Oral history interview with Gertrude “Nicky” Nickerson. Nickerson was born in Quincy, Massachusetts to a father from Cape Cod and mother from Maine. She describes her father’s career as a fireman in the Quincy Fire Department before his early retirement due to illness. Nickerson discusses her family history, including her mother’s Native American heritage. She relates spending her teenage years working in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals and caring for her father. Nickerson moved to the West End in 1944 and describes the process of urban renewal and displacement in the neighborhood. She then moved to the South End in the mid- to late-1940s. Nickerson describes her relationship with the Black father of her 14-year-old daughter Andrea Nickerson, and the discrimination she experienced due to her interracial relationship. She discusses the difficulties she faced in receiving welfare and her involvement in activist groups like the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) and Mothers for Adequate Welfare (MAW). Lastly, Nickerson discusses the different populations of residents in the South End according to racial and income divides, as well as increasing rental prices. Topics also mentioned include: The Great Depression, World War I, Northern Ireland, the West Indies, Canada, New York, the Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) people, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Wampanoag (Wôpanâak) people, the Mickmack (Mi’kmaq) Tribe, the Penobscot (Panawahpskek) Nation, the Passamaquoddy (Peskotomuhkati) Tribe, Wounded Knee, Rutland, Back Bay, Dorchester, South Boston, Church Street, Gallivan Boulevard, Dorchester Avenue, Old West Church, Castle Square, Hanson Street, Dwight Street, Dudley Street, Harrison Avenue, Carpet Street, Worcester Street, Massachusetts Avenue, Greenridge Park, Union Park, West Newton Street, Saint Botolph Street, Blackwood Street, Quincy Public Schools, the US Navy, West Roxbury VA Medical Center, Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center, Chelsea Naval Hospital, the US Air Force, US Special Services, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), the National Congress of American Indians, Boston (Mass.). Public Welfare Department, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Southern Christian Leadership Conference, South Boston Action Center, Boston Action Group (BAG), Mayor Maurice J. Tobin, Governor John A. Volpe, Stephen Russell Hurd Codman, and Karl Marx.
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