In the depression and into the 1940’s various Work Progress Administration (WPA) projects were activated by the federal government to put people to work. There were new roads built, state park improvements, sewing rooms, etc. One of those projects was an authorship in which local authors documented local housing, recreation, businesses, churches, etc. One of those projects was the Illinois Writers Project based out of Chicago. I ran across a series of articles written in 1941 specifically about the black community of Marion under the general heading of “The Negro in Illinois.” I present these articles just as written in 1941.

Y.M.C.A., 1000 W. Simmons St., by Beulah M. DeVard

Feelings of surprise, incredibility and curiosity follow one another in quick succession as I notice a Y.M.C.A. sign in black lettering on an unpainted board at the top of a crude porch which is attached to a low building some forty feet long and about twenty feet wide but which has the appearance of being built on the installment plan of add bits of material that come to hand. The most paint to be seen is on the Royal Crown and Coca Cola sings which adorn the building, one of which is upside down. The gray roofing is patched with green strips of roofing and a chimney not in use now has an old white slop jar turned upside down over it with a brick on top to ensure its permanent location there. In front, a couple of old benches and an ancient parlor chair offer all the hospitality they are able. An old lantern hangs outside and the doors are padlocked from the outside. A couple of boxes containing empty pop bottles are setting out in front. As I turn to leave, I notice the owner, W.B. Griffin, commonly called “Bud,” coming down the sidewalk at a remarkable rate of speed considering the fact that both legs are off above the knee. Then I realize that “poor people have poor ways.” I am offered a seat on one of the old benches and must give information as to my identity, residence, motives and previous contacts before I am admitted into the Y.M.C.A. Near the front is a piano in fair condition except the ivory is missing from some of the keys. The rough floor is covered with clean linoleum. There is a stand table at the back with a kerosene lamp and some old books on it; there is a bible also. Benches line one side of the wall. A crude fountain, table and chairs occupy the other side. There are a couple of rooms in the back which are sometimes rented to private individuals for living quarters. There is another building similar to, and beside this one on the west side. It looks to be about sixteen by eighteen feet and contains eight beds, a stove, etc.

Mr. Griffin, who looks to be about forty-eight years of age, was born in Alabama. He finished grade school and went two and one half years at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The he married an Alabama girl and failed to finish school but worked as fireman on a railway locomotive for several years. He came to Illinois twenty years ago working in the coal mines and cutting timber. Seven years ago he fell under an I.C. freight train and both legs were cut off. The company gave him three hundred dollars for artificial legs, but through ignorance he paid three hundred and fifty dollars and they are not very satisfactory either. He had not recovered from this accident when his home and furniture burned. It was Xmas evening and the family had gone to a program. He could not give the alarm quick enough to save the dwelling. There was no insurance.

When he got well he took the charred timbers, added some more to them constructing the Y.M.C.A.; building and furnishings all cost him five hundred dollars. He started with a class of twenty youths with religious meetings once a week. Interest has been decreasing especially during the past year in the bible study. He blames the indifference of the parents for this largely. There is a demand for sleeping accommodations but difficulty because girl visitors are not allowed there.

He taught a Sunday School class for seventeen years. He has a grown son who is a preacher. Two other boys work at the ordnance plant. There are nine children in all. He asserts that he can do almost any kind of work that any other man can but the difficulty is in convincing the employer. He and his family live at 503 E. Copeland Street.

(Source: Downloaded from the Chicago Public Library)