A.E. Spears and John

Gerson: Mr. Spears was the District Manager of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and his office was in the MIC building on Brevard Street. I would go to that office every Thursday when I got my newspapers. You saw the picture of my carrying and selling the Afro-American newspaper [2]. From time to time Mr. Spears and I just had little chats, not realizing what the future may bring.

This is a picture of my father, Julius Stroud [3]. He was the headwaiter at the Mayview Manor hotel [4]. This was a summer resort.  My father would always get a group of college students to go to Mayview to work, and it was at this time when John was one of the students that went along with us to Blowing Rock. It was just a catastrophe in July of 1939, when there was a terrific electric storm. John and I [5] were walking from Mayview Manor down to the dormitory when lightning struck. It struck him and it left me and he passed away.

I was always more or less a part of the family, but it was after that time when, well, Daisy and I [6] just started seeing each other.