Interview with Geoffrey Ellis, March 6, 2012

Partial Transcript: Alright, we're going to mark the recorder and make sure that we've got a good sound level going.

Segment Synopsis: The interviewer introduces Mr. Ellis and the project.

Partial Transcript: Just to get a little, to get started...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis talks about his current job as a pastor and some of his past jobs, including being an assistant to Mayor Armstrong and Mayor Abramson. He was also president of the NAACP.

Partial Transcript: As I said, I'm married.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis is married and has seven daughters and one son. He graduated from Central High School in 1957, which is when he joined the Navy. He talks about what made Central High School so unique.

Partial Transcript: Living at that point in time here in Sheppard Square.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis describes his experience while living at Sheppard Square, which he moved to in 1947.

Partial Transcript: So you were, you said you were born in the West End.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis and his parents moved to Sheppard Square from the West End. He explains why his parents wanted to move. He recalls some of the experiences he had while living there, including the schools he attended, the churches, and a specific bus line.

Partial Transcript: Describe the apartment itself.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis describes the set-up of the apartment he lived in with his parents.

Partial Transcript: The thing I thought about coming here...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis remembers his mom working late and being looked after by the other mothers at Sheppard Square, playing with some of the other kids, and the overall feeling of support that was in the community.

Partial Transcript: Some of the highlights of my experiences, I guess, was learning how to skate at, at, at Presbyterian Community Center.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis talks about how the Presbyterian Community Center, Fred Stoner, Rudolph Stitch, and multiple churches had an impact on the Sheppard Square community and how they influenced him.

Partial Transcript: And we had a real deep rivalry with what we call "in-town."

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis recalls the rivalry the people of Sheppard Square had with the people of the Clarksdale projects, especially because they competed with each other in the different community centers.

Partial Transcript: Do you recall any challenges?

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis says one of the prominent challenges was the economical challenge, though it was not recognized as the worst thing for them because of the sense of community. Another challenge was the significant amount of single mothers who lived there.

Partial Transcript: Cause when I went off to the Navy, it was another whole other world.

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis talks about his training, graduating from boot camp, and how his experiences in Smoketown helped him in the Navy.

Partial Transcript: One of the most richest experiences out of Smoketown that I can, that I hold onto now...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis talks about a special memory to him, which is forming and singing in a group called the Canaries.

Partial Transcript: And, do you recall ever feeling any sense that she wasn't able to meet the bills, pay the rent...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis says his mother worked two jobs in order to pay all the bills. He says though they were poor, he did not feel poor and he states how he benefitted from his mother working at a drugstore, called Zaks. He also tells stories about Abramson's Market, which was owned by Mayor Abramson's family. He discusses the differences between Jewish owned businesses and Arab owned businesses.

Partial Transcript: Now what church are you pastor at?

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis is currently a pastor at Greater St. James. He talks about some of the other churches he pastored at, from the time he started pastoring when he was 49 years old.

Partial Transcript: ...politics. Do you thing your upbringing at Sheppard Square influenced your politics?

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis explains how the Presbyterian Community Center and Sheppard Square influenced him, especially in his politics.

Partial Transcript: You've seen people take a different path...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis speculates why people he grew up with became different from him (in the sense that they have made some bad decisions). He narrows it down to the differences in their family and their church.

Partial Transcript: You, you mentioned earlier that there may have been...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis says he felt that people who lived outside of Sheppard Square viewed it as a negative place to live. He explains why he did not agree with their view.

Partial Transcript: It's different, oh, it's different now.

Segment Synopsis: Mr Ellis talks about the differences in Sheppard Square from when he lived there to now, focusing on the crimes, drugs, and types of families who live there.

Partial Transcript: What did you think when you heard that Sheppard Square was coming down?

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis says he has mixed feelings on the demolition of Sheppard Square, which he explains. He mentions what he thinks the role of the Presbyterian Community Center will be.

Partial Transcript: So, when you're in your in car...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis describes the kind of people who lived there when he was a kid. He also describes Sheppard Square with three words.

Partial Transcript: I just want to ask you if you've got...

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis explains what he hopes people listening to the interviews on this project will learn about the Sheppard Square community and the people who used to live there.

Partial Transcript: Do you know where Smoketown got its name from?

Segment Synopsis: Mr. Ellis tells the traditional story of how Smoketown got its name - from the factories - and the story he was told by some of the older people in Sheppard Square.