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3.29.25 - Part 2 · Children's Hour

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Reois Hunter's Story. Hour as a
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Reminder is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. Today we will be reading from books
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on famous women. Your reader today is Diane. We will
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continue with the story from Last Time, May Makes Way,
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the true story of May Reeve's Hat and history Maker.
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It was published I Cram Books for Young Readers and
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it has a copyright year of twenty twenty two. The
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author of the book is olig by Melosa Rude Perkovich.
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A black owned business was the kind of progress that
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most whites didn't want. Many establishments would not even serve
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black people, but black communities made away out of no
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way by building their own businesses and schools. Philadelphia was
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the center of black business, including banks that were important
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to dreamers like May. In nineteen forty one, when she
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was only twenty eight years old, May went to one
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of those black banks, Citizens and Southern Bank, and she
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got a five hundred dollars loan. Then she marched right
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down the street and rented a space on the first
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floor of a building on busy South Street. Many black
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people had settled in that area, and it was full
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of restaurants, clubs, and other garment businesses. Now May owned
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one two With that loan. She became the first black
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woman to own a business on South Street, and she
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hung a photo of the bank president Major Right in
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her shop. For many years, May's millionaire was in the
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front of the building, and she and her little boy Sonny,
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made their home in the back. May was making a living,
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and she was making a life as May of Philadelphia.
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May made everyone fill their best selves with their glimmery hats,
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shimmering hats, snappy hats, and happy hats. I just made
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sure I had the stuff women wanted, no matter what
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skin color they were, she said. When famous black entertainers
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like Marion Anderson, Lena Horn, and Eliphazgerald came to town,
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they left with one of MAI's crowns. Rich white ladies
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shopped at Maze too, along with housekeepers, teachers, and the
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faithful church. Later ladies who believed that Sunday mornings were
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for show stoppers, whether a lady clickclocke in eye hills
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from a shiny black limousine or steps slow and tired
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from the public bus, May made magic for each and everyone.
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The customer didn't have the money to pay right than
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the mirror, May would trust them to take the hat
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pay another day. Guess what, said May. They always did.
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As May's little boy grew, she saw that he needed
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something more than the South Street hustle bustle. She bought
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a home in West Philadelphia and ran her business from
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her dining room, where May went. Her customers followed. Sometimes
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May the mom would be cooking dinner in the kitchen
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and helping with homework and made the miller would run
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to the dining room to help a customer. You do
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what she got to do. I had to work with
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my family and make a living too, she said. Many
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department stores in the area did not serve or hire
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black people, so along with her handmade creations, May's business
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also offered important job opportunities and a space to be
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The customer was lucky they could stay for one of
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May's home cooked meals. May always made more than enough.
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May fell in love and married again. She had two
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more children, Donna and Reginald. She kept making a living
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and making a life. She loved baseball and cheered on
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the black teams when they came to town. She and
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her husband Joel stepped out to fancy dances, and sometimes
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they even hopped a train out of town for a
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good party. May volunteered with local and national groups, from
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her church to the NAACP civil rights organization. May lifted
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as she climbed, raising money to help others in her community,
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and driving older ladies around town in her shiny car
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wherever they wanted to go. Every summer, shed close the
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shop and take the whole family to enjoy weeks of
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sun and sea air at the New Jersey Shore. She
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drive near neighborhood kids to the beach so they could
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enjoy the sun and sea air too. People called her
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Mom or Mama May because she made a way for
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many to feel like family. As May's family grew and changed,
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so did their business and community. It was time to
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do new things to build better tomorrow's. Even though many
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people wanted black women to stay stuck in yesterday, could
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May make a new way. The streets of West Philadelphia
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buzz with energy from the nearby L train and all
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kinds of businesses World wars struck, store, shoe stores, banks,
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dress shops, and more. But all those businesses were owned
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by white people. Then in nineteen forty seven, a new
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Neon sign glings from the shop window with welcome and promise.
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May's millioniering at forty one North sixtieth Street and where
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May went. Her local loyal customers followed, plus new ones
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from north to south and east to west. As May's
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business grew, she brought other family members from the south
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to join her up north. She gave them jobs in
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her shop and made away for many more. May's brother
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Jack began working in the store as a salesman. He
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was charming and stylish like May. So mister Jack sold
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a lot of hats as fast as May create them.
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May guarantee that each lady had her own hat story
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to tell. You can't just PLoP a head on her head.
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May would say, you have to work with it. She
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invited them to sit in front of the mirror to
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trap on her creations. She'd bend and fold, and sometimes
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she'd offer them a pair of gloves and a handbag too.
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The lady was a little down and droopy, May would
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sprisk some perfume into the air or give her a
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touch of lipstick to bring out her bloom. She pour
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a cup of hot fragrant tea and lend a listening ear.
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May taught her children the lessons she learned. When her daughter,
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Donna was born, May put her oldest child, Sonny, in
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charge of his baby's sister. He pushed little Donna in
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her stroller right down to stickball games, where he could
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play and keep watch. Later, little brother originald enjoyed fishing
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with her dad, and Donna worked in the shop with May.
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Sometimes May had Donna dress up in a black dress
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and pearls with a hat, of course, because, as May
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would say, you're not fully dressed unless you wear a hat.
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May and Donna would zip across state lines to New
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York City or over the ocean to Paris on exciting
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adventures to find the latest and best feathers, ribbons, and
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trimmings for May's elegant crowns. During the busiest times like
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Eastern Mother's Day, family and friends fill the shop, helping
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May maker eye catching special occasion showstoppers that made her famous.
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May's best friends even became May's girls, modeling her creations
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at fashion shows and fancy tees. May was black, a woman,
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a mother, and a business owner. None of those were
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easy to be in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties,
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as black leaders organized for justice and neighbors shared resources.
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May also made ways for others in her community to prosper.
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May and her husband Joe were involved in local politics,
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and on election day they would roll the giant pulling
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machines into May's millionery so that their black neighbors were
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able to vote. People came in and enjoyed cookies, tea,
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and conversation about how to build the community and dream
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for the next generation. As times, chain rate changed, ladies'
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relationships with hats did too. In the nineteen sixties and
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nineteen seventies, fluffy afros and poofy boofons meant that May's
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elegant creations and spectacular crowns were no longer in high demand.
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But one faithful group still went elegant hands in dignified hats,
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flywery hats, and feathery hats. Church ladies neared their Sunday
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morning showstoppers, so she kept her chuffeau from open for
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those special clients for many years. In nineteen ninety seven,
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when she was eighty five years old, May's smiles still
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shone very happy because I believe doing good things in
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life makes you happy, I can say that I've worked
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hard to make others happy too. As May got older,
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it got harder and harder for her to climb up
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and down the steps from her home to the store.
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For more than fifty years, she made many people happy
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with her hands, but it was time to move on.
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She went to live in a special place with other elders,
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sharing memories of her millionaire magic. Many of the young
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workers and May's new home had visited her shop with
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their mothers and family members. They had May's millionary tales
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to In two thousand and nine, a new national museum
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was announced. The National Museum of African American History and
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Culture could be the first of its kind, sharing the
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many stories and memories of Black people in the United States.
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Museum curators asked African Americans across the country to bring
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their special family items and stories to them so that
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they could build a museum collection for all the world
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to see. May's shop sat just as she had left it,
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with her life's work still in sight, hats, modes, ribbons,
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and the neon signed frozen in time. Donna Now, documentary producer,
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wondered if an important museum would care about the story
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of May still stunning creations. When the museum people came
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to her shop, they cared about May's work a lot.
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May's creations were more than hats. They were history. May
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Reeves made a loving, creative life with her family, including
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her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even great great grandchildren.
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She died when she was one hundred and four years old.
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Her magnificent work and an unquenchable spirit live on. She
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made the crowns, and we can hold them in our hearts. May,
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like so many, made a way out of no way,
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so we can hold our heads high and our dreams
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even higher. Our next of stories will be on Easter,
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and our first one is Happy Easter, Little Critter. It
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was published by Random House Picture Back. It has a
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copyright year of nineteen eighty eight and it was written
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by Mercer Mayor. It's Easter morning. I bet the Easter
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money has already come. I'll quietly tiptoe downstairs and find
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all the Easter goodies before anyone else wakes up. But
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as usual, my little sister is up before me. I
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got a toy egg that you can look into, a
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wind up bunny, some candy chickens, a bunch of chocolate
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eggs and millions of jelly beans. Easter money gave my
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little sister the same things. Dad says, that's so we
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won't argue. Mom says, we can't eat any of it
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until after breakfast. After breakfast, we have to get dressed
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for church. Dad starts the car and we all get in.
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My little sister likes to get all dressed up, but
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I don't. At church, I can't see anything because everyone
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is wearing funny hats. After church, all the kids die
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Easter eggs. I think my eggs are the best. While
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the eggs fry, we have a big picnic lunch. Then
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our parents hide the eggs in the field. We're not
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surprised to peek. Next we all line up and run
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into the field to find the eggs. Sometimes too many
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kids find the same eggs. Sometimes you walk right buy
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an egg and someone else finds it. Sometimes little kids
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don't find any, so you have to help them. But
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by the time we go home, everyone has had a
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happy Easter. Our next book is called The Story of Easter,
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and it was published by Harper Collins Publishers. It has
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a copyright year of nineteen sixty eight. To nineteen ninety seven,
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and it was written by Aileen Fisher. Easter is the
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time of rejoicing. It comes in spring, when the cold,
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dark days of winter are over. Birds returned to sing,
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grass and flowers began to make a new carpet for
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the earth. For Christians, Easter Sunday it is the greatest
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holiday of the year. It is a day of joy.
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It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who rose
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from death to new life many years ago. Almost everyone
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knows something about the life of Jesus. As a boy,
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he lived in the small town of Nazareth, near the
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Sea of Galilee in what is now northern Israel. When
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he was about thirty years old, he began teaching and preaching,
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and heleen the sick. His fame spread quickly, and soon
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he had twelve disciples or followers. They went with Jesus
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and learned from him. As he walked through the countryside
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talking to the people. Crowds gathered to hear Jesus preach.
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Many people began to say that he was the Savior
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or Messiah they had long been waiting for. Early when spring,
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Jesus and his disciples walked the long rough road to
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Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, the holiday on which Jews celebrate
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their liberation from slavery in Egypt. On a mild Sunday morning,
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Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. People cheered and
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weigh branches of palm trees to welcome him. They spread
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palm branches before him. In honor of this day, Christians
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celebrated Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. Often
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palm branches are crossed. Crosses made of palm leaves are
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given out at church services. After that first Palm Sunday,
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Jesus preached in the outer halls of the Great Temple
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at Jerusalem for several days. People crowded around to listen
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and to pray. But he had enemies too. The authorities
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accused Jesus of breaking miles. They were afraid that he
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was gaining too much power over the people. On Thursday evening,
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Jesus ate the Passover supper with his twelve disciples. During
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the mill, he rose from the table, took a basin
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of water, and began to wash the feet of his disciples.
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Jesus did this to show that he was willing to
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be a servant to those who followed him. We now
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call the smell the Last Supper and the day mandy Thursday.
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For many years, the chief ceremony on mandy Thursday was
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washing the feet of poor people. Today people often give
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mandy money to the needy as well, in honor of
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the bread and wine that Jesus and his disciples shared
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the Passover mill. Many Christians celebrate the Eucharist or Communion
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on mandy Thursday. This is also a traditional day for
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first communes in joining the Church. After washing the feet
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of his disciples, Jesus led them to a large garden
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outside the Lass of Jerusalem to spend the night. Toward morning, Judas,
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one of the Twelve, led a band of temple guards
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to the garden. They seized Jesus after hearing the authorities
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found Jesus guilty of stirring up the people and speaking
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against the things that held sacred. The Roman ruler sends
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him to death by crucifixion, as was common for political
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parisisers at that time. So Jesus was taken to hill
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outside Jerusalem and nailed to across. Because of this, the
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cross is one of the most important symbols of the
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Christian religion. This happened on a Friday morning, a day
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we now call Good Friday or God's Friday. For Christians,
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it is a day of sadness. Many churches held a
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service in the afternoon with short sermons about the last
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words Jesus spoke from the cross his son went down.
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On the first Good Friday, friends of Jesus took his
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lifeless body from the across. They laid it in a
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stone tomb and rode a great stone before the door.
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At sunrise on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalen and two other
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women went to the tomb. The big stone had been
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rowed away. They looked into the tomb and saw a
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young man dressed in a white robe. Do not be amazed,
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He said to them, Jesus has risen. He is not here.
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The women rained to tell the news to the disciples.
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They remembered then that while they were still in Galilee,
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Jesus had told them he would be crucified, and he
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had also told them after three days, I will rise again.
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This was the third day. On the first Easter Sunday,
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Jesus appeared to the disciples. He told them to go
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back to Galilee. He said go into all the world
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and preached the good news. The disciples understood that Jesus
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wanted them to spread the good news of his resurrection
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and to teach others what he had taught them, and
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that is how the Christian Church was started. The date
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of Easter is not the same from year to year.
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Most people celebrate on the first Sunday after the first
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full moon and spring, but Orthodox Christians use a different day.
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They celebrate Easter on the Sunday following Passover. Long before
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the celebration of Easter began, people celebrated the Spring Festival.
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They danced and gave gifts. They rejoiced over the rebirth
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of life in the fields and woodlands. After the Christian
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religion spread to many lands, the joy of Jesus' resurrection
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became mingled with joy of the Spring festival. Both celebrations
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stood for new life. Boats stood for new hope in
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the hearts of people, and so it is not strange
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that many of the customs of the old Spring festival
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became part of our celebration of Easter. The Easter egg
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is a good example of a cup that began many
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thousands of years ago for ancient peoples. The symbol of
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new life was an egg. When the shell broke, new
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life came into the world. In India and Egypt, people
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thought that the world began as one huge egg. This
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world egg split in two. The upper half became the
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heavens and the lower half the earth. For countless years,
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it was the custom to give eggs as gifts during
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the spring festival. The ancient Persians and Chinese did it,
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so do the people of northern Europe during the Middle Ages.
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The egg is also one of the ritual foods eaten
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it pass over. In some countries of Europe, Decorating eggs
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has been a great art for many years. In Poland
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and Ukraine, girls and women paint fancy designs on eggs
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before they are dyed. They paint the designs with bees
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wax and tried to make each one a little different.
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Flowers stand for love, dear for good health, roosters for
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wishes that will come true, and the sun for good luck.
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After the design is finished, then women dip the egg
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eggs and bright dyes. When the dye has dried, the
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women melt away the wax. The design under the bees
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wax takes the natural color of the egg. And Russia.
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Artists make beautiful eggs of crystal and gold. Sometimes they
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decorated them with jewels for the Tsars in his family.
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One goatsmith, Carl pire Faberget when worldwide fame for the
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jeweled Easter eggs he made in Greece and Turkey. The
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Jews invented away to dye eggs using onion skins, and
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this tradition is spread to Letbia and other Eastern European countries.
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Many of the east eggs of Europe have crosses and
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other religious symbols on them. They carry words or letters
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that mean Christ has risen. This is a common greeting
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during the Easter season, and the traditional response is Christ
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is risen. Indeed, the Germans were the first to make
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an Easter egg tree. Carefully, they picked a hoe at
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each end of an egg shell and blew out the
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inside of the egg. They colored and decorated the shells
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and hung them on a tree or bush outdoors. Sometimes
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they use bright ribbons and tensil and other decorations on
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an egg tree indoors. German settlers in Pennsylvania brought the
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custom of an Easter egg tree to America. On Easter Day,
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there are often egg hunts. Children scurry around to see
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who can find the most eggs which have been hidden
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in the house or in the garden. Sometimes the eggs
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are real eggs. Sometimes they are brightly colored candy ones
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or chocolate eggs wrapped in foil. The Easter bunny is
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supposed to bring the Easter eggs and hide them. He
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is very shy. He comes at night, and no one
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ever sees him. No one knows how the story of
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the Easter bunny began. But the rabbit is an old
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oak symbol of the spring festival. It stands for the
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abundance of new life. Many of the Easter customs that
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have come down to us from long ago have changed
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along the way days of the early Christians. Easter was
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the time when new members of the church were baptized.
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Afterward they put in new white cloths and a sign
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of their joy as a sign of their joy. Now
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people like to wear something new on Easter Sunday, and
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you're at Many people carry on the old custom of
22:18
taking a walk after church on Easter. They walk through
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the fields to see the flowers and listen to the birds.
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New York City this Easter customers turned into a fashion
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parade on Fifth Avenue. On Easter Sunday, millions of Christians
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attend outdoor services, often on a hill where they can
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see the sun rise. There's an old saying that the
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sun dances as it rises on Easter morning. Inside the churches,
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Easter lilies bloom in front of the altars. People lift
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up their voices and sing. Not all Christian churches celebrate
22:52
the Easter season in the same way, but the message
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of Easter is always the same, is the joy and
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celebrate of the belief that God's love is stronger than death.
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Our next book is called Emmo's Easter Egg Surprises and
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it was published by Golden Books and imprint of Random
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House Children's Book, a division of Penguin Random House. It
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has a copyright year of twenty twenty and the author
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is Christy Webster. It was springtime on Sesame Street. Elma
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wanted to throw an Easter party. Emmo's party will have bunnies,
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eggs and friends, he decided. Suddenly, Emmi heard a poof
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Abby Kadaby appeared. Oh hi, Abby, Elmo said, does Abbie
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want to help Elmi throw an Easter party. Abby loved helping,
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especially with magic. She waved her wand happily. What do
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we need for an Easter party? She asked? First, Elmo
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needs bunnies, almost started to say. Abby couldn't wait. She
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loved to do magic. Make them funny, make them sonny.
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Just make sure you make them bunnies. With a wave
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of Abby's wand, Sesame Street was full of hopping bunnies,
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Elmo giggled al moment. Chocolate bunnies, he said. But Elmo
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like these bunnies even better. They are so cute. This
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is fun, Abby said, pinning an adorable bunny. What else
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do you need for your party? Elmo needs eggs, first party,
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Emmo began. Abby was so excited she started her spell
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right away. She waved her wand and said, buy my leg.
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I beg for an egg. When Abby's spell was done,
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Elmo whooped around. He didn't see any eggs. Then he
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realized he was an egg. Abby's magic spell had transported
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transformed him. Almo giggled even more. M wment eggs to
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decorate for Easter, he explained, don't worry, Almo, I know
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what to do. Abby said. She waved her wind again.
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Hurry up, before we faint, let's see an egg with
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lots of paint. Alma was still an egg, but now
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he was covered in pretty Easter egg decorations and he
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had furry bunny ears better, Abby asked, very pretty, Abby,
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Elmo said, but Almo needs a lot of decorated eggs
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for an Easter party. Say no more, alm, Abby said,
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Elmo thinks Emmo should say a little more. Elmo said,
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not pots of eggs or koss of eggs. Give me
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lots and lots of eggs. Abby said. Elmo couldn't believe it.
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Abby turned all the bunnies into sparkling Easter eggs. They
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hopped around Sesame Street in different colors pink, orange, purple, yellow, green,
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and blue. Poof big Burg came out and saw the
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funny bunnies. This looks like an Easter egg party, he said.
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Amimal's friends all came to see what cute little bunnies,
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Grover said, with pretty Easter egg decorations. So he said,
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what else do we need for the Easter party? Elmo?
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Abby asked, the most important thing for an Easter party
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as friends? Elmo said, And they are here, who want
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to have Easter egg hunt? Cookie Monster suggested, So the
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friends all played hide and go seek, Elmo and the
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Bunnies head and everyone else searched for them. It was
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the most magical and surprising Easter party ever. This concludes
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our children's story I are for today. Please join us
26:41
next time as we will read more stories, fables and
26:44
fairy tales. Thank you for listening and please stay tuned
26:47
for the Lexton Hair Leader on Radio I