Brooker's Quarters
Brooker's Quarters
The area in back , and the side of the Davis house towards Lucy Street, was a wooded area and it was full of wild shrubbery. We had built a camp in that area and had played there in that wooded area as kids for quite some time. Now that area is all occupied by houses. Across Lucy Street there was a group of houses that were built by Mr. Henry Brooker in 1942. There were 45 housing units with a laundromat, an office, and a convenience store. Our family lived in one of Mr. Brooker’s houses located on the corner; looking across Lucy street from that house we could see 7th Place directly to the South. I was very small at that time but I never forgot. It was known as Brooker’s Quarters, and the units were known as shotgun houses. Just like a shotgun, once opened, you could see right straight through the barrel. In the case of the houses with the doors open you could see from the front door to the back. A simple, plain, no frills living condition that was common to the area during that time. It was said that they were called Shotgun houses because if you shot through the front door the bullets would travel straight through and out the back. All of those houses of Mr. Brooker are gone now. All of the buildings were demolished leaving only the grocery store intact. That site had been a permanent fixture in my mental landscape, but now it's gone forever. It stands an open barren lot where many memories and dreams of Black Families were once made. |
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"The Guava Grove"
~The Guava Grove~
Just to the West of where I live there was a housing complex that was built on the site of the old guava grove. When I was a youngster, it was a huge section of land that was covered by woods. It was a wonderful place that contained a massive amount of guava trees. Beautiful sweet guavas that seemed like an endless supply. We would collect so many but we could never eat them all, nor use all of them. People would make jelly out of them and preserve them. That same area was the perfect spot to dig up earthworms for fishing. It seemed like a mixture of dark rich earth and clay. You could slice out large sections with a shovel and break them apart and they would be full of earthworms. The falling leaves from the guava trees provided an excellent source of nutrients for a rich soil.
That area is now covered by the Southpoint Crossings housing complex at 897 West Lucy Street.
Just to the West of where I live there was a housing complex that was built on the site of the old guava grove. When I was a youngster, it was a huge section of land that was covered by woods. It was a wonderful place that contained a massive amount of guava trees. Beautiful sweet guavas that seemed like an endless supply. We would collect so many but we could never eat them all, nor use all of them. People would make jelly out of them and preserve them. That same area was the perfect spot to dig up earthworms for fishing. It seemed like a mixture of dark rich earth and clay. You could slice out large sections with a shovel and break them apart and they would be full of earthworms. The falling leaves from the guava trees provided an excellent source of nutrients for a rich soil.
That area is now covered by the Southpoint Crossings housing complex at 897 West Lucy Street.
"The Neighborhood"
"Looking Back at the Neighborhood"
Most of the families that moved into our little section of town were here to stay and became like an extended family. On 7th Place there was The Davis Family, The Kemp Family, The Andrews Family, The Williams Family, The Butterfield-Blake Family, The Neil Family. Across the street was The Harris Family. And across the open field was Mr. Gerald Joiner.
Directly in the back of our house and separated by a chain link fence at 1469 NW 8th Ave, was Mrs. Victoria Owens and her husband Mr. Howard. On the north side of her house there used to be a foot path along side of the fence because all of that area to the north, all the way to Lucy Street was just shrubbery and woods at that time. Mrs. Owens was a school teacher. She taught at A.L.Lewis School. She liked to smoke Kool cigarettes and would often send me to the local store to buy them for her.
Next door to her was Mrs. Thomasina Hunter’s family, and then Mr. Willy and Mrs. Nora Anderson. Across the street from them was the Seymour family, and the Moss family. A little further south was Mrs. Chandler Childs, and at the very end of 8th Ave was the Griffin family, next to the two story building that used to be there. All of the area west of 8th Ave behind these houses were just woods for an entire block or so. We explored all of this area as kids, as they were just another play area in the neighborhood.
"South Point Crossings"
Today all of the area that the Guava Grove covered is now covered by a building complex.
Southpoint Crossings 897 West Lucy Street Florida City.
Southpoint Crossings 897 West Lucy Street Florida City.