Glossary of Terms and References
Numbers Running
A better or "gig" stakes a sum of money on a three digit number ranging from 000-999. The house (or as in Two Trains, Old Man Albert) takes the winning numbers randomly from published numbers such as the volume on the stock exchange, bank clearing total, or pari-mutuel totals. Before number running people used mechanical tools such a wheels to come up with a random sequence but after 1940 the published method was preferred because it prevented tampering.
Inflation comparisons
A dollar in 1965 is the equivalent to 6.25 in 2012
1969 5,500.00= 34,375.00 in 2012
1969 1,200.00= 7,500.00 in 2012
1969 25,000 = 156,250.00 in 2012
Cadillac cost between 3000-7000 in 1969 or 31,250.00-43,750.00 today
Page 52- $200.00 in 1969 is 1,250.00 in 2012
Page 13 The buying and demolishing of Memphis' diner
In the mid-forties David L Lawrence, Mayor of Pittsburgh and Richard K. Mellon chairman of Mellon Bank started the clean air urban renewal projects for Philadelphia, then known as the “Smokey city”. In 1946 project Renaissance 1 began and the lower Hill District, the center of African-American housing and businesses, was demolished to make way for a new cultural down town. Using eminent domain the city displaced businesses and 1,200 residents. The Civic Arena and one apartment building would replace the businesses and homes. The arena and the apartments were the only structures completed from the original plans.
Page 14 “I can't go out there in Squirrel Hill and open up a restaurant.” Squirrel Hill is historically a wealthy and prosperous part of Pittsburgh the population was and is mostly Caucasian with an established Jewish population.
Page 22 “J&L Steel”
During the first half of the 20th century Pittsburgh was a major industrial city, focusing in metals; during World War Two Pittsburgh's mills contributed 95 million tons of steel. After the Second World War, like many industrial cities, the need for steel and metals fell and the economic prosperity plummeted.
Page 24 Aunt Ester
Aunt Ester's character and mythology is expanded in Wilson's play “Gem of the Ocean”, though written after “Two Trains Running”, “Gem” explains the mythology that is in the background of the play. The play takes place in the Hill District of Philadelphia (same as Two Trains) in 1904. Aunt Ester is able to predict actions in the near future and gives advice to the community based off her interpretations of dreams, objects, and nature. Her methodology is a combination of biblical teachings and folk traditions.
Page 31 The Great Migration
Memphis: "I been up here since 36'. They ran me out of Jackson (Mississippi) in 31'". Memphis' plight is an example of the conditions that spurred people to relocate north as a part of the Great Migration. This mass black exodus took place between 1913 and 1970, in which more than 6 million African Americans moved north. People moved primarily to major industrial areas looking for work and protected rights. In an interview with Isabel Wilkerson, she explained, “[between] 1910 and 1930, cities such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland saw the African-American population grow by about 40% and the number of African-Americans employed in industrial jobs nearly doubled." During the Great Migration Northern blacks were not always excepting of those immigrating north. At the beginning of 20th century 90% of African-American's lived in the south and the small communities in the North felt protected by their size. The sudden growth in the black population in the North forced the Northern economies to accommodate them and the Southern economies to survive without them. In "Gem of the Ocean" the southern relatives of the character Solly Two Kings is blockaded into the town to prevent them from migrating.
Page 53 " Black Is Beautiful."
The term is attributed to the teacher, doctor, and orator John Sweat Black. Rock argued fro black self-improvement and spoke on the inherit beauty of African people and culture. In 1858 speeches he would assert that "black is beautiful" and later help organize the anti- slavery Republican Party.
This phrase would be integrated into the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s. The black power movement's objective was to consolidate the black strength and maintaining black culture. "Black thus seeks to establish an empirically reciprocal relationship between the survival of blacks and the survival of society itself"(Van Horne, 373).
Page 39 "...down there at the Savoy Ballroom."
The predecessor of The Elmore Theater, The Savoy Ballroom was a popular vaudeville and music hall for the African American community of Pittsburgh's Hill District in the 1920's and 30's.
Page 40 “Niggers killed Malcolm. Niggers Killed Malcolm.”
In 1965 on February 21st, Malcolm X was standing in Audobaun Ballroom in Harlem about to address the Afro-American Unity when he was shot several times by men who identified as black Muslims. A week before his death his home Queens was burnt down and he had been receiving death threats from Nation of Islam members. On February 18th Malcolm X explained in an interview “no one can get out with out trouble, and this thing with me will be resolved by death and violence."
"Saint Peter, Saint Paul, They Killed them all."
In 64 AD Saint Peter was fleeing Rome to escape Nero who was blaming Christians for a great fire that destroyed much of Rome. On his way Peter saw Jesus and asked "Quo vadis domine?" or " where are you going, Master?" in the story Jesus says that he is going to Rome to be crucified again. Upon hearing this Peter returns to Rome and asks that he be crucified upside down because he didn't deserve to die in the same manner as Christ. He is known for having the keys to heaven.
In 1963-1968 Margherita Guarducci lead a research team that would discover his tomb.
It is unknown when or how Saint Paul died, it was during the reign of Emperor Nero and it is speculated that he was beheaded or crucified upside down.
"They Killed Martin"
April 4th 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee by James Earl Ray. King was there to aid the black Sanitation workers in their strike.
Page 60
"...United We Stand..."
"Hambone: I want my ham!
Sterling: I want my ham!
Hambone: I want my ham!
Sterling: I want my ham!
Hambone: I want my ham!
Malcolm lives!..."
The phrase "United we Stand" --the notion it expresses--is actually traced to Aesop. Modern usage shows up in the 1700s.
There was a very famous song from 1970 by The Brotherhood, though the year of the play's setting isn't a match.
Malcolm X deliveded a speech in December 1962 in which he used the phrase "Unided We Stand" to critisize what he saw as the destructive exploits of the white man across the globe. Following is a paragraph is from a transcription of that speech. (Malcolm X uses "he" to refer to "the white man"):
"So he told the New York Indians, you just move out to Minnesota; and the Pennsylvania Indians, you move out to Oklahoma. That would leave the whole states of New York and Pennsylvania for the white man. You see how he does it? He's all over the world. He's a mediator. He's an instigator and a mediator. he instigates division and dissension and as soon as they start fighting one another he says, 'OK, I'll settle it.'" if you don't think so look all over the world right now. Every place on this earth you have a division: South Korea-North Korea, South Vietnam-North Vietnam. Right or wrong? He is the one that makes this decision. he doesn't let anybody get together, but when it comes to his kind he's united. United States means all white people are united. United States of Europe, or European Common Market -- they want to get together. But when you start talking about a United States of Asia, or a United States of Africa, why he says,"Oh no, too many different languages [chuckle]. You all don't have anything in common." You see how he does it? He always discourages unity among others but he encourages unity among his own kind. 'United We Stand,'that doesn't mean you. That means the white man. The white man it the one who stands united."
August Wilson plants the seeds for this event in the play Joe Turner Come and Gone, and reuses the structure in Two Trains.
Page 63 "Seefus"
Seefus is mentioned as a bar for gambling, dancing and of course drinking in Joe Turner Come and Gone and Radio Golf.
Page 74 "It wasn't as big as Patchneck Red's funeral."
Patchneck Red is an actual gambler from Wilson's time in Pittsburgh.
Page 86 "I'm like Joe Louis."
Joe Louis, born a cotton picker in Alabama, he became a professional boxer in 1934. Known as the "Brown Bomber", he one his first 27 fights 4 of which are knockouts.
Page 90 "good understanding"
In the play Joe Turner Come and Gone the matriarch of the play, Bertha, talks to Mattie about the qualities of a good man and says that "you need a man who's got understanding and who willing to work with that understanding to come to the best he can."-71
Numbers Running
A better or "gig" stakes a sum of money on a three digit number ranging from 000-999. The house (or as in Two Trains, Old Man Albert) takes the winning numbers randomly from published numbers such as the volume on the stock exchange, bank clearing total, or pari-mutuel totals. Before number running people used mechanical tools such a wheels to come up with a random sequence but after 1940 the published method was preferred because it prevented tampering.
Inflation comparisons
A dollar in 1965 is the equivalent to 6.25 in 2012
1969 5,500.00= 34,375.00 in 2012
1969 1,200.00= 7,500.00 in 2012
1969 25,000 = 156,250.00 in 2012
Cadillac cost between 3000-7000 in 1969 or 31,250.00-43,750.00 today
Page 52- $200.00 in 1969 is 1,250.00 in 2012
Page 13 The buying and demolishing of Memphis' diner
In the mid-forties David L Lawrence, Mayor of Pittsburgh and Richard K. Mellon chairman of Mellon Bank started the clean air urban renewal projects for Philadelphia, then known as the “Smokey city”. In 1946 project Renaissance 1 began and the lower Hill District, the center of African-American housing and businesses, was demolished to make way for a new cultural down town. Using eminent domain the city displaced businesses and 1,200 residents. The Civic Arena and one apartment building would replace the businesses and homes. The arena and the apartments were the only structures completed from the original plans.
Page 14 “I can't go out there in Squirrel Hill and open up a restaurant.” Squirrel Hill is historically a wealthy and prosperous part of Pittsburgh the population was and is mostly Caucasian with an established Jewish population.
Page 22 “J&L Steel”
During the first half of the 20th century Pittsburgh was a major industrial city, focusing in metals; during World War Two Pittsburgh's mills contributed 95 million tons of steel. After the Second World War, like many industrial cities, the need for steel and metals fell and the economic prosperity plummeted.
Page 24 Aunt Ester
Aunt Ester's character and mythology is expanded in Wilson's play “Gem of the Ocean”, though written after “Two Trains Running”, “Gem” explains the mythology that is in the background of the play. The play takes place in the Hill District of Philadelphia (same as Two Trains) in 1904. Aunt Ester is able to predict actions in the near future and gives advice to the community based off her interpretations of dreams, objects, and nature. Her methodology is a combination of biblical teachings and folk traditions.
Page 31 The Great Migration
Memphis: "I been up here since 36'. They ran me out of Jackson (Mississippi) in 31'". Memphis' plight is an example of the conditions that spurred people to relocate north as a part of the Great Migration. This mass black exodus took place between 1913 and 1970, in which more than 6 million African Americans moved north. People moved primarily to major industrial areas looking for work and protected rights. In an interview with Isabel Wilkerson, she explained, “[between] 1910 and 1930, cities such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland saw the African-American population grow by about 40% and the number of African-Americans employed in industrial jobs nearly doubled." During the Great Migration Northern blacks were not always excepting of those immigrating north. At the beginning of 20th century 90% of African-American's lived in the south and the small communities in the North felt protected by their size. The sudden growth in the black population in the North forced the Northern economies to accommodate them and the Southern economies to survive without them. In "Gem of the Ocean" the southern relatives of the character Solly Two Kings is blockaded into the town to prevent them from migrating.
Page 53 " Black Is Beautiful."
The term is attributed to the teacher, doctor, and orator John Sweat Black. Rock argued fro black self-improvement and spoke on the inherit beauty of African people and culture. In 1858 speeches he would assert that "black is beautiful" and later help organize the anti- slavery Republican Party.
This phrase would be integrated into the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s. The black power movement's objective was to consolidate the black strength and maintaining black culture. "Black thus seeks to establish an empirically reciprocal relationship between the survival of blacks and the survival of society itself"(Van Horne, 373).
Page 39 "...down there at the Savoy Ballroom."
The predecessor of The Elmore Theater, The Savoy Ballroom was a popular vaudeville and music hall for the African American community of Pittsburgh's Hill District in the 1920's and 30's.
Page 40 “Niggers killed Malcolm. Niggers Killed Malcolm.”
In 1965 on February 21st, Malcolm X was standing in Audobaun Ballroom in Harlem about to address the Afro-American Unity when he was shot several times by men who identified as black Muslims. A week before his death his home Queens was burnt down and he had been receiving death threats from Nation of Islam members. On February 18th Malcolm X explained in an interview “no one can get out with out trouble, and this thing with me will be resolved by death and violence."
"Saint Peter, Saint Paul, They Killed them all."
In 64 AD Saint Peter was fleeing Rome to escape Nero who was blaming Christians for a great fire that destroyed much of Rome. On his way Peter saw Jesus and asked "Quo vadis domine?" or " where are you going, Master?" in the story Jesus says that he is going to Rome to be crucified again. Upon hearing this Peter returns to Rome and asks that he be crucified upside down because he didn't deserve to die in the same manner as Christ. He is known for having the keys to heaven.
In 1963-1968 Margherita Guarducci lead a research team that would discover his tomb.
It is unknown when or how Saint Paul died, it was during the reign of Emperor Nero and it is speculated that he was beheaded or crucified upside down.
"They Killed Martin"
April 4th 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee by James Earl Ray. King was there to aid the black Sanitation workers in their strike.
Page 60
"...United We Stand..."
"Hambone: I want my ham!
Sterling: I want my ham!
Hambone: I want my ham!
Sterling: I want my ham!
Hambone: I want my ham!
Malcolm lives!..."
The phrase "United we Stand" --the notion it expresses--is actually traced to Aesop. Modern usage shows up in the 1700s.
There was a very famous song from 1970 by The Brotherhood, though the year of the play's setting isn't a match.
Malcolm X deliveded a speech in December 1962 in which he used the phrase "Unided We Stand" to critisize what he saw as the destructive exploits of the white man across the globe. Following is a paragraph is from a transcription of that speech. (Malcolm X uses "he" to refer to "the white man"):
"So he told the New York Indians, you just move out to Minnesota; and the Pennsylvania Indians, you move out to Oklahoma. That would leave the whole states of New York and Pennsylvania for the white man. You see how he does it? He's all over the world. He's a mediator. He's an instigator and a mediator. he instigates division and dissension and as soon as they start fighting one another he says, 'OK, I'll settle it.'" if you don't think so look all over the world right now. Every place on this earth you have a division: South Korea-North Korea, South Vietnam-North Vietnam. Right or wrong? He is the one that makes this decision. he doesn't let anybody get together, but when it comes to his kind he's united. United States means all white people are united. United States of Europe, or European Common Market -- they want to get together. But when you start talking about a United States of Asia, or a United States of Africa, why he says,"Oh no, too many different languages [chuckle]. You all don't have anything in common." You see how he does it? He always discourages unity among others but he encourages unity among his own kind. 'United We Stand,'that doesn't mean you. That means the white man. The white man it the one who stands united."
August Wilson plants the seeds for this event in the play Joe Turner Come and Gone, and reuses the structure in Two Trains.
Page 63 "Seefus"
Seefus is mentioned as a bar for gambling, dancing and of course drinking in Joe Turner Come and Gone and Radio Golf.
Page 74 "It wasn't as big as Patchneck Red's funeral."
Patchneck Red is an actual gambler from Wilson's time in Pittsburgh.
Page 86 "I'm like Joe Louis."
Joe Louis, born a cotton picker in Alabama, he became a professional boxer in 1934. Known as the "Brown Bomber", he one his first 27 fights 4 of which are knockouts.
Page 90 "good understanding"
In the play Joe Turner Come and Gone the matriarch of the play, Bertha, talks to Mattie about the qualities of a good man and says that "you need a man who's got understanding and who willing to work with that understanding to come to the best he can."-71