JeffVanderLou
JEFFVANDERLOU
Training: October 2 - December 4, 2007; Vashon High School; Lois Ingrum, Instructor
Exhibition SITE #1: PPRC Photography Project Gallery
January 22 - April 6, 2008
Exhibition SITE #2: Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, Department of Natural Resources
January 29 - March 15, 2008
The impetus for the JeffVanderlou (JVL) neighborhood Photography Project and exhibition grew out of a community research project headed by University of Missouri-St. Louis' History Chair, Andrew Hurley. A collaborative venture with the Scott Joplin House Historic Site, Hurley's research project united scholars, students, and residents in an exploration of JVL history and yielded dozens of twentieth-century archival photographs of the area. Hurley approached the Photography Project about shooting contemporary photographs of important JVL sites and exhibiting them with historic images at Scott Joplin House. As a result, Photography Project instructor, Lois Ingrum began training JVL neighborhood youth who were part of the Gear-Up St. Louis program at Williams 9th Grade Academy and Vashon High School. JVL residents were also invited to participate.
The JVL neighborhood is bounded by Jefferson Avenue on the east and Vanderventer on the west, between downtown and midtown St. Louis. In 1901, Scott Joplin's JVL neighborhood was a "crowded crucible of cultural exchange and artistic creativity."* At that time, many of JVL's working-class residents were African-Americans from rural areas or new immigrants from Germany and Ireland. By the 1920s the neighborhood was primarily African-American, due in part to housing shortages caused by restrictive covenants. According to a local history brochure, "By the 1970s, urban renewal, overuse, and neglect at the hands of absentee landlords had ravaged much of the neighborhood's historic landscape." Using the historic photographs as a guide, Lois Ingrum, her young participants, and residents toured the JVL neighborhood "re-photographing" sites like the Rock Church and Laclede Town, while also shooting their own impressions of the area. Halfway through training, community elders were invited to talk to the young participants while viewing and commenting on the historic photographs.
--Mel Watkin, Instructor and Director
PPRC Photography Project
* The historic information provided here is from the Scott Joplin House Local History Project brochure "Welcome to the Neighborhood."
Texts by Participants:
Historic JVL photographs unearthed by Dr. Hurley's researchers became the centerpiece for a community meeting on neighborhood history. Photography Project youth developed questions for the senior citizens who attended, many of whom had lived in JVL all their lives. A number of exchanges took place around photographs of Grand Avenue. Project participant Merlin Bell (9th grade) asked, "What did segregation mean to the neighborhood?" In response, Betty Jackson described how the Fox Theater on Grand set aside certain days for African-American patronage. She said, "We could go to the Fox, but it would be a special occasion." Senior citizen Otha Willis added, " . . . the only place you could eat was across the street at the [Best] Steak House. You could go into the Steak House in 1947 and 1948, when you couldn't go in other places. You could go in the front. Yes ma'am, you could go in the front because I came in 1947 and our brother took us there to eat."
PARTICIPANTS:
Youth:
Merlin Bell, 9th grade
Catherine Harry, 9th grade
Anthony Mayes, 9th grade
Rita Mcleod, 9th grade
Shannon Reid, 9th grade
Community Members:
Terrance and Debra Reid, parent volunteers
Melva Taylor, photographer
JVL Senior Citizens:
Flordia Atwood
Betty Jackson
Ernestine Jones
Otha Willis
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Gear-Up St. Louis
JeffVanderLou Inc.
Scott Joplin House State Historic Site
Department of Natural Resources
UMSL, Department of History
Vashon High School Community Education Center
Williams 9th Grade Academy