On a purely personal basis, I loved being around Vel Phillips, and her vivacious sense of self-deprecating humor. I frequently mentioned this to her, and how it reminded me of her great good friend, legendary Milwaukee newswoman, the late Mattiebelle Woods.
One of the best examples came through during a picnic George F. Sanders and I hosted honoring Vel in the summer of 1989 at Kern Park. Among the casually dressed attendees were my wife, Janice; John and Rosa Givens and their two daughters; newsman Bill Kurtz; wheelchair bound Jake Beason; Dave Behrendt, Milwaukee Journal editorial page editor; Journal columnist Jay Anderson, and ex-New Yorker Joe Dolan.
A jaunty, 65-year-old Vel arrived wearing a short-sleeve, white tee-shirt emblazoned “Brown Sugar” and, laughing and joking, shook every hand—man, woman and child—in the happy throng. She was in her element and made sure every one had a good time.
In the summer of 1994, a year after moving back to Milwaukee from New York, I hosted a neat gathering at my Northridge Lakes apartment at which Vel stole the show with her animated conversation and political byplay with the likes of Howard Fuller, Annette (Polly) Williams, Larry Harwell, Shepherd Express columnist Dave Berkman; Michael McGee Sr. and his wife, Penelope; Sanders, Anderson and my old high school pals Jesse Nixon, John Givens, Gerald Payne, James Reed and Alvin Russell.
Vel and Polly amused the guests with their byplay in my kitchen over how best to make a big pot of highly seasoned stew, on which everyone was to feast.
My late mother and father, Juanita and Sanford Carter, always found Vel a delight when she attended a number of our often raucus family gatherings over the years. Indeed, I almost came to accept her as a member of my immediate family.
Vel’s marriage to Dale Phillips, brother of my uncle, Paul Phillips, endeared her especially to the Carters, as well as to our relatives—the Ethel Phillips, Neil Moody, Beatrice Gee, Fernand Colin and Etna Chancellor families.
From a professional standpoint, I had several significant encounters over the years with Vel. One includes her smiling broadly as I led the questioning during her 1986-87 appearances before the Milwaukee Journal editorial board, and several lively guest shots in 1994-95 on my top-rated, controversial WNOV radio program “The Carter-McGee Report,” where she deftly responded to challenging calls from listeners.
|
|
When I occasionally would play a doo-wop record—which was expected by many listeners—Vel would sing along, delighting my co-host, ex-alderman McGee Sr.
In October 1958, Vel, at 34, received her first major national publicity in SEPIA magazine which, at the time, was giving EBONY a run for its money. Headlined “Milwaukee’s First Woman Alderman” over my by-line, it was accompanied by an attractive photo of her on the magazine’s SEPIA SALUTES page.
This also was the first thing I ever wrote that appeared in a national publication; the product of our refreshing interview.
I clearly recall her words when she called me after the magazine came out.
To wit: “Dickie Carter. You really did it. A young man like you. Thanks so much. Please tell Nita [my late mother, Juanita Carter] how much I appreciate what you did. I will never forget it, or you.”
One of my funniest memories of Vel was when she and her husband Dale Phillips, and his brother Paul, were discussing how Paul almost made the 1936 Olympics as a sprinter. But he lost out to Ohio State’s Jesse Owens and his Marquette University teammate, Ralph Metcalfe.
Said Vel: “Don’t fret, Paul. Maybe your legs didn’t measure up to Jesse and Ralph, but you and Dale have ‘em beat brain-wise, from here to Sunday.”
Smiling, Paul replied: “Yeah, but I still don’t have Jesse’s money,” bringing the kind of belly laugh from Vel that is how I probably best remember her.
