M C Mays Pulliam: Above
is a copy of the aerial view photograph of the William P. Hayes
Home Housing Complex as it was being constructed. The only building
that is missing is 68 Boyd Street, which was the Senior Citizen
building (which also contained the rent payment office) where my
mother worked, which was constructed at a much later date. This
photograph was taken in either 1952 or 1953. You can see the General
Electric Factory to the left of the complex and to the right of
it you can see the houses that were there before the building of
the West Kinney Jr. High School building. Belmont avenue (now called
Irvine Turner Blvd.) is at the lower right-hand side and the dark
brick building in the lower corner is the Krueger Beer Brewery.
I only remember it being a part of the senior citizen building because
we used to play outside of the rent office on the little hill going
down to Boyd street (the play street, as we called it). I remember
it because of the Brinks Armored Truck that came there twice a day
and the Electrified Bottle Water truck that brought the big glass
water bottles to the office. It's amazing how much is now coming
to my mind about growing up there in Hayes Homes! We also held the
Softball, Football, Kickball games and DJ's playing music there.
Charles Lee, and many others were big in promoting sports in the
big field. It was nice until it became neglected, glass filled,
fences broken down, stolen cars and shootings. As a child, I loved
it when they installed the lights on the buildings which shined
out onto the field and we played out there under the lights.
Dawood Abdul Samad: The original rent payment
office was on Lewis Street. Not too long after the opening ceremony
my Dad, Tim Still, Deacon Dawson, Irvine Turner and others were
instrumental in getting the Dukers AC Boxing club space on Boyd
Street. The Big Field was where the amateur boxing matches were
held, back in those day it was a social event. Back in the early
sixties there was a Irish kid named Richard Reilly that lived in
building #7 17th Ave, He was a tough kid and I used to try to get
him to take up boxing at the Dukers AC because he could hold his
own but he didn't want to box he liked football and went on to be
a good quarterback for Central High School.
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