 I was born Robert (Bob) Washington in New York City (Hell's Kitchen), NY on March 21, 1922. At that time I had no idea what life had in store for me but I was not about to sit back and wait for all its opportunities to just pass me by.
I met and later married my lovely wife Helen in August of 1946 shortly thereafter we were blessed with two wonderful children; Howard and Valerie.
Like most of the kids who grew up in my area of Hell’s Kitchen I went to pre-school 23, Bronx, NY then on to Secondary School, Junior High 40; Bronx, NY. In 1934 I ended up in Jamaica High School, Jamaica, Queens and graduated in 1938. I was very happy to have that piece of paper, knowing I worked extra hard to get it. That was because music was always running through my head; not just any music either, it was Jazz!
In 1938 to 1942 I played trumpet for a local Jazz band; we performed at local clubs throughout Jamaica, NY and life seemed grand. In 1942 I decided to join the Army with some high hopes and remained happily in my station because I was excited to attend The Infantry School in 1943 as an Officers Candidate at Fort Benning, Georgia. However, I was injured before graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant and was Honorably Discharged at Fort Bragg, NC on August 6th, 1945. While stationed at Buckley Field U.S. Air Force, Denver Colorado, I played trumpet in the Band of Cadre assigned to Buckley Field.
I’ve had a few really amazing jobs in my day. In 1946 to 1949 I worked at the Veterans’ Administration as an Administrative Clerk. Eventually I moved on in 1949 to acquire a distinguished position of a Postal clerk and Letter Carrier with the United States Postal Service until 1966 when I had to take a leave of absence to work for War on Poverty (OEO) Office of Economic Opportunity in Wyandanch, NY; I became the director of the Wyandanch Community Action Center. While working for OEO I became a Jazz DJ and produced a show called “The Grooveyard Show” for radio station WBAB in Babylon, NY. I did this nonstop for seven years.
In 1976 I moved to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; while living there I got involved in the community and became the Director of the Christian Community Conscious Center administered by the Catholic Diocese of the Virgin Islands; I stayed there until 1979 when I returned to complete my service in the USPS until my retirement in 1983.
I’ve always been involved in the community and so became the president for the local AARP. The St. Croix Jazz Society elected me president and my wife and I became members of a theater group called “The Courtyard Players.” We wrote and directed many plays. We lived in St. Croix until Hurricane Hugo showed up and took everything.
We had to leave in 1989 and so moved to sunny Florida’s “The Villages” retirement community where we organized the “Jazz Lovers Club” in 1992; I’m still the president of the Jazz Lovers Club going on 14 years. I’m a member of the Village’s Theater Company and even wrote and directed a couple of plays; I was the artistic director for nine years (1992-2001). I was also the president of the World Jazz Network an international Jazz Club from 1998 until 2001.
In all the time I’ve been roaming this great land of ours I’ve managed to collect a few awards along the way. Let me see, I’ve got an achievement award from “Concerned Black Professionals” in recognition of outstanding Leadership and Professionalism for 1976-77. I organized a Kiwanis Club in Wyandanch in 1967 and as the first president of the club we received the Governor’s Award for the Wyandanch Community Volunteer Ambulance corps and our annual Wyandanch Recognition Day Parade which as been going on every year from 1963 until the present.
Like any man I’ve got a few hobbies; you’ve probably already figured out that I’m an avid Jazz lover, but I’m also a record collector (vinyl). One of my favorite pastimes is producing the “Grooveyard Show,” not to mention being a weekend golfer… Tiger Woods better look out because at 84 years old, I’ve got a mean swing!
Bob “Sir Bob-O” Washington |
