The friendly chatter and occasional laughter of women in a booster club meeting at the Coleman-Bush Building on Wednesday afternoon spilled out into what is now known as the Hall of History.
“That’s LaFrancine Burton and Delores Bell — we all went to first grade together,” one woman told her friends, looking at a large touchscreen monitor that houses the stories and histories of Lakeland’s Northwest neighborhood and the residents who made — and continue to make — it home for many notable people in the city’s Black community.
Longtime educator Yvonne McShay said this week that she was deeply impressed by the display. She is the author of “Our Lakeland: The Other End of Florida Avenue,” a history of Northwest Lakeland.
“Nothing like that has ever come to the Northwest community,” said McShay, who serves on the Lakeland History and Culture Center board of directors.
Among the crowd looking at the touchscreen monitor on Wednesday, installed in time for February’s Black History Month, was Albertha Whittley-Tabron.
“I’m happy to see it,” said Whittley-Tabron, who served as the longtime director of the Coleman-Bush Building before her retirement.
The monitor is new, along with three panels lining a wall, dedicated to the stories of:
- Charles Coleman, a longtime educator, Lakeland’s second Black mayor and a Civil Rights leader.
- Dr. Gow Bush, a medical doctor who advocated for integration of Lakeland’s schools.
- Dr. John Jackson, a medical doctor, Lakeland’s first Black city commissioner, and Lakeland’s first Black mayor.
Whittley-Tabron is 81-years-old, although she looks far younger. It was when she was director of the community center, which is the heart of the neighborhood, that she decided to provide some histories of notable residents. They were comparatively simple displays, printed out and hung on the walls.
“They took that and expanded it,” she said, explaining that she also displayed a map marking the locations of many former businesses that existed along what was then North Dakota Avenue, now named for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I wanted the children to be able to identify with the neighborhood,” she said. “The display case; I had memorabilia.”
Maps were incorporated into the display’s design, serving as a backdrop for the monitor. Viewers can touch one of several topics on the screen — including people, places, businesses, clubs and education — and be transported back to the days when the street outside had a thriving business community that served Black residents.
“I lived right across the street as a child,” she said, pointing out the glass entrance doors. “My grandparents lived on 5th Street.”
Librarian Supervisor and Supervisor of the Lakeland History and Culture Center LuAnn Mims developed the modern display. She said her favorite section was highlighting those businesses.
“I developed that whole section from the six Rochelle High School yearbooks that we have,” Mims said.
Michael Marotz, recreation superintendent for the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department, said all the signage and the touchscreen cost $3,500.
But for the residents, it is a priceless artifact that allows them to glimpse the way life was, the bonds that developed among neighbors, and the times they endured together.
Pictures of area businesses include Jennie Durr and Annette Lawson at Ellis’ Bar-B-Q, whose motto was “We’ll treat you right!” and which offered curb service. The phone number back then was MU 8-6795, which looks like a mysterious code now.
Another screen in the education section tells the story of Rosabelle Wilson Blake, Polk County’s first “Supervisor of Negro Schools.” She was a proponent of physical activity and health, writing in 1944 that she “encouraged regular exercise and good nutrition, which formed a core for physical education in the county.” Blake Academy is named for her.
Whittley-Tabron and her friends also remember some of the more unpleasant activities in the area. Several women who mentioned LaFrancine Burton and Delores Bell noted that they were among the first Black students to integrate Lakeland High School and all that their bravery entailed.
Whittley-Tabron remembers darker moments involving the often violent Ku Klux Klan.
“I remember when the Klan was at St. Luke’s church — they used to meet there,” she said, referring to a church a few blocks away. “My grandfather always slept in the master bedroom and slept with a shotgun there so he would have access to it.”
But she said no one bothered with her grandfather, Ben Moore.
She also recalled that during her first year of teaching, in about 1965, seeing their activities as an adult.
“I was riding home one night and at Florida Avenue and Valencia there was a field and they were burning a cross,” Whittley-Tabron said. “There was a number you could call to alert the police, and my mother was so mad. She said you shouldn’t have done that.”
Her mother, she explained, was concerned that whoever took the call would tell the Klan who had reported the burning cross.
But Whittley-Tabron said she enjoys viewing the more pleasant aspects of the display, seeing old friends among the pictures, and celebrating their triumphs and successes.
“It’s gonna take a while for me to get through it,” Whittley-Tabron said. “Every time I’m here, I look to see what’s what. It’s beautiful and we can add to it as things change.”
If you go:
The Coleman-Bush Building is located at 1104 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Lakeland.
It is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., although some programs and activities may occur outside of normal operational hours.
For more information, call (863) 834-3350 or email ColemanBush@lakelandgov.net
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