alongside Daddy and his subcontractors to build the house. A “learning experience” for the kids, a fulfillment of job requirements for the teacher, and free labor for Daddy. Win, win, win. That’s what our daddy did.
That new house Daddy built for us is still standing to this day. Though I was only eight years old at the time, I remember feeling a little uneasy about moving into the house, not because high school kids had helped Daddy build it, but because I had grown to love our place in Smith Quarters, despite (and maybe even because of) the less than desirable surroundings. Saying good-bye to the city dump, the abandoned brakeman’s hut, the pond, and the Pearl River was difficult for sure, but I also knew we were moving on up to something better once again. The excitement of moving to a new house that was built just for us began to grow as we got closer to the moving date, and I knew it was a step up, because others were wondering why we built ourselves such a “big house.”
Well, not only did Daddy build that big house, but somehow Momma figured out a way to buy the house next to it, too. She had a vision to make us some extra money on the side, and she ended up renting that other house to a couple of school teachers. Momma had a real good sense about how to make money, how to save money, how to invest, how to spot opportunity, and even how to borrow when needed. She developed all of this because she wasn’t too proud to work jobs others might look down on, and because she was always on the lookout for what she could get out of a job.
One of the prominent white folks Momma worked for was W.E. Walker, who was the founder of Bill’s Dollar Stores, a discount variety store with locations mostly in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Momma cleaned Mr. Walker’s house and cooked for his family, starting from the time Walter went to school, and she still cooks for their family to this day. She did her best for Mr. Walker and consequently won his respect. He began to share some of his business sense with her, and Momma would listen and learn, taking it all in. Most importantly, she wasn’t scared to ask questions and to seek specific advice from him. She’d be doing her job well, all the time picking Mr. Walker’s brain and gathering pearls of business and money-related know-how. Over the years, Mr. Walker shared a lot of information with Momma, teaching her how and when to borrow money, how to buy property, and how to put people in it and cash flow it. And Momma wasn’t gathering this info to just sit on it, either. She put it to work. At one time, she had about 13 units that all made money. Not too bad for “the help,” don’t ya think?
So, there we were, owning houses other people lived in, and living in a big ol’ house of our own. But please don’t think for a second that having a big house meant Walter and I could just sit around in it. No, sir. Our parents didn’t just care about providing us with a good place to live; they were set on making sure we got out of the house and actually did live. There was a time to be in the house, and there was a time to be outside. Monday through Friday, your ass better be in the house when the streetlights come on. But between school and the streetlights coming on, you better be out there working, playing, or doing something. When we weren’t working, Walter and I were mostly out there playing football in the front yard with other kids or basketball in the backyard using a bicycle tire rim tacked up to a tree. Mostly just staying busy, having fun, and passing time.
As kids, we weren’t allowed to just play sports, either. Momma was all about broadening our horizons, so Walter and I had to take music at school and piano after school before we were allowed to play any kind of sports during our outside playtime. We played other instruments, too, and all three of us kids were in the marching band. I played trumpet, Walter played drums (makes sense with all that
That new house Daddy built for us is still standing to this day. Though I was only eight years old at the time, I remember feeling a little uneasy about moving into the house, not because high school kids had helped Daddy build it, but because I had grown to love our place in Smith Quarters, despite (and maybe even because of) the less than desirable surroundings. Saying good-bye to the city dump, the abandoned brakeman’s hut, the pond, and the Pearl River was difficult for sure, but I also knew we were moving on up to something better once again. The excitement of moving to a new house that was built just for us began to grow as we got closer to the moving date, and I knew it was a step up, because others were wondering why we built ourselves such a “big house.”
Well, not only did Daddy build that big house, but somehow Momma figured out a way to buy the house next to it, too. She had a vision to make us some extra money on the side, and she ended up renting that other house to a couple of school teachers. Momma had a real good sense about how to make money, how to save money, how to invest, how to spot opportunity, and even how to borrow when needed. She developed all of this because she wasn’t too proud to work jobs others might look down on, and because she was always on the lookout for what she could get out of a job.
One of the prominent white folks Momma worked for was W.E. Walker, who was the founder of Bill’s Dollar Stores, a discount variety store with locations mostly in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Momma cleaned Mr. Walker’s house and cooked for his family, starting from the time Walter went to school, and she still cooks for their family to this day. She did her best for Mr. Walker and consequently won his respect. He began to share some of his business sense with her, and Momma would listen and learn, taking it all in. Most importantly, she wasn’t scared to ask questions and to seek specific advice from him. She’d be doing her job well, all the time picking Mr. Walker’s brain and gathering pearls of business and money-related know-how. Over the years, Mr. Walker shared a lot of information with Momma, teaching her how and when to borrow money, how to buy property, and how to put people in it and cash flow it. And Momma wasn’t gathering this info to just sit on it, either. She put it to work. At one time, she had about 13 units that all made money. Not too bad for “the help,” don’t ya think?
So, there we were, owning houses other people lived in, and living in a big ol’ house of our own. But please don’t think for a second that having a big house meant Walter and I could just sit around in it. No, sir. Our parents didn’t just care about providing us with a good place to live; they were set on making sure we got out of the house and actually did live. There was a time to be in the house, and there was a time to be outside. Monday through Friday, your ass better be in the house when the streetlights come on. But between school and the streetlights coming on, you better be out there working, playing, or doing something. When we weren’t working, Walter and I were mostly out there playing football in the front yard with other kids or basketball in the backyard using a bicycle tire rim tacked up to a tree. Mostly just staying busy, having fun, and passing time.
As kids, we weren’t allowed to just play sports, either. Momma was all about broadening our horizons, so Walter and I had to take music at school and piano after school before we were allowed to play any kind of sports during our outside playtime. We played other instruments, too, and all three of us kids were in the marching band. I played trumpet, Walter played drums (makes sense with all that
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