Interview of Lester Mason

Interview Team: Christal Judge, BJ Chapman, and Julien Malebranch

Interview Date: March 10, 2005

Lester Mason was born December 7, 1929 in Phenix City, Alabama. His family lived at 1427, 11th Avenue. Mr. Mason’s family owned a grocery store, a dry cleaners, the Crescent Club, and a barbershop. While his father and others ran these businesses, Mr. Mason’s mother worked as a mill worker at Swift Spinning Mills. His parents were divorced when he was very young, and his father later remarried.

Lester Mason was 12 years old when the United States entered World War II and he remembered several interesting facts about this era. He stated that a favorite place to eat was Top Hat Chicken and Barbecue and reminded people that there were fewer restaurants then than there are today. Mr. Mason also remembered the big bands and his favorite musicians Nat King Cole (Aint Nobody Here But Us Chickens) , Earl Hines, and Fats Domino. The dances that were popular were the cha-cha, swing dancing, and the Jitter Bug. He recalls that when Fats Domino came to the area, the only black venue large enough in the bi-city area was the Ingersoll Plantation in Phenix City.

Lester Mason was a student at Phenix City Elementary School through the ninth grade. He then attended South Girard High School, which was the school for African-Americans attending high school in Phenix City. He played softball, and went swimming at the pool at the Ingersoll Plantation. His usual mode of transportation was by foot or by bicycle.

He graduated in 1945 and later that year he began his college education at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. He would ride the train to Atlanta--Man-of –War--and since his mother worked at Swift Mill, she and her friends would wave to him from the back of the mill (the tracks went behind the Swift Mill heading north out of Columbus).

Mr. Mason remembered numerous local efforts to help the war effort. He remembered the war bond drives in Phenix City, and remembers his mother telling him that the textile mills changed over from consumer goods to textiles devoted to supplying the men and women overseas. Some of the other war efforts that affected businesses and families was the rationing of vital goods including gas, sugar, clothes, and travel. Black soldiers had their own USO Club during the war, and he recalled with a chuckle that many local girls married soldiers. One 19-something year old soldier was surprised to find out that the girl he married turned out to be about twice as old as he was and had a teenage daughter as well.

So many Phenix City residents worked at the textile mills in Columbus at that time that Mr. Mason says that they referred to the mill area as the “our side” (the Alabama side) of Columbus. Also, most Phenix City residents did their shopping for clothes and other essentials in Columbus. Mr. Mason reminded the interviewers that Columbus and Phenix City were racially segregated during that time, and there were many restaurants where blacks could not eat, and stores where they could not shop. Restrooms were designated for whites and blacks, and even water fountains were labeled. While blacks were careful to maintain a respectful relationship with whites, Mason said that some whites were more liberal than others and therefore a closer bond could be developed.

As mentioned above, Mr. Mason attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he earned a degree in chemistry. He planned to become a pharmacist, but he promised his mother that he would teach for “one year”. He went on to make a career in education as a teacher, guidance counselor, and principal, and played a major role in the Russell County Boys Club.