AD Clark Pool

Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): We have coming to the mic at this time, Ms. Dorothy Alston. Dorothy Alston (DA): Good afternoon. I wasn’t gonna come up here but I can’t– PJ: What’s your name? DA: Dorothy Alston. I wasn’t going to come up but Hargraves pool has been a big help for my kids. I had six…

Edwin Caldwell, Jr.: One of the things that I remember when I was about twelve years old was Frank Robinson- whose father worked for Frank Graham, my grandmother worked for Frank Graham- we used to go and watch the white kids swim in the swimming pool- the one right behind Carmichael Hall.…

Eugene Hines (EH): I am Eugene Hines and my family moved here to Chapel Hill in 1948. I was one year old. So I wasn’t born here but I moved here when I was one. So, I can remember when we didn’t have a pool. We didn’t have most of the buildings that you see behind me. But before I continue with that…

Eugene Hines: Just very briefly, one other person that I would like for you to remember was the lifeguard who worked with me in the pool. And he is a physician now in Durham, Dr. Wilson, but he was my co-lifeguard at the time, Dr. Ken Wilson. He’s not been able to join us, although he and his wife…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: Now, get your hands together for that fabulous Ms. Janie Alston! Janie Alston: Thank you Ms. Pat. Hello, everybody. That house behind you, I grew up in. That was my grandmother’s house. I am a Hargraves and a Weaver from Chapel Hill. I was born in New York City in the Harlem…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: Coming to the mic, we have Mrs. Judy Booth Hines! Judy Booth Hines: Hello, I’m not the speaker my husband is but I’ll just share one little tidbit. When this pool was built and it was done and everybody was rushing over here that day to swim, I was coming up that hill right…

"You can’t have Hargraves without A.D. Clark Pool. And you can’t have A.D. Clark Pool without Hargraves. They’re just meshed together because it’s just a perfect match. - Kathy Atwater Kathy Atwater recounts her childhood visiting the Hargraves Community Center and the Adolphus D. Clark pool.…

Larry Clark (LC): Hello, everyone. My name is Larry Clark. Adolphus Clark was my great uncle. My grandfather’s brother, so this place brings back a lot of memories for me. He was, I think, the first NAACP President in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. His mindset was for bringing the youth and the…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): Alright, we’re up again for our time here at the pool party. All the way in the back, turn yourself…there you go, there you go. Let me just tell you a couple of things about this Hargraves Pool. Back in the day, this area for us was “the place”. Let me just tell you,…

Pat Jackson: Here, what had happened was every week that we were not in school, any time of the day, we could come to A.D. Clark Pool. We could come to Hargraves Center, and it would be something that would be going on that would fill our summers, fill our winters, with so much joy.

“I am a believer that education is essential, just like air. Just like oxygen. We have to feed our minds, and I also believe we have to feed our souls.” - Sandi Abbo This interview was a part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center Education series. Ms. Abbo grew up living in Pine Knolls and Tin Top…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: We have a young lady coming up. Come right up young lady. Shareka Abbo: Good evening, everyone. My name is Shareka Abbo. I will just say we were very blessed to be able to grow up in this neighborhood. I think we moved here when I was 13 over on Starlight Drive. Just to be…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: Alright, alright, alright, coming to the mic at this time, Mr. William Gattis! Alright! William Gattis: Now, I hope I’ve got some nice things to say to you all because when we got the pool, unlike Eugene, I came to look in the pool. Now, there were those kids back when I was…