Full Text of the Excerpt

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Where did you work?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

Different yards in Kenilworth. I would-I'd do housework-wash woodwork, wax floors, rake leaves, and uh, work in the-do yard work-prune, weed the flower beds, and whatnot and wash windows.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

How much would you get paid to do that kind of work?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

Usually 25 cents an hour, yeah. And then I finally got up to 35 cents and hour.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

And this was all throughout high school?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

It was all throughout high school. And then I helped my dad, too. I'd go around and help him on Saturday and Sunday. Fill up the stokers-that's the thing that you put coal in- and it would feed into the furnace and then take down the trash, cut grass, at the different places and hedges and whatnot.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Did you get to save your money for yourself? Or was this for the family or-

RICHARD BOWMAN:

No, no this was-I got to save this. It was my money. So, I got a chance to save it. I fact, what I did sometimes I would stop on the way home downtown and spend about everything I made because I would be hungry out here-get doughnuts and whatnot and take em home for the rest of the family. But, mom and dad never asked me for money. No, anything [we?] made-I'd use it to buy clothes and whatnot and school supplies and save for college. In fact, had I not, I would never have been able to go to college, because when I finished high school and wanted to go to college my dad said no and told me I had to work a year. And I told him that uh, I didn't want to work a year-that uh, I had saved enough money to get there and I had already registered and that I was going and I was going to stay until my money ran out.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

And that's what you did?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

And that's what I did. And I told my dean about it when I got there so he told me don't worry-no one has ever been put out of Tuskeegee because of lack of money.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Hmmm . . .

RICHARD BOWMAN:

He helped me get a job on campus-to work in the evenings and whatnot and my dad- I don't know how he did it, but I had a sister at Xavier and then of course I was at Tuskeegee, but he found money somewhere and sent it to me.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Hmmhmm. So he ended up supporting your decision-

RICHARD BOWMAN:

He supported it-right.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

That's good. So, tell me when did you know that you wanted to go to college?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

Oh, when I was in high school. My brother-Nathaniel, that lives here-he wanted to go and uh my father couldn't afford to send him. He had sent for a book-a bulletin from Tuskeegee and had it on the dresser. And I used to read through it-the different courses and I'd ask the teachers about it. And that's what really got me interested. Had he not ordered the book I probably never would have even thought about college.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Really? So, did your brother ever get to go?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

Unh. Unh

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

He never went?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

But, he did extremely well. He worked-went into the service got out worked at the VA Hospital until he retired.

KELLY ELAINE NAVIES:

Was he also a Stephens-Lee graduate?

RICHARD BOWMAN:

He's a Stephens-Lee graduate? And he sent me money while I was in college. It almost brings tears to my eyes [his voice has become choked with emotion] I remember one letter he wrote me and he said uh- I won this money (Here, Mr. Bowman begins to cry)--bettin on the World Series-he said, it might help you with college. [brief pause]