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Jonathan Wellington Oral History
Transcript
INTERVIEW WITH
JONATHAN WELLINGTON
April 22, 2011 – Tom Wellington, Interview
TOM: My name is Thomas Wellington and today I am in Los Angeles California. The date is Friday the 22nd of April, 2011. And I’m at Jonathan Rud Wellington’s residence. The residence address is 2131 South Orange Drive, Los Angeles, 90016. I am here to conduct the interview with Jonathan Rud Wellington. What is your full name?
JONATHAN: My name is Jonathan Rud Wellington.
TOM: What is your birthdate?
JONATHAN: My birthdate is 1/28/51.
TOM: How old are you right now?
JONATHAN: I am 60 years old.
TOM: Are you married, divorced, single?
JONATHAN: I am single.
TOM: What was your spouse’s name?
JONATHAN: None.
TOM: Where were you born?
JONATHAN: I was born in Los Angeles California.
TOM: Who are your parents?
JONATHAN: My parents are father, Amos Wellington, Nicodemus Kansas. Mother, Cassie Woods, Louisiana. Shreveport.
TOM: What are your siblings’ names and ages?
JONATHAN: My brother’s name, my oldest brother is Amos Wellington, 70; my youngest sister is Ethel Wellington. She’s 58 years old and my younger brother, Michael Wellington is 47 years old.
TOM: Who are your grandparents on both sides of your family?
JONATHAN: My grandparents are Thomas Wellington, Clara Wellington on my father’s side. My mother’s side are Dewiser Woods and Cassie Pearl Woods.
TOM: And your grandparents on your father’s side are from Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: They were from Nicodemus. My mother’s parents were from Louisiana.
TOM: Where did you grow up?
JONATHAN: I grew up in Los Angeles California.
TOM: Where did you attend school?
JONATHAN: I attended Dorsey High School. Do you want.
TOM: What year?
JONATHAN: I graduated in 1969. I left there. I went to Long Beach State in 1969, leaving Long Beach State, I went to Southern California Edison.
TOM: What did you like about school where you attended?
JONATHAN: School was beautiful because I was a track star. I used to run track. I went to, I took city
here three years in a row and I was also held the world’s record for the 440 relay, beating USC while I attended Long Beach State.
TOM: While in high school, describe the teachers, lunch, recess and other school activities that you experienced.
JONATHAN: At Dorsey High School, I was uplifted. I was in everything. So we had a really good time. Everybody was cordial. We had a good group of people. Everybody worked together. Everything was good. We had good teachers. Everybody was good.
TOM: Do you have any memorabilia from let’s say when you ran track?
JONATHAN: I have every trophy I’ve ever won.
TOM: Have you thought about what you’re going to do with those?
JONATHAN: I’m going to keep my trophies like I’ve been doing.
TOM: Would ever consider maybe donating them to the Historical Society?
JONATHAN: Maybe a couple of them.
TOM: Have you ever lived in Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: I’ve never lived there; but I’ve been there several times. Starting back from 1957 when I can remember being a track star because I was chased by a hog and it made me awfully quick coming down Aunt Ora’s driveway. Yes, good times in my life. Best times ever.
TOM: What other things do you remember about going to Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: Nicodemus was like a dream to me because we got to have a good time. I had my little bitty cousins, Bubby Switzer and Earlice and all the little girls. We had a good time. It was just a good time being in Nicodemus. It was freedom. It was direct freedom.
TOM: Normally when you went to Nicodemus, how did you travel?
JONATHAN: We drove most of the time. But there were some times we flew in. I have been there so many times, I have come in every kind of direction you can think of.
TOM: Where did you normally stay there in Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: We usually stayed at either Aunt Ora’s or Cousin Harold or anywhere.
TOM: Ora Switzer?
JONATHAN: Yes, Ora Switzer. Mostly it was Ora Switzer.
TOM: How did you view yourself and your family in comparison to those who grew up in Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: Well, we were all just having a good time together. We had, we were more, everybody was we were all equal. We were too young to decipher the difference in opinions of people.
TOM: How many times did you miss going to Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: As far as Homecoming, I don’t think I ever missed any. I was there almost every year. My daddy said, look we’re getting in the car. Let’s go and that was it. My father was strong and he was demanding. Whatever he said went. I miss that ole boy.
TOM: How, what do you remember about the dances during Homecoming?
JONATHAN: We had such a good time at Homecoming. I loved to dance. I would always dance all over the place.
TOM: You remember when there were bands and djs?
JONATHAN: Yes, I do. We did have a couple of times and here later we really had more bands.
TOM: Do you have any type of memorabilia from that time?
JONATHAN: I have all my t-shirts, I believe. All my t-shirts and a lot of pictures. Even going back to the pancake breakfasts and all of the buffalo soldiers and parades.
TOM: Do you remember about the food and vendors?
JONATHAN: Food was the best food in the world. Aunt Ora had her stuff laid out, everybody else was there. So we had a very good time. I remember going to Ora’s store, we used to call it, way back in the 50’s.
TOM: Do you remember the fashion/talent show that they have in the Hall?
JONATHAN: They always had a fashion/talent show. In fact, I participated because I loved to dress.
TOM: Were you ever in the parade?
JONATHAN: Only once or twice.
TOM: Do you have a favorite cousin or one you hung out with?
JONATHAN: I used to hang out with several, all my cousins. Earlice was one of my good cousins and Tommy, all the Switzers. Harold Junior, everybody you can think of. All our family was there.
TOM: Did you come to Nicodemus any other time other than Homecoming?
JONATHAN: Yes, many times. We’d come, my dad would love to come back. He loved it. We came to Demus more than for Homecoming. We were always in Demus.
TOM: Did you ever go back to do any hunting?
JONATHAN: Always. We always went to hunt our deer and pheasant and everything. We had a good time. Lee Everett was always the leader on us. Lee Everett, Harold Senior, Veryl Switzer and Boo. Brother Boo. All of us had a good time.
TOM: Did you ever attend the Graham County Fair?
JONATHAN: Yes, three or four times we attended the Graham County fair.
TOM: What did you think of the county fair in relationship to the Nicodemus Homecoming?
JONATHAN: Well, I liked the county fair; but I didn’t know as many people as I know in Nicodemus. Our parade was the best thing going. You know, when you know everybody there you can kind of relax and just have a good time. Our family affair was one of the most beautiful things ever. Our homecoming was really, really nice. It was the only time we really got to see each other.
TOM: What did you think about having Nicodemus to come to as it relates to family and your own town?
JONATHAN: I love going to Nicodemus because we got to see the number one family on my daddy’s side. Because my mother’s side was all in California at that time. So it was always good to go to Nicodemus.
TOM: Were there any special things you thought the most about Homecoming?
JONATHAN: The food, you know the niceness of everybody. Everybody being so happy together you know just having a good time. No faultness, everybody pure at heart.
TOM: What church affiliation are you?
JONATHAN: I am ACME right now. I’m a Christian. But I’ve been, I was born and baptized as a Christ Temple Holiness USA.
TOM: Were you ever a Baptist?
JONATHAN: I was never a Baptist.
TOM: In your church, being affiliated with church, did you hold office?
JONATHAN: Yes I did. I was a steward, I was on the usher board; I was in the choir.
TOM: What are some of the skills you learned from your parents or family members, example like quilting, sewing, horse training, or horse back riding?
JONATHAN: I learned everything from the family. I learned how to farm a little bit. I am a handy man. In fact I love pigeons so much, I still have a backyard full of them. I raise birds still. I guess the farmer part of me is still from Nicodemus.
TOM: What relatives had an impact or major influence on you?
JONATHAN: Veryl Switzer was number one; because we were little, he took us to the coliseum when the Green Bay Packers played the Los Angeles Rams. We were able to walk through the tunnel at seven years old. That is something that nobody got to do but this family. Veryl was number one. Is number one in my life as far as athletes go. After that we had many athletes come up it seemed like. But Veryl was number one. Lee Everett was number two; Boo was number three, Cousin Harold was right there. We just all had a good time together. They were my daddy’s favorite nephews.
TOM: Are there places in town or the township that have special meaning to you?
JONATHAN: The church had a special meaning to me because we were able to go there and relax and pray. Sing solos and have a good time with everybody.
TOM: Any special stories that you might remember about the relatives and the other people in town?
JONATHAN: The number one stories when I was a young boy, I grabbed a little bitty pig and my mother and them said, you better watch out. So when I grabbed the little pig, the mama hog chased me all up town. But I got away from them. I remember myself and Bubby hunting brown birds and barbequeing them when we I think about 11 years old. That was some of the best times I’ve ever had. We just always had a good time.
TOM: Did you ever hear any stories when you were talking with your cousins and stuff about hunting or farming?
JONATHAN: We had good stories about hunting. I remember when everybody was shooting deer. Everybody wanted to get that first deer of the year. We used to always love the pheasant hunting. So it was just a good thing. There was so much land. There was so much greenery and so pretty. You know, free space.
TOM: In talking with your cousins and relatives that lived there in Nicodemus, did they ever share with you information about their school and how you compared your schooling with their schooling?
JONATHAN: Now, right. Now most our cousin Uncle Glen’s wife was a teacher there in the old days. And everybody had her as a teacher. That was the main thing, you know. Cousin Irene, Irene Wellington was a teacher there. And my school was just we had 10 or 15 rooms we’d have to go in; but they had one little class and that was always explained to us.
TOM: Are there any particular relatives that you stayed in contact with on a regular basis?
JONATHAN: Thomas Wellington, Bubby Switzer, Harold Junior, Earlice and let’s see. That’s basically my thing. I used to stay in contact with Lee Everett also until his passing.
TOM: Did you mentor any younger generation of relatives?
JONATHAN: Right, Phil Switzer mentored me because he was a track man. Marvin was an athlete. He played football. All of us were athletes. And so we just had kind of come together and we kind of drove each other to be champions.
TOM: Any younger generation?
JONATHAN: Younger than that? No, I can’t think of.
TOM: What do you think is important for the next generation of descendants to know about Nicodemus and/or the people.
JONATHAN: What the youngsters need to know is this is purity. We are not going to have this. We got to stay focused. The youngsters have to stay focused and realize that life is going to be rough if they don’t get their education. If they don’t study. If they get out and they do things they are not supposed to do. They have got to keep their stuff together. They can’t drift off.
TOM: What does being a descendant mean to you?
JONATHAN: Being a descendant to me means being somebody you look up to.
TOM: What is your biggest concern about the future of Nicodemus?
JONATHAN: The future of Nicodemus to me is to make sure that we keep it going. You know, there is so much stuff going on, the country is getting so bad you’ve got to make sure we’ve got our historical, our history there. Because there are only about three black townships around and I want to make sure that Nicodemus is still there. I mean, Okemoke and Nicodemus are about the only two that are left right now. It’s very important for black people in general.
TOM: What does Nicodemus mean to you?
JONATHAN: Nicodemus to me means love, peace, joy and happiness. It’s the start of everything of the nation for black people. We need it. Because there is too much corruption out here in the city. It’s a peaceful place and we’ve got to keep our stuff together.
TOM: What are you doing to make sure your nieces and nephews know about Nicodemus and the history?
JONATHAN: I’m educating them on the black history as far as the townships of black people. I’m letting them know that there are only two black foundations. That was Okemoke and Nicodemus. It made our grandfathers so tough. You know, you can survive almost on your own. You know, just your self will.
TOM: What do you think the value is of this oral history project that we are doing?
JONATHAN: Well, this is to let people know that our history is very important. We’ve got to be in position to let people know there will not another. There is not going to be anymore. So it’s very important to keep. We’ve got to keep this. We’ve got to keep our heads straight.
TOM: What would you like to tell the next generation of descendants being born today?
JONATHAN: I would like to tell the youngsters to keep their heads up; keep their stuff together; have the peace and love of the foundation of our Nicodemus has kept us. Do not let it go. Because if they let it die out, it’s over with. It’s going to be all the way over with.
TOM: Were you ever in the military?
JONATHAN: No. I was in college at the time. So I had a student deferment. So I missed the Viet Nam era.
TOM: Were you a musician or played any instruments?
JONATHAN: No I never did.
TOM: I might have asked you this; but I’ll ask again. Do you think there is a value in doing this oral history?
JONATHAN: I believe it is beautiful to have somebody come in and do our oral history for us. This is much needed. We can’t let Nicodemus die. Whatever we do; we have to keep it going.
TOM: OK, last question. If you were talking to the next generation of unborn descendants of those young ones, what advice would you give them about Nicodemus and the families?
JONATHAN: I would let them know that Nicodemus is going to be here forever, if they keep their heads right. They have got to do their thing right. They cannot let it slip away. It’s too much, the environment is going to be too heavy to it’s going to be too messy the way everything is going right now. We need to keep this thing going. Because if they let it go, there will be no more.
TOM: OK that concludes the interview. I thank you for your time.
Description
Oral History Interview with Jonathan Wellington from 2011.
Credit
Tom Wellington Interviewer
Date Created
04/22/2011
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