Joann Snowden Woodson | clarksburghistory

Joann Snowden Woodson's Oral History

(as told to Jean Hulse-Hayman 2023)

Joann’s father was born in May of 1900. As a young boy he lived on an extension of the Snowden Farm property in Clarksburg Maryland. He remembered going to the old Rocky Hill School built in 1878 for Black students. Before Rocky Hill was built, Black children attended school at the John Wesley Church, (now Community of Faith Church), in Clarksburg. Around seventh grade her father’s family moved to DC to a house at 12th and Rhode Island Avenue across from the YMCA. At that point he went to Garnet Patterson Jr High.

Joann remembers Rosenwald Schools built for Black students between 1913 to 1932. You could recognize a Rosenwald School. They were all the same color and faced east to get the most morning light.

Joann was born at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington DC on May 26, 1929. She was the eldest of three children. Her father was a chauffeur for Dr. Thomas Kelly, the chief of surgery at Columbia Women’s Hospital in Washington, DC. Joann lived with her family on the 3rd floor of Dr. Kelly’s and his family’s large home at 2300 California Street from when she was an infant until four years of age. She remembers the house had a second-floor library with lots and lots of books all available to Joann. Dr. Kelly made sure Joann was included in playtime with his kids. If they got a bicycle, she would get one too. For his work, Joann’s father wore a white shirt and black suit purchased from the uniform store called Livingston’s in DC and paid for by Dr. Kelly. She thought her Dad looked very handsome all dressed up nice for work. On some weekends her Dad had use of the car and would take Joann and her mom out to visit family in Clarksburg, MD. Joann remembers a code her parents would use to discuss whether to stop at High’s for ice cream. The code was I cug E cug rug E A mom. They used this until Joann cracked the code.

Her Mom was the head housekeeper at 2300 California Street which meant she performed no cooking, cleaning or laundry. Her Mom wore a navy-blue dress with an apron. Other staff Joann can remember are a woman named Charlotte who lived in Anacostia and a woman named Viola. Joann remembers Dr. Kelly had a daughter named Patsy. Joann’s parents’ duties at the house didn’t overlap so one of them was always with her. Her Dad was with her in the afternoon and some evenings if he wasn’t driving and her mother had duties serving dinner. Before Joann started school at 5 years old, her Dad taught her to read and her multiplication tables. Most Blacks lived in lower NW Washington DC and NE Washington DC as far as 21st Street. A few lived in SW Washington, DC. What is now Southeast was called Anacostia, it was on the outskirts like a suburbia. If Miss Charlotte, who was responsible for the kitchen, worked late there were no trolleys for her to get to Anacostia. If this happened either Joann’s Dad drove her home or she stayed the night at her workplace.

During the crash of 1929, Joann’s grandmother on her father’s side lost $1500 that had been in Industrial Bank. This grandmother, Emma Snowden, lived at 12th Street and Rhode Island Ave in Washington DC. She also owned a house in Clarksburg, MD that she rented out. Her other grandmother on her mother’s side, Martha Olivia Onley, (Ollie), also lived in DC at 760 Irving Street which was connected to Georgia Avenue. As a girl, Joann remembers getting a trolley car at 11th Street which would take her all the way from her Grandma Snowden’s house to her Grandma Onley’s house. As a girl she skated across Kalorama Road to Grandma Onley’s. This grandmother lived near the Legations. These were the buildings that housed the employees of other states and foreign dignitaries.

Joann’s Uncle Clifton Snowden owned over 100 acres on Clarksburg Road in Clarksburg, MD. Later in life he sold some of his land to the Federal Department of the Interior, that land is part of Little Bennett Park? Joann’s Uncle Franey Snowden and his wife Medessa lived on a farm on Piedmont Road in Clarksburg, MD. They did not have any children of their own and they raised many foster children who were dear to them their whole lives. Snowden Farm Elementary is named after this farm.

With the coming of their second child, Joann’s parents bought land in Kensington, MD from a cousin of her mother’s named Will Ambush. (He was prosperous and owned a big farm north of Darnestown, MD as well as other properties.) Her parents had a man named Mizell- he had a lumber company- build them a house. Her sister, Joyce, was born on July 16, 1933, and she moved into the new house in Kensington with the family.

Joann’s school in Kensington, MD was called Ken-Gar. The school received this name because it was located halfway between Garrett Park and Kensington. It was a two-room Rosenwald School attended by the black children who lived in her neighborhood. She attended that school for grades 1st to 4th. After 4th grade her schooling continued in Washington DC where her father thought the education was superior to the county schools. Joann would ride into the city with her father. Joann attended schools in the area now called Adams-Morgan. At that time Morgan was the school for Black students and Adams was the school for white students. Joann attended Morgan Elementary School for 5th and 6th grade. After school Joann had piano lessons. Mr. Minor was Joann’s piano teacher, and he lived on 9th Street. Joann was 16 years old when she graduated from Armstrong High School located on N Street. During that time, there were three high schools for Black students. Dunbar HS was for college prep, Armstrong HS was for general prep and Cardoza HS was for business prep. On occasion, Joann would take a bus from Kensington to a streetcar in the Kalorama area and go visit both her grandmothers.

At that time, (1939), if you wanted to see live shows there were many theaters in NW Washington. She recalls the Lincoln Theatre, the Howard Theater, the Republic Theatre and the Booker T Theatre. If you wanted to see Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong, you would go to the Howard Theater. The lines would be around the corner!

Joann’s first job was a summer job in a Silver Spring boutique shop called Jelleff’s. She wore a special uniform and operated the elevator.

In around 1949 or 1950, Joann secured a government position. They were offering entry jobs for kids to get into the government. She and her sister, (4 years later), both went and took a couple of tests, one was typing. One government job was on the mall in Washington, DC near the reflecting pool. During lunch, Joann would get a sandwich and a cold drink and sit on a bench and enjoy the blossoms. It was like heaven.

Until she was married, Joann worked in the Veteran’s Department in insurance.

Joann’s future husband, Waverly, left Lincoln University in PA where he was in a pre-med program, to join the army in WWII. He was part of the D-Day landing force on Omaha Beach. He was wounded but continued to perform his duties as a medic attending to over 200 soldiers before he collapsed. The story of the bravery he demonstrated on that day can be read in the book titled, “Forgotten” by Linda Hervieux and a short version is available here. There is a new documentary coming out around May 2024 which is being produced by two women who live in Nigeria and England. Of note, Joann and Waverly were special guests of the French government for an entire week during the 50th anniversary of the invasion of Omaha Beach.

Waverly served in WWII and the Korean War. Waverly’s brother was a Tuskegee airman. Both were fluent in German. Their father owned a pawn shop in Philadelphia and was the wealthiest black man in Philly. At that time, their grandfather owned a hotel named Woodson Hotel that catered to workers on the PA Railroad, like porters.

Following the war, Waverly was first sent to North Carolina to assume the role of teacher for the medical corps. Once he arrived in the south, his superior discovered he was Black. He decided teaching a classroom of white soldiers was not a good match for Waverly because of segregation in the south at that time. So Waverly was sent back north.

He was assigned a tour of duty at the morgue at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He oversaw all the functions of the morgue. When he first took over the morgue had no air conditioning! He had to pull strings to get it upgraded. Happily, it was during this time that he met Joann at a USO dance. She was living in Kensington, MD. Dances like this were considered a good place for young ladies and she and her sister attended them. At the dance Joann saw Waverly eating a sandwich. She walked over and said, “I see you like the food here.” Then they chatted about where they were from, etc.

Joann Snowden was married to Waverly Woodson in August of 1952. After marriage, they lived in a house in Clarksburg, MD that they rented from Joann’s cousin Wilson Wims, (Wilson Wims ES is named after him).

Of note, in 1968 Wilson Wims donated the land and built the recreation center which still stands on Wims Road across from Clarksburg HS. This is the place where the Rocky Hill School for Blacks once stood. Wilson realized the community needed a recreation center. He approached the county, and they were willing to provide the supplies if he gave the land and did the construction. So, he did both. There are two houses across Rt 355 from the recreation center. Back then, one of these was owned by Wilson Wim’s grandfather and the other was owned by Joann’s grandma Snowden.

After marriage, Joann worked for the extension service, located at the courthouse in Rockville, MD, that was part of the University of Maryland. Clients who came in wanted information on agriculture and large tracts of land. It was a spinoff from 4-H. Men were called Home Agents and women were called Home Demonstration Agents. Her group serviced all of Montgomery County Maryland.

Waverly came out of the reserves after the Korean War, (1950-1953). He worked at the Navy Medical Center for 2 years and at NIH in clinical pathology research for 38 years.

Of note, when Joann’s kids (3) were young, she worked in Montgomery County early childhood education for black kids. Doris Hackey of Clarksburg, MD started the program in Rockville at a church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Mr. Joe Hawkins drove the school bus and took the black kids to Lincoln Park because at that time the schools were still segregated.

Joann’s girls attended Rock Terrace ES since she worked nearby. Later her girls went to Broome Jr. High and then Gaithersburg HS. They went on to receive teacher’s degrees from Minor’s College and a master’s degree from Hood College in Frederick, MD.

Her youngest who was a boy went to St. Martins Catholic School for grades one through eight and then to Baker MS for grade nine and Damascus HS for grades ten to twelve. By this time the schools were desegregated.

Joann’s mother modeled giving back to her community through volunteering and Joann certainly followed in her footsteps. In 1975 Joann started the Clarksburg Super Seniors. There were funds from the state for supplies but no pay. She led a mixed-race group of women for 40 years. Some members came all those years, sometimes new people joined, sometimes members passed away. They got together every Wednesday for songs, crafts, speakers, trips, celebrations, etc. Joann’s excellent planning and warm way kept everyone coming each week. Her seniors came to depend on her senior program for fellowship, friendship and fun. In 2008 Joann was recognized for her many hours of service when she received the Montgomery County, Maryland Neal Potter Path to Achievement Award.

Joann was an election day ballot box judge for 22 years.

Joann faithfully attended and participated in the Clarksburg Civic Association while it was active. As part of her outreach for that group, in 2002, she along with Tuck and Eloise Woodfield founded the Clarksburg Historical Society, Inc. Joann has held the post of president of the Clarksburg Historical Society for the past 22 years. The group provides history lessons for the local schools. They also hosted Clarksburg Heritage Day for 17 years, a day of educational family fun with an average yearly attendance of 400 people.

As of this writing, Joann has just turned 95 years old. She still keeps up with friends and local events and she still drives short distances. She lives in a 50+ apartment building where she participates in board game night for the residents. She speaks to classroom groups about her life history and Clarksburg history upon request. She has a good relationship with her 6 grandchildren, (sadly one grandchild passed away suddenly),12 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. She is close to her sister, her cousin and her children. Her long record of community service is an inspiration to everyone who knows her. Her memories of her life and all the changes in society that she experienced provide a wealth of information and a window into the past. Life continues to be good!