Last week we discussed the process of building out a site narrative. To begin this process, I used Newspapers.com to clip articles which mention Club Eaton. I will save any relevant article to the Google Drive and add it to our ongoing catalogue. This catalogue is intended to function as an index for tagging people, places, and themes. Using Google Sheets, I created a spreadsheet to keep track of subject matter and people mentioned. Not only does this help keep information organized, but we can later use this data later. By identifying performers who came to Club Eaton and translating this information into spreadsheet data, it will be especially helpful for the digital mapping aspect of the Chitlin’ Circuit project. Another aspect made easier by digital tagging is the identification of themes. Two themes emerged from my initial survey of articles: Club Eaton as a premiere hub for entertainment, attracting celebrated performers and large crowds; also, as a magnet for the negative ramifications which often come from mixing liquor with a good time.
Many articles attest to the energetic performances and lively atmosphere of the club. Looking through newspapers, separate pieces of research begin to come together, forming a narrative to paint a more vibrant portrait of the site’s history. On Day 1, I received an image of club ephemera from Dr. French—a concert poster advertising performances by James Brown, Nat Kendricks, and Sugar Pie DeSanto. The poster does not include a year for the performance. However, when reading articles, I found one which referenced many of the same performers, as well as a few additional ones not included on the poster.
By accessing digital resources, we can now follow the event—from its June 16, 1961 occurrence to a June 24 account of what it was like. And, by using one of the most underrated resources for digital historians (in this case, especially useful for researching music), we can almost be there. While not physically related to Club Eaton, this 1964 video of “Please, Please, Please” captures James Brown’s dynamic and captivating style—every second, a performance. The video allows us to see an approximation of what we, as the audience, might have experienced that night
Having seen Brown’s performance, it is not difficult to imagine how the Chitlin’ Circuit defined the site’s early narrative. With little personal entertainment options at home, think of how many were willing to travel to attend events by musicians and performers of Brown’s caliber and status. The event was a hit. Drawing a record 3,100 people, the venue was so crowded that band members could not even make it back to the dressing rooms after setting up their instruments before the first performance. With crowds spilling out to line both sides of the building, around 200 people were turned away for lack of space. As a result of the club’s ability to attract such talent, it became a center for the celebration of African American culture. And people came from all over to celebrate.
Residents blamed much of the weekend violence on Eatonville’s Sunday liquor sales and the Club’s popularity. Purchasing alcohol on Sunday was only possible in Eatonville, and the Club attracted large crowds by attracting talented, often rousing performers. These factors also likely contributed to the integrated crowd Club Eaton and another Eatonville social scene—the Rainbow Bar and Grill—regularly saw on Sundays. Residents believed the outsiders, inundating the city to attend performances while consuming and purchasing alcohol, to be the source of violence or otherwise disruptive incidents. About the perpetrators of a June 1973 assault, Mayor Nathaniel Vereen commented, “I don’t think the hoodlums who do the whipping live here.”
While some residents believed alcohol to be the source of city problems, it also brought business and revenue into the city. After Orange County allowed the sale of alcohol to start at 9 am on Sunday, the owners of Club Eaton and the Rainbow Bar and Grill reported a loss of revenue. As a result, city council passed a motion in March 1973 to change Sunday liquor sales from 2pm until 4pm Monday to 7am until 4am Monday. Despite church opposition including that of local minister Councilman Nolan Pitts, Councilman Blanch Richardson made the motion with Councilwoman Earlene Watkins supporting. When asked about her vote, she cited financial reasons as the motivation to pass the motion, stating “a person tends to remain where he starts drinking.” However, she did call for a “reexamination of the situation after 60 days to determine community impact and citizen reaction.” Here we see a continuous struggle within the citizenry of Eatonville, especially concerning governance—the desire to maintain a safe and stable community juxtaposed against the economic opportunities that entertainment revenue often provides.
Newspaper articles about the venue beyond its Club Eaton period indicate a continuous problem with alcohol and its impact on both the site and surrounding environs’ reputation. In a 2001 Orlando Sentinel article, residents complained of raucous revelry continuing early into the morning as a few establishments—including Heroes Nightclub—were exempt from a restriction banning the sale of alcohol after 2am in both Eatonville and throughout most of Central Florida. As city government pushed to extend the restriction to all of Eatonville, several business owners pushed back. Owner of the Boswell Tavern, Boswell Annon stated that such governance would prevent service to a specific demographic that frequented the establishment—"At 2 óclock people [are] just coming from work.” Owner of Neat’s, Evelyn Simmons stated that the exemption “gives me some type of competitive margin. The only time I make any revenue is after 2am.” ·In 2008, city officials revoked Club K.O.H.A. (Keep Our History Alive)’s liquor license after an investigation revealed "drug sales, lewd behavior, sale of alcohol to minors, and hours-of-sale violation[s] in 2006 and 2007." The investigation was the result of “reports the club was frequently open and serving alcohol until 3, 4, or 5 a.m.”
As I work with digital history and research tools, the more I realize how integral they are to “doing” and presenting public history. They help paint more vibrant pictures of the past, creating more effective points of connection and association to sites. They can empower local citizen scholars to build out aspects of community narratives, locating sources of knowledge historians can only hope to record. From a Discipline standpoint, the potential uses of digital history almost necessitate a shift in public history methodology and presentation of research—away from more formalized, academic means to more accessible projects which seek to involve and engage the public. This week, I attended a webinar hosted by the University of Virginia. A team from the departments of history and architecture presented a digital public history project which seeks to research and preserve Green Book sites. As our project seeks to do the same for Chitlin’ Circuit sites, public historians using digital tools can connect to networks focused on preserving historic structures through site memory and, hopefully, bring attention to the need for restoration measures directed toward sites which welcomed and celebrated African Americans in a segregated America.
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