Chapters | The Life of Ella Owen
Her Story in Eleven Chapters
Ella Owen's life, told in her own words. Each chapter includes video clips from her oral history, the full transcript, and historical context.
Chapter 1 Roots
"I was born on Klondike Road, close to Rockland Road. We lived in the tenant house—my granddaddy's tenant house."
1914 – 1922](/content/ella/chapters/1-roots.html)
Chapter 2 Witness to Progress
"My grandmother had the first phone I ever heard. And we went to Mr. Howard's house to hear the first radio."
1914 – 1925](/content/ella/chapters/2-progress.html)
Chapter 3 Moving Through Hardship
"If you didn't live through a Depression... Papa was put on part-time. Dr. Stewart would let Papa have the money."
1929 – 1933](/content/ella/chapters/3-hardship.html)
Chapter 4 Mama's Garden
"Did you know you have an angel for a mother? She said they didn't know what they would have done without those collards."
1930s](/content/ella/chapters/4-garden.html)
Chapter 5 Don't Give Up Your Dreams
"Peter Marshall preached at our graduation. The only thing I remember him saying was: Don't give up your dreams."
1933](/content/ella/chapters/5-dreams.html)
Chapter 6 The Young Teacher
"I started when I was 17 and a half. I made $50 a month. You had to build your own fires."
1933 – 1937](/content/ella/chapters/6-teacher.html)
Chapter 7 Theron
"He stopped and asked me for a date. The second date, he said, 'You want to go to church with me?'"
1937](/content/ella/chapters/7-theron.html)
Chapter 8 War, Children, and Sacrifice
"We were eating dinner on Sunday and it came over the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed."
1941 – 1949](/content/ella/chapters/8-war.html)
Chapter 9 Building a Life
"I went to Georgia State at night and taught school and worked at Comfort Zone Saturday."
1949 – 1960](/content/ella/chapters/9-building.html)
Chapter 10 Building a Church
"If we find a place for you to have Sunday school, will you come back and teach us?"
1960 – 1990](/content/ella/chapters/10-church.html)
Chapter 11 Feed My Sheep
"I want you grandchildren to feel the time and space that I can no longer feel when I go."
1990s – 2006](/content/ella/chapters/11-legacy.html)
Watch the Full Video
53 minutes of Ella telling her story in her own words