Transcript of an oral history interview with Lynette Bowers Ward Bridges

Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
Oral HistOJ y Interview
EASTSIDE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
AFFA IRS
Interviewee's Full Name: Lynette Bowers Ward Bridges
Interview's Address: 2208 Hanson Street
Savannah, Georgia 3 1404
Interviewee's Neighborhood: East Savannah
Interviewer: Charles J. Elmore
Date of Interview: January 17, 2009
Length of Interview: 13 minutes, 29 seconds
Interview Med ium: Video (Reginald Franklin- Videographer)
Transcriptionist: Samanthis Q. Smalls
Date of Staff Review: Revised and corrected by MLH on September 8, 2009.
RF: We rolling.
CE: We rolling? Alright. This is Charles J. Elmore in an interview with Mrs. Lynette B. Ward at
2208 Hanson Street, Savmmah, Georgia, 31404 Eastside Documentation, City of Savannah,
January 17, 2009. Um, Ms. Ward, the first thing I wanted to ask you is tell me about your
family origins if you will please.
LB: Well, I was born right here in Savannah, Georgia. Uh, and uh, my parents are Mr. Clifton and
Mrs. Janie Bowers.
CE: Um hum. Keep talking.
LB: Um, I have one sister, Andrea Williams.
CE: Um hum.
RF: Uh, just ignore me; I'm not even here.
CE: Yeah, he 's not even here . Just keep talking. Okay. Uh, where did you uh, attend school and,
and, and growing up? Tell me about your education, totally.
LB: Well uh, I started school attending school uh, my mother's a teacher and educator and um, I
started to go to school with her in elementary in Monteith where she was a teacher; it was an
old two-room school. And then from there . ..
Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
CE: Where?
LB: Monteith, Georgia.
CE: Um. That's where, you know, Reggie and I are cousins and that's where our family is from.
LB: Oh, great.
CE: From Monteith.
LB: Okay.
CE: Okay, go ahead.
LB: And then, uh, I attended Spencer Elementary School and um, also JoJmson High School uh,
Savannah State College uh, some time at Armstrong then Georgia Southern.
CE: Okay. Did you graduate from Savannah State?
LB: I graduated from Savarmah State College.
CE: In English Education?
LB: English Education.
CE: I don't forget anything I write down. When I was talking to your sister she told me that. Okay
beyond, beyond Savannah State University uh, College rather, what, what uh, you went to
graduate work?
LB: I did graduate work in uh, English um, as well as um, Education.
CE: Okay. Do you have any advanced degrees?
LB: Uh, I have master's uh, an Ed.S and have clone some ...
CE: Where's your master's from?
LB: Uh, Georgia Southern. And my Ed.S.
CE: Okay. That's Eel. Specialist right?
LB: Um hum.
CE: Okay. What else you were saying now?
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
LB: Oh, and I
CE: [inaudible]
LB: Just, just did some doctoral work um, but didn't finish.
CE: Okay.
LB: Don't tell my mama.
CE: I won't. She will not know what you said to me. Okay. Um, and in your career, you have
worked as a teacher?
LB: I worked as a teacher.
CE: Alright, just tell me about. Just tell me about it completely, as completely as you would like.
LB: Um, I started out teaching at Johnson High School as an English teacher. Um, and then I spent
most of my years at Johnson. And then I went on to be an Opt teacher at Jenkins High School.
CE: Opt? Now what's a Opt teacher?
LB: Um, it was a, Opt was a program to help students um, that weren't being successful. And um,
Opt was sort of their last chance to um, be successful uh, at the high school level. So we
worked, I worked there.
CE: At Jenkins High?
LB: At Jenkins.
CE: Okay.
LB: And then I um, went intoed. leadership, Assistant Principal at um, Isle of Hope. And uh,
Principal at East Broad and now Principal at Butler. I was also Assistant Principal part-time at
Ja, uh Jac, uh Low- Juliette Low for a time.
CE: How you spell Juliette?
LB: J.U.L.I.E.T.T.E.
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
CE: Okay. Alright, let me ask you one other question. My other question is um, who lived in your
neighborhood over the years? White people? Black people?
LB: Uh, what we called East Savannah uh, was predominately African American.
CE: Okay. Alright.
LB: There's some changing in the neighborhood now but it's still predominantly African American.
CE: Okay. Okay. Um, did you participate, or your family, in the desegregation and Civil Rights
activities over the years?
LB: Uh, I believe we did. Um, when I attended Jolmson High school uh, I was not able to finish as a
uh, as a student at Johnson High School because during my senior year we had to change
schools and go to Savmmah High School. So um, that was a part of the desegregation
movement. Um, one thing that I remember about that process is that we didn't want to go. We
wanted to finish out as Johnson Atom Smashers so that was a big deal. Um, and uh, there were
a lot of strong members around that because um, we sort of felt displaced in some ways so
really uh, when I, when people ask me where did you graduate of course 1 go, "Well, I attended
Johnson but I graduated from Savannah High." Uh, I remember my grandmother uh, Maggie
Houston Baker ...
CE: Um hum.
LB: uh, uh one of the, the things 1 remember is that, um the parents uh, were very concerned that we
would have to change at our senior year and so forth. Um, and 1 remember her going to the
Board of Education um, sort of protesting or, at least, in her way of protesting but being there
uh, you know, sharing uh, being concerned about that change.
CE: Your grandmother, Mrs. Baker, went there?
LB: Umhum.
CE: To the Board?
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
LB: Tiddie, yeah.
CE: Okay.
LB: That's Tiddie.
CE: Um hum.
LB: Yeah, Tiddie went. So that was uh, being the type of person my grandmother is, that was
unusual so that memory sits with me a long uh, forever. Um and so uh, let's see, we, our, even
to this day um, reunions are strange because we, you know, don't belong to anybody we
believe ...
CE: Um hum.
LB: ... so, that's been, that particular class ...
CE: Um hum.
LB: ... um, went through that. Uh, I also remember um, when attending Savannah State uh,
marching downtown um, on Broughton Street as a part of a, some, you know, part of that
particular movement trying to get everything desegregated there, so there was a different part
of that.
CE: Now when did you, when did you, vvhen did you, when were these marches?
LB: Um, I attended Savatmah State, I graduated from Savannah High in the '70s,
CE: Um hum.
LB: in 1970 and went straight into Savannah State. And um, remained at Savannah State until '74
or '75.
CE: Okay. I didn't realize ya'll were marching in the ' 70s at Savannah State?
LB: We, we went, we, we marched down Broughton Street; I remember that in particular.
CE: Um hum. Okay, what were you protesting?
LB: Um, it had to do with something with desegregation. We were all, that's when I had an afro.
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
CE: I had one too. 'Course I'm way ahead of you in school, believe me.
LB: Um,
RF: Militant huh?
CE: Yeah.
LB: Yeah, we were all militant. Yeah.
CE: Okay. Um, what did people do for leisure time around your neighborhood?
LB: Oh let's see. Um, there was a lot of fellowship with church. There were um, ball games in the
lot, right in back of the house. Um, children playing outdoors a lot uh, riding bicycles, skating,
just outside playing.
CE: Umhum.
LB: Just playing.
CE: Now, which, which church was that there? East, East Savatmah?
LB: Oh, uh my church is First African Baptist Church of East Savatmah.
CE: Okay. Uh and you say they played, children played what in the lot behind, in the back of your
house?
LB: Yes, it's a, well now it's a house there but...
CE: Um hum.
LB: ... for most ofthe years it's been just a blank, sandy field or lot. And there were games back
there. Children played in the street. Um, walked around. A lot of outdoor kinds of games at that
time; things we made up ourselves.
CE: Um hum.
LB: Ball, kick ball.
CE: Um hum.
LB: Um, talking, playing, you know.
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
CE: Okay. Uh, what kind of work did people do in your neighborhood? You know, what kind, what
kind of businesses first of all, businesses in the neighborhood?
LB: Well um, a lot of the persons uh, were perhaps self-employed or had their own businesses. Um,
they may have worked for companies but we had um, plumbers and we had people that um,
were carpenters and uh, people who may have worked uh, for other people. Um, so I guess you
would call them more blue-collar jobs ...
CE: Um hum.
LB: ... at the time. Um, my mother was an educator. Um, we had nurses, people that were
housekeepers, and homemakers, that kind of thing; raised children, took care of children. Um .. .
CE: Okay. Um, and you already told me ya'll went to uh, First African Baptist uh ...
LB: Church of East Savannah.
CE: Okay.
LB: Urn hum.
CE: Anything else that I have not asked you that you want to tell me?
LB: No.
CE: See you were, see how easy that was?
LB: Okay.
CE: You thought it was going to be a big chore didn't you?
LB: I didn't know what to expect.
CE: I can tell you, your, your sister is more like your mom. You're real quiet.
LB: Um hum.
CE: And my brother and I were the same way, my late brother. We were like uh, total opposites.
END
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Bridges, Lynette Bowers Ward
City of Savannah NOTES
1. Fi lmed on the date indicated at the home of the interviewee's mother, Janie Baker Bowers.
2. Designations-- "LB" indicates Lynette Bridges who is the sister, daughter, and granddaughter of individuals
interviewed through this project. "RF" indicates Reginald Franklin, the Project Videographer. "CE" indicates
Charles Elmore, the Project Historian.
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