Shared Stories banner

Bee Jay Caldwell

Betty Caldwell shares a colorful recollection of memories from her childhood and adult life, focusing on her experience living in the Pottstown neighborhood of Huntersville. She describes her experience attending a Rosenwald school and the days of the Huntersville Colored School, which became Torrence-Lytle in 1953/54. Her words describe much of the social life in Pottstown, with memories of picnics, sports, pictures, food, and role of the AME Zion Church. Caldwell comments about the commercial aspect of the town and a few black-owned businesses. As she continues to talk about her life, she mentions community organizing, issues of civil rights and discrimination, and discusses racial integration especially related to education and educational labor spaces. Notably, she mentions being the author of the book “Historic Pottstown Families in Stories and Pictures,” and finishes the interview with important comments about the current state of Huntersville and ongoing gentrification.