Elizabeth and Myrtle

Elizabeth Carolyn Lundy and Myrtle Carolyn Salters served as the missionary directors of the Stewart Baptist Goodwill Center for almost 40 years, from 1935 until 1974.  Throughout their tenure, Miss Lundy and Miss Salters loved thousands of children and guided the Center through decades of social change.  Day in and day out, the two women devoted themselves to children through nursery care, boys and girls clubs, bible studies, Vacation Bible School, counseling, music, and more.  Considering their devotion and their impact, It is only appropriate, then, to take a closer look at their lives before, during, and after their time at the Stewart Center. 

Both Elizabeth and Myrtle came from rural upbringings.  The older of the two women, Myrtle Salters was born on November 5, 1905 in Johnston, South Carolina, (near Aiken).  Her father, George, was a farmer, and it is likely that Myrtle spent her childhood contributing to the daily operations of the farm.  She developed an early appreciation for music, learning to play the family pump organ by ear.  Elizabeth Lundy was born on August 7th, 1909, and was raised in Sylvester, Georgia.  Her father owned a general store, and her family also operated a farm.  She graduated from Lumberton High School. 

Both women studied to be teachers at all-female, Baptist colleges.  Elizabeth attending Bessie Tift College for two years (today, a part of Mercer University).  She would later earn her bachelors degree from University of Georgia through summer and correspondence courses. Myrtle attended Coker College, where she earned her bachelor's degree.  Upon finishing her studies, Myrtle taught in public schools from 1929-1933 in Cowpens and Cassett, South Carolina and Scottdale, Georgia.  It does not appear that Elizabeth taught school after completing her degree.

Elizabeth and Myrtle first met as students at the WMU Training School in Louisville, Kentucky, where they were roommates.  It was here that a life-long friendship was born.  Often described as opposites due to their markedly different personalities, Myrtle and Elizabeth perfectly complimented one another.  Although they couldn't have known it at the time, they would live and work side by side for the next 60 years.

While Myrtle and Elizabeth were students at the WMU training school, they took classes related to theology, evangelism, and social work and practiced music, sewing, and stenography.  In addition, all students gained practical experience through field work at local missions in Louisville.  

WMU Training School Building (known as "House Beautiful" by students and faculty)  Postcard dated 1920.  Myrtle and Elizabeth took classes and lived in this building.  Student dormitories were located on the second floor.

Training school building, as it appears today.  (Same building as the postcard above). The WMU Training School later became the Carver School of Missions and Social work, which is now a part of Baylor University in Texas.  The United Way of Louisville now operates out of the old Training School building.

Both Elizabeth and Myrtle worked at the Union Gospel Mission in Louisville as a part of their field work at the WMU Training School. There, Myrtle served as a Recreational Leader, and Elizabeth as a nurse.  

1935 photo of staff and children at the Union Gospel Mission in Louisville, Kentucky.  Myrtle and Elizabeth both worked here as a part of their studies at the WMU Training School.  This picture would have been taken shortly after Miss Lundy was called to the Stewart Baptist Goodwill Center in Atlanta.

Myrtle completed her MRE (Masters of Religious Educaiton) at the training school in 1934 with hopes of being a foreign missionary to China.  Upon completing her BRE (Bachelor of Religious Education) at the training school, Miss Lundy was called to Atlanta to serve as the Center's Director in 1935.   

"With the beginning of each New Year, my memory goes back to January the first 1935 when I arrived in Atlanta by train and was met at the station by Mrs, John R. Dickey, Supervisor of the Andrew-Frances Stewart Good Will Center.

It was Mrs. Dickey who had first contacted me about accepting the position as Director of the Center.  She took me to the Center upon my arrival in Atlanta in 1935 where I never dreamed that my term of service would terminate only when I reached retirement."

While Myrtle waited for clearance to travel to China, she came to Atlanta where she boarded and volunteered alongside her friend Elizabeth at the Goodwill Center, then located at 816 Pelham Street. She also found work as a substitute teacher in Atlanta Public Schools during this time.  However, health problems would eventually prevent Myrtle from becoming a foreign missionary.  After several years as an unofficial, unpaid volunteer, Miss Salters was hired as Assistant Director and paid a small salary. 

For the first 15 years that Elizabeth and Myrtle worked at the Stewart Center, it was located at 816 Pelham Street, in an area often referred to as Bankhead (today known as the English Avenue neighborhood).  The Stewart Center was housed in a large, brick building, located only a few yards away from Kingsbery Elementary School.  Miss Lundy was active in the PTA at Kingsbery, and the Center had a good relationship with the school.  Many of the children living in this neighborhood were children of mill workers who were employed by the Exposition Cotton mills nearby.  

The Stewart Center at 816 Pelham Street

In 1949, due to neighborhood changes (black families began moving into the previously white community, leading to Kingsbery Elementary to be "rezoned" as a school for African American children) the WMU felt that the Center needed to be relocated.  There was a severe housing crisis in Atlanta at this time, especially for African Americans.  As a result, many black families began to purchase homes in adjacent white communities, which caused rapid "white flight" out of the community.  

After an extensive search, the WMU located a property at 153 Stovall Street.  A former grocery store and apartment house, the building required extensive renovations before it could be opened for children.  Miss Lundy and Miss Salters moved into the upstairs apartment, where they would live for the next 24 years.  While renovations were taking place, the two women spent several months meeting their neighbors and conducted a "census" to learn more about the community.  When the day nursery opened in that fall, several children who attended the Pelham Street Center came from the Bankhead area in order to attend, in addition to children living near the new Stovall Street Center.  The recreation/chapel building was constructed a year later.       

During their four decades of service, Elizabeth and Myrtle ran the day to day operations of Stewart Center. They kept meticulous records of attendance, baptisms, bibles given to children, etc.  The women (Myrtle, in particular) took many photos, and had a small dark room at the Center where Myrtle developed the pictures. Their divergent gifts and personalities suited the women for different roles at the Center.  

Myrtle is often remembered for her humor and quick wit, and her light-hearted demeanor.  She often worked with the boys at the Center, and grown men remember her lessons in woodworking and fishing trips.  Both men and women remember her creativity, and some still treasure the crafts they made with her at the Center.  Miss Lundy was more reserved and serious in demeanor and generally worked with the girls, including the GA program.  As she was technically the Director of the Center (with Myrtle as her Assistant), Elizabeth was responsible for all that took place at the Center, and took her job very seriously.  As evidenced by her later writings and the memories of those who knew her, Elizabeth cared very deeply about the children and the Center, despite her outwardly stern demeanor. 

Atlanta Constitution Article, September 30, 1956

For a 1960 WMU meeting, Miss Lundy and Miss Salters composed a poem about their day to day life at the Stewart Center:

The days are long, the service sweet, 
guiding paths for little feet.
We see them run, and sometimes fall,
While joining in a game of ball.
We count for races, break up a fight, 
And coming between, we make things right.
We watch the younger ones blow bubbles,
And listen to the old folks' troubles.  
We see the poor and hungry fed,
We gently tuck the tots to bed.
We see some born, and watch some die,
We hear some laugh, while others cry.
For the many problems we have to face,
We are undergirded by "sufficient grace"
And, oh, the joy that comes in serving, 
We often feel so undeserving!
That God has let us work this long,
And kept us healthy, well and strong.      

In the mid to late 1960's, Myrtle and Elizabeth began to see changes in the neighborhood surrounding the Stewart Center, similar to those in English Avenue less than 15 years earlier.  This time, rather than moving the Center, Miss Lundy and Miss Salters chose to invite all neighborhood children, regardless of their skin color, to the Stewart Center.  "...the two missionary-directors have proved themselves to be sensitive to the needs of a changing community.  The solution seemed to lie, not in moving the location but in initiating plans and methods to face the new challenge brought about by the changing community."  In 1968, Michael Manuel was the first African American child to attend.  

In 1974, after 39 years of service, Myrtle and Elizabeth felt that it was time to retire.  Using the language of the stage, Myrtle Salters eloquently described her feelings about retirement:

"As in all performances, sooner or later each player must make his exit in order that another may have a turn.  It is with mixed emotions and reluctancy that I must admit it is time for me to step aside.  This is not to say that I feel the "performance" is over, or that a climax has been reached, but that my exit is due, effective in the summer of 1974.  However, I shall be watching and praying as "the play" goes on--hopefully for many years to come, resulting in countless multitudes being drawn to the Saviour."

Upon retirement, Miss Lundy and Miss Salters were honored at a number of events, including events at First Baptist Church of Atlanta, where they were members, as well as at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist.  At their last meeting with the Atlanta WMU, they recited a poem together, which they had written about their lives at the Stewart Center.  The closing stanza of the poem reads:

So our memories are happy, our hearts are filled
In knowing we have served where God has willed,
Being victims of both time and age the moment arrived to exit the stage.
We are in His hands His will to do
Through the days ahead He will see us through.
Nearly forty happy years really passed in a jiffy
Makes us almost wish we had worked for fifty.

Elizabeth and Myrtle with Ford Chance and Donnie Watkins at a retirement celebration in their honor.

The WMU presented the women with a large financial gift, which enabled Myrtle and Elizabeth to buy a car.  They moved to an apartment in Decatur (1520 Farnell Court), where they lived for 13 years among other retired missionaries.  Elizabeth and Myrtle stayed in touch with subsequent directors of the Stewart Center, and visited from time to time.  

Myrtle and Elizabeth with Jackie and Novella McClung.  The McClungs served as the new missionary directors of the Center following Elizabeth and Myrtle's retirement.

Novella and Jackie McClung, the husband and wife missionaries who were hired following Myrtle and Elizabeth's retirement, recalled that the two women had a difficult time leaving the Center--- particularly Miss Lundy.  Novella recalled a visit from Miss Lundy and Miss Salters that occurred shortly after the interior of the Center had been painted.  In an attempt to stretch their budget, Novella and Jackie had purchased "rejected" paint from the store, including purple paint that they used for the largest classroom.  Upon seeing the room, Miss Salters broke into laughter and Miss Lundy burst into tears. 

When Emory University purchased the apartments where Myrtle and Elizabeth lived for student housing in 1987, the two moved to the Baptist Village in Waycross, Georgia.  As they continued to age into their 80's, the women received many visits from children, parents, and WMU members who knew them from the Stewart Center.  

"The Lord has been/is so good to let us see a few fruits from the seed we had the privilege of planting.  We heard via cards, letters and phone calls from some of our former people.  July 2-3 I had two of our former children visit me.  One attended the Stewart Baptist Center in the 1930's.  The other girl went in 1940's.  This was their first trip to Baptist Village.  They were just bubbling over with happy memories of their days at Stewart Center.  One had kept her certificates from V.B.S. and brought them for me to see." 

Myrtle Salters passed away on June 4, 1994 at age 88.  In a letter written two months later, Elizabeth remembered her friend and gave thanks for her life:

"I of course miss Myrtle but I do not grieve for her, so thankful she [is] with the Lord.  Most of the people at Baptist Village did not know the real Myrtle.  She continued to have a smile most of the time, a twinkle in her eyes, and was witty.  She did very little talking after being moved to Hall 5--confused more when she talked-- but one day on Hall 6- when the nurse put her arms around Myrtle- was loving her- I said "Myrtle, I believe they are spoiling you" --the quick reply: "Do I smell?"

     
Upon her death, Myrtle was buried in the Phillipi Baptist Church cemetery, the church in which she was raised in Johnston, SC.  Even in 2015, the church proudly remembers Myrtle's lifelong missionary service on their website.

When Myrtle passed away in 1994, Elizabeth with Myrtle's niece Barbara, donated chimes to the Village in her memory.  Click the image to read the article.  (Courtesy of Ford Chance)

Elizabeth Lundy outlived Myrtle by 7 years, and passed away on October 17, 2001.  She was buried with her family at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Sylvester, Georgia. 

Much needed update!

It's been months since I've last posted an update about the Stewart Center history project.  While I knew that school would certainly demand much of my time, I'm not sure I realized how much energy it would demand also!

Having said that, I am so thankful for the past year I've spent learning, and I feel considerably more prepared to tackle this research project, and to present the information in such a way that honors 100 years of children and workers at the Stewart Center.

This post is a little bit of a reflection of how a year of grad school has impacted this project, after two years of work as a total amateur historian.  (In case you're curious, I'm working on a Master's of Heritage Preservation at Georgia State.  The program is a part of the History Department, and the reason I chose this program over a plain old Master's in History, is because I valued the dual focus on Historical Research/Education and Historic Preservation.  My excitement about history has almost always revolved around physical places, hence my desire to study preservation alongside history.)

Before grad school was even a thought in my mind, I was doing research the only way I knew how--asking lots of questions, looking at photos, and visiting sites of importance.  And Google...lots of Google.  Learning about the Center's history was fascinating and fun for me--like detective work. The piece that I most enjoyed was connecting with people from the Center's past...people that I usually found through Google or Facebook, after reading their name in Stewart Center history documents.

I started the MHP program in January of 2014, taking one class while still working full time at the Stewart Center.  Suddenly, I was introduced to an abundance of new resources with which to learn more--Atlanta newspaper archives, Sanborn maps, books about Atlanta's history, National Register Nominations, the list goes on.  I spent hours in front of the computer devouring all the new information I could find.  By the end of the semester, I had amassed considerable amounts of new information and resources.  I began to realize that something should be done with the information, or it risked being lost all over again.

When summer came around, I resigned from my position at the Center, and started school full time.  I took a "Directed Readings" course (basically an independent study) in which I wrote the first draft of the Stewart Center history.  I realized by the end of the course that while I had compiled a great deal of information about the Center's history, I had not successfully captured the heart of the Center...which is what inspired me to write about it in the first place.

Luckily, that fall I took an Oral History course, for which I was able to incorporate the Stewart Center project. While I had already been meeting and interviewing folks for over a year at this point, I had never really considered the interviews "real" research.  While I knew it was a great way to learn more information, I didn't realize that Oral History was a respected field in and of itself.  I learned about the ways in which interviews and stories can be used to tell History, and I got a great deal of feedback about my project and the way in which I conduct interviews. Upon finishing the course, I knew that what I had written about the Stewart Center, so far, was going to change dramatically with the inclusion of oral histories.  I knew that oral histories would introduce personality, humor, and most of all, heart, into the overall narrative.

While I have not had an opportunity to include the project in any of my classes this semester (with the exception of writing an Annotated Bibliography based on my research sources) I have spent a great deal of time reading and learning about historical methods and how to research American cities.  One of my classes has required reading a one book a week (sometimes two).  After reading and analyzing the works of so many respected historians, I've only become more aware of the work I have yet to do, and the questions, issues, and biases I will need to address in the writing.

With 5 weeks left in the semester, I am actively thinking about all the work to be done this summer. With a much smaller course load and the month of May completely off, I am very excited to begin writing where I left off, and to include all that I have learned over the past year.  I am so excited to incorporate the stories and remembrances that have been shared with me.  I am excited to meet and interview more folks who were involved in the Center's history.  I am excited to do more research about a number of topics in order to better understand the Center in the context of Atlanta, Christianity, and America.   My goal by the end of the summer is to have a document that I am proud enough of to share with others for critique and editing.

So.  That's a little update :)  More to come.

Learning from Mistakes

Since I last wrote, I have learned SO MUCH---both specifically about the Center as a result of oral history interviews, and about the general process of historical research.  I haven't had much time to work on the writing of the history since the semester started, but the learning and research hasn't stopped.  Sometimes I've had the humbling experience of learning that I was wrong about a particular fact or issue--but I'm learning that it's part of the process.  Additionally, I have learned about a ton of resources to check my theories :)

One particular instance in which I learned that I was WRONG was about the location of the second Stewart Center building---but I was close!

The red building on the left WAS the recreation building, but the blue/stone building was NOT the Center!  The Center sat on the property directly behind these two buildings, and was quite large.

While I initially thought the Center was housed in the blue building above, it turns out that the Center was actually housed in a large brick building with columns on the front---much bigger than the blue building!  The property sat on a hill at the corner of Pelham and Paines Street, and sat behind the blue building previously mentioned.  The building was inevitably demolished sometime after the Center moved in 1949, but clues to it's presence still exist, like the front steps and the base where the bronze plaque once hung (which is now hanging inside at the current Stewart Center).  The red building (now St. James Baptist Church) was in fact the Center's temporary gym--this property was purchased in order to have street frontage on English Avenue.  It was intended for a permanent recreation/chapel building to be constructed, but for some reason, never was.

THIS was the 2nd building that housed the Stewart Center!  It was built by the Stewart Center, and used for close to 30 years before the Center moved to Reynoldstown.  The building was sold to be used as an apartment house, and presumably demolished at a later date.  (Upon inspection of the current abandoned building on the property, which is hidden behind overgrown bushes, it has different brickwork, a different roof style, and doesn't line up with the steps correctly.)

This 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the two properties (outlined in blue) that the Stewart Center later purchased for the 2nd location. The larger of the two plots was where the main building was constructed, and the small, narrow plot is where the recreation building was constructed.  The English Avenue School (At that point named Western Heights) where children attended school is outlined in red.  

These are the steps that I believe led to the front door of the Stewart Center on Pelham Street.  (The brickwork on the lefthand wall seems to match the brickwork in the black and white photo.)  Believe it or not, there's a building behind all those weeds.

And this (the corner of the brick wall at Pelham and Paines St) is where I believe the Stewart Center plaque hung!  The Center sat up on the hill over this wall, looking over much of the community.

The Heart of the Matter

Since the last blog post, I began a Heritage Preservation Masters program at Georgia State and resigned from my position as Program Director of the Stewart Center in order to do so.  Because of my love for the Stewart Center and the crucial role it played in unearthing my excitement for history, preservation, and research, I have continued researching its history as a part of my studies.  I could not fathom abandoning the information and stories I had acquired through my research over the past few years--I wanted to preserve and share it in a form that would be accessible to future generations of APSC family.
 
This spring when I decided to become a full time student, I talked to my advisor about taking a "Directed Readings" course--which basically entails conducting an independent research project as an elective, under my advisors supervision.  After he approved my proposal to write a comprehensive history of the Stewart Center, I knew that I had the necessary pressure and supervision to make sure the project became a reality.  While I wont bore you with all the details of the research and writing I have done this summer--believe me when I say I have been busy :)

I met with my advisor a few weeks ago to go over the first draft of the history.  While the draft was a start, it has a long ways to go.  As my advisor said and my professor echoed, the scope of this project is much larger than can be completed this summer.  (100 years is a lot to cover!)  I plan to incorporate the project into several other courses, including my oral history class this fall, and continue working on it independently.

One of the most difficult parts of the project, so far, has not been researching or describing events that occurred at the Center.  The difficulty has been in describing the "heart" of the Stewart Center--the spirit of the place that has come to be so important to me.  In fact, that was my advisors main critique--that while I had described a lot of people and events, I had not talked about the Center as its own being.

A few days ago, I interviewed one of the current Stewart Center board members, Esther Grissom.  When I asked her about her hopes for the Center moving forward, one of the things that she hoped for was that the Center would continue providing the Youth with opportunities for exposure to the world outside Reynoldstown.  I was caught off guard by the mention of this special group of teenagers, and tears started streaming down my face.  As I struggled to take notes through blurry eyes, all I could think about was the many quirks and qualities that I loved in those teenagers, and how important it was to me that they find happiness and success (however they choose to define it).       

I realized that for me, that feeling, that desire, is the heart of the Stewart Center....loving and accepting people as they are, championing one anothers hopes and dreams, and working together to achieve every individual's definition of "success."

A Visit to the GA Baptist Archives

I recently visited the Georgia Baptist Convention archives in Duluth.  Charles Jones, who runs the archives, generously took the time to talk to me about Georgia Baptist history and helped me begin my research there.  While he had pulled a few books that he thought would be useful to my search, he also pointed me to a pile of boxes sitting on the floor.  He told me that he had not yet gone through the materials in the boxes, but that I might take a look to see if there was anything related to the Stewart Center in it's contents.  Upon glancing down at the box nearest to my foot, I saw this:

I immediately (and probably impolitely) interrupted Charles and said "Did you get this box out for me??"  to which he replied that he hadn't--he hadn't even realized that it said "Stewart Center".  Talk about serendipity!

The next four hours flew by as I went through the contents of the box, photographing each and every document for the Stewart Center's records.  (While I'm not sure how the records ended up there, they are now the property of the GA Baptist Convention Archives.)  One of my favorite discoveries was an old notebook dated from 1920.  This notebook was used by the original Stewart Day Nursery Board for meeting minutes.

Another interesting find was a few resignation letters from previous directors.  These letters are an interesting look at what the Center was like at a given time, and capture some of the emotions the directors felt for the Center.  (Myrtle's is a little blurry--sorry!)

 

Among other things, the box contained personal letters, newsletters, written histories of the Center, a few photos, and hiring documents.  I've continued to sort through the documents I copied while at the Archives, and am very excited to share more of their contents in future posts.  I will also be returning to the Archives in the coming months to conduct more research. 

Thanks!

White Flight and the Stewart Center: Part One

In 1950, the Stewart Center moved locations as a result of racial tensions in it's neighborhood.  While this entry explores issues of racism and "white flight," it's purpose is not to place judgement on the Stewart Center's leadership or their decision to move. Rather, it is simply to explore the greater issues that were taking place around them.  While I wish I could have been a fly on the wall as decisions were made, I know that the factors of the move were likely more complex than we can know.
______________________________________________________________________________

In 1950, the Andrew P. Stewart Center moved from English Avenue to Reynoldstown.  The question has plagued me since I began delving into the Center's history: why, after 34 years in the English Avenue community, did the Center uproot and move across town?  All of my research and reading has produced a two word explanation:

"Owing to city growth and community changes, the Atlanta Baptist W.M.U. Association felt the need to relocate the Good Will Center.  Already the churches in the community had relocated." 

This vague, unsatisfying rationale begs for more detail.  Due to the time period and details regarding the sale of the Pelham buildings, I immediately assumed that the phrase "community changes" was referring to neighborhood desegregation and white flight.  We know that the Center sold it's buildings on Pelham street to African American residents, further supporting our concept of the nature of the "community changes" occurring in the English Avenue neighborhood.

"The Chapel-Recreation Building was sold to the St. James Negro Baptist Church.  The main building was sold for a negro apartment house."  

______________________________________________________________________________________


I recently began reading a book called "White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism" by Kevin M. Kruse.  What I've learned so far has been very interesting and incredibly relevant to the Center's history.

On Atlanta's west side, Joseph E. Lowery Blvd runs north/south for nearly 3.5 miles.  Originally named Ashby Street, this road forms the western border of the present day English Avenue neighborhood, where the Center called home for 34 years.

As it turns out, Ashby Street saw some of the earliest neighborhood racial transitions in the city of Atlanta.

"Just to the east stood the Ashby Street region, which had grown rapidly during the previous decades, emerging as one of Atlanta's most overcrowded black neighborhoods.  Indeed, by the 1940's nearly 40 percent of the city's black population lived there, making the enclave's name synonymous with 'black Atlanta.'...The end of World War II brought a severe housing crisis to Atlanta, as thousands of veterans returned home to discover the city had not only failed to build new homes during their absence but actually started to destroy old ones. Black leaders banded together to create new housing on the city's outskirts, but found such projects blocked by local resistance and government red tape.  In the end, they had only one option.  'Following the pressure of increased population,' Atlanta's Metropolitan Planning Commission observed, 'their only avenue for expansion has been 'encroachment' into white neighborhoods adjoining their own areas of concentration.'  Logically, the bulk of the early years of black 'encroachment' emerged from the most significant 'area of concentration,' Ashby Street."

In addition to giving us more information about Ashby street and the environment surrounding the Center in the late 1940's, it also tells us that it was among the first neighborhoods to transition in the city of Atlanta.  "White Flight" had not yet begun on a large scale, as this was one of the very first areas to deal with the issue of neighborhood desegregation.


It is reasonable to believe that most (if not all) of the children who attended the Center would have left the neighborhood during this transition.  As long time families left the neighborhood, the Center lost the people it had served for over 30 years. Did the leadership of the Stewart Center reach out to African American families in English Avenue before deciding to move?  We don't know. 

"Mrs. S.D. Katz was appointed chairman for the committee for the relocation of the Good Will Center.  A grave responsibility rested upon her.  The task was not an easy one.  Mrs. Katz worked faithfully and with the aid of the missionaries diligently combed the city for the right location.  There was much to be considered.  The committee after much prayer and deliberation, felt the directed guidance to this, our present location, 153 Stovall Street, S.E.  Occupancy took place January 1950."

The written histories of the Center do not give any information about why Reynoldstown was chosen for the next location, but demographic data shows that in 1950, Reynoldstown was inhabited by almost exclusively white residents.  (Which is interesting, considering Reynoldstown was founded by freed slaves after the civil war---but that's a subject for another blog!)  Little did they know, they would be faced with a similar neighborhood demographic change a little over a decade later. 

Regardless of the motives and rationale behind the Center's move in 1950, the leadership made a very different decision 15 years later when African Americans began moving into Reynoldstown.

To be continued.