TRIBUTE
from page A1
E. Alston, said, "It is a great feel
ing to see this marker. We tried to
get this done once before, but we
were unsuccessful. Now, here it
is."
Mayor Carolyn Allen was
pleased that the Red Wings were
formerly recognized as a part of
Greensboro's history. She dis
cussed the importance of base
ball to America yesterday, today
and in the future. She thanked all
who made the event possible and
deemed the ceremony and mark
er "a very appropriate honor."
The Rev. Belvin J. Jessup gave
the invocation, and the Rev.
Preston C. Jones Sr., pastor of
New Goshen United Methodist
Church, performed the dedica
tion of the historical marker.
Anthony Taylor, grandson of
third baseman Herman Taylor,
issued the welcome Betty Artis
shared the history of the team,
and James Tonkins introduced
the special guests. Tonkins also
presented a special plaque to T.
Dianne Bellamy-Small for her
dedication and hard work in pro
moting the team and preserving
its memory and history in the
community. Pamela ?hoffner
acknowledged the sponsors of
Charlie Harville, former sports
cottar for WFMY-TV of 40 years,
talked with Citgene Ivans about
the Saturday afternoons on the
hold, as they headed toward the
pknk tables for lunch.
the event. The audience joined in
a rousing chorus of the Negro
National Anthem "Lift Every
Voice and Sing." The Rev.
Andrew W. Brown Jr., superin
tendent of the Greensboro
District of the United Methodist
Church, did the closing prayer,
and the Rev. W.L. Gladney
blessed the picnic meal.
Although it was not written on
the program, the audience joined
in the singing of "Take Me Out
to the Ball game" as they hugged,
laughed and talked on their walk
to the field for a picnic.
For the Goshen community,
baseball was more than just a
game. It was "a family affair, a
social event that helped to bond
the community and give the peo
ple a sense of pride," said T.
Dianne Bellamy-Small, who
organized the event. Everyone in
the community was involved in
some way, and the association
enhanced the spiritual bond
among them.
The baseball game was the
only entertainment they had to
look forward to, according to
Martha Donnell, who also
helped organized this event.
According to her, the community
strongly supported the team.
More than 400 people would
come out on Saturday evenings
to enjoy the game and meet with
friends and family. The ladies of
the church would sell hot dogs,
lemonade, homemade ice cream,
snow balls, hamburgers and serve
roasted peanuts to improve the
church and the community. The
children played games and ran
errands to get water and drinks
for the players. People would
gather under the big shade trees
to watch the Goshen Red Wings
in their "Sunday-go-to-meetin"'
finery.
The Goshen Red Wings were
James Tonkins, formerly second baseman for the Goshen Bed Wings,
presented a plaque to T, Dianne Bellamy-Small for her dedication in
organising this tribute for the team.
organized in the early 1930s in
the Goshen Community under
the leadership of Frank Bristol
Morris, the principal of Goshen
School. Goshen School was the
elementary/high school for all
black children from the sur
rounding communities of Mt.
Tabor, Red Hill, Stoney Hill and
Climax. It also served as a center
for community activities and was
the original home of the Goshen
Red Wings.
The Goshen Red Wings began
as a sandlot baseball team, com
peting against other community -
teams around Guilford County.
Competition was fierce. Two of
the community games that
attracted large crowds were the
Collins Grove community and
the St. Peter community. And
since many of the players had ties
to North Carolina A&T, they
looked forward to the annual
Easter Monday game against
A&T. Other teams came from
Stoney Hill, Red Hill, Guilford,
Mt. Zion, Terra Cotta, Florence,
Bass Chapel, Summerfield,
Jackson, and in Randolph
County ? Randleman and
Staley.
In 1947, the Goshen Red
Wings became an organized ball
club under the leadership of
Arthur Crump, Sam Kelly, F.B.
Morris, Elreta Alexander, and
Muriel Watkins. After become a
part of the Carolina League in
1947, the Goshen Red Wings
became the Greensboro Red
Wings and played against league
teams such as the Winston-Salem
Pond Giants, the Charlotte Black
Hornets, the Raleigh Tigers, the
Durham Bulls, the Danville All
Stars, the Norfolk Royals, and
the Richmond Giants. The play
ers made very little money, but
their objective for playing was the
sheer love of the game. The
Goshen Red Wings were one of
the first Negro League teams to
play in War Memorial Stadium.
Martha Donnell recalls that
when the games moved to the sta
dium, the Goshen crowd fol
lowed. Still dressed in their
Sunday fines, the citizens of the
community would "pile into" the
few cars and trucks in the com
munity. Her cousin drove a large
truck for Woods Coffee and Tea,
and many of the people rode with
him on the truck. "They really
supported that team, and they
yelled so loud. It was really some
thing" Donnell said.
Several players also played
with National Negro League
Teams such as the Cleveland
Buckeyes, the Kansas City
Monarchs, the Indianapolis
Clowns, and the Baltimore Elite
Giants. The team continued to
play until the mid 1950s, and
sports caster Charlie Harville
would attend the games and
cover them for the media. By this
time, blacks were being admitted
into the major leagues, and inter
est in the Negro leagues declined.
The sponsors of^this event
included the City of Greensboro,
Coca-Cola, Robinson's
Restaurant, TDBS Small
Enterprises, WQMG-AM,
Greensboro District of the
United Methodist Church, Linda
Kite," Catering by Aamal," Alton
F. Shoffner Concrete Company,
New Goshen United Methodist
Church, and Ujamaa Market.
The program was designed by
Krystle Graphics and included
the team roster.
FESTIVAL
from page A1
is "An International Celebration
and Reunion of Spirit." Black
theaters from Europe, the
Caribbean, Africa and the
United States will perform more
than 25 productions during this
"marvtastic" week of celebra
tion. Theater artists, administra
tors, producers, presenters and
scholars from Brazil, Cuba,
Jamaica, Bermuda, London,
Ghana, the Republic of Benin,
Nigeria, South Africa, and
America, including the Pulitzer
Prize winning playwright August
Wilson, will address issues relat
ing to world black theater.
Wilson and other scholars will
participate in an International
Colloquium/Workshop entitled
"The Black Theatre: The Black
Family on Stage." The work
shops and seminars are free and
open to the public.
Celebrity performances will be
presented by Glynn Turman and
Barbara Montgomery in "Do
Lord Remember Me," Dick
Anthony Williams and Lincoln
Kilpatrick in "Dink's Blues," Ella
Joyce in "Fences," Andre De
Shields and Mary Bond Davis in
"Ghost Cafe," Micki Grant in
"Sunbeam," Ntozake Shange in
"elington is not a street," and
Karen Malina White in "Chain."
In addition, actress, singer,
producer, and director Hattie
Winston, as well as Anna Maria
Horsford, will attend the festival.
Winston's Broadway credits
include "The Tap Dance Kid,"
"Two Gentlemen of Verona," and
"The Me Nobody Knows."
Horsford became one of
America's best loved women dur
ing her five-year run as "Thelma
Frye" on NBC's "Amen."
The powerful musical "The
Glory of Gospel" will open the
1997 National Black Theatre
Festival. This exhilarating musi
cal documentary was written,
choreographed and directed by
Mabel Robinson. Robinson's
work is not strange to the
Winston-Salem, Piedmont Triad
area, or for that matter, to the
world.
Acclaimed artist and sculptor
Donald Brown will unveil his
bronzed bust of Larry Leon
Hamlin during the festival. A
native of England, Donald
Brown studied at
Wolverhampton, England, where
he received a bachelor's honors
degree in fine arts sculpture.
Stephanie Mills and Theresa
Merritt, from "The Wiz," will be
honored during a day at the 1997
Festival, Tuesday, Aug. 5. Mills
played the -diminutive Dorothy,
and Merritt played Dorothy's
loving "Auntie M" ih the movie
version of "The Wiz." Festival
participants will be able to min
gle with Mills and Merritt at the
elegant, grand Celebrity
Reception.
Another highlight to expect at
the festival will be the reunion of
two television icons, Ja'Net
DuBois and John Amos of
"Good Times" fame. They will
both receive the Sidney Poitier
Lifetime Achievement Award on
Monday, Aug. 4.
The Youth/Celebrity Project,
another component of the
Festival, will allow young people
of all ages from around the coun
try to interact with celebrities
and theater professionals.
Individuals and companies that
wish to sponsor tickets for youth
to attend some of the produc
tions may contact the North
Carolina Black Repertory office.
This program is free to partici
pants.
Also the Vendor's Market will
be located at the Benton
Convention Center. It is a bazaar
comprised of vendors froni
around the world displaying and
selling their unique wares.
The Reader's Theatre will t
present Theatre Conversation at;
Midnight and Before High Noon
Stagecoach Shootout Redux.
These readings will showcase IS
or more new plays by up-and- ?
coming playwrights. Garland Lee
Thompson, director of the Frank
Si I vera Writer's Workshop, will
once again serve as curator of the
series.
The 2nd Biennial NBTF Golf
Tournament will be held at
Reynolds Park Golf Course on
Saturday and Sunday Aug. 9-10.
Olivia Thompkins, theater
enthusiast, has already pur
chased her tickets. She has
attended this historic event since
its beginning in 1989. In fact,'
Thompkins has even followed the
festival to Atlanta. "I enjoy it.
There is nothing else like it. It
gives you the kind of spirit that
keeps you moving, looking, lis
tening and wanting more of what
you see. You get to meet so many
new people, and it is very excit
ing," Thompkins said.
Every year, the FHA helps nearly one
million people get home loans. In fact,
the FHA was created to help people,
who couldn't otherwise afford to buy
a house, become homeowners.With
an FHA loan, your down payment
could be ds little as a few months rent.
And you don't need perfect credit or
House/Down Payment a high-paying
$30,000........ $900 job to qualify.
$60,000 $2,500 In some cases,
? , $90,000 $4,000 your monthly
payments may not be much more than
your rent. Just as\ any real estate
agent or lender for details. Or call
1-800-CALL FHA. And find out
just how easy it is to give your family
enough room to grow.
FHA
We'll get you home.
U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
To qualified buyers only Closing costs and fees additional Actual monthly payments will vary based on price of home and terms