Two communities honor past at marker unveiling
MARYVILLE, Tenn. — For about five years, Victor Hodge has been sitting on the grassy lawn at the corner of North Hall Road and East Howe Street in Alcoa — once a popular basketball court and central gathering point for the Hall Community.
Many remember it as the site of the Commercial Building.
Hodge goes to this spot to talk to people, watch traffic pass and think about how faith has guided him.
“God is good,” he said after a Saturday, Oct. 16, ceremony unveiling a historical marker that remembers the Hall Community, the Commercial Building and the Charles M. Hall School.
Hodge has been receiving dialysis for nearly 40 years and recently contracted COVID-19, but recovered and was healthy enough to lead the ceremony Saturday.
In the hospital was where he said God laid the unveiling ceremony idea on him.
“God laid it on my heart to do this dedication because of the history,” Hodge said.
History and future were the main themes of a ceremony that saw Hodge’s wife, Valeria, and organizer Alonzo Lundy pull a black cover off the historical marker.
It’s a marker put up as part of the city’s Centennial Celebration, which kicked off in 2019 but has been going on in small ways ever since.
Arconic recently chipped in to help the city fund nearly 20 historical markers now standing as reminders of Alcoa’s rich cultural and industrial past.
Hodge, who is in a wheelchair, looked out on the crowd and said, “Everyone knows me. I’ve been here all my life. Born and raised here. I love Alcoa,” he said. “I had not one mother but several mothers who took care of me. I just love the people in this community.” The love was mutual. Community members including Blount County Commissioner Jackie Hill, Alcoa City Commissioner Tanya Martin, church leaders and community members praised Hodge for putting on the event.
They also reached deep into personal memories of the Hall and Oldfield communities, remembering the rich cultural and economic legacy, some of which has faded and some which remains a definitional part of the area’s history.
The Commercial Building, for instance, some remembered as a center of community togetherness and economic opportunity. It was built by ALCOA Inc., repurposed as a neighborhood hub and later dubbed the “Martin Luther King Center,” one of the first buildings in the U.S. named in honor of the civil rights leader, according to the history written on the marker.
There were businesses in that building — a grocery store and sweet shop among others — and a basketball court next door.
Along with other emblematic community structures in that area, the Commercial Building stood as a neighborhood-oriented centerpiece.
Today, it’s gone, along with other structures, families and traditions that represented Black life before and after desegregation.
The Hall and Oldfield communities are now culturally diverse, but the memory of the Black families who helped with area success there are not forgotten.
Hodge and others listed off names and occupations of those whose work made the area successful and proud: lawyers, doctors, pastors, NFL and NBA players, plumbers, hairdressers and others who were and are pillars and role models.
“I would like to do a snapshot of Alcoa and Oldfield and what we had,” said community member Al “Big A” Davis.
In what Davis called a “roll call,” he listed names of people, businesses, homes, streets and pastimes, capturing generations worth of memories.
“From this town right here we have produced educators, doctors, lawyers; an array of professional people,” Davis said. “We’ve got six guys who have played in the NFL.”
Those in their 60s and 70s not only recalled a rich historical past in Alcoa — which had its share of social injustices, according to some who spoke — they also praise the current and upcoming generation of leaders, like Alcoa High School alumna Octavia Lenoir. She’s an advocacy and social justice coordinator for the local chapter of Girls Inc., which meets at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.
“I knew I had a safety net here,” Lenoir said, talking about a recent decision to move back to Alcoa after college. “I had people at home.”
Lenoir said her friends from college told her “Oh my gosh, my community is not like this. Everybody’s welcoming.” Now, she said, she looks toward the future. “I know that one day those kids are going to be leaders. They’re going to be the ones to hold the legacy and march forward.”
Hodge thanked Lenoir.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “That’s our newer generation.”
Hodge, Davis, Martin, Hill, Lundy and others expressed excitement about what the future holds for the area often called the “13 streets.”
“I just think of the younger generation,” Hodge said. “This is about giving them a chance.”
Lundy, who said the day felt “empowering,” also noted the future for the Hall and Oldfield communities is still evolving.
“It’s a new ballgame with new players and I believe we’re more empowered than we were in the past,” he said.
The newly unveiled historical marker is on East Howe Street, just off North Hall Road, across the street from the Lincoln Memorial University building.