'There were just no strangers' | The Daughters of Deanwood talk growing up in historic community
The Daughters of Deanwood shared proms, weddings and celebrated careers in D.C.'s oldest African American community
Chapter 1 Five women born and raised in a community rich in history
Sitting at a recent ladies' lunch with five women in their eighties, you could feel the love shared among these women, whose lives were stitched together like a comfortable quilt that you just can't let go of. Or that best friend you can always depend on.
"She's there and you know she's there and you feel good about it," said Constance Hatch, turning to her lifelong friend Yvonne Banks sitting next to her. "You can pay me now."
This playful moment is a testament to how these lifelong friends feel about one another. They were born and raised in the oldest African American community in D.C. A former slave owner's plantation, Deanwood became a mecca for Washington's Black residents.
In the late 1800's, the former farmland was transformed with the construction of a railroad station and racetrack. In 1909, civil rights activist Nannie Helen Burroughs founded a trade school for African American girls. What followed was truly unique for the time.
Chapter 2 Families and businesses flourished
While the rights of African Americans were being suppressed in the Jim Crow south, families flourished in Deanwood, D.C. Black entrepreneurs opened their own businesses. The 1920s brought Black homeownership and D.C.'s first and only amusement park called Suburban Gardens. The park welcomed Black families when Glen Echo Park, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, did not.
"We just took it for granted," Ann Houston Davis said when asked if she realized how special Deanwood was when she was a little girl growing up in the neighborhood.
What these daughters of Deanwood didn't take for granted was each other. They were not just classmates and neighbors, but "like family," Davis said of their community on on 47th Place, Northeast.
"If you were in Deanwood, somebody knew you or knew somebody," said another daughter of Deanwood, Mary Jo Blair. "There were just no strangers."
Chapter 3 Proms, weddings and careers
They shared proms and weddings.
"I was the last one to get married," Davis said.
And celebrated careers.
"I went into the United States Navy," Blair said. "I actually went there because I saw a movie called 'Skirts Ahoy,' with Esther Williams. She looked so gorgeous in her uniform."
The women wanted to continue the legacy of black success they saw around them, from Blair's dadplaying in the Negro baseball league to Davis' father leading in the pulpit.
"We became friends," Davis said.
"For life," Deanwood Daughter Janice Lawrence enthusiastically added.
Chapter 4 COVID brings them closer
As time moved on, their visits became less frequent, but the pandemic would bring them back together again. Whereas they would previously meet up once a month at a restaurant for fellowship, by 2020 they were learning to take advantage of today's technology. Every first Monday of the month, at 2 p.m. the group dials each other up to check in and chat.
And even though these women are now in their 80s, they still lovingly refer to each other by their childhood nicknames.
"I call Moochie (Yvonne Banks), Moochie calls Mary Jo," Davis said.
"Mary Jo calls Kitty (Constance Hatch), Kitty calls Jan. Now we're all on the phone," Blair said.
Admittedly, it took the ladies a minute to learn the tech.
"Now, it wasn't easy. It took us a while to learn these phones," Blair said, laughing.
"We would not think of doing zooms," Davis said.
But those phone calls turned into hours-long lunch dates where the Daughters of Deanwood celebrate the journey that brought them all here.
"We can pretty much tell when somebody's in the dumps about something, and we try to lift them up," Banks said.
When Blair is asked how the five women have managed to keep this relationship alive and strong for eight decades, she said, "You've got to be in love with yourself and appreciate what God has given you, and not be afraid to share it."
