Code,131006
Speaker,Melvin Walker
Date,?
Interviewer,?
Abstract,"Melvin Walker was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 22, 1943. He moved to the area in 1962 with his wife and 2 children (they later had 4 together) after he graduated from Glenville High School in 1961. WalkerÕs parents were originally from Mississippi and migrated north to find work. Since then, Walker has traveled to many different places and has had varying experiences. He counted that he has had an extremely impressive 32 jobs in his life, from all ends of the spectrum. Walker considers his first job to be when he served in the army for one and a half years, fortunately during a peaceful period. After that, he was a packer at a grocery store. As Walker is a people person, his favorite job was delivering mail. He says that, even through the Hough Riots, people appreciated their mail and always remained pleasant toward him. Walker also spent a lot of time working many jobs in the medical field. He ended his career at a VA Hospital, when he retired due to his disabilities in 1990. Though Walker has had strokes, heart attacks, and an amputated leg, he is still a very vibrant character and loves to look back on his memories of playing basketball in the neighborhood and listening to music. Walker loves music, especially jazz, and loved the nights he spent at the nights he spent at LeoÕs Casino or GleasonÕs bar, watching the new era of influential musicians come about. Though heÕs moved around a lot, Walker has officially stayed in the Cleveland area since 1976."
Tags,"Melvin, Walker,"
Special Notes,sound cut off at minute 38
,
0,introductions
1,moved to the neighborhood 1962 after graduating from glenville
2,"served 1.5 yrs in the army--berlin wall, bay of pigs"
3,"describes the projects--""we were a communityÉ we interacted with eachother"""
4,
5,used to go to burton center and play basketball/swim; lots of different schools in the area--accessible
6,
7,left area ~'65-'66; back in the area since he became a senior citizen; been at present address 13 yrs
8,"went missionary baptist church; entertainment--leo's casino, gleason's bar, lots of clubs"
9,"went to movies, watched television--beverly hill billies, howdy doody; listened to radio"
10,used to carry mail-most significant job; also carried mail in L.A.
11,
12,"volunteered at hospital=last job, retired due to disability 1990"
13,
14,"favorite activity=basketball; ran track, played lots of sports"
15,"carried mail during the hough riots, but no hostility because everybody likes the mailman"
16,"smells that bring back memories--fish fry, chicken fry, blossoming trees in spring"
17,
18,schooling
19,"played basketball for church; 105th known as ""the gold coast"" so many businesses"
20,"4 theatres by euclid 104, lots of shopping, skating rink by cedar ave"
21,"lots of clubs, danced all over, saw first male go-go dancers"
22,go around to different swimming pools and dive w/ friends
23,"people would fight, but didn't have weapons. It was fun; mother/father separated when he was 5, 1 brother"
24,mom worked in factory-took care
25,"went to tri-c in 1975, took classes (music, philosophy, nursing), never graduated"
26,"1976 emt certification in california, a lot of medical background"
27,"leg amputated sept. 12, 2012, has had strokes, heart attacks, etc."
28,"while delivering mail:community was peaceful before the riots, druggies here and there"
29,"projects ""never got back to what it was""; more people (families); his family unusual back then"
30,"loved to watch horse-drawn wagons carry ice, coal, etc.down the street"
31,different places he delivered mail
32,typical day of delivering mail
33,
34,"ate lunch at valerios usually; took a bus, not allowed to drive"
35,main points of interest in the neighborhood
36,simple toys that would entertain
37,recreation facilities--only really paid attention to the basketball courts
38,first significant job as a packer at a super market
39,
40,favorite job at the post office-liked to interact with people
41,"loves roast beef, beans, rice, spaghetti, pies"
42,made less than $1/hr when bagging groceries; made about $2.16/hr delivering mail
43,parents came from mississippi to cleveland; migrated to make more money
44,"grandparents came, sent for children when money made"
45,"still has family all over; son lives in boston, daughters in cali, michigan, minnesota, cleveland; 7 children"
46,loved rock and roll
47,"liked line dances, slow dances, dance called ""the slop"", ""the madison"", ""the jerk"", ""the twist"""
48,music that he loved
49,(jazz was his favorite)
50,"lost when rap came out, like his parents didn't like rock and roll"
51,generational differences--mostly musically
52,different people who came to leo's casino; gleason's was mostly blues
53,went to california after divorce from wife in cleveland (1967)
54,"lived in compton last, lived in parts of hollywood, downtown l.a."
55,mail routes in l.a. pretty confined
56,worked in factories later in life
57,"enjoyed nursing, used to be a psychiatric attendant"
58,"came back to stay in 1976, lived on westchester and 105 w/ mom"
59,worked a lot of technical jobs
60,favorite holiday is july 4 b/c everyone celebrates/lots of activities/family oriented