A2C Frederick M. Finney United States Air Force (15683577)

Born: November 18, 1941, Troy, Pike County, Alabama to Marshall and Lucille
Mc Nair Finney. 

     Place of Entry      Fort Thomas, Kentucky
                                  November 2, 1962

     Assignment /Location  Lackland Air Force Base Texas
                                          Amarillo Air Force Base Texas
                                          Greenville Air Force Base Mississippi
                                          University of Omaha
                                          Mather Air Force Base California
                                          Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base, Republic of Vietnam

     Place of Separation     Mather Air Force Base California
                                         3535 Supply Sq.
                                         December 31, 1965

     Awards                         Good Conduct Medal

     Ohio National Guard     January 1966 to January 1971, Springfield, Ohio
                                        
     Date of Death                August 16, 2008, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio

     Buried                           V. A. National Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
                                           Section 38, Grave 545
                                       
                                           (c) copyright 2013                                   

Soliloquy on Professor Joseph Carter Corbin included in Des Plaines' River Anthology

A soliloquy on Professor Joseph Carter Corbin, the founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, has been included in the Forest Park Historical Society's Des plaines' River Anthology.

Augie Alesky, President of Forest Park, Illinois Historical Society and owner of Forest Park Centuries and Sleuths Bookstore, was inspired by Edgar Lee Master's 1915 Spoon River Anthology and lives of people, buried in local cemeteries, to create both an anthology and soliloquy work. He found local authors to contribute to the soliloquies which are told in first person and meant to be historical in nature. He envisioned the project "as a creative way to talk about local history and raise money for the Historical Society."

The anthology includes thirty-one historic voices including Clarence and Grace Hemingway, the parents of Ernest Hemingway, Michael Todd, a husband of Actress Elizabeth Taylor, and Albert and Lucy Parsons.

Professor Corbin's Soliloquy was written by John Rice, a Forest Park columnist for the Forest  Park Review, and French Teacher. John Rice became acquainted with the life and work of Professor Corbin earlier in the year when he covered the Memorial Dedication Ceremony of a headstone for Professor Corbin at Forest Home Cemetery. His soliloquy of Professor Corbin is attention catching and inspirational.

Des Plaines' River Anthology had its world premiere and live adaptation on October 26, 2013 as a fund raiser for the Forest Park Historical Society,

Des Plaines River Anthology $10.00 + $6.95 (out of state orders)
Publisher: Forest Park Historical Society in association with Allium Press of Chicago.
Available at Centuries & Sleuths Book Store: 7419 Madison Street, Forest Park, IL,  60130
708-771-7243; Amazon.com, and Forest Park Historical Society

Mom Taught Me How To Become The Person I am Today

                                         Growing up as the only child, my mom and
                                          I shared a special relationship of 67 years.

                                          This is not uncommon since women tend
                                    to outlive men, and the longest relationship a
                                    woman is likely to have is with her mother. "One
                                    of every three women who celebrate a 60th
                                     birthday will have a mother who is still alive,"
                                     according to Vern Bengston, gerontologist at the
                                     University of Southern California.

                                           My mom taught me many valuable life
                                       lessons, and made me the person I became. I
                                       learned to work by her side and to give a full day's
                                       work, even if the wages were unfair. I learned
                                       responsibility and the work ethic. Through church
                                       attendance, I learned about God and self-
                                       discipline, even if the sermons were boring (as
                                       they sometimes were). By helping with the
                                       cultivation of the vegetable garden and canning in
                                       the fall, I learned about nature and the future,
                                       which depended on the harvest. I also learned to
                                       appreciate the order of the universe by getting up
                                       to watch the sunrise.

                                             The best gifts my mom gave to me were
                                       unconditional love and daring to stand her ground
                                       and say "no" when my pleas and whines were not
                                       in my best interest. I did not know it at the time.

                                            One of my best memories is my 76 year-
                                       old mother tenderly caring for her 95-year-old
                                       mother. It is an image that will always remain in
                                       my memory. It was a bittersweet moment. It
                                       reminded me of the distance the two had traveled
                                       together and how near their their journey's end.
                                       My mother was my role model on how to
                                       care for one's mother. And both my mother and
                                       grandmother were role models for me on how to
                                       live independently with dignity and purpose in
                                       widowhood.

                                       My relationship with my mom was strong,
                                     enduring, and adaptable. Over the years, it
                                     changed from adult-and-child, to adult-to-adult,
                                     and occasionally reversed roles as she aged. But
                                     mutual love and respect were the glue that held it
                                     together.


                                       

I Love Autumn

     I love autumn. I love autumn in the springtime, summer, and winter. I
 love autumn all year long. Not because the leaves begin to fall which
reminds me that winter is coming but because it is my glorious birth month.

     It was a perfect September day in the middle of the Depression
when my parents welcomed their newborn baby daughter into
the world. It was the first day of school in the small rural community in
Tamo, in southeast Arkansas, and students were being welcomed back
to school. Junius Marion Futrell was the governor of Arkansas. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt was the President of the United States.

     My father, Willis, all of twenty-one was nervously expectant as
he waited on the front porch of his small country home. Mama
Chester, my maternal grandmother, was there to give comfort to Mary
and assist the midwife. She would not have missed welcoming her first
grandchild into the world for all the gold in Fort Knox.

     A lot of people in the cities were out of work. The stock market
crash had thrown the country into a depression. But Willis and Mary
were tenant farmers. They continued to farm, grow their own food and
were never hungry.

     To get the country out of the depression, FDR, as the president
 was called, started a lot of alphabet programs like the WPA( Works
Progress Administration) and CCC, (Conservation Civilian Corp.),
under the New Deal to get people back to work again. Social Security
was born and shares my birth year.

     Later when my mother would point out to me my birthplace from
Highway 65 South, near a thicket of trees, I was in awe. "You kept me
alive!" I would say. Of course it was not just my young parents. It was
Cuz who came to feed me when I would not eat; it was Uncle Jerry,
my father's brother, who bought my first store bought diapers; and
Mama Chester, who hand made me all those pretty clothes.

     Autumn brings back memories of school days at St. Peter's
Catholic School in Pine Bluff. The beginning of school was full of
excitement and welcoming back by the nuns and Father Kempinski.
the principal. I would arrive the first day in my new saddle oxfords,
bobby socks, and the latest sweater set and skirt.

     The first social event of the school season was my birthday
party. Kids came from miles around. My sister, Jettie and I knew every
kid from Main Street to Ohio. My mother baked the cakes. Sometimes
Aunt Margaret, my mother's sister, would come up to Pine Bluff from
her country home in Grady to assist with the preparation. The ice
cream was made in the hand cranked freezer; it was always vanilla.
Today, my favorite ice cream remains vanilla.

     I love autumn because the leaves dazzle in a parade of colors:
red, orange, rust. I look out into the woods in my back yard and see
the trees on the creek next to my neighbor. I marvel at the breathtaking
sight. Only God can make those colors, I say.

     I love autumn. What a relief from the oppressive Ohio summer
heat. The temperature cools down. The sky is azure blue. It's a time
for Halloween and trick-or-treat, with little ones dressed in their
colorful and sometimes, scary costumes. It's a time for Thanksgiving
turkey and all the trimming and giving thanks, for family, friends, and
so many blessings.

     During the snowy cabin fever days of winter, I day dream about
autumn. It is indeed a long, long way from December to September. But
autumn will  surely come again.

Professor C. F. West (Principal) Life and Work, Grady (Arkansas) Colored School

                                                

Clifton F. West was principal of Grady Colored School in rural southeast Arkansas.

He was born December 20, 1880, near Bolton, Hinds County, Mississippi. He began public community school at the age of eight. His widowed mother, with the cooperation of the other children, sent him in 1896 to Alcorn A&M College, then Westside, now Alcorn State University.
Alcorn State University was founded in 1871, and named in honor of Mississippi Governor, James L. Alcorn.

Clifton F. West graduated from the Industrial Department (1901) at Alcorn as a painter, and from the Normal Department in 1903. He was "given the management of the family farm and served in that capacity (1903-1912) when he began teaching."

Professor West was a teacher at Winterburn School in Hinds County for eight years (1912-1920) until he came to Arkansas in November, 1921, and began teaching at Cady School at Varner, in Lincoln County. Arkansas. Cady School was a one teacher school, and in 1924 became a two teacher school due to increased enrollment to about 120 pupils. During his administration, there were "fourteen to graduate from the eighth grade. Three of these went to Merrill High School in Pine Bluff. Two finished there and went on to attend Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The other was in the eleventh grade.  One went to Dunbar High School in Little Rock." At this time, there were no high schools for African-American children in Lincoln County, and few in the state.

In 1936, Professor West "was elected principal of Grady Colored Junior High School, a four teacher school. The enrollment was about 180 and increased to about 270 " by 1938. Between 1936 and 1939,  he recorded that there had been twelve graduates. One entered the Wendell Phillips School, Chicago, Illinois; one was attending high school in St. Louis, Missouri; one entered Merrill High School in Pine Bluff.  In 1939, " in the State Basketball Tournament, our Boys Team won the State Junior Championship, bringing home the Trophy given by the State for such distinction."

Grady, Arkansas, was the ancestral home of my Bluford, Turner, Williams, and Johnson families.
Professor West was  married  to my paternal great aunt, Drucilla Turner, on December 20, 1925
until her death October 16, 1955 at Grady. Drucilla Turner West was also a teacher.
    
 I spent a lot of time in Grady, visiting family, during my youth. From my paternal grandmother's back door, I could look into the entrance of Grady Colored School. I attended there for a short time
when I was in the second grade. My mother, at one time, attended there, and also volunteered at the school-helping in the kitchen, planting flowers, and helping with the Easter Egg Hunt. Five of my mother's nephews attended school there. Children of my paternal great uncle were also students of Professor West. It was my mother's brother, mentioned in the report, who attended Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago.

Sources: Across the Horizon, by Cornelia Kirkley Foster
and Recollections of Gladys Turner Finney

The image is from the cover of a Grady High School diploma.

Dr. Ira James Kohath Wells

                               Ira James Kohath Wells, educator, editor and
                               political organizer (also known as I.J.K. Wells)
                               was born in Tamo, Arkansas, July 1, 1898 to
                               William James Wells and Emma Brown Wells

                               He attended elementary school under the esteemed
                               Professor Samuel Vaster at Tamo and finished high
                               school at Branch Normal College in Pine Bluff (now
                               the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). He received
                               a B. A. degree in Business from Lincoln University
                               (Pennsylvania) in 1923. He was a contemporary
                               classmate of the distinguished educator and scholar,
                               Dr. Horace Mann Bond and eminent poet and educator,
                               Melvin Tolson.

                               While at Lincoln University, Wells was a leader and
                               organizer. The 1923 Lincoln Yearbook, The PAW,
                               described him as a member of the Student Anti-
                               Lynching delegation before President Warren Harding,
                               and founder and student organizer of the "Colored
                               Student Movement."

                                Dr. Wells received an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy
                                degree from Lincoln University in 1941, an honorary
                                Doctor of Laws degree from Allen University, and a
                                Master of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh
                                in 1944. The citation given by Lincoln University's
                                Dean, George Johnson, on conferring the Honorary
                                Doctor of Pedagogy read- Ira James Kohath Wells
                                        "a man of versatile interests; with
                                         knowledge of human nature, endowed with
                                         great sympathy for all sorts and conditions
                                         of men; an able exponent of interracial
                                         understanding; a cooperative worker in
                                         every field of social uplift; a most loyal
                                         alumnus who Lincoln University delights
                                         to honor."

                                As an educator, Dr. Wells was the State Supervisor
                                of Negro Education in West Virginia from 1933 to
                                1952. This position, the first of its kind in the country
                                which he helped to create, enabled African-Americans
                                to have a greater voice in the administration and
                                supervision of their schools. As a major key officer in
                                West Virginia education, he is credited with helping
                                build the " Best integrated state school system in America."
                                He was a teacher at Stratton High School, Beckley,
                                West Virginia. In later years (1971), he initiated the
                                Black Studies program at Cheyney State College, PA.

                                He was the organizer and chairman of the Negro Democratic
                                Committee of West Virginia. In the 1932 presidential election,
                                he was one of the country's leaders who helped change
                                the majority of African-Americans' allegiances since the
                                Civil War from the Republican Party to the Democrat Party.

                                His first job after college was with the Pittsburgh Courier
                                which he considered one of the most beneficial of his life
                                which established his interest in journalism. He founded
                                and published Color Magazine, the first African-American
                                pictorial magazine, in 1944. It was patterned after Life Magazine,
                                and reached a circulation over a hundred thousand before its
                                demise fourteen years later. He sold stock in Color Inc. to finance
                                the magazine.

                                Dr. Wells had two brothers, Lewis and C.L Wells, three sisters,
                                Evelyn Wells, Emma Wells Dawson, and Genoa Wells Keith.
                                He was married to Edna Virginia Clowden (1934) of Anawalt,
                                West Virginia, a school teacher. He was the father of two
                                children, Ira James Kohath Wells, Jr., and Edna Anita V.
                                He died of a stroke on December 26, 1997 in Philadelphia,
                                Pennsylvania.

                                My mother, Mary Bluford Turner, knew the Wells family.
                                She was a dear friend of Genoa Wells Keith. in 1994, Solomon L.
                                Keith, (Genoa's son) sent my mother a copy of a picture of
                                the 1935 Wells Family Reunion in Tamo, Arkansas. My father's
                                step brother, Cap Shelton, was in the picture.

                                My recollections are of Genoa Wells Keith pressing and curling
                                my hair as a child in 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri, subsequent
                                visitations to her home, and contacts with her son. Emma Wells
                                Dawson's husband owned a Variety Store in Pine Bluff, near
                                4th and State Streets where I worked briefly as a teenager.

                                During Dr. Wells long career he championed the rights of workers
                                and the rights of African-Americans. He used African Art, Culture
                                and History to enhance the self-image of African- Americans.
                               He left an enduring legacy of achievement and service, and in
                               1985 was honored as a recipient of the Distinguished West
                               Virginia Award during the West Virginia Black Cultural Festival.



     Sources:             Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Newspaper, Obituary, Sunday,
                                January 25, 1998.
                                A Short Sketch About I.J.K. Wells, Sr., A Resident of Philadelphia.
                                Lincoln University Library Special Collections, The PAW." 1923
                                Lincoln University Yearbook.
                                University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum and Cultural Center.
                                "Recollections of Gladys Turner Finney."

                                  
                                             


                      

Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Headstone Dedication

                                                          

Memorial Day, May 27, 2013,alumni and friends of the University of Arkansas at
Pine Bluff, Forest Park Historical Society members, and area residents gathered
at the historic Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois to dedicate the newly
erected headstone for Dr. Joseph Carter Corbin.

The headstone, erected by the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project, co-sponsored
by the Black History Commission of Arkansas, and alumni and friends of the
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a memorial to Dr. Corbin, an Ohioan, who
was the founder and first president of Branch Normal College, now the University
of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Presiding was Dr. Gladys Turner Finney, alumna and chairperson of the headstone
project who discovered Dr. Corbin's gravesite, and raised money for a headstone
for Dr. Corbin, his wife, Mary Jane and two sons, John W. and William H. Corbin.

The speaker was Congressman Danny Davis, U. S. House of Representatives,
Illinois 7th District, an alumnus of the University. Other program participants were
the nationally acclaimed genealogist, Tony Burroughs and Commissioner Carla Coleman,
Chair of the Black History Commission of Arkansas. Kitti Jackson substituted for
Henri Linton, Director of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum and
Cultural Center who could not attend. Christine Parker, Jackey Cason, and
Frederick McNeal, Jr. represented the Chicago Alumni Chapter of UAPB.
Anthony Calderone, mayor of the Village of Forest Park, presented a Resolution
from the Council, commemorating the dedication.

Jackey Cason, President of the Chicago Alumni Chapter, presented a $500.00
check to the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project from the National UAPB
Alumni President, Calvin Booker. Roland G. Price of RG Price & Associates
of Chicago presented a check for $300.00.

Tributes were received from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Governor,
John R. Kasich, Ohio House of Representatives, Roland Winburn, 34th District,
Arkansas House of Representatives, Mike Holcomb, and Arkansas Senate-
Senator Stephanie Flowers, 25th District.  

Masonic Resolutions were received from The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand
Lodge of Arkansas, and The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois.  

Congressman Danny Davis and Arkansas Senator, Mark Pryor placed tributes
in the 113th Congressional Record.

After  the dedication, there was a Meet and Greet at Shanahan's Restaurant.

The Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship Funds

Preparing the next generation-

The Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship Funds' vision is to make a
difference through scholarships for social work students at Wright State University,
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and the Whitney M. Young School of Social Work.


The first  Gladys Turner Finney Scholarship was established at AM&N College in 1974
by Frederick M. Finney in honor of his wife, a 1957 graduate of AM&N College,
now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. (UAPB)

How to Give-

Gifts may be made by cash, check, money order, or major credit cards.

Tax deductible Gifts for the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship for
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff may be made to UAPB Alumni Scholarship
Endowment Fund, Office of Alumni Affairs, 1200 North University Drive,
Mail Slot 4929, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71601; 870-575-8499.

Tax deductible Gifts for the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship
Fund (2754) for Wright State University social work students may be made to
The Dayton Foundation, 500 Kettering Tower, Dayton, Ohio 45423;
937-225-9966.

                          UAPB Gladys Turner Finney Social Work
                                            Scholarship Recipients

1976                 Anita J. Stennis
1977                 Veronica Branch
                          Evelyn Bates
1980                  Jo Ellen Lee
1986                  Kenzie Wallace
1986                  Debra Mixon
1987                  Herbert L. Hemphill
1989                  Lillie White
1990                  Joyce King
1999                  Debra Williams Martinez
2004                  Kimberly Brown
2006                  Annie Bryant
2007                  Karen Hawkins
2008                  Bryanna E. Graham 
2008                  Ja Terrance Young
2009                  Pamela Chesson
2010                  Terri Gardner
2011                  Adrienne Whitley
2012                  Scherrie Parker
2013                  Alexia Walker
2014                  Sherri Graves-Adams
2014-2015         Pearlie Sherrod
2015-2016         Pearlie Sherrod,------- 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019: Kiara M. Gray-(Pine Bluff,Arkansas); 2019-2020:Tenesha Hill (Wilmar, Arkansas); 2021-2022: LaRiya Bing (Little Rock, Arkansas

Donors List Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Headstone Project

Elveria Goolsby          Nicholas Gambino           Frank Coben

Linda McDowell         Shannon & Company      Carolyn Peters

Maudella Parham         Erma Donaldson             Susie Grierson

Mack Arthur Lakes      Rosalyn Givens               Charles R. Kilby

Margaret Wanzo          Jeff Smith                        J. Odell Seals

Jacquelyn Seals            Larry Thompson             Leroy Browning

William Jones              Diane Walker                  Robert E. Jones

Rosemary Smith          Nelson Stone, Sr.             Marinda Turner

James Elam                  Lou Edgar Smith             Ethel Smith

Gwendolyn Givens      Henri Linton                    Hazel Linton

Solomon J. Jamerson   Roland G. Price



                                          Gladys Turner Finney Foundation
                                   The Black History Commission of Arkansas
                    The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas
                    University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff National Alumni Association
                               UAPB/AM&N Milwaukee Alumni Chapter                           

Joseph Carter Corbin-'Educator Extraordinaire'

Here is my research article on Joseph Carter Corbin. Click this link.


http://www.lwfaah.net/people/jc-corbin.pdf

Joseph Carter Corbin 19th Century Educator Memorial Headstone Dedication May 27, 2013

Forest Park, Illinois---- The dedication of a new headstone for Professor
Joseph Carter Corbin, erected at Forest Home Cemetery, 863 Des Plaines Avenue,
will begin at 12:00 Noon Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, at the gravesite,
West Front, Section F, Lot 44. The public is invited.

The grave was unmarked until now. The inscription honors Professor Corbin as
the founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the father of higher
education for African Americans in Arkansas, and his "gift of education to
countless generations."

The headstone was erected by the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project;
co-sponsored by the Black History Commission of Arkansas,
and Alumni and Friends of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

The speaker will be U.S. Congressman, the Honorable Danny Davis, who
represents Illnois 7th District, including Forest Park, and is a 1961 graduate
of AM&N College, (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).

Joseph Carter Corbin  

Born March 26, 1833 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Joseph Carter Corbin was an
American Educator, scholar, linguist, mathematician, and musician.
At the age of seventeen, he enrolled at Ohio University, and three years
later received the B.A. degree in Art. Later, he would earn two master's
degrees from Ohio University (1856 and 1889). He is one of Ohio
University most scholarly graduates of the mid 19th Century. "In later
years the Ph.D. degree was conferred upon him by a Baptist College
in the South."

Corbin migrated to Arkansas in 1872. Later that year, he ran and was
elected State Superintendent of Public Education on the Republican
ticket. In this position, he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees
of the newly-formed Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of
Arkansas at Fayetteville). It was during this time that he recommended
a college "for education of the poorer classes." In 1875, Corbin became
founder and principal of Branch Normal College (predecessor of A.M.&N.
College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) where he served
until 1902. He then became principal of Merrill High School. He was a leader
in the public education movement and Prince Hall Masons in Arkansas.
Dr. Corbin died January 9, 1911 in Pine Bluff and was interred January 14, 1911
at Waldheim German Cemetery, now Forest Home.

Directions to Forest Home Cemetery

From East take Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway (290) to Harlem St. (left lane
Exit); Right on to Harrison; Left on Des Plaines Ave. (cemetery on right).

From West take Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway (290); Exist Des Plaines Ave.

           Sponsored in part by the Black History Commission of Arkansas

Gateway European Tour (W-703) July 3-17, 1967

The year 1967 was a very good year. It was the year, I decided to embark upon a
European travel tour. It was my first trip beyond the contintental USA. I was a
32 year old, single professional woman.

I was eager to spread my wings and go beyond my comfort zone. I always had
the travel bug. My father's employee pass with the St. Louis Southwestern
Railway had allowed me as a dependent to travel throughout the United States
while growing up.

This trip was a catalyst to a lot of self-learning-self-knowledge. I would be
travelling solo and would meet my tour group in London.

I chose Gateway Tours by the Richard Lewis Travel Agency. I would be
visiting places of interest in England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy,
Switzerland, and France.

When my two closet girlfriends learned of my intent to travel solo, I had to
withstand their criticism.

This was a time when few African-Americans went on such tours. Of the 38
Gateway tour members, there were three African-Americans, a couple and
solo me.

Raised in the Jim Crow South, I had never shared a room with a white person.
My assigned roommate was Irene George, a married, devout catholic from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A fantastic woman. We developed a friendship
that transcended race. Irene and I remained friends until her death in 1999
from a brain tumor.

When a colleague learned I would be visiting Rome, she arranged for a
nun-friend in Rome to arrange a personal audience with the Pope. It
turned out that my travel tour was to depart Rome for Florence the day
prior to my scheduled audience with the Pope. Not wanting to forego
this opportunity of a lifetime, I decided to stay over in Rome and fly to
Florence the next day to rejoin the tour group.

Because I dared to be flexible, rearrange my schedule in a foreign
country I did not speak the language, I kept my appointment with
destiny, an audience with Pope Paul VI.

Pope Paul VI served as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1963 until
his death in 1978. Being blessed by Pope Paul VI was a spiritual gift
I will always treasure.

Michaelangelo's David (masterpiece Renaissance sculpture) at
Florence and Lido de Paris topless, glamorous cabaret show were
culture shocks but the beginning of a new attitude about the nude
human body.

This trip reinforced that I was allright, vibrantly alive in a circle of
fellow travellers, no longer strangers. I was clothed by my faith and
belief in the goodness of others and I was not disappointed, but
rewarded. A childhood dream was fulfilled, and an opportunity to
experience new relations with different people.

NASW Symposium Mexican Holiday November 20-27-1979

The latter part of November, 1979, I joined seventeen other social workers on an educational
tour to focus on Social Work in Mexico.

This eight day, seven night, professional advancement tour was sponsored by NASW and
led by Professor Alejandro Garcia ACSW, Associate Professor, School of Social Work,
Scyracuse University, Scyracuse, New York.

Member of the Tour: Rebecca Bejar, Edward Schwartz, Jessie Schwartz, Fergus Monahan,
Kathy Kemp, Cecelia Esparza, Bernard Long, Diane Long, Edwin Cooke, Linda Cooke,
James Stanley, Bennie Fleming, Bernadette Ambrose, Elvira Brigg, John Coleman,
John Fuller, Jerry Smith.

Departing San Antonio, Texas, following NASW Delegate Assembly where I
had been a delegate, I looked forward to a new learning experience with interest
and enthusiasm.

I was shocked and surprised when the airline cabin was fumigated shortly after
take off.  (American Airlines, flight 2602, 9:45 AM.) My gut reaction was this was
an act of cultural insensitivity-disregard. I have never had a similiar experience.

Hotel accommodations in Mexico City (Plaza Florencia), Guanajuato (Real de Minas),
and Guadalajara Sheraton were first class.

Mexico is rich in history, culture, languages, peoples. Mexico City (the capitol) was
impressive. I visited the Anthropology Museum twice. I could not get enough of it.

The second night, a once in a lifetime experience, was the Ballet Folklorico, a two
hour presentation of regional dances and indigenous rhythms. I had only one word
to describe it. "Fantastic!"

The third day, we met with leaders of the Mexican National Association of  Social
Workers in Mexico City. It was insightful to see the similiarities and differences
in our social work practices. In the afternoon, we had an opportunity to visit
social agencies. I chose an agency serving children. Later, we hosted a wine and
cheese reception in our hotel for our Mexican Social Work associates.

Smog in Mexico City is apparent as an environmental health factor. In fact,
I was awakened one night in the hotel with a heavy smell of smoke, thinking
the hotel was on fire. There is also a lot of poverty in Mexico.

At the sacred shrine of the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe, I was impressed
with the faith of the people and their testimonies of miracles.

The ancient pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan evoked thoughts about the
beginning of mankind, and what it was like in this place. It never ceases to
amaze me how humankind everywhere created its own unique culture, language,
and foods. You can certainly see it here in Mexico.

The fourth day, Friday, November 23rd, we began a motor coach drive over
the Central Highway from Mexico City to Querataro, making stops in San
Miguel Allende and Dolores Hidalgo. Then on to Guanjuato to see the mummies.

The Independence Route traces Mexico's long struggle for independence from
Spain. During the colonization period, Spain built elaborate churches, colonial
cities, and palaces.

Among the great cathedrals visited were the Cathedral of Quertaro, Santuary of
the Virgin in San Juan de los, Lagos, the Cathedral of Tlaquepaque. We
also visited the Chapel of the Hospicio Cabanas.

Mexicio is a great place to shop. There are a lot of street vendors. Along with
Rebecca Bejar and Jerry Smith, I visited Casa de las artesanias de Jalisco,
a government handicraft store. I purchased beautiful onyx elephants and hand
blown glass.

The final social work activity on November 26th was a visit to the School of
Medicine of Guadaljara. There were lectures and we spoke with medical
students from the United States.

November 27, 1979, I departed Guadalajara on Texas International Flight 942
to Houston. Cleared U.S. Customs. Luggage put back on Flight 942. Driven
to Gate 11 and reboarded for Dallas. Arrived Dallas at 11:45 A.M. to connect
to flight to Dayton.

There was a lot of cross cultural learning on this trip along with tours of
historical sites.

Reflection on Adult Sunday School Study "Shalom"

February 17, 2013

The Lord said to Moses
Tell Aaron and his sons
This is how you are to bless the
Isarelites, Say to them:

"The Lord bless and keep thee.
The Lord make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee,
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace."
         Numbers 6:22-27

For the past seven weeks, the Adult Sunday School
Class has studied the Hebrew word, "Shalom," from
the Kyregmia.

I was selected to give my reflections because
Numbers 6:22-27 is my favorite benediction.
I had no idea until this class, under our abled
and knowledgeable teacher, Stan Hirtle, that it is
a priestly benediction, a blessing of Shalom, God
gave to Aaron, and his sons, the priests to say
over the people.

Shalom is generally understood to mean "peace,"
say goodbye or farewell. But it means so much more.
We learned that Hebrew words convey feelings,
intent, and emotions.

Shalom means complete peace, feeling of contentment,
completeness, wholeness, personaly well-being,
harmony in relationship, absence of war, safety,
tranquility, prosperity -which all of us want.

The Isarelities understood that Shalom is a gift
from God, and that the only way to find true
Shalom is through the God-and through the word
of God.

While we may such for fulfillment, happiness,
contentment in material possessions, money,
sex, entertainment, etc. these things do not bring
us peace or fill the hole in our soul. But rather
distract us from finding true peace which only
comes from God. God's intent for our lives is
wholeness and harmony.

Shalom is a might blessing to speak into people's
lives and over them-to have God's blessing,
his favor upon them

Turn to your neighbor and bless them with the
word, "Shalom." Tomorrow say "Shalom"
to someone- your children, your husband, your
wife, etc.

Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship "Preparing Social Workers for the future"

The Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship Funds

One of the top reasons for being a social worker is to "make a difference in
the world."

Throughout Gladys Turner Finney's career as a social worker she has advanced
quality social work in medical and mental health practice through her teachings,
writings, and supervision of social work students.

Wright State University Recipients:

Condalisa Smith               March 22, 2001
Mary David                       March 2002
Rita Mack                          March  27, 2003
Raquel Gregory                March 2004
Pamela Byrd                      March 12, 2005
Michanne Davis                 March 2006
Shantae West                     March 2007
Kamesha Johnson             March 2008
Christopher Benjamin      March 9, 2009
Dyemekka Wilborn           March 22, 2010
Korine Starkey                  March 10, 2011
Tonya Barnes                     March 26, 2012
Regina West                       March 28, 2013
Danielle N. Jackson           2013-2014
Gwendolyn Reynolds        2014-2015
NaQasia Lewis                    2015-2016

Your gifts can make a difference! You can make a difference
by helping future social work leaders and change agents
to attain a social work education.

How to Give-

Tax deductible Gifts for the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work
Scholarship Fund (2754) for Wright State University social work students
may be made to The Dayton Foundation, 500 Kettering Tower, Dayton,
Ohio 45423; 937-225-9966.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Centennial Founders' Day Celebration January 10, 2013-January 13, 2013

One hundred years ago, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service sorority, was
founded January 13, 1913 on the campus of Howard University by twenty-two college
women. Since its founding, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has attracted some phenomenal
women like Mary McCloud Bethune, Dorothy I. Height, Patricia Roberts Harris,
Barbara Jordan, and Charity Edna Earley.

I was inspired to become a Delta by two notable Deltas I came in contact at J. C.
Corbin High School, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. They were Dr. Phyllis Bernard Greenhouse,
(my home economics teacher, homeroom teacher, class advisor}, and Miss Willie B.
Thomas, ( my American History Teacher and sponsor of J. C. Corbin
National Honors Society).

I knew when I matriculated at AM&N College (Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal
College) in the fall of 1953 that I would pledge Delta Sigma Theta. I wanted to be like
Mrs. Greenhouse and Miss Thomas. I pledged in October, 1954, my sophomore
year. Etta Walker was president of Delta Eta Chapter.

My membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was signed by Dorothy
I. Height, President, Grand Chapter, May 11, 1955. Other signatories were
Nellie G. Roulhac, Secretary, Grand Chapter; Barbara L. Ware, President, Delta
Eta Chapter; Bobbie J. Sutton, Secretary, Delta Eta Chapter.

Delta women have made significant contributions through its Five Points Program.
Teachers have been the pathway to Delta by many account. I am proud to be an
inheritor of a legacy of achievement and dedication to public service.

I heard Delta's call in the footsteps of Founder Frederica Chase Dodd. I chose Atlanta
University for graduate studies and became a professional social worker.

I am honored to be associated with such an exemplary group of Delta women who
make a difference in the community. I am pleased to have been affiliated with the
Dayton Alumnae Chapter since 1959 and to have served on the African-American
Book Project, the Arts and Letter Committe, chairperson of Heritage and Archives,
and the first speaker for the Adopt A Deb luncheon. I am proud to be a fifty-seven
year Golden Life Membership Delta.

To walk on Howard University's campus where Delta Sigma Theta began one hundred
years ago was awe inspiring. Small acrons produce great oak trees. The vision of
Delta's twenty-two founders which shaped this might sorority is alive and well. Today,
there are over 190,000 members.

Sharing this Centennial Founders' Day Weekend and hotel (Mayflower Renaissance)
were my long time friend, Soror Diane D. Walker and travelling friend, Soror
Rosalyn Wilcox Givens. The three of us were at Delta Sigma Theta National
Convention in Philadelphia in 2006. Diane and Rosalyn were Line Sisters, inducted
at Ohio State University, Epsilon Chapter in 1956.

There was a lot of excitement. We had come to be a part of this once in a life time
celebration. My most memorable moment was the reenactment of the founding of
the sorority in a special dramatic presentation, "An Idea Conceived." My eyes
welled up with tears when I contemplated on how these twenty-two young, college
women had the right vision, acted on that vision, and made a difference that has
lasted a century.

Footnotes:
My Line Sisters were Betty Fitzhugh and Kay Francis Carr.

Delta Eta Chapter Members during my time at AM&N were:
Edith F. Brown, M. Faye Beavers, L Juanita Reddick, Harriett V. Elliott,
Evelyn George, Pearl J. Fisher, Edith M. Robinson, Barbata L. Ware,
Maggie Clary, Lucy M. Williams, Bobbie J. Sutton, Georgia C. Bush,
Barbara W. Thomas, Carla J. Crenshaw, Deloris Teague, Everlean Summers,
Mirlean Tatum, Deloris Grant, Alsenia Grant, Shirley Harrison, Nadine Cornelius,
Dorothy York, Norma Hearn, Fredda Washington, Lucy Williams, Betty Smith.

Great American Coin

I am round like a circle
and shaped like a ring.

I can be found around homes
in banks and dealer's shops.

I have a first and last name,
like you have a first and last name.
But sometimes called four bits.

I am an American, well-known in history,
an educator and founder of Tuskegee University.

I can be spent or
collected as a hobby.

I am made of precious metal
like silver is precious.

I am shiny to the eye, cool to the hand,
a great commemorative to own.

I am the Booker T. Washington fifty cent coin.


* The Booker T. Washington commemorative
    silve half-dollar was issued (1946-1951)
    by the United States Mint to honor the
    ideals and teachings of this American Educator.