Annie Burgess

Published on May 9, 2019

". . .I ask the question is Homewood part of Rosedale? I don't remember what the reply was, it's been just that long, but to me, we get along just fine."

Chapters

Introduction

Interviewees and interviewers introduce themselves and begin to discuss Annie Burgess's personal history.

Play Segment

All My Life

Annie Burgess describes her experiences growing up in Rosedale amongst the church communities and attending Rosedale High School.

Play Segment

Not a Good Feeling

Annie Burgess describes her twelve years attending Rosedale High School and how the Rosedale community responded to the closure of the school due to integration.

Play Segment

This Side of the Highway

Annie Burgess describes growing up with the division of East and West Rosedale, divided by the 18th Street Highway. She also gives her opinion on the past and present gentrification of Rosedale.

Play Segment

Get Along Just Fine

Annie Burgess talks about the relationship between Homewood and Rosedale along with describing the influence of the Lee Center on Rosedale neighborhood's community.

Play Segment

Mules and Horses

Annie Burgess recounts her father, a landscaper in Rosedale, and how her family worked with him across the Birmingham area.

Play Segment

Teaching in Talladega

Annie Burgess describes her career in education, teaching in Talladega and Birmingham.

Play Segment

Past and Future

Annie Burgess tells about the church community in Rosedale, the history of the buildings, and the future of Rosedale's community.

Play Segment

Transcript

KATHRYN TREANOR: It doesn't like it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay. I think we're set, right.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Yup, we're good.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Alright, I apologize that that took so long.

ANNIE BURGESS: It's okay!

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Alright, so I am Jennifer Speights-Binet, I'm their
geography professor. And they're working on senior projects. All of them have to
do with something about Rosedale. So I'm gonna let them introduce themselves to
you and tell you a little bit about their projects.

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Okay I'm Kathryn, uhm I'm a Senior and I'm from outside of D.C.
and Virginia and so Samford's been my home away from home for the past four
years. But uhm the project component that I'm doing is more about community and
kind of how that developed through Rosedale uhm throughout time and kind of just
seeing what your experience has been with that along with many different things
about places and people and how they interact.

AHMAD GOODEN: My name is Ahmad and I'm a senior. I'm from Talladega, Alabama and
my part of the project is uhm mainly focusing on Rosedale High School and just
how important it was to the community uhm I know that the high school uhm was
closed and so I was just uhm focusing on the impact of it before it closed and
after it closed and kind of how it made a difference in uhm in Rosedale citizens
and life in general.

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Alright, so before we start asking questions, we were
wondering if you could tell us your name and...

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay. I'm Annie Burgess. And uhm I was born in Rosedale uh I
lived here just will say all of my life, been trying to find someplace else but
it didn't work.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, are--

ANNIE BURGESS: It's very, it's it's it's a very quiet secure neighborhood, you
know. Uhm, I will say crime resistance you know you don't hear a lots of crime
in Rosedale, just saying. Uhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Have you lived in this house, your whole life?

ANNIE BURGESS: I lived in this house--I, I was trying to recall we used to live
over up on 26th and we moved this house, this house was moved from across the
street to a special location.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Here. So somebody actually lifted the house and moved
it across the street?

ANNIE BURGESS: Right, right, right.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Why? Just because? Was that property being used for
something else or?

ANNIE BURGESS: Uhm, at that particular time I don't know my father just bought it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: I, I don't know the reason behind it but we were young children,
ages 5, 6, 7, somewhere along there so uh this is, we had another house here
well they just demolished that house and just moved this one across the street.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Alright.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Wow.

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh-huh, so that's been a long, long time, you know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right, so you've lived here since you were five or six
or seven?

ANNIE BURGESS: About six, seven, somewhere along there, I couldn't tell the
exact age without going back looking at my birth certificate, you know, but I...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: do know we was, we lived up on 26th. And the community as a whole
is not really a large community but the community was rich, now I'm not talking
about money-wise, okay...it was rich in resources. There was uh one two three
there was about five or six churches in this particular area, this church up on
the end I believe it's the oldest church in the community, Bethel. Although we
did have a church right next door, then we had Union Baptist which is across the
highway then we had Friendship across the highway there was another church, uh
Church of God, which was up here by the freeway, that road, so we were just
having churches all around us.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, yeah. Alright. Mhm. It seems like a lot of
churches for a small neighborhood.

ANNIE BURGESS: For a small community. For a small community.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. Yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: But yet, it was a, they had regular service...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm!

ANNIE BURGESS: And we would come together you know sometime on Sunday evenings
and have church service but it was it was just, a good atmosphere. I did like that.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, good. And you did go to the Rosedale school, right?

ANNIE BURGESS: Grades 1-12. Yes. We called it the school on the hill.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Hmm...the school on the hill?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Now I know that, where the school ended up being was
where the uh Muslim Community Center is now, but wasn't there a location before that?

ANNIE BURGESS: You know what, I...no, that's where I went to Rosedale, that's
all I can speak of is Rosedale and uh, like I said I was grades K...one through
twelve. Now we had some excellent teachers, some of the teachers lived right
here in the community, so there was an experience that we had.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Who was your favorite, what was your favorite year?
Your favorite teacher?

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh, God. I don't know. I don't know because like I say they were,
teachers that were concerned you know they had that interest in us and Rosedale
as a whole, it produced lawyers, doctors, teachers, principals, you know. And
when you went to college you had an excellent background.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, that's great.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. You'd have to study. Really really hard, but you still had
to study. But it was a great factor in us growing, growing up.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah.

AHMAD GOODEN: So uhm so you said it was first grade through twelfth grade--like
all of that was in one school?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. That was all in one school. The school still is up there
now, Rosedale you can almost see it from here it's that stone building. Well in
'69 Rosedale, I believe it was '69 that Rosedale closed. Mhm. And then school.
You know, Homewood. Shades Valley. Shades Cahaba. Whatever.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right. Mhm. Edgewood. So, kids from Rosedale then
started going to Shades Cahaba for elementary school, right? Right there on the corner?

ANNIE BURGESS: Right. And Shades, they went to Shades Valley, also. The, the
high school students, mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah. So, what as best you can remember, what, how did
the community feel about the school closing? Was it, is it was it a source of
sadness, cause I also know you're integrating there's integration happening
across Birmingham, so...

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, well I would say it wasn't really a good feeling. It really
wasn't a good feeling.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: But it happened, and nothing the citizens could do anything
about. So.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Do you think, did people try to keep the school going
or do you, do you remember?

ANNIE BURGESS: You know, there were some concerned parents because see we didn't
have bus, busing. We could walk to school, all those students from other areas
was busing to Rosedale but we, we, we had the great privilege of just walking.
So it wasn't bad, it wasn't bad at all.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. So you always went to the stone school?

ANNIE BURGESS: All. Twelve. Years.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Because we had heard that the school had burned down
and then got rebuilt. Is that before?

ANNIE BURGESS: That was way before my time.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Way before your time.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, uh-uh. It was before my time.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: We should, right. Right. We interviewed Mr. uh Dennis
Bush the other night and he was telling us a little bit about what, what he knew
of that history, so mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, right, mhm. Well I did know that uh I heard about it that
it burned down but as far as me knowing cause like I said all of my attendance
was at Rosedale.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Gotcha, gotcha.

AHMAD GOODEN: So uhm I know you talked about like uhm the teachers lived, some
of the teachers lived in Rosedale, do you think that's why they were so
concerned, and the education was just of quality because the teachers they
really cared so much.

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh, I don't think so. Well, too, yeah, in a way it was because we
could communicate and the parents could easily communicate, you know so it
wasn't uh what would you called it, uh it would just, it was just, teacher
parent communication, I'll put it like that.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah, right.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. Cause one teacher lived over on the next street right here
where they about to do some construction or demolition, right across the
alleyway there was one that lived over on the right near Wells Fargo bank in
that area then we had another teacher that lived in well if you go where Bethel
is now there was some houses up in there so she lived up there. So that's three
teachers and then the principal lived over on B.M. Montgomery street, that's the
street that's named after him.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Ah! Oh.

AHMAD GOODEN: So, it wasn't too much going on that...

ANNIE BURGESS: They didn't know about!

AHMAD GOODEN: And they easily had access to your parents?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: You couldn't get away with anything, right, somebody
would always know, huh?

ANNIE BURGESS: Well... I mean yeah someone would know definitely, definitely.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mr. Bush told us a story the other night about a man uh
one time telling him he needed to stop and tie his shoes and Mr. Bush kinda
fussed at the older gentleman and said man you don't need to tell me to tie my
shoes and it turned out the guy knew his dad and they were at church and the,
the guy said hey I saw your son the other night and he, he gave me some, some
lip you know, he gave me some attitude, and uh Mr. Bush said that from that
point on he did whatever any adult told him to do cause they all knew, do you
have stories like that?

ANNIE BURGESS: I know, I know. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Cause see we was
just, you know. Little kids.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah. Do some of your friends growing up in Rosedale,
still live here, in Rosedale?

ANNIE BURGESS: Yes. There's uh the first class she was one of the first students
to attend shades valley, who else is around here? That's about the only one I
can really recall. Mhm. Mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: That's the one that, that comes to mind. Mhm. Do you
want to ask some questions?

ANNIE BURGESS: Like I said it was, it was just fun growing up in Rosedale.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Uhm I have, we've, I've been reading and we've researched that
people would say that they didn't ever go over the mountain into Birmingham was
that your experience as well that you kind of just stayed in Rosedale and lived
within here?

ANNIE BURGESS: This side of the highway.

KATHRYN TREANORHERINE: This side of the highway, okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Very seldom did we go on the other side.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: Why, I don't know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: And when you say highway, are you talking about...18th street?

ANNIE BURGESS: 18th, 18th street.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: 18th Street okay. 18th street.

ANNIE BURGESS: 18th Street. Mhm. Yeah.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Huh. But there is, there is part of Rosedale on the
other side.

ANNIE BURGESS: Right! Well it is.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: I mean a pretty big part.

ANNIE BURGESS: It is, cause Spring Park is on that side.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, that's right. That's right.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm, Spring Park is there. And it was pretty nice we had our
swimming pools and all this and all of a sudden it closed down and...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. So 18th Street kind of divides Rosedale up? Into
west and east?

ANNIE BURGESS: West and east, right. So we was the eastern side that was the
western side. The eastern side well it's the encroachment side I'll put it that way.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay, okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Where everyone just start building, you know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. Businesses? Lots of businesses.

ANNIE BURGESS: Businesses. Yes. Yes. Yes.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Well, I've, I told you on the phone that when I talked
with you, about you to Doug Clapp, who just thinks the world of you, he said to
make sure I talk to you about the fact that your house is still here while lots
of these other businesses either bought other homes out or pushed people out so
what have been the, what's, what's been hard about that, what have been the
challenges for you about that?

ANNIE BURGESS: Really, it ain't hadn't been any challenges because when we came
up all that was dirt road that's where we played and had our fun playing jack
and hop scotch and catching tad poles and stuff over there on that side. But you
know, it was just a fun area and then one business sold which was on the 19th
place, being that just start. Cause from that studio which is about the second
building upwards...well houses was up in there, there was apartments on the next
street which was 19th place uh huh. So.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: So, all residential but now all business.

ANNIE BURGESS: All residential, but now. Business. Which, it, it didn't bother me.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: It doesn't bother you?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mmmn. We have good, you know, police service because they have to
protect them, you know. It's okay. It's quiet. They know me, I know them, so. We
all get along, you know, just fine.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Sure, sure. Well, this may be too personal of a
question but do people often want to buy your property? Or have they talked
about possibly buying the property to have a business, another business?

ANNIE BURGESS: Not really, not that many. You know, you get these brochures and
these little flyers through the mail but as for, as far as personally, not that
many. And the ones that have come by, you know, you have to think about where
you're going. You think about the community which you have to live, you just
can't pop up and say well I'm gonna sell and I'm gonna whatever you gotta check
it out first.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Sure, sure. Mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: And my mother loved here. She loved here. So we try to keep it
for her. Mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Aw.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm so she lived here until she was what 96. So.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: So she lived here with you?

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh yeah! Yeah. We all enjoyed it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Uh. Do you have children, Mrs. Burgess?

ANNIE BURGESS: No, no.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: No children?

ANNIE BURGESS: No. But I have some nieces and nephews.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Ah, are they in Rosedale?

ANNIE BURGESS: No, no.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Alright. What do you think is the uhm, how do you, what
do you think is the relationship between Rosedale and Homewood?

ANNIE BURGESS: You know, someone one year, I ask the question is Homewood part
of Rosedale? I don't remember what the reply was it's been just that long but to
me, we get along just fine. You know, uhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, mhm. So is Homewood part of Rosedale or is
Rosewood part of Homewood?

ANNIE BURGESS: That's a good question. And I said next time I go to a council
meeting I go see the mayor I've gotta get clarity on that myself. Because really
if you travel west you run into Edgewood and if you go east a little further you
come into uh Mountainbrook in that vicinity and you go on up that way you got
Vestavia so I don't know where we stand. I thought about it I was in bed the
other night and that was something that hit me I said well we centrally located
we just a little community in the valley that's all I can say.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right, right. It is, it's a great location that's for sure.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah it's a great location and uh it's convenient to everything.
We have banks, we have post office, what else do we have round here? Uh, I know
those two.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Where do you, I uh, where do you grocery shop, do you
grocery shop at the pig?

ANNIE BURGESS: At the pig. Uh, Publix. Anywhere.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Uh-huh. Publix, anywhere, okay. So what, what role do
you think the Lee Center plays in the community? How do people use the Lee Center?

ANNIE BURGESS: Well they used to, that's where Rosedale High School used to have
their games. They'd play their uh basketball games, now it is open to the
public, you know. If you wnt to uh however they set it up, but yeah, I think
it's good for the community. It's good for the community.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. Well we, we were there the other night and it was
full of kids, little kids playing basketball.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: I think the little league might be there.

ANNIE BURGESS: Right. Right.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: With Dennis and uh the other guy. Yeah. I mean they used to have
even exercise class, I don't know whether they still have that senior, senior
citizen class up there, now or not.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh. Okay, okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. But I think it was on Tuesdays, the Senior citizens would go
up and they could do activities they could do their exercises, they would have
different ones you know resources to come in so...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, it has served its purpose. Uh, it is serving it's purpose
let me put it like that.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: So there are two other students who are working on this
project, this Rosedale project and they are focusing on different things. One of
the students is focusing on how Rosedale has become smaller, over the years. So
you've, uh in the sense that uh you know much of 18th Street used to be and
still is in, in one way part of Rosedale, you know Doug Clapp's told us it used
to be over 100 acres and now its 30 acres or something like that. So one of my
students is trying to map that loss of, of space. Has that been your experience
that things have gotten smaller?

ANNIE BURGESS: Well, by then...doing division you know what I mean? Taking
Rosedale drive, above Rosedale Drive, all that used to be residential, and when
they put Rosedale Drive up there, it took the homes all up above that particular
area, you can't see it because of that building.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, right.

ANNIE BURGESS: But, it used to be residential.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, that whole street, the access, 18th?

ANNIE BURGESS: That whole street, right and even up there where that traffic
light is where you get ready to turn to go to Rosedale, all that back up in
there was residential, mhm. So it took a lot from the community.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, mhm. Well, we also have a student who's looking at the
construction of the highway and the Red Mountain Expressway and trying to figure
out what the implications were for Rosedale. You already mentioned 18th street
cutting it into west and east, do you remember much about, or do you remember if
there was any pushback with building the expressway or widening 18th Street do
you think people were trying to keep it from happening or?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. You know, like I said Rosedale was mostly rich in senior
citizens, at that particular, when we were coming up, wasn't a whole lot of kids
but those people owned quite a bit and then when they start coming in it, it
took away, uh lots of 'em left, after they graduate, you know how we are. You
all will know in just a few weeks, months. Uh you think yourself you say no they
offered me a better someplace else. And all of the senor citizens round here now
about, they're deceased. So we don't have a real real younger generation coming
in. So we lost a lot. Lots of people stole our property as you can tell. When
they had those apartments over there we had kids galore.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. Yeah. Right, right.

ANNIE BURGESS: Even elemen--just through here we had kids. Cause one lady lived
on the street I think she had about five or six kids. And the other person up
there I guess maybe seven or eight somewhere along there. It was just a few. So
we really had a good time. It was family oriented I put it like that.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, sure, sure. Well, and then you have folks like
Doug Clapp I think he's been living here about ten years uh so he's not an, an
insider but he sure does love Rosedale.

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh yes, and we love Doug. Cause in the morning times he would
pass by. He, he is. And one thing I like about Doug, he he, he's involved. Mhm.
So he participates in his civic league meetings and R.D.C. meetings and blah
blah blah blah blah.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: So R.D.C. is that Rosedale Development?

ANNIE BURGESS: Rosedale Development, mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: What kind of things do they do in that group? Or what
kind of projects?

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh, uh. Not too much familiar with that. I think theirs is mostly housing.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah, okay. Well what questions do y'all have? For
your, for your specific projects? We've talked about the school a little bit,
any thoughts?

KATHRYN TREANOR: Uhm, Dr. Clapp had told us the other day that there was a
Rosedale picnic, a few weeks maybe a month or two ago now, did you get to go and
visit and hang out?

ANNIE BURGESS: No, I heard about it.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Aw! I'm sorry.

ANNIE BURGESS: I didn't get a chance to go but usually they always have some
kind of activity, you know. The center does it. So I, I didn't get a chance to
go I don't know no telling where I was, but I did hear about it. And that was
about it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right, Doug I think Doug mentioned that he went I think
he was happy with the turn out.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, I think it was in Spring Park, was it?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, mhm. It was.

ANNIE BURGESS: So that's usually what we, where we do. Now we do have what we
call a school reunion every two years. But people all over the United States
comes home.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: What are those like?

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh, great. They have different functions. Mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, mhm. Do you go to them?

ANNIE BURGESS: I haven't because of the fact that most times when they have 'em,
I'm out doing something else.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: Now, we uh in the beginning have to organize that school reunion
but then when you involved in church activities and it's held the same time as
the Rosedale reunion you just can't do it. So, complications.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Sure, sure. Do you mind me asking what your dad did for
a living, what your parents did for a living?

ANNIE BURGESS: Hun, I'll tell you in a minute.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: My father was a what ya call a landscaper, you know what that is?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Works with, with yards to...

ANNIE BURGESS: Yards. Mhm. He had mules, wagons, horses.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Where did he keep 'em, did he keep 'em here?

ANNIE BURGESS: Out in the back, up on the hill, any place he could keep it. But
uh he did now he, he would be sometime on one yard, and we would be on the
other, that is my mother and us girls.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. He put you to work?

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the reason now you know I can
cut my yard I can plant a, a, a sprig, have you heard of sprigging? No, you're
too young to know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: What is that? What's sprigging?

ANNIE BURGESS: You take grass and you pull it apart dig it up, you know, grass
come in squares you take it and break it apart, and plant it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Ah, little pockets, yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: So he was, he, he did work everywhere.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Not just in Rosedale?

ANNIE BURGESS: Not all in Rosedale. Edgewood.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh, let me see what other area did he...just anywhere. Anywhere.
That was needed. Up on Valley Avenue.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. So he would ride, did he ride his horses and use
'em for work over there to pull the, to pull the mower?

ANNIE BURGESS: He would pull the--no he didn't have no mower.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Or pull, what did he use?

ANNIE BURGESS: Plow, plow. He had a plow.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Plow, plow. That's the word.

ANNIE BURGESS: And the harrow? You know what the harrow is?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: No ma'am.

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay well anyway, before you leave I'll show you one it's out
there in the backyard.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: And uh he'd get on that and grade it down. Great. So we had fun
doing that too. I tried plowing one time. It didn't work.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: The horse won?

ANNIE BURGESS: No, the plow won. It went one way and I went the other. But uh,
he did. He cared for you. He took care of his family, now.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Sure, sure. Did you, did you work, or did you have a
job growing up?

ANNIE BURGESS: Sometime babysittin'. But most time like I said we was kids we
were always working with him so almost like a family business.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right, right, what'd you do when you were older, for a
living, or...

ANNIE BURGESS: What do you mean older?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Uh as an adult?

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Like what's your...

ANNIE BURGESS: Taught school.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, you were a teacher?

ANNIE BURGESS: I taught school.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Ah, what grade did you teach?

ANNIE BURGESS: Sixth grade. Why you say mhm? Yeah taught, well I started off in
Talladega. There came to Birmingham, no another separate county then,
Birmingham. Then Jefferson County. So yeah, so now I'm retired I can sit back
and relax.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yes. Right.

AHMAD GOODEN: Where did you teach in Talladega?

ANNIE BURGESS: In Talladega I taught at West Side Elementary.

AHMAD GOODEN: Uhm, that's that's that's my neighborhood.

ANNIE BURGESS: Really?

AHMAD GOODEN: When I was there, yeah I know exactly where that is.

ANNIE BURGESS: Did you know, oh Lord, forgot the lady's name, just that quick,
uhm is it Booker Street, right behind Talladega College?

AHMAD GOODEN: Yes ma'am, that's, that's where I grew up in that area.

ANNIE BURGESS: Really?

AHMAD GOODEN: Grew up right on College Street.

ANNIE BURGESS: College? Well was it named College Street or named Booker Street?
Might've been College Street. Mhm. Uhm, yes.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Do you know the school she's talking about?

AHMAD GOODEN: It's uhm, it's right now it's like a head start they call it
Westside Head Start. Yeah, I know it was a while back, I know uhm, uh kids went
to like elementary there and they liked that but then it started, other schools
started popping up so it just changed to a head start.

ANNIE BURGESS: They really developed uhm Talladega. Because when I visited I
didn't know I was in Talladega. I'm serious. And there was also a funeral home
there. What was the name of it?

AHMAD GOODEN: Uhm. I want to say, I want to say...

ANNIE BURGESS: Strickland?

AHMAD GOODEN: Is that one--is that right, uhm, it's like right down from the college?

ANNIE BURGESS: Right down from college.

AHMAD GOODEN: Yes ma'am I know what you're talking about. It's sandwiched in
between the church uh and it's like an auto place, now. But it's still the same building.

ANNIE BURGESS: Well anyway we lived, we stayed down there for about what two or
three years?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah uh (unclear).

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah, I was gonna ask you, there's no way you commuted
from Rosedale to Talladega!

ANNIE BURGESS: We did! Yes we did!

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Really?

ANNIE BURGESS: We had ourselves a carpool yes we did too.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Every day? Back and forth?

ANNIE BURGESS: Something (unclear).

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Wow, what did- how long did it take for you...

ANNIE BURGESS: It didn't take long.

AHMAD GOODEN: About forty minutes.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Forty minutes?

ANNIE BURGESS: About forty minutes.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh, I thought it was a little bit longer than that.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mm-mm. It wasn't bad at all.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay, alright, you carpooled with some folks who worked
down there, over there?

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh yes. Oh they lived here in Birmingham, not in this particular
area but we would meet up. It was really nice.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: What was your favorite thing about teaching? Sixth
grade especially? I have a, I have a fifth grader, I'm about to have a sixth grader.

ANNIE BURGESS: They don't know what they want to be. Uh, adults or children. But
they are, they are really sweet. They are childish.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm. Sixth grade is still early enough that they
haven't uhm hit the teenage years and start, started getting really difficult.

ANNIE BURGESS: Right. Right. Cause you have some that's just still just as
humble and sweet and see we were, when I was teaching you had parent cooperation.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right.

ANNIE BURGESS: You know, you could speak to that child and if that child didn't
comprehend what you said you could speak to the parent, you know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, gotcha. So community--

ANNIE BURGESS: So it was communication and a good relationship. If you wanted
the parent, you got the child. And if you got the child you should definitely
have the parent. They were good children. So.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Do you think the churches are still pretty, pretty important?

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: To the, to the community? Are they probably the most
important community center?

ANNIE BURGESS: They are important to the community but you realize, like I say
you have had that drop in resident. And most of our members are members from
other areas of Birmingham, I say Birmingham, you know other parts of uh yeah of
Birmingham, I'll put it like that.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, and so they drive in on Sundays, and...

ANNIE BURGESS: Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Yeah. Yeah.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay. Well there's some beautiful buildings here, the
churches are, some of the churches are, are really beautiful.

ANNIE BURGESS: Well, we try.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mr. Bush was telling us that a lot of those churches
were built by people in Rosedale I mean they, they built em, I don't know.

ANNIE BURGESS: And this...Like I say, that was before my time too.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Sure sure.

ANNIE BURGESS: Because uh, I'm sure they had to be. They had to be. Because
Friendship was built in what 1926, I think that's '26 yeah but each one of those
have that little...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Cornerstone?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm that would tell you the year but I do know is that Bethel is
the oldest church in the community.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay, okay.

KATHRYN TREANOR: And which one of these, which church do you go to?

ANNIE BURGESS: I go to Friendship. Friendship across the highway.

KATHRYN TREANOR: Okay. And you said earlier that you have church activities that
sometimes conflict with other things that are going on. Uhm, are you in the
choir or something that you participate in?

ANNIE BURGESS: No, I'm not in the choir. They don't want me there. But uhm, I
served as church clerk for a long time.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: As church what?

ANNIE BURGESS: Clerk.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Clerk. Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: I am a Sunday school teacher.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Oh yeah?

ANNIE BURGESS: And uhm I was just recently appointed as assistant secre-
assistant superintendent of Sunday school which I love.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Now what does that mean? You help find teachers for the classes?

ANNIE BURGESS: Right, we just do whatever is needed to help the superintendent.
Whatever she wants done, then we try to assist her in that matter.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Gotcha, okay good, gotcha.

ANNIE BURGESS: Uhm, let me see what else about Rosedale do I know?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Well, how about this. We'll ask you this question and
we'll wrap it up but when you think about the next five years or ten years what
do you think Rosedale's future looks like, here? You think it's getting stronger
as a community do you think it's...?

ANNIE BURGESS: Looking at South side, looking North, at what Bush, Dennis meant
by the center. That area may be pretty stable for a while.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Loveless, which was B.M. Montgomery St, uhm...if they don't do
anymore- what'd you call it? What's the word? Encroachment?

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Encroachment.

ANNIE BURGESS: If they don't put any more buildings on there it'd be pretty well
stable, but like I said there's no land over here for them to really consider but...

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: This part? Okay.

ANNIE BURGESS: Right here. But it's a whole, you know. Like I said, Rosedale.
It, it's something about Rosedale.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Something about it.

ANNIE BURGESS: Something about it. Everyone leaves, but they do come back.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, alright. Well we've really, really enjoyed uhm
learning about it and getting to know, you know we're at Samford, we're just a
couple of miles away. So.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, yeah! Yeah, because see at the beginning Rosedale had a
cleaner, had little store, grocery stores, there was a little (unclear) store we
used to go, there was the Montgomery store, we had beauticians, this little
community had everything that you needed.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Mhm, right.

ANNIE BURGESS: On the corner of 18th where that car wash is, that's where the
cleaners was.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Okay, mhm.

ANNIE BURGESS: And you see how that curve came through there? It just took land.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Just went right over that little stretch of shops, yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm, mhm, mhm.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: That's when they were widening? Widening?

ANNIE BURGESS: Widening the road or trying to make that, go into, come into
Rosedale Drive.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Right, right.

ANNIE BURGESS: So yeah like I said all that up there was just homes,
residential. And next thing we know, here comes a road through there. Football
field, circus, carnivals, everything. We had it.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: And that cut through it?

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm. Just, just, they just cut it out.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Wow. Yeah.

ANNIE BURGESS: So, the question you asked, whether or not Rosedale is part, I
mean we know Rosedale is part of Homewood because of we have council people from
you know.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: From Rosedale on the, city council? The Homewood council?

ANNIE BURGESS: Uh, no we don't have anyone from Rosedale, we, we only had the
one person from here to serve on the board. There's no, there's no really males
around to run, unless a female and we too old to run, uh-uh no way.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Well, we, uhm do y'all have any other questions? We
need to let Mrs. Burgess go. We didn't want to take too much of your time.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mm, I'm gonna go in there and I'm gonna rest a while.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET; Take a, take a rest. We didn't mean to wear you out!

ANNIE BURGESS: No, you didn't, you didn't. Because I mean, this is something you
know, that was important, that you needed to do, but hey at least someone is
still on this side of the highway.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah, absolutely.

ANNIE BURGESS: Yeah, yeah. We just, you know, just a little love community.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Yeah, seems like it.

ANNIE BURGESS: Mhm, everybody care for each other. And that's the way the
community's always been. We didn't lose that factor.

JENNIFER SPEIGHTS-BINET: Well, that's very good. Alright well I'm gonna go ahead
and turn the recorder off.

ANNIE BURGESS: Okay.

Audio Information
Attribute	Value
Interviewer	Jennifer Speights-Binet
Interviewee	Annie Burgess
Repository	Samford University Oral History Collection
Accession	SUHist/Rosedale/007

Annie Burgess

Chapters

Introduction

All My Life

Not a Good Feeling

This Side of the Highway

Get Along Just Fine

Mules and Horses

Teaching in Talladega

Past and Future

Transcript

Contact Form