Transcript of an oral history interview with Arthur L. Kirk

Kirk, Arthur L.
Oral Histmy Interview
DEPARTMENT OF CU LTURAL
AFFAIRS
EASTSIDE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
Interviewee's Full Name: A11hur L. Kirk
Interview's Address: 537 Crescent Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31404
Interviewee's Neighborhood: Savannah Gardens (Strathmore Estates)
Interviewer: Charles J. Elmore
Date of Interview: November 18, 2008
Length of Interview: 14 minutes, 34 seconds
Interview Medium: Video (Reginald Franklin - Videographer)
Transcriptionist: Samanthis Q. Smalls
Date ofStaffReview: Revised and Corrected by Michelle Hunter on 13 March 2009
CE: How you spell your first name? Arthur? A.R.T.H.U.R.?
AK: A.R.T.H.U.R.
CE: Any middle name? Any middle initial or anything?
AK: L.
CE: Okay.
AK: Kirk. K.I.R.K.
CE: Okay. And you live at 537 Crescent Avenue?
AK: Right. Crescent Drive.
CE: Crescent Drive?
AK: Right.
CE: Okay. Early family, early, uh. This is Charles J. Elmore interviewing Mr. At1hur L. Kirk, 537
Crescent A venue
AK: Drive.
CE: Drive, Crescent Drive, November 18, 2007, Eastside Documentation Project for the city of
Savannah, Georgia. Alright, family origins.
AK: Okay.
Kirk, Arthur L.
CE: How'd you get here?
AK: I was in the Korean War and I was discharged here October 8, 1956.
MH: Korean War?
AK: Korean, yeah.
MH: Well, when Paul graduated from college he was sent to Korea. They were, can you believe
that? I couldn't believe that.
AK: Oh yeah.
MH: All that time?
AK: And from being discharged out of the service, I went to work for Atlantic Towing Company
which was a tugboat company. I got out of the service on Friday and started to work for the
tugboat company on the following Monday.
CE: Wait, let me get that.
AK: Alright.
CE: That was, boy, you didn't waste any time. Keep talking; I'm listening.
AK: Okay. I was, I worked two years and some odd clays and I left and went back to North Carolina
for two years. Moved back here in September of 1960, been here ever since. I been working for
the tugboat company for the past uh, well might as well say, 52 years.
CE: Wow.
AK: Somebody said the other clay, "You got to quit changing jobs so often."
CE: Wow. What did you notice about the area when you came here? What was it like?
AK: It was a, I guess back then they called it a housing project because it was built during the War.
Uh, uh, each person, most of the time you knew your neighbor you know; didn't know people
on the other side ofthe street but uh.
MH: That's right.
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Kirk, Arthur L.
AK: And of course our kids went to the little kindergarten that we had down here at the
administration building. And uh ...
CE: Hold on let me get that.
AK: Okay. And I had uh, two children: a boy and a girl. Both raised here in Savannah.
CE: They still here?
AK: Alright, they went to uh, what was the name of the school down there?
MH: Perm. Penn Avenue.
AK: Penn A venue School. From Penn A venue School over to Shuman.
CE: Umhum.
AK: And from Shuman to Savmmah High, when it was out on Washington Avenue.
CE: Um hum.
MH: Yeah.
AK: And both ofthem graduated from Savannah High.
CE: They still in Savmmah?
AK: Sir?
CE: They still in Savannah?
AK: Yeah, no. One of'em is, is a tugboat captain in um, shot, from California to Boston to uh,
Brownsville, Texas. In other words, he's always [unclear]. And my daughter lives in Laurel,
Maryland.
CE: What does she do?
AK: Yep.
CE: What does your daughter do?
AK: What?
CE: What does your daughter do?
MH: What does your daughter do?
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Kirk, Arthur L.
AK: She is a uh, what do they call it, embroidering. She's got her own business.
MH: Oh. I didn' t know that.
AK: And she calls it, when she was a kid ...
CE: Um hum.
AK: one of her fingers got mashed off and she calls her business "Nine Finger Embroidery."
CE: Wow. I got to get that. Now I got to get your son, you say your son, you say he works from
California ... ?
AK: He work from California to Boston, from Boston to Brownville, Texas and that's up near the
coast you know ...
CE: Um hum.
AK: on the tugboat.
CE: Um hum. Wow. That's awesome.
AK: Now my family I know nothing about it.
CE: Okay.
AK: And I'll tell you why. I was, I tell people I was better off than most people; I have two mothers
and three fathers. I was adopted when I was three months and two days old and uh, so and I
know nothing about my real family, you know what I mean.
MH: That's amazing.
CE: You were two months and tluee days old?
AK: I was an adopted child, yes.
CE: Okay.
AK: And the only one that I knew and everybody asked me say, "Wouldn't you like to know
something about your uh, regular parents?" I said, "The only thing that I know is that she gave
me up for adoption." I don't know what she did but my mother and father that raised me, that's
what I look to.
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Kirk, Arthur L.
CE: Okay. Okay, I'm going to have to get their names 'cause that's important.
AK: Yeah.
CE: Okay wait a minute let me ...
AK: There was some person that traced some Kirks to somewhere up the Savannah River years and
years ago and they said they lost contact with 'em so they don't know whether it was my
relatives or somebody else's relatives.
CE: Okay, what are your mother and father that raised you, what are their names?
AK: Uh, you know in uh, Lowland, North Carolina was, my mother and father was, were uh, that's
where I was born and raised.
CE: Okay. Were your, what were your adoptive parent's names?
AK: Uh, Nanny Kirk and Sam Kirk.
CE: N.A.N.N.Y.?
AK: Yep.
CE: Kirk and Sam Kirk.
AK: Umhum.
CE: Okay. Boy this is great.
MH: It's amazing.
CE: It is.
AK: And I'm, I'm Baptist. And I went to Morningside for a number of years, I don't really know, so
many of 'em I can't remember. And then the Clu-ist Community Church which is Brother
Kenny Grant. And uh, I still go over there.
CE: Uh, it was Morningside Baptist first.
AK: Yep. And now it's Clu-ist Community.
MH: Is that what they changed it to?
AK: Yeah, they changed it.
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Kirk, Arthur L.
MH: For heaven's sake.
CE: "Its name changed." Christ Community Church.
AK: But uh, back then uh, you know uh, the kids, Ms. Bazemore, Louise Bazemore,
MH: Oh yeah.
AK: she used to take the kids to church. And that's what started the wife going and I started going to
church.
MH: For heaven's sake.
AK: Yeah. Now Chris, when you talk to her, she can give you all the ...
CE: Um hum.
AK: ... prior to all this too, you know.
CE: Yeah. But I want you to tell me. You told me a lot of interesting, you were talking about the
kind of, where people worked.
AK: Right.
CE: I want you to tell me some more about that.
AK: Well uh, I remember we had some friends out here that was policemen. Some of them retired
from the uh, uh Navy, became police and one of them was uh, Earl Knibb. I knew, I remember
very well he was the, they had of a, a little, I guess you call it a sub police station in one of the
apartments here.
MH: Oh. You're kidding?
AK: No.
MH: I didn't know that.
CE: You know how to spell the last name?
AK: Uh, I don't know how you spell that, K.N.I.B.B.? Knibb is the only thing I can remember about
it, I don't know how he spelled it.
CE: Okay. And he was a retired Navy man?
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Kirk, Arthur L.
AK: Navy man.
CE: Okay.
AK: And they set up a little uh, called it a police sub station out here and he was a, I guess you call
it the officer in charge of the precinct there.
CE: Um hum. Um hum.
AK: But we had
CE: That was the City of Savannah?
AK: Right. He was a policeman.
CE: Okay.
AK: And I used to help Tom Coffee uh ...
CE: Wait a minute, hold on a minute [unclear].
AK: Okay.
MH: He worked for the paper didn't he?
AK: Yeah, Tom Coffee did. And you know, every Thanksgiving the police department and, and um,
Tom Coffee would give Thanksgiving things out you know, and I had
MH: Oh really?
AK: my old truck and we'd load it.
CE: Okay you worked, you worked with uh, you worked with Tom Coffee? I know Tom's a
personal friend of mine.
AK: Well uh, I didn't work with him but you know, during these projects like on Thanksgiving and
stuff, Tom
CE: Um hum.
AK: would uh, he would be there helping. And, and of course the police department and the fire
department and everything, you know, they would get all ofthe gifts and stuff and carry 'em
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Kirk, Arthur L.
around to needy people. 'Course I had a truck, a pick-up truck so we'd load it with, carry the
bags and uh ...
CE: Umhum.
AK: ... made you feel good to help people.
CE: Um hum. "To help take things to needy people. Take food and gifts to needy people." This like
during Christmas and stuff?
AK: Right, same, same thing with Christmas. He picked up and donate things and
CE: Okay. Anything else interesting you might, you want to tell me that some people worked at
Great Dane?
AK: Great Dane. Uh, uh Savannah Sugar Refinery uh, some people worked for the city, and the
Transit Company, and stuff like that. 'Course we had one or two, I'm trying to remember what
Mr. Brantley did. I cannot remember but uh ...
MH: I don't, I don't know.
CE: You said Great Dane, Savatmah Transit Authority.
AK: Right. And uh, we had some police officers was out here.
CE: Um hum, police officers.
AK: I'm trying to remember.
CE: They worked at the sugar refinery?
AK: Huh?
CE: Anybody worked for Union Camp or sugar refinery?
AK: Now, there was a number of people that was sugar refinery and uh, uh, because a number of the
ladies that used to go to Morningside retired from Union Bag.
MH: Um.
AK: You know.
CE: Okay.
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Kirk, Arthur L.
AK: Of course, there was a lot of construction companies around too, then that you, you didn't
really hear about. But uh, prior to me moving here now, the Southeastern Shipyard you know,
which was right down here. They employed, unbelievable how many people they employed.
That's why these places were built.
MH: Exactly.
CE: Umhum.
MH: That's what I always heard also.
CE: Okay. I came across that.
AK: Yep.
CE: [unclear]
AK: I don't know whether it would be a piece of history or not but,
CE: Uh huh.
AK: Picot Floyd was on the same ship that I was on, we were in the service and Picot Floyd was a
uh, same thing as Mr. Brown is now, what do you call 'em, City
CE: Yeah, I remember him, Picot Floyd. What, how you spell his, I can't remember?
AK: I don't know, F.L.O.D.?
CE: I know his first name, what was his first name [unclear].? P.I.C.O.T.?
AK: I believed that's the way he spelled it, Picot.
CE: Picot Floyd.
AK: We were in the service and when we got out of the service, he became City Manager.
CE: Yeah, I remember him. He was Savannah, wait a minute, he was Savannah
AK: Yep.
CE: City,
AK: Manager.
CE: Manager.
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Kirk, Arthur L.
AK: I don't know how long he was there but I remember he was
CE: "And I. .. "
AK: Right.
CE: " .. . served ... "
AK: On the Coast Guard cutter Aurora.
CE: A.U.R.O.R.A.?
AK: Um hum, A.U.R.O.R.A., yep.
CE: Okay. What was, was he a officer?
AK: Yeah, he was, I want to say he was an Ensign, but it could have been a Lieutenant JG but it
CE: Um hum. Coast Guard? You were in the Coast Guard?
AK: Yeah.
CE: You know it's, it's a small world. My daughter's a Coast Guard.
AK: Is that right?
CE: She'll be promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in February.
AK: Very good.
CE: Yeah, she's an engineer.
AK: Okay.
CE: "Ensign or L. Junior Grade." And you were, you were, you were just a seaman, what you call
you, a .. . ?
AK: Well I, I went on the ship as a Seaman but I came out as a Boats Mate First Class.
CE: You got to spell, you know I don't know all that. "I was a Boatman?"
AK: Boats Mate, B and 1 is what they called it, Boats Mate First Class.
CE: Okay, I got it.
AK: "B" and "1."
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Kirk, Arthur L.
CE: That is great. Man, this is exciting. Ya'll don' t realize how exciting this is for me. This is, you
know, just the, just wow. Anything else you want to tell me?
AK: Do what?
CE: Anything else you want to tell me?
AK: That's all I can think of right now you know.
CE: That's good. That's real good.
AK: Yep.
CE: Weill enjoyed talking with ya'll.
MH: It was nice.
CE: And I thank you so much.
AK: Well you're quite welcome.
CE: Now I need to have you fill ...
END
City of Savannah NOTES
1. Footage is unedited a nd presented in the form that it was recorded. Breaks represented
pauses or changes in taping medium.
2. Filmed on the date indicated at the home of the Arthur Kirk. Interview was conducted in
tandem with that of another interviewee, Mary Hilton.
3. Designations-- "MH" indicates Mary Hilton. "AK" indicates Arthur Kirk. "RF" indicates Reginald
Franklin, the Project Videographer. "CE" indicates Charles Elmore, the Project Historia n.
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