Alvin C. Adams - Journalist, Researcher, Genealogist

As a way of introducing  Mr. Alvin Adams, the following article from the 
_Athens Messenger_ (June 8th, 1986) is reproduced. Mr. Roy Cross is the author.
(c) Athens Messenger,  Athens, OH

		Man writes local history as tribute to his mother
			by Roy Cross, Messenger senior writer

	Watery gravy when there was no milk and a humiliating introduction to
racial prejudice are two of the anecdotes that mark a former Athens County
man's book about his poverty-ridden childhookd and the people who guided hin to
success.
	Despite dovetailing stories of family economic problems, there is a 
happy ending to Alvin C. Adams's _Hold Tight to the Hames_. The small book is
both a letter to Adams' son and daughter, and a tribute to his late mother,
Ada Holbert. It was her determination, pride and hard work that spurred her
son to rise above the status of a poor black with a bleak future to become a
college graduate, a successful journalist and public relations man.
	The book is written in narrative style.  Adams lets the story tell 
itself and there are times the starkness of his existence are shocking to
someone who has known such poverty. _Hold Tight to the Hames_ is available
at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum and sells for $5.00. The
title comes from the author's days of riding the plow horse, holding the
hames, which are part of the collar, to keep tthe horse in as straignt a line
as possible. When flies bit the horse and it bucked, you had to hold tight to
the hames.
	Adams says he was born April 30, 1937, "at the foot of Carr Hill" near
the Athens-Morgan County line. His parents were Clay Adams and Ada Holbert. In
a letter to Joanne Prisley of the Historical Society, Adams said his book "is
a tribute to my mother's life in gratitude for the way she reared her family."
He said her work as a cleaning lady in Athens provided much of the family's
income. In the dedication, Adams also addresses his children, Marie and Clay,
telling them "so that you might better know from whence you came, I have
preparedd this collection of memories."
	When Adams was still a babe in his mother's arms, his father committed
suicide. His mother remarried and the family seemed to be constantly moving
from one home to another, from Athens County to Columbus and back. He tells of
homes in Plantsvville, on Haga Ridge, Brimstone Ridge, Deep Hollow, Bethany
Ridge, Sharpsburg, interspersed with living in one-room "appartments" in
Columbus. The moves were usually the result of economics: the parents
hunting work.
	Adams tells of how his mother did her best to keep the family fed. When
their credit reached its limit at the store, the food supply dwindled. He
remembers when there were days when the only food was milk gravy and biscuits.
And when the milk ran out and the store owner would extend no more credit,
there was "watery gravy and biscuits." Meat was a rare item on the Adams table.
	He stresses, however, his family was not an exception. Most of their
friends and relatives were hard-pressed financially.
	It was while he was a grade school pupil in Amesville that Adams
learned the meaning of racial prejudice. He says he knew he was different than
some of his classmates. He was what folks then called "colored." But he became
painfully aware of that difference one day when he saw two of his friends in a
fight with three white boys. Although he was not involved in the argument, Adas
decided the odds would be more even if he joined in. Then the teacher arrive.
	Adams writes: "without benefit of any investigatioion, hearing or
evidece other than what was in progress before her, she instantly determinedd
which side was the guilty party. Punishment was meted out immediatly. We thrree
colored boys were ordered to the front of the class where she wacked our hhands
repeatedly with a wooden ruler.
	"From the wails of Buddy and Gene as the three of us buried our heads 
in our arms on our desk tops, I concluded their punishment must havebeen more
severe than my own. Perhaps within the broad spectrum of racial prejdice there
was mild punishment for those well-liked; no-holds-barrred for other. Or, 
perhaps I was too stubborn and too proud to let anyone know how much the
humiliation hurt."
	The white boys were not punished.
	Adams tells a touching story of Christmas. He said the holiday, like
the watery gravy, "was rather thin." But his mother found money and on
Christmas morning each child found a coloring book and six crayons. He was
overjoyed and writes that "no other time provided for me a joy to excel the
year of our "coloring book" Christmas."
	The status of the family improved. Adams' mother worked in Athens as a
cleaning lady and saved money to buy a 1931 Model A Ford. Some ridiculed the
family as they "put-putted" by in the old Ford, but it was a means for the
mother to make a living, and it was transportation to church and visits with
relatives. Adams found work as a farm hand, mowing lawns in Athens and cutting
trees for sale to a barrel stave company in Coolville.
	When Adams reached high school there were teachers who recognized his
talents and helped him. He mentions Miss Malone, a music teacher, Inez Curran
English teacher, and Bonnie Kaendall, who taught history. It was Kendall who
took him to Athens and introduced him to L.J. Hortin, then head of the Ohio
University journalism school. Adams remembers they talked of his going to
college not as a possibility, but of something that was going to happen.
Between a $100 scholarship, $100 he had saved and a 16-hour a week job as a
janitor, Adams entered OU in 1955..
	Adams has worked for the Chicago Defender, the nation's only black
newspaper. He has also worked for Jet Magazine and Ebony; was in the War On
Poverty's Office of Economic Opportunity, various public relations firms and
is now with the Illinois Power Co.
	Inn 1960, he married Ada Woodson of Nelsonville. They now live in
Decatur, Ill. Their son, A. Clay Adams III, graduated from high school Friday,
and their daughter, Amelia Marie, is an anthropology major in her third year
at Smith College in A Amherst, Mass.
	Alvin AAdams has travelled a long way from the foot of Carr Hill.

				- 0 -

Note from the typist: Mr. Adams graduated with a BSJ in 1959. Mr. Adams has
researched and published a number of monographs on local Afro-American
genealogy and history (Ancestors of the Town of Tablertown; etc.)
Mrs. Ada M. Woodson Adams "is equally interested in her family [history] ...
Woodson[s] of Jackson and Perry Counties [Ohio]."

Mr. Alvin Adams resides at: 1803 W. Sunset  Decatur, Ill 622522
				tel: (217) 429-4146
mp032095