Clarence Jackson, 1983
In 1922, when he was twelve years old, Mr. Jackson came to Champaign from his home in Alton, Illinois. His father died in an oil explosion in Wood River and his mother came here as a cook. From 1933 to 1940 Mr. Jackson was a maintenance man at D'Andre Beauty and Barber Salon on north Neil Street. During World War II he served in the Army, after which he became head custodian at Willard School for sixteen years
and then at Marquette School until his retirement in 1976. He remembered in 1983 that "downtown Champaign used to be really nice. There used to be trees down there. It was real pretty used to be a meeting spot for people on Saturdays."
