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Interview with Melvin Turner

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@ Harford County Public Library

Washburn, Doug

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Although you would never know it by looking at him, in August of 2011 Melvin Turner will be 101 years old. Mr. Turner was born in the area of Harford County called Kalmia, between Hickory and Dublin on Forge Hill Road, the forerunner to U.S. 1. He briefly attended the first Kalmia Colored Schoolhouse, a segregated school for blacks located not far from Clark U.M.C. He later attended the segregated school in Bel Air on Hays Street that bears the town's historic plaque no. 17. Mr. Turner's family moved to and from Harford County several times but it has been his home for more than eighty years. In his teens, Mr. Turner was a caddy for Bobby Jones, one of golf's most successful players. Jones designed the course at Augusta and was co-founder of The Masters Tournament. In the 1930s, he worked for Howard S. O'Neil who was president of Farmers Merchant Bank of Baltimore and who later became a Maryland senator. He served as chauffer, butler and grounds keeper for the O'Neil family. Mr. Turner recalls moving the vault contents when Farmers Merchant joined with First National Bank on Office Street. Mr. Turner also worked at the E. Tolzman and Son Bone Mill on the Little Gun Powder Falls for 23 years, but was fired when he supported an effort to unionize the workers. In 1954, he started a 31 year career at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Still not ready to really retire in his 80s, he worked another ten...
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1 Flv Flash Video File, Minutes.
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Harford County Public Library

Record Harvested From

Digital Maryland