[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]

Charles Gatlin
Narrators

Heather White
Interviewer

Tuesday, December 27, 2016
East Carolina University

[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]

Heather White (00:01)
Okay, today is Tuesday, December 27. My name is Heather White and I'm here with Mr. Charles Gatlin. Is that right? All right. Is it okay that I'm recording you today? Yes, it is. Okay, so we're here. We're talking about the sycamore Hill project. And so Mr. Gatlin, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your connection to the land here.

Charles Gatlin (00:22)
All right. Well, I was born in this area on to to Greece, Greek, which the Odair reflect the rain into my back though. We lived on rich Street and to Derek, Nick was on cocaine Street at that time and move forgiving sweet Dakota. And I live down here, I work down in this area. I attended church. I was a music director at the church and I'd written the youth choir, and all the young adults crying so far in the church, and I've been a member of the church all my life. All my family growing up in the church. And that's why we were here. My parents, my grandparents did that for me and all my parents and all that.

Heather White (01:14)
That's wonderful. So I think one of the things the purpose of us wanting to do this project is that we realize new newer generations maybe don't realize there's a whole neighborhood community so yeah, this

Charles Gatlin (01:27)
It's a nice community. It was a nice community. We're good neighborhoods. I wrote all this down here was how this until you get down to the river and then it was I guess about a quarter of a mile on the surface of the river in the Marisa back all this was houses the church sit down the corner green and furnish houses all along here. House will be low the church asked the house was written and it will you go down. He was the office to house there. For you we all go on the ramp is the auction house then this movie came down which was that people call Sasha Sasha Steve Sastry have a nice Street was a row cotenant street non HBGary street cotenant Street, Washington Street Green Street pitch and the breeze was held at Pitt Street. The bridge did not go across you stop that kid's face and all those houses that were the only way you had to get past the breeze but don't drink.

Heather White (02:50)
So you have some good memories of being down here then?

Charles Gatlin (02:53)
Oh yes.

Heather White (02:54)
Yeah,

Charles Gatlin (02:54)
I have a lot of good memories

Heather White (03:01)
You getting side comments over here.

Charles Gatlin (03:07)
It was just wonderful to be downtown. Read the house the white high school was on the corner of fourth and Ree street and I live right down the street from it which I lived on Ree Street at 202 and the white cemetery all dalong there was white when you come down Second Street when you get to even Street and Evans Street and second street the amory building then was on the corner the armory building was on the corner the Catholic Church was wrapped behind it and behind the Catholic church it was just it was there a lawyer office and the police department and then you came along it was white houses homes on the other side of the street

Heather White (03:58)
Well we're just excited to have participation from all y'all who who are involved in this area so that we can really record this and have it you know be here for future generations for anything else before we start that you would like us to know you're getting some he we're getting some side information that she has a beautiful voice you're not gonna do a rendition for us now.

Charles Gatlin (04:32)
No, no but that's most of what I can tell you about downtown really. He was just a family place everybody lived together. You just was lucky those and that. You just stay up all night. If you want to leave the doors open, go to sleep. Wake up. Everything can be rented. yeah it was just to gather place that's wonderful it's wonderful.

Heather White (05:05)
Well thank you I'm gonna stop here.