June 1969
By Jerome Pearson
June 12, 2019
Fifty Years ago, this week, I visited the city of Miami for the first time. As a matter of fact, it was the first time I had even left the state of South Carolina.
Prior to traveling from Ft. Bragg, NC to Miami, Florida, my uncle John Henry called to offer my cousin James and I to accompany him. The previous Spring of 1968, he took Bobby and Ethel with him during a similar trip. During that previous trip I recall James crying up a storm because he was not included. I was disappointed too, but I didn’t cry. But this year would be our turn. Now Bobby would spend the following week depressed!
On the Thursday evening before our trip, Uncle John called Mrs. Elise House (our step great grandmother), to let my aunt know to have me and James ready.
This would be my first trip away from South Carolina, and you can imagine my excitement. Uncle John showed up on the Friday evening driving his 1968 White with black vinyl roof Chevy Chevelle. I remember my aunt bought me two new pairs of pants for our trip. I recall Uncle John not liking what I was wearing initially and asked that I change into the 2nd of the two new pants. My uncle John was always image-conscious and wanted to ensure that his nephews represented well.
We left for Miami at around 2pm on that Saturday afternoon. I sat in the back as James sat in the front with Uncle John. I recall trying to observe the direction he was taking because I obviously had no idea how to get to Miami. I only knew that it was south of us. I always thought that if you went past Charleston, then you would be in Miami.
If I recall correctly, we took a combination of highway 301 and Interstate 95 which was not yet completed. The section of 95 coming through our area was still being worked on. I recall later we got off 301 to get some gas somewhere near Jacksonville. After gassing up, we would be getting onto an Interstate highway. Even the process of entering a highway by going around and around until you accessed the interstate was so new to me. I was wondering why my uncle was driving around in a circle because I never had that experience before.
Eventually we were on this long straight road to Miami. I recall reading signs and could not believe how many miles we would have to travel to get there. Interestingly, since that trip in 1969, I have never once driven that road south again. All my future trips to Miami would be by airplane.
I remember at some point during that Saturday evening, Uncle John pulled over to sleep; he was the only driver. As my uncle napped I stayed awake. How could I sleep with so much excitement? Eventually, we were back on the road.
Around 6am that Sunday morning we were entering Miami. I remember as we were entering the city, a rather strange new James Brown song was being played over the radio called “Mother Popcorn”. It seemed like a blatant departure from James previous songs. I later realized that he had just changed record company. To this day, whenever I hear “Mother Popcorn”, I cannot help but think about that first trip to Miami.
During that one week in Miami, Uncle John would be staying with his wife’s family which was in another part of Miami. James and I would stay with my 2nd oldest Uncle, Hubert and his wife, Minnie in area called Liberty City. At the time I didn’t realize how infamous Liberty City was. I recall that my uncle was living in a housing complex (perhaps some people may even call it the Projects). I had never been in a situation where so many people were living so close to each other. The complex consisted of 3 levels that was built into a horse-shoe shape. It was fun running up and down the stairs as Uncle Hubert’s apartment was on the 3rd level.
I recall uncle Hubert taking us by his ex-wife (Aunt Vilola’s) home so that we could see our cousins. We had met 3 of the cousins the previous Christmas when they visited us in South Carolina for the first time. Our youngest cousin, Nola, was the only one we had not met. (Interestingly, as I write this, I have learned that is Nola’s birthday today, so we met her during her birthday week 50 years ago.
The first shocking thing to me was the taste of water. I thought the water was nasty with all the chemicals. I was wondering how could they possibly drink such a thing? I was so used to chemical-free well water.
What was also different for me about Miami was all the Latino colors and the sirens. Suddenly, I would see buildings that were painted green, blue, or even pink, which I never saw in South Carolina. I was also not used to hearing sirens all the time! In the country you may only hear one siren per year, probably because of a severe illness or a major accident! In Liberty City, sirens were a constant; I was trying to figure out how many accidents could once city have in one night!
I was also introduced to a strange new fruit called “Mango”, which was something I had never had before. I ate so many mangos during that week that I developed a rash on my face. I did not eat any more mangos until I was a grown man. I discovered that the strange little boys I saw riding bikes through the streets were Cubans. I recall that they had strange names like “Hector” and “Rodriguez” which were new to me. At that time there were very few, if any Latinos, in South Carolina.
During that week James and I would be at home as Aunt Minnie and Uncle Hubert went to work. I recall James always cooking breakfast, which was pretty good. We even made coffee for the first time.
On the Wednesday of that week, Uncle John came over and took us back to visit his wife’s family. When I reflect on it now, the area we went to was Opa-Locka; it had seemed quite different from Liberty City. I remember that it was raining as we drove through to the streets to their home. I remember finding it interesting that I was now seeing trees again. I remember meeting one of my aunt’s nieces name Gail. She was about my age, and I automatically saw her as a potential. However, I don’t think I saw her again until 45 years later.
We would be leaving on the Friday evening for our return trip to SC. Although we had only been there for a week, I recall my aunt Minnie crying about our leaving. I was always one of her favorite nephews. She would refer to me as her “pretty black boy” with a Kool cigarette stuck between her lips. She took us shopping earlier on that Friday evening so that we would have food to take with us.
My cousins, Hedi, Halbert, and Herbert returned to South Carolina with us and spent the remainder of the summer with us.
That trip to Miami 50 years ago represented my first bit of traveling.
I could not have known back then that it was only just a beginning!
50 years later I would travel to Johannesburg, South Africa!
But I will always remember my first trip to MIAMI!
Jerome Pearson