Patricia Charlton

I grew up in the West End, in the Laurel Homes and Park Town. I've been a resident, on and off, for all of my 73 years. I can tell you about businesses in the West End.

We had a dairy bar called the ACA — it was a Cincinnati family dairy bar. I worked there. Mr. — I want to say Virgil Parker, but I might be wrong — had a barbershop, and all the movie stars used to come down to get their hair done. Mr. Parker and Mrs. Ernestine Mayhand didn’t get the recognition they deserved, but they were the ones who started the process. People from all over — male stars — came to Cincinnati just to get their hair done. James Brown, Jackie Wilson — they came to Parker’s Barbershop.

I was a barbershop and beauty shop baby. My mother, Lucy Coe, had a beauty salon called Lucy's, and before that, she had a beauty shop on Main Street called Coffee's.

There were so many Black-owned businesses that should be recognized for their administration and service. I am a member of St. Joseph. Everybody knows we used to have dances on the weekend for people to go to. Not only that, our church was a strong anchor in the community. We went every Saturday. We kept up our school and our church. Father Boesemann was the priest there. He looked out for all of us.

Years ago, St. Joseph started as a German church. In the late 1940s or early 1950s, it became a predominantly Black school. One thing I can say about St. Joseph — it produced doctors, lawyers, and high-class people.

I've been an entrepreneur and business owner. I had Patricia’s House of Beauty on Linn Street.

If you know the West End, then you should know that we were proud Black folks who took care of each other. I grew up in the West End, and I’m going to die here.