Oral history interview with Maurice Hill

Maurice Hill, an African American man born on April 12, 1911, speaks about being born in Anacostia and growing up there until he was a teenager. He explains the typical family structure of the husband going to work and women worked in the home. His mother, however, worked as a charwoman for six months and his father was a driver for a hardware store for $7.00 a week. He discusses the changing demographics after he moved back to Anacostia as well as how many of the landmarks he remembered as a child are gone now, such as Douglass Hall, Anacostia Bank, and Bohanon's Taxi service. Hill talks about going to school at Birney Elementary and children attending through high school; going hunting for rabbits and muskrats in neighborhood parks; the flooding and swamps in Anacostia; and the first self-service store in the area, the Piggy-Wiggly. He describes how close the congregations used to be in Anacostia, recalling his mother singing in church choir and playing craps with his minister, Howard Johnson. He mentions the police force as well as the different churches in Anacostia, including Campbell AME Church, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Throughout the interview, he names prominent community members, such as Emma Smith, Raymond Bumbry, Henry Phillips, the Dale family, and the Greene family. Maurice Hill was interviewed by Wanda Dickens on October 10, 1975. Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for most parts.