The wedding of Alice W. Jones.

Journey and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 14 November 1942.

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The Eagle, the yearbook of North Carolina College for Negroes (1939).

The Eagle, the yearbook of  North Carolina College for Negroes (1940).

On 19 October 1942, George Washington Logan Jr., 24, of Camp Lee, Virginia, son of George W. Logan and Maude Lewis, married Alice Wilhelmina Jones, 22, of Wilson, daughter of J. Robert Jones and Alice Albright, in Prince George County, Virginia.

In the 1947 Durham, N.C., city directory: Logan Geo W jr (Alice J) asst mgr Regal Theatre r 601 E Lawson

In the 1950 census of Durham, Durham County, N.C.: theatre manager George Logan Jr., 31; wife Alice, 29; and children George III, 6, Wenda C., 3, and Bonnie D., born in July.

Alice Wilhelmina Jones Logan (1918-2022).

“We celebrate the life of Alice Jones Logan who reached the end of her beautiful journey on August 5, 2022, at the incredible age of 103. Alice was born on October 25, 1918, to J. Robert and Alice Albright Jones in Wilson, North Carolina. She graduated from North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) in Durham in 1940 with a BS Degree in Home Economics. After her 30-year career of teaching in the Durham Public Schools at James A. Whitted Junior High School and Hillside High School, she retired in 1983. In 1990, she was inducted into the Society of Golden Eagles at North Carolina Central University. She was extremely proud and looked forward to attending the induction ceremony each year and never missed the event since her induction.

“Alice had a love for flowers and enjoyed taking special care of her roses in the garden. The Pinochle Club, nicknamed ‘The Squirrels,’ and the Junior Mother’s Club were among her many pastimes. As a longtime member of White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, she recently enjoyed its services on YouTube, a technology she thought was amazing. She enjoyed the Big Band music of her generation. Her favorite songs were ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ and ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).’

“Alice is preceded in death by her husband, George W. Logan, Jr. Her memory shall be cherished and shared by her son, George W. Logan, III of Durham; daughters, Wenda L. Ashford (Ronald) of Boston, MA and Bonnie D. Logan of Baltimore, MD; ‘special’ daughter, Thomasine Bass Perry of Durham; a granddaughter, Judge Tamara W. Ashford of Alexandria, VA; niece, India Cooke of Oakland, CA; nephews, J. Robert Jones, III of Wilson, NC, David B. Cooke (Betty Jo) of Atlanta, GA, and William Pearson (Stephanie) of Durham; two great nephews, J. Robert Jones, IV and Jamar Jones, of Las Vegas, NV; and countless friends.

“A Celebration of Life will be on Monday, August 15, 2022, at 1:00 PM at White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC.”

Lane Street Project: Police open investigation at Vick Cemetery. UPDATED.

Have our worst fears come true?

A profound thank you to Castonoble Hooks for sounding the alarm about worsening erosion at Vick Cemetery; to Olivia Neeley and Drew Wilson of the Wilson Times, whose immediate investigation spotted what may be bones in the ditch; and the Wilson city and county officials who quickly reported to the scene today.

If these dry bones are human, whether recent or ancestral, we honor the memory of the deceased and commit ourselves to ensuring a more peaceful rest for this person and all who lie in Vick Cemetery.

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Mercifully, the bones are not human. Nonetheless, we urge the City to take steps to address the erosion issue at Vick Cemetery, starting with additional ground-penetrating radar of the public right-of-way. Human bones have been found in these ditches before. We can forestall more.

Signal Boost: Black Storytelling Week 2025.

The folks at Black Storytelling Week are absolutely my tribe, and I’m thrilled to signal-boost this upcoming event. If you’re in or around Brooklyn, fall through!

While world tells us to forget, to move on, to leave behind what came before, we know better.

We know that our stories are maps through our past blueprints for our future.

We know that our history is a well of knowledge and power.

We know that our ability to thrive is tied to our ability to remember.

We know that we must go back and go fetch it.

Get ready to celebrate with your loved ones, and join us for our first ever community celebrations!

linktr.ee/blackstorytellingweek

NYA student Kittrell gets job training.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 2 December 1939.

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In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 704 Viola Street, laborer Saul Kittrell, 41; wife Lettie, 35; and children Rebecca, 16, Saul, 15, Bernice, 10, Lillie, 8, Margaret, 7, Charles, 2, and William, 1.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 804 East Vance, painter Saul Kittrell, 52; wife Lettie, 48, practical nurse; and children Bernice, 19, Lilly, 18, Margaret, 17, Charles, 10, and Henry, 9. Sol valued their house at $10,000.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 804 East Vance, building painter Solomon Kittrell, 65; wife Lettie, 63; children Berenice, 32, a tobacco factory hanger, and Charles, 22, assistant county agent’s office; and lodgers Charles Beatty, 40, a blacksmith in a repair shop, and his wife Emma, 28, who reported living in Clinton, North Carolina, in 1935.

In 1940, Charles Elva Kittrell registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 12 March 1918 in Wilson; lived at 804 East Vance Street; his contact was mother Lettie Kittrell; and he worked for the National Youth Administration.

Signal Boost: Hamilton Burial Garden clean-ups.

I recently blogged about deteriorating conditions at Hamilton Burial Garden, the most recently established of the six historically African-American cemeteries lining Bishop L.N. Forbes Street. The community has stepped up to organize a clean-up at Hamilton on August 30. I encourage everyone to pitch in — and to show the same love when Lane Street Project’s next clean-up season starts in January 2026. These are our people. Those buried in Hamilton are the grandsons and granddaughters of the men and women buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

 

Lane Street Project: erosion at Vick Cemetery.

Two years ago, I posted video of Vick Cemetery after a heavy rain, water rushing across the cemetery’s surface into the roadside culvert. Then-new wooden plugs showed the perilous proximity of graves to the edge of the ditch. Eight months ago, I wrote about erosion of the road itself. The situation has not gotten better.

Prior to Lane Street Project’s demands for better care of Vick, the ditch was regularly allowed to become choked with weeds and sweetgum saplings. (Such as what you can now see along Odd Fellows and Rountree Cemeteries.) As the ditch lies within the public right-of-way (indeed, the ditch exists because of the city’s decision to leave open culverts along this stretch of Bishop L.N. Forbes Street), the city is responsible for its maintenance.

In late 2022 or early 2023, either the Cemetery Commission or the Public Works Department treated the ditch alongside Vick Cemetery with a hardcore defoliant, which killed every shred of vegetation and created a moonscape-like strip of land . Unfortunately, no erosion control followed and, predictably, the cemetery’s edge is further slipping away.

Senior Force member Castonoble Hooks took this photo yesterday when he and a helper were mowing Odd Fellows.

I urge you to appeal to City Council to address this situation before even more damage is done to Vick Cemetery. The ditch, the road, the driveway, the driveway marker, and the power poles have done enough.

Studio shots, no. 265: Mary Jane Davis Horton.

Mary Jane Davis Horton (1877-1967).

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On 5 July 1896, Rufus Horton, 23, of Johnston County, son of Nash and Elizabeth Horton, married Mary J. Davis, 19, of Johnston, daughter of Ollin and Mary F. Davis, in Pine Level, Johnston County. [Rufus, in fact, was a grandson of Nash Horton and was reared by Horton and his wife.]

In the 1910 census of Pine Level township, Johnston County: farmer Rufus A. Horton, 37; wife Mary J., 33; and children William O., 12, Fredie, 10, Alonzo V., 9, Callie M., 7, Flossie V., 5, Romie, 3, and Rufus Jr., 2 months.

In the 1920 census of Smithfield, Johnson County: farmer Ruffes Horton, 47; wife Mary J., 44; and children Van Dan, 19, Calla M., 18, Flosie, 16, Ramon, 13, Ruffes, 9, and Etheal, 4.

In the 1930 census of Smithfield, Johnson County: Baptist minister Ruffus A. Horton, 55; wife Mary J., 51; and children Ruffus, 19, Elthel, 15, and Ulla M., 8.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 721 East Green Street, Floyd Johnson, 28, tobacco factory laborer; wife Flossie, 32, tobacco factory hanger; daughters Ella M., 11, Ernestine, 5, and Bobbie J., 2; and mother-in-law Mary Horton, 59.

The Sunday Star (Washington, D.C.), 2 April 1967.

Photo courtesy of Rodger Creech.

Edward M. Barnes, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated. Let me know what you think about them.

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Edward M. Barnes (1905-2002), high school principal.