istory of O eden's black leaders” hi e r u t p a c Pictures CTE SAS TERT 0 Feb By:-SANDRA DEMCHUK Standard-Examiner staff SOUTH OGDEN Ira Horton remembers the day he stood on the hood of his new 1957 Chevy to photograph the congregation of a local black church marching to its new chapel on 29th Street. “The hood crinkled under my feet like paper,” Horton said. Despite that loss, Horton,: now 69, captured something valuable den. As a professional photogra- that day:\a picture of blacks in Ogplier, Horton was one of the few at the time documenting the social life of blacks. Until the late 1960s, segregation barred blacks from joining social clubs or eating in most restaurants. So ‘the blacks in Ogden created their own clubs, opened their own restaurants and a separate black culture thrived. Yet, until recently, cord ‘of this culture was of a black person when they. had robbed or killed someone,” Horton said as he sat surrounded by a collection of old photographs he has stored. in the basement home. of his South In. 1987, Horton and a committee of volunteers began collecting pho- tographs from friends, churches, libraries and newspapers to create a display that has hung in Union Station, Your Community Connection and the Marshall White Center, all in Ogden, and in local schools. Initially funded by a Union Station grant, the display documents blacks in Davis and Weber counties from about the 1920s to the present. The display is currently hanging at the Weber County Library as part of Afro-American History Month activities. ’“We started with nothing and in the middle of nowhere, learning as we made the presentation,” Horton said. Displayed with narratives on poster board, the faces in the photographs tell a story seldom told about the success blacks achieved in Ogden, the “firsts,” those Gladys Cope, the first female taxi driver in the city: Cope went on to begin the Intermountain Voice, a newspaper serving local blacks. In addition, there are old portraits of Ogden’s. black business leaders like Leager V. Davis who, with her husband, in 1936 opened the Davis Hotel, the first hotel that Ogden away in family photo albums. “In the newspapers, the only mention One board is devoted to, as Hor- ton calls them, blacks who took steps to do what no black in Ogden had done before. There is, for instance, the story of much as anything,” Horton said. Other boards detail volunteers like Georgia: Turner and Eleanor Johnson, famous Ogden-born locked despite discrimination. Mite PREVIEW was re- Seer ELREEE ES @ WHAT: Photo exhibit, ‘The History of Blacks in Ogden’ m@ WHEN: Through February mw WHERE: Weber County Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave., Ogden @ TICKETS: Admission is free. blacks could lodge in. “When the Globetrotters came to town, this was the only place they could stay. “The desire to open these estab- the only 5 ys lishments was born out of need as blacks like former Weber State football quarterback Raymond B. Freeman, and the socialites of Ogden. black society. The collection also relies heavily upon photographs gathered from Ogden’s Union Station. Most blacks who came to Ogden were part of the railroad, Horton said. “Some railroad jobs were specified as jobs just for blacks, giving some blacks guaranteed jobs,” he said. And a good-paying job as a rail- road dining car chef or a station redcap, the railroad-era version of today’s airport skycaps, often put many: blacks through college, Horton said. “Segregation sometimes worked both ways for the blacks.” For Horton, who came to Ogden after serving in the military, Utah offered a frankness that he says a black man couldn’t find in the South. “If I were to go to Alabama, > ROB Ira and Margo Horton stand next to a Weber County Library photography exhibit prepared for I would have ended up digging a ditch. But, here at least, you knew what you were restricted to” The display, he says, tells a story that most black. senior citizens know because “they’ve seen all these people and know what they've done beforehand.” The purpose of the display is to educate the young and let the presence of the blacks in Northern Utah be felt. But the story of conflict and discrimination blacks faced in Ogden is not told, not in the narratives ~ r CLARK JR. teed eseelner Black History Month. The exhibit honors blacks who have lived in and influenced the area. { nor in the verbal presentations of Horton and wife, Margo. This, said Horton, was a conscious decision of the display’s organizational com- mittee. “Most kids aren’t interested in hearing these stories,” Horton insists. But Horton, a retired chemist, admits the narratives have become “We felt that these stories of discrimination would not strengthen the relationship between the humanities, so we tried to stay away from them,” Horton said. outdated since the time they were So, unless you ask, you won't hear about the Ku Klux Klan’s march down Wall Avenue or about The task, though, is not one to be ignored. “This cannot die with us because there is so much that needs to be remembered,” Horton said. large wooden mountainside. K’s burning on the written. And to update them as he envisions will mean resigning from numerous committees in the community he serves on, he said. Y EVEN THOUGH TECHNICALLY retired, Mrs. Marguerite L. Horton is thoroughly involved in administrative work of various . organizations throughout the state. <P Sea kee Seer 2 ay Success Rewards Hard By PAT JONES Standard-Examiner Staff. issapere - . SOUTH OGDEN — It’s*:a: eae’ road from a poor railroad family in Missouri to being acclaimed’as one of the top civic and leaders. in Utah. - But that’s the road community that’ 5 been endeavor al in their own fields of.’ me‘gree’ ina social work. etter she was and who have come hter. Se- »: =) mapried: volte hed Egeuabter. Se- i: ment offg CEIGIRDOTAEY society.’ hid ae * Venteen : years elapsed from her,” _ i first degree to her. ‘second. He She worked: her way from the: “TAUGHT IN ILLINOIS os rank of social caseworker. in Los | : “Met, Horton, who was a junior tributed Significantly to the bettera. high > school teacher in Jolene, Ill.,’ Angeles, Calif., to the director of) -.. the division of family services, Distraveled successfully by Mrs. Ira prior to.her marriage, worked. her’ trict '2-A,: for; the: State of Utah, 7 (Marguerite L:) Horton, of 843 Dixie way ‘thitough: school. Some of her Division of ‘Family. Services. Drive. ‘jobsiincluded a helper in a chemis-. 4 Mrs. Horton has been listed in the eleventh edition of ‘‘Who’s Who of American Women.”’ ‘Inclusion is limited to those individuals who have demonstrated autitaneids She retired in 1977, but her retire-" ment hasn’t’ kept: ‘her from. being Because she was an honor roll student in high school, she also. actively involved in the betterment OL the community. around her. ae try lab and a typist. received aid through scholarships. atte She received her master's: ides “ENCOURAGED » OTHERS: ae ‘During her,time asa social wri fs she used’ her: talents to encour-. age “and: counsel SO- -called: ‘disadeducation.. She firmly. believes that it you’re willing to put in the time, make a committment, If you want education with which to better your lives strongly enough, the opportunities are available. She helped them to get jobs, and if necessary obtain a GED so that they could continue their education on a higher level. . She is proud of her ‘‘proteges’’, most of whom have been persons who have had to maintain full time jobs and receive their through night school. ACHIEVES SUCCESS education . -A former alcoholic will be graduating this year from Weber State College with a bachelor’s degree in social work, thanksto encouragement from Mrs. Horton. She has also been responsible for several women who were widowed or divorced and had families to rear. 7 Through the ‘‘pat on the back’’ from Mrs. Horton, these women have received their education and have become independent individuals able to raise their families without the help of. welfare. Since moving to Utah in 1961 she has been. actively involved. in:several community endeavors. She is a currently a member of the Weber County Volunteer Services Advis- ory Board and a board member of the Weber.County Council on Aging and Volunteerism. - _ She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bonneville Chapter. of the American Red Cross, and a member of the Utah State Merit System Council. Other positions. include. a member of the Board of Trustee’ s of Weber County Hospital, vice chairman of the public relations of the | Weber Basin Job Corp, and on the board of directors of the League ‘of Women Voters of Northern: ‘Utah. She is an active member of the . Embry Chapel AME Church, have served as clerk, conference delegate and trustee. She has served on the Steward. Board as Director of Central treasury, pianist and spon- sor of the three youth choirs in the church. In her “spare time’. she enjoys golfing, Habinee oe playing bridge.