Rita Beale, June 22nd, 2024
Title
Rita Beale, June 22nd, 2024
Description
In this interview, Rita Beale describes her desire for cleaner energy sources and how those would help with climate change.
Publisher
Detroit Historical Society
Date
6/22/24
Rights
Detroit Historical Society
Language
en-US
Narrator/Interviewee's Name
Rita Beale
Brief Biography
Rita Beale is a cancer survivor who has spent over 50 years in Jefferson Chalmers and is a retired school teacher.
Interviewer's Name
Kevin Hawthorne
Interview Length
14:00
Transcription Date
06/22/2024
Transcription
Kevin Hawthorne: Hello, this is Kevin Hawthorne with the Detroit Historical Society. And today I'm here with.
Rita Beale: Rita Beale.
KH: And could you please spell your name for the record?
RB: My name is spelled R i t a and my last name is B e a l e Beale
KH: All right. Thank you and do you live in the city of Detroit?
RB: I live in the city of Detroit.
KH: And in what neighborhood?
RB: I live in Jefferson Chalmers
KH: How long have you lived in Jefferson?
RB: I've been here 50 years.
KH: 50 years. Have you lived in any other neighborhoods in the city?
RB: I lived on, when I was little I lived only main off of Charlevoix, but most of my husband bought the house, and that's where I've been living.
KH: Wow. 50 years is a, that's, wonderful to live in the same area for so long. You probably are— How familiar would you say with Jefferson Chalmers?
RB: You say what?
KH: Like, you probably are very deeply familiar with Jefferson.
RB: Yes, I am familiar. I worked at, Guiding Elementary school, for 30 years down the street from my house, and, I walk to work. Yes.
KH: Do you still currently work in the city?
RB: No. I'm retired from Detroit public schools.
KH: All right and living in the Jefferson Chalmers area, how did you get involved with, coming to a tree house?
RB: I met Tammy. She was— she has a program for seniors, and we was doing different things. And then, I met her from. That's where I mainly met her from so she had a seniors group that she put together, and we was going doing different things. And then, she got, flowers. She got so many things and so many things that, she's involved in.
KH: Yeah and how did, when did you get involved? Around which time?
RB: I think it was 2020 somewhere. Yeah.
KH: All right and with the tree house, what did you think of the organization has been able to do to try and help combat climate change and, like, spread awareness?
RB: Well, I like that she brought the weather people in. I got a better understanding, that, sometimes they don't know unless we people send out, you know, that we saw hurricane or we saw about a, tornado or whatever. I got that, and then how to also how to, you know, save water for gardening, all of that.
KH: And in general, have you been, what have you seen, like the effects of the tree houses, greening efforts to, like, you know, do plants and, like, gardens?
RB: Yes. I've used it a lot. The greens, the the I find I love green, so I find out that our neighborhood, Tammy does a lot that, showing us how to plant, how to put together stuff, have to get things, it's definitely a community now more than it was.
KH: And, what about the solar efforts of the tree house for, like, solar panels?
RB: The solar panels?
KH: Yes.
RB: The solar panels get. I didn't get them. I didn't have the money at the time. But I know a lot of people that use them and saying they have really saved on their, on their bill a lot of them.
KH: Absolutely. You said you would get them if you— It was just a little bit more affordable.
RB: It was a little more affordable at the time.
KH: All right. Very cool. And so in 2021, there was a lot of flooding. How were you personally affected by the floods of 2020?
RB: Well, I've had three floods in this neighborhood. I've been in three floods and, personally affected— My husband was alive with the first one, and then we had two more. I lost everything, just like in 21, like I did the other. I continue to have to get a refrigerator, a washer dryer, furnace. I had to continue to get all of those things over again a water tank and this time, I put my stuff when I brought it, I had them to put it up a little higher. Yeah.
KH: So did it flood three times in 2021 and just in one?
RB: No. Just like, I've been in 50 years. I had never seen a flood until I think it was 2000 and maybe 16 or something. Then it started happening. It happened so bad that the insurance cut me off.
KH: Oh, my. Yeah. So and like I said, you have an interesting perspective because you have lived in the same neighborhood for such a long time, and you've said it's been markedly worse with the flooding in the region is-
RB: it's more flooded and as I look at my house, I think my foundation, I got to get somebody coming and fix it because the foundation look like the dirt. Now that the cement is coming, coming to loose from my house.
KH: And I have how are, other neighbors affected? Do you have any other neighbors who-
RB: My other neighbors. The same thing we lost. They lost. Everything is everybody can't get things and they need people to help them. And I think I hear I still hear this some people still, trying to work on a basement. I need to work on getting a waterproof.
KH: Do you think post the floods of 2021 with the tree house, do you think more people were more encouraged to be part of the community after something like the flood?
RB: I think so, because we have the weather map and all that on our, phones and I think for me, yes. And I think I see the community coming more together. We have we need seawalls over here we need so many things, to stop the water.
KH: And in general, do you think the city could be doing more to.
RB: I always think the city can do more. I thank them for the backflow they gave me. I do have a backbone now added a year, but I think they could do more in helping us, you know, and then us as a people, when we cut our grass and all that, we leave, all that that goes down in the drain and out of my or my street is only me and another person is cleaning the the things out, the drains. And so, so I think we need to come more together but, I believe that we are we are really seeing that the problem with the problem is over here. I don't want to move.
KH: No. Absolutely. You shouldn't have to. And with the tree house, how do you feel? Like you've been able to engage and educate the community about climate change?
RB: Well, I do talk about the solars, even though I don't have them. And I know, Tammy has moved around about the solars and, Michigan State and all of them, they've been in the neighborhood. We get free stuff and they've been helping us. I have a pool in my yard now that they fix, and they put the gutters underneath the ground. So it's a lot of things that, we, Tammy, have different things, and she have people that we have to utilize. And I'm utilizing some of those things that which are free and, I'm also trying to get grants and stuff, but every time they always say, you got a dollar too, too much. It's for low, low income people.
KH: You know. Absolutely. And in addition to, flooding, I've also heard from some of the other people we've been interviewing, how has, like, power outages affected you in the past couple of years during the summers?
RB: Well, it has affected us, but I'm learned one thing that I saw, them do last summer. They cut a lot of trees down, and, because they came in my backyard, too. So I think that this time, I didn't see a lot. It's only been a year, but I didn't see a lot but when it do, it just seemed like it'd take forever to get back on. So we lose a lot of things, and, you know, they don't give $25 or something like that, but you lose your food and everything. And so, I used to have three refrigerator I have one now.
KH: Like how long what was the longest you were out without power?
RB: For me, it was like, seven days and I learned- I love how, I had to- I found out they have, like, fans and things because it was summer that you can use with batteries.
KH: And how do you feel about, like, a company, like, DTE you know, all these power outages they have raised their prices in the past two years.
RB: how do I feel about it?
KH: Yeah.
RB: I think. Well, as I look now, I see they're trying to better it. But, I feel like my my bill going higher and I'm getting less help.
KH: Absolutely and in general, what have you seen the feedback from the Jefferson Chalmers community to the Tree House's efforts? Have you seen it be positive? Are people a little bit more apathetic?
RB: I think I seen the positive, but, you know, some people always jokes, but I think it's positive because is opening up doors some things because most people don't realize but most of the people that live over in Jefferson Chalmers are seniors and, we don't want to move we okay to live in our house and we want the same thing that everybody else want. We want the best we want that community. Just like when we was kids, we had a community and that's what I want to see in that thing. Tammy and other people that surround us, like, even, like, today, they care for us. We have an organization right in there that is caring for us, you know, helping us out.
KH: Do you do you feel the community has been brought closer together in the past few years?
RB: I think my community has been grown because I meet, I'm meeting people every day that I have not met. And, and, the problem is that they've been in a neighborhood as long as I've been. But we're getting closer because we all have a common thing, and that's flooding.
KH: So, you know, it's unfortunate that everything flooding brought people close together. You know, it's a horrible thing, obviously, but there was a silver lining of you were able to like, this is a problem and we all need to get together for it.
RB: Yeah, we get together and help one another. So, I like I say it's there is a lot of people still need help and we are trying to chip in and help as much as we can and see the organizations that need to, to help them. Because like I said, when some of us have a dollar too much, but if you can help someone that's lower than me, I appreciate it.
KH: And, you said if you, you would, look into solar panels, have you seen a lot of your other neighbors be, looking into the solar panels?
RB: I see my other people looking at solar panels.
KH: And if you could see the city at large in, implement a piece of green infrastructure like wind turbines or solar panels, which one would you like to see throughout the whole city?
RB: Around the whole city? Yeah, I like to see solar panels, but I would also like to see more greenery because I think it catches the water.
KH: So and I think, you know, it also makes the looks to say you look nice encourages and
RB: Looks pretty and and flowers, when you go on Tammy's, street is is beautiful.
KH: Yes. All right and then just a couple quick questions at the end. This will just be a quick couple about Covid. How were he Jefferson Chalmers area and you affected by Covid when it first hit in 2020?
RB: Well. To me. We got together, some of us that were seniors, and we tried to help the people that was in the seniors building and so we bought, we all chipped in for laundry detergent we found out what they needed, and they needed different things. So we help one another and the best thing around here is that a lot of us is on, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, UAW and, they sent us boxes of food. They sent us a mask. Every month they were sending something on that porch, and, we all engaged in giving out to each other and, we had one lady I went with her we just go into the food places and just get 6 or 5 box and just give it to whoever we thought needed it. So I think it brought us closer to.
KH: And did you, did you catch Covid during the four years?
RB: I have not had Covid.
KH: Wow. That is amazing that, you know, one of the few people I've talked to says they still haven't caught it.
RB: No, I, I keep my thing and I have cancer and so I, I keep my mask on, and, I think it's just the grace of God.
KH: Absolutely. And. Are you worried about another large scale pandemic like the one we're going through right now?
RB: I think we're going to have some more chaos and things going on, but I think, we are getting more prepared. We are getting more prepared and more ready to but the key to it is taking care of one another.
KH: All right. And just to wrap up, is there anything that we haven't cover that you would like to speak on?
RB: No, I would just like to say I just wish that, we could find some money for those that are still, sitting in mold, sitting in flooding. Like I said, it's a lot of seniors, but the best thing, when I every day I look around and I see someone trying to do good, and even this interview is someone who's trying to, get it out about what's going over, going on in our city and so I appreciate you.
KH: We appreciate you. And thank you so much for being here.
Rita Beale: Rita Beale.
KH: And could you please spell your name for the record?
RB: My name is spelled R i t a and my last name is B e a l e Beale
KH: All right. Thank you and do you live in the city of Detroit?
RB: I live in the city of Detroit.
KH: And in what neighborhood?
RB: I live in Jefferson Chalmers
KH: How long have you lived in Jefferson?
RB: I've been here 50 years.
KH: 50 years. Have you lived in any other neighborhoods in the city?
RB: I lived on, when I was little I lived only main off of Charlevoix, but most of my husband bought the house, and that's where I've been living.
KH: Wow. 50 years is a, that's, wonderful to live in the same area for so long. You probably are— How familiar would you say with Jefferson Chalmers?
RB: You say what?
KH: Like, you probably are very deeply familiar with Jefferson.
RB: Yes, I am familiar. I worked at, Guiding Elementary school, for 30 years down the street from my house, and, I walk to work. Yes.
KH: Do you still currently work in the city?
RB: No. I'm retired from Detroit public schools.
KH: All right and living in the Jefferson Chalmers area, how did you get involved with, coming to a tree house?
RB: I met Tammy. She was— she has a program for seniors, and we was doing different things. And then, I met her from. That's where I mainly met her from so she had a seniors group that she put together, and we was going doing different things. And then, she got, flowers. She got so many things and so many things that, she's involved in.
KH: Yeah and how did, when did you get involved? Around which time?
RB: I think it was 2020 somewhere. Yeah.
KH: All right and with the tree house, what did you think of the organization has been able to do to try and help combat climate change and, like, spread awareness?
RB: Well, I like that she brought the weather people in. I got a better understanding, that, sometimes they don't know unless we people send out, you know, that we saw hurricane or we saw about a, tornado or whatever. I got that, and then how to also how to, you know, save water for gardening, all of that.
KH: And in general, have you been, what have you seen, like the effects of the tree houses, greening efforts to, like, you know, do plants and, like, gardens?
RB: Yes. I've used it a lot. The greens, the the I find I love green, so I find out that our neighborhood, Tammy does a lot that, showing us how to plant, how to put together stuff, have to get things, it's definitely a community now more than it was.
KH: And, what about the solar efforts of the tree house for, like, solar panels?
RB: The solar panels?
KH: Yes.
RB: The solar panels get. I didn't get them. I didn't have the money at the time. But I know a lot of people that use them and saying they have really saved on their, on their bill a lot of them.
KH: Absolutely. You said you would get them if you— It was just a little bit more affordable.
RB: It was a little more affordable at the time.
KH: All right. Very cool. And so in 2021, there was a lot of flooding. How were you personally affected by the floods of 2020?
RB: Well, I've had three floods in this neighborhood. I've been in three floods and, personally affected— My husband was alive with the first one, and then we had two more. I lost everything, just like in 21, like I did the other. I continue to have to get a refrigerator, a washer dryer, furnace. I had to continue to get all of those things over again a water tank and this time, I put my stuff when I brought it, I had them to put it up a little higher. Yeah.
KH: So did it flood three times in 2021 and just in one?
RB: No. Just like, I've been in 50 years. I had never seen a flood until I think it was 2000 and maybe 16 or something. Then it started happening. It happened so bad that the insurance cut me off.
KH: Oh, my. Yeah. So and like I said, you have an interesting perspective because you have lived in the same neighborhood for such a long time, and you've said it's been markedly worse with the flooding in the region is-
RB: it's more flooded and as I look at my house, I think my foundation, I got to get somebody coming and fix it because the foundation look like the dirt. Now that the cement is coming, coming to loose from my house.
KH: And I have how are, other neighbors affected? Do you have any other neighbors who-
RB: My other neighbors. The same thing we lost. They lost. Everything is everybody can't get things and they need people to help them. And I think I hear I still hear this some people still, trying to work on a basement. I need to work on getting a waterproof.
KH: Do you think post the floods of 2021 with the tree house, do you think more people were more encouraged to be part of the community after something like the flood?
RB: I think so, because we have the weather map and all that on our, phones and I think for me, yes. And I think I see the community coming more together. We have we need seawalls over here we need so many things, to stop the water.
KH: And in general, do you think the city could be doing more to.
RB: I always think the city can do more. I thank them for the backflow they gave me. I do have a backbone now added a year, but I think they could do more in helping us, you know, and then us as a people, when we cut our grass and all that, we leave, all that that goes down in the drain and out of my or my street is only me and another person is cleaning the the things out, the drains. And so, so I think we need to come more together but, I believe that we are we are really seeing that the problem with the problem is over here. I don't want to move.
KH: No. Absolutely. You shouldn't have to. And with the tree house, how do you feel? Like you've been able to engage and educate the community about climate change?
RB: Well, I do talk about the solars, even though I don't have them. And I know, Tammy has moved around about the solars and, Michigan State and all of them, they've been in the neighborhood. We get free stuff and they've been helping us. I have a pool in my yard now that they fix, and they put the gutters underneath the ground. So it's a lot of things that, we, Tammy, have different things, and she have people that we have to utilize. And I'm utilizing some of those things that which are free and, I'm also trying to get grants and stuff, but every time they always say, you got a dollar too, too much. It's for low, low income people.
KH: You know. Absolutely. And in addition to, flooding, I've also heard from some of the other people we've been interviewing, how has, like, power outages affected you in the past couple of years during the summers?
RB: Well, it has affected us, but I'm learned one thing that I saw, them do last summer. They cut a lot of trees down, and, because they came in my backyard, too. So I think that this time, I didn't see a lot. It's only been a year, but I didn't see a lot but when it do, it just seemed like it'd take forever to get back on. So we lose a lot of things, and, you know, they don't give $25 or something like that, but you lose your food and everything. And so, I used to have three refrigerator I have one now.
KH: Like how long what was the longest you were out without power?
RB: For me, it was like, seven days and I learned- I love how, I had to- I found out they have, like, fans and things because it was summer that you can use with batteries.
KH: And how do you feel about, like, a company, like, DTE you know, all these power outages they have raised their prices in the past two years.
RB: how do I feel about it?
KH: Yeah.
RB: I think. Well, as I look now, I see they're trying to better it. But, I feel like my my bill going higher and I'm getting less help.
KH: Absolutely and in general, what have you seen the feedback from the Jefferson Chalmers community to the Tree House's efforts? Have you seen it be positive? Are people a little bit more apathetic?
RB: I think I seen the positive, but, you know, some people always jokes, but I think it's positive because is opening up doors some things because most people don't realize but most of the people that live over in Jefferson Chalmers are seniors and, we don't want to move we okay to live in our house and we want the same thing that everybody else want. We want the best we want that community. Just like when we was kids, we had a community and that's what I want to see in that thing. Tammy and other people that surround us, like, even, like, today, they care for us. We have an organization right in there that is caring for us, you know, helping us out.
KH: Do you do you feel the community has been brought closer together in the past few years?
RB: I think my community has been grown because I meet, I'm meeting people every day that I have not met. And, and, the problem is that they've been in a neighborhood as long as I've been. But we're getting closer because we all have a common thing, and that's flooding.
KH: So, you know, it's unfortunate that everything flooding brought people close together. You know, it's a horrible thing, obviously, but there was a silver lining of you were able to like, this is a problem and we all need to get together for it.
RB: Yeah, we get together and help one another. So, I like I say it's there is a lot of people still need help and we are trying to chip in and help as much as we can and see the organizations that need to, to help them. Because like I said, when some of us have a dollar too much, but if you can help someone that's lower than me, I appreciate it.
KH: And, you said if you, you would, look into solar panels, have you seen a lot of your other neighbors be, looking into the solar panels?
RB: I see my other people looking at solar panels.
KH: And if you could see the city at large in, implement a piece of green infrastructure like wind turbines or solar panels, which one would you like to see throughout the whole city?
RB: Around the whole city? Yeah, I like to see solar panels, but I would also like to see more greenery because I think it catches the water.
KH: So and I think, you know, it also makes the looks to say you look nice encourages and
RB: Looks pretty and and flowers, when you go on Tammy's, street is is beautiful.
KH: Yes. All right and then just a couple quick questions at the end. This will just be a quick couple about Covid. How were he Jefferson Chalmers area and you affected by Covid when it first hit in 2020?
RB: Well. To me. We got together, some of us that were seniors, and we tried to help the people that was in the seniors building and so we bought, we all chipped in for laundry detergent we found out what they needed, and they needed different things. So we help one another and the best thing around here is that a lot of us is on, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, UAW and, they sent us boxes of food. They sent us a mask. Every month they were sending something on that porch, and, we all engaged in giving out to each other and, we had one lady I went with her we just go into the food places and just get 6 or 5 box and just give it to whoever we thought needed it. So I think it brought us closer to.
KH: And did you, did you catch Covid during the four years?
RB: I have not had Covid.
KH: Wow. That is amazing that, you know, one of the few people I've talked to says they still haven't caught it.
RB: No, I, I keep my thing and I have cancer and so I, I keep my mask on, and, I think it's just the grace of God.
KH: Absolutely. And. Are you worried about another large scale pandemic like the one we're going through right now?
RB: I think we're going to have some more chaos and things going on, but I think, we are getting more prepared. We are getting more prepared and more ready to but the key to it is taking care of one another.
KH: All right. And just to wrap up, is there anything that we haven't cover that you would like to speak on?
RB: No, I would just like to say I just wish that, we could find some money for those that are still, sitting in mold, sitting in flooding. Like I said, it's a lot of seniors, but the best thing, when I every day I look around and I see someone trying to do good, and even this interview is someone who's trying to, get it out about what's going over, going on in our city and so I appreciate you.
KH: We appreciate you. And thank you so much for being here.
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Citation
“Rita Beale, June 22nd, 2024,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed March 23, 2025, http://detroit1967.detroithistorical.org/items/show/1006.