Among the earliest memories of any Ellis child was working in one of the family restaurants. The initial experience came at four or five years of age when they were placed on a wooden box high enough to reach a tub of overflowing dishes.
Working in the restaurants was excellent for development of skills to be successful both economically and socially. The children learned a lot about discipline, responsibility, money management, interaction with others, and "good old hard work."
Between 1890 and 1932, Whit Ellis owned 5 businesses. He was a merchant and a restaurateur � sometimes both. Whit worked 14 hours a day in his enterprises leaving very little time for anything else.
The Monrovia Restaurant in Guthrie, Oklahoma, was Whit�s first business venture. Opening this first-rate restaurant in Oklahoma in the 1890�s was a remarkable achievement for a young black man with limited formal education.
The Monrovia was named after the capital city of Liberia. It was one of the many ports visited and enjoyed by Whit Ellis during his years at sea. There was a profound message in his choice of the restaurant�s name. He was honoring the name of the capital city of a country of free black people governed by black people. In its earliest beginnings, Liberia was founded in West Africa in 1816 as place of resettlement for freed slaves from America. In 1841, its colonists were granted the freedom to govern themselves. In 1847, Liberia became an independent republic. It was granted full recognition by Britain in 1848, France in 1852, and by the United States in 1862.
Grandpa Ellis often shared his fond memories of Monrovia, Liberia. He emphasized that the black people there had dignity, freedom, and a pioneering spirit. He talked of returning to Monrovia sometime later in his life. This, unfortunately, never happened.
The Monrovia Restaurant was the realization of Grandpa Ellis� dreams and the result of his intense focus on getting ahead in a world full of obstacles. In his years of working as a ship�s cook, he recognized his aptitude and his love for the food service industry, and he determined that someday Whit Ellis would be the boss of Whit Ellis. He learned his trade from the ground up. A 14-year-old runaway did not begun at the top. In six years of sailing around the world and living in foreign countries where he could observe a broad scope of how things are best done, he had mastered every aspect of the food service business.
He knew how to prepare good food. He knew what customers expected in quality and service. He knew how to make a profit. He also knew that his dreams could never come true if he didn�t have the money to establish his own business. He had no illusions that outside capital would be available to him when he returned to America. In his six years of working on the seas and abroad, he saved a good deal of money � far more of it than could ever have been available to a prospective black businessman in the 1890�s. That�s how the Monrovia began.
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Photo#33- Interior of Monrovia Restaurant in Guthrie Oklahoma-1894 Photo of meeting to organize support for establishing Langston University. Man standing at far left is Edwin P. Mc Cabe; famous in Oklahoma history for supporting the establishment of "Black Settlements." This 1890's photo depicting blacks as professionals and not farmhands, is rare. A traveling Chinese craftsman made the white paper chandeliers hanging from the ceiling by folding pieces of paper and artistically tearing them by hand. The decorations required several hours to make and cost $3.00. |
The above photo recorded a very significant event. It was taken in 1894 during a special meeting held at the Monrovia Restaurant. Various black businessmen and dignitaries, including Edwin P. McCabe, were present. McCabe helped found the town of Langston, Oklahoma, as part of a larger program to establish more than twenty-five "black settlements" in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. McCabe�s ultimate goal was to establish Oklahoma as a "black state." This never happened. The photo holds historical importance because it depicts blacks as businessmen � leaders and decision-makers, as opposed to field hands and servants. This was a rare and positive image of blacks in Oklahoma in the 1890�s.
The objective of the meeting at the Monrovia was to organize support for the territories� first institution of higher learning for "colored" citizens to be located at Langston, Oklahoma. This institute, The Colored Agricultural and Normal University, became formally known as Langston University in 1941.
In 1897, Whit sold the Monrovia and began working in the Stillwater, Oklahoma area. In 1899, he met Maggie Ellis. They fell in love and were married in 1900.
Immediately after his marriage, Whit opened his second restaurant in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This venture was not successful, and he closed the restaurant after a short period of time. He was not deterred by this setback. He was determined to succeed. In 1902, Grandpa Ellis returned to Guthrie, Oklahoma with his new bride and their first child, Roberta. He reopened the Monrovia Restaurant in its original location.
While in Guthrie, Whit and Maggie�s daughter, known to our family only as "Baby" Ellis, was born in 1904. "Baby Ellis" died from unknown causes after 6 short months of life. Maggie was devastated by the loss of her second child. She suffered from guilt and often said, "The baby would not have died if I was in Chandler with Momma." In 1905, Whit Ellis, Jr. was born.
In 1906, Whit sold the Monrovia Restaurant a second time and returned to Chandler. He opened a small grocery store and restaurant at 1115 Manvel Avenue.
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Photo#34- The first Ellis restaurant located in Chandler,Oklahoma at 1115 Manvel Ave. -1912 Maggie Ellis standing in front of restaurant holding 18 month old James Ellis. |
The store was officially known as Whit Ellis� Store. The building was constructed of flimsy wooden strips and was quite fragile. However, the store was spacious and carried a wide array of groceries and household goods such as flour, sugar, bread, salt, crackers, hardware, pots, pans, and anything else that a family might need. The store also incorporated a small kitchen and restaurant. It is apparent that Grandpa Whit had a good business head for merchandising, and he was not straying too far from the business of serving food.
The store was the first of its kind in Chandler; totally owned and operated by a black entrepreneur. It quickly became a focal point for both white and black customers. The black citizens who felt uncomfortable buying from white merchants especially welcomed it. In the middle of the store, three or four chairs surrounded a large pot-bellied stove. Providing this cozy conversation center was the etiquette of the time. Customers enjoyed a space where they could sit and chat and socialize after making a purchase. Whit Ellis� Store was a friendly place to do business. The customers perceived that.
The store was filled with the smells of fresh produce and the burlap bags used to store various goods, and the heavy scent of tobacco was constantly present in the store. Someone always seemed to be smoking. Next to the stove was a spittoon for those who chose "smokeless" tobacco.
In front of the store, a long wooden walkway extended the entire length of Manvel Avenue. The walkway was especially necessary in the rainy season to protect the pedestrians from the deep mud. Across the street, there was a large watering trough for horses. On Saturday nights, "gentlemen" who drank more than their share at the local saloons often occupied it. Drunks submerged in the trough provided quite a show as they talked or sang to themselves, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Whit Ellis never complained about his long workdays; he seemed to enjoy every minute. Regardless of his workload, he made it a point to welcome his customers with a warm and personal touch. He was providing goods, foods, and good conversation. As the town grew, so did Whit�s restaurant business. He serviced customers of all races. Many of his customers were Indians who were not allowed in white establishments. His patronage from the Indian customers greatly increased at the end of each month when the Bureau of Indian Affairs distributed Federal assistance money to the local tribes.
Cliff, Wade, and Jim were born in 1907, 1909, and 1911, respectively. The Ellis family wasn�t the only thing that continued to expand. In 1912, Whit moved the store to a much larger, 2-story facility, directly across the street. The new store still carried household goods, but this time there was more emphasis on serving food. Whit changed the name accordingly to Whit Ellis� Restaurant. In 1919, Whit moved the restaurant a third time to a final location at 1119 Manvel Avenue. This upscale facility as can be seen in the following photo.
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Photo#35- Roberta and Maggie Ellis behind counter at 3rd Ellis Restaurant located at 1119 Manvel Ave., Chandler Okalahoma-1921 Left-right- James Ellis (barefoot), Ina Neal (wearing hat), Roberta and Maggie Ellis (behind counter) |
Grandpa Whit always personally performed the jobs of selling and collecting money at his restaurant. As the family grew, Maggie Ellis spent less time there. However, she was always involved in some aspect of the business. At the 12th Street house, she often prepared cakes, pies and other items sold in the restaurant.
The Ellis Restaurant was completely staffed by family members. The Ellis children did a wide variety of chores. Jim and Roberta became excellent short order cooks. Frank, Ora, Cliff and Wade spent much of their time cleaning fish, washing dishes, shelling peas, shucking corn and making ice cream. Hasko did a little of everything.
The third Ellis Family Restaurant at 1119 Manvel Avenue is the one most remembered by the family. When the third location was opened in 1919, Ann and George were still not born.
The main dishes served at the latest restaurant were; beef, pork chops, beef stew, and a breakfast menu: bacon, eggs and grits with biscuits. Grandpa Whit�s chili was the house special. A 5-gallon pot of chili was always simmering on the stove. People would come from miles around to taste the chili. Some brought their own pots and pans to take the house special home and share with family members. Several types of desserts were also available.
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Photo #36-The 3rd Ellis Restaurant 1119 Manvel Ave. Left-right-James Ellis (barefoot, far left),Hasko Ellis( barefoot, holding crate), Whit Ellis, unknown customer, unknown youth, Wade Ellis (wearing �bibe�coveralls), paperboy, Whit Ellis Jr. and Cliff Ellis Working in the restaurant was excellent for development of skills to be successful both economically and socially. The initial experience in the restaurant came at 4 or 5 years of age when the Ellis child was placed on a wooden box high enough to reach a tub of overflowing dishes. |
In 1925, a barbershop, run by Columbus Irvin, was established in a small room in the front part of the restaurant. The barbershop had its own private entrance from Manvel Avenue. The early 1920�s were the "heydays" of Whit�s Restaurant business. The following are a few of the most interesting events.
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Working out of the restaurant, all 8 Ellis boys were distributors of the Black Dispatch. The Black Dispatch, published by Roscoe Dungee, began in 1914. Until closing in 1981, it was the major source of information about Oklahoma�s black communities and issues. The participation of the Ellis family in distribution of the paper was recognized in the February 27, 1936 issue of the paper. A group picture of the Ellis boys was featured on the front page. The article noted that all 8 of the Ellis boys were distributors of the newspaper and they were "developing into fine outstanding leaders among the younger generation of the state."
Grandpa Whit owned a six shot, lever action Colt 45 pistol. Twenty-four hours a day, the weapon was either on his person or within arms� reach. At 7 a.m. every morning, Grandpa Whit arose and dressed. After putting on his pants and shoes, he would neatly tuck in his white shirt under the large suspenders holding up his pants. His last step was to pick up his pistol from the small stand near the bed where it had been resting since 9 p.m. the night before. After eating a quick breakfast and completing a few tasks around the house, he would make the five-minute walk to his restaurant. Immediately after arriving at the restaurant and opening the door, he would go to the cash box and place the pistol in a small slot under the cash box. It would stay there for the remainder of the day unless Grandpa had to leave the restaurant. If he made an outside trip, Grandpa would neatly tuck the pistol in his pants with the edge of the handle just barely visible. This made it easy to draw the pistol in case of an emergency, and it made it clear Grandpa was armed and willing to use the pistol if, necessary.
At about 8 p.m. or when the final customer departed, Grandpa Whit would lock up his business and pack up his pistol. This routine continued until 1931 when Whit Ellis became ill and could no longer work at the restaurant.
In general, Whit Ellis was a jovial person who liked people. He often joked with the customers as they visited the restaurant. However, when provoked, he could show a different side of his personality. He could become violent. We noted the workplace incident that took place in Alabama when Whit was only 14 years old. It resulted in the death of 2 men and forced Whit to become a fugitive from the law. In 1927, he was provoked into a violent incident in the restaurant on Manvel Avenue.
Grandpa Whit was experiencing financial problems. Customers were not paying long overdue bills. He was worried about losing the restaurant and concerned about how he would support his family without it.
On payday Friday, one of the customers with a seriously overdue bill entered the restaurant to purchase goods. Whit had just been discussing the long list of outstanding debts with Maggie. The customer had a large amount of money and obviously was drinking before his arrival at the restaurant. He paid cash for several items and started to leave the store without mentioning his overdue bills. Whit stopped him and asked, " When are you going to pay some of the money you owe me?" The man looked at him and profanely responded, "Whit, I ain�t gonna pay you a *!**! thing!" Grandpa Whit had anticipated the disrespectful response. Immediately, Grandpa launched his huge, 300-pound body at the customer and hit him in the jaw with one massive punch. Whit�s sons and a store full of customers witnessed the whole event. They sensed the customer had said the wrong thing at the wrong time.
The customer sailed through the air for about four feet and landed at the base of a metal frame used to dispense paper for wrapping groceries. His head struck with such force it broke the base in several pieces. The man lay on he ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely from a large head wound. Every one in the restaurant thought he was dead. Fortunately, he continued breathing and regained consciousness after several minutes. Members of his family came and carried him out of the restaurant. The man never returned to the restaurant; his bill remains uncollected. Whit, and the other family members, never discussed the incident.
Mrs. Lovely was the town "busybody." She was an older widow who disliked the world. There were few things that pleased her. She was notorious for her dislike of children of any color.
Mrs. Lovely constantly scolded the Ellis boys because their shortcut home from school crossed the corner of her property. At the close of school, she would often wait at the shortcut, brandishing a large stick and threatening to strike anyone who dared to place a foot on her property.
Daily at 5 p.m., Mrs. Lovely would visit her brother who lived near the Ellis Restaurant. She used the alley running behind the Ellis restaurant as her shortcut. This was an invasion of the Ellis boys� territory because every day they played baseball with their friends in the lot behind the restaurant and adjacent to that alley. She would take the shortcut, passing within 15 feet of the boys playing ball. With every near encounter, she would double the speed of her walk and look straight ahead. She refused to acknowledge the boys� presence. For a little mischief, the boys stopped their game and stared at her until she passed out of sight. It was a staring match without eyes ever meeting. No one lost and no one won.
One day, Hasko Ellis decided to act on this tension that existed between Mrs. Lovely and the children. Hasko, or "Big Dog", as all of the family called him, was 1 of the 3 Ellis children with red hair. He was the undisputed family clown. If there was humor in a situation, he would find it. Hasko was creative and clever enough to plan his mischievous activities in a way that would pin the blame on others. His younger brother Ora was the most frequent victim of his schemes. For this special plan, Hasko recruited his brothers and the group that played baseball behind the restaurant.
Knowing Mrs. Lovely was extremely curious about the world around her, in more direct words --"nosey," Hasko developed a scheme to end the staring contest. Each member of the baseball group promised to participate by contributing towards a small "gift" that would be left in the middle of the alley at the exact time of Mrs. Lovely�s daily trip. The contributions for making the gift would take nothing more than a short trip to the outhouse at the opportune moment. The contributions were collected and consolidated the next day at 4:30 p.m. The smell of the combined efforts left no doubt as to the nature of this special "gift."
The "gift" was placed in a small box and neatly wrapped to look like something important accidentally dropped in the alley. It was placed in the middle of the alley at precisely 4:50 p.m. The baseball group then hid behind a large clump of bushes off to one side and between the restaurant and the alley.
Mrs. Lovely appeared at exactly 5 p.m. There was complete silence in the alley, "even the birds stopped chirping!" Mrs. Lovely took several quick glances, probably wondering what happened to the daily baseball game. She then continued her journey. All of the baseball team was staring from their hidden position behind the bushes. Several of them began to snicker. They could hardly contain their laughter. Mrs. Lovely quickly passed the "present"; then came to a halt several feet from it. She glanced to either side to see if anyone was looking. She then took several steps backwards, stopping directly above the "gift." She picked the parcel up, examined it, and shook it. It took only a split second to recognize the special fragrance of the gift. Mrs. Lovely realized she was the victim of a prank and began shouting obscenities toward the area where the boys usually played. She angrily threw the "gift" to the ground and stormed off down the alley. The hiding group burst into laughter that could be heard around the entire block. After the incident, to avoid meeting Mrs. Lovely, the players agreed to temporarily change the location of the baseball game. Mrs. Lovely also chose another shortcut for her daily visit.
In the mid-1920�s, Whit Ellis� Restaurant was at its peak. Sales were good and growing. The restaurant was well known by everyone in the county and considered as one of the city�s best businesses. Whit was well known and respected by the citizens of Chandler. It was at this time that a group of white merchants carried out a scheme to permanently remove Whit Ellis from the main street of Chandler.
The white owner of a nearby car dealership began making daily visits to Whit�s Restaurant. The car dealer would spend an hour talking about the weather, business, the development of Chandler and many other topics. The visits appeared to be a friendly gesture and were welcomed by both Maggie and Whit. After several months of continuous visits, the car dealer began asking questions about Whit selling his business at a significant profit.
Discussion on selling the restaurant gradually became the main focus of the visits. Finally, Whit agreed to sell with the intention of opening a better and larger business somewhere else on Manvel Avenue. The papers were prepared and the day of the sale came. Whit and Maggie were extremely pleased at being able to make such a large profit from the sale. The car dealer and a lawyer arrived at Whit�s Restaurant to finalize the sale.
The final papers to close the sale were ready for signature, and Whit was taking a last quick look at the sales document when he suddenly stopped in surprise. Buried on the last page of the document was a condition not previously discussed. After the sale of the restaurant, Whit would not be able to open another business on the Main Street of Chandler!
Whit realized what the "friendly" chats really meant. It had been a scheme by a group of white businessmen to get black businesses off the main street of Chandler. Whit slowly read aloud the paragraph with the special condition. After finishing, he paused for a moment and then stood up and said in a cool and composed voice, "I am no longer interested in selling the business and would appreciate you leaving my store. Thank you very much." He then picked up the papers and rudely threw them in front of the small group of white businessmen who had gathered to witness the sale.
Whit quickly escorted the group to the front door. In rage, he returned to a seat in his store. It was several hours before he fully recovered and was able to return to his job as storeowner and manager. All of the Ellis children in the store understood what had happened. After that day, he and Maggie never mentioned the matter again. However, the lesson learned was clear and quickly understood by everyone present. That evening, the children present at the event, in very hushed tones, shared the incident with other members of the family.
Maggie Ellis always performed one important function at the restaurant. She kept records of all business transactions. Grandpa Whit could read and write, but bookkeeping was one of his weaker points. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, Grandma Ellis had completed the 10th grade. This was a high level of education for a black person in Oklahoma at that time. She had a good understanding of reading, writing and arithmetic and could have taught at the primary school level.
In late 1928, Maggie warned Whit, "The restaurant is spending more than it is taking in" and that something needed to be done about it. Maggie noted many customers had not made payments on long overdue accounts. When questioned about their overdue bills, many replied, "Times are tough" or "got to pay the white man off first." She also brought to Whit�s attention that the largest debts were those owed by the local ministers.
The restaurant closed in 1932 shortly after Whit�s death. Whit failed to heed Grandma Ellis� warning about the failing financial status of the restaurant. Whit�s venture failed because he overextended credit to the customers he valued and trusted so highly. The Great Depression had diminished former customers� ability to buy goods and services and assured that debtors had no money for paying their debts. Even when the town recovered from the depression and people had money, none of the old debts were repaid to Whit Ellis� widow.
Every Ellis child worked in 1 or more of their father's restaurants. The restaurants were instrumental in teaching teamwork, work ethics, social skills, a drive to succeed, and many other things. The experiences at the restaurant brought to the surface some of the challenges the Ellis children would face as they became adults.
Why was opening the Monrovia restaurant such an unusual
accomplishment for Whit Ellis? Include at least 3 reasons
List at least 3 important things/events related to the "Monrovia"
restaurant. Explain why each one was important to our story.
List, and discuss, at least 3 lessons learned by the Ellis
children from the events covered in this Chapter.
Choose 2 events in this Chapter and explain how you would
manage the same situation if you were one of the Ellis family members.
List, and discuss 3 skills (useful in later life) one could
learn from spending their childhood working in the Ellis restaurants.
Was teamwork required to run the restaurant? Explain your answer using specific examples.
