Brooks: Well, maybe-- the whole concept of the community center. It
was not accepted by the entire church. Uh, they, they, they. They just were
not amenable to the change in what a church had traditionally done. They
could not see that far down the road. Uh, if it had caught on and if they
had been receptive to this projection of the pastor's thinking, the
Methodist Church Union would not have this center here because it would
have been established there. Um, naturally, it was predominantly for Black
people because at that time, you know, the integration was not, although we
lived in the North, it was just, you know, everybody went their own way.
Uh, it was led the minister of-- brought into the community very competent
people who would head up the director. They might not have had a degree in
social work, but they were competent people and they did enlist the
volunteer help of church members. But it just wasn't in the thinking of
some of the board people that it should be them. They felt that, I suppose,
that the work of the church is just within the four walls of the church.
The outreach. Well, I never heard that before, but the program, when it was
in the ________[??], I had some very, very fond memories. I had an
opportunity where I saw my first basketball game. The first vacation Bible
school that I ever attended. That was really, truly an experience, a
vacation Bible school. It's a Bible oriented, but, um, it provided, um,
activities at the Sunday School didn't provide. It was every day and it
went for six weeks. Um, the beautiful things that we made, uh, baskets.
That's when I learned to weave, uh, the mats that we made, the flowers and
the exposure to a women who had really achieved academically who headed up
the program. Uh, I think this is when I decided that I wanted to go into
community work. Um, dramatic. It was just-- Just fascinating.
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Nora Faires: You are employed at that time. Brooks: Pardon me? Faires:
Were you employed at that time?
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Brooks: No, that was back in 1925. The first vacation Bible school I went
to, I was a student. I think you-- The registration fee was $0.35. And, uh,
you would go, uh, every morning at nine from nine till 12. And, uh, you
were in a class and there were just oodles of kids and you learn new songs
and you learn-- Oh, I just loved it. I don't remember getting a snack
because it was an unheard of thing at that time. I'm talking about my own
peers. You got your breakfast at home. You know, your parents wouldn't send
you out without a breakfast and you had your breakfast, so there was no
need to serve a snack in the vacation Bible school. Now, that's the first
thing they do in vacation Bible school. Now be sure you have a snack or
food. I know food is important and all that business, but I argued against
it. The vacation Bible School was really and truly I think the impetus for
my wanting to get into community work. Um, let's see what else
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Brooks: Exciting has happened. If you ask, ask me questions-- I never been
so many exciting things that happened-- maybe to other people, they would
be, but to me they were very exciting. Uh, our church afforded for me, uh,
as I said before, really and truly a just a marvelous exposure to cultural
things. And I've had an opportunity to do all the things that I have ever
wanted-- to act, to speak, to sing, to teach, to administer. I had the
opportunity to do all those things in my hands. Really and truly. I was,
uh, conducting a, uh, uh.
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Brooks: Recreational program in my church. It was an indoor picnic, and
this is how I became involved in the work of the center. The director
visited our church that day. I don't know. He had heard that there was a,
uh, indoor picnic going on, and he asked me would I like to work at the
center? And I had volunteered-- Not at that particular-- not with him, but
at the Homestead Center, was located at another area. In another area. And
I, I didn't know and I told him I would let him know and I forgot all about
it. And about two weeks later, he called me and that's how I became
involved. But my church afforded me the opportunity and I started taking
courses enrolled in.
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Brooks: Took a couple courses over at the university from time to time. I
always had in the back of my head one thing in life I had been denied
that-- I wasn't bitter about it, but I was. I felt just a little sad
because I didn't have a college degree and the Depression was the cause of
that. So after I helped my nephew to go to school and I was able to realize
that ambition, the university offered the new careers program and there was
a white girl who was working here doing her field work here. And she-- she
thought I had a degree. And I told her no. She says, Well, there's a
program over the university.
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Faires: Is this Pitt?
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Brooks: Yes. Faires: Yeah. She says, there's a program over there. She
says that you could enroll in and you could get your degree. And I said,
Oh, they wouldn't accept me. She says, I'll bring you the application. And
she did. And I filled it out and dropped it in the mailbox and forgot about
it. And I heard from them and, oh, I suppose less than a week. And they
accepted me. And 1970 and 1970, the fall of 70, 1974, I received my
diploma. So I realized that ambition and all of it ties in with my family,
living in the community, working in community, church.
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Faires: What about the other social clubs in the area. You've-- you've
just mentioned a few of them.
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Brooks: Alright, there are-- There are three federated clubs that belong
to the Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs, Inc. Uh, they
are affiliated at the county, at the county, state and national level.
These clubs are, um, uh, based primarily here in Homestead, but the
memberships are not exclusively from-- the members are not exclusive from
Homestead. Some of them have lived in Homestead, but they have moved into
other areas. Uh, they meet people with similar interests and they bring
them into the club. These clubs, um, in addition to other social clubs,
bridge clubs. Um, some of the church clubs, the, the fraternal
organizations play a large part in their contributions to the Homestead, to
our center.
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Brooks: Um, this is how we have several, several people who are on our
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Brooks: Board who are representatives from these community clubs. You
know, the community which has or the United Way, uh, said that you must
involve-- and I don't like the term grass root people. They say this, uh,
but a lot of times they really and truly don't mean it. And then a lot, a
lot of times, uh, the grass root people are a little reluctant to go on
boards because they know that they don't have, uh, maybe they have it, but
they, they don't feel that, uh, they have the ability to articulate, uh, as
a board member should, uh. When I became the director, I was the director
of the Homestead Community Center when we were two agencies. I was the
director. Um, when we were
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Brooks: Requested to involve people that we sent to clubs and our letter
to clubs asking them to choose someone. To represent them. 'Cause they were
contributing to the community center. They should have some say as to how
the program should be run. Uh.
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Brooks: All of them responded. And over a period of years, uh, the people
who have-- who were chosen, there have been some changes. Many of them now
are officers of the merged board of the Museum Board. Um, I also felt that
something should be provided some, uh, orientation or some, uh, class
should be, uh, offered to people who are on certain boards. Uh, University
of Pittsburgh is offering a course to board members. Uh, there will be a
ten week course beginning next Tuesday, and 2 or 3 of our board people are
working people, and for-- I know two of them, this will be their first time
to be enrolled in a class over at the university.
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Faires: Do those-- those clubs, do they play a big role in the social life
of the community, would you say? Brooks: Yes. Faires: Um, and over the
years?
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Brooks: If your interest is of people. You can find it in these various
clubs. Uh, those who are interested-- one time bridge was a real important
activity for a lot of people. Lot of bridge clubs were formed and a lot of
them have remained intact. Another interest that people have here in the
community, I suppose it's their missionary spirit. They want to do
something for someone else. And a club that was formed in our Homestead,
they had come to the Homestead Community Center to learn how to square
dance. And I had taught them how to square dance. And out of that, one of
the strongest charitable collectives in the community was the Hand Clap.
And they make contributions to-- and they-- they make it without having to
go through a budget and a lot of hassle that if anyone in the community,
anyone in the community suffers some loss or say, for instance, there's a
fire, they don't have to know the person. They immediately come to the
family with a check for $200 or 150, whatever. They have been known for the
past 30, 20 years. They've been an organization 20 years to come to the
rescue of people in the community. The social life for the middle class
Black in this community is met primarily through the church. The experience
for others. And I-- and this would include some middle class Blacks, more
lower middle class and lower class. The beer garden offers a lot of
entertainment. We are-- there are a number of beer gardens in the area. Uh,
the beer garden culture is different here than in any place, any other
place I been to.
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Brooks: Even more, and I think it's because of the mill. It's not uncommon
for the mill man to stop at the beer garden before going home. It is not
uncommon for a group of women to congregate in the beer garden daily and
this is where their peers come and this is where they enjoy a social
contact. Some of these people belong to some of these clubs. The majority
of them don't because this is their own culture. Um, they are very close
with each other. They have a code of ethics that maybe those of us who are
not in that set don't understand it. Uh, but they, it's their code and they
still stand by their code. They are very close to each other. Uh, they
sometimes, uh, wonder about the motives of some stranger when they come in.
Uh, there are some people who they would not accept, uh, uh, even Blacks.
And there, there are. If I ever go into a beer garden here in Homestead
with the group that is there now, they would be suspect of my methods. They
would not mistreat me. I don't feel that I have to be afraid to go in, but
I would have to be very careful of my approach to them. I do feel that
having worked in the community, particularly where young men are concerned,
where boys are concerned, I've always felt this way, that I never was
afraid of the kids who worked in the center.
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Brooks: We used to pull them up in the-- when we were on Main Street and I
had the pool, but I was never afraid to go into the pool because I felt
that these fellows who were in the pool room had enough respect for me
because I respected them. But if I needed their help, they would protect
me. I remember one night I was coming down the steps and the kids-- fellows
were throwing snowballs at me. Up the steps that the girls who, you know,
I-- the girls were-- Oh, they're about to throw the snow. And I said, well,
they like you. That's why they're throwing-- well, they're opening the door
and just pitch in the snow. So I hollered down the steps and I'm getting
ready to come down the steps. There was no more snow. Uh, I walked into a
group of kids fighting and girls, and I'm not particularly fond of girls,
but I walked in a group of girls and they were fighting. One girl had a
knife in her hand, and I just gently took the-- the one who didn't have the
knife out of the group. And someone asked me, Aren't you afraid? I said,
No. Maybe I thought about it afterwards, but I felt that there-- these kids
would not turn on me. Times have changed. You asked me about change in the
community. I don't feel as safe walking the streets late at night as I did
before because I don't work directly with the kids now. But the 20 years
that I did, I was not afraid to walk in front of any of those kids, and I
was not afraid to go into the pool room. Some of our staff people were
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Brooks: reluctant to go, but I. I never was-- And I really enjoyed it, I
never had a child to give me a real bad time. Faires: Well, I want to thank
you so much. Brooks: Oh, well, I hope I've been the-- I hope I answered all
your questions. I'm sure they're downstairs.
