Dublin Core
Title
Oral history with Leonard Smith
Subject
[no text]
Description
An oral history interview conducted with Leonard Smith by Eli Pousson as part of an IMPART funded oral history research project.
Creator
[no text]
Source
[no text]
Publisher
[no text]
Date
10-Jul-07
Contributor
[no text]
Rights
[no text]
Relation
[no text]
Format
digital
Language
[no text]
Type
[no text]
Identifier
lsmith2007
Coverage
[no text]
Contribution Form
Online Submission
No
Posting Consent
[no text]
Submission Consent
[no text]
Contributor is Creator
[no text]
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Eli Pousson
Interviewee
Leonard Smith
Location
In Leonard Smith's home
Transcription
Leonard Smith is from Beltsville and has family that has lived in the area for over 100 years. As a child, he would travel to Lakeland to attend the First Baptist church and went to the Lakeland high school. He speaks about the church community. He lived on a farm as tenants and was poor as a child, his mother and 5 children. Leonard speaks about canning food and picking tomatoes. There were other tenant farms in the area. Rent was $6 a month. His mother washed people’s clothes. He describes his teacher and the school house as well as the new school house that was built. Later in the interview, he speaks about the Rosenwald School process.
Community life is mentioned a lot throughout the interview. “Everybody knew everybody,†is a quote repeated many times throughout the interview. There were many events the community took part in, such as Lakeland Day or Emancipation Day. Also talks about the jobs in Lakeland; three main areas of the job sector, cooking or cleaning at the University of Maryland, working at the gold fish farm, and working at the B&O railroad and street car line. Life among the children is mentioned frequently during the interview as well as ways they earned money for themselves and for their families.
Leonard talks about how his mother and step-father (step-father from North Carolina, worked at UMD) met at the Baptist Church and married. They stayed on the farm until they bought a piece of land near Beltsville. His parents bought a building for $25 dollars at a CC camp for the lumber. He goes on to describe how the house was built and where it is located. He moved in with his uncle, Lawrence Hawkins, and aunt, Julia Hawkins so he could walk to the Lakeland high school. His uncle was a cook at the University of Maryland.
Leonard speaks about Lakeland after WWII. There were people who had PhDs and were very educated. Many children he grew up with went to a University, including himself. He went to Princess Anne College. He goes on to speak about his children attending the University of Maryland and their extensive background in education. Leonard tells a story of segregation and how he was not able to attend the University of Maryland.
He speaks about civil rights movement in 50’s and about segregation and its effects. Also mentions segregation at the University of Maryland. However, according to Leonard, Lakeland didn’t experience too much of these issues.
He speaks about urban renewal or “urban removalâ€. It worked to his advantage because he lived in a bungalow and was able to move a bigger house. He bought the lot for $500 dollars from a lawyer and built the house they wanted on that lot. It was an improvement. He was involved during the urban renewal since he was the president of the city association and the first negro commander. In addition, Leonard speaks about what Lakeland was like before urban renewal and after urban renewal.
Important history events in Lakeland: The park had many family reunions. There were events where that would recognize important families who contributed a lot. The events that brought the community together were considered important events in Lakeland.
Community life is mentioned a lot throughout the interview. “Everybody knew everybody,†is a quote repeated many times throughout the interview. There were many events the community took part in, such as Lakeland Day or Emancipation Day. Also talks about the jobs in Lakeland; three main areas of the job sector, cooking or cleaning at the University of Maryland, working at the gold fish farm, and working at the B&O railroad and street car line. Life among the children is mentioned frequently during the interview as well as ways they earned money for themselves and for their families.
Leonard talks about how his mother and step-father (step-father from North Carolina, worked at UMD) met at the Baptist Church and married. They stayed on the farm until they bought a piece of land near Beltsville. His parents bought a building for $25 dollars at a CC camp for the lumber. He goes on to describe how the house was built and where it is located. He moved in with his uncle, Lawrence Hawkins, and aunt, Julia Hawkins so he could walk to the Lakeland high school. His uncle was a cook at the University of Maryland.
Leonard speaks about Lakeland after WWII. There were people who had PhDs and were very educated. Many children he grew up with went to a University, including himself. He went to Princess Anne College. He goes on to speak about his children attending the University of Maryland and their extensive background in education. Leonard tells a story of segregation and how he was not able to attend the University of Maryland.
He speaks about civil rights movement in 50’s and about segregation and its effects. Also mentions segregation at the University of Maryland. However, according to Leonard, Lakeland didn’t experience too much of these issues.
He speaks about urban renewal or “urban removalâ€. It worked to his advantage because he lived in a bungalow and was able to move a bigger house. He bought the lot for $500 dollars from a lawyer and built the house they wanted on that lot. It was an improvement. He was involved during the urban renewal since he was the president of the city association and the first negro commander. In addition, Leonard speaks about what Lakeland was like before urban renewal and after urban renewal.
Important history events in Lakeland: The park had many family reunions. There were events where that would recognize important families who contributed a lot. The events that brought the community together were considered important events in Lakeland.
Original Format
[no text]
Duration
About 1 Hour and 40 minutes
Bit Rate/Frequency
[no text]
Time Summary
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