Happy Memories Recalled about Historic Community

By Todd Luck
The Chronicle

The 13th Annual Happy Hill Reunion was held last weekend, celebrating the past, present, and future of the oldest African American community in Winston-Salem.

The celebration began on a rainy Friday night at the William C. Sims Recreation Center in the heart of Happy Hill. It continued on a dry and hot Saturday with an all-day community festival in Happy Hill Park that included music, food, a horseshoe tournament, bingo and swimming. The reunion ended Sunday with a worship service at Mount Moriah Church.

The reunion was started in 1994 by Ben Piggott, supervisor of the Sims Recreation Center, and William “Rock” Bitting, a volunteer at the center. Piggott said that he wanted to educate people about the history of Happy Hill and show a positive side to the sometimes troubled community.

We wanted to showcase the greatness of this community,” said Piggott. Greatness and history were both on display Friday night as many current and former residents of Happy Hill spoke to a crowd of hundreds. There were also performances by the Rising Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir and the Belview Dancers.

Be proud of where you live,” said Maurice Johnson, who spoke at the event. Johnson’s family ties to Happy Hill stretch back for decades. The keynote speaker for Friday’s event was former resident Mohommad Herb, who runs a program that pays students for their good grades. Herb took the crowd through the history of Happy Hill with memories of life in the small shotgun houses that once dominated the community. He also talked about how Joe Robinson figured out how to play an old Civil War era trumpet without a mouth piece.

Robinson would go on to be a very successful jazz trumpeter.

History was presented visually as well as orally. A presentation of the Pride and Dignity project from the Winston-Salem State University’s Diggs Gallery was showcased. It consisted of a display of traditional paintings and miniature houses that were created by the residents of Happy Hill. The houses were small replicas of various buildings, from shotgun houses to the recreation center, that were decorated with images and photographs of memories, friends and family members. Each showcased a little bit of history about the community.

A 20-minute video documentary that featured interviews with residents was also screened. The documentary is another aspect of the Pride and Dignity project.

Diggs Gallery Director Belinda Tate said that the documentary showed the importance of church, family and love in the community. She said the work so far on the project has rekindled the idea of revitalizing and preserving the two remaining shotgun houses in the neighborhood.

The community can trace its roots all the back to 1872 when former slave Ned Lemly spent $10 to buy the first lot of land in what would become known as Happy Hill.

The community has grown and changed a lot since then and continues to do so. As part of the Housing Authority of Winston Salem’s Hope VI program, the area has seen a lot of construction as 488 units of severely distressed public housing are being replaced with 425 new housing units. The construction is already bearing fruit as the newly built Providence Place apartments, which opened in May, is already filled to capacity. The new Alder’s Point, which contains 100 units designed for seniors, is now taking applications.

All this means Happy Hill residents can expect to have some new neighbors and the return of some old ones, which suits Doris Kimbrough, 83, just fine. She has lived in and around Happy Hill her whole life.

She said the new development reminds her of Happy Hill’s early days when the community was thriving.

Through it all, the spirit of Happy Hill has endured.

“ Happy Hill, it’s just a place where we all come together,” Kimbrough said.