Lennie Birrone’s father, Marty Crutcher, is the focus of a Kitsap Sun February column “Your Turn” in honor of Black History Month. Read the article here. The columns and photos were submitted by Roosevelt Smith, a culture sensitivity trainer focusing on the African-American experience and collector of Black America. Smith will be hosting an exhibition at the Kitsap Historical Society Museum, 280 Fourth St. in Bremerton, beginning March 6.

While visiting with Marty Crutcher recently, I was introduced to his 8-year-old great-granddaughter, Layonna. She was full of energy and very inquisitive. So I asked her, “What do you want to be when you grow older?” She stated, “I want to be like my grandfather,” pointing to Mr. Crutcher.

She also stated that she will be going into the Navy, be a doctor, work at the airport, be a photographer, and a teacher. Mr. Crutcher hugged her and said, “that’s a lot of things to become, but knowing you, it will happen.” She smiled and walked into the kitchen to help her mom prepare dinner.

She also stated that she will be going into the Navy, be a doctor, work at the airport, be a photographer and a teacher. Mr. Crutcher hugged her and said, “that’s a lot of things to become, but knowing you, it will happen.” She smiled and walked into the kitchen to help her mom prepare dinner.

Mr. Shirley Marty Crutcher was born on a farm in 1934 and was birthed by a midwife in Madison County, Kentucky. There was only one black doctor that serviced Madison County as well as a part of Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Crutcher’s father was a tobacco farmer and his mom worked as a maid, cook, field worker, mother, and wife. The family worked the tobacco field; even Mr. Crutcher, at 4 years old, picked worms from the tobacco leaves.

In Madison County, as in Richmond, Jim Crow laws were strictly adhered to. The only place blacks and whites could be in the same building as groups would be the theater, with whites downstairs and blacks upstairs. There were occasions in which word would spread in the town of “a coon hunt,” which meant that whites were going to kill a black man that evening. The blacks would gather in certain houses or churches for protection. In order to show their power, white men would ride through the black area with guns drawn.

The Crutcher family moved to Richmond in 1939 for better employment opportunities and due to the deterioration of Marty’s mother’s health. She died at an early age from cancer, which also took the lives of many of his family members. In Richmond, Mr. Crutcher attended school. In the winter, he sold buckets of coal and in the summer, he sold ice remnants from the ice factory. He picked and sold berries, grew and sold watermelons. At the age of 11, he raised pigs for the family to be sold. He washed windows, cut grass, shined shoes and delivered papers.

From the age of 13 to 18, he worked in a pool hall, and as a drug store runner delivering prescriptions and performing janitorial duties. In 1952 he decided to leave Richmond and take a job at another drug store that promised better wages. The owner failed to pay him for 3 months. When young Mr. Crutcher demanded his wages, he was told by the boss, “I do not have to pay you, because you are a Negro.”

Mr. Crutcher was arrested for fighting and given a choice between going to jail or the military; he enlisted in the US. Navy in 1955 and was given a job as a steward. The military was integrated by President Truman in 1948 and many menial positions were only held by blacks. Mr. Crutcher attended College at night and advanced to become a submariner.

Mr. Crutcher retired as a Senior Chief from the Navy after 24 years. He worked in civil service with the Coast Guard and later at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as a rigger and supervisor in the nuclear department. In 1986, he became the first of two African Americans (the other being Al Colvin) elected to the Bremerton City Council, where he chaired the parks and cable television commissions. The civic positions he held included 20 years PSNS Usher and President of Usher Council, Vice President of Sinclair Baptist Church Ushers, lifetime member of the NAACP, serving as vice president and chairman of the Legal and Housing Committee, Blacks in Government — Submariner Association, 50th Year Submariner Association, Community Action Program, and secretary of the Kitsap NABVETS. Currently, he leads a Bible study group at Sinclair Baptist Church.

Layonna can be like her grandfather and become all the things she wants to be because of the doors that were opened by Marty Crutcher. He overcame many injustices and is able to live his life without bitterness or hatred. He used love, hard work, determination, education and a strong belief in God to overcome all elements that stood in their way in search of the American Dream.

And as a final note to Layonna, your grandfather, Shirley Marty Crutcher, is a great American.

In honor of Black History month, the Kitsap Sun is running a column highlighting a notable black Kitsap County resident each Sunday in February, submitted by Roosevelt Smith, culture sensitivity trainer focusing on the African-American experience and collector of Black America. Smith will be hosting an exhibition at the Kitsap Historical Society Museum, 280 Fourth St. in Bremerton, beginning March 6.

Story and Photo by Roosevelt Smith, Bremerton

Read on Kitsap Sun

Joey Witherspoon, KUUF Office Assistant interviewed KUUF’s four nonagenarians (people who are between 90-99 years old).

May 6 would have been Mel’s 95th birthday, but sadly, Maryellen Dietz passed in October of 2021. In honor of Mother’s Day, the family would like to share both the sorrow of her unexpected passing and celebrate the joy that was her amazing life. Her family misses her every day and they continue to find ways to soothe their loss with memories of her laughter, her insights, and her loving acceptance of us all. While they would love to honor her memory with an in-person memorial, family travel restrictions and the pandemic have thwarted their wishes. In lieu of a memorial service, they have established an online memorial page and encourage all who knew Mel to post memories and photos of your time together. They know she’s touched many lives and they’d love to hear your stories and have you read ours. You can find her Memorial Page https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/MaryellenJensenDietz/ . Thank you for the loving and supportive community you offered her for so many, many years. https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/MaryellenJensenDietz/

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What brought you to KUUF?

Friends, I think. Friends who were already members or participants and they encouraged us to come.

Do you have a favorite memory of your life?

From my whole life? Oh, my goodness. All of college is a favorite memory.

Anything particularly stand out?

When I met my future husband. I met him at a dance at college

Why do you think you have lived to this age?

Well, I can’t be exact about that. But I would say to begin with that I have good genes. I have relatives, all three of them are women who had long lives. My father’s sister lived to be 100. I had two older sisters, one lived to be 96, and one 98, and I’m well on my way at 92.

Any other factors you think help contribute?

Good health. Certainly not always good habits, I was a smoker for many years, but I quit that out of necessity in 1983 and since then I’ve been in really good health.

What did you do for a career?

I was an elementary school music teacher in Bremerton for 31 years. Prior to that, I taught music in several other locations and at different grade levels, but always as a vocal music teacher.

What are now or have been some of your best talents or achievements?

I was a successful music teacher if that counts. I also volunteered for 13 years after I retired from teaching. I volunteered as a CASA for the juvenile court system. A Court Appointed Special Advocate, assisting children who were wards of the court under the auspices of the juvenile court system. I enjoyed doing that and was successful in returning children to parents when it was appropriate and, unfortunately, when it was not appropriate to return them, we found future homes for those children with family or other situations. It was rewarding work and it was very time-consuming. I’m happy to have had that experience after I retired.

Did you work with CPS much?

CPS was part of the process all the time. CPS is assigned to these cases as a professional obligation. CASA’s are assigned to the cases to monitor the progress with CPS and to represent the child in court always.

What’s the most surprising change in our country’s history that has occurred in your lifetime?

Well, technology obviously is the most – I’m not sure it’s surprising to everybody – surprising to me in any regard. It certainly is the thing that’s influenced our environment more than anything I can think of, and probably will for years to come. I don’t consider it all advantageous but there are certainly tremendous advantages to many parts of technology.

What events or projects at KUUF do you like to take part in?

Through the years I have been a member or participant since 1960. During that time I have worked (at KUUF) with children in the elementary grades. Another friend and I taught the 5-year-olds in our oldest location. That was fun. It was a total experiment, we had no idea what we were doing. We had no curriculum we just created one as we went along.

As far as committees, I’ve enjoyed working on the membership committee; the welcoming committee; the Board; and I enjoyed last year’s participation on the 5-year planning committee. I’ve been on the nominating committee a few times and that’s been interesting. Coffee committee. I can’t say that anyone was a favorite or more successful than another one but they’ve all been interesting and have certainly helped to acquaint me with other members of the fellowship that I may not have known otherwise.

Who or what has had the biggest impact on your life?

Oh, I think without a doubt, family. And family on a very personal level, and the fact that I had the advantage of a good education. I was never saddled with any debt, any college debt–that was unheard of in my day. My parents were very generous both in way of providing an education, insisting on advanced degrees, and they assisted my husband in the completion of his doctorate.

What one piece of knowledge would you consider indispensable?

I think the one piece of knowledge that I’ve used most often would be some version of the Golden Rule–“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s how I learned it originally. It sounds less “stuffy” simply to say “treat others as you would like to be treated.” I’m sure there are other “pieces” that are equally important but this is the first I remember being taught and have let it be a guiding principle always.