The Monroe journal. [volume] (Monroe, N.C.) 189?-1965, 1921-04-29
union COUNTY EX-SLAVE
WAS REBEL" SHOEMAKER
Col. c. ). l.. A. Taylor Was Employee
OF Houston and Laney Before the
Conflict Between the. states.
COMMISSIONED IN SPANISH WAR

Col. c. S. l.. A. Taylor, ante-bellunl
negro, who used to make shoes be-
fore the war for the late A. A. Laney
and Patterson Houston. is still living
in Charlotte, and is the leading char
acter of the negro quarter in that
city, according to the News. During
the war Taylor worked on a Confed-
crate government contract. making
shoes for the soldiers out of wood and
cloth. leather being scarce. Esq. NJ.
l.. Flow has vivid recollection of
Taylor. and says he was a hard-work-
ing. respectful negro.
or him and Charlottes negro bus
mess quarter, the News Says: San
Francisco has its Chinatown and 9TH
er cities its similar sections, but
Howell's Arcade in Charlotte stands
in class to itself. II is the negro
business section of the city.
When one enters this narrow pas
sageway from East Trade street, the
noise of the city begins to die away.
A rather lazy aspect confronts the
eyes. In front of the numerous bar
Der shops and other establishments
the negro proprietors lounge in
chairs, seemingly Indifferent to the
whirl OF life outside. Customers
sauntering into the Arcade seem to be
Immediately overcome by the listless
atmosphere, and, as they drop into
the BARRIERS chair for work, the in
cident could be more rightfully de-
scribed as a nap The street is too
narrow to permit the full rays of the
sun to come in, and while other sec
tons are generally hot in the sum-
mertime the Arcade Is usually rather
cool and delightful. The middle of
the day, when the sun is directly ov-
erhead, Is the only period of unpleas-
ant heat the occupants experience.
THE buildings are all wood and
give the impression of age. Each re-
sembles the other, and so close are
the shops on one side of the street
from those on the other that II
would be no great task TO jump from
one shop into the other.
AT present the topic OF conversa-
ton in the Arcade relates to prayer
meetings, for, as a church poster in
one Of the shops says. THE army Of
the Heavenly Kingdom must charge
with red hot zeal and auxiliary aerial
squadrons and heavy ar
tillery against the intrenched enemy
Of the internal kingdom" There was
a day when the devil had full sway.
According to Marshall Bailey. who
runs negro pressing club In the Ar
cade. and who probably has been in
business. there the longest, the Ar
cade about ten years ago was the
toughest place where the police were
always sure that they could make an
arrest, he declared. The slogan OF
The Arcade at that time was More
Booze and such state of drunken
ness was reached by some that there
we're unusually DRINKS lying about.
The people were forever drinking.
said Bailey.
I'm spite u the booze events. how
,ver, few incidents of fights occurred.
continued Bailey. Only once since he
las been In the Arcade does he re-
member a fatal fray. IL happened
ears ago when some negro shot ne |
,ro woman in one Of the cafes. The
,ause OF the affair was not known. !
rhe occupants Of the Arcade heard a |
,istol shot ring out early one night. |
md. running to the street, they saw !
he negro woman reel out OF the door
md fall dead in front of the cafe.
I don't remember whether the
murderer was ever caught or not
aid Bailey.
Probably the most exceptional
haracter in the Arcade is Colonel c. /.
!. L. A. Taylor. negro who runs the
'arber shop. Taylor was a slave be-
ore the Civil war. making shoes for j,
lis master in Union county. During
he war he made shoes for Lees ar
ny. After the emancipation he erect
d a shoe shop OF his own. In time
CA.,ftxuaI -. Daan Etxt,s L