| Transcription of Oral History - Tape 1 - November 3, 1986 |
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| Narrators: Delores Shavers and Roy Shavers |
| Interviewer: Mildred Pratt |
| Date: November 3, 1986 |
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| Side A; Tape 1 |
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| MP |
November 3, 1986. I am at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Shavers at
[address omitted] in Bloomington. Mr. Shavers is going to begin talking.
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| RS |
My name is Roy Shavers. |
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| MP |
Roy Shavers. And you were born where? |
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| RS |
I was born in Centralia, Illinois. |
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| MP |
Would you tell me the names of your parents? |
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| RS |
Clara. William and Clara Shavers. |
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| MP |
Do you remember your grandparents, the names of your
grandparents on your mother's side and your father's side?
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| RS |
My grandmother on my mother's side was Emma Covington, and my grandfather was Joseph Covington.
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| MP |
Were they related to the physician Covington who was in this community? |
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| RS |
No, there was a different Covington. |
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| MP |
Now, were your parents born in Centralia? |
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| RS |
My father was born in Tennessee, and my mother was born
in the state of Illinois. Let's see, it wasn't Centralia.
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| DS |
Carlyle, wasn't' it? |
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| RS |
Carlyle, Illinois. |
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| MP |
Now, your father-when did your father come to Illinois, do you remember?
Any idea at all about what time it was, the period?
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| RS |
Let me see. Ethel was. Well, all the kids was born in Illinois.
That's a good one. I really don't remember.
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| MP |
Would it have been the late 1800s do you think? |
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| RS |
Well, it would be late. It would be late 1800s. |
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| MP |
All right, because I know that quite a few Black people left the South
around that time and moved North, that is why I was wondering?
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| RS |
In fact my folks, my mother-we were an integrated family. We never lived in the South.
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| MP |
Your mother never lived in the South? |
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| RS |
No. |
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| MP |
Just your father did? |
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| RS |
Just my father was born in the South, and he left the
South at a really early age. Then he come to Illinois.
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| MP |
Would you say that he left when he was an adult or when he was a child? |
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| RS |
He was a youngster. |
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| MP |
And he came with his family? |
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| RS |
Yes, evidently come with his family. |
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| MP |
What did he do, how much what level of education did he achieve? |
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| RS |
My father as a youngster or as an adult? |
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| MP |
As an adult. |
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| RS |
As an adult, he was a very fine chef, a cook. As far as education, I don't know what,
he must have had a fairly good education because he was a very fine chef. In fact,
he was in business for himself for years and years and years.
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| MP |
Would you tell me about that, more about that? |
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| RS |
Yes. He was in business in a little town of Clinton, Illinois twenty-two miles from
here. Very few Blacks lived there. The ones that lived there they were practically
all related. My father started a business, a restaurant business and catered to
white because very few Blacks was there. He was in the restaurant business for
years and years, and then he went into tailoring. He had a tailoring business.
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| MP |
Now, this was in Clinton? |
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| RS |
Yes, in Clinton, a tailoring business. He was part owner of a billiard-room business
with another white person. At his death, he was still-had just disposed of the business.
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| MP |
So now your father came to Clinton when he came to Illinois? |
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| RS |
That's right when he come to Illinois, he came to Clinton. |
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| MP |
Did your mother work? |
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| RS |
My mother never worked a day in her life. |
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| MP |
Except at home? |
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| RS |
Except in the home, right. |
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| DS |
Right. (from the background) |
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| MP |
I should have asked you something about your father and his business.
As far as you know, he was in business from the time you remember until
his death, and then was the business discontinued then?
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| RS |
The business was sold at his death. |
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| MP |
Now, what was the name of his business? Do you remember? |
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| RS |
Well, it was-let's see, the tailoring business. There was a name
of the restaurant. I forget the name of the restaurant.
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| MP |
Did it have his name? |
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| RS |
Yes, his name was William, but they called him Bill. He was known as Bill.
The tailoring business was under Shavers. It was under Shavers Tailoring
business. The restaurant was under Shavers and Coates.
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| MP |
Was your father involved at all in politics or any kind of organizations to your knowledge?
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| RS |
My father was, yes. He was in some politics, but he was very religious,
and he was considered one of the pillars of he community in this small
town among whites and Blacks. Well, let me see. As I say he was.
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| MP |
Did he hold any kind of an office as a politician? |
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| RS |
No, no. No politics. |
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| MP |
Did he help elect people? Did he have leadership in
helping elect people into office, to your knowledge?
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| RS |
I think so, yes. He was influential in that way. |
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| MP |
What do you remember about your father's personality? |
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| RS |
He was a fine person. We played baseball together. He was a little man, short heavy-set man.
He liked baseball. We had a baseball team, I remember as a child, and of course there were
quite a few people traveling on the railroad coming through. Clinton, Illinois at that time
was a Illinois Central division railroad. They had railroad shops there. Very, very. It
was a good town, and they had a lot of Blacks that would come through. They were on what
they call "extra gangs." So we picked up a baseball team from that. That is where we got
our baseball players. He was very well liked. Everybody liked him, Black and white.
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| MP |
So, would you say that he really had a good business? It was very profitable?
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| RS |
Very profitable business. I have never been hungry in my life, and he was a good father.
Made us a good living. At the time, I remember that we was, well, the second Black family
in that town to ever own an automobile. (laughs) And we were about the third. Well, we
were the second Black family that ever had indoor toilet.
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| MP |
Is that right, that was very important, I know? (laughter) |
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| RS |
Yeah. He was highly respected. |
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| MP |
Did he ever tell you how he became interested in the restaurant business,
the tailoring business, and how he learned the skills?
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| RS |
In the restaurant? No. He was just. My mother was sickly, and my father did all
the cooking and like that, and as I say, he was just a fine cook, and he developed
a real good business, a profitable business.
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| MP |
Now, why don't we talk about your mother now? What was her name, her first name?
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| RS |
Clara Covington. |
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| MP |
Where was she born? |
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| RS |
Mother was born in-let me see. |
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| DS |
Carlyle. |
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| RS |
Carlyle, Illinois around Centralia. |
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| MP |
What was the background of her parents? |
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| RS |
Her mother was. Let me see, Grandma lived with us, I remember as a child. In fact,
she lived with us until she passed. That's my mother's mother. She lived with us.
Of course, that goes back quite a ways, but she made her home with my mother and father.
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| MP |
Did you say something that your family was interracial? |
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| RS |
My. Yes, we have. |
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| DS |
His grandmother was white, wasn't she? |
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| RS |
Grandmother, well she was English, Dutch and Irish. Dutch and Irish and very,
very light. Of course, I don't know-they never talked too much about it.
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| MP |
Now her husband was he Black or white? Your mother's mother, was her husband white or Black?
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| RS |
Oh, no. He was Black. |
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| MP |
He was Black, yes. Now, tell me about your mother. What do you remember about her?
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| RS |
My mother was very pretty, very vain, and she just loved to travel.
She liked good clothes. She liked the better things in life.
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| MP |
Was that because she was used to those things when she was grew up as a young child?
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| RS |
Yes, I think so. |
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| MP |
How many children? |
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| RS |
There was six-three boys and three girls. |
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