Download [Page] [Document]
mcc-ns1-085
Farming For A Better Future, page 59
(Above) 1920 Federal Census Excerpt Showing Bruce Thompson Living with Step-Father Frank Meredith (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com) (Left) City Directory for Tuscumbia, 1926, with Bruce and Ella Thompson Highlighted (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995) college-trained embalmer and funeral director in Northwest Alabama.” Junior then joined his father in the business and it became Thompson & Son Funeral Home. Thompson & Son moved to its current location - the circa 1912 home of a Tuscumbia doctor - in 1938. The business did well through the mid-20th century and in 1962, after her husband's death, Mrs. Thompson built and opened a second location on Poplar Street in Florence. As of 1982, the business was owned by Col. Arthur D. Graves and his wife, Ms. Jean Long Graves, a retired Air Force officer and a former educator. Both locations are still in operation. In November 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Graves gave an oral history interview to a collaboration (Below) 1930 Federal Census Excerpt Showing Bruce Thompson as an “Undertaker” (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com) (Bottom) 1920 Federal Census Excerpt Showing Tim Ricks Renting on His Father's Land (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com) between the Tennessee Valley Historical society and the University of North Alabama. Col. Graves discussed how he grew up in a segregated Tuscumbia. He and his siblings attended Trenholm High School. Every school had hand-me-down books, desks, and athletic equipment and clothes from the local white schools, even though Trenholm was one of the best schools for African Americans in the North Alabama in the early 20th century. The Colonel recalls how there were no libraries, laboratories, or school counselors available to the community. The lack of these commodities reinforced the importance of parents who subscribed to magazines, teachers who purchased their own books and supplies, and principals that assisted students in reaching the next level of education. His parents, like others in the community, focused their interest on not just the academic performance of the students, but also on the extra-curricular activities such as plays, choir, football, and recitations. These are the life experiences that he remembers the most. Col. Graves remembers that his older brothers all left Trenholm to go to high school programs at Tuskegee Institute and all his older sisters left to go to Spellman College in Atlanta. Col. Graves and his younger sister were the only ones to complete high school at Trenholm before he went on to Tuskegee Institute. G. W. Trenholm (1871-1925) 59 - COLBERT George Washington Trenholm is best known as the principal of Tuscumbia Colored School from 1896 to 1916. Mr. Trenholm was born in Colara, Alabama in 1871. By the time he was 25 years old, he had moved to Tuscumbia and took the position as Tuscumbia (Below) City Directory for Tuscumbia, 1913, with George and Ellen Trenholm Highlighted (Ancestry. com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995) - (4587)