The Triangle's first Black-owned vegan restaurant still doing business during COVD-19 - scalawagmagazine.org

The Triangle's first Black-owned vegan restaurant still doing business during COVD-19 - scalawagmagazine.org
O.V. is home to many great baseball teams - Martins Ferry Times Leader
90 years ago, Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb challenged myths of being maniacal racist - Detroit Free Press
From small farms to modern metro, Longview has seen steady growth - Longview News-Journal

Posted: 15 May 2020 05:00 AM PDT

When you reach nirvana, nobody tells you it's behind a Jimmy John's.

I'm 20 minutes into a conversation with Yah-I Ausar about energy. Specifically, my energy. And about how the food we eat nourishes not just our stomachs, but our souls. For mid-afternoon, the conversation's heavy. But that's the thing about Ausar. He's convinced that his food can make a difference in Chapel Hill. And if you spend enough time with him, you might be too.

Yah-I Ausar Safari Amen is the chef and co-owner of Vegan Flava Cafe.
Photo by Jeremy M. Lange.

Ausar's Vegan Flava Cafe is a collection of steel rolling carts, one of the five small restaurants housed inside in the Blue Dogwood Market at 306 W. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill. Virtually every surface of his makeshift kitchen is bright yellow, matching the rows of corn tortilla chips stacked on one shelf. Others are filled with fresh kale, jars of nuts and a huge stash of spices. Blown up photos of menu items are taped across the counter, and brightly colored blankets are draped across every inch of silver steel. A large white banner bearing the cafe's name hangs confidently above the stand. He chops vegetables with the same tenderness that he answers my questions, as if he's promising them something too.

Food photos courtesy of Vegan Flava Cafe.

"Eating is one of the most essential things that we do," Ausar says. "When you begin to think about what you put into your body, that is when you start to understand why we do what we do here."

The Vegan Flava Cafe moved to downtown Chapel Hill in 2018. It's the cafe's third relocation after its original Durham location in early 2017, and a brief stint at the Northgate Mall. It's the farthest Ausar has been from his fan base in Durham. He is also in a market that's seeing more restaurants close, while Chapel Hill's population continues to decrease. Ausar was able to grow a dedicated clientele in Durham; now the challenge is recreating it in Chapel Hill.

If you had told a teenage Ausar that he would leave New York in order to open the first Black-owned vegan restaurant in North Carolina's Triangle area, he would have laughed in your face.

"I remember when somebody first told me that I needed to stop eating meat," he says. "I told them there was no way in the world I would ever stop doing that."

Ausar originally moved to the South to study computer automation at Clark Atlanta University. While Atlanta is home to a huge native Black vegan population, its vegan restaurant side hadn't reached its current level of popularity when he lived there. (In addition to ATL's homegrown Black veganism, learn about Atlanta's Black urban farmers who are revolutionizing access to local sustainable produce.) But a job at a natural health foods store had a big influence on Ausar. It was the first time he considered giving up meat. He started with pork. Then beef, poultry and fish. The hardest was cheese—that took a year and a half.

Food photos courtesy of Vegan Flava Cafe.

"Honestly, it was not a huge moral issue at the beginning," he said. "In the natural foods store, the conversation was always around wellness. I was largely operating on ignorance when it came to morality. I didn't even consider what animals went through until years after I became vegan."

After graduating in 2001, he landed a job in human resources at Whole Foods Market. In 2005, he was transferred to the company's Chapel Hill location. That's where he reconnected with a woman he had known back in New York. Her name was Ma'at Em Maakheru, and she would later become his wife.

She was a vegan, and once they started dating, it didn't take long for Ausar to convert, too. The biggest struggle was always finding food they could eat when they weren't at home.

"I was just so tired of eating french fries," Ausar says. "We started making these carrot "tuna" sandwiches. I always made a batch because I just knew there would be other vegans who would appreciate it."

Durham residents fell in love with their walnut tacos, almond seafood salad and chickpea tuna wraps. The duo decided to purchase a food truck, expanding what they had already started calling the Vegan Flava Cafe.

In 2010, they offered extra carrot "tuna" sandwiches to a few strangers at a conference in Raleigh. Everyone who tried one came back for more. Realizing that they might have had something on their hands, they returned to that same conference next year as a food vendor. It was a hit. After attending conferences and events as food vendors, Durham residents fell in love with their walnut tacos, almond seafood salad and chickpea tuna wraps. The duo decided to purchase a food truck, expanding what they had already started calling the Vegan Flava Cafe.

The premise of the Vegan Flava Cafe was simple: food that was allergen-friendly but didn't compromise on taste. Currently, their menu is completely meat-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and can also be made oil-free upon request.

Perhaps the best person to speak to Vegan Flava's influence is Stephen Gardner El. When we met, he explained what turned El from a frequent customer to Ausar's business partner.

"Everything he does is based on flavor," says El. "This is the same kind of food grandma used to make. It's the same love and attention she put into her food. But [Ausar] just spins it."

The premise of the Vegan Flava Cafe was simple: food that was allergen-friendly but didn't compromise on taste. Currently, their menu is completely meat-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and can also be made oil-free upon request.

"The first thing [Ausar] made for me was the walnut taco wrap. After that, I was hooked."

After the catering requests came in, Ausar and his wife took out a high-interest loan on a trailer that they hooked up to the back of a Mercury Monterey Minivan. By 2015, they had signed the lease on a brick-and-mortar location in South Square, Durham.

There wasn't one reason why the Durham location closed. Both the Ausars and El gave me different answers when I spoke with them. Money came up more than once, and the shared space at Dogwood has given them an opportunity to offset rent.

The growth of Black-owned restaurants, like many other businesses, have always been suppressed compared to its white counterparts. And while a 2015 report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that minority-owned businesses are developing at a rapid rate, it is still more than twice as likely for Black business-owners to be denied business loans and business credit-cards as compared to white business-owners, according to 2014 data from the Federal Reserve.

During our first interview, I had noticed a FedEx logo on Ausar's shirt.

"I work at FedEx full time as an operations administrator," Ausar says. "This is how I pay the bills."

And in the first year since it's opened, Ausar says that the cafe struggled to break even. Ausar has been trying to get Chapel Hill students to notice Vegan Flava. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers anticipate that minority-owned businesses will be the most susceptible to economic hardship. El says that they've seen a definite decline in foot traffic since March. Even with offering a curbside pick-up option and delivery for larger orders, getting customers is still difficult.

It is still more than twice as likely for Black business-owners to be denied business loans and business credit-cards as compared to white business-owners.

"Customers can't really come in," El said. "It's been a tremendous decline just because of COVID-19."

But whether it's urban renewal and persistent economic discrimination sweeping historically-prosperous Hayti, or hate crimes threatening Hendersonvilles' single Black-owned brewery, or a terrible virus walloping Black businesses everywhere: community-minded entrepreneurs continue looking for ways to invest in their dreams and their neighborhoods.

When Ausar talks about the restaurant, he blends its future with his own.

"Vegan Flava is an extension of who I am to the core," he says. "I've put all of myself in here."

When Ausar talks talking about the future of Vegan Flava, his entire demeanor changes. He wants to start selling products in health food stores and take on more catering gigs. The ultimate dream is to be able to go back to supporting his family solely through the cafe. But by far, the biggest is to begin traveling across the world, sharing his ideology of vegan food and health with others.

Nirvana may always be behind a Jimmy John's. But that doesn't mean it can't expand.

Vegan Flava is doing curbside service for customers, and offers delivery for larger orders. Vegan Flava Cafe can be found on GrubHub, Postmates or customers can call in (919) 960-1832.

About Giulia Heyward

Giulia L. Heyward is a freelance journalist based in the South. She is also a Roy H. Park Fellow at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work has previously appeared in the Huff Post, INDY Week and Sarasota Magazine.

O.V. is home to many great baseball teams - Martins Ferry Times Leader

Posted: 16 May 2020 09:08 PM PDT

WHEELING — Baseball at all levels, save Korea, has been paralyzed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although games are not being contested, I am pleased with the response from our readers when soliciting their input on the best prep baseball teams and players in Ohio Valley history. Today, we examine the team nominations while next Sunday we will broach the best player nominees.

Teams dating as far back as 1963 were submitted for consideration. That was Powhatan High.

The Indians were coached by Frank Bland and won the Ohio Class A state championship, downing Dublin, 3-0, in the title tilt as Jon Volpe tossed a complete-game five-hitter. Eugene Boron slammed a two-run homer for the Belmont Countians. The Indians downed Spencerville, 2-1, in semifinals. The squad featured OVAC Hall of Famer Terry Snively as well as Ben and Andy Wiley, Dave Dierkes and John Susac.

Two other squads from the decade of the 1960s drew support, those being Bridgeport and Wheeling Central, both from the 1969 seasons.

That year was a golden one in Bridgeport High athletic annals. After finishing as state runnerup in boys basketball that winter, the Bulldogs duplicated that feat in baseball, finishing as state runnerups as well. The team featured a host of stars, topped by all-state shortstop Jim Tomolonis.

Wheeling Central, meanwhile, got off to a slow start in 1969, losing its first two games. The Maroon Knights, however, would not taste defeat again, reeling off 22 straight wins en route to capturing the West Virginia Catholic Tournament state title. Among the stars on that Central team was pitcher Steve Wojcik. The ace southpaw went 10-1 on the hill that spring and had a batting average of .390. He also was selected as co-captain of The Intelligencer's All-Valley squad before embarking on a successful collegiate and minor league career.

One other Wheeling Central team was submitted. It was the 2005 squad. The Maroon Knights, featuring such standouts as Noah Mull and Ricky Szeligo, compiled an impressive 30-3 mark while pocketing the state championship.

When speaking of the Friendly City, Linsly has been a longtime major player on the prep diamond. Two Linsly squads were nominated.

The 2013 Cadets amassed a sparkling 23-4 mark and won the OVAC AAA crown.

Gary Sprague's 1985 Linsly squad oozed in prime-time talent. The Cadets won the OVAC championship, featuring four players who went on to play baseball professionally – Heath Haynes, Ron Stephens, Mike Coss and Kevin Tatar while outfielder Willie Clay experienced a fine NFL career with the Lions and Patriots. Haynes had a brief MLB stint with the Montreal Expos. Steve Novotney was another standout hurler for Linsly in '85.

In addition to Bridgeport, three other Belmont County schools had respective teams nominated.

Barnesville's 2004 team enjoyed a season to remember, winning 21 of 26 starts, boasting such standouts as Brock Huntsman, Craig Miller, Bryce Allen and Brad Hannahs. The Shamrocks downed Union Local and Indian Valley for the sectional crown before besting Steubenville Catholic Central for the district crown. The Red & Green earned a state tournament berth by besting Frankfort Adena and Federal Hocking in the regionals. The Shamrocks' magical run ended in the state semifinals, falling to eventual state champion New Albany.

Shadyside, meanwhile, had two of its teams nominated.

The Orange & Black's 1985 team was coached by Larry Apicella and turned in a stellar 20-3 mark. The Tigers won the EOBL title with a perfect 13-0 record. The team was keyed by ace pitcher/third baseman Rome Ripoly and Eddie Garczyk. The talented second baseman scripted an excellent career at West Liberty before playing in the minors. David Antill was a standout on the hill and at short while Tim Campbell, David Boyd, Todd Antill, Steve Destifanes, Gary Vannest and Chris Mills were all integral performers.

Shadyside fielded another strong squad in 2007, guided by Gary Cunningham. The Tigers captured the school's first outright OVAC championship to go with the EOBL Small School and sectional championships. Cunningham's crew rolled to a 24-3 record, the most wins in school history. Shadyside finished the regular season ranked third in the state D-IV ratings, highest in Tiger annals.

St. Clairsville rounds out the Belmont County nominations with two teams being brought to the table – the Red Devils of 1997 and 2019, both of whom advanced to the state tournament. OVAC Hall of Fame Richard "Lefty" Hall guided the former while Tom Sliva directed last spring's team.

The 1997 squad was fueled by pitching standout Shane Valigora. The Red Devils defeated Edison, 6-5, in eight innings in the regional finale to earn their state berth. St.C. dropped a 3-0 decision to Canton Central Catholic in the state semifinals, closing out a 17-14 campaign.

Sliva's squad also needed eight innings in the regional title game to advance to the Final Four. St. C. slipped past perennial power Steubenville, 4-2. The Red Devils fell to Gilmour Academy, 2-0, in its state tourney opener. The Devils finished with a 20-11 mark.

Brooke is not thought of a baseball juggernaut but the Bruins fielded a powerhouse of a team in 1973, coached by Ed Watkins. Brooke rolled to a 27-2 record en route to the West Virginia Class AAA championship. The Bruins outscored their opponents 216-38. They allowed just nine runs total in sectional, regional and state tournament action. Bruin hurlers tossed six post-season shutouts.

Bob Montgomery cranked out winners year-in and year-out at John Marshall. His Monarchs reached the pinnacle in 1985, winning the school's lone state baseball crown. Those Monarchs featured such stars as Todd Hayes, Mike Myers and Scot Goodnight. Every game in the 3-A tourney that year went extra innings.

The mecca of Ohio Valley prep baseball undoubtedly resides in Jefferson County.

Steubenville Catholic Central has made several forays into the state tournament. The Crusaders lost in the state semifinals in 1985 and 1993.

The Crusaders bounced back in 1994 to grab the brass ring. Coach Craig Farrar's charges downed Fort Jennings in the state semifinals, 4-2, behind Bobby Sismondo's dominating mound effort. He spun a 1-hit gem, fanning 15. Central downed Crestline, 7-2, in the championship tilt as K.C. Kirlangitis tossed a six-hitter. Central finished with a 23-6 mark.

When you look for consistent year-in and year-out success you need to look no further than Steubenville and Toronto, respectively.

Fred Heatherington has built a monster program in his three decades at the Big Red helm. He has taken Steubenville to the state tournament on six occasions. The Big Red made the state finals in 1991 and 2004. Steubenville also earned state trips in 1992, 2003, 2016 and 2017.

Ironically, one of Heatherington's best teams came within a whisker of another state berth. The Big Red went an amazing 26-1 in 1994, the lone blemish coming at the hands of Hebron Lakewood, 16-14, in the regional finals on a walk-off grand slam. Hebron went on to win the state championship.

Toronto, meanwhile, is still relishing its 2019 Division IV state championship under the adept tutelage of Brian Perkins. The Red Knights own much more state-level success. In 2017, Perkins led the Knights to the state Final Four.

Matt Morrison, meanwhile, also enjoyed a great tenure at the Toronto helm. Morrison led the Red Knights to the state championship in 1998 and a state Final Four berth in 1987.

While Toronto and Steubenville have turned out perennial winners and the OVAC can lay claim to a host of state title squads, the darling of all Ohio Valley prep diamond teams may come from deep in Monroe County. Skyvue High enjoyed a sports season few tiny schools could ever imagine.

The Golden Hawks finished as Class A state runner-up in boys basketball in 1985, falling to Jackson Center, 63-61. Skyvue finished with a 26-2 record.

Skyvue took it one step further in the ensuing spring. The Golden Hawks proceeded to capture the Class A state baseball championship. The Hawks soared to a 26-2 record that campaign.

Skyvue defeated Miller City, 9-8, in the state semifinals. Tim Winland yielded the big bat with four RBI for the winners.

The Golden Hawks rolled to a 9-2 triumph over Fort Loramie in the state championship game. Mike Hannahs knocked in four runs while OVAC Hall of Famer Mitch Hannahs drove in three more. Todd Hilverding was superb on the hill. He went the distance, striking out eight and surrendering just five hits.

Impressively, Mark Huffman coached both the hoop and baseball teams.

I am certain many deserving teams weren't contained in this piece. Please air NO complaints. These teams were not chosen by this scribe. Rather, they have all been submitted and nominated by our readers.

BUBBA'S BITS

¯ WHEELING PARK has completed its 2020 football schedule. The Patriots will host Meadowbrook in Week 1. The opening was created when Park was originally scheduled to host a team from Hawaii but the game was another coronavirus pandemic victim.

¯ FORMER BUCKEYE Local standout Emily Holzopfel has been named to the honorable mention list for the All-Mountain East Conference golf team. She was a freshman at Wheeling University this year, where she also saw quality time with the Cardinals hoop team.

¯ WEST LIBERTY'S Kailey Pettit has been named to the second team of Mountain East Conference golf team. She is a junior from Moundsville. Meanwhile, Hilltopper sophomore Howard Peterson from Weirton was named to the second team of the MEC men's golf team.

¯ THE BELLAIRE Touchdown Club's Annual Golf Scramble originally scheduled for June 27 has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Touchdown Club is making plans for next year's outing and would like to thank all the participants for their prior support.

¯ THE ANNUAL "The Dam Man's Crew" golf scramble, held in memory of Rick Brinker and scheduled for June 20 at Crispin Golf Course, has been canceled. The health and safety of all involved were the driving factors of the committee's decision. The committee and Brinker family sincerely appreciate all the support from the community and the participants. The committee is working on choosing a date for next year's scramble.

¯ ALTHOUGH THE WVU Coaches Caravan has been canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Mountaineer Athletic Club (MAC) is planning two virtual, online caravan events for WVU fans on Tuesday and Thursday. Two sessions are planned to allow as many people to "attend" as possible, with the format being similar to the regular caravan events, with coaches and athletic staff attending and Tony Caridi serving as emcee. When plans are complete, the MAC will send out an email notice of particulars, including event times, format and sign-on instructions. There is no charge for this event. Please feel free to call 740-695-4262 or email MAC Caravan Coordinator Carly Moore (cymoore@wvu.mail.edu) if you have questions about the virtual caravans.

THE 25TH annual BMAC Golf Classic on Thursday, July 23, at the Moundsville Country Club is still planned, with modifications caused by the current pandemic crisis, if necessary and advisable.

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90 years ago, Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb challenged myths of being maniacal racist - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 16 May 2020 03:11 AM PDT

Eight memorable moments at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Wochit

The often-repeated portrait of Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb is that the "Georgia Peach" was a racist and nothing short of a monster of a person.

So it is interesting to note that 90 years ago, on May 11, 1930, it was Cobb, two years after retiring as the game's greatest player, who took a train from Georgia to throw out the first pitch at Hamtramck Stadium, the new Negro League ballpark that served as the on-and-off home field of the Detroit Stars from 1930-37 and the Detroit Wolves in 1932.

That Cobb came to Detroit — then a hotbed for the Ku Klux Klan — at the invitation of Detroit Stars owner John Roesink, a white Detroit businessman, and participated in the opening of a Negro League ballpark is not surprising to Charles Leerhsen, a former Sports Illustrated editor who authored the highly acclaimed 2015 book, "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty."

"That is not something someone would do if they were truly racist," said Leerhsen, who provided a comprehensive look at Cobb in the context of his times.

"When I pitched a Cobb biography to the publisher, I promoted the typical preconceived notion of Cobb as this horrible person and racist," he said. "But early on in my four years of research, I found that to be quite the contrary. Cobb was not perfect. He got into some skirmishes and didn't suffer fools gladly. And while he didn't get along with everyone, he was known to be very generous to friends and fans and became a philanthropist after having made several million dollars as an early investor in General Motors and Coca-Cola."

The man, myth and legend

For the last 60 years, the stories about the complicated and controversial ballplayer with a fiery temper have been constantly repeated, and, at times, sensationalized and bobbled. He was known to have fought teammates and opponents and, in some instances, strangers he encountered that he took offense to. The stories range from Cobb purposefully spiking players, which Leehrsen's book debunks, to receiving a 10-day suspension after thrashing a disabled heckler in the stands.

In 1919, an 18-year-old black chambermaid at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit claimed in court papers that Cobb pushed her out of his room, kicked her in the stomach, and knocked her down a flight of stairs that left her hospitalized for several weeks. Leerhsen suggests that payments were made to silence her further.

And yet, other stories have been twisted over time, Leehrsen said, including tales of Cobb brandishing a gun and hitting a black butcher who insulted his wife and punching a black bellboy and black watchman at a Cleveland hotel. Leehrsen's research found the three men were white. It has even been suggested (but without evidence, and mostly debunked) that he killed two or three people.

For decades, some of the wildest descriptions of Cobb as an abominable person was put forth by discredited writer Al Stump, especially through his article, "Ty Cobb's Wild 10-month Fight to Live," published in "True Magazine" five months after Cobb's death in 1961. The magazine was notorious for sensationalized stories of the pulp genre. (Stump, in fact, had been banned from writing for several publications for inventing scenes and dialogue and stretching the truth. He was also later found to have sold fake Cobb memorabilia.)

Here's how Leerhsen explained it:

"What happened was that the autobiography, "Ty Cobb: My Life in Baseball," ghostwritten by Stump, and published in September 1961, two months after Cobb's death, was not selling well," Leerhsen told the Free Press. "Stump then created this largely fictionalized Cobb character with the True magazine piece to increase sales of the book. With Cobb safely dead, he could portray him as he pleased. It was like the spark that first sets off a forest fire. Stump's fiction has unfortunately been repeated by ill-informed writers over the years and passed down through a generation of fans."

Cobb, though very ill, was so upset with the inaccuracies of his autobiography transcript that he wrote to New York-based publisher, Doubleday, and demanded the book be canceled or rewritten from scratch. As the story goes, he also threatened a lawsuit.

Leerhsen's book points out many falsehoods about Cobb, including in Stump's second book in 1994, "Cobb: A Biography," and in another popular biography, "Ty Cobb," by Charles C. Alexander in 1984. Stump wrote the second book and was hired as a consultant by filmmaker Ron Shelton for his widely panned 1994 movie, "Cobb," based largely on Stump's magazine article and starring Tommy Lee Jones.

Cobb's granddaughter, Cindy Cobb — one of 15 grandchildren — remembers leaving a theater in tears mid-movie after a scene depicting her grandfather, in old age, attempting to rape a Las Vegas casino cigarette girl.

"I told my father to not see the movie because it was full of lies. Thank God he didn't," said Cindy, whose father Jim, Cobb's youngest child, died two years later.

Leerhsen writes that when he asked about the scene's factual basis, Shelton replied, "That is something that Al and I came up with during the shoot. It felt like the sort of thing that Cobb might do."

Cindy Cobb put her family's background in perspective.

"Race was never an issue in our family and my dad always spoke very highly of granddad," she said. "People assume that Ty Cobb must have been a racist because he was raised in Georgia in the 1880s. In fact, he descended from a long line of abolitionists. As Charlie Leerhsen discovered, Ty's great grandfather was a minister who was run out of town for preaching against slavery; his grandfather refused to fight in the Confederate army because of slavery; his father was an educator and Georgia state senator who spoke up for his black constituents and whose political career was in part cut short for having broken up a lynch mob."

In his book, Leerhsen writes, "For years Cobb had publicly applauded the integration of organized baseball, cheering it louder than virtually any old-time star."

In a 1952 Sporting News article on the integration of the Texas minor leagues, published before the Athletics, Pirates, Cardinals, Reds, Yankees, Phillies, Tigers, and Red Sox had a black player on their rosters, Cobb stated:

"The Negro has the right to compete in sports and who's to say they have not?" He later said, toward the end of his life: "The only player I would pay to see is Willie Mays."

Historic day in May

On May 11, 1930, before a crowd of 10,000 fans at the new brick, steel and concrete structure built by Roesink, a white Detroit businessman, Cobb helped christen Hamtramck Stadium by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Dr. Rudolph Tenerowicz, mayor of Hamtramck. The Stars launched their new ballpark in grand fashion by sweeping a doubleheader against the Hamtramck Giants, 11-0, and Cuban Stars, 7-4.

According to "Voices from the Pastime," a selection of baseball oral histories published in 2000, former Stars infielder Bobby Robinson remembered Cobb coming to also watch a game in 1929, interacting and sharing stories with players in the dugout. Robinson recalled that "there wasn't a hint of prejudice in Cobb's attitude." (The year before the opening of Hamtramck Stadium, Cobb weighed in on the Detroit mayoral race, endorsing John W. Smith over Charles Bowles, who was heavily backed by the Ku Klux Klan.)

Still, a negative reputation has followed Cobb.

In one of the ghost sequences in the hit movie, "Field of Dreams," Hollywood slammed Cobb when Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta, said, "Ty Cobb wanted to play, but not one us could stand the son of a bitch so we told him to stick it."

In reality, according to Leerhsen, the two were friendly and mutual admirers.

Preserving Hamtramck Stadium

In its short history as a Negro League ballpark, Hamtramck Stadium hosted 17 future members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Judy Johnson, Cool Papa Bell and the Detroit Stars' greatest player, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes.

Located at 3201 Dan Street, in Veterans Memorial Park in Hamtramck near Keyworth Stadium, home of the popular Detroit City Football Club, Hamtramck Stadium now consists of a deteriorating grandstand (closed in 1997) and a grass ballfield.

Designated on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, it is the subject of a multimillion-dollar preservation project led by Wayne County, the City of Hamtramck, and the non-profit Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium.

So far, more than $1.5 million has been raised to revitalize the stadium, one of five Negro League ballparks remaining in the U.S.. The plan is to renovate the grandstand, turn three small adjacent brick buildings dating to the historic period into locker rooms, add restrooms, concessions and storage facilities, and refurbish the field where the Negro Leagues once flourished.

"The restored field will have a regular 90-foot diamond and in deep center field there will be a little league diamond where you can now still make out the remnants of the field where the 1959 Little League world champion Hamtramck played," said Gary Gillette, a baseball historian and co-founder of the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium. "They were one of the earliest integrated little league world champions, who were led by Pinky Deras, who many say was the greatest little league player."

From small farms to modern metro, Longview has seen steady growth - Longview News-Journal

Posted: 16 May 2020 10:15 PM PDT

From Staff Reports

Longview is not only the oldest town in Gregg County. It is three years older than the county itself. It became a townsite in 1870 and was incorporated in 1871.

When the old Southern Pacific was stretching toward the West Coast, Mr. and Mrs. O.H. Methvin deeded the railroad 100 acres of land on April 7, 1870, for the original townsite.

The railroad platted the land into blocks, streets and alleys and began selling the property for residences and business establishments. In September of 1870, Methvin deeded the railroad 50 more acres and that was added to the townsite.

All of that took place three years before Gregg County was created.

The area that became Longview consisted of mostly hilly land in the southeast corner of Upshur County, devoted more to small farms than to large plantations.

Before the Civil War there were, within what are now the Longview city limits, two rural communities with United States post offices: Earpville in the east and Pine Tree in the west. A Methodist congregation at Earpville, dating back to 1846, later became the present First United Methodist Church of Longview. Today's Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1847.

On May 17, 1871, Longview incorporated, the first community in Gregg County to do so. Earpville disappeared from the map, but Pine Tree endured as a recognizable community, known later as Awalt, then as Willow Springs, and finally as Greggton before being annexed by Longview in the 1960s.

During its early years the city was dominated by Republican Party interests. Among early opponents of the Republicans was James S. Hogg, who established, then discontinued, a tri-weekly newspaper during a short period in 1871. The paper was known as the Longview News. A second weekly was established in 1872 by J.L. Terry. It was known as the Longview New Era.

In its first years Longview was a rough railroad town; violence was common, and nearly half of the town's businesses were said to have been saloons. Despite its rough character, however, there were already signs in the early 1870s that the town was developing into a more established city.

In 1872 the International Railroad (later the International & Great Northern), built a connection between Longview and Palestine. The railroad joined the Southern Pacific about a mile east of the Longview depot, and the area became known as Longview Junction. A third railroad, the Longview and Sabine Valley, began construction from Longview Junction in 1877.

As the railroads furthered the economic transformation of the region, seven new counties were established in Northeast Texas by the fragmentation of long-established larger counties.

Gregg County

In 1873 a county centered geographically and politically on Longview was proposed; it was to take pieces from Upshur, Rusk, and Harrison counties. Longview became the county seat. When the Rusk portion turned out smaller than hoped and the Harrison part proved unattainable, Longview was left very near one edge of a small and peculiarly shaped Gregg County.

During the 1870s and early 1880s the town grew rapidly. Partly due to a major fire in 1877, the original frame buildings of the commercial center were replaced with structures of brick and stone.

By 1882 Longview had Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches, as well as three sawmills, two schools, a bank, a planing mill, a cotton gin, a foundry, a machine shop, a street railway, an opera house with a seating capacity of 450, and three weekly newspapers — the New Era, the Surprise, and the Democrat. At least one, the New Item, had come and gone. The estimated population was 1,525.

The area around Longview Junction also developed into a small commercial center, and a street railway running along Fredonia and Methvin streets operated between the two depots. Longview Junction was annexed to the city in 1904.

From 1882 until after World War II, the city's main industrial plant was the Kelly Plow Co., a very substantial agricultural equipment factory. The town's population grew steadily during the last years of the 1800s.

By 1910 it had reached 5,155. The Longview Electric Light and Power Co. began supplying electricity about 1895; the first municipal waterworks was installed in 1904; and a sanitary sewer system was installed about 1910.

In 1903 the Graham Manufacturing Co. built a large crate and box factory for farm produce next to the Kelly Plow Co. The Port Bolivar Iron Ore Railroad Co., formed in 1911, built about 30 miles of track north from the Junction as part of an unsuccessful plan to develop Ore City.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population growth slowed, and in 1920 Longview was a rural cotton and lumbering center with an estimated 5,713 residents; African Americans made up 31 percent of the population.

Racial tensions, which had long been simmering beneath the surface, erupted into violence in the Longview Race Riot of 1919. Black residences and businesses were burned and at least one black man was killed.

During the 1920s cotton prices fluctuated and timber supplies dwindled, leading to economic uncertainty for Longview. However, a paved highway, later known as U.S. 80, was built through the town and the population increased by nearly 2,000 during the decade. By 1929 the city had more than 7,000 residents.

The Longview Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1916, promoted the city with an aggressive advertising campaign. The Rotary Club of Longview was organized in 1920. In 1926 Longview became the headquarters of the newly founded East Texas Chamber of Commerce.

In 1929 the Texas & Pacific Railway moved its division offices to Mineola, and nearly 700 families moved away. By 1930 the population of Longview had dropped to 5,036, slightly lower than its population in 1910.

The discovery of the rich East Texas Oil Field in the early 1930s, however, saved the town from the harsh economic effects of the Great Depression.

Located outside the oilfield, Longview was spared the worst aspects of boomtown chaos but was able to capitalize on its position as the established business center and governmental seat of Gregg County. The city was transformed from a sleepy cotton, lumber, and railroad town populated largely by natives to a thriving commercial and industrial city dominated by mostly Southern newcomers.

The population more than doubled during the 1930s, to 13,758 in 1940. That same year the town reported 750 rated businesses. Burgeoning tax receipts allowed city and county officials to build numerous new government structures and schools, including a new county courthouse in 1932.

In 1942 construction began on the Big Inch pipeline, which originated in Longview. It ensured an uninterrupted supply of gas and oil during World War II.

Concerted efforts to attract diversified industries to Longview during the war and for 20 years thereafter were led by Carl Estes, publisher of the Longview Morning News and Daily Journal.

During World War II the government built a large hospital complex, Harmon General Hospital, just outside Longview. After the war, R.G. LeTourneau opened a large manufacturing plant for earth-moving equipment, and he acted with other civic leaders to turn Harmon General Hospital into LeTourneau Technical Institute.

In 1950 Eastman Kodak Co. chose a site near Longview for its new subsidiary, Texas Eastman Co., which became the largest chemical complex in inland Texas. Other developments during the immediate postwar period in the greater Longview area included Gregg County Airport and Lake Cherokee.

In 1966 a Schlitz brewery and associated container factory were built; the beer plant later became the Stroh Brewery, the largest in Texas, producing 4 million barrels annually.

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