00:00:09.180 - 00:00:26.250

at 10.20 a.m. and I'm with Vicki Penn. My name is Becky Lovestock and we're just going to go ahead and get started. Now, tell me a little bit about yourself.

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My name is really Victoria Penn. People call me Vicki, which I'm comfortable with. I'm 47 years old. I I have two children, a son, 23, and a daughter that's 14.

00:00:45.180 - 00:00:58.780

I live in Newark. I'm originally from Halifax, Virginia. I moved here in 1975 after I graduated from high school.

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And I've been here ever since. I have six drivers, I have four brothers, one sister, and my staff, so six of us are next family.

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I've been at the University of Delaware for 26 years, 27 come the night of next month. I have my grandparents retired from here. There's Mr. Miguel Brooks. my mother

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has retired from here. I have several aunts that has retired from here. I have an aunt that's retired from here. So we come along at the university.

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And within my 26 years here at the university, I've worked with three departments. Okay. And why did you come to Newark?

00:01:54.120 - 00:02:06.740

well um probably because my mother had moved here and um i was raised born and raised in Virginia and i was raised by my grandparents and then

00:02:06.740 - 00:02:17.260

after that you know i wanted to um explore the opportunity of coming here and and she with her you know of course you know she wanted me to come

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to university and i kept putting it off putting it off for school-wise So then I ended up coming here and initially coming to the university I

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was planning just to work part time and it turned into a full time job and as I say I've been here ever since. And where do you live in Newark?

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I live in Whistler and Pines, off right off Morrow's Road. I just purchased my home there a year ago, December 31st.

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A wonderful time for me, a wonderful experience. Now, when you came to Newark, you chose to go to

00:03:12.320 - 00:03:20.840

St. John's? is that always been your church? No, I went to Pilgrim Baptist. Okay. Yeah, Pilgrim Baptist. Okay.

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But we all fellowship together. It's like, you know, family. Okay. So you've been going to Pilgrim

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Baptist? Since I've been in Delaware. Okay. And why did you choose to go to Pilgrim? One of the reasons was my family

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are all with members there, and so I was comfortable there, and there's a lot of love in children, you know. It's 90 plus years old, and within the

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90 years, they only had one children. Five pastors, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. and um what do you remember of the community

00:04:13.540 - 00:04:29.140

when you came to newark what was it like how was it different um when i first because i always used to visit kind of kind of quiet and the things a lot of things that made

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them going on i really didn't know one thing about my family and i guess growing up in the south anything negative that the kids really didn't know anything about but everybody

00:04:42.000 - 00:05:00.940

seems to be warm so um the university has changed a lot i used to love old college yeah to just come and sit in old college was you know i only went to school here

00:05:00.940 - 00:05:12.700

one year was central and it was in the third grade. My teacher, I never forget, was Mrs. Dowdy. She was a wonderful lady and she was elderly lady, but she was so nice.

00:05:13.220 - 00:05:27.620

But my mother, we used to not, it wasn't allowed to go down Main Street, but I used to come and go to sit in old college. It just seemed like this guest was so huge,

00:05:27.620 - 00:05:40.220

the building was so huge. So that's where I would just come and just lay out at, sneak out at. We're supposed to be in there, but I was in it anywhere, you know.

00:05:41.120 - 00:05:56.120

So but other than that, other than the campus, you know, probably the campus is the biggest change. And the development surrounding areas, you know. And back then, it's just

00:05:56.120 - 00:06:07.730

so amazing from the South, you know, with the lights and the glitters and the stores. And I'm from a little small town, like I said, in Halifax.

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And, you know, one street, you know, it takes me like 20 minutes to a half an hour to get to a grocery store.

00:06:15.740 - 00:06:28.060

Mm-hmm. You know, dirt roads. and we had stop sign, no traffic light, we had route numbers, we had no student

00:06:28.060 - 00:06:41.740

names and just several years ago, probably about five years ago, we actually got names instead of route numbers for the street that we live on in

00:06:41.740 - 00:06:57.990

Virginia. So everything that was just I had to learn to lock my doors, you know, down south of the, you know, the doors was left open, unlocked, you know, in the hot

00:06:57.990 - 00:07:08.580

summertime, we would just, we could lock the screen door and have our screen door on, open, or something like that. And here, you know, Mom would tell

00:07:08.580 - 00:07:18.940

me, you know, roll up your windows, lock the doors, you know, and close your pocketbook up, and, you know, and I wasn't used to, you

00:07:18.940 - 00:07:30.400

know, doing things like that. Now, when you first came, Pilgrim was in an original location, right? No, Pilgrim right now is located 1325 Bucsdale

00:07:30.400 - 00:07:45.320

Road. It used to be right here on New London. Oh, New London, yes. 79 New London. Okay. I'm kind of thinking to be new for this.

00:07:45.320 - 00:08:01.310

It's been probably about eight years. And what did it look like around that area? that area is the same here, today is the same. I don't see any change.

00:08:03.280 - 00:08:11.740

Wonderland was there, you know, prior to Wonderland in there and I don't know if it was called there was another store. I remember when we used to go to some

00:08:11.740 - 00:08:22.480

sunday school and it used to have little freeze pops and we used to sneak down there because I used to love those little ice freeze pops during sunday school and you

00:08:22.480 - 00:08:36.200

know go down there and to the store but it was always a store there on that corner um i don't know if the university lot was there you know that was there but it was

00:08:36.200 - 00:08:56.460

just that one street there good morning the problem should be talking to my much older than me but i know they tell me uh main street used to be two-way and

00:08:56.460 - 00:09:05.640

you know different things like that but right now to me it looks kind of the same other than other you know businesses come along

00:09:05.940 - 00:09:21.760

i remember when the theater used to be there was there on main street and all of that that in that perspective has changed but um sorry to see that girl Yeah. Yeah.

00:09:22.020 - 00:09:34.620

Yeah. And what was the church like when, or how was it like, how would you describe it to someone?

00:09:35.160 - 00:09:53.830

I think it was by family because everyone knew everyone and has grown, I think, tremendously. When did it start to

00:09:53.830 - 00:10:07.710

grow? And I think it's a, children, we don't do as much outreach as I believe when I first came to Delaware. But we're getting back into that

00:10:07.710 - 00:10:21.290

because we used to fellowship with the University of Delaware quite a bit. We used to always come here when they had newer days and our choir used to sing.

00:10:21.890 - 00:10:36.930

times would sing in the choir and we used to just have a wonderful time and the gospel choir here used to come to our church and sing and that's one of the things our new

00:10:36.930 - 00:10:50.190

pastor I believe is interested in doing is reaching and coming to the university community. I know we have a bus ministry and we've been trying to anyone that's interested in

00:10:50.190 - 00:11:02.190

coming to pilgrim if they let us know that we would come on campus or in or pick them up at their homes um we bought two buses we have a van and a bus so that's one of the

00:11:02.190 - 00:11:14.750

ways we're trying to do our outreach and anyone that maybe not have transportation and the community you know know, they could um, come with them. Um,

00:11:17.410 - 00:11:32.030

um, I'm just trying to think of and I no when you leave a like, oh, this one. Okay.

00:11:32.450 - 00:11:40.980

But I think um, we might have been a small church, but growing, you know, not only

00:11:40.980 - 00:11:52.010

giving numbers of people, but you know, souls are really being saved. People are still being blessed and, you know, just spiritually,

00:11:52.190 - 00:12:09.050

you know, it's just a wonderful, it's a wonderful time. And I would love for you to talk with our

00:12:09.050 - 00:12:19.530

new pastor, Reverend Dr. Lonnie Rector. He's from at least South Carolina. I think one of our students did. Oh, did he? Oh, wonderful.

00:12:19.650 - 00:12:33.940

I mean, and he has been, you know, you know, we've been praying for 22 months now, and Lord has finally sent us a pastor. Yeah, we've been with Reverend

00:12:34.250 - 00:12:45.650

Bundy was our infant pastor for those during that time. He's a very lovely person too also, very humble, he's a small man, but he's a big

00:12:45.650 - 00:12:55.410

giant, you know, he used to call him a big giant there because he has such a warm personality and everything. I hate to see him go, but he was

00:12:55.410 - 00:13:08.470

only there for a season, and things just worked out well, you know. and I'm now, you know, I'm always looking for something.

00:13:08.470 - 00:13:18.790

Every Sunday and every, you know, every time you mention pilgrim, you gonna see me light up because I love my church. I really love my church

00:13:18.790 - 00:13:35.190

and everybody is in there. And I just, you know, I try as much as possible to let people know that, you know i am safe and and that um there's no

00:13:35.190 - 00:13:46.270

better you know there's no better life than being with him and serving under him and pilgrim there's no better home for you to be of of course, if you want to

00:13:46.410 - 00:13:53.430

you looking for a church of course. Yeah. Yeah.

00:13:54.550 - 00:14:09.410

And I've served on, um, three years I served as a trustee, a pilgrim, um, I ministry for three years. Um,

00:14:10.150 - 00:14:26.350

we're trying to reach we don't have any deaf peo in our congregation. A little later on when I began at Sister Radha Sanders Hart to go in that

00:14:26.350 - 00:14:37.810

direction. They no wonder was interested in trying to reach the Deaf. And even though she started us, she taught us the basics, she said to us that

00:14:37.810 - 00:14:50.070

we would have to go further than taking classes. She taught several classes there for the basics. You have to go out to maybe down here to the Deaf Ministry School

00:14:50.070 - 00:15:06.410

or I believe there are tax kids in classes. But so we have a signed choir that we go out occasionally, you know, to get invited to um just to try to reach um

00:15:06.410 - 00:15:22.310

the deaf community but so the entire choir signs or there's several no no no it's a separate entity oh there's a sign choir there's about several of us

00:15:23.850 - 00:15:39.070

that range in all ages. She's that sign that's under her. She's the coordinator of that. So, and then I served also in the

00:15:39.070 - 00:15:48.050

singing choir. The thing is now, I'm not a great singer, but I love to try singing. Make it a draw for noise. I love that.

00:15:49.250 - 00:16:03.330

I'm not a great singer, but I do love Tron Tron and I hit off notes and my musician will look at me and she puts me back on course. She's a wonderful lady.

00:16:04.190 - 00:16:25.750

Her name is Sister Mildred Mosley and of course So I try to be a part of the prayer service and Bible study classes that we have every Wednesday night.

00:16:27.510 - 00:16:43.030

Tell me a little bit about the ministers and the various ministers you remember, the pastors that were at your church. Um, when I was younger, I'm trying

00:16:43.030 - 00:17:02.270

to think, well, I remember, Reverend Holmes was the very first pastor that I, um, was under, shepherd under. I mean,

00:17:02.270 - 00:17:12.230

you know, he was a shepherd or whatever. I remember him when I was young. Probably visiting when I came to Delaware. My mother tried to always

00:17:12.230 - 00:17:23.790

keep her at Sunday school. And I just, for her, she had four kids, you know, four boys and the two girls.

00:17:23.870 - 00:17:37.970

And at the time, my sister wasn't born because she was only ten years younger than me. But she always kept us there. And Reverend Holmes was the first pastor that I remember.

00:17:37.970 - 00:17:52.490

And then came Reverend Warder. And after Reverend Warder, he was on, came Pastor Austin. Pastor Austin was on, and now we have

00:17:52.490 - 00:18:11.680

Reverend Bundy for infant pastor. and our pastor now is Reverend Lonnie Rutgers. If I'm not mistaken, Reverend Twyman

00:18:11.680 - 00:18:22.880

was our very, very first pastor. And I believe they are not understanding it, it used to be under a tent. It started with a tent.

00:18:23.060 - 00:18:35.140

I'm trying to remember the history. So I said Pilgrim is blessed because it's over 90 years old, and most churches have been through

00:18:35.140 - 00:18:51.940

quite a few pastors over that time. So Pilgrim is blessed that they've had, you know, shepherds to stay. Must be a testament to the community

00:18:51.940 - 00:19:01.460

and the people that are there. I think so. I think so. It's to be all about doing God's goodness. Church fully committed to the cause of God.

00:19:04.130 - 00:19:16.120

That's all I love you. Um, and how, how you, you said the churches interacted and whatnot. Can

00:19:16.120 - 00:19:23.280

you explain a little bit about that? Meaning, um, fellowshipping with other churches? Oh yeah, okay.

00:19:23.460 - 00:19:36.220

We go from Philly to Washington. Mm-hmm. And we have, you know, there's maybe what we call maybe annual days that we've been doing. Some churches

00:19:36.220 - 00:19:51.420

we've been fellowshipping with 50 years, and that fellowship is still going on. By us being Baptist, and then you have Methodist, and then, you know, we all,

00:19:51.700 - 00:20:05.060

Baptist, maybe a little bit different from the Methodist, but we all try to I think try to support each other and like I said when in the beginning I think we did a

00:20:05.060 - 00:20:18.820

little more but I think as pastors change they took new directions and we may not fellowship as much now but I think it's coming you know I think it's going circle

00:20:18.820 - 00:20:34.200

I think the circle is coming around again, where we're trying to, you know, reunite some of the things that we may have stopped doing. Because we have, like,

00:20:39.580 - 00:20:50.650

it's not a fair reunion, but we have, like, friendship days, or, and I might be using a different way, and where we usually go to the park,

00:20:52.490 - 00:21:03.410

and when our churches from in town, they come down and we just have fun. You play basketball, the girls do the double jump.

00:21:03.410 - 00:21:12.970

We play baseball, volleyball, and we have a picnic, and you're just invited to come.

00:21:12.970 - 00:21:21.850

Just come just, you know, just other than being serious, You know, you can just have to take your hat off and not have to put on your high-hear

00:21:21.850 - 00:21:33.570

shoes and just kick it out and have fun. And so we do that, you know, have that once a year at least. And usually we do it at Barker's Day.

00:21:33.570 - 00:21:47.490

And last year we did it in Rums Park. But, you know, I think we're going to go back to Barker's Day. because it's closer and we get more people to

00:21:47.490 - 00:22:02.050

get involved in that kind of thing. And usually on Good Friday, we used to have a Good Friday service. And for the six or seven

00:22:02.050 - 00:22:17.190

weeks leading up to Easter, every Wednesday we would go to a different church. you know and uh it will be um different

00:22:18.650 - 00:22:30.070

different pastors from different church preach along with the choirs and the ushers and things and then on good friday they will have what they hear called um

00:22:30.280 - 00:22:49.370

it'd be seven speakers and they would get up there and each one of them would do just a little bit about his resurrection and I really enjoyed that just

00:22:49.370 - 00:23:11.470

last year we didn't do that but still we had the you know outreach we would come in and every Wednesday night we How about fellowshipping with

00:23:11.600 - 00:23:23.730

St. Sean's and Mount Lyons? Have you been doing any of that lately? Um, not on a, I wouldn't say

00:23:23.730 - 00:23:36.190

like on a continued basis, more so, um, like we have been something going on in church, we always, they're always invited.

00:23:36.190 - 00:23:45.110

A lot of times, like I say now, they might be already committed, they already doing something, they already got something going on at their church. But usually

00:23:45.110 - 00:23:54.610

what we try to do, even though something is going on, is send representation. You know, even though we might have, you know, maybe having a hallelujah night.

00:23:54.610 - 00:24:04.590

And St. John's invited us, even though, you know, the bulk of our congregation can go, someone might be designated to go and just support.

00:24:07.530 - 00:24:15.330

So that's how it's been running the last couple of years. We have anniversaries, of course, they come, they come sing, you

00:24:15.330 - 00:24:24.250

know, or something like that. I'm trying to think the last time I think, who was there? Mount Zion was there, sign ministry

00:24:24.250 - 00:24:31.910

head, and they was our worship leaders. And wonderful, wonderful. Yeah. Anytime we were together,

00:24:31.910 - 00:24:44.570

we'd have a good time. And, you know, along with us, they love to cook and eat, and we love to cook and eat. so it's always something going on i think

00:24:44.570 - 00:24:58.790

between the three churches all the time but um the in the after part i think that we all been that kind of in um

00:25:00.270 - 00:25:14.330

kind of do different things and so therefore we may not be as close and may not see each other visually, but I think he's still as tight as, you know,

00:25:14.790 - 00:25:27.510

as did from the very beginning. I think there's nothing Mount Ryan or St. John wouldn't do for us as well. We wouldn't do for St. John, you

00:25:27.510 - 00:25:40.550

know, whatever they would need. I think we were there to support each other. That's great. And it's being family because if family

00:25:40.550 - 00:25:59.320

members down in I think it's just family know, it's just a family going on. Same ways as you you know, with Mount

00:25:59.320 - 00:26:11.320

Zion, you know, you may have the older members may have, yes, Mount Zion, but you may have one of some of the couple of younger members might be at Pilgrim. And it

00:26:11.320 - 00:26:21.360

goes, like I said, in that circle, I think. And I don't know a lot of them, but I'm just hearing, just like you, you know, from Mom said, Oh, yeah,

00:26:21.540 - 00:26:31.320

you know, at one time she was married to, used to go here, But then she married somebody, might have been in Mount Zion, of course. You know, they moved their membership

00:26:31.320 - 00:26:43.720

because of being getting married and their husband was there and stuff like that. How have things changed the program since the church moved?

00:26:49.750 - 00:26:56.490

I don't know, it's kind of changed other than growth. Yeah, I mean, you know, I don't think... It seems like your church has

00:26:56.490 - 00:27:08.450

grown so much. Other than growth, I don't think there's been, you know, any change for spiritually, you know, for the love of one another. I

00:27:08.450 - 00:27:21.410

don't think it has changed in that perspective other than membership. And the reason that you moved was because of the growth?

00:27:21.870 - 00:27:31.290

Okay. And that's what we be taught, you know, you don't move until you're broken yet. And, you know, if you are putting tears

00:27:31.290 - 00:27:43.570

in the aisles and you're sitting, you know, in your fellowship hall and schools and, you know, people are standing up, then it's time for the kind of, you

00:27:43.570 - 00:27:53.730

know. And that's how it got. And they would have gotten like that. Yeah, I've been in that building with prayer temple. Yeah. Yeah, and it has changed since

00:27:53.730 - 00:28:03.210

Pilgrim was there for that temple. Yeah, I was like, oh, yeah. I haven't been there in a long time.

00:28:03.210 - 00:28:14.450

And it was so, in the beginning, it was just so strange. Excuse me, you had to get used to going to, you know,

00:28:14.990 - 00:28:24.790

to Pilgrim to walk their road because of you known that, you know, the New London all your life, and it made you want to go, you know, like, I know,

00:28:24.790 - 00:28:36.270

I'm up, you know, and several times, just driving, you automatically just went for a temple, you know, and in the beginning, every chance I got, I used to

00:28:36.270 - 00:28:46.790

go there, just because you just missed, then, you know, it kind of, you got, okay, if you're all right, it's okay for you to move, so, yeah, it's different

00:28:46.790 - 00:28:53.770

though. So you have a new church? Yeah, yeah. God bless them. We have a new church. Yeah.

00:28:53.770 - 00:29:03.390

And it's growing. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's really growing. I think it's about 350 of membership, about 350.

00:29:03.850 - 00:29:11.390

That's great. Yeah. That's really great. What is your fondest memory of the church?

00:29:15.010 - 00:29:27.930

um i think probably the annual days um because you can see so many people that you may not see during the course of the year so

00:29:30.510 - 00:29:41.070

and this is the picnic that you were describing earlier is this different than that um i think All of our annual days, you know, where you come t

00:29:41.190 - 00:29:47.670

and you have, uh, the pic I'm talking about is like friend and friend day. Okay. Yeah.

00:29:48.190 - 00:29:55.110

Um, and then we have home, we used to have, we have homecoming and that's when you see a lot of people come back.

00:29:55.350 - 00:30:08.910

And, um, and one, um, on one occasion one of our members had a vision for a reunion with the choir and

00:30:08.910 - 00:30:22.410

that was so blessed because you're like all these people you know that you know you know here and yonder they came back to for this anniversary that we had

00:30:22.410 - 00:30:35.470

and that was that was really nice um so i think anytime we have this annual day any you know annual days because you It brings out more of your members that

00:30:35.470 - 00:30:50.580

maybe had left. They just come home. Church did that. Were you getting it for church?

00:30:53.260 - 00:31:06.920

Right. If you were to tell the story of Pilgrim, what would you want people to know about the church?

00:31:13.760 - 00:31:23.870

I guess if you want, if you're looking for heroward from the Lord, help me become a pilgrim, because that's, you're going to receive it.

00:31:40.090 - 00:31:55.430

Well, I don't have any other questions. Do you have anything you want to say for the record? Just for the record, I just want

00:31:55.430 - 00:32:11.390

to say that I do enjoy Pilgrim. I have a love for it, not only because my parents, you know, my grandparents were there, but it's just when you walk through

00:32:11.390 - 00:32:25.910

Pilgrim's doors, you're going to feel the love. And that's me. I love everybody, and it's good to feel the love. And my soul has been truly wonderfully blessed

00:32:25.910 - 00:32:48.480

by some of the sermons that I've heard in Pilgrim and the friends that I've made since I've been in Pilgrim. But I'm telling you,

00:32:49.760 - 00:33:00.980

you've come. You've made me like that. We have wonderful revivals. We have wonderful Sunday morning services.

00:33:01.060 - 00:33:19.680

We have wonderful prayer services and Bible study classes, and I am excited about how God is using our new pastor to manage also, and become truly anointed, I think,

00:33:19.920 - 00:33:33.120

and he talks 24 -7 every time. He is amazing. He's just I'm sitting back and things never heard before and just in the people,

00:33:33.120 - 00:33:42.220

just within that he's been there, I've learned so much. It has made me want to, you know, study more, you know, um,

00:33:43.520 - 00:33:57.020

don't believe what I'm saying, read it. He's totally nothing he preached or nothing he says is not in the word. You know, he tell you that you don't believe me let

00:33:57.020 - 00:34:12.000

me tell you tell you where you can go and read it for yourself and we have been talking about we've been reading and studying donation about false process and so and

00:34:12.000 - 00:34:29.820

that's been exciting so anytime you're terrible and of course anybody looking for a ride or need a ride or need a church home or you know call pilgrim because did you

00:34:29.820 - 00:34:42.260

have a first morning and you know anyone is willing to to um support it you know with the service that they needed well i don't know if i told you i've been part

00:34:42.260 - 00:34:52.780

of the gospel fire yeah yeah you were telling me that yeah remember i telling you we used to yeah we used to have them come up the last couple of times we invited

00:34:52.780 - 00:35:11.220

them i guess the um scheduling conflict Yeah, we haven't been to Pilgrim. We've had Mount Zion come to our concert, I think to do like praise and worship or something,

00:35:11.220 - 00:35:23.560

and then we've sung at Claire Temple quite a few times when stuff is falling through here and just going practice at Claire Temple, but we've never been to St. John's or done

00:35:23.560 - 00:35:33.360

anything with them. And then with Pilgrim, you know, I was even on the board and, you know, I don't remember hearing that you

00:35:33.360 - 00:35:42.620

guys, you know, were even interested in having us. But this was last year, you know. I can show you my calendar from last year.

00:35:42.640 - 00:35:51.800

Yeah. And you're on there, but they canceled. Oh, okay. Yeah. they had,

00:35:52.580 - 00:35:58.820

matter of fact they said they forgot ne they committed to some, Um,

00:35:59.960 - 00:36:12.720

because we have, we h committee and I'm kind o on the education committe them, invite them,

00:36:13.440 - 00:36:27.640

usually Peggy smooth is the one an I even got the young lady's name because Peggy said, Vicki, I said, I talked to them, Peggy, they

00:36:27.640 - 00:36:38.760

said that they're not on the schedule to come. And some kind of another, I'm trying to think of her name, Monica or Monique or, no, that might be wrong. Well, if

00:36:38.760 - 00:36:48.160

it were last year, it would have been Charity Miller, that was... Miller her neck. Yeah. Charity. Yeah. Very happy and just very

00:36:48.160 - 00:36:56.200

outgoing. Yeah. Love him. Kind of shorter. Mm -hmm. Big smile on her face. Yeah. So she used to come here. She used to come down here a lot.

00:36:56.200 - 00:37:07.760

Yeah. Um, so I don't know what happened, but I think I actually remember something like that happening. Mm-hmm. Um, that there was a mix up. Yeah. But you know,

00:37:07.760 - 00:37:23.960

Like I said, for us, I think the key is acting far in the air, and I don't know if you know, we're recording in March, which is a big deal, and we have a reunion choir,

00:37:24.180 - 00:37:39.040

and it's been in the works, so they haven't been taking on any engagement because we're recording, and you know, rehearsals are every weekend for four, five hours you know

00:37:39.040 - 00:37:57.900

it's like you just sing and sing and sing but um uh yeah but march 20th is is here on campus oh okay um and i think i think it's something like seven dollars maybe because your

00:37:57.900 - 00:38:11.320

staff like um you work for the university um so but you know i'm sure that like we're trying to get the word out to as many churches as possible to come and help support

00:38:11.320 - 00:38:27.060

us. And then also, like I said, I mean, I know, speaking as a member of the choir, that I love going to other churches, and I just truly am blessed when I have a chance to go

00:38:27.490 - 00:38:41.940

to other places and hear different ministers and see different congregations that have so many different things going on yeah and the different ways they do are so great at

00:38:43.340 - 00:38:53.660

about like just being a community and the fellowship that's there and just you truly feel the love of christ and others you go and you're like okay the holy spirit

00:38:53.660 - 00:39:05.920

is here you know or you go to another place and you're like wow they have this gift of song or diana or whatever they have and to be able to see that that's what i

00:39:05.920 - 00:39:18.040

love because i just get so many different after that to see it you know yeah but um you know so that that's what makes children seem rich because i haven't experienced

00:39:18.040 - 00:39:32.580

it yet oh you must come you must come We asked that our pastor is going to be an instillator on and he's having his instillation next Sunday, the fourth Sunday.

00:39:32.940 - 00:39:41.580

So, and after that, watch out, because I thank God, got a great work for him. Well, you know, then maybe, when was he hired?

00:39:43.300 - 00:39:55.020

He was, or called, or? He's been there for about a month now. Okay, then he probably wasn't interviewed at all, because the girl probably interviewed

00:39:55.020 - 00:40:13.820

the interim pastor. Oh, okay. Yeah, you need to talk to him and them. She went to Pilgrim, and she took a lot of pictures of the service, and I think

00:40:13.820 - 00:40:21.460

she found some pictures and whatnot. Oh, okay, someone maybe gave her some pictures. Yeah, we do,

00:40:21.820 - 00:40:33.000

there aren't a lot of old pictures of programs, even like, from even your era, which you're saying, you know, oh, I'm not that old, but it doesn't matter. Like, we're

00:40:33.000 - 00:40:42.880

trying to get anything, because even in the old church, there aren't that many. Okay. When it was.

00:40:43.500 - 00:40:58.280

Who would have some? you know or outside the church or even like an event like you were talking about the annual days or anything like that you know and it's like what

00:40:58.280 - 00:41:10.880

we're trying to do is just compile everything that's possible you know it's not like if we aren't even we're just trying to take whatever anybody gives us and if

00:41:10.880 - 00:41:22.340

you're five years old to up if you're 95 years old we don't share we want your story because it's just as important you know. So that's kind of like what we're trying to

00:41:22.340 - 00:41:34.380

do and we're trying to just get a sense so much of the community that like on New London Road and Cleveland Avenue and Ray Street and you know Terry Manor which is up there

00:41:34.380 - 00:41:42.660

and New London School like up to pretty much where the towers are now. We used to when I first came in Delaware. My grandmother race street.

00:41:42.840 - 00:41:48.240

Really such a man. Oh, well, tell me a l

00:41:48.760 - 00:41:57.100

time. Race street. Yeah. Oh bit. That was, you know,

00:41:57.700 - 00:42:11.420

t was, that was where I was when I came to Delaware r grandmother's, my grandmoth Her house used to sit here, but she

00:42:11.420 - 00:42:22.000

used to have a wall, a white wall, and it would be lined up with kids, you know, they loved that wall. Then we had the Hubbards across the street,

00:42:23.120 - 00:42:36.720

and you see we had the Henderson's over here, but Ray Street was just, I don't know. Now, where on Ray Street

00:42:36.720 - 00:42:47.680

was your grandmother? She was like 23. That's when you turned down Ray Street. She was probably about the third house there on Ray Street.

00:42:47.860 - 00:43:00.240

Okay. Yeah. So, where the actual residence was? That's where she was at. That started her place right there. And then we bought in

00:43:00.240 - 00:43:14.340

Hickory Hill down on West Park, place. You know what that bridge is? Uh huh. See, to move. There's a little there. And that's where t at.

00:43:14.660 - 00:43:31.060

But we used to have g at race. I told you we bo at race street. It was so we moved down there, but Um,

00:43:31.480 - 00:43:38.360

we were like, and never fail. When we all got together, we were like, remember back on Ray Street? You know,

00:43:38.480 - 00:43:46.250

we did this or we did that, you know. So this would be your family that would have a picnic? Yeah, yeah, my grandmother,

00:43:46.380 - 00:43:58.140

yeah. What was your grandmother's specialty food? She could make some awesome rice pudding. Yeah, nobody makes rice pudding like

00:43:58.140 - 00:44:09.780

my grandmother. and nobody makes macaroni and cheese like my mother yeah so what's your specialty i don't cook and my grandmother used to make

00:44:09.780 - 00:44:22.800

a pound cake that was awesome too so her that pound cake and i mean all her food was good but we look forward to the rice pudding and her pancake as last to now

00:44:22.800 - 00:44:34.900

everybody always asked my my mother to make macaroni and cheese and so nobody's macaroni and cheese is like that and nobody and fried chicken nobody like my mom's fried

00:44:34.900 - 00:44:51.560

chicken and that and to me i i now my grandmother taught me to cook but i just don't cook if i have to i do my mother actually i go to her house about every evening

00:44:51.560 - 00:45:06.360

i leave work And she'll call me and she'll say, you're going to stop by? I'll cook this, I'll cook that. And I was like, okay. So other than that, I'll go home and she did

00:45:06.360 - 00:45:18.640

not cook and me and my daughter have a salad and something or, you know, fish sticks. You know, salad or something. As a matter of fact, my daughter last, not

00:45:18.640 - 00:45:28.980

last night, the night before last, and she cooks gill salmon for us and make broccoli. She's fortunate though. I'm trying to get her to

00:45:28.980 - 00:45:37.140

cook. Don't be like your mom. But she loves to bake. She likes to bake. She likes to cook books where she can bake food,

00:45:37.600 - 00:45:48.340

you know, for us, hotcakes and cookies, which she usually do with my sister. I'm not into cooking. I'm baking. And my sister and

00:45:48.340 - 00:46:04.120

them, they would get a recipe and fried stuff. I don't do that. I just go to mom and then my neighbor, she lives right across by my mother.

00:46:04.620 - 00:46:19.580

If my mother is not cooking, it's her. She watched my children when they were small, so she's more like a godmother to them. and so uh so if momma's not feeding me

00:46:19.580 - 00:46:32.240

miss sarah is feeding me so i'm always getting a home cooked meal but i'm not cooking and now i'm trying to get rid of it i join her trying to get rid of some of

00:46:32.240 - 00:46:48.180

this stuff now yeah man i tell you i love to eat them that's the problem Yeah, that's it, too muc stuff. Yeah, and that's

00:46:50.020 - 00:47:03.910

from Newark that I missed out. We, my grandparents and all their meat, the and they bought their own they would,

00:47:06.440 - 00:47:20.920

and they all their string beans, potatoes, onions. We grew all of that stuff. So, and she did a lot of canning, which I didn't learn that either.

00:47:21.520 - 00:47:31.420

I don't think many people do. Yeah, so she did, you know, she did all of that stuff. So it was, you know, different here. You come in this floor and say, What? $7?

00:47:31.760 - 00:47:40.220

For a pack of chicken? You know, stuff like that, you know. Well, you can just raise your

00:47:40.220 - 00:47:55.380

own chickens and kill them. I don't want to go back, though. I see, you know, and it's so amazing. It's like when it gets hot here, I remember us

00:47:55.380 - 00:48:04.180

until we built our home. And from Virginia, we used to have wood stove and everything. There was no air. There was no fan.

00:48:04.180 - 00:48:14.700

So I couldn't figure out why can I can't stand the heat. And I used to not even have these things. You know, we had a well. Because you

00:48:14.700 - 00:48:21.600

had the convenience and then you wanted. Yeah. You know, we had a well. We drew our own water. You know, when my mother

00:48:21.600 - 00:48:33.660

washed clothes, she had her own washing machine. We had to draw tubs of water. you know and and stuff and like you said then lord blessed us and she was able

00:48:33.660 - 00:48:45.030

because we could share crops we was able to stop farming and and raising all those you know chicken and chicken and having the large gardens and um we

00:48:45.140 - 00:48:59.560

bought our home and of course we had air and eat, you know, and the only thing that we really kept doing was maybe raising tea, and then

00:48:59.560 - 00:49:09.380

after a while we stopped even doing that, and she had a small garden, you know, I lost my grandfather when he was young, he was only like 55,

00:49:09.930 - 00:49:25.500

so we kind of stopped doing all that stuff, you know. But now you have all those things and it's like you run from one air-conditioned place

00:49:25.500 - 00:49:43.600

to another. Gotta have it. And you know, like actually I don't really use it like in my car or anything and it's interesting because i don't like it so much because i'm just like

00:49:43.600 - 00:49:57.980

why do i need it you know and especially especially because you know like out in colorado where the humidity is so much lower you don't need it in the south yeah yeah like in

00:49:57.980 - 00:50:08.220

north carolina on in august you know it's like you walk outside and it's like you're suffocating yeah and only people from the south can understand that, you know, so I'm sure

00:50:08.220 - 00:50:19.120

you, you understand, you walk out. Virginia, so I'm not, that it was cold weather there. Yeah. So there, South Carolina, you probably, y'all had warm weather, but we had cold

00:50:19.120 - 00:50:27.600

weather. I can't even imagine like Mississippi or Alabama. I can't even think about it. Cause I'm, I'm still in North Carolina. I'm like, we still, you know, have,

00:50:27.600 - 00:50:36.860

have cold winters and stuff like that. But, you know, I was this thing about I heard on the other day. You said it was snowing in Hawaii or something.

00:50:37.840 - 00:50:46.160

And we still haven't gotten to snow, which is weird. Let me tell you. It makes you think about that word. You know no one

00:50:46.160 - 00:50:54.780

sees it from the next. You know? And it makes you think, you know? That's what they said in the Bible. I know.