Jerry and Rosa Hinton

Jerry Hinton was born in 1897 in Raleigh, NC and moved to Truxtun shortly after arriving in Portsmouth to work as a general helper at the shipyard. Although he would keep this position until retiring, he worked in skilled positions such as mechanic and fork lift operator. Hinton remarked about how Truxtun changed over the years. When he first moved in, the town did not have a church. Instead, residents met in the mess hall until an edifice was constructed and became Mount Carmel Baptist Church. It also did not have a school until Truxtun Elementary School was built. However, the community united in numerous ways including the Truxtun baseball team that played games with local teams in the 1920s and '30s. At the time of the interview, they lived at 36 Manly Street in the Truxtun section of Portsmouth, VA.

(Audio Interview transcription)

This is an interview with Jerry Hinton and Rosa Hinton in Truxton, a neighborhood in Portsmouth, Virginia on September 23, 1981.

Q: First, Mr. Hinton, would you tell me where and when you were born?

A: I was born April the 5th, 1897.

Q: And wher, sir?

A: In Raleigh, North Carolina.

Q: Uh, hmmm. Okay, and you were looking for a better paying job?

A: Better payin' job?

Q: Okay, and you came to Portsmouth to work? Where?

A: That's where I was, still workin' on she ( ) Yeah. And after I left the Sheeboard, I went to the Navy Yard.

Q: And do you remember when you went to the Navy yard?

A: 19 and uh 22.

Q: 1922. And what job did you start out at the Navy yard as?

A: Well, a general helper, just do anything that come along, foreman.

Q: Okay, were there many other blacks working at the Naval shipyard?

A: Yes, sir, it 'twas a lot of 'em workin'. Yeah, it was a lotta' colored people.

Q: Were they helpers, or . . .

A: It was some helpers, and some were uh laborers and all like that.

Q: Okay, uhmmm, could you give me an example of what kind of work a helper would do?

A:A helper would help a mechanic. Whatever machine the mechanic had to do, the helper would help him. Help the mechanic. Uh, give him tools, he call for a different tool or anything like that, he would give him that too.

Q: I see. And uh, how long did you, uh were you a helper?

A: Well, I, I stayed a helper until if I uh, I come out here.

Q: Uh, hmmm.

A: I, I had a fork lift I operated, but I still I was a helper.

Q:Uh, huh. Still classified as a helper.

A: Yeah.

Q: When you uhm, moved to Truxton, uh, uh how old was Truxton, do you remember?

A: Uh, Truxton was about uh, I'll say three years old.

Q: So you moved here when it was very young?

A: Very young.

Q: Would you describe for us what uh, Truxton looked like when you moved here?

A: Well, when I first come there, Truxton was a, just a forrest, just a, a beautiful place. And the sidewalk would come right to you and right back close up to your door. The sidewalk weren't way off in the street like it's here now. COme right to your door. That was on Manley Street, anyway, but some other streets, well, it didn't come that way.

Q: Did you have paved streets, or?

A: No paved streets.

Q: No paved street. Do you remember when the streets were paved?

A: I can remember, we uh, my madam and myself, I say we got uh, when uh, got people up to (have this here) pavement put down.

Q: Oh, I see. Uhm, who provided the uh, services for Truxton, such as the garbage pickup, water, police protection, is that provided by Portsmouth?

A: No, dat, Truxton, uh wasn't in, wasn't in Portsmouth, then. It wasn't in Portsmouth. Twas a government reservation, and we had to provide our own garbage and everything ourself.

Q:Oh, y'all had to pay . . .

A: Had to pay somebody for doin' all that.

Q: How long did that last?

A: It last until uhm Portsmouth took Truxton over.

Q: And do you remember when that was?

A: I don't remember exactly when that was.

Q: Before World War II?

A: Yeah, it's before World War II.

Q: Okay. Well, were there any uh, do you recall did you all have to provide your own police?

A: Own police.

Q:And so uh, there were black policemen then who were working.

A: No, we had lady, we had one black, but most time we had white police.

Q: Oh, y'all had white policemen?

A: Yeah, had white policemen.

Q: How did you, where di you find, uh did you just hire policemen from Portsmouth to come out here?

A: Uh, no, we were uh, taken (cammed down) dere, when anything happened.

Q: Oh, I see.

A: Right chere, carried back down to Portsmouth.

Q: Oh, I see.

Q: Uh, do you recall, he, what stores, businesses were located in Truxton when you first moved here?

A: Well, on Deep Creek Boulevard, we had stores right dere, for ( ) there, but all tore down now, right on Deep Creek Boulevard, we had uh, uh stores and everything right there.

Q: Well, what kind of stores were they?

A: They had grocery stores, and clothing sotres, and all like that.

Q: Okay, are any of those stores still there?

A: No, all of 'em is tore down.

Q: They're all torn down?

A: Tore down.

Q: Do you remember when that happened?

A: Well, I don't, can't say, I think they're tore down now.

Q: Well, you know, was it after World War II? Or . . .

A: Yessuh, it was before, they tore down before the World War II.

Q: Before World War II.

A: Yeah.

Q: Now, were there any churches in Truxton?

A: Well, when I first come in, didn't have no church here. WE'd meet over to the place we called the mess hall. We had a little service there. And then after the Truxton built the school dere, we had ser, service in uh, the school. Truxton School.

Q: And what church was this that had these services?

A: At then, twas uh called, twas called the First Baptist Church of Truxton. That what twas called then.

Q: And what's it called now?

A: But now it called Mount Carmel. T hey changed the name to Mount Carmel.

Q: Okay. Were there any uh, places of entertainment available, like uh, theaters, or parks, or anything like that?

A: No, there wasn't no, no park right along in there. They had no park.

Q: Uhm, hmmm, any theater, movie house or something?

A: No, no movin' house, had to go downtown.

Q: Well, where di you go when you went to the movies downtown? What theater?

A: We went to uh, some of us went on uh, High Street, there. I don' know what uhm called now. And the one Effingham Street. Yeah, them two movies.

Q: Uh, do you remember, uh what effect World War II had on Truxton? Uh, did a lot of people move in in World War II?

A: Yeah, Yessir, some uh moved in, they's most of 'em was here, but it, some of 'em moved in and uh, some of the buildings had gone down, and they couldn't moved in, and built uh, buildin's up.

Q: Uhm, hmmm. What uh, what do you like most, or what have you liked most about living in Truxton?

A:Well, I liked most because I had a lot of children here. "round here, and I'm crazy about children. Uh somethin' happened to uh over here one li'l boy, he was born and he was so large, the doctor waid he never would , would walk. He was weighin' twenty one pound. That what the doctor say, he would never walk, 'cause he was so large. But still, he got out walkin' and he still my friend.

Q: Yeah.

A: I think more of him than any man I know of, that's livin'.

Q: Yeah. You told me earlier when we were talking before we started taping that uh, you played baseball?

A: I played baseball, yeah.

Q: All right. What, uh, was it an organized team?

A: Yessir. It twas Truxton team. That what we called to kinda' organize. We played all different other teams.

Q: When was this?

A: I can't definitely give you that's in yearbook . . .

Q: No, not in the yearbook . . . 1920s, 30's?

A: No, 19, 19, twas 1925, or 30.

Q: Okay, 'round about the twenties and thirties, you played on the Truxton Baseball Team?

A: Yeah, Truxton Baseball Team.

Q: Uh, who were some of the other teams you played, do you remember?

A: We played Devilton, we played uh Elks, and we played the Saints team, over dere, what name of de place over in, I can't call the name, now. Oh, the Saints anyways, be Saints. Belleville.

Q: Belleville?

A: Yeah.

Q: Did uh, you get any payment for this, or this was just for fun?

A: Just for fun.

Q: Just for fun. How many uh, how many people were on your team?

A: We had 'bout twenty.

Q: Oh, big team.

A: We had 'bout twenty.

Q: Okay, do you uh, do you remember any uh, incidents of uh, while you were at the shipyard now, when youwere at the shipyard, do you remember any cases of uh, discrimination by whites against you, individually?

A: Nawsuh, I don' remember. No discrimination by the white and de colored, no way. Naw.

Q: Then you didn't experience any?

A: Naw.

Q: Okay. Uh, when you, when you went downtown to do shopping, uhhh, uh, could you describe for us, say, when you first came here, uh, shopping facilities that were available for blacks?

A: Well, there was Chestnut Street, you could go there and get, that most was shoes and things down there. And on down High Street was uh the Main Street, that was uh, everythin' you really wanted.

Q: Uh, huh.

A; And that weren't all I could use, you know they carried cheaper stuff than they did on uh High Street.

Q: Now, the businesses that were located in Truxton. Were they owned by whites or blacks?

A: They were owned by blacks.

Q: They were owned and operated by the blacks?

A: By the blacks.

Q: Oh. But they died out before World War II, you said.

A: Before World War II, yeah.

Q: Okay, Hmm. Let me ask you, let me ask your wife a few questions. Okay?

A: All right.

Q: Okay, I'll ask you a few questions. Uhm, did you, how many children did you rear here in Truxton?

A: Well, couldn't say exactly how many. "Round about twenty, because I'm a foster care mother for the City.

Q: Oh, I see. Well, how many did you and your husband have?

A: Well, we didn't have any of our own.

Q: Oh, I see, so you became foster parents?

A: Yes, I'm like him, I love children, so I filled my house with foster care children. And I still have 'em.

Q: Still today?

A: Today.

Q: Okay, did you uhm, after you were married in 1931, you say . . .

A: Yes.

Q: Uh, did you, did y'all, did you do any work outside the home?

A: No, all my work in the home.

Q: All you work's been in the home. Now, do you remember Fourth Baptist Church, too?

A: No.

Q: Okay, what kind of act, what kind of activities did your children do in the neighborhood?

A: Well, they didn't do any activities, except playing, and goin' to the different thing, school things.

Q: Uh, huh. Now what school district did your children go to here?

A: Over here, the school in Truxton.

Q: The Truxton School?

A: Yeah, the Truxton School. And I.C. Norcum downtown.

Q: I.C. Norcum, okay.

A: 'Til one of 'em graduate from down there.

Q: Now is the Truxton school still there?

A: No, they have uh closed that up.

Q: Okay. What have you liked the most about Truxton?

A: Well, it's very quiet and pleasant. And the people are so friendly. And I like loving people, because I like to be loved.

Q: And, in your experience in Portsmouth, have you had any, or what contacts have you had with the white population?

A: Well, I've had a, right much, because I work with the lawyer, I forget his name, I worked with him and the Civic League. And we worked, go to the YMCA and helped, put my lawyer name. And we worked together. By me bein' a ( ) in my church, and I have talked and worked right much with different ones. So I worked with them all very nicely. And people down to the Civil Service, Welfare, we worked all together beautiful. So I haven't had no trouble.

Q: Well, do you remember when there were ferries crossing between Portsmouth and Norfolk?

A: Oh, yes indeed. I loved that.

Q: Did you?

A: Yes.

Q: Could you describe what you had to do to cross from Portsmouth to Norfolk?

A: We had to uh . . .

Q: I can turn, I can turn it up, let me just . . .

Q: Okay, you want to tell me about goin' on the ferry.

A: Oh, it was beautiful. I miss it right now. It' a big, wide boat, it had a up and down, and we would go from Portsmouth to Norfolk. It wasn't but 5 cent at that time. And we really enjoyed it. And I'm very sorry when it stopped. And the people, the white and colored both was on there, had one side for the white and one side for the colored.

Q: ?Of the boat, one side . . .

A: Of the boat, one side was for the white folks, and one side was for the colored. But we enjoyed it. Everybody got along fine.

Q: Uh, how long did it take you to get across, do you remember?

A: I couldn't remember, no more'n 'bout twenty minutes, somethin' like . . .

Q: Pleasant ride . . .

A: Yes, very pleasant.

Q: Okay, did you uhm, uh what church did you say you've been active in, what church are you a member of?

A: Church of God in Christ.

Q: Church of God in Christ

A: Yes.

Q: Uh, where is that located?

A: On Chestnut and Randolph Streets, it's right near.

Q: Do you remember the uh Portsmouth Community Library, the black library?

A: Yes, it was on South Street.

Q: Uh, huh. Did you, did y'all go to that library?

A: Yes, I used to work, and uh, help out sometimes.

Q: You did, so you remember Miss Edwards?

A: Yes.

Q: Miss Bertha Edwards.

A: Yes, yes.

Q: I interviewed her earlier.

A: You did.

Q: About, about that library, yes.

A: It was very nice, but they tore it down, and and went to the big one over on Court Street.

Q: Right. Okay, do you have anything else that you'd like to say?

A: No. And I thank you very much. I think you're a very nice person.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Hinton, do you have anything you'd like to say? Do you have anything you'd like to tell me about Portsmouth, or bein' here?

A: Let me see now . . .I don't think so.

Q: Well, I thank you very much for your time, I surely do.

Jerry and Rosa Hinton, Transcript, interviewed on September 23, 1981, Lower Tidewater in Black and White (Portsmouth, VA: Portsmouth Public Library, 1981), 1-22.