July 24, 2020
It’s Summertime!
Black Resorts & Beaches
Motown singer Scherrie Payne (far left) with her mother (front center) and friends, Idlewild, Michigan, c. 1950s
“Summertime and the livin' is easy… Fish are jumpin' …"  George Gershwin ’s lyrics captures so well the lazy and relaxing days of summer. In this historical tradition, it would be remiss not to focus on the history of African American resorts. The heyday of these resorts were at a time when African Americans were not welcomed at other vacation destinations, so they ably created their own. These vacation spots included the well known Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard; New York’s Sag Harbor; Michigan’s Idlewild; Windsor, Canada; and the Gullah Islands. There are other resorts that are not as well known, such as Wilmington, North Carolina’s Freeman’s Beach; Bruce's Beach in California; Virginia’s Buckroe, Bayshore and Mark Havens Beaches; Annapolis, Maryland’s Carr, Sparrows, and Highland Beaches; Fox Lake Indiana; the Hampton House and American, Virginia Key, Fernandina, Atlantic, and Manhattan beaches in Florida; Kings Lodge in New York; Paradise Lake in Michigan; and Lincoln Hills Resort out west in Colorado. Here, they gathered, relaxed, grew families and shared times with others without the glare of racism.
Douglass home, Highland Beach, Maryland
Beachgoers, Highland Beach, Maryland, 1930
One of the earliest of these—Highland Beach—was started by none other than Frederick Douglass and his son, Charles. Marketing entrepreneur Ricki Fairley’s (1956 - ) great-grandparents were next door neighbors of Douglass’s in Washington D.C. after her great-grandfather helped build his home there. She described how “ Frederick Douglass actually bought this peninsula in Annapolis [Maryland] called Highland Beach and sold the land to black families to have--to let them have a beach house… I think Highland Beach was established in 1896 [sic. 1893] and so somewhere in there our family did buy land there… but his son [ Charles Douglass ] actually managed the development .” [1] Ricki Fairley’ father, the late educator Richard Fairley (1933 - 2006), remembered that “ Washington, a segregated city with only two public swimming pools...[our] coming to Annapolis to Highland Beach, which is a private beach. And spending time with my friends whose families owned vacation houses here. I liked the water .” [2] Mechanical engineer Lucius Walker (1936 - 2013) further explained how Highland Beach “ was a place… for the summer months for some fairly affluent blacks in the late 1900s, early twentieth century… it became a municipality in 1923 and being a municipality, we have an elected mayor… we pay taxes to the town, and…the town only has about 60 or 70 households… But the greatest sense of community stems from the fact that… it was founded by a Douglass, and… a lot of distinguished leaders have visited the community over the years .” [3]
Depiction of Buckroe Beach, Virginia, c.1950s
Bay Shore Beach & Resort on the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton, Virginia, was another early one, founded by African American businessmen in 1898. Activist Reverend Joseph Metz Rollins (1926 - ) explained: “ When we were growing up, there were two beaches, Buckroe Beach, which was a white beach, on the Chesapeake Bay, and Bay Shore, which was quote, the colored beach, and just a fence separating 'em. And so finally it had come to the point where they desegregated and so we started going to Buckroe Beach, which was, by that time, the only beach that was there-- because Bay Shore had been owned by a black man at Hampton University and he finally started building houses .” [4] Buckroe Beach subsequently became a hot spot specifically for African American vacationers. Literary agent Marie Brown (1940 - ) described its popularity in the 1950s: “ All the black folks would go to Buckroe Beach. And you'd see your friends there… And we would go get in the boat and we would crab… cooking crabs was a big thing in our family… I remember them jumping out of the pot onto the floor in the kitchen .” [5]
Homes on the water owned by Rebecca Love’s family, Idlewild, Michigan
Then there is Idlewild, Michigan, which began in 1912. Elementary school teacher Rebecca "Becky" Love (1916 - 2013) recalled her family vacation home, pictured above: “ My grandmother built this house in 1917. And she heard that there was a lovely resort in Michigan on Lake Idlewild and this is right on the lake. We would go out and have our breakfast there on the patio, on the sand almost and I spent most all day in a swimsuit. From the age of say, two years old… I never spent a summer in Chicago. As soon as school was out, because my mother [Johnetta Clanton Grant] was a school teacher, two aunts, my grandmother and her daughters and we all went up to Michigan. Another aunt--Juanita built the house next to her mother's and so both of those houses are our family .” [6] PR consultant Ofield Dukes (1932 - 2011) additionally explained “ they had boating and golf and tennis, and so that if you were anybody, anywhere in the country, and you were a Negro, you wanted to come to Idlewild. It was almost like a black Las Vegas… And people owned their property, so it was sort of an entertainment mecca for Negroes during that particular period .” [7]
Paradise Club, Idlewild, Michigan
Jackie Wilson performing at the Paradise Club, late 1950s
Former CBS producer  Marquita Pool-Eckert (1945 - ) vacationed there as a child: “ I saw Jackie Wilson perform there. Barbara McNair , Della Reese … I think Sam Cooke was there, but I never saw him. Lou Rawls … there were quite a number of doctors there. And, quite a number of people who were very successful in their day, and certainly successful enough to have a summer house, on a lake. The Jones brothers [Edward Jones, George Jones and McKissack Jones] were there… the Policy Kings, they had a house… right next door actually it was a very exclusive kind of a place… Although, as I realize now, you had the poor people who lived there all year round and then you had… the summer people .” [8] Bond lawyer David Baker Lewis (1944 - ) added: “ There were bars where there were performance venues and Cab Calloway , Ella Fitzgerald , Duke Ellington would… that would be one of the stops on the summer tour… All of the black entertainers would come through… 'cause that was the place to be .” [9]
Horseback riders from the stables of Sarge Johnson, c.1930s
For Chicago-raised, New York lawyer Gordon J. Davis (1941 - ), Idlewilde’s horseback riding was the highlight: “ There was a guy named Sarge, who'd been in a Spanish American War (laughter), and allegedly he was part of the black troops who saved the Rough Riders, you know the whole story about the Rough Riders took San Juan Hill [Cuba]… And so, Sarge had a stable in Idlewild and we use to go ride there every morning all the black middle class kids in Idlewild. We'd go riding with Sarge and we'd all line up and he'd, he was so bowlegged he couldn't even walk. He'd sit in the car--the horn blowing once meant walk, twice meant trot… But there was no place to ride in Chicago, except the [Markes] stable. They didn't want any black people in their stable, so what they did is they reserved Thursday afternoons for black people to ride .” [10]
Thomas McLeary (front right) with his family, Paradise Lake, 1951
Also located in Michigan was Paradise Lake. Author Yvette Moyo (1953 - ) remembered: “ My godfather, Mr. Pickett [ph.] owned a house on the water in Paradise Lake and a cottage next door which was probably the size of a garage or smaller. All six of us would go up there for like two weeks during the summer… we would get up early in the morning before our parents even got up so we could go swimming. We could check a boat out with my brother [Steven Dwayne Jackson] rowing the boat and have toast cooked in the frying pan and really experience nature and hike, et cetera. That was a truly a benefit to us and our family and to this day my favorite vacation spots .” [11] Similarly, insurance chief executive Thomas L. McLeary (1944 - ) said his family “ would go up to Michigan, a place called Paradise Lake [Michigan] right outside of Cassopolis [Michigan] and we would get up early Sunday morning… it was about a two hour drive and we’d spend the day and come home. And if my father ever took any time off in the summer, we would maybe take a week off and go spend the week up there… my uncle had about a five bedroom… and the whole family would kind of go up there. That was our place as a family to go in the summertime .” [12]
Shearer Cottage, the first African American owned lodging in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, opened in 1912
Beginning in the early twentieth century, Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts provided another vacation option for African Americans which has grown significantly in popularity until today. Dancer Isabel Powell (1908 - 2007) described: “[It was] quiet, very quiet… we had a boat… We'd get bass and go crabbing… And then the beach was over here, and the boats, and the people went swimming over there .” [13] Law professor and lawyer Lani Guinier (1950 - ) recalled “ we came down to Oak Bluffs and they [her parents] rented a house where we stayed for two weeks. And I remember in Oak Bluffs, my father had to make several runs to the liquor store because that was something--people came off the beach and then they expected to come and socialize, and you had to have liquor running freely .” [14]
Large crowd at American Beach, Jacksonville, Florida, c.1940s
Former museum director Rowena Stewart (1932 - 2015) described another: “ American Beach was a beach that was founded in 1920s by [Abraham Lincoln Lewis and] the Afro-American Life Insurance Company so that their employees would have a place to go to the beach, and would be able to go to the beach with a certain amount of dignity. We could go to the beach but we could only go on certain days, at certain times. And so this was a private beach that he had purchased for his employees, and his employees were allowed to buy homes and build their homes there. It was like a summer retreat. [15] Abraham Lincoln Lewis’s great granddaughter, MaVynne “Beach Lady” Betsch (1935 – 2005), sister of the former president of Spelman, Dr. Johnnetta Cole , further explained the beach’s name: “ He called it American Beach. He said, ‘White folks talk about democracy, they don't live it.’ We are living it. You've got millionaires… a janitor, teachers [living here]; this is what we thought the American dream was about. And, it's experienced at American Beach .” [16]  
Mack Wilson’s pavilion, Manhattan Beach, Florida, 1927
Teacher and newspaper columnist Camilla Thompson (1922 - ) spoke of an African American beach near Jacksonville, Florida, that has disappeared from public memory:  “ Manhattan Beach was a beach for African Americans… and there were about six families that owned property down there, and some of them had bathhouses, and they had a restaurant and rooms where you could maybe spend the weekend or a week or wherever. And so around the '30s people started asking them to sell, and some of them sold the property, but one family, the Mack Wilson family, refused to sell, so in 1938 a mysterious fire destroyed their beach place… I wrote a story about it… and someone on one of the television channels made a remark… said that they didn't believe there was such a place as Manhattan Beach .” [17]
Segregated Virginia Key Beach off the coast of Miami, Florida, c.1950s
There was also Virginia Key Beach off the coast of Miami, Florida as noted by former Miami commissioner Thelma Gibson (1926 – 2011:  “ we didn't have a beach for colored… Until Virginia Beach [Virginia Key Beach Park] came along in 1945. [18] Artist and activist Dinizulu Gene Tinnie (1942 - ) agreed:  “ it was the colored beach back in the day. [And] before it was officially designated that it was unofficially that. Folks used to come out here on boats, and nothing here, but it was a place that black folk could come. And I always liked that quote from Robin Kelley [Robin D.G. Kelley] that talks about the segregated colored parks were places that people could go in weekends and reclaim their souls and recharge, get ready to deal with another week of that. The--it was thanks to a bold protest in 1945, the county established it, improved it, made it very close to separate and equal with Crandon Park on Key Biscayne [Florida]… And then you had things that were unheard of in other southern parks, mini train ride, merry go round… it was paradise; it was like a trip to the Bahamas without leaving the city; it was a beautiful place… it's a very special place that a lot of people fondly remember .” [19]
Enjoying the carousel at Virginia Key Beach, c.1950s
The Miami Herald journalist Bea L. Hines (1938 - ) shared the same sentiments: “ Memories of my teenage years were going to Virginia Key Beach, because it was the black beach and dancin' and swimmin' and bringing our own lunch although they had snack bars and stuff there but we just, we had some great times .” [20]
Malcom X takes a photo of Muhammad Ali at the
Hampton House’s bar
Martin Luther King, Jr. enjoys the Hampton House’s pool 
You could also stay at the Hampton House in the Brownsville neighborhood of Miami after your visit to Virginia Key Beach. Cultural activist Enid C. Pinkney (1931 - ) who helped save the Hampton House, explained: “ It had a swimming pool, it had a bar, it had a, a restaurant. All--anybody who was somebody stayed at the Hampton House. Martin Luther King [Jr.] stayed there, and it's reported that he made his first ‘I Have a Dream’ speech right there… So Jackie Robinson , Althea Gibson , you name all the black celebrities and leaders, they stayed at the Hampton House .” [21]
Sag Harbor, New York, c.1900s
Back north, following the end of World War II, New York’s Sag Harbor, a historic whaling community, served as another area for African Americans to vacation and buy summer properties. Investment banker E. T. Williams (1937 - ) states:  “ Sag Harbor's black community started with free blacks in the early 1800s, late 1700s… when Sag Harbor was a major whaling port. Thirty percent of the whalers who did whaling between New England and the east end of Long Island were black… The waterfront community's completely got started in the early 1940s. And there were some white families that owned a good deal of the land along the water, and they get mad with the village for some reason. And they said we're going to fix you we're gonna sell this land to blacks… and blacks bought up essentially all this land and then they began then they subdivided it and started selling it to other blacks. And that's how the summer communities began .” [22]
Visitors of Lincoln Hills Resort, Colorado, c.1930s
To the west, there was a popular mountain retreat in Lincoln Hills, Colorado. Billionaire Robert F. Smith (1962 - ) grew up going to Lincoln Hills, which he now owns and has historically restored:  “ It was founded in 1922… by an African American--his second wife was my grandmother's [Elizabeth North Smith] best friend. So my grandmother started coming up here in 1924… I first came up here when I was seven months old, in a bassinet, according to my mother [Sylvia Smith]. And it is a place where African Americans would find a kind of a peaceful respite from all the challenges that they were going through in the segregated United States. As many of the jazz musicians were traveling from L.A. to Kansas City [Missouri], and they couldn't stay in the hotels because of segregated Denver, they'd come here and stay at Lincoln Hills. So that's why we've had everyone from, you know, Duke Ellington and Count Basie … even like Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes used to hold salon readings up here and Sarah Vaughn and others .” [23] Storyteller Opalanga D. Pugh (1952 - 2010 ) also had fond memories here: “ There was something about being in the, the crisp Rocky Mountains, you know, along the stream, smelling that bacon frying… having flapjacks for breakfast… [and] there was this lodge called Winks Lodge that a number of African Americans had gone together and bought, and there were cabins there and that was also a weekend kind of place that we would go… And the Rockies, that always gives me peace .” [24]
Kings Lodge founders, Mr. & Mrs. M.C. Owens   
Kings Lodge’s first advertisement, 1937
Kings Lodge postcard, 1965
Kings Lodge, another mountain resort tucked in the hills of Otisville, New York, opened in 1937 by M.C. Owens and his wife,. Chester Grundy (1947 - ), founder of the National Black Holistic Society,  held the annual meetings of the National Black Holistic Society there: “ King Lodge was owned by three generations of a black family, the Owens family. And, they bought this site and bought this resort, I guess during the heydays of resort vacationing in New York… King Lodge was to black people would say, the Poconos, and some of these other famous resort sites were to... the white vacationing community. So, during this time, King Lodge had a number of people who visited, people like A. Philip Randolph and… Ralph Bunche .” [25]
Former Flamingo Club, Idlewild, Michigan, c.2010s 
Kings Lodge resort passed through the hands of several owners, becoming a retreat center in 1980, which was renamed after Betty Shabazz in 1997. It unfortunately had to close its doors in 2001. Idlewild, on the other hand, remains a popular destination, though quieter, as big names in entertainment no longer pass through. Singer Lois Fisher (1927 - ), whose husband Lessly “Count” Fisher served as police chief of Idlewild in the 1980s, reported that by that time, like today, many would “ sit and play cards and drink all night then they sleep all day and they get up around one or two o'clock in the day. And then you see them moving around getting ready for the play cards that night, that's all they do (laughter)… there's a little club they have there and we played once or twice for them there, but it's not too much happening there. It's nothing like it was--used to be .” [26] Similarly, civic leader Shirley Massey (1942 - ) stated in 2013 that Paradise Lake in Michigan is “ run down now, but we did stop, there was a family cooking out and they remembered that there were a lot of Chicagoans that had come there, and it was just beautiful .” [27]
Nana Dunes, American Beach, Florida, now partially preserved by the National Park Service
As for the beaches, many like Oak Bluffs, Sag Harbor, and Buckroe Beach still are highly popular.   Highland Beach in Maryland is almost totally private now, and as for American Beach in Florida, MaVynne “Beach Lady” Betsch reported that, as of 2004, “ we're down to 120 from the original 200 [acres]… now we're on the National Register [of Historic Places]… So, that should give us some protection… But, it's still predominately African American .” [28] In 2016, the National Park Service deemed 38.5 acres of the area worthy of historic preservation as surrounding land is being sold at high premiums. [29] Camilla Thompson explained that for Manhattan Beach, which is no more, “ that area now is bordered by the naval air station at Mayport, and a place called Hanna Park [Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, Jacksonville, Florida], which is a recreational park .” [30] In the case of Virginia Key Beach, following integration in the 1960s, it fell into disrepair, but, in 2008, it was reopened to the public, with historic markers telling the story of the beach’s heyday, including the bathhouse, concession stand, carousel house, train tunnel, and picnic pavilions, and the Hampton House, also in Florida, is now the Historic Hampton House Cultural Center.
Horseback riding at Lincoln Hills Cares, c.2010s 
Currently, many beaches are closed due to the pandemic, though some remote resorts remain open. Robert F. Smith reminds us why resorts and other getaways are so important, including simple things like “ watching the kid's face when he caught his first fish. I mean there's nothing--you can't replace that… [kids] don't have the places to go, to create and feel human and see the joy and the beauty in life .” [31] Especially this summer, there is a heightened need for these spaces to get away, find refuge, and relax with loved ones. Enjoy!
[1] Ricki Fairley (The HistoryMakers A2014.069), interviewed by Larry Crowe, January 31, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 6, Ricki Fairley talks about her paternal great-grandmother's memories of Frederick Douglass.
[2] Richard Fairley (The HistoryMakers A2003.114), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, June 1, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Richard Fairley discusses his childhood extracurricular activities.
[3] Lucius Walker (The HistoryMakers A2012.054), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 15, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 3, Lucius Walker describes the Highland Beach community.
[ 4 ] Reverend Joseph Metz Rollins (The HistoryMakers A2007.264), interviewed by Adrienne Jones, September 14, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 4, Reverend Joseph Metz Rollins remembers visiting Virginia with his family.
[ 5] Marie Brown (The HistoryMakers A2007.003), interviewed by Denise Gines, January 8, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 3, Marie Brown describes her childhood activities in Hampton, Virginia.
[ 6] Rebecca "Becky" Love (The HistoryMakers A2003.058), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 28, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 1, Rebecca Love narrates her photographs, pt.1.
[ 7 ] Ofield Dukes (The HistoryMakers A2003.112), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, May 31, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 2, Ofield Dukes talks about the Idlewild, Michigan resort town.
[ 8 ] Marquita Pool-Eckert (The HistoryMakers A2005.211), interviewed by Shawn Wilson, August 29, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 8, Marquita Pool-Eckert describes her family trips to Idlewild, Michigan, pt. 2.
[ 9 ] David Baker Lewis (The HistoryMakers A2007.081), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 9, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 9, David Baker Lewis describes his family's vacations to Idlewild, Michigan.
[ 10 ] Gordon J. Davis (The HistoryMakers A2014.205), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, July 17, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 2, Gordon J. Davis recalls perceptions of race and class while growing up in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois.
[ 11 ] Yvette Moyo (The HistoryMakers A2013.245), interviewed by Denise Gines, August 19, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 6, Yvette Moyo talks about her experiences at South Shore High School in Chicago, Illinois.
[ 12 ] Thomas L. McLeary (The HistoryMakers A2006.155), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 10, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, Thomas L. McLeary recalls his introduction to the insurance industry.
[ 13 ] Isabel Powell (The HistoryMakers A2005.192), interviewed by Robert Hayden, August 9, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, Isabel Powell recalls spending summers in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.
[ 14 ] Lani Guinier (The HistoryMakers A2004.245), interviewed by Robert Hayden, December 2, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 4, Lani Guinier recalls vacationing at Martha's Vineyard as a child.
[ 15 ] Rowena Stewart (The HistoryMakers A2006.126), interviewed by Robert Hayden, October 19, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 4, Rowena Stewart talks about American Beach, Florida.
[ 16 ] MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch (The HistoryMakers A2004.168), interviewed by Jodi Merriday, September 20, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 7, MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch explains her great-grandfather's vision for a truly democratic community at American Beach, Florida.
[ 17 ] Camilla Thompson (The HistoryMakers A2006.125), interviewed by Robert Hayden, October 19, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 9, Camilla Thompson describes the history of Florida's African American beaches.
[ 18 ] Thelma Gibson (The HistoryMakers A2006.019), interviewed by Tracey Lewis, February 16, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, Thelma Gibson describes community institutions in Coconut Grove, Florida.
[ 19 ] Dinizulu Gene Tinnie (The HistoryMakers A2017.018), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 6, 2017, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 14, story 7, Dinizulu Gene Tinnie describes Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami, Florida, pt. 1.
[ 20 ] Bea L. Hines (The HistoryMakers A2014.201), interviewed by Larry Crowe, September 11, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, Bea L. Hines describes the sights, sounds, and smells of Overtown in Miami, Florida.
[ 21 ] Enid C. Pinkney (The HistoryMakers A2002.064), interviewed by Samuel Adams, April 16, 2002, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 1, Enid Pinkney talks about the Dade Heritage Trust's battle to preserve Historic Hampton House in Miami, Florida.
[ 22 ] E. T. Williams (The HistoryMakers A2006.167), interviewed by Shawn Wilson, December 13, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 10, E.T. Williams describes the African American community of Sag Harbor, New York.
[ 23 ] Robert F. Smith (The HistoryMakers A2015.002), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, August 10, 2015, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 9, story 1, Robert F. Smith describes the history of the Lincoln Hills African-American resort community in Colorado.
[ 24 ] Opalanga D. Pugh (The HistoryMakers A2008.120), interviewed by Denise Gines, November 3, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 2, Opalanga D. Pugh describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood, pt. 2.
[ 25 ] Chester Grundy (The HistoryMakers A2002.228), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 9, 2002, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 1, Chester Grundy talks about the National Black Holistic Society's retreats.
[ 26 ] Lois Fisher (The HistoryMakers A2007.083), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 10, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 1, Lois Fisher remembers the community of Idlewild, Michigan.
[ 27 ] Shirley Anne Massey (The HistoryMakers A2013.239), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, August 24, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, Shirley Anne Massey remembers family vacations and holidays.
[ 28 ] MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch (The HistoryMakers A2004.168), interviewed by Jodi Merriday, September 20, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 11, MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch talks about the current state of American Beach, Florida.
[ 29 ] “American Beach - Community in Transition,” National Park Service, last update January 6, 2016, accessed July 21, 2020.
[ 30 ] Camilla Thompson, session 1, tape 1, story 9.
[ 31 ] Robert F. Smith (The HistoryMakers A2015.002), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, August 10, 2015, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 8, story 10, Robert F. Smith talks about purchasing and expanding the Lincoln Hills resort community in Colorado, and community programming at the property, pt.1.
Favorite Quote

" No Matter How Far the River Flows, It Never Forgets It's Source. "

Trachette Jackson
Mathematician & Professor
We're here to help!

Please direct questions about The HistoryMakers Digital Archive to: digitalarchive@thehistorymakers.org