Oral History Interview with Camellia Suzie Million Tinsley

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“Stories From the Balcony”

Interviews about the Grand Theatre in Frankfort, Kentucky

Interview on Video with

Camellia Suzie Million Tinsley

On Location at The Grand Theatre

Tape 1 – 2007OH02.39

Conducted by Joanna Hay

November 4th, 2010

This project has been supported by the Kentucky Oral History Commission

And Save The Grand Theatre, Inc.

Interview begins with Camellia Suzie Million Tinsley speaking with Joanna Hay inside The Grand Theatre, the balcony in the background.

TINSLEY: I’m retired. Retired.

HAY: Ok. Well, we’re ready to get started, so I’ve got the tape rolling and I’ll just introduce the tape, this part of the tape. Today is November the 4th, 2010. We are in The Grand Theatre in Frankfort, Kentucky. My name is Joanna Hay doing the interview. And we are talking with Camellia, or Suzie Million, Tinsley today, but everybody in Frankfort knows you as Suzie Million.

TINSLEY: Suzie Million, yeah.

HAY: Yeah. So, first of all, can you tell me where you were born and what neighborhood you grew up in.

TINSLEY: I was born in Frankfort, Kentucky. I grew up on Blanton Street. My mother and father and sister…[Interruption]…three-hundred block, and I lived with my grandmother at 406 Blanton Street.

HAY: Ok. And, what part of town was Blanton Street?

TINSLEY: That was the north. The north part of town. North Frankfort.

HAY: Ok. Is it still there? Blanton Street?

TINSLEY: No. There are still buildings. I think it’s a State Center. Kentucky State Center.

HAY: One of the…the tower, or…one of those big buildings?

TINSLEY: One of those big buildings.

HAY: One of those big buildings.

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: So, the neighborhood you grew up in is gone?

TINSLEY: Its gone.

HAY: Do you remember when it went away? Do you remember that era?

TINSLEY: Uh, yeah. Yeah. I remember.

HAY: What was that like?

TINSLEY: It was a let down, really. It was like leaving a home. And, if you’ve ever owned one home, and had to move to another, then you will understand. It was just sickening because that was a lifetime of memories, you know. It was like breaking up memories, you know.

HAY: Uh hum.

TINSLEY: Leaving your childhood and moving on.

HAY: So big changes.

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: Yeah. I just need to make an adjustment here real quick.

[Interruption]

HAY: Alright. So we were talking about your neighborhood going away.

TINSLEY: Uh hum. Neighborhood going away.

HAY: Yeah. So, what was it like growing up on Blanton Street?

TINSLEY: Oh! It was a fun time. They were the years, you know, growing up on Blanton Street. All the memories, you know. We were um…well, they would say, “back in the day”. But, they were the good days.

HAY: So, what was the community like? Did you have a lot of family around? What were your neighbors like?

TINSLEY: You were surrounded with family. Everybody knew everybody. It was a time…it was a time in your life when you did something wrong, everybody had the right to correct you. So, it was that sort of…where a village…they say it takes a village to raise a child, then that was the community that we grew up in. Where it took a village to raise a child.

HAY: So, that’s what it was like?

TINSLEY: Yeah. That’s what it was like.

HAY: So, if you got in trouble on your way home from school…?

TINSLEY: And I was told on…if the person that saw me…if she felt like correcting me…and there was no “spare the rod, spoil the child.” That was a rule. If you “spared the rod, you spoiled the child.” [Chuckle] That was the rule of the day. There was no 9-1-1. There was no fear in, you know, the parents. The parent ruled. But, like children, we absorbed the rules and regulations, and we knew right from wrong. So, it was one of those things. It was in that sort of day. That time.

HAY: Different from today.

TINSLEY: Yes.

HAY: The way children…

TINSLEY: It was another generation.

HAY: Yeah. So, where did you go to school?

TINSLEY: I went to elementary school at Mayo Underwood, and I went to high school at Mayo Underwood. And, I think in the…well, after the eleventh grade, I went to Lincoln Institute in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky, which was a private school.

HAY: Where was Lincoln Ridge?

TINSLEY: It’s in Simpsonville, Kentucky.

HAY: Why did you go there?

TINSLEY: Ok. At the time, I think they were closing Mayo Underwood High School. I was into music. The year prior to that, I had been offered a scholarship…a music scholarship. So, I wanted to continue my singing. And, it wasn’t that I was afraid of integration, it was that I was afraid of losing the years of music that I had already accomplished. So, I went to Lincoln Institute and I really enjoyed it. It was a school where a lot of the black children were bussed in from other areas where they did not have high school, or they, you know, had no black schools. So, they would come to Lincoln Institute. It was a boarding high school. The only one that I know of, you know.

HAY: Were there a lot of rural students? Did they come from the counties or the bigger cities?

TINSLEY: A lot of rural students and city students. Students came from Louisville, Kentucky. Jeffersonville and Louisville. There were boys, I think, there were a couple of people from Chicago, Illinois, and…because it was a prep school, it prepared you. You could major at Lincoln Institute in things like business administration, English. It was a preparation school. It would prepare you for college.

HAY: So, did many of the students go on to college from the Lincoln Institute?

TINSLEY: A lot. A lot of students went on to college. Yeah.

HAY: So, it sounds like there was a music program that was really going to nurture your talents there.

TINSLEY: Yeah. There was drama. It was the first time that I was able to take theatre, drama. We had a drama class. We got drama choruses. We were able to leave, you know, the classroom and go into the theatre, which would have been the gymnasium at the time. It was an experience.

HAY: What was it like living away from home for the first time at a boarding school?

0: 1:00 …-0: 2:00TINSLEY: It was exciting. It was something new. I thought maybe it was something that I’d have to get used to, but I guess I really enjoyed meeting new people, and it was an opportunity for me to expand.

HAY: Sounds like it.

TINSLEY: Reach out.

HAY: Was the Lincoln Institute a state school or a private school?

TINSLEY: It was a private school, but it was state accredited.

HAY: So, was there a tuition?

TINSLEY: Yes, there was a tuition. There was a tuition.

HAY: Yep. It sounds like you got exposed to a lot of really great stuff, that, obviously, you went on…because I understand you have continued singing.

TINSLEY: Yes, I did.

HAY: And performing?

TINSLEY: Yes. It’s exciting. It’s a God-given talent.

HAY: I want to hear more about that. I want to come back to your singing. And, Sheila told me that your whole family sings, and…

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: But, before when we were walking around upstairs, you remembered that you went to preschool. Tell me the name of the preschool and who the teacher was.

TINSLEY: You know, I’m trying to think of the name of it. [Chuckle] I can’t think of the name. But, it was at Second and Murray Street. It was Dorothy Wilson, who was also the…I guess you would call her the curator or over, you know, this section of The Grand Theatre. The ticket-taker. She was also a schoolteacher. She taught us in elementary school. But then, I remember her in the preschool at…oh gosh! I cannot think of the name of the school. It was sort of like a nursery school, or a daycare that we have today. She was really a versatile woman. Yeah. And like Benny said, she was a no nonsense person who you knew to respect. “Hey, Miss Wilson’s on her way down the hall, alright.” That sort of thing.

HAY: That’s fun. So you can remember her from your earliest memories…

TINSLEY: Yeah. Yeah.

HAY: Because if you were four or five…at that kind of age, right?

TINSLEY: Yeah. It had to have been four because it was prior to kindergarten, or prior to first grade.

HAY: So, do you think Miss Wilson went from that preschool to then teaching in the elementary school? And, kind of followed you?

TINSLEY: At Mayo Underwood.

HAY: Because you remember her teaching at Mayo Underwood, right?

TINSLEY: Yeah. I remember her teaching at Mayo Underwood too.

HAY: Do you remember what she taught, or what grades?

TINSLEY: I think Miss Wilson…and I’m not sure, don’t quote me on this…but she had to be first or second grade.

HAY: Ok. Ok. And, what do you remember about her as a teacher? What was she like as a teacher?

TINSLEY: She was…oh, gosh! Like Benny said, no nonsense. You respected her. You respected what she was teaching. She wasn’t an outward sort of…she didn’t have an outgoing personality. It was sort of subtle. Firm and to the point, you know. She’d get your attention. You learned. You learned.

HAY: And, what’s so interesting about her too is that not only do you have a memory of her as a teacher, but then when you would come to the theatre, you would see her also, right?

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: Did she do both jobs?

TINSLEY: She did both jobs. Both jobs.

0: 3:00 …-0: 4:00HAY: Do you know anything about her family or…?

TINSLEY: She wasn’t married, but I do remember that she lived with her mother on the south side of town on Second Street, I think.

HAY: Ok. So, when you came to The Grand Theatre then, you would come to the top of the stairs in the balcony and there she would be. And I understand…

TINSLEY: Miss Wilson would be there waiting to take your ticket.

HAY: Do you remember any particular stories about anything that happened with her, or anything that occurred?

TINSLEY: Nothing other than she would…I’m not going to say she policed, but she supervised the theatre area. And, she did make sure that everyone was…you know…you were on your best behavior. There was no playing…you know…playing around. You might sneak and go, you know, a couple of things, but hey! If you got caught, you were caught. [Chuckle]

HAY: So, I asked you earlier what age you think you were when you first came to the theatre. Who did you come with?

TINSLEY: I think around…it had to be five or six, ok? And, I’d always come with my sisters and brother. When I got a little older, then my youngest brother, Alfred, would have to accompany me to the theatre. I guess he was a chaperone.

HAY: Was that because you were getting to be about dating age? Were you getting to be dating age?

TINSLEY: Yes. Yes. [Chuckle] But we still had our ways, you know.

HAY: What are the names of your parents?

TINSLEY: Nanny Million. Nanny Mason Million was my mother and Alfred Million was my father.

HAY: Where did they come from?

TINSLEY: Frankfort. My father was born in Versailles, Kentucky.

HAY: So, they were from this area?

TINSLEY: Yeah. They were from this area.

HAY: What kind of work did they do?

TINSLEY: My father worked at Stagg’s Distillery. He was a messenger at the time. And, that’s where he retired from. Stagg’s. Now, my mother did not work out until, I think, I was in college, and I think she just did that to have something to do, you know.

HAY: So, tell me about music in your family.

TINSLEY: Oh! [Chuckle] Music was just a part of it, you know. There were ten of us, ok? And, we all sang. We sang as a group, and then, we sang as individuals. And, it was just a pastime, you know. With that many children, you had to find something to do, so I guess we discovered ourselves.

HAY: What order…what birth order are you?

TINSLEY: I was the third.

HAY: So, kind of in the middle?

TINSLEY: Two boys…

HAY: In the middle region.

TINSLEY: Yeah. Two boys ahead of me.

HAY: So, you went on to continue singing, is that right?

TINSLEY: Yeah I did. Jack Rob, who was an undertaker…very talented…he played organ and piano. He played organ and piano together. And, during the summer months when I was a teenager, we’d travel to places like Louisville for garden parties given by sororities. If it wasn’t a sorority, it was a social club giving a party in Springfield, Kentucky. I remember Bardstown, Lexington…Bowling Green was my favorite place because we’d have to give a concert at night…on a Saturday night…and then on Sunday after church, there was a tea. And, it was always on the lawn of the undertaker’s [Chuckle] in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And, it was exciting. I enjoyed it. And, I think it was my introduction to people. Meeting people and being able to get out and do something different, you know. And then, aside from that, when I was in…even in elementary school…I think I was fourteen. No! I was going into high school. I had a radio program. WOKY. [Chuckle]

HAY: Right here in Frankfort?

TINSLEY: Right here in Frankfort.

HAY: So, when you were what age?

TINSLEY: I had to have been fourteen.

HAY: And, tell me about the radio program. What did you do?

TINSLEY: I sang fifteen minutes. I think I got paid twenty-five dollars a month. I’m not really sure, but I did get paid. And, Mrs…Miss Blanton, who was our music teacher at Mayo Underwood High School, she played piano so she played for me then.

HAY: So, would you introduce the show and then sing a song and have a piano accompaniment? What would you do?

TINSLEY: No, usually the announcer would introduce the show, and then maybe I’d do two selections and then a commercial. And then, maybe two or three more, and then it was over.

HAY: Wow! That’s amazing! Well, I mean, everybody in Frankfort must have been listening to you.

TINSLEY: I don’t know, but I would hope so. [Chuckle] Anyway…

HAY: That’s really sweet. That’s amazing to think about. Did that get your ambition going a little bit for performance do you think?

TINSLEY: No, I wanted to do more, but I don’t know. It was sort of hard to climb the ladder and maybe get known nationally. But I do remember…I can’t remember the teacher’s name. She was a principal at Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky. And, I would travel from Frankfort to Louisville. She was a songwriter and I would write songs. And, she had a son that had a band. And, we started recording our songs and trying to get the songs published. And, I don’t know. It just didn’t…but anyway, it was something to do. We didn’t have any published, but it was something to do.

HAY: Did you continue playing…performing out? Did you perform on stages or in clubs?

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: Did you do that? Where did you do that?

TINSLEY: I did a supper club for Randy Reed. Now as far as nightclubs, when I was in high school, ok? At Lincoln. We had a little band, and I sang in the band off and on. And, we had a…it was standard engagement at what we called…I think they called it…it was in Lebanon, Kentucky. Club Cherry. And, a girlfriend of mine from Frankfort, her father and mother were at Kentucky State College. Rita Wright and I sang with the band, so that was the only club singing…nightclub singing that I did. And, then Randolph Reed, who used to play here, he was a graduate of Kentucky State. When he opened his supper club in Louisville, I sang there on weekends.

HAY: So, what does music and…what has music and singing meant to you in your life?

TINSLEY: It was a hobby. It was a hobby. And, it gave me something to reach for, you know. Even though I don’t entertain now, you know, I do sing when I’m asked. You know, at different churches and that sort of thing.

HAY: Right. That’s great. So, now, going back to when you were a child and a teenager. What do you remember doing for fun around Frankfort?

0: 5:00 …-0: 6:00TINSLEY: Oh! Going to the movies, ok? Coming to The Grand Theatre on weekends. Like I said, it was earned entertainment for us. It was really a privilege because, like I said, we had to number one, we had to be on our best behavior. We had to have done all our chores during the week. Gone to Sunday school and church. And, then you go to the movies. And, I can’t even remember how much it cost. I keep trying to figure, you know, how much did it cost to get in?

HAY: Would your parents give you an allowance, or give you money to come to the theatre? Or did you have pocket money from jobs you did, or…?

TINSLEY: Well, they’d give us some money.

HAY: Yeah.

TINSLEY: Yeah. Occasionally you’d go to the store for somebody. Maybe you’d get a nickel or a dime, or something like that, and you’d save it. That was an extra bun for me. [Chuckle]

HAY: Tell me about the buns.

TINSLEY: I loved them! I loved them! They were…it was…and it had to have been made by Hershey because it was a sort of like caramel, fudge, with peanuts, and covered with chocolate. Yeah. Or you could get the vanilla covered, you know, with peanuts and then chocolate. And, I loved those things. I loved my buns! And, you know, I haven’t been able to find them. You know, I’ve gone in theatres in Louisville and I’ve looked. They just don’t make them anymore.

HAY: And, you were saying that it was special. It was sort of your theatre treat, right? It’s what you…

TINSLEY: It was special, yeah. That, popcorn and a Coke. Coca Cola. We’re plugging them tonight. [Chuckle]

HAY: And, a bun. [Chuckle] So, before you came today and you knew we were going to do this interview, what were your thoughts about what you were going to encounter when you got here?

TINSLEY: I really didn’t know. I was trying to think of my favorite movies and maybe, you know, what did we see? What did we go there to see? And, then a lot of things did come back.

HAY: What do remember seeing?

TINSLEY: Mostly westerns. Mostly westerns. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. And, The Lone Ranger. I remember there were other movies. Jackie Gleason. And, the musicals with Doris Day because she was sweet. And, I would come to just hear the scores. I’d try to pick up a new tune to write words to, you know, and it was…The Grand Theatre was just a treat. And, it was an outlet. Really. It was.

HAY: When you would come, you would…that’s wonderful. You’d be picking up musical melodies, and…

TINSLEY: Yeah. The scores from the movies. Especially the [..], you know. Now Rosemary Clooney would sing, you know. I remember she was in some movies. But, Doris Day and…

HAY: Did you have favorite singers when you were young? When you were a teenager, who were your favorite singers?

TINSLEY: You know, Dorothy Dandridge. I remember seeing Carmen, and I watched it at least three times. And, what was so funny is when I went to Maryland State College, I got into the drama club. And, naturally, I had to sing with the college chorus. And, I was Carmen. I did Carmen. And, it was very exciting. That was something that I had really looked forward to because I would sit in the balcony, look down, and put my face on her face and it did. It came to life. I will never forget Mrs. Michaels…Doctor Michaels…she gave me the part. Yeah.

HAY: So you had seen it here at The Grand Theatre when you were growing up?

TINSLEY: Uh hum. And, then I got to enact the part.

HAY: That’s incredible.

TINSLEY: Uh hum. Everything but the ballet. [Chuckle] I could not ballet, and she did have a little part in there, but somebody else in the dance department did that, but…yeah. And, we even took it to Delaware State, so…

HAY: You traveled with it?

TINSLEY: Yeah. We traveled with it.

HAY: Well, tell me about college. So, you graduated from Lincoln?

TINSLEY: Uh hum. And, then I went on to Maryland State College. And, I came back to Kentucky State College. I didn’t graduate from Kentucky State College because I was offered a job at the police department as secretary to the chief of police. And it was an opportunity. I didn’t want to be a teacher. [Chuckle] It was exciting. It was an adventure. I got to do a lot of things. I learned a lot. Learned a lot, yeah.

HAY: So, that was here. The police department here in Frankfort?

TINSLEY: Uh hum. In Frankfort.

HAY: And, how long did you stay in that position?

TINSLEY: I stayed there four years. Uh hum.

HAY: Now, you told me you moved to Louisville in 19…?

TINSLEY: In 1987.

HAY: What made that move? Tell me about that move.

0: 7:00 …-0: 8:00TINSLEY: Ok. I was working for the education department and a job came available at what they called the Win Program. And, it was an opportunity for me to venture into something different. And, the Win Program was a program that was run by the state, and what we did is we placed women and men in apprentice positions in the community in Louisville. And, we followed them through those apprentice positions, and then they would either…if they did well, then they’d get a full-time job. I moved out of that area into another area within the Win Program where I was doing social work, you know. It was an opportunity to go back to school, and so…it was interesting.

HAY: Do you have any kids?

TINSLEY: I have one daughter. Uh hum. And six grandchildren. Six. Yeah. [Chuckle] The oldest is twenty-nine. And, believe it or not, he’s like me. He’s still with his grandmother. [Chuckle]

HAY: And, so they all grew up in Louisville? Your daughter and your grandkids all grew up in Louisville?

TINSLEY: Yes. All grew up in Louisville.

HAY: What do you tell your kids—your daughter and your grandkids about what it was like growing up here in Frankfort?

TINSLEY: I don’t think I really have to tell them. They’ve learned from their aunts and their uncles. They’ve heard their stories. They know that grandmother…when grandmother says something, she means it. Not to stray too much. Rebellion isn’t a word, you know, around us. We’ve got to be strict. You’ve got to teach morals, and we try to give them the same things that…I try to teach them the same way that I was taught. But, you know, this is another day, so I have to vary a little bit, but…anyway. It was a good time.

HAY: Yeah. It was a very different time when you were growing up here in Frankfort, and of course, you had to sit in the balcony. When you think about that…the fact that, you know…

TINSLEY: We had the best seats in the house. [Chuckle] We had the best seats in the house. Even now when we go to the theatre…Sheila and I were talking…Kentucky Center for the Arts? I want the balcony. The Palace? I want the balcony. They’re just the best seats. You get to see everything. There isn’t a lot of disturbance. You’re not distracted, you know. You know who is there, and who is with whom. [Chuckle] So…

HAY: It’s true.

TINSLEY: I like the balcony.

HAY: Do you remember at the time feeling any resentment or any of the bitterness of ‘why are we segregated?’ And, what were your feelings at the time about segregation?

TNSLEY: Children…children are like sponges and they absorb what they hear. And, it wasn’t a time where we were told to know our place, or that sort of thing. You just accepted it, you know, and went along with the program because your parents, you know. And, then until we, like I said, we did not rebel, you know. Segregation then was just something that was. It was accepted. And, like I said, we didn’t know it then, but we had the best seats in the house. [Chuckle] And, it really wasn’t that you were segregated because we were raised in a strong, faith-based community and you had family. And, we were happy. We were at peace. Why stir up the world around you?

HAY: Were you in Frankfort for the March on Frankfort?

0: 9:00 …-0: 10:00TINSLEY: Yes.

HAY: What do you remember about that? Anything?

TINSLEY: I was at the police department at the time, so I had to work.

HAY: What was the dynamics like?

TINSLEY: It was exciting. It really was. I sat there and I just listened to see what was going to happen. And, I think a lot of the police were out on the street at the time. And, nothing really…nothing really happened that I can remember where the law was broken, anybody got hurt, or that sort of thing, but it was…you know…I sat there in anticipation just waiting to see what would happen. But, nothing happened.

HAY: But, you were in an interesting…you had an interesting vantage point.

TINSLEY: I was. I really was. I really was. Uh huh. And, I remember Jimmy Griffin at the time. He was the first, black policeman. And, we not only worked together, but we were friends because we went to Kentucky State College together. And, we talked about it afterwards, and I think we decided that we expected more to happen, or we were anticipating more to happen, than really happened. Yeah.

HAY: That’s very interesting though. You went on…you were telling me a little bit in the green room before we started the interview…you went on with your work with the Department of Education, or some of the bussing things that were going on in Louisville and Jefferson County in the seventies. Do you want to tell me a little bit about that?

0: 11:00 …-0: 12:00TINSLEY: Yeah, I was working for the state at the time. I was in AFTC, and I had to get my daughter up at five o’clock, you know, for her to be bussed—and get on the bus and get to school on time. There were a lot of instances where students were being disciplined and pushed out of school. And, I started working with Reverend Curry at the time with the SCLC. And, I wrote a program and it was called The Louisville and Jefferson County Students Defense Project. I wrote the program, and was funded, and [..]. And, what our aim was…to introduce and to educate the parents, and to act in their behalf, when a student was suspended from high school or from elementary school, to let the parent know that the student did have a right. That it wasn’t just one of those occasions where you say, “You go home. You did this, that and the other.” It was like anything else, you know. You are innocent until you are proven guilty. And, the parents didn’t’ know that. So, I quit my job at the state and I set up office in my dining room. And, I worked out of the dining room. I did get funded, and we were successful in getting a hearing in Louisville. The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education came to the University of Louisville, and consequently, through those efforts, a book was written fulfilling the letter and the spirit of the law. And, our organization was recognized for the work that they had done, and several people that were with the organization were quoted at the end of the book, and throughout the book. And, then after that, I just took off and was invited to go other places to speak, especially in California. They were getting ready to go through the same thing. And, then I started working with the PTA, and that was through University of Louisville Consortium and the PTA Consortium, and I worked with them. And, what we did is we trained parents as to the PTA and tried to get not only the black parents, but grass-root parents involved in the PTA to solve a lot of the problems that were going on. We trained, I guess it was around six or…well, we had ten women that we trained and took to Lexington, and we even elected the first, black male PTA state president to the PTA. Oh, gosh! I can’t even think of his name, but we went to school together at Kentucky State College. He was a Kentucky State College grad. So, it was very successful. I don’t know what happened. After two years, the Consortium…I think our funding—some of our federal funding was cut because of some of the reporting that was done.

HAY: That’s exciting work.

TINSLEY: Yeah. It was.

HAY: At an exciting time.

TINSLEY: I enjoyed it. It was an exciting time.

HAY: So, what years were the…what years was that when you quit your job at the state and went to that?

TINSLEY: Let’s see. I quit my job at the state in ’76. ’77, ’78, and ’79 was the period that I was doing most of the traveling and going to and fro.

HAY: Ok. Ok.

TINSLEY: Outside of state. And, working with other parent groups in Missouri. It was interesting.

HAY: That’s interesting. Sounds like wonderful work. Do you remember…I’m now looking at my notes to make sure I ask you these detailed questions. Do you happen to remember if there were any live shows here at The Grand Theatre?

TINSLEY: None. None that I know of. That I can remember.

HAY: Ok. And, I’ve got some names to ask you about. Callie Weathers. You talked about Callie Weathers.

0: 13:00 …-0: 14:00TINSLEY: Yes, Miss Weathers.

HAY: Do you remember her here at the theatre?

TINSLEY: Yeah. At the theatre. I was trying to remember who it was until Sheila…

HAY: And, you were asking…you brought up a Miss Ellis?

TINSLEY: No. I thought it was Miss Ellis, but it was Miss Weathers. Her son was Doctor Weathers from Louisville, Kentucky. And, his daughter was also in [..] there in Louisville.

HAY: Wow. And, I think they are also related to the Marshall’s.

TINSLEY: To the Marshall’s. Yes.

HAY: Yep.

TINSLEY: There is a Doctor Weathers Drive that was named after him in Louisville, in the Duvalle area, which is a new complex. Something new that they’re trying there.

HAY: I know about that. I know about that neighborhood. Was he…so he was a significant figure in the community?

TINSLEY: Yeah. He probably went to The Grand Theatre too. [Chuckle]

HAY: Maybe.

TINSLEY: He was a little older than I, but I do remember.

0: 15:00 …-0: 16:00HAY: Yep. I’m just going to throw out some other names. Mr. Parsons? Gene Lutes? Allie Combs?

TINSLEY: Uh hum.

HAY: Allie Combs?

TINSLEY: Allie Combs. The name is familiar.

HAY: Jim Aderberry?

TINSLEY: Yes, and I’m trying to think. Aderberry. Uh hum. The name is familiar.

HAY: Yeah. Do you know anyone who might have photographs of Miss Wilson?

TINSLEY: Uh…I’m going to ask my sister. Let me see.

HAY: If you come across any, let me and Sheila…let Sheila or me know.

TINSLEY: Ok.

HAY: We’d love to have photographs.

TINSLEY: A photograph of Miss Wilson. I might know, and I’m afraid to say right now because I don’t want to put somebody on the spot. But I might know. Yeah.

HAY: That would be amazing.

TINSLEY: Ok.

HAY: That would be amazing. Did you ever attend movies at The Capitol Theatre?

TINSLEY: No. No, I didn’t go to The Capitol Theatre.

HAY: Ok. Because when you were young here, you couldn’t…I mean, there was like an overlap time when you could…African-Americans could go, but they didn’t go.

TINSLEY: And, then, you know, I was into music. And, once Jack Rob and I, and his son played drums and his daughter was a musician…and Porsche is still…in fact, I saw Porsche two days ago. She’s in Louisville. But, once I started…I got into my music, and like I said, we had family and there were other places. And, being at Lincoln, you met new friends. There were other things that were going on in other communities that you got involved in. So, the theatre just really didn’t interest me, you know, anymore.

HAY: Yeah. So, Mr. Rob’s daughter, Porsche? Porsche Rob? Is that her name now? Porsche Rob?

TNSLEY: Uh hum.

HAY: So, she’s in Louisville?

TINSLEY: Yes.

HAY: So, the Rob family was…

TINSLEY: Porsche Rob Higgins.

HAY: Higgins. The Rob family…now, when did the funeral home close? I understand that it closed at some point.

TINSLEY: Yeah, it did. I’m not really sure the year that the funeral home closed. I think it closed and then he opened on East Main? I’m not really sure.

HAY: But, you’ve kept in touch with the family?

TINSLEY: Yeah. With Porsche.

HAY: With Porsche.

TINSLEY: I live on 39th. She lives on 45th. So, we’re not too far away from each other.

HAY: Not too far. Did Mr. Rob stay in Frankfort, and did he have a long life?

TINSLEY: Yeah, he stayed in Frankfort. I think he was in an automobile accident, and he did move to Louisville.

HAY: Ok. Someone told me a story, and you’ll have to tell me if I have it right. I may have forgotten. Did he put on shows here in Frankfort that he would invite people…was it like a…would he have like house concerts or performances? Was it Mr. Rob that did that?

TINSLEY: He’d have them here at the house—here at the home—and we would also give concerts at Kentucky State College during the summer, especially when they had conventions. Or maybe not conventions, but seminars like the library…Kentucky Library Associations. Something like that. And, yeah, he did give…we would give concerts, parties, teas…

HAY: What were the parties like?

TINSLEY: I’d go in and sing, and I’d go home. [Chuckle]

HAY: Was it when you were a little girl or older?

TINSLEY: Well, let’s say from teen up. But, that’s when I did meet a lot of people and a lot of other things. He was friends to a lot of people who were involved in fraternities. Fundraisers. They’re the sort of concerts that we’d give. They were fundraisers or that sort of thing for a fraternity or sorority. Or a club. And, then when he would have people…and I think it was mostly during the Derby when people would come from out-of-state to Louisville, to the Derby, and…

HAY: So, he was social and entertaining and brought people together, it sounds like.

TINSLEY: Yes, he was. And, then he did a lot of Marti Gras. [Chuckle]

HAY: Sounds like he was the guy to know.

TINSLEY: Yeah. [Chuckle] He was.

HAY: So, when you look back on your childhood and growing up in Frankfort, what do you remember the most fondly?

TINSLEY: My school. My school years. Elementary school. Just the community. Just the things that we did in the community. Like I said, there were so many of us that I really didn’t need, you know…the family and that sort of…didn’t need to socialize. And, then involved with the music. That took up a lot of time. A lot of time because we’d have to practice.

HAY: Yeah.

TINSLEY: Yeah. And, Jack was… “Be on time!”

HAY: So, I think I’ve asked all the questions I’m going to ask. Do you have anything that you’ve thought about that you’d wished you’d said, or anything…?

TINSLEY: No. Maybe going back to Louisville. [Laughter] If I do, I’ll call you. Give me your telephone number. And, if there’s something else I have to tell you, I’ll call you.

HAY: You’ll remember when you’re driving back. [Laughter]

TINSLEY: Yeah.

HAY: Thank you so much for driving all the way to Frankfort.

TINSLEY: Thank you for the experience. Just seeing, you know, The Grand. I’m telling you. Love the colors. I love the colors. That teal! When I come back, I’ll have to wear teal.

HAY: That’s a good idea.

TINSLEY: So I can blend in.

HAY: I just moved to a wide shot. Now I have a picture of you with the whole theatre.

TINSLEY: So I can blend in with the seats.

HAY: Oh, that’s nice. Thank you again so much.

TINSLEY: Thank you, and it was so nice meeting you.

HAY: Nice to meet you. I’m sure our paths will cross again.

TINSLEY: I hope so.

END OF INTERVIEW

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