Interview of Thelma Robinson

Interviewer: Crystal Nguyen     

Faculty Facilitator: Mr. Linn

Date of Interview: 03/23/06

Thelma Robinson was born on December 27, 1928 in Columbus, Georgia. Her father was originally from Warrenton, and her mother was from Dublin.  They had moved to Columbus from Wilmington, N.C., and her father worked at a fertilizer plant on 10^th Avenue.. Mrs. Robinson’s father died when she was eight years old, and her mother was left to raise two sons and four daughters.  She was a seamstress who worked at Columbus Cleaners and Tailors, then located on 10^th Avenue. She didn’t make soldier uniforms but did sew accessories for the soldiers’ uniforms, such as the braids on soldiers’ caps and insignias that represented the soldier’s rank and unit in the army. She worked there with about ten other women.  At the start of World War II,  Mrs. Robinson was twelve years old and attending 5^th Avenue Elementary in downtown Columbus.  Later, she attended Spencer High School

 During the war Mrs. Robinson did things that kids do; she jumped rope and played with the neighbors. Her mother was quite a religious woman, so she attended church regularly. She also loved reading, and did that in her spare time. Bands that she remembers include Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington.  The family could not afford to eat out; usually it was just at home or at friends’ houses.  Eating out in segregated Columbus offered limited choices for African Americans.  Living at 530 2d Avenue in downtown Columbus, however, offered many opportunities to interact with white children.  Between 5^th and 6^th Streets, one side of the street had black families, the other side had white families.  Although the children attended different schools, they often played and talked with one another.  Mrs. Robinson noted that the kids got along okay until they “grew up”.  Neighbors were very close back then,  She remembers her neighbor, a Mrs. Wright, who watched the kids when her mother was working.

 One wartime support activity Mrs. Robinson partook in was a stamp (bond) drive held in her elementary school. When she attended Spencer, there were drives to collect scrap metal in the school and throughout the entire community. Rationing in Mrs. Robinson’s family included meat, sugar and shoes. Everyone was encouraged to have a garden; these particular gardens were known as Victory Gardens, where families grew their own vegetables to save money. Mrs. Robinson recalls her mother having one in their backyard. The best way to get around town was by bus or walking. Mrs. Robinson lived downtown in the middle of everything and whenever she needed to get somewhere, most of the time she was able to walk to her destination.  While the family did not travel to Atlanta, she noted that most people would take the train—Man-of- War was the name of the train that made twice daily runs to Atlanta at the time.  Phenix City was seen by others as a place of lewd conduct, of gambling, of where all the bad things took place. Civilians went back and forth to Phenix City because they had to work.

Mrs. Robinson’s brother was drafted towards the end of the war. They called his draft notice his “greetings” because notices would begin with that word.  He was inducted at Fort Benning and then sent off to basic training. Fortunately, the war ended when he was still in basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama.  Even though the war was over he was sent to Japan for the mopping up detail. She also had a brother-in-law in the war. Columbus, as Mrs. Robinson describes it, was a “sea of khaki” during the war years.

Everything in Columbus was still segregated during the wartime, so when she went out to the movies, she went to the Liberty Theater, which also had live entertainment, the Dixie Theater, or to the Royal Theater, where African Americans could sit in the balcony. It cost but a dime to watch a film. Newsreels at the beginning of the movie were shown to inform people of the major events of the war. Air raid drills and blackout drills were done routinely. In Mrs. Robinson’s household, she was in charge of pulling down the blackout shades. It was somewhat of a game in her mind.

Soldiers that Mrs. Robinson encountered were very nice.  Her mother was very protective of her and didn’t allow her to interact much with the soldiers, but after her brother was drafted, and her sister married a soldier she had met at their church,  her mother’s attitude toward soldiers changed. Mrs. Robinson’s family took soldiers in for breakfast on Sundays just like many other people in the community did. In fact, one of those soldiers came for dinner and ended up getting married to Mrs. Robinson.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Mrs. Robinson recalls being at home. When the Germans and Japanese surrendered, she remembers the huge celebrations that she could not participate in. People shot off guns, crowded the streets, and blew their horns. At the time the atomic bomb was dropped, she believed it was fine because it meant the war would be over and that the men like her brother would be coming home. Today, she still believes that it was the right thing to do, but terrible because so many were lost.

After the war, Mrs. Robinson went to college and married, and began a lifelong career in education.  She taught at Carver High School , then became a counselor at Columbus College and is now  retired.