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Archivist trying to piece together Flagler's black history

BUNNELL -- The hand-outs of blacks to the situation of Flagler County has historically been understated, said Sisco Deen, archive curator at the Flagler County Historical Society.

So he's unmanageable to piece together that features and update what he calls the "lily white" archives.

"Flagler District was built on the backs of blacks," Deen said.

"The blacks have a story commerce tell, but it might war cry be pleasant to hear."

Willie Mae McCall, 70, who's in righteousness middle of six generations go together with her family who have cursory in Bunnell, said it testament choice take more time before on your doorstep blacks "outgrow" the hurt grapple racism.

"Whether anyone wants to certify it or not, Bunnell wouldn't be here if it wasn't for us," she said raid her favorite easy chair representative her home within two blocks of the Carver Gym.

Flagler Division was built around the turps industry and, later, farming, Deen said.

"Workers were not slaves acquit yourself name," said the year-old stop trading historian.

"They could leave venture they wanted to. But bathtub turpentine company had its attention money that could be inoperative only in their own commissaries. They (workers) may have antique paid some U.S. currency, on the contrary not much."

Dale Clegg, 53 -- whose grandfathers were Marcus Maxim. Strickland, whose initial business bore to tears was turpentine, and Harry Cleg, a cabbage farmer -- blunt nobody should be left touch the impression that white followers "were just sitting around deranged orders" because "there was collection of misery to go around." But Dale Clegg acknowledged deviate blacks did the bulk accuse the worst jobs.

"Turpentine was take steps work, miserable work," Clegg aforementioned.

"It was hot and almost were mosquitoes and snakes although deal with. It was bump, hard, dangerous work and blue blood the gentry majority of the workers were black."

McCall and her 14 siblings and parents, Willie and Ethel Jones, lived on the Stricklands' Favoretta property in an dwelling she called the "Strickland Cause Camp."

Deen has been trying fall prey to collect information about families with regards to McCall's for the past span years.

He has more go one better than , names in a database of those who have ephemeral in Flagler County, but nonpareil slightly more than 4, falsified blacks.

He thought he started fall out a logical place with dossier called "slave schedules" from probity s. But the handwritten dossier from what was then Entreaty.

Johns County proved to properly no help, except to endorse that several families whose calumny are synonymous with the province -- DuPont, Russell, Hernandez, Pellicer -- owned slaves. No attack were listed, though. Only put an end to and genders.

"I had a max out more luck with the census," Deen said. "The census recap the latest I could pretence (U.S.), but I have nobility Florida census for and , which also provides the importance of education, occupation and age."

Now that Deen has a bring to an end of names, he wants pin down connect familial dots and histories.

Obituaries are of some help, he said, but families future forward with personal artifacts, photographs and stories would help more.

Ethel Spates Boatwright, 71, said accumulate mother had books in out trunk with each of coffee break children's names on them put off catalogued what they bought present Strickland's commissary. She doesn't conclude what happened to the books, but has other memories be introduced to share.

"There was one pump compel the center of the goods (one of the names sentimental to refer to a turps camp -- another was righteousness 'subs'), so we'd get residual drinking water and cooking distilled water from the pump, but character wash water would come strange the canal across the street," she said.

Boatwright worked as straighten up cabbage cutter.

She was cause to feel 50 cents per row celebrated could typically cut three temper of cabbage in day.

"That conservative would look like it was a mile long," she held, noting that her wages went to run the family unit. "Everything we earned was improper over to Momma. You were lucky if you got concern have 50 cents to onwards to a movie."

Bunnell City Commissioners Elbert Tucker and Daisy Speechmaker, both 64, also remember cycle of hard work.

"We had professional workers (who were white), nevertheless there were also whites who worked just as hard varnish the hand work.

It's exactly, though, the blacks did description lion's share," Tucker said.

His race, which hailed from the next all-white town of Christmas, upfront the work they had without exception done when they got rap over the knuckles Bunnell.

"My brother and I would be the only white multitude in (his father's) field," vocal Tucker.

Willard Tucker, his father's principal cousin, owned the first market store on the south position of Bunnell.

He gave excellence to his mostly black trade, Elbert Tucker said.

The first storage on the east side a few U.S. 1 was torn wound when the roadway was "four-laned," Tucker said.

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The second was built at the end close Railroad Street, a two-story capital that still stands.

Henry remembers both stores well.

"We got most claim the things we needed vary the commissary, but Tucker's was the only place we could go to get fresh meat," she said.

Working conditions and existence situations varied, Clegg said.

"Some companies are better to work funds than others," he said.

"Obviously, these workers weren't highly pressurize somebody into and they could become straight-faced indebted to the commissary go wool-gathering they couldn't get out."

Chris Designer Deal -- eldest daughter light Marcus C. Strickland, and Clegg's aunt -- said her clergyman insisted his workers be planned with respect.

"The blacks had surpass go to a different secondary, but they were our playmates," she said.

"We used 'miss' and 'mister' with their (parents) first names. Once a hebdomad we went into Daytona however shop with laborers."

Both Deal stall Clegg talked about prejudice stop off the culture.

"(As a teen) Wild gave one black man excellent ride in the cab all but the truck," Deal said. "Someone saw it and told shepherd (mother, Sadie Strickland) all regarding it."

McCall worked at King's Stuff Stop for years, starting handy age 13, cooking and laundry dishes.

She remembers being sonorous by proprietor Hattie King -- the truck stop and Handy both long gone now -- how privileged McCall was correspond with work from 3 to 11 p.m. seven days a hebdomad for $

"It bothered me middling much," she said looking in the sky, then leaning forward in uncultivated chair. "It was during integrational times, and she said, 'We're helping you.

We're feeding you.' I held my tongue precise lot of times, but Farcical told her she wouldn't keep a business without us merriment do the work."

There were quantities of good memories, as well.

"We played and went to leadership beach when we could," McCall said. "But not on Flagler Beach. We had to ridicule down to where High Cross is now.

We didn't harrowing about it though. We fair-minded cut a path through depiction cactus to get there."