Comments on: LETTER: Group Seeks to Preserve Cape Charles Colored School

By: Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO, USCG(Ret)

Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO, USCG(Ret) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:08:52 +0000

Look at the upcoming events in Cape Charles. Look who’s sponsoring them. Is there any event by these persons to raise the awareness of this school or even celebrate its history? I would appreciate any response by readers.

By: Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO, USCG(Ret)

Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO, USCG(Ret) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:41:18 +0000

Johnny “Happy” Sample utilized his sports talent to escape the segregation that existed in the Town of Cape Charles. Even the more affluent black familes were under this bondage of having to stay in their place and or catering to their “own kind.”

There were no black businesses in the Central Business District, but there were two neigborhood “Mom and Pop” stores owned by Afro-Americans. These businesses, the black teachers like Ms. Alice Ames, and the black churches were major supporters in education for students attending school “over the hump.”

This suport was needed to overcome the distastful conditions that all of us who attended that school hated but had to endure, including “Happy.”

The smoke of burning garbage and smoke from the dump, the outhouses located in back of the school, the exhaust black smoke and soot from the trains passing under the catwalk portion of the hump that we had to walk over in order to get to school. Oh yes, I can’t leave out the horrible odor coming from the fish dock, or the secondhand books we had to use.

The goal for most of the Cape Charles Elementary (Rosenwald? I was never told that this was the name) School was to graduate and leave town. Only one homecoming celebration for Johnny “Happy”? Ask the ones or the family members of those who ran the town when he reached his fame, not only then but those in place now. The town has had numerous events and celebrations since “Happy.”

I am a product of that school over the Hump, thanks to certain members in the black community and to my beloved mom, Mrs. Thelma B. Williams-1994. (RIP)

See African Americans and/in U.S. Coast Guard History.

By: Bruce Lindeman

Bruce Lindeman — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:39:58 +0000

Mr. Fox, assume that a lot of people who grew up in and around the area do know the Johnny Sample story, but many who didn’t do not. Regardless, what I believe to be true is that the Town hasn’t done enough to celebrate his career. Having been a player on one world championship, playing alongside Johnny Unitas (before it was called the Super Bowl), and then winng a second championship with the Jets years later is quite an accomplishment. His story of how he was educated here during segregation and overcame the odds and played football in college up the road – and then to be drafted in to the NFL is quite a story. Yet, it’s a story and a life that isn’t celebrated here – especially for an African American kid born and raised here in Cape Charles. That was the key point I was trying to make in my original post.

By: Stephen Fox

Stephen Fox — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:38:07 +0000

I am writing to address Bruce Lindeman’s comment about Johnny Sample. There are lots of folks around Town and in the County who know about Johnny Sample and his football career and life. Perhaps you did not inquire of the right persons.

By: Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO USCG(Ret)

Melvin W. Williams, Jr. CWO USCG(Ret) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:57:26 +0000

I am a graduate of what was known to me as the Cape Charles Elementary School and not the Rosenwald School. As a student living on Strawberry Street, I always wondered why I had to attend school over the hump and inhale the toxic coal exhaust being released on us as we crossed over the railroad tracks, or the smoke and smells from the dump. There are stories that need to be told about this school and more so on how it was sold/purchased, and legal issues to be faced after the posting of a sign identifying the school as an Historical Site. There are procedures which could be more of an advantage to this quest, but are being overlooked. This is a ” sleeping giant” issue — wake up. See African Americans and US Coast Guard History — a product of “over the hump” mentality.

By: Don Riley

Don Riley — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:45:07 +0000

Isn’t it too bad that the town sold the Rosenwald School years ago when they did not recognize its value. It seems like they are doing the same thing with the Cape Charles School by the park. Isn’t it odd that the African-American people in Cape Charles lived over on the north side of town but their school was built on the south side of town by the dump.

By: Carolyn M. Wiegner

Carolyn M. Wiegner — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:43:43 +0000

i would love to see this school preserved . Southern Living Magazine did an article on the Rosenwald Schools. They were beautifully renovated and made into different venues.

By: Bruce Lindeman

Bruce Lindeman — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:01:01 +0000

Excellent news. I wondered why our Rosenwald school has sat languishing for years with seemingly no interest from the community to resurrect it for good/public use. The Rosenwald story is one worth telling and something our little town should collectively embrace as not only part of our town’s history, but that of a larger national story.

I was intrigued about the school after reading Johnny Sample’s autobiography. Sample was an NFL football player from Cape Charles. In fact, he played on 2 world championship teams, including the very first — with Johnny Unitas and the Colts. Sample tells of walking all the way to that school from town when he was a child. He wasn’t bitter about his experiences there or the fact that he had to endure a seaparate education from his white neighbors. It just seemingly was what it was at the time. Not ideal or even fair, but it beat the alternative of having nowhere to go. That’s the legacy that Julius Rosenwald left us. It’s equally amazing to me, that Sample was raised in this town, went on to great heights professionally, and he’s an almost forgotten name in this town. People know (or knew) Samples Barbershop in town. That was Johnny’s dad’s shop. But, no one seems to know much about his son, the NFL great.

Anyway, that’s a completely different topic! I’m just glad that folks are embracing the idea of bringing back to life our very own Rosenwald school. That period of our history should not be ignored. Great stuff!