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Biography

Bill Rose grew up in Clinton; Mel moved there as a young girl. Together they experienced the joys and heartaches of a segregated city along with the joys and heartaches of growing into a more diverse community. Bill is retired form DuPont while Mel is a medical technician certified to do hearing testing with a bachelor’s degree in science, accounting, and finance. She is active on the Ashford University Alumni Board. Bill is on the Foster Care Review Board. Both are very active in their church as well as their community.

Transcript

Jaanee Lewis: Thank you for coming to our Oral History Project.

Danielle Johnson: The Clinton Youth Program is a prevention dance group.

Jaanee: I’m Jaanee; I’m a senior in high school. I like to play volleyball; I like meeting new people, and I like hanging out with my friends.

Danielle: Hello my name’s Danielle Johnson. I attend Clinton High School. I’m involved in track and in CYPD Dance Group.

Bill Rose: My name is Bill Rose. I had four kids and I’ve been married 46 wonderful years.

Unidentified Voice: I bet you had better say that!

Bill Rose: This is my wife. She can introduce herself.

Mel Rose: Ah my name is Mel. Mel Rose is what you will go by. And yes we have four children, three boys and a girl. I am one of those rare breeds, I’ll say it like that. I had a father, my father was a minister. And he was a person who believed that if you have strength in yourself, and you feel good about yourself, self –esteem, you can go a long way. And just because I was a woman didn’t mean I had to do domestic work. So he says you put your goals towards that. So from that point I went on to school. So I’ll talk about that later.

Danielle: Ok. Well nice to meet you guys. So where are you employed at?

Bill Rose: I’m not. I do domestic work at home. I’m retired. (laughter) I used to work at the E. I. DuPont. I worked there for 36 ½ years and I retired in ’01.

Mel Rose: I work at Clinton Urgent Care. And I have a background, I have a bachelor’s degree in science, accounting, and finance. I am also a medical technologist. And I’m also certified to do hearing testing and that. So I guess you say I kind of have a wide facet. But sometimes having a wide facet is a plus for you, because there’s always a job out there.

Jaanee: How long have you lived in Clinton?

Bill Rose: I’ve lived in Clinton since I was three years old. That makes me 62 years.

Unidentified Voice: Wow!

Mel Rose: I’ve lived here maybe about forty, forty-five, about forty-five.

Danielle: You guys have any children?

Mel Rose: Yes.

Bill Rose: We have four.

Mel Rose: Four.

Jaanee: What’s their names?

Mel Rose: Rodney’s the oldest; Bill’s the second, Paulette,
and then CJ.

Danielle: Now they still living in Clinton?

Mel Rose: No, and I’ll tell you why. I instilled into my kids that you need an education. The education means that you have to get good grades in high school. I don’t care if you do participate in sports, but to me, sports is a privilege. So if you want to participate that way, you had to go with me on the grades. They kept their grades up. They got scholarships. They went on. They even graduated with honors and so they end up getting a good job. But the jobs that they got from their majors had them go to the cities. So I mean…you have to realize that whatever you go to college for and major in, you may have to leave Clinton. It’s not that you don’t want to, but the jobs are not in Clinton depending on what you’re majoring in. So remem…. keep that in the back of your mind, then. That when you’re going to school, and whatever you’re going to major in, you may have to leave Clinton to use your skills.

Jaannee: Are you involved in any Civic Groups?

Bill Rose : I’m on the Foster Care Review Board. That, for Iowa, it reviews cases for foster care kids. I was on that Study Connection at school, but I opted this year not to get into it and then different organizations in the church.

Mel Rose: I’m on the alumni board at the Ashford University. I’m also… I use to work with the Study Connection, but because of my schedules and stuff, I couldn’t do it. Then I work with the Church Organizations and things like that.

Danielle: So what do you guys do with the Church Organizations?

Bill Rose: I am a trustee. Which is…their responsibility is the properties of the church. They maintain it. There’s things that you have to get to maintain it, like you have to fix something, cut the grass, snow, anything to do with the church properties. The trustees are involved in getting that done.

Mel Rose: I’m on the Steward Board that takes care of the financial….finances of the church, ensuring that things are being paid. Insurance are taken care of. It’s just the well being of running the church, as far as the finances. I also, we have a missionary group that’s kind of slow starting. We have to start back up again. But we, in our project there try to help people who are, visit the sick, we have little programs, nothing, we don’t try to be a big fund raiser, but to being able to help other people when we can help them.

Jaanee: What church and how long have you been a member?

Bill Rose: I been a member ever since I came here to Clinton. I been at Bethel, so 62 years.

Mel Rose: And I’ve been a member….

Bill Rose: I can’t say that I have been a member that long. I didn’t join church….Well I went to Bethel, but I didn’t become a full fledged member until I was 18 years old.

Mel Rose: Since my father was a minister, I was a member since day one.

Danielle: Do a lot of African Americans attend?

Bill Rose: Not at many as I’d like. But I would say more than any others.

Mel Rose: For the number of churches…for the number of members that we have.

Bill Rose: Yes. We have a lot of white members, not a lot but we have white members, and Hispanic members, and African Americans, too.

Jaanee: What was is like growing up in Clinton, Iowa as a child?

Bill Rose: Well, let’s see. Growing up like, I think I heard, Deena and them talking like, when they wanted you, when you moved to Clinton they gave you a certain area to live in. That was like Second Avenue North. Yeah, right. Then, one good thing about that is that everybody knew everybody, and everybody took care of the kids. If you go out on the street and act up or if you didn’t act up, that was fine. But you acted up down here the people’s that yard you’re in, they’re going to take care of you, “Hey you know you’re not supposed to be doing” But, nowadays if you say something to somebody’s kid and the parents here they’re going to bless you out because you’re not suppose to say anything to their kids, you know. But a lot of times what they would do they’d take care of you what the situation that was going on. Then they’d let your parent’s know and before you got home your parents would know. So then you would get some more, if you were acting up. That’s the way when they say a village is taking care of all the kids, that’s the same way that they did when we were growing up. And it really helped us because it kept a lot of us out of trouble.

Danielle: Well, how about you?

Mel Rose: Umm,

Bill Rose: You wanted to say something about high school?

Mel Rose: Well, see, I didn’t move here until I was in like
6th grade. So, plus being a preacher’s kid, quote, you couldn’t do a lot of things without getting in trouble anyway. So, I was limited on how far I could go visit, how far I could see people because that’s just the way things were at our household. But I have to admit, that in school, of course in high school there weren’t that many activities for the girls. But going off to college opened the door for me as far as getting to know, number one: knowing other people, other cultures, other races, and learning. And the school, you’ll find out some things that were done in high school was different, differently taught, than compared to what you would do. And I think it’s like you say, it’s the teachers. Some teachers I felt were intimidated. And still are intimidated by some of the black students because I feel that, they don’t think that black students know anything, and if you show any type of intelligence they’re intimidated. So you had to work around that. When The Mount was going on it was run by Sisters. So, they were a nice teaching area. They knew the situation in Clinton, so they tried to help you as much as they possibly could, education wise, how to go here, how to go there, if you’re looking for your majors. But as far as living here? I was able to work in a Lisbon Shop. And I think some of us remember Lisbon Shop. It was a ladies store. And of course, I check in the clothing and things like that. Well then because they knew I could work with people, they had me work out at the counter and wait on people. Well, they look at you, and they go on and find somebody else. OK, fine. I knew what was going on, but I didn’t let it get the best of me. I figured OK, if they want to stay back there and stay in line a long time, fine and dandy. I’m ready to check somebody out. But the ones who came and I serviced; they had no problems. I got a lot of accolades from the company saying that I did a good job, they never quote, “Had a black sales person in that business.” So, that made me feel good. So after I left there and I went on to school. I had a conflict after I got my medical technology working in the hospital when I had a patient say to me, “I don’t want that nigger to take care of me.” So I thought, “Ok.” I’m one of these I just don’t let it get the best of me. So what happened, Dr. Barrett was the doctor of the patient. I was coming in and he said, “Where are you going?” And I says, “I’m done because she doesn’t want me to touch her.” He says, “What did she say to you?” And I told him. He went in there and he says, “You know what? If you don’t let her do the lab work, I’m not going to be your doctor.” So you see you find out there’s people out there who do care about you, who are trying to break this barrier, you know. So if someone calls you that, don’t get upset and want to start fighting and that. You know, words! Let the words roll off your back. And continue on in life. That’s what I’ve taught my boys and girl because they have been blessed. They’re very intelligent and they have good jobs. But it hasn’t been easy because somebody is always trying to back stab them. But they keep the faith and they keep plugging away and they’ll make it. And they have made it. All of them have made it. And I am very proud of them.