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AACHM Oral History: Essie Shelton

When: March 16, 2018

Essie Shelton was born in Mississippi in 1930 and moved to Ann Arbor with her father in 1946. She recalls her experience entering an integrated high school for the first time and how she came to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a licensed practical nurse at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Essie also met her husband at the hospital and together they raised three children.

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Transcript

  • [00:00:09.95] INTERVIEWER: We're going to start the interview.
  • [00:00:11.87] ESSIE SHELTON: All right.
  • [00:00:12.56] INTERVIEWER: And first of all, I want to say thank you for agreeing to do the interview. So glad I could have the opportunity to meet you and to do this interview. So first I'm going to ask you some simple demographic questions.
  • [00:00:25.21] ESSIE SHELTON: Uh huh.
  • [00:00:26.21] INTERVIEWER: These questions may jog your memory, but please keep your answers brief and to the point for now. We can go into more details later in the interview. Please say and spell your name.
  • [00:00:37.92] ESSIE SHELTON: Essie Shelton. E-S-S-I-E S-H-E-L-T-O-N.
  • [00:00:46.29] INTERVIEWER: What is the date of birth including the year?
  • [00:00:51.54] ESSIE SHELTON: June 6, 1930.
  • [00:00:56.39] INTERVIEWER: So that makes you how old?
  • [00:00:58.27] ESSIE SHELTON: 87 years old.
  • [00:00:59.99] INTERVIEWER: That's wonderful. How would you describe your ethnic background?
  • [00:01:04.49] ESSIE SHELTON: African American.
  • [00:01:08.03] INTERVIEWER: What is your religion?
  • [00:01:09.80] ESSIE SHELTON: Baptist.
  • [00:01:12.40] INTERVIEWER: What is the highest level of formal education you have completed?
  • [00:01:16.54] ESSIE SHELTON: Licensed practical nurse.
  • [00:01:21.01] INTERVIEWER: Did you attend any additional school or formal career training beyond that?
  • [00:01:26.15] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, I did at St. Joe Mercy Hospital.
  • [00:01:33.13] INTERVIEWER: What is your marital status?
  • [00:01:35.43] ESSIE SHELTON: I'm a widower.
  • [00:01:37.79] INTERVIEWER: And how many children do you have?
  • [00:01:39.99] ESSIE SHELTON: Three children.
  • [00:01:41.55] INTERVIEWER: Got a big smile when you said that. How many siblings do you have?
  • [00:01:46.73] ESSIE SHELTON: I have eight siblings.
  • [00:01:48.59] INTERVIEWER: Large family.
  • [00:01:49.58] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:01:49.90] INTERVIEWER: That's how many siblings my mother had.
  • [00:01:51.87] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh!
  • [00:01:52.12] INTERVIEWER: Yeah. What was your primary occupation?
  • [00:01:56.81] ESSIE SHELTON: I was a nurse.
  • [00:01:59.97] INTERVIEWER: And at what age did you retire?
  • [00:02:02.79] ESSIE SHELTON: I retired at age 66.
  • [00:02:07.66] INTERVIEWER: All right, very good. We're going to go to part 2 now, which just memories of childhood and youth.
  • [00:02:12.60] ESSIE SHELTON: OK.
  • [00:02:13.59] INTERVIEWER: Once again this is part of the interview, it's about your childhood and youth. Even if these questions jog memories about other times in your life, please only respond with memories for this part of your life. What was your family like when you were a child?
  • [00:02:30.99] ESSIE SHELTON: They were very close. We lived on a farm. And we only had each other. So we had fun together, a lot of love, and that was a wonderful part of my life.
  • [00:02:51.44] INTERVIEWER: And where was a farm located?
  • [00:02:54.96] ESSIE SHELTON: Mississippi, not too far from Jackson, Mississippi, about 25 miles.
  • [00:03:00.93] INTERVIEWER: OK. I traveled to Mississippi with my mom a few years ago. That's her home.
  • [00:03:06.42] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh!
  • [00:03:07.50] INTERVIEWER: What sort of work did your parents do?
  • [00:03:10.62] ESSIE SHELTON: My parents were farmers. And my mother did hair part-time.
  • [00:03:23.08] INTERVIEWER: She was a hairstylist?
  • [00:03:24.86] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:03:26.48] INTERVIEWER: And where did she do the hair? What was she-- was it at the home--
  • [00:03:30.41] ESSIE SHELTON: At the home.
  • [00:03:31.33] INTERVIEWER: At the home? OK.
  • [00:03:32.51] ESSIE SHELTON: Always at the home. Yes.
  • [00:03:34.39] INTERVIEWER: Probably got a good conversations when people came in to get their hair done I would imagine.
  • [00:03:39.16] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, it was all the time. They used to come in and just talk to her. Beautician, she was part time beautician.
  • [00:03:45.24] INTERVIEWER: Right. Yeah. She probably knew all the news that was going on in the area?
  • [00:03:49.29] ESSIE SHELTON: Yeah. [LAUGHS] That's the way it is when you go to the beauty shop.
  • [00:03:54.69] INTERVIEWER: It is. What is your earliest memories? Some of your earliest memories when you were growing up?
  • [00:04:02.19] ESSIE SHELTON: I remember when I was about three years old because I used to sing the song, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me." And maybe I wasn't quite three. I was very young. But I was brave in singing, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me."
  • [00:04:21.34] INTERVIEWER: Did you sing that at home, or did you sing it at church?
  • [00:04:23.83] ESSIE SHELTON: At school.
  • [00:04:24.72] INTERVIEWER: Oh, at school?
  • [00:04:25.57] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:04:27.68] INTERVIEWER: Were there any special days, events, or family traditions you remember from your childhood?
  • [00:04:33.70] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Sundays. We knew what we were going to do every Sunday. We got our clothes ready to go to church on Sunday. So sometimes we had to walk. And if we were lucky, we got a ride in a wagon. The roads was dusty, but we made it to church every Sunday.
  • [00:05:03.43] INTERVIEWER: So when you say you got your clothes ready--
  • [00:05:08.05] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:05:08.72] INTERVIEWER: The night before. So with the roads being so dusty, what did that do for you-- your clothes?
  • [00:05:14.14] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, we just took it in our stride. And when we got to church, we had to clean off our hair and re-comb it, but that was the way of living. And we understood.
  • [00:05:31.43] INTERVIEWER: So when you started talking about church, you said you went to church every Sunday. You just seem so excited about it. What denomination was that?
  • [00:05:38.58] ESSIE SHELTON: Baptist. But everybody around, they were in the country, too, but they came to church. Didn't miss a Sunday coming to church.
  • [00:05:48.96] INTERVIEWER: So was that kind of a social gathering as well? That was what people came to.
  • [00:05:52.63] ESSIE SHELTON: Absolutely. Absolutely.
  • [00:05:54.55] INTERVIEWER: So when service was over, did you stay around for some kind of refreshments or did everybody just leave and return home?
  • [00:06:03.82] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, sometimes we would. If it was an affair going on, a holiday, but we returned back home-- most of us-- after church.
  • [00:06:15.29] INTERVIEWER: So either you got in the wagon or you walked back?
  • [00:06:18.54] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, we did. We were lucky when we had-- could ride in the wagon. There were no cars.
  • [00:06:27.19] INTERVIEWER: Talk me a little bit more about that wagon-- riding in the wagon and who had them and that kind of thing?
  • [00:06:32.80] ESSIE SHELTON: My family had a wagon because you was on a farm. Wagon and horses would pull the wagon to church. And we were happy to not walk. The wagon got us there half an hour or sooner.
  • [00:06:51.73] INTERVIEWER: Sooner?
  • [00:06:52.43] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:06:55.14] INTERVIEWER: Which holidays did your family celebrate?
  • [00:06:57.83] ESSIE SHELTON: All holidays were celebrated-- Easter, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving, Christmas. But this is how we got together. And we cooked and had picnics. But every holiday was celebrated in my family.
  • [00:07:24.15] INTERVIEWER: So when you say celebrating your family, did other family members come to your house or did you go to their houses like to your aunts and uncles? How did that--
  • [00:07:33.93] ESSIE SHELTON: We divided that up. Sometimes we were at a different houses, long as we bring the food.
  • [00:07:44.84] INTERVIEWER: I was going to ask about the food next.
  • [00:07:46.76] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, it was delicious food.
  • [00:07:49.54] INTERVIEWER: So did everybody contribute something for the meal?
  • [00:07:54.14] ESSIE SHELTON: Everybody brought something. Some more than the others and then the mothers would get together and fix the menu and told each other what they should bring.
  • [00:08:11.18] INTERVIEWER: So what was your mother's favorite dish or the dish that your mother prepared that was your favorite?
  • [00:08:19.19] ESSIE SHELTON: She could cook everything. Mothers could cook.
  • [00:08:21.78] INTERVIEWER: She was a good cook?
  • [00:08:22.00] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Every single thing from cakes from desserts, cakes, and anything you raised on the farm. We raised most of our food-- vegetables, and we had cows and hogs for the meats. So that was good.
  • [00:08:45.48] INTERVIEWER: So it all-- was all right there?
  • [00:08:47.61] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:08:48.23] INTERVIEWER: OK. So what was your role in terms of on the farm? Did you have a particular role?
  • [00:08:56.58] ESSIE SHELTON: They always said I was so little-- I was a little person. And I washed the dishes, cleaned the house, and I would take them water-- take the water to the field for them. But I was-- really you'd be surprised how small I was.
  • [00:09:21.08] INTERVIEWER: So you-- were you the only girl of the eight?
  • [00:09:23.95] ESSIE SHELTON: No, it was four sisters and four brothers.
  • [00:09:28.68] INTERVIEWER: Four of each?
  • [00:09:29.58] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [00:09:30.32] INTERVIEWER: Same as my mother. That's interesting.
  • [00:09:32.22] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, we have a lot in common.
  • [00:09:33.94] INTERVIEWER: You do. You have to meet her sometime.
  • [00:09:35.72] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:09:39.82] INTERVIEWER: So has your family-- did your family create any of its own traditions and celebrations? You mentioned the Easter and Christmas. Were there other celebrations maybe that your family created separate than those?
  • [00:09:52.17] ESSIE SHELTON: Mother's Day.
  • [00:09:54.27] INTERVIEWER: Talk to me about that.
  • [00:09:55.28] ESSIE SHELTON: Mother's Day was and still is a big day. We celebrate Mother's Day. And they honor the mother and gifts and food and some-- never take her out to dinner. They always have it at someone's house-- had the celebration at someone's house.
  • [00:10:17.66] INTERVIEWER: So when you talked about gifts, were these gifts that were made or was the gift the idea that you brought food or-- talk to me a little bit about the gifts.
  • [00:10:28.79] ESSIE SHELTON: The gifts would be-- it could be a scarf or something someone made or a poem they had written. And I kept every-- I still keep every gift. I don't care how smart how small it is. And I write the name on it and the date. But Mother's Day, there is flowers very special-- bouquets, wrists.
  • [00:11:02.72] INTERVIEWER: I can see your face just lit up when you said Mother's Day and celebrating--
  • [00:11:06.12] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes!
  • [00:11:06.32] INTERVIEWER: --Mother's Day.
  • [00:11:06.92] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. We start in church. When they say presentations in church, all of my kids come to me with flowers for the wrist, or a bouquet. And they crowd around me and hug me.
  • [00:11:23.15] INTERVIEWER: It's so special.
  • [00:11:24.49] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, it is.
  • [00:11:26.74] INTERVIEWER: That's great. I think we already covered this, but is-- what was the highest grade you completed in terms of education?
  • [00:11:35.04] ESSIE SHELTON: Licensed practical nurse. And I had special training at St. Joe Mercy Hospital after I graduated.
  • [00:11:43.52] INTERVIEWER: So talk to me about that special training.
  • [00:11:46.57] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, it took a year, and we still couldn't wear regular uniforms. We had on colors-- different colors like gray. And they took us through everything at the hospital. The nuns were in charge, not the doctors but the nuns.
  • [00:12:12.32] And I got along really well with the nuns. And I enjoyed my training, and even after-- I was hired after I finished my training. And that's where I stayed to work.
  • [00:12:26.30] INTERVIEWER: That means you did a good job during the training?
  • [00:12:28.54] ESSIE SHELTON: I loved it. Yes.
  • [00:12:31.00] INTERVIEWER: So tell me a little bit more about the nuns being in charge.
  • [00:12:36.99] ESSIE SHELTON: You hardly ever see a nun now. But the nuns was in charge of each and every floor-- different nuns. And they would have the habits on and would come and talk to us all the time. They were special to me and gave me different reading, gave me-- Sister Robert Mary-- crosses. And I still have the crosses and the readings that she gave me-- little books that she used to give me.
  • [00:13:12.39] INTERVIEWER: So you really value your gifts when people are giving you gifts?
  • [00:13:15.64] ESSIE SHELTON: I do.
  • [00:13:16.37] INTERVIEWER: I can tell.
  • [00:13:17.36] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, I do.
  • [00:13:20.20] INTERVIEWER: Did you play any sports or join any other activities outside of school?
  • [00:13:25.24] ESSIE SHELTON: I was a runner. I could beat them all running. Brothers, sisters, cousins. [LAUGHS] No one never beat me running. So I was a runner. [LAUGHS]
  • [00:13:40.59] INTERVIEWER: So you were good?
  • [00:13:41.78] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, I was. Fast.
  • [00:13:43.35] INTERVIEWER: Fast.
  • [00:13:43.72] ESSIE SHELTON: Uh huh.
  • [00:13:46.66] INTERVIEWER: What about your school experience is different from school as you know it today?
  • [00:13:54.11] ESSIE SHELTON: Every single thing.
  • [00:13:56.52] INTERVIEWER: So give me a couple.
  • [00:14:00.05] ESSIE SHELTON: Computers. You can talk to a computer and they'll give you the answer back. I'm still trying to catch up with computers. And teachers was strict then. You get a spanking from your teacher. And it's-- everything is just so-- it's turned upside down. Nothing's the same-- for the better I guess.
  • [00:14:31.60] INTERVIEWER: You think it's changed for the better?
  • [00:14:33.67] ESSIE SHELTON: Some things.
  • [00:14:34.89] INTERVIEWER: Some things.
  • [00:14:35.29] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:14:37.77] INTERVIEWER: Technology?
  • [00:14:39.04] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:14:39.70] [LAUGHS]
  • [00:14:43.00] INTERVIEWER: Did your family have any special sayings or expressions during this time when you were growing up?
  • [00:14:50.03] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, they would say, did you pray? Always pray. That was the only special thing that I can-- that was very important. Always pray.
  • [00:15:05.81] INTERVIEWER: Even as a very little child?
  • [00:15:07.55] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh, yes. Prayers before you sleep.
  • [00:15:10.97] INTERVIEWER: And was there a prayer that you said that you remember you said as a little child?
  • [00:15:14.54] ESSIE SHELTON: Now-- yes. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
  • [00:15:25.43] INTERVIEWER: I knew you were going to say that.
  • [00:15:26.90] ESSIE SHELTON: You did?
  • [00:15:27.60] INTERVIEWER: I did.
  • [00:15:28.28] ESSIE SHELTON: Do you say that?
  • [00:15:29.30] INTERVIEWER: Yeah, growing up.
  • [00:15:30.50] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, yes. That was a good one.
  • [00:15:32.78] INTERVIEWER: Yeah. Were there any changes in your family's life during your school years?
  • [00:15:42.42] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. My mother and father separated.
  • [00:15:53.45] INTERVIEWER: It was a big change?
  • [00:15:54.65] ESSIE SHELTON: A big change. That's when I came to Ann Arbor in 1946. And my father came, and I was one wanted to go with my father. So we came to Ann Arbor in 1946, and everything changed. Segregation-- because we-- in the south, we were segregated from the whites. And so when I came to Ann Arbor and went to school and was with the whites, it just turned my life upside down.
  • [00:16:43.09] INTERVIEWER: Talk to me a little bit more about it turning upside down.
  • [00:16:46.95] ESSIE SHELTON: Everything was so different from a two-bedroom school, one teacher, maybe three subjects, to Ann Arbor High. It's a big school. I think it was about 1,300 kids there then. And very-- 10% was black. And I had to manage to get used to the difference.
  • [00:17:26.77] And every class, we went to a different teacher. You know how they did that with-- and we were seated with the whites. I was and I wasn't used to that because it was only blacks where I had gone to school.
  • [00:17:44.77] INTERVIEWER: So when you came here, you say you came with your dad. Was it just you and your dad, or was it other siblings along with you?
  • [00:17:51.55] ESSIE SHELTON: I was the only one wanted to come. My mother gave us a chance to if you want to go with your dad-- because we were old enough. I was 15. But I was the only one went with my dad. We came to Ann Arbor, lived on Beakes Street.
  • [00:18:08.65] INTERVIEWER: He lived on Beakes?
  • [00:18:09.90] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:18:10.65] INTERVIEWER: OK. We'll come back to that in a minute about Beakes.
  • [00:18:15.51] ESSIE SHELTON: OK.
  • [00:18:16.21] INTERVIEWER: All right. When thinking back on your school years, what important social or historical events were taking place at the time? And how did they personally affect you and your family?
  • [00:18:34.16] ESSIE SHELTON: Read that again.
  • [00:18:35.69] INTERVIEWER: When thinking back on your school years, what important social or historical events were taking place at the time. And how did they personally affect you and your family?
  • [00:18:47.86] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, thinking back on my school-- this is when I was still down South.
  • [00:18:54.64] INTERVIEWER: It can be when you're in Ann Arbor, that's fine because you said you moved here when you were 15.
  • [00:18:58.64] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Yes.
  • [00:19:04.09] INTERVIEWER: Was anything going on with integration, segregation? Were those kinds of things happening in terms that relates to blacks or anything that personally affected you and your family?
  • [00:19:16.15] ESSIE SHELTON: It was segregation in Ann Arbor in housing because I don't know if I can say it.
  • [00:19:24.16] INTERVIEWER: You can say whatever. We're interviewing you.
  • [00:19:26.56] ESSIE SHELTON: The blacks was in certain neighborhoods, Fourth and Fifth and Beakes and Greene and everything. But we went to school together. And the neighborhoods were-- if one black moved in a white neighborhood, then another one would come.
  • [00:19:50.21] So we had meetings to stop that. Don't because your friend move in a neighborhood, you don't have to go somewhere and open up a neighborhood. And we did. We moved to Ann Arbor Hills on Arlington. We were the only ones out there for quite a few years.
  • [00:20:13.17] INTERVIEWER: So talk to me about Beakes Street and Fourth because in other interviews, we've heard about those areas being basically predominately black.
  • [00:20:22.27] ESSIE SHELTON: They were.
  • [00:20:23.08] INTERVIEWER: And now that's changing.
  • [00:20:24.77] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:20:25.28] INTERVIEWER: So talk to me about when you were growing up. It was-- name some of those streets again.
  • [00:20:31.00] ESSIE SHELTON: I lived on Beakes for years with my aunt. And it was Fourth and Fifth, Greene, all of those street was only blacks. And-- but we went to same schools.
  • [00:20:54.36] INTERVIEWER: But lived in different neighborhoods?
  • [00:20:56.36] ESSIE SHELTON: Exactly. Exactly.
  • [00:20:58.77] INTERVIEWER: So I know that from other interviews, they talked about that whole area now that is Ann and Fourth, even around Kerrytown, that was predominately black and some people refer to that as the black business district when they were growing up. That's-- they had their black businesses down on Fourth and Ann.
  • [00:21:17.45] ESSIE SHELTON: And Ann was-- Ann was where people would go and party-- the older people drink that little block. That's all they had. It's still there I guess, but it's not black anymore. So that's where-- I wasn't allowed to go to Ann Street.
  • [00:21:42.42] INTERVIEWER: But on Fourth were there hair salons and barbers, that kind of thing?
  • [00:21:49.45] ESSIE SHELTON: Everything that we needed was on those streets. Yes. I remember where I used to get my hair done up there on 4th Avenue and the barbershop was upstairs from the beauty shop.
  • [00:22:09.26] INTERVIEWER: And I know that Bethel AME is on 4th Ave.
  • [00:22:13.46] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [00:22:14.18] INTERVIEWER: And I understand now they're condos. They changed that-- the church still has the front of the church, but they're condos. Were you aware of that?
  • [00:22:24.67] ESSIE SHELTON: Not now. No, I didn't know condos was--
  • [00:22:27.32] INTERVIEWER: That original Bethel AME Church yeah. Since you're down on Fourth Avenue, you have to take a look.
  • [00:22:32.68] ESSIE SHELTON: I was at the baptist church on Beakes Street, and Reverend C. W. Carpenter, that was my pastor.
  • [00:22:44.27] INTERVIEWER: And that building now, what is that being used for now?
  • [00:22:46.71] ESSIE SHELTON: It's a nursery. That's where I got married.
  • [00:22:52.31] INTERVIEWER: Oh, we're going to talk about that in a few minutes.
  • [00:22:54.37] ESSIE SHELTON: OK. All right. OK. All right.
  • [00:22:57.54] INTERVIEWER: OK, let's go on to the next section. You lived during the era of segregation. Can you speak about that? Was your school segregated? You've already said that the school, once you came here, was not.
  • [00:23:09.82] ESSIE SHELTON: Right.
  • [00:23:10.56] INTERVIEWER: But when you were growing up in Mississippi, in fact, it was.
  • [00:23:14.10] ESSIE SHELTON: All-- yes. Oh, we were completely segregated in everything in the South. Nothing was together. We went to a white restaurant to get a sandwich. We had to go to the side, and it had Colored up on the door. You go there, and that's where they would pass you your food out.
  • [00:23:36.93] INTERVIEWER: So you couldn't even go in.
  • [00:23:38.74] ESSIE SHELTON: No.
  • [00:23:40.08] INTERVIEWER: When you say passed it out, was it a window, a door?
  • [00:23:43.54] ESSIE SHELTON: There's a window there. It was a window. And it had Colored up over it. And then on the other side, they'd had white. White, Colored.
  • [00:23:56.28] INTERVIEWER: So for the side that was white, was that an entrance for whites to go in or was there a window for them to get their food out?
  • [00:24:03.05] ESSIE SHELTON: No, they went inside. They had everything marked even to-- we couldn't get water at the same-- couldn't drink out of the same place where they got water. But we understood, and we would go there and get our sandwich or whatever we went there for.
  • [00:24:29.53] INTERVIEWER: That's what you-- that's what you always knew, so you did accordingly.
  • [00:24:33.72] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:24:34.87] INTERVIEWER: But how did that make you feel? Did you have any feelings about it?
  • [00:24:38.13] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, at the time, we didn't know no different 'til we got older. That's just the way it was. And you could-- I could be walking down the street, and you had to move over and let them have the right of way.
  • [00:24:58.38] INTERVIEWER: On the sidewalk?
  • [00:25:00.09] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. If it was a street, it was in the city, you would had to move over to the side, let them have the right of way. And we didn't mention buses. And we had to go to the back, get on the bus, and go to the back of the bus. They would tell you get back there. [GESTURES]
  • [00:25:21.64] INTERVIEWER: OK.
  • [00:25:22.26] ESSIE SHELTON: Gal. I've been told that.
  • [00:25:26.14] INTERVIEWER: OK. And I think it's something that stays with you because I know when I went to Mississippi with my mom, I could tell the way she acted that that was what she had dealt with growing up in terms of her actions.
  • [00:25:39.80] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. It didn't affect her like it did you.
  • [00:25:43.79] INTERVIEWER: Right. I was trying to understand what was going on with her, but I figured it out.
  • [00:25:47.27] ESSIE SHELTON: Uh huh.
  • [00:25:47.72] INTERVIEWER: Yeah. Yeah.
  • [00:25:48.56] ESSIE SHELTON: OK.
  • [00:25:49.70] INTERVIEWER: So talk to me a little bit more about buses. Was that city buses or privately-owned buses or what was that in terms of--
  • [00:25:56.63] ESSIE SHELTON: That was city buses.
  • [00:25:57.93] INTERVIEWER: OK.
  • [00:26:00.67] ESSIE SHELTON: All the whites would sit on the front, or when they got on, if you were sitting in a seat, said get back there. Go back there, or get back there, gal. And then we would go to the back. But when Martin Luther King started people to walking--
  • [00:26:27.05] INTERVIEWER: In protest.
  • [00:26:27.89] ESSIE SHELTON: Protesting. No black person got on a bus. And they did that until they were able to come on and get any seat they wanted because it broke the buses financially. Nobody would ride the bus. So that was powerful.
  • [00:26:51.24] INTERVIEWER: It was, and I can remember hearing about and seeing where people either walked or different people helped-- gave each other rides so that they would not--
  • [00:26:59.35] ESSIE SHELTON: They did, and if not, they walked. Walked their shoes out, but they didn't get on the bus. And if they-- someone saw another-- a black person getting on the bus, they were confronted immediately.
  • [00:27:19.28] INTERVIEWER: In terms of telling them they should not be on the bus?
  • [00:27:22.19] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh, yes. Yes.
  • [00:27:23.25] INTERVIEWER: So talk to me a little bit more about that. They just pulled them aside or what exactly did they do?
  • [00:27:27.56] ESSIE SHELTON: No, they would say to you, you know you're not supposed to be on the bus. What are you doing? And this is what we're trying to-- they would explain to them you know what we're trying to do. And Reverend King was a big part of that, too.
  • [00:27:42.92] INTERVIEWER: And where were you at in that whole age-- at what age was this happening when you were there and this was going on. What age were you about?
  • [00:27:56.77] ESSIE SHELTON: That was when I was a teenager. And I think it's the year-- I don't have the year--
  • [00:28:06.03] INTERVIEWER: That's OK.
  • [00:28:06.34] ESSIE SHELTON: That this happened. But I took care of it. Yes.
  • [00:28:15.88] INTERVIEWER: Very good. So we're going to continue with some of these questions here. Was there a high school for black students in the same area. And you sort of answered that depending on whether you were in Mississippi or here. So you can say a little bit more about that.
  • [00:28:33.89] ESSIE SHELTON: The high school was in Jackson, Mississippi, in the city. See we were in the country. There was no high school out there. We went up to the ninth grade. And then you-- most of the kids stopped at that grade because they didn't have no way to get to Jackson to the city where the high schools were. They did have some black high schools there, but they was all separated.
  • [00:29:04.14] INTERVIEWER: So when you said people stopped it's because they didn't have transportation or financially or both. They couldn't really afford to continue in terms of continuing their education beyond 9th grade?
  • [00:29:17.22] ESSIE SHELTON: Yeah, because the schools stopped there. You couldn't go there after ninth grade because that's as far as they went. I'm trying to-- did you-- there was a question you said to--
  • [00:29:32.58] INTERVIEWER: So in terms of-- I was just asking the fact that they couldn't either-- they couldn't afford to go or they didn't have transportation to get to Jackson to continue their education.
  • [00:29:44.41] ESSIE SHELTON: No, they couldn't get there. They didn't live there. They didn't have nowhere to live. Their family was in the country, and that's what they went along with that finished their education. This is-- while I was there, my sisters who got a chance to go to high school after I left, a bus started coming out there. And they got a chance to go-- Willy got a chance to go to high school.
  • [00:30:22.99] INTERVIEWER: So you actually did your high school then here when you got to Ann Arbor.
  • [00:30:27.50] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:30:28.20] INTERVIEWER: So you didn't have to go into Jackson go to--
  • [00:30:30.09] ESSIE SHELTON: No
  • [00:30:30.71] INTERVIEWER: I got you.
  • [00:30:32.03] ESSIE SHELTON: The bus used to come out there and pick up students in the country. And that's how they were able to go get a further education.
  • [00:30:43.64] INTERVIEWER: Prior to that, there weren't any buses, so therefore those individuals just stopped going to school [INAUDIBLE]. Ninth grade was it.
  • [00:30:52.65] ESSIE SHELTON: That was it. That was your graduation.
  • [00:30:59.20] INTERVIEWER: Who were the teachers?
  • [00:31:01.86] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I had one teacher for two rooms. Reading, 'rithmetic, and spelling. That was it. Ms. [? Tennis ?] I used to-- she used to take me home with her some time.
  • [00:31:19.37] INTERVIEWER: You remember her name.
  • [00:31:20.75] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And I remember her face. But she-- and she-- they-- she was allowed to spank-- had permission from the parents. The kid act up then they got a spanking.
  • [00:31:39.94] INTERVIEWER: Couldn't do that today right?
  • [00:31:41.59] ESSIE SHELTON: [WHISPERS] No. We get the police out here.
  • [00:31:46.24] INTERVIEWER: Now when you talk about teachers in Mississippi, talk to me about teachers when you came in Ann Arbor. Who were your teachers here in Ann Arbor?
  • [00:31:53.45] ESSIE SHELTON: [GROANS]
  • [00:31:54.22] INTERVIEWER: Were there any black teachers or-- talk to me a little bit about that.
  • [00:31:57.87] ESSIE SHELTON: I didn't see no black tea-- I went to Ann Arbor High. They-- I wasn't ready, but they said you're too old to go to Jones School. So you have to go to high school. The teacher was all different. Every class, had a different teacher. And I was just [LAUGHS]--
  • [00:32:21.63] INTERVIEWER: Nervous?
  • [00:32:22.76] ESSIE SHELTON: Very, very. The teachers, I didn't understand what to do, and I just didn't understand. Because it was too much on me that I didn't know about, didn't understand. But I managed to get through.
  • [00:32:47.87] And they said well where are your papers that came from your other school? I didn't have no papers. So my parents got-- my mother knew this guy who'd gone to college, and he made some papers for me and sent them here. And they still held me back. But I managed to get through later.
  • [00:33:17.63] INTERVIEWER: Well, you end up becoming a licensed practical nurse.
  • [00:33:20.24] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:33:20.48] INTERVIEWER: You did pretty good then.
  • [00:33:21.71] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:33:22.17] INTERVIEWER: Yeah.
  • [00:33:22.64] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:33:27.21] INTERVIEWER: Let's talk about restaurants or eating places for blacks where you live. When you're in Mississippi, you already talked about having to go to the side and get food--
  • [00:33:35.59] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:33:36.05] INTERVIEWER: Through the window. What about here in Ann Arbor. Were there restaurants or eating places for blacks in this area when you moved here?
  • [00:33:43.16] ESSIE SHELTON: It was by choice. This is something they wanted to do. They didn't have to. There was no sign up for blacks. But some black people did have restaurants here. And-- but that was by choice.
  • [00:34:02.95] INTERVIEWER: What about the restaurants that are owned by whites? Were you able to go to those?
  • [00:34:06.46] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Yes. You could go anywhere you wanted to. If there was any problems, I think it was kept quiet. So it was--
  • [00:34:21.27] INTERVIEWER: What about black visitors? When they came to visit here in this area, could they stay at hotels or motels or where did they stay when they were visiting?
  • [00:34:30.25] ESSIE SHELTON: There was no segregation as far as I knew in hotels. You could stay at any hotels that you could afford to pay. So that was all right as far as I know.
  • [00:34:44.66] INTERVIEWER: I know in interviewing some people, they talked about blacks coming in town and staying at home-- staying in different people's homes. I don't know if that was because some they couldn't stay and some I think it was financial.
  • [00:34:58.87] ESSIE SHELTON: I think-- well, that's what it sounds like. Well, oh, I keep Aunt So-and-So or cousin So in my home. I have a room. She can stay here. So that was just to save money I think.
  • [00:35:16.23] INTERVIEWER: All right, so now we're going to move to part 3, which is adulthood, marriage, and family life.
  • [00:35:21.88] ESSIE SHELTON: OK.
  • [00:35:23.50] INTERVIEWER: All right, this set of questions covers a fairly long period of your life from the time you completed your education, entered the labor force, or started a family until all of your children left home and you and/or your spouse retired. So we might be talking about a stretch of time spanning as much as four decades. The first question here is after you finished high school, where did you live?
  • [00:35:48.57] ESSIE SHELTON: I remained at home. Remained at home until I was married.
  • [00:35:54.64] INTERVIEWER: So was home with your dad? You mentioned your aunt or you mentioned--
  • [00:35:57.61] ESSIE SHELTON: No, it was with my dad. And by then, he had married again. Had a stepmother. And it was with him.
  • [00:36:08.96] INTERVIEWER: Was that pretty traditional then for a young lady to stay home until she was married?
  • [00:36:15.68] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I didn't want to go no place until I was married. That was just me. That's where I was going to--
  • [00:36:23.29] INTERVIEWER: Stay.
  • [00:36:23.82] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, and I did.
  • [00:36:32.30] INTERVIEWER: I'd like you to tell me a little bit about your married and family life. First, tell me about your spouse and where you met. Tell me about what it was like when you were dating and what were your engagement and wedding like.
  • [00:36:48.63] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh, joy, joy, joy.
  • [00:36:50.49] INTERVIEWER: [LAUGHS] I love it. So let's start with the first one, how you met your spouse.
  • [00:36:56.94] ESSIE SHELTON: I met my spouse at St. Joe Mercy Hospital. He was a senior medical student. That's how we met. And he was a internist and he had a lot of patients. He was on the staff at St. Joe Hospital for 40 years.
  • [00:37:23.49] INTERVIEWER: Long time.
  • [00:37:24.79] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And patients would come from-- I can think-- Tennessee, Alabama, and these was [WHISPERS] white people. Louisiana.
  • [00:37:35.53] INTERVIEWER: So different--
  • [00:37:36.41] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:37:37.23] INTERVIEWER: People from different backgrounds.
  • [00:37:38.52] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. They loved him because he was a great doctor. And my son-- well, you didn't ask me about that.
  • [00:37:53.26] INTERVIEWER: That's OK. We can come back to your children, but tell me more about-- tell me about what it was like when you met him and you started dating. What was dating like then?
  • [00:38:00.83] ESSIE SHELTON: He was a senior medical student at the University of Michigan. And I got a chance to meet students and, well, partied and--
  • [00:38:12.46] INTERVIEWER: You partied a little bit, too?
  • [00:38:13.96] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Yes. With him, he was in a fraternity. So-- what else?
  • [00:38:22.91] INTERVIEWER: What was it like dating then? Did you have to get permission to go out or what?
  • [00:38:28.51] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, no, because I was in my early 20s.
  • [00:38:31.05] INTERVIEWER: OK.
  • [00:38:31.80] ESSIE SHELTON: And he was like a dream come true. He was a nice young man from Detroit. And when we-- well, when we got engaged, that was nice. We were engaged for about a year. And then when we got married, it was at Reverend C. W. Carpenter at Second Baptist Church in Ann Arbor on Beakes Street. And it was a wedding with all the trimmings, formal wedding. And--
  • [00:39:22.14] INTERVIEWER: I'd love to see some of those pictures some time.
  • [00:39:24.28] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Lots of people were there, and it was unbelievable. It was like a dream. Then I don't know--
  • [00:39:37.48] INTERVIEWER: So let me ask you this. Were you attracted to him immediately? Was he attracted to you immediately? Or was it at the same time almost?
  • [00:39:46.39] ESSIE SHELTON: I think he was attracted to me before-- when he asked me out and everything. And it was like a match made in heaven because after we met and started dating, we married and we never separated.
  • [00:40:05.06] INTERVIEWER: How many years?
  • [00:40:07.11] ESSIE SHELTON: 43.
  • [00:40:08.01] INTERVIEWER: That's wonderful.
  • [00:40:10.02] ESSIE SHELTON: When he-- he had a hemorrhage, and he passed away.
  • [00:40:16.75] INTERVIEWER: So let me ask you this in terms of his medical practice, was he general practice or did he specialize.
  • [00:40:24.33] ESSIE SHELTON: He specialized. He was a internist, meaning he specialized in the heart-- diabetes, or anything inside, he was specialized in. And his practice was about half and half.
  • [00:40:45.87] INTERVIEWER: You say half and half, half black and half white.
  • [00:40:48.47] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [00:40:48.98] INTERVIEWER: OK. So he could really appeal to people of all different backgrounds.
  • [00:40:54.41] ESSIE SHELTON: Exactly.
  • [00:40:55.11] INTERVIEWER: That's great.
  • [00:40:56.51] ESSIE SHELTON: And he did-- he treated his patients the same. And they were from Ann Arbor, Ypsi, and vicinity. They loved him. He would get out of his bed to go see about his patients, and I worked for him 15 years.
  • [00:41:18.51] INTERVIEWER: After you were married?
  • [00:41:20.01] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. This is after. When he was in practice. And I was his office manager. And when I went to work for him, he said you are-- you're an employee. I'm the boss. I'm your boss. And if you can do that-- [LAUGHS]-- you can come work for me.
  • [00:41:50.45] INTERVIEWER: You can work for me huh?
  • [00:41:51.41] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm. And I knew that and I accepted that and I could-- I did that.
  • [00:41:57.92] INTERVIEWER: I was going to ask that question about sometimes they talk about spouses working together. But he laid that out there prior to you--
  • [00:42:04.88] ESSIE SHELTON: He did.
  • [00:42:05.24] INTERVIEWER: Starting to work.
  • [00:42:06.54] ESSIE SHELTON: That's not wife coming in here. You're Mrs. Shelton, I'm Dr. Shelton. I did call him Dr. Shelton. But everybody wouldn't be able to do that. But it was OK with me. I was comfortable. And I got-- you said-- paid. I got my check.
  • [00:42:25.37] INTERVIEWER: You got a paycheck.
  • [00:42:26.12] ESSIE SHELTON: Got my paycheck. Yes.
  • [00:42:29.60] INTERVIEWER: Since you're an employee, with the employee came a paycheck huh?
  • [00:42:33.08] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:42:34.16] INTERVIEWER: That's good.
  • [00:42:34.94] ESSIE SHELTON: That's how we were treated and was able to work it out. And I was comfortable like that. Wife-- no-- just let that stay at the door.
  • [00:42:47.07] INTERVIEWER: Well, certainly the idea that you were LPN working that office was great that you had that skill set and that knowledge to work in his office with him. That's great.
  • [00:43:01.22] So we already talked about that-- let's see we're going to go on to next. Tell me a little bit about your children.
  • [00:43:10.58] ESSIE SHELTON: OK. Three sons.
  • [00:43:14.04] INTERVIEWER: No girls?
  • [00:43:15.37] ESSIE SHELTON: No. I wanted one, but no girls.
  • [00:43:18.54] INTERVIEWER: Tell me about your sons.
  • [00:43:19.68] ESSIE SHELTON: The oldest son went to the University of Michigan, got his master's in business. And he just retired from Chrysler in financial. That's what he was in. He worked there 30 years. He has two daughters. One's an attorney, worked for the government. And the other one went to college, but she's working for the post office right now.
  • [00:43:45.91] My second son is in the office that my husband practiced in. He's a podiatrist. And that's where he-- and also the street, Ferris Street, was named after Dr. John C. Shelton Boulevard.
  • [00:44:04.83] INTERVIEWER: That's wonderful.
  • [00:44:06.09] ESSIE SHELTON: So that's in Ypsi. And I have a third son. He went to Michigan State. My two younger sons went to Michigan State in medical technology. He has a son that's 10 years old.
  • [00:44:22.51] INTERVIEWER: So you got Michigan, and you got Michigan State.
  • [00:44:25.28] ESSIE SHELTON: Yeah.
  • [00:44:25.85] INTERVIEWER: How is that working out for you?
  • [00:44:27.21] ESSIE SHELTON: There's a [INAUDIBLE].
  • [00:44:28.93] INTERVIEWER: So some rivalry there.
  • [00:44:30.74] ESSIE SHELTON: We had the Kappas, and we had Omegas. So two--
  • [00:44:36.11] INTERVIEWER: Two different fraternities?
  • [00:44:37.25] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:44:39.40] INTERVIEWER: You seem so proud of them.
  • [00:44:41.50] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, I am because they have never given me-- well, this don't have to be trouble. They look after me and see that I'm fine. And I'm proud of them.
  • [00:44:57.93] INTERVIEWER: That's great. You should be. So when the kids were at home and you were-- they were growing up, what did your family enjoy doing?
  • [00:45:09.44] ESSIE SHELTON: Everything. They had every toy imaginable. They had a swimming pool in the back yard, a lot of company. We were the only ones in-- blacks in the neighborhood. They went to Bader School.
  • [00:45:30.75] They were the only blacks in that school, but they was accepted and had friends, friends, friends. And we travelled, Disney, and we just-- it was a beautiful family. Couldn't ask for more. Blessed.
  • [00:45:51.93] INTERVIEWER: Very blessed.
  • [00:45:53.23] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [00:45:57.33] INTERVIEWER: So what were some of your personal favorite things that you did with your family? You personally. You say you traveled, and that you did a lot of different things. So what were some of your favorite things that you did with your family. Your boys? Your husband?
  • [00:46:11.45] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, a lot of traveling, and we were as one. If I told one of the kids don't do this, don't go to dad, we worked together on raising the boys. And we had something planned for them all the time.
  • [00:46:32.34] INTERVIEWER: Kept them busy?
  • [00:46:33.54] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And they had a swimming pool in the back yard. That was special.
  • [00:46:39.78] INTERVIEWER: Very. So now grandkids, how many grandkids?
  • [00:46:45.10] ESSIE SHELTON: Two granddaughters. The oldest son has the two granddaughters and one grandson that's 10. He has a gift for music. So he played for his choir last Sunday on the organ, and he's 10 years old.
  • [00:47:08.50] INTERVIEWER: It sounds like he's very good.
  • [00:47:10.68] ESSIE SHELTON: Gifted. Yes. Yes.
  • [00:47:14.13] INTERVIEWER: So you didn't get a daughter, but you got some granddaughters?
  • [00:47:17.73] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Two granddaughters. Yes.
  • [00:47:20.82] INTERVIEWER: So you can make up with them.
  • [00:47:23.22] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. Yeah, one's an attorney is-- she went to U of M and got a scholarship to U of M for being smart, I guess, because she got all A's. And so she's special. The other girl is not up where she is, but she went to college.
  • [00:47:45.51] INTERVIEWER: That's good. And all children are different. They take different paths.
  • [00:47:49.73] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:47:50.37] INTERVIEWER: So yeah.
  • [00:47:50.95] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:47:51.99] INTERVIEWER: Very good. Very interesting. Now we're going to move to work and retirement. This is part 4. And you already told me that your main field of employment was you were an LPN.
  • [00:48:05.61] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:48:07.27] INTERVIEWER: And how did-- we didn't talk about how you got started, how you ended up deciding to become an LPN. Was it something special?
  • [00:48:14.19] ESSIE SHELTON: I wanted to be a nurse since I can-- [GESTURES]
  • [00:48:18.97] INTERVIEWER: Since you were that high?
  • [00:48:20.00] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:48:20.40] INTERVIEWER: OK.
  • [00:48:21.26] ESSIE SHELTON: That's all I ever wanted to do was to be a nurse and marry a doctor.
  • [00:48:26.72] INTERVIEWER: And you did that.
  • [00:48:28.19] ESSIE SHELTON: Dreams do come true.
  • [00:48:29.36] INTERVIEWER: They do.
  • [00:48:29.75] [LAUGHS]
  • [00:48:32.31] So it wasn't like you saw somebody that was doing it and you wanted-- you just always wanted to--
  • [00:48:36.72] ESSIE SHELTON: I always wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to help people, make them comfortable, and see that they had a good night. Well, they still do talk to me sometimes. And it was a-- dreams do come true.
  • [00:48:57.58] INTERVIEWER: That's true.
  • [00:48:58.54] ESSIE SHELTON: I can tell anybody that.
  • [00:49:00.17] INTERVIEWER: And then you get this big smile on your face when you say that.
  • [00:49:02.67] [LAUGHS]
  • [00:49:03.55] Beautiful smile you have. So what was a typical day like during the working years of your adult life? So when you showed up-- is it St. Joe's?
  • [00:49:13.53] ESSIE SHELTON: St. Joe.
  • [00:49:14.41] INTERVIEWER: So what would that day look like? What did you do first and second? So what would your day look like?
  • [00:49:18.45] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, like I said, the nuns ran St. Joe. And we were at work 7:00 to 3:30 or 4:00. We didn't leave 'til all our work was done, but it was a busy day. Nurses are busy when you're really taking care of the patients. I can-- I was in the old hospital on Ingles, and it was just busy. And you felt-- I felt satisfied when I comforted someone and helped them to feel better.
  • [00:50:02.44] INTERVIEWER: So as a nurse, were you assigned x amount of patients on a certain floor or-- tell me a little bit about that.
  • [00:50:11.54] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I worked on two west at St. Joe, and we had a head nurse in charge. And she would divide the patients up. And I might get-- depends on how many nurses was there. So we were given patients to take care for that day. Men, women, so--
  • [00:50:40.35] INTERVIEWER: And you just always enjoyed it.
  • [00:50:42.82] ESSIE SHELTON: I enjoyed it. And talking about it, I still get joy out of the medical field. That's just was my dream.
  • [00:50:57.13] INTERVIEWER: That came true right?
  • [00:50:58.43] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [00:51:03.32] INTERVIEWER: What do you value most about what you did for a living? You sort of talked about that but--
  • [00:51:07.93] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:51:09.19] INTERVIEWER: Just helping others. Anything else you want to add to that?
  • [00:51:12.68] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I think I said it when I said helping others and comforting-- that I got joy out of when I went home to know I had really helped someone to feel better.
  • [00:51:28.84] INTERVIEWER: So let me ask you this. Sometimes when people retire, they'll still do something one or two days a week or in their particular field. Did you do any of that at all? Once you retired, you retired?
  • [00:51:41.76] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I was working for my husband when I retired.
  • [00:51:44.54] INTERVIEWER: Oh, that's when you worked for your husband?
  • [00:51:46.59] ESSIE SHELTON: We retired together out of his office.
  • [00:51:49.29] INTERVIEWER: I see.
  • [00:51:51.94] ESSIE SHELTON: So I went back to work for him after the boys had went to college, then I went to work for him.
  • [00:52:02.28] INTERVIEWER: So did you all get up in the morning and drive together? Did you go in separate cars?
  • [00:52:05.80] ESSIE SHELTON: No, separate cars because he had to go to the hospital to make rounds to see his patients that was in the hospital. And then we met at the office.
  • [00:52:22.93] INTERVIEWER: How did your life change when you and/or your spouse retired and all the children left home.
  • [00:52:32.90] ESSIE SHELTON: Our life changed because we became as one. We shopped together. We did everything together. And then we did some traveling. But we went out, it was always together.
  • [00:52:53.71] INTERVIEWER: The two of you.
  • [00:52:54.62] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And we managed to go to whatever was going on in Ann Arbor-- parties or the Links or the-- whatever they were giving, we were able to go to. You saw John and Essie at everything. [LAUGHS]
  • [00:53:15.61] INTERVIEWER: So he-- was he the Kappa or was he the Que?
  • [00:53:19.27] ESSIE SHELTON: He was a Que.
  • [00:53:20.36] INTERVIEWER: He was a Que.
  • [00:53:21.41] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes and my oldest son was--
  • [00:53:23.03] INTERVIEWER: Is a Kappa?
  • [00:53:23.78] ESSIE SHELTON: No, he was a Que.
  • [00:53:25.03] INTERVIEWER: A Que also.
  • [00:53:25.49] ESSIE SHELTON: The oldest son-- two youngest boys Kappas.
  • [00:53:27.62] INTERVIEWER: All right.
  • [00:53:28.43] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:53:29.13] INTERVIEWER: They sort of broke the tradition?
  • [00:53:31.09] [LAUGHS]
  • [00:53:32.51] Kids will do that right?
  • [00:53:33.63] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. So going to Michigan State, the two younger boys, and then my husband went to University of Michigan, which the second son did, too.
  • [00:53:47.21] INTERVIEWER: When thinking back on your working adult life, what important social or historical events were taking place at that time? And how did they personally affect you and your family?
  • [00:54:04.09] ESSIE SHELTON: I think that was in the Martin Luther King Day.
  • [00:54:11.71] INTERVIEWER: Well, I know you talked about-- we talked about the similar type-- the same question when you were growing up as a child, a young-- a teenager. But now as an adult, we're asking the same question. What were some social or historical events taking place. And you mentioned Martin Luther King. Were there other things that were taking place?
  • [00:54:32.45] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, no I think we-- I concentrated on Martin Luther King years.
  • [00:54:39.46] INTERVIEWER: I gotcha.
  • [00:54:41.08] ESSIE SHELTON: And it was so much going on, and I was so proud of him-- what he was doing and how much he helped people. He made a difference.
  • [00:54:57.16] INTERVIEWER: Right. So from the personal side, you just felt he-- he just made you proud of all that he was--
  • [00:55:06.44] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And we were included in a lot of the demonstrations and supporting him and the Civil Rights Movement.
  • [00:55:24.80] INTERVIEWER: So when you say you were involved, you actually participated in some of the marches or you did-- what were some of the things that you-- you were part of meetings? What were some of the things that you--
  • [00:55:35.24] ESSIE SHELTON: Some of the meetings.
  • [00:55:36.01] INTERVIEWER: Some of the meetings.
  • [00:55:36.86] ESSIE SHELTON: Because we could help out if we just gave money towards it. And he was in a struggle and the dogs and-- it was so much. And he had to go to jail. I don't guess-- but I thought about that. And he won the Nobel Peace Prize in '64. And I like because he was the father of nonviolence.
  • [00:56:10.19] INTERVIEWER: Right. I agree.
  • [00:56:12.16] ESSIE SHELTON: That was-- that taught us, too, to be patient and nonviolence. And you think of the dogs, the killings, and the shootings, that happened.
  • [00:56:35.19] INTERVIEWER: When they did the movie Selma, they-- that showed a lot of that and some of the actual clippings that was shown as part of that movie, too.
  • [00:56:48.58] ESSIE SHELTON: And he was-- I think we put emphasis on that when that was-- this was the 60s. I think he was killed in 1968.
  • [00:57:02.57] INTERVIEWER: So right. OK, very good. All right, now we're going to the very last part.
  • [00:57:07.41] ESSIE SHELTON: OK.
  • [00:57:08.16] INTERVIEWER: Part 5. And part 5 is historical and social events. The first question is, tell me how it is for you to live in this community. How's it been for you to live here in the Ann Arbor area?
  • [00:57:23.72] ESSIE SHELTON: I have everything I need to work with, my neighbors. I love my-- where I live and my neighborhood. And it's just where I can reach out and get whatever I need.
  • [00:57:43.61] INTERVIEWER: That's good.
  • [00:57:44.47] ESSIE SHELTON: And a fantastic-- they say it's a house, but I call it a condo and three bedrooms, three baths, and I'm the only one in the-- so I--
  • [00:57:59.95] INTERVIEWER: You could have company come over and spend a couple nights.
  • [00:58:01.66] ESSIE SHELTON: I can. I would love to. Any time. Any time.
  • [00:58:07.70] INTERVIEWER: So you got good neighbors?
  • [00:58:09.76] ESSIE SHELTON: Excellent neighbors. I'm-- I think I'm the only one--
  • [00:58:15.46] INTERVIEWER: Only African American?
  • [00:58:17.21] ESSIE SHELTON: No, it's another one up the street there.
  • [00:58:21.45] INTERVIEWER: All right.
  • [00:58:22.25] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [00:58:23.30] INTERVIEWER: You got such a positive outlook, so I'm sure that makes a difference having good neighbors.
  • [00:58:27.47] ESSIE SHELTON: And it's not put on. It's real.
  • [00:58:30.38] INTERVIEWER: Right. I can tell.
  • [00:58:31.53] ESSIE SHELTON: Yeah.
  • [00:58:31.83] INTERVIEWER: Yeah. Let's see what else we have here. When thinking back over your entire life, what are your most-- what are you most proud of?
  • [00:58:44.80] ESSIE SHELTON: Entire life?
  • [00:58:46.27] INTERVIEWER: Your entire life or a part of it, whichever you want to focus on.
  • [00:58:50.35] ESSIE SHELTON: When I came to Ann Arbor, I was able-- my husband was just wonderful this way-- I was able to get my whole family out of the South-- my mother, my sisters and brothers and cousins. I believe there's hundreds of people here because I started that. Because they send and get their friends, and I give-- let cousins come in the house until they get a job. And that's what I'm proud of. That's why a lot of people are here in Ann Arbor because of me.
  • [00:59:36.29] INTERVIEWER: That's great. So when you say you got them here, you mean once they came here, you helped them have-- gave them a place to stay for a while--
  • [00:59:45.58] ESSIE SHELTON: In my house.
  • [00:59:46.50] INTERVIEWER: In your house? OK.
  • [00:59:48.15] ESSIE SHELTON: And helped them to find some place. My parents and even Willy, they came to my house to live. And then they would get jobs and branch out. And many, many, many, many, many other people-- cousins, they would let their friends come. So I just wish I knew how many people are here because we reached out. My husband never-- he said if I was satisfied, he--
  • [01:00:20.15] INTERVIEWER: He was satisfied.
  • [01:00:21.43] ESSIE SHELTON: He was satisfied.
  • [01:00:22.87] INTERVIEWER: Good man.
  • [01:00:23.97] ESSIE SHELTON: He was. He really was.
  • [01:00:30.23] INTERVIEWER: What would you say has changed the most from the time you were a young person to now.
  • [01:00:36.84] ESSIE SHELTON: Nothing's the same.
  • [01:00:38.20] INTERVIEWER: Nothing is the same.
  • [01:00:39.64] ESSIE SHELTON: No. I can't think of one thing. Everything's changed.
  • [01:00:44.89] INTERVIEWER: What's changed the most do you think?
  • [01:00:46.81] ESSIE SHELTON: The computers.
  • [01:00:48.77] INTERVIEWER: But we already talked about that didn't we.
  • [01:00:50.63] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. And they're still growing. It's fantastic. I think it is good in a way, and sometimes it's not good because people take advantage of it. But the computer life is what's changed the most.
  • [01:01:14.53] INTERVIEWER: It's something isn't it?
  • [01:01:16.15] ESSIE SHELTON: It is. And you're probably still learning.
  • [01:01:18.87] INTERVIEWER: I'm still learning.
  • [01:01:20.62] [LAUGHS]
  • [01:01:22.52] I'm still learning. What advice would you give to the younger generation?
  • [01:01:27.49] ESSIE SHELTON: Oh my goodness.
  • [01:01:29.35] [LAUGHS]
  • [01:01:32.96] First, I would tell a child to go to church. When they leave home go to college, stay away from drugs completely. That destroys a lot of young people. Stay with family and get a good education.
  • [01:02:03.00] And that's about-- what else can they do-- listen to people trying to tell you something and make good decisions. I tell my-- still tell my kids make a decision. Sometimes a decision is not good or smart. And I think they will be OK if they just follow that-- those guidelines.
  • [01:02:33.88] INTERVIEWER: That path?
  • [01:02:34.52] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [01:02:35.77] INTERVIEWER: Give them a good foundation.
  • [01:02:37.23] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [01:02:37.93] INTERVIEWER: So when things happen, they have something to fall back on.
  • [01:02:40.51] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes.
  • [01:02:40.99] INTERVIEWER: Right.
  • [01:02:41.36] ESSIE SHELTON: And church is-- they might think I don't want to go to church. But that's where your real help comes from eventually. They find that out later in life.
  • [01:02:56.46] INTERVIEWER: If they listen now, that'll save them some steps right?
  • [01:02:58.66] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm. But in making that good-- make good decisions. I don't know. That seem-- maybe it doesn't seem so important.
  • [01:03:06.74] INTERVIEWER: It's good though because a decision made now can really have a major impact in your life, so it's good.
  • [01:03:13.49] ESSIE SHELTON: That's what I tell my boys now. Was that a good decision? And they say, no I guess not.
  • [01:03:20.52] [LAUGHS]
  • [01:03:23.93] INTERVIEWER: Well, that was our last question, but what I'm going to do is give you a chance to have any-- give us any final thoughts or anything else you-- a final thought or some saying or something you'd like to leave us with if you have anything.
  • [01:03:37.19] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I think I on the-- what the last question you just asked me, family is good. Stay with family. Not-- all of them not. Sometimes you have to sway away from some of them.
  • [01:03:55.58] But-- and god is your help really. God is your final help. Because he has helped-- maybe some people don't believe-- but I do. You see this is what I believe. And I've had a great-- I'm 87 years old so--
  • [01:04:20.11] INTERVIEWER: 87 years young.
  • [01:04:22.03] [LAUGHS]
  • [01:04:22.43] ESSIE SHELTON: I never been in the hospital. I never been sick.
  • [01:04:26.41] INTERVIEWER: What a blessing.
  • [01:04:27.38] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes, it's a blessing. And only god can give you that. And I love people. I try to do right by people I guess. Yeah. You do right, that'll follow you. Do wrong--
  • [01:04:45.03] INTERVIEWER: That'll follow you, too, right.
  • [01:04:46.73] ESSIE SHELTON: Mmm hmm.
  • [01:04:48.85] INTERVIEWER: Well, Mrs. Essie Shelton, I want to thank you for doing this interview. You've been an absolute delight. And so I think that's going to wrap it up. I don't know if the guys are cutting it off over there. What they're doing but-- so that concludes our interview.
  • [01:05:04.33] ESSIE SHELTON: Well, I sure enjoyed-- you made me comfortable because I thought I was going to be really nervous to do it. I've never--
  • [01:05:12.45] INTERVIEWER: Done this kind of thing?
  • [01:05:13.78] ESSIE SHELTON: No. No. But I thank you for asking me the questions and you made me seem like I was just talking to you.
  • [01:05:22.22] [LAUGHS]
  • [01:05:23.16] INTERVIEWER: Well, I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'm glad you were comfortable.
  • [01:05:27.51] ESSIE SHELTON: Then I kind of met your mother.
  • [01:05:29.65] INTERVIEWER: You did. Gosh, you got a lot of similarities there.
  • [01:05:33.12] ESSIE SHELTON: Yes. So maybe one of these days we'll meet.
  • [01:05:36.69] INTERVIEWER: You will, and she's from Mississippi. And I have to find out what part of Mississippi. She's from this-- some little small town.
  • [01:05:43.14] ESSIE SHELTON: Yeah but it's probably near Jackson, Mississippi.
  • [01:05:46.30] INTERVIEWER: Yeah, I think it is. Jackson is a big-- we actually went it-- we actually went into Memphis, and we drove over to Mississippi because there was-- that-- in terms of transportation getting over there we couldn't really get-- we went in a car. Yeah, so I'll have to find the name of it.