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125: A Legacy of Love in Chattanooga, TN · Common Mystics

• 0:10
  Speaker A: On this episode of Common Mystics, we bring you a story about an orphanage, a court case, and the do gooders and villains that affected one young girl's life in the late 19th century. I'm Jennifer James.
• 0:25
  Speaker B: I'm Jill Stanley.
• 0:27
  Speaker A: We're psychics, we're sisters. We are common mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And today's story takes us to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• 0:39
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 0:40
  Speaker B: The same day we were there. Let's recap. It was rainy. We wanted to stay in the city. We needed a story, but we didn't want to go very far. And we ended up at Forest Hill Cemetery. After we drove around, we found our other story, but we noticed in the car, Jennifer, after we set our intention, a couple of hits, that we're going to go over here. But please remind us what our intention was that day.
• 1:09
  Speaker A: Our intention was, as it always is, to ask the spirits to lead us to a verifiable story previously unknown to us that allows us to give voice to the. The voiceless.
• 1:22
  Speaker B: Every time. You do it perfectly every time. That's why you do it.
• 1:25
  Speaker A: Thank you.
• 1:28
  Speaker B: So I was picking up, as we were driving around the city that day, young black African American children running freely around the city. Almost gave me the feeling like, where's your mom? Right. Like, how are you just running around?
• 1:47
  Speaker A: Absolutely. And the name, Bonnie Oaks. We kept running into it again and again and to the point where we were writing down, who is Bonnie Oaks?
• 2:00
  Speaker B: True. We were like, who's she? Why is she important? And why does she have her own drive?
• 2:04
  Speaker A: Right, Exactly. I don't know what that means. Number two, that's why I skipped it, because I have no idea what that means.
• 2:14
  Speaker B: You were talking about. This is. Now you're letting everyone see how the sauce is made. Okay. So you were talking about when we were driving the car, the role of women during reconstruction and how they would be taking care of, like, the community and the people in the community.
• 2:31
  Speaker A: Oh, okay, sure. Like the soldiers and the families.
• 2:36
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You don't remember talking about that in the.
• 2:39
  Speaker A: No, but I haven't looked over the notes in a while and we talk about a lot. In my defense. We talk about a lot. We have got like 25 notes from. From those three days on the road.
• 2:50
  Speaker B: 29 pages.
• 2:52
  Speaker A: 29. 29 pages. That's a lot. That's a lot of talking.
• 2:56
  Speaker B: Okay. Do you remember being in Forest Hill Cemetery?
• 3:00
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 3:01
  Speaker B: We were not attending the funeral. I want to make that. We were not going to do that.
• 3:06
  Speaker A: That would have been inappropriate.
• 3:08
  Speaker B: I would have felt Bad. Like you. There are things you can't crash. Unless it was a funeral luncheon. Then I would feel. Then I would feel less awkward. You know what I mean?
• 3:20
  Speaker A: Yeah. Maybe if it was a buffet, that would be less awkward than, like a sit down when you're looking at people that don't know you.
• 3:27
  Speaker B: You know what, though?
• 3:27
  Speaker A: Like, a buffet would be easier.
• 3:29
  Speaker B: Okay, I agree. A buffet would be easier. But family style is always the classiest to go. If you are having an event, it's family style what you want.
• 3:40
  Speaker A: Well, I think if you're all dressed up and you're wearing your heels and you're in your satin and you got the ruffles, the last thing you want to do is walk around with a plate of food in your hands.
• 3:51
  Speaker B: True.
• 3:51
  Speaker A: Especially if you're me. Or you. Well, because we're clumsy and it's going to end up all up and down ourselves and it's just going to be a mess. Especially after a couple drinks.
• 4:02
  Speaker B: Our nephew and I, at our niece's wedding, like, literally, like, ran up to the bar and was bodyguarding the champagne because we had to get our own champagne toast. And we're like, we need nine for our table. And like, someone from the wedding party was like, we're in the wedding party. And I was like, and you were slow. And you were slow getting here. So now these first nine are for us.
• 4:26
  Speaker A: You know what, Jill? I do remember being in the Forest Hills Cemetery. And yes, there was a funeral happening that we did not crash. However, it was so odd because there was this sign that said Vine Street Orphanage. And it made no kind of sense. And it jumped out at me. And I took a picture and I was like, there's a story here.
• 4:50
  Speaker B: What's interesting about it, it was like almost a historical marker out of place. Like in the cemetery on the ground. Absolutely no sense. So definitely you were like, we are looking in on some orphans. We are going to have an orphan story.
• 5:05
  Speaker A: True.
• 5:06
  Speaker B: So then.
• 5:07
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 5:08
  Speaker B: Do you remember this? I don't know if you really remember.
• 5:10
  Speaker A: I pulled into a parking lot on campus. That seems significant. I do remember this, actually.
• 5:16
  Speaker B: Okay. So I made a left and we couldn't get to the right. I had to back up and go through, like, this crazy shady little alley and there was all this construction around.
• 5:28
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 5:29
  Speaker B: Okay. I just want you to remember that.
• 5:31
  Speaker A: And what campus was it? University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
• 5:34
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 5:35
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 5:35
  Speaker B: Ut Tennessee. What is it?
• 5:37
  Speaker A: Utah? I don't know. That sounds about right.
• 5:39
  Speaker B: Yeah. Ut. Yeah.
• 5:41
  Speaker A: Not uti.
• 5:42
  Speaker B: Not uti. I knew that was coming. And you were talking about the significance of. When we were talking about the orphans in the context of, like, the orphanage sign that we saw, you were like, something has to be about the parents. I'm more interested in about the parents.
• 5:58
  Speaker A: Yes. It definitely felt like the story wasn't necessarily the children, but more the parent drama happening surrounding the children. Do you know what I mean?
• 6:08
  Speaker B: Yes, yes, yes, yes. And I think one of the last. And you do not know why this is a hit right now, but you.
• 6:16
  Speaker A: Don'T know why it's a hit right.
• 6:17
  Speaker B: Now, but your face doesn't know. But one of the last hits we got, it was really like a breadcrumb was the medical buildings and how we were in, like, surrounded by, like, medical building. It was like, how many people are sick and Chattanooga? Like, there's a lot of medical buildings in this area.
• 6:34
  Speaker A: Well, the funny thing was we were just driving around, doing what we do, and we end up in this sort of medical complex with, like, the surgical center over here and the cancer center over there, and we could not get out. We were just like, wow, we are stuck and in this, like, hospital setting.
• 6:51
  Speaker B: And it's right off the. Like. It's right in the midst, I should say, of the university. So, like, you have, like, the university complexes, and then you have, like, a random old cemetery that we went to, and then we have all these medical complexes and construction all around.
• 7:09
  Speaker A: Right.
• 7:09
  Speaker B: Like, they were digging. It was very difficult to navigate that day in the rain. But tell me. Tell me a little bit about the orphanage that was immortalized in that. In that cemetery with the sign.
• 7:25
  Speaker A: Right. So researching the sign that said Vine Street Orphanage was where we started. Was where you started, because you actually put this outline together. So thank you, Jill. And so, pleasure. You were able to find a little bit of history about the Vine Street Orphanage, which is now called the Children's Home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jill is still there. The Children's home in Chattanooga?
• 7:49
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 7:50
  Speaker A: So the Vine Street Orphanage, now the Children's home in Chattanooga, can be traced back to the year 1872, when a group of concerned women citizens from local churches, known as the Women's Christian association, established a food and clothing pantry for orphaned girls. How nice.
• 8:13
  Speaker B: That is really nice.
• 8:14
  Speaker A: Here they are taking care of the community. The operation quickly expanded to not just giving out food and clothing, but also housing orphaned children. And their effort became known as the Women's Christian association, which I already stated earlier. And I want you to say it.
• 8:37
  Speaker B: Again, because it's a hell of a. It's A hell of an organization. The Woman's Christian Association. Good on them.
• 8:44
  Speaker A: Good on them. And it grew larger and larger. And there was a facility built for it on Vine Street. Now, like most orphanages that were built during the Reconstruction era, after the Civil War, vine street was segregated. Wah wah. And what I mean by that is segregated racially. So they would put all of the white children in a. No, I'm not going to say that right now.
• 9:20
  Speaker B: Yeah, what you're gonna say is that they did not allow black children into the facility. It was a white only. So they segregated the white children from the black children. Of the needy children on the streets, they were only serving to mostly young ladies, like young girls. Not many white boys over 10, but they were all white. Sorry. I'm sorry I had to break that to you. See.
• 9:52
  Speaker A: Okay, so. So I won't read this because that's not what this says. This says that the Vine Street Orphanage was segregated, meaning that they kept the blacks away from the whites. Is that what you mean?
• 10:04
  Speaker B: But like. That is what I meant, but I mean like from the streets, not from, like inside the community, not inside the institution.
• 10:13
  Speaker A: Okay, so Vine Street Orphanage only took white children, Is that what you're telling me?
• 10:20
  Speaker B: Yes. And a limited number of boys, especially boys over 10.
• 10:24
  Speaker A: Okay. And that was pretty usual because black orphans were not allowed in many of the facilities that were available at the time and therefore faced even more significant hardships. Right?
• 10:39
  Speaker B: Yep.
• 10:40
  Speaker A: Now, there were separate quote unquote, colored orphanages that did cater to specifically to the black orphan population, correct, Jill? Yes. Yeah. And it wasn't a good time for orphans after the Civil War in Chattanooga. I don't know if you know that. Not that there's ever a good time for orphans.
• 11:01
  Speaker B: I will tell you, being an orphan myself, there is. It is always hard.
• 11:05
  Speaker A: You weren't an orphan, you were a child.
• 11:08
  Speaker B: I'm an orphan. I'm an orphan right now. I'm talking about myself today.
• 11:14
  Speaker A: Your 42 year old self.
• 11:17
  Speaker B: You don't know how old I am.
• 11:18
  Speaker A: I don't know how old you are.
• 11:19
  Speaker B: Oh, are you 45?
• 11:21
  Speaker A: I think you're 45. Cause the math is really easily, really easily. Really, really easy. Yeah. You're 45. That's right.
• 11:29
  Speaker B: I'm not.
• 11:32
  Speaker A: You're 44. You're gonna be 45 this year.
• 11:35
  Speaker B: Okay. I'm rounding up 12 minutes of our time well spent.
• 11:40
  Speaker A: All right, so Chattanooga after the Civil War, it was a really crappy time for orphans.
• 11:46
  Speaker B: I just want to say this. The thing is about the black Orphanages is that in the south, there were people that were trying to organize black orphanages.
• 11:55
  Speaker A: However.
• 11:58
  Speaker B: Their efforts were met with violent resistance, so.
• 12:03
  Speaker A: Meaning that it was very difficult to establish a black orphanage.
• 12:07
  Speaker B: Threats from the kkk, things of that nature. So there were. Yes, yes.
• 12:13
  Speaker A: Even. Oh, wow. I would think that even the KKK would have a soft spot in their white hooded hearts for the little black children. Without. Without. I'm serious. Are you serious?
• 12:27
  Speaker B: Swear to God.
• 12:27
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 12:28
  Speaker B: And that will come up again. So I'm not. I mean. Spoiler alert. Yeah, spoiler alert. The KKK fucking sucks. What are you gonna do? I can. I'm going to take a stand on that and screw them.
• 12:40
  Speaker A: You're anti kkk. All right, great.
• 12:42
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 12:43
  Speaker A: All right. So Chattanooga, after the Civil War, which hit that city hard.
• 12:50
  Speaker B: Hard, hard, hard, hard.
• 12:54
  Speaker A: A lot of families were broken and struggling. There was economic hardship and displacement because of the war, and. And that all led to a rise of children on the street. A rise of children who did not have both parents.
• 13:09
  Speaker B: But that's not all. What happened during the 1800s, girl.
• 13:14
  Speaker A: What else happened?
• 13:15
  Speaker B: There was a vicious, vicious yellow fever epidemic that was going across the country from the south to the north, along the Mississippi Delta, and it was being carried by female mosquitoes.
• 13:35
  Speaker A: Okay. I had to look this up.
• 13:38
  Speaker B: It's true.
• 13:39
  Speaker A: I know it's true. You know why it's true? Because only the male mosquitoes.
• 13:45
  Speaker B: What, they don't sting because they don't.
• 13:48
  Speaker A: Bite and suck your blood. They don't have the. The apparatus on their mouths. So don't blame the females. That's how they were made. Plus, they're getting done. They are getting done.
• 13:58
  Speaker B: Wow. I did not think that you would be on the side of the female yellow fever. Karen. Mosquitoes.
• 14:05
  Speaker A: I'm just saying they have to do it all. In other words, they have to do it all.
• 14:10
  Speaker B: But listen, Jennifer. So, like, it hit Memphis bad. A lot of people in Memphis died, and people were like, elvis wasn't there yet. So they're like, why are we even here with all this epidemic happening? So they all fled, and they carried the disease with them and. And they carried them into towns like Chattanooga.
• 14:30
  Speaker A: And so was Chattanooga impacted by the.
• 14:33
  Speaker B: Yellow fever epidemic in the 1870s? 366 people died. But the epidemic lasted, like, during the mid to late 1800s. So I was only counting the. In the 1870s.
• 14:48
  Speaker A: Right. And the more people die, the more they leave behind their kids. Right, and the more. Yeah, the more the surviving family members are destitute. So that's terrible. What a terrible time. But there was more.
• 15:04
  Speaker B: How much more can we take in the 1870s in Chattanooga. You're bringing me down.
• 15:10
  Speaker A: 1870S also brought social and economic changes, not only because of the growing poverty, but because of industrialization coming as well. So now you have people who are more centralized in the city areas, and there's factories. And of course, we know how terrible factories were to work in. Right. So it's a whole new kind of poor that I think people are dealing with for the first time.
• 15:34
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:36
  Speaker A: There was a need for social services, including orphanages.
• 15:41
  Speaker B: So tell me what we already know. One of the requirements of the vine street orphanages or orphanage was that you had to be white. So we know that. What else have you to be?
• 15:52
  Speaker A: Either one or both of your parents had to die, so you could still have one parent and be considered an orphan and go live at Vine Street. Okay, but. But continue.
• 16:05
  Speaker B: But papers had to be signed to release all of any ownership or.
• 16:13
  Speaker A: Or guardianship.
• 16:15
  Speaker B: Custody. Yeah, Guardianship of that child. So they're like, exactly right. You dropping off your kid here? Sign right here.
• 16:21
  Speaker A: Sign right here.
• 16:23
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:23
  Speaker A: You are no longer. Yeah. In control of what happens to this child.
• 16:28
  Speaker B: I don't care if she doesn't eat green beans, she's eating them here. You know what I mean? Kind of deal.
• 16:33
  Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. That's kind of scary.
• 16:36
  Speaker B: I mean, it's the. I feel like.
• 16:38
  Speaker A: Cause you're signing away your right to your own child.
• 16:42
  Speaker B: Well, think about the, like, where you have to be in life to face that decision.
• 16:48
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:50
  Speaker B: Fuck. I mean, it's a selfless thing to do. You know, if you're like, a woman and you can't raise them, it's kind of selfless to be like, I would rather you have a life without me and hope for, like, with the Christian Women association than know. Than living on the street with me.
• 17:07
  Speaker A: True, true. And apparently they took children between 6 months of age to 16 years old. But I think depending on the orphanages, different orphanages had different age requirements, like you mentioned before.
• 17:24
  Speaker B: True. As a matter of fact, not only the age requirements were different, but a lot of times some of the orphans in the orphanages or weren't technically orphans at all. So, like, where. Vine Street. You're signing over the children. Even if one parent is alive, it could be both your parents are alive, but they can't afford for you to be cared for. And so they. They end up sending their kids off to either be raised by someone else or hoping for the best in some of these Orphanages, right? Yeah. Ick, ick, ick. So I like the idea of the vine street orphanage, but I know the Women's association put a lot together with. But why Vine Street? Like, is there a particular reason why the women chose Vine Street?
• 18:10
  Speaker A: Well, I think it goes back to a man named Dr. McCallay. Dr. Reverend McCallay, to be more precise, who donated land on vine street for the orphanage. So he was an altruistic man. He was very generous. He obviously had money and he gave the land that happened to be located on vine street, and therefore they built the there. And the matrons and the children moved in to the Vine street orphan's home in 1911.
• 18:40
  Speaker B: That's right. And to tell you a little bit about Reverend Thomas. Doctor.
• 18:45
  Speaker A: Reverend, I would love it. I would love it if you did tell me a little bit about Dr. Reverend Thomas.
• 18:50
  Speaker B: I just want you to know that he had 16 children with his lovely wife Ellen, and eight of them survived until adulthood. And when, you know, some of his boys grew up, they were also remarkable in the community that they created different schools, McKelly schools for like, the girls. McKelly schools for like, blah, blah, blah, around the city. So he had raised generations of children to be as socially minded as he was.
• 19:21
  Speaker A: Oh my gosh, I love that.
• 19:24
  Speaker B: Mm.
• 19:25
  Speaker A: Good parents, the McCallays.
• 19:27
  Speaker B: Exactly. The McCallays are really good parents and raised really good kids that were trailblazers in taking care of the community. One of his daughters, which is kind of cool, her name, Julia. Julia married a Samuel Walker. Divine. Isn't that just a divine name?
• 19:43
  Speaker A: Yeah. Sam Devine.
• 19:45
  Speaker B: And he was. He also became a really well respected individual in the community. He was a true visionary that played a key, key role in driving the city's progress and passion and growth. He drew the cities. He was really influential in the progression of the city. And he was part of the development or they called him the father of rapid transit in Chattanooga. And he was like the president of the Chattanooga Railroad and Light Company, leaving behind a crazy ass legacy. And he made a lot of money.
• 20:17
  Speaker A: And I think Sam Devine is going to feature back in our story a little later.
• 20:23
  Speaker B: That's true. That's why I'm bringing it up. Not just because I like his name.
• 20:26
  Speaker A: Okay, great. So, Jill, it sounds like these people were wonderful, wealthy people in the community. Did they start an orphanage for black children as well?
• 20:36
  Speaker B: They did not know, but they did give a lot of themselves. But there is someone coming to Chattanooga that is going to be a champion of all children.
• 20:48
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 20:48
  Speaker B: All right.
• 20:49
  Speaker A: I'm Here for that. And who is that, Jill?
• 20:52
  Speaker B: Her name's Elmyra. Am I saying that right?
• 20:54
  Speaker A: You are.
• 20:55
  Speaker B: Thanks, Esteel. You tell me about her. Where's she from?
• 21:00
  Speaker A: Okay. Elmyra Steele is so influential in the history of Chattanooga social services. Wonderful woman of Puritan heritage who was brought up in Massachusetts in a neighborhood just outside Boston.
• 21:18
  Speaker B: Mm.
• 21:19
  Speaker A: She was raised in a comfortable home financially and was rooted in Christian values. And she was an abolitionist. She joined the abolitionists at a young age, which meant that she was a proponent of freedom and the abolition of slavery in the United States.
• 21:40
  Speaker B: Isn't that something?
• 21:41
  Speaker D: Yeah.
• 21:41
  Speaker A: I love that. After finishing her education, she became a teacher, and then she became a principal of an elementary school.
• 21:50
  Speaker B: I almost feel like you were this woman in a past life.
• 21:53
  Speaker A: No, she's much better than I am. I'm not this good and kind hearted.
• 21:56
  Speaker B: You don't know what. You don't know how good you were in a past life. Maybe you took the escalator down this time.
• 22:04
  Speaker A: I think that's what happened. That would explain so much. So then in 1870, she married a man named Walter Steele. But just three years later, he died suddenly, and she was left a widow with an infant daughter, Myra. In 1880, she made a life changing decision, Jill. And she decided she's going to leave her job, she's going to sell her house, she's going to sell the store that her husband left to her and followed what she believed was her true calling. I almost have goosebumps right now because I feel like, who does that? This is the dream of so many people. Like, like, you think about this all the time. If, you know, if only I was brave enough to, like, sell everything and, like, follow this passion. And she actually did it.
• 22:56
  Speaker B: But not only that, her passion was something to help others. It wasn't like she had, like, a passion project she wanted to do. Like, I want to go to travel around the world. She wanted to take the. The money that she made teaching and her husband's legacy and to create a better place for other people.
• 23:15
  Speaker A: That's right. And so she created the Steel Home for Needy Children, which was founded in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1884 by Elmira Steele. She used her own money to do this, and she also lobbied other organizations to help fund because she probably, you know, needed help.
• 23:37
  Speaker B: I mean. Yeah. I mean, takes a village. My God.
• 23:41
  Speaker A: Now, her Chattanooga orphanage served as a home and a school for the children and offered them a, quote, christian education and industrial training, which is so progressive.
• 23:54
  Speaker B: Right. These kids were not like little orphan Andy Kids, like, sweeping the floors and stuff. They were at school. She was teaching them.
• 24:01
  Speaker A: That is amazing.
• 24:02
  Speaker B: Hoping that when they age out of the orphanage that they would have opportunities to serve the community in their jobs.
• 24:09
  Speaker A: Right. So that they could get work.
• 24:12
  Speaker B: Right.
• 24:12
  Speaker A: I love that. That's so progressive. Because she's teaching them how to work in the factories, like how to be successful in the industrial world, which was changing and must have been scary. So, wow. That is incredible.
• 24:27
  Speaker B: This woman really was a trailblazer in so many ways. Read the next thing because it's this is this. This. This doesn't happen.
• 24:36
  Speaker A: This is special. Why don't you say it? Because you're all excited.
• 24:39
  Speaker B: You say it.
• 24:40
  Speaker A: No, you do it.
• 24:40
  Speaker B: No, you say it. I want you to say it. I like when you say things.
• 24:44
  Speaker A: She opened the doors of her.
• 24:51
  Speaker E: Home.
• 24:51
  Speaker A: For needy children, not only to children of color, but also impoverished white children who were rejected by other orphanages.
• 25:04
  Speaker B: So, like, vine street was taking only boys of a certain age, and they wouldn't take black kids. So if, like, if there was no room at vine street, she. She was taking every kid. And she said, I turn away no children. That was her. She's like, I turn away no children.
• 25:23
  Speaker A: Jill, I looked this up. There are other reasons why children might be turned away. Why other white children might be turned away.
• 25:29
  Speaker B: Were they biters?
• 25:31
  Speaker A: Yes. Behavior issues. Any. Any child who had, like, a behavior issue, they could turn you away and be like, nope, too difficult. Also, if they had an illness or disability, if they were disabled in any way, they might be turned away and probably were also, like, some hoity toity Christian organizations wouldn't take you if your parents weren't Christian or if you were conceived out of wedlock, they wouldn't take you.
• 26:01
  Speaker B: So wrong.
• 26:02
  Speaker A: I know. And then certain other ethnicities, too, like if you were Asian, Latino, Native American, they wouldn't take you. So, yeah, I think that says so much about Elmira Steele, because she took any child in need, even if they were a biter.
• 26:17
  Speaker B: That's insane. In the absolute men.
• 26:21
  Speaker A: Even if they were an Asian illegitimate knee biter, they still took you.
• 26:27
  Speaker B: Or what if it was like a mouthy, very large white child behavior disorder that looks like a sumo wrestler can eat quite a bit in her weight and bites.
• 26:40
  Speaker A: She would take you, Jill.
• 26:41
  Speaker B: She would take me.
• 26:42
  Speaker A: She takes me.
• 26:42
  Speaker B: I had a home. I had a home. That's how we've met in a past life. Ben.
• 26:51
  Speaker A: That must be. That must that. That explains our connection in our relationship.
• 26:57
  Speaker B: Why you're always taking care of me.
• 27:01
  Speaker A: Yeah. So I want to tell you.
• 27:05
  Speaker B: I have to tell you this because I've been waiting. Okay, so Chattanooga was not her first choice.
• 27:12
  Speaker A: She tried.
• 27:13
  Speaker B: No, no. She tried to start another orphanage in South Carolina.
• 27:23
  Speaker A: In South Carolina.
• 27:25
  Speaker B: In South Carolina. But the KKK ran her out of town. And that's why. That's why she ended up in Chattanooga. Now this is another thing that you. Dude, you don't even know. Another thing that I found out a year after she put all her money, lobbied all this effort to build her orphanage or her steel home for the needy children. Yeah, an arsonist burnt it to the ground.
• 27:53
  Speaker A: Shut up.
• 27:54
  Speaker B: No, I swear to God. Swear to God. The woman had balls of steel.
• 27:59
  Speaker A: What's wrong with people?
• 28:01
  Speaker B: They didn't want the interracial. They didn't want white children being housed with black people and treating them as equals. Like not the believable. They didn't even care about children. I know, I know, but listen to this. It gets better. So in the papers, the city officially said there was a black woman in the area when the arson happened. And they suspect it was a black woman whose child was being cared for by Mrs. Steele. And so when reached for a comment, the newspaper reporter asked Ms. Steele, like, do you think this was started by someone whose child. A black woman whose child you're taking care of. And what'd she say? She said it's more likely a white person who didn't like the care for all children that she provided.
• 28:55
  Speaker A: Oh, wow.
• 28:56
  Speaker B: So she was like. She. Yeah, she was like, yeah, more likely. Yeah, some fucking racist prick.
• 29:02
  Speaker A: Wow. Good for her. How incredible. What an incredible individual.
• 29:08
  Speaker B: Yeah, no, she really was something. Can you even. But to even have. First of all, being ran out of the state of South Carolina by the kkk. To have. And the night of the fire, like one of her students saw the blaze and she was very calm, walked them out. You know what I mean? Like this, like her, like literally had steel balls. Like I would be flipping out.
• 29:29
  Speaker A: The fire was, was in Chattanooga, right?
• 29:31
  Speaker B: Right in her home. A year after it opened.
• 29:34
  Speaker A: Oh my gosh, it opened in December.
• 29:38
  Speaker B: They burnt it down before Christmas in November around like Thanksgiving.
• 29:41
  Speaker A: But she rebuilt.
• 29:43
  Speaker B: But she. Of course she rebuilt. But still, that's shitty as fuck. And a lot of this is another thing. A lot of wealthy people in the, in the town helped her rebuild. So she didn't rebuild in a vacuum. So like, like Mr.
• 29:56
  Speaker A: The Good Citizens. The good citizens, generous, big hearted citizens who cared about all children, no matter what their racial background, helped her. She is amazing. Nonetheless, she found herself in a trial in a legal battle in 1903.
• 30:17
  Speaker B: Yes, she did.
• 30:18
  Speaker A: Who could possibly take this woman to court? She is girl. She. She first. Seriously, she can do no wrong in my book.
• 30:27
  Speaker B: You know, she. Well, she was not. This wasn't her only trial, but this is the one that we are talking about. She was really put up as an example, and there was a lot of times that people fought against her just because she was educating children of different races in the same manner. So this is the one like that we're talking about. But she was on trial a lot. She had to testify a lot in her.
• 30:55
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 30:55
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 30:56
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 30:56
  Speaker B: Yep.
• 30:57
  Speaker A: Okay, so 1903, a court case involving a foster child by the name of Lily Jennings. Correct, Correct.
• 31:07
  Speaker C: And some. Jennings.
• 31:09
  Speaker A: Go ahead.
• 31:10
  Speaker B: Some claimed her last name to be Sudden. Sunderland.
• 31:15
  Speaker A: Sunderland. Sunderland. Sunderland.
• 31:20
  Speaker B: Sunderland, yeah.
• 31:22
  Speaker A: Because listeners, Jill spelled this about six different ways throughout the rest of this outline. So I'm gonna make myself a note that it's. The last name is Sunderland. Yes. Very good.
• 31:34
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 31:35
  Speaker A: All right. So Lily Jennings was an. A foster child who was taken from the home of the Sunderland family and brought to the Steel orphanage. And that was the crux of. Of the court case.
• 31:49
  Speaker B: Yes, it was an habeas corpus proceeding brought to you by Frank Sunderland and with a counsel out of Knoxville, Tennessee. And it was charged against Elmira S. Steel to recover the possession of his foster child that he referred to as Lillian Sunderland.
• 32:10
  Speaker A: Okay, so basically, he is so suing her to get his foster daughter back.
• 32:15
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 32:16
  Speaker A: Okay, very good. And habeas corpus just means that that's legal action to challenge the legality of someone's detention or imprisonment? Yes. So he's saying, you are imprisoning my foster child by keeping her there. Right. Okay, got it. So now, Lily, you want to tell me about her, or do you want me to tell you about her?
• 32:36
  Speaker B: She's. She's a heartbreaker, this one. Tell me about her. She really is.
• 32:41
  Speaker A: All right. Don't cry over there. Lily was 12 years old at the time. In 1903, she was a white girl. And she was removed from her foster home with the Sunderland family by a Christian charity group under the authority of Judge Collier of Knox County, Tennessee. The removal from the home was intended to protect her from. From the alleged abuse that she succumbed at the hands of the Sunderlands. Lily was subsequently placed in the care of Ms. Elmyra Steele, of course, the manager of Steel's home for needy children, which was also known as a colored institution because of the large number of children of African American descent or black children who. Who were there being housed and educated at the Steel's home for needy children. Do I have that right, Jill?
• 33:39
  Speaker B: You have it right. So I just wanna. I just wanna put a button on it. Cause it's like that's what you do. Fucking kidding me. Okay, so this little girl was like observed to be abused by you. You fuck. And then you want her back. So you create a court case, say, with the crux of it saying that she's being detained with black children and that is the reason why she should be returned to the family in which there was suspected alleged abuse.
• 34:13
  Speaker A: Right. So the lawyer of the Sunderlands was arguing that Mrs. Steele intentionally misrepresented her home as one for white children. And the lawyer was sitting, saying that if she had been upfront with the fact that there were colored, quote, unquote, colored or black children in her home, the judge never would have made Lily be in that home. Right, right. And the Sutter Lynn claimed that the judge would have let Lily remain with them in the house had he known. Okay, so this is the situation.
• 34:56
  Speaker B: Okay, so this is my favorite part of every episode. This is the part where we have the talent. That is my sister, Jennifer James, as she recreates in an eerie fashion to make you feel like you are actually there on this day in July. Can you please. Jennifer, in the tone of, let's say, Melanie Wilkes.
• 35:18
  Speaker A: Wait, helm, wait, wait. Mrs. Steele is from Massachusetts, outside Boston. She does not talk like Melanie Wilkes of Gone with the Wind from Atlanta, Georgia.
• 35:29
  Speaker B: Okay, so are you gonna do a Boston accent?
• 35:32
  Speaker A: Well, I was actually at work looking up how to speak with a Boston accent. And then people started coming to my office and I couldn't pull that off as. No, this is work related. So I am just going to speak. They probably high class.
• 35:50
  Speaker B: They probably thought you were like stroking out everybody, like Something's wrong with Mrs. James in there.
• 35:58
  Speaker A: Yeah. Anyway, okay, so here Mrs. Steele responds to these accusations.
• 36:06
  Speaker B: I do. I do have one more request. If we're not doing the Boston or Melanie Wilkes, what about a good Katharine Hef?
• 36:15
  Speaker A: I mean, that's closer than Melanie. That's closer than Melanie Wilkes.
• 36:19
  Speaker B: Well, why don't you try that one? Try that one out the size.
• 36:24
  Speaker A: I think you should read it.
• 36:26
  Speaker B: No, I can't read as well as you do.
• 36:28
  Speaker A: All right.
• 36:29
  Speaker B: I'll surely mess it up.
• 36:30
  Speaker A: All right, well, here. Here's what she said. Okay. So she responded to the accusation, explaining that the child, Lily, had been placed in her care as reported, and that she had taken custody without any wrongdoing or inappropriate actions. Now, here is the exact transcript from court.
• 36:52
  Speaker C: I was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and my husband passed away in 1878. I moved to Chattanooga in 1880, and with the money I saved from working as a schoolteacher, I bought the land where this home now stands. Stands and paid for its construction. I founded this home to help children in need, and I've never turned away a child who came to my door. In the 23 years I've taken care of the orphanage, I've sheltered 979 children, 75 of whom were white. Many of these children I've placed in good homes, and some I've even helped educate and send to college. Some children came to me after being turned away from the Vine Street Home, which only accepts children from the county, and usually not boys over 10 years old. One particular case stands out to me. Before I left for Chicago, I received a letter from from the YWCA in Knoxville asking me to take in a child. I asked her to hold off until I returned, but the child arrived at the home during the night, Brought by the Knoxville police matron. She was almost entirely uneducated, so I taught her to read and write. She even joined us at our school, summer school in Summit. I always try to find good homes for children in unique situations like hers. And thankfully, Mr. And Mrs. Sam Devine have helped place her in one of the best homes in Chattanooga. That's all I know about her. But I've always cared for every needy and homeless child who's come to me, no matter their background. When they're hungry, thirsty, or in need of a home, I've seen it as my duty to do the work of God the good shepherd, and take care of them all as his children.
• 39:23
  Speaker B: Bravo. That was so good. I wish I had flowers to throw. It was so good. It was so good. You did so good.
• 39:33
  Speaker A: So where's Lily living at this time? Jill.
• 39:37
  Speaker B: She's with the Divines.
• 39:38
  Speaker A: She's with the Divines.
• 39:39
  Speaker B: Sam Samuel Walker Divine. Julia Devine.
• 39:45
  Speaker A: Yeah. Julia. Who is the Vine. The daughter of the founder, Kelly. Yeah. The founder, pretty much. Of Vine Street. Yes.
• 39:53
  Speaker B: Yeah. He was the rich doctor reverend that gave the land of Vine Street. He opened other school to educate children, and now she's living in one of the most pristine, prestigious families in Chattanooga who developed, like, the railroad industry here. So she's placed in a good place.
• 40:09
  Speaker A: So, all right. I mean, yeah. I mean, how could you do better? Right?
• 40:14
  Speaker B: Right. But the whole premise of the court is saying, but she wouldn't have been there unless you were with the black children.
• 40:21
  Speaker A: Right? So who comes to the stand next?
• 40:24
  Speaker B: Are you ready?
• 40:26
  Speaker A: Yes, Jill, I'm ready.
• 40:29
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 40:29
  Speaker A: Who is it?
• 40:30
  Speaker B: Mr. Sam Devine himself takes the stand. Now, how on you think of. Think of, like, the old actor that talks about diabetes. You know I'm talking about.
• 40:45
  Speaker A: No, no, you mean on, like, the infomercials.
• 40:50
  Speaker B: Yeah. And he talks about diabetes. That's how I think. You should read this one.
• 40:56
  Speaker A: I don't know him. I don't know him. And I'm not gonna talk like he has diabetes. Not.
• 41:03
  Speaker B: You're just gonna. I know.
• 41:04
  Speaker A: I am not a voice actor. You put me in situations and I feel ridiculous.
• 41:09
  Speaker B: I just love it.
• 41:10
  Speaker A: Are you ready?
• 41:10
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 41:10
  Speaker A: Are you ready?
• 41:11
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 41:11
  Speaker A: Okay, here's Sam Devine.
• 41:12
  Speaker B: Remember, diabetes.
• 41:14
  Speaker A: Stop.
• 41:15
  Speaker B: That's how you get into it. You know who I'm talking about.
• 41:21
  Speaker A: Diabetes is a serious disease.
• 41:24
  Speaker B: Can I show you who I'm talking about?
• 41:26
  Speaker A: You're not La Matter. Who is it? Say the name.
• 41:31
  Speaker B: I don't know his name. I just know I'm gonna. I'm gonna say it and I'm gonna Google it. We're gonna find out why.
• 41:36
  Speaker A: All right, I'll talk about. Are you ready? Here's Sam Devine. I have known Mrs. Steele for over 21 years. And throughout that time, I have always regarded her as an honest and straightforward woman. She paid for the land and the construction of her first home entirely from her own earnings. And during her time here, I believe.
• 41:59
  Speaker E: She has received very little assistance from the county in this situation. She has acted with the compassion and morality of a true Christian. Stepping in as a mother figure to a homeless child.
• 42:13
  Speaker A: I am committed to ensuring that this.
• 42:16
  Speaker E: Child has the opportunity to be heard before being returned to the care of individuals who abused her so severely that she still bears scars on her forehead.
• 42:27
  Speaker C: From a blow inflicted by a poker.
• 42:32
  Speaker B: So what he's saying is, like, the court needs to talk to this little girl because it's obvious.
• 42:37
  Speaker A: Talk to Lily. And she's got, like, a scar on her head from a poker.
• 42:41
  Speaker B: That is ridiculous. So Wilford Brimley is the diabetes.
• 42:46
  Speaker A: I don't know who. Okay, I believe you. He's probably very, very famous. Or was 50 years ago. Okay, then. Mrs. Oh, great. Mrs. Divine takes the stand now. Wonderful. Another accent.
• 43:00
  Speaker B: Diabetes.
• 43:01
  Speaker A: Okay, I think he was on.
• 43:05
  Speaker B: I mean, he's famous.
• 43:07
  Speaker A: Maybe Little House on the Prairie. He looks famous.
• 43:09
  Speaker B: Okay, he was on, like, oatmeal commercial. The diabetes commercial.
• 43:14
  Speaker A: All right, so here's Mrs. Divine. Sam's wife comes to the stand as well.
• 43:20
  Speaker D: Over the past 20 years, Mrs. Steele has never ceased to amaze me. With her unwavering commitment to philanthropy. She stands out as a woman of remarkable compassion and integrity. Even in the face of unfair criticism. To me, she embodies the values of a genuine and sincere Christian. Take the case of the little girl she has taken under her wing. When the child first arrived, she could barely recognize the Alphabet. And now, thanks to Mrs. Steele's dedication. The progress she has made is nothing short of extraordinary. All within a very short period is like a testament to how much care and effort Mrs. Steele pours into everything she does. If it came down to it, I would gladly take the child into my own home. Rather than see her return to parents accused of abuse. She is a bright, sweet little girl with an innocent face that immediately tugs at your heart. Her short cropped hair and the scar above her left eye tell a painful story. One she says began when Mrs. Sutherland struck her with a poker during a fit of rage. This child deserves a safe, loving environment. And Mrs. Steele has given her just that.
• 44:26
  Speaker A: Are you crying? Are you crying?
• 44:28
  Speaker B: It was beautiful.
• 44:29
  Speaker A: Don't cry.
• 44:30
  Speaker B: That was beautiful. That was beautiful. Okay. Finally.
• 44:36
  Speaker A: You have to stop writing these quotes for me.
• 44:40
  Speaker B: No, they're fine.
• 44:41
  Speaker A: Gave me a sore throat.
• 44:45
  Speaker B: Yes, now you have to be a 12 year old girl.
• 44:48
  Speaker A: I don't know.
• 44:49
  Speaker B: How are you gonna get into the character of 12? Okay, talk higher.
• 44:55
  Speaker E: I'll talk like Anne Shirley.
• 45:00
  Speaker A: Are you ready?
• 45:00
  Speaker E: This is Lily in her own words.
• 45:02
  Speaker B: I just a little more Southern. She's from the South.
• 45:08
  Speaker E: The first time I remember seeing Mrs. Sutherland, I was just five years old. She came to take me away from the orphanage. At first I thought a new home might mean a better life. But I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm 12 years old now and I don't want to go back to that house. Not ever. Mrs. Sutherland beats me and forces me to beg for money on the streets. When we lived in the South, Spartansburg, South Carolina. People in town noticed the abuse and reported it to the police. Mrs. Sutherland and her husband were arrested and taken to court. I thought I'd finally be free. But instead I was sent right back to them. Later, we moved to 500 East Main street in Knoxville. All the neighbors were there and they knew what was happening. They could testify to the beatings, if you ask them. One day Mr. Sutherland got angry because he thought I'd cause some kind of trouble. But I didn't. And he hit me over the Head with a poker. I was only a child. I only spent two months in the school while I lived there because Mrs. Sutherland had other plans for me. She'd give me a paper and send me out and knock on doors and have me beg for money. I still remember one man, Mr. Griffin was his name. He gave me a dollar and I put it in a pocketbook. But on my way home I dropped it and two boys picked it up and they took the money from me. And when I got home empty handed, Mrs. Sutherland gave me a beatin once again and sent me out. I wasn't just forced to beg. I also had to do all the housework, the scrub and the washing and everything. Mrs. Sutherland had no servant, so she made me her servant instead. She got drunk often and she would stand outside the house yelling and picking fights with the neighbors. And Mr. Sutherland, he wasn't much better. He drank too much, too, and would sometimes skip work for days at a time. Mr. Walker, who lived near by at 513 Main Street, he saw it all. You could ask him. There was one moment of hope during this whole nightmare, and that was a Sunday school teacher. She reached out to Mrs. Sutterland and she said she wanted to visit the house. But instead of WELcoming her in, Mrs. Sutterland sent a message telling her to meet outside instead. And when the teacher came and tried to read from the Bible, Mrs. Sunderland snapped it and claiming she knew more about the Bible than anyone in Knoxville. And she insulted that teacher, calling her an old hypocrite, and sent her away. Eventually, it was that same Sunday school teacher and Mrs. Young, the police matron, who stepped in to save me. One day on my way to school, they stopped me and they told me to come with them. And we climbed into a buggy and a kind of gentleman took us up to the depot. And from there Mrs. Young accompanied me to Chattanooga, where she brought me to the Steele's home.
• 47:55
  Speaker B: I love it. I love it. That was great.
• 47:58
  Speaker A: Thanks. I hope our listeners do.
• 48:02
  Speaker B: I enjoyed everything.
• 48:05
  Speaker A: How many, like, turned it off during this?
• 48:08
  Speaker B: No, no one turned it off. They felt like they were in that hot, balmy courtroom in July of 18. 1903.
• 48:18
  Speaker A: 1903. Wow. So when was the case concluded?
• 48:23
  Speaker B: The case concluded on July 2, 1903, and the judge ruled that little Lily should stay with the Divines.
• 48:31
  Speaker A: Yay.
• 48:32
  Speaker E: That's a win.
• 48:33
  Speaker B: It is a win.
• 48:34
  Speaker A: That's a win.
• 48:35
  Speaker B: The article described Lily's face as beaming with delight at the thought of her staying with the Divines.
• 48:40
  Speaker A: And Jill wasn't she Didn't I read in your outline that she was, like, holding on to Mrs. Devine and was like, don't let them take me?
• 48:47
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 48:48
  Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Okay, so, yay. This is happy news.
• 48:52
  Speaker B: When she was walking into court, she was grabbing on, holding her, saying, please don't let they take. Take me back there. Because remember, they were in court in South Carolina and they did nothing and sent them back. And that's what little Lily was expecting. But not today. Today she got a win. The judge said the order was only temporary until more permanent arrangements could be made. And I thought that. I was thinking. And tell me what you think. I thought that would be, like, their official adoption of her.
• 49:20
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 49:21
  Speaker B: Yeah, I thought so.
• 49:23
  Speaker A: But what happened next? Then, if this is a good ruling for us, but only temporary, what happened next?
• 49:32
  Speaker B: In just a month and a half, for some unknown reason, the paper reported that Mrs. Devine was ordered to hand over little Lily to a judge. That judge, Steph.
• 49:47
  Speaker A: His name isn't in here.
• 49:48
  Speaker E: His name isn't in here.
• 49:49
  Speaker B: Well, I think.
• 49:50
  Speaker A: We don't care what his name is.
• 49:52
  Speaker B: I think it's Seth Walker.
• 49:53
  Speaker A: Okay, you're probably making it up, but over to a judge in the Hamilton county court system. Okay, I am so confused. Why was she ordered to give Lily over to the judge? And then what happened to her? What happened to her after she was in the custody of Judge Seth. Whatever his name is. Jill.
• 50:14
  Speaker B: Of the Hamilton County Court.
• 50:15
  Speaker A: Jill, you have. You have to answer to this. Explain yourself.
• 50:19
  Speaker B: Well, I didn't order it. So she was ordered. The Divines were crushed. For whatever reason, a judge ordered her outside of that family, which.
• 50:29
  Speaker A: So what happened?
• 50:31
  Speaker B: We don't know. She's lost to history.
• 50:34
  Speaker A: We don't know what happened to Lily next.
• 50:35
  Speaker B: No. I found many different lilies in Spartansburg, South Carolina, where she was originally from, in Knoxville. And I traced them all back, but all of them were listed with a different family in the 1900 census, and there is no 1800 census because the records department in the Capitol burned. So all I knew is little Lily was found in the 1900 census with the Sutherlands, and so I couldn't find her after that.
• 51:05
  Speaker A: Great. So we don't know what happened to Lily. Fantastic.
• 51:08
  Speaker B: But I do know, because of the census records, that she did not end up back with that family.
• 51:13
  Speaker A: Well, that's good news.
• 51:14
  Speaker B: That's good news. Okay, so, Jen, are little lilies lost to history?
• 51:21
  Speaker A: Yes, and I'm kind of pissed about it, by the way.
• 51:24
  Speaker B: I know it's not a feel Good story. That's why I told you she's a heartbreaker. But like I said, she wasn't listed on the census records with that family, so that is a good thing.
• 51:34
  Speaker A: All right. What happened to Elmira?
• 51:37
  Speaker B: So this is what I have to tell you about Elmira.
• 51:39
  Speaker A: Elmira Steele.
• 51:40
  Speaker B: All these years that she and her daughter were helping her run the Steel Home for needy children. Yes, she nor her daughter ever took a salary for their tireless dedication to the orphans. Remarkably, they never even asked for donations. Instead, support. Support flowed in naturally about to their community through the community by word of mouth. So people are like, this is a good woman doing good things. And they would just donate money and.
• 52:09
  Speaker A: Remember, oh, my God, that makes me wanna cry.
• 52:12
  Speaker B: It makes me wanna cry so much. Because like I said earlier, this woman was under really harsh scrutiny from other types of people in the community. So to have, like, wealthy people, like the divines, like, rally around her and to make sure her cause was still able to work is amazing. Mrs. Steele would often share stories at church and at camp, bringing along some of the children to share inspiring testimonies, leaving the audience deeply moved. Beyond donations, Mrs. Steeles also relied on her own estate that was built by her husband. And bequests, a substantial legacy from her father and contributions from two of her aunts.
• 52:53
  Speaker A: So, like her entire family money, her.
• 52:55
  Speaker B: Entire everything, she put her whole life into this, even her daughter's life. In 1919, the impact of the Steel Home for the needy children came full circle. Former orphans, now adults with their family, came to join with others to establish the Chattanooga's first black Seventh Day Adventist Church on Cross Street. That didn't stop. That's incredible. Yep.
• 53:21
  Speaker A: She not only created a place to help these children of color, but she created an entire community that would come back and flourish. Tell me more about this legacy. This is crazy.
• 53:35
  Speaker B: It didn't stop there. They also launched the city's first and only black at Venice Church School. And as the community grew, so did the church and the school, eventually Moving to East 8th street under the leadership of this new guy, Patrick Vincent. In 1860, the school was relocated to a different district in the city, but it's still ongoing today. Her legacy is still at work in Chattanooga today.
• 54:03
  Speaker A: What happened to her ultimately?
• 54:06
  Speaker B: Well, she ran the orphanage until she got sick.
• 54:08
  Speaker A: Of course.
• 54:09
  Speaker B: She gets.
• 54:09
  Speaker A: That's the kind of person she is, Jill.
• 54:12
  Speaker B: And when she got sick, guess where she went?
• 54:15
  Speaker A: To the hospital. To the hospital, to the medical center.
• 54:22
  Speaker B: To the Kellogg Sanitarium right by my house. The Seventh Day Adventist oh, my gosh. The Seventh Day Adventist started in Battle Creek, so she. When she got sick, she went to the Kellogg's sanitarium right by my house.
• 54:35
  Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
• 54:37
  Speaker B: And unfortunately.
• 54:37
  Speaker A: That's another breadcrumb.
• 54:39
  Speaker B: That's another breadcrumb. And unfortunately, she did die there at the sanitarium in Battle Creek.
• 54:45
  Speaker A: Right by your house.
• 54:46
  Speaker B: Right by my house. Right by my house. She was laid to rest at the old village cemetery near Boston, Mass. Next to her husband and her parents. So isn't that crazy?
• 54:58
  Speaker A: Yes. Okay. Who's the voiceless?
• 55:01
  Speaker B: I'm. Okay. I'm going out on a limb and saying my little Lily is the voiceless.
• 55:06
  Speaker A: You keep saying little Lily, but she was 12, and I think they were kind of marrying kids off at the age of 12. So she was a child. Yes, but agreed. I mean. Yes. Lily, why do you think.
• 55:19
  Speaker B: Why do you think this story is relevant today? Jennifer?
• 55:22
  Speaker A: I know exactly. I know exactly why this story is relevant today. I'm gonna tell you why. Here I come. Are you ready for this?
• 55:29
  Speaker B: I don't think you are. You. I don't think you do. I think you need to bring it, Jill.
• 55:36
  Speaker A: The world that Elmyra was living in was not only economically harsh, but it was racist and unfair to so many different groups. Like all of society, the communities that she lived in were like this. Right. And so what she did as an individual is she changed her life by selling everything and went out on a limb to do something good for others. She saw adversity and she saw hardship. And even though, because she went there, to that place of love, because she lifted her vibration to do good for other people, those good people around her sent her the support, sent her the money, kept it going. And not only that, she raised her own vibration to that of loved and raised the communities. And generationally speaking, the children she helped came back and created a black Seventh Day Adventist Church and then a school. I mean, this just goes to show how even when things around you are shitty, even when it feels like the world is unfair and difficult, falling apart, and there's obstacle after obstacle in front of you. If you can go to that place of love, if you can do for your neighbors, you will just raise the entire vibration of everyone around you, and the good people will rise together and change the world.
• 57:12
  Speaker B: I love it. And not only that, like I said, that school that. That she created, that was relocated to Avondale District.
• 57:24
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 57:24
  Speaker B: Is still going strong today. I love still going strong today.
• 57:28
  Speaker A: That's her legacy, and it just keeps.
• 57:31
  Speaker B: Going, and it Just keeps going.
• 57:33
  Speaker A: She didn't do any of it for personal gain.
• 57:35
  Speaker B: None of it. As a matter of fact, she had personal perils because of it.
• 57:39
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 57:39
  Speaker B: The core cases, court cases.
• 57:42
  Speaker A: What she had an amazing woman. Okay, so getting back to our hits. The black children running around freely in.
• 57:49
  Speaker B: The city, I think they were probably orphans and they didn't have no place to go.
• 57:53
  Speaker A: I think they're orphans, but I'm. You know what? I'm also envisioning that they had recess time.
• 57:58
  Speaker B: Oh, my God. How much do I love.
• 58:00
  Speaker A: Of course they did. They were out running around. And most of them would have. Would have been black because like she said, she had 70 something kids out of about a thousand who are white. So they were mostly black.
• 58:10
  Speaker B: That makes me happy.
• 58:12
  Speaker A: And after. During the reconstruction, women stepping up and taking care of things. They did. They did the ywca.
• 58:21
  Speaker B: The ywca.
• 58:22
  Speaker A: They were racist, but I mean, the.
• 58:25
  Speaker B: Christians Women Association, Mrs. Devine, all of them. I mean. Yeah, I. I feel if we're talking voiceless real quick, I think Mrs. Devine was heartbroken over this baby.
• 58:35
  Speaker A: Mrs. Devine was a really good woman. Yeah. Okay, so what about Bonnie Oakes? Kept coming up and up and up again. Who is Bonnie Oaks, Joe?
• 58:42
  Speaker B: She is not a woman. She was a man.
• 58:44
  Speaker A: She's a man.
• 58:47
  Speaker B: She can be whatever she wants. Nowadays it is 2025. It's a plot of land that was given to a place to start an orphanage. So it was a different orphanage that ultimately combined with the Vine Street Orphanage. But it was given the land itself was called Bonnie Oaks.
• 59:07
  Speaker A: So when we were picking up on Bonnie Oaks, we were picking up on the orphanage, that orphanage energy.
• 59:13
  Speaker B: Wow. Yes.
• 59:14
  Speaker A: Wow. I love it. And of course, the Vine Street Orphanage sign led us to this story that we saw inexplicably in the cemetery. Do we know why it was in the cemetery? Why is that in the cemetery?
• 59:25
  Speaker B: I have absolutely no clue why this is in the cemetery.
• 59:28
  Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. And of course, this story is mostly about the actions of the. The parents and foster parents. Right. Of this story.
• 59:38
  Speaker B: Right.
• 59:39
  Speaker A: Tell me about the medical building.
• 59:41
  Speaker B: You're gonna flip your ever loving psychic mind.
• 59:45
  Speaker A: I'll be the judge of that.
• 59:47
  Speaker B: So we were in an area of the city that the Steel Home was originally located. And in recent years there is something called the Steel. Steel Home Archaeological Project where they're blocking off parts of the city where the Steel Home served over on those hundreds of children. Right.
• 1:00:16
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 1:00:17
  Speaker B: And they're digging on the site that was where that home originally was because they wanted to build another building, a medical building at the university of Tennessee. But they felt it was their responsibility to dig up whatever remains of that. That steel home that she created. So.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker A: Holy crap. So all that construction in that area, they were excavating, Basically excavating the foundation of the home. That is insane, because you and I were trying to find the orphanage. Do you remember driving in circles around the construction, trying to find the orphanage, and we couldn't find it? That's because it's not there.
• 1:01:02
  Speaker B: It's because it's not there. Not only that, but that. That the intersection.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker A: Are you telling a lie right now?
• 1:01:09
  Speaker B: Is that I am not. Yes.
• 1:01:11
  Speaker A: All right. The intersection. Go ahead. Okay.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker B: So when we pulled, like, I can't believe I have to, like, honestly convince you of this. This is what we do. So when we were in.
• 1:01:20
  Speaker A: That's really insane.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker B: When we were in the car and we were stopped in that random parking lot.
• 1:01:26
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 1:01:27
  Speaker B: The orphanage would have been to our right and a little bit ahead of us. And then we couldn't get that. So I backed up the car.
• 1:01:35
  Speaker A: I remember exactly what you're talking about.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker B: I couldn't get there, and I backed up and I went east and I made a left. And that's where they're digging to create the new. That's where they were digging for the home.
• 1:01:48
  Speaker A: I swear to God. Why are you so psyched? You're a psychic driver. That's what you are. You are a psychic driver.
• 1:01:53
  Speaker B: It's just crazy because we weren't looking for the steel home orphanage. We were trying to find the vine street orphanage. And for whatever reason, we found the Steel home orphanage and where they were excavating.
• 1:02:07
  Speaker A: Very good point. Very good point. So, Jill, moral of this story is, in my opinion, the world sucks right now.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker B: The world sucks.
• 1:02:16
  Speaker A: But if you can get past it, if you can make decisions with love. With love, if you can do that, then you will raise the vibration and.
• 1:02:31
  Speaker B: Change the world for generations. For generations to come.
• 1:02:36
  Speaker A: Oh, my word.
• 1:02:38
  Speaker B: Ms. Steele, right?
• 1:02:40
  Speaker A: She said, what a roller coaster ride this. This outline was. Thank you for putting this together. I enjoyed this. I hope our listeners did.
• 1:02:48
  Speaker B: I really enjoyed the voice work. But I also wanted to say God bless the divines because they did everything in their power to protect that child. I don't know what happened. And I tried to find. I tried to find her. I may still try to find her as, like, a pet project, because I want to know what happened to Lily.
• 1:03:04
  Speaker A: Well, you let us know, and people can find more of us on our Patreon. Page. Thank you to all your listeners and thank you. If you subscribe, subscribe to Patreon because you are literally keeping us going and keeping the lights on in here.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker B: You. You guys. You guys are the sweetest thing ever. Because, like, we were all like, wah, wah. We don't get any feedback. And now I'm getting, like, a flood of feedback. So I love you guys. Thank you for listening to us. It really does bring our spirits up. So thank you. Thank you for encouraging your common mystic psychics.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker A: Yes. Keep it up. Keep messaging us. Keep emailing us. We want to hear from you.
• 1:03:44
  Speaker B: We love you scheduling the readings. We love to do that. Okay, Check out our website, commonmystics.net, find us on all the socials at commonmysticspod. If you want to schedule a reading, please do a direct messageommonmysticspod in our either Instagram or Facebook page until I.
• 1:04:03
  Speaker A: Can fix the website.
• 1:04:04
  Speaker B: Until we figure out the website. We love you guys.
• 1:04:10
  Speaker A: Love you.
• 1:04:11
  Speaker B: We're just like the worst. We're like, please just go around our construction because we're tired, we're really slow, and we don't have time to research. And we're so sorry. Our fans put up with a lot. I just. You guys put up with a lot. I love you so much.
• 1:04:30
  Speaker A: Bye.
• 1:04:30
  Speaker B: Bye.
• 1:04:31
  Speaker A: Bye.
• 1:04:32
  Speaker B: This is been a common mystics media production editing done by Yokai Audio, Kalamazoo, Michigan.