Friday, February 22, 2002
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Friday, February 22, 2002 |
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Library honors Alonzo Herndon By CAROLYN
CARY
Through the auspices of the Peachtree City Library Commission, a month-long study of the Alonzo Herndon family and business has been on exhibit at the Peachtree City Library. Culmination of the exhibit came Sunday afternoon when Carole Merritt, director of the Herndon Home in Atlanta, and Jesse Hill Jr., former president and CEO of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, spoke at the library. A hundred persons listened to them speak on "The Herndons: Style and Substance of an African American Family." Merritt has been with the Herndon Home since 1983. She said that Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born in 1858 in Social Circle, the son of a slave and a white farm owner. He was reared on the farm, but never officially recognized by his father. After emancipation he continued working as a sharecropper until he saved enough money to leave Social Circle. His brother was a barber in McDonough and at this time, blacks could earn more money in that profession than any other. Alonzo's first barber shop was in Jonesboro, about 1878, and in 1882 he went to Atlanta entering into business with a prominent black barber. At this time by law and by custom, the barbers served white men only. "The Crystal Palace" was next, and was a barbershop he opened in 1902 on Peachtree Street. There were 23 custom barber chairs outfitted with porcelain, brass and nickel and the shop had elaborate crystal chandeliers, marble paneling, tile floors and mahogany doors. Hair cuts were a quarter, and a shave and shoe shine cost one dime each. His father died in 1904 and Alonzo was not mentioned in the will. But Alonzo was making $8,000 a year at a time when the average black worker made $600 a year. Alonzo had more money on hand at his father's death than the amount in his father's will. Alonzo had gone from sharecropper to successful entrepreneur in 20 years. Through the Wheat Street Baptist Church he bought a small burial association for $140. This grew into the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and when he died in 1927, the company had over a million dollars in assets. Today it is the second largest black insurance company in America, operating in 17 states, and has about $200 million in assets. Rosa Parks was a clerk for the company in Birmingham, Ala., at one time. Jesse Hill Jr. was born in St. Louis, Mo., in the year Herndon died and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1949 with a master's in business administration specializing in actuarial science. When he retired from Atlanta Life Insurance in 1995, it had been the only job he had ever had. He was also only the third president in its 85 years. Hill spoke about his relationship with Norris Herndon, the only child of Alonzo and the second president of the insurance company. He also outlined the growth of the company and the role it played in keeping many small black businesses afloat, including Citizens Trust Company. The Herndon Home was recently named a National Historic Landmark and is at 587 University Place, N.W., Atlanta. Tours are conducted hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Phone 404-581-9813.
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