Remembering My Beloved Adoptive Parents General Wilmot Debrick Stubblefield, Sr. & Mrs. Amanda Mitchell-Stubblefield
Brigadier General Wilmot Debrick Stubblefield, Sr., Aide de Camp to President William V.S. Tubman, 18th President of the Republic of Liberia. Dig the papay's poise in the photo, a real soldier to the bone!
My adoptive father, Brigadier General Wilmot Debrick Stubblefield, Sr., was Aide de Camp (ADC) to President William V.S. Tubman, 18th President of the Republic of Liberia, and my adoptive mother, Amanda Irene Mitchell-Stubblefield, was a nurse. They both were God-fearing and very loving parents. General Stubblefield was an astute army general and a devout Baptist Christian who made the Old Providence Baptist Church his church home. His brother Samuel Stubblefield was a Baptist preacher also. Through the Stubblefields I embraced the Christian faith and Providence Baptist Church was the first Christian church in which I worshipped. Later on, I became a Catholic when I returned home to my parents.
Providence Baptist Church and Its Historical Role in the Founding of the Republic of Liberia
Providence Baptist Church, first Christian Church built at the start of the Republic of Liberia and also the venue where Liberia's Declaration of Independence was signed 174 years ago!
Providence Baptist Church is an historic edifice in Liberia. It was the first Christian church constructed when the Settlers arrived on Liberian soil nearly 200 years ago. In addition, Providence Baptist Church is the venue where Liberia's Declaration of Independence was signed on July 26, 1847, one hundred and seventy-four years ago! Therefore, though a house of God, Providence is an historic Liberian relic and I am glad that I received Christ in the birthplace of the Republic of Liberia!
About thirty years ago, a new eddifice was constructed and annexed to the Old Baptist Church Shrine. It is located in a sacred and historic section of Monrovia called "Government Square" where the Centennial Memorial Pavilion and the National Museum of Liberia are situated. Most Presidents of Liberia were sworn-in at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion since that building was constructed to mark the Centennial (100th) Anniversary of Liberia's Independence.
Hence, apart from its historicity, Providence Baptist Church was one of the places in Liberia where most of the well-off and influential Liberian politicians and citizens attended their Sunday worship service. For examples, then Vice President of Liberia, William Richard Tolbert, Jr., was also a Baptist preacher and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honorable Richard Abrom Henries, was a Deacon at the Providence Baptist Church.
The Stubblefields
Brigadier General Wilmot Debrick and Mrs. Amanda Mitchell-Stubblefield were two great adoptive parents and die-hard Christians who taught me the dictates of the Lord and how to live in accordance with the precepts of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. My mother came in contact with the Stubblefields through my cousin Esther Seijadah who lived with the Stubblefields in their beautiful Benson Street home. Their son Reynold and I were born the same year. Thus, when they needed a boy Reynold's age to live in their home so Reynold would have a companion to play with, Cousin Esther immediately recommended that they contact my mother.
Ma, Mrs. Amanda Mitchell-Stubblefield, took me in her home and treated me as she did her biological children. She had a daughter named Shirley prior to her marriage and four children by General Stubblefield: Wilbert, Harrison, Reynold, and Evelyn. The General had two previous marriages before he met Ma Amanda. According to family sources, he was first married to Rose Greaves, Sis Adeline's mother, then he married Evelyn, before he ended with with Ma Amanda. Thus, Pa had older children such as Sister Adeline Louise Stubblefield, Sister Beatrice and Wilmot, Jr.
In the home, there were three of us younger ones, Reynold, our baby sister Evelyn (and she was a cuttie pie when we were growing up) and Joe (me). Our two older brothers Wilbert and Harrison were on the mission. We reunited when they came home for the holidays. Pa jokingly called me "Big eye Joe". He said my eyes reminded him of President Tubman's eyes and you know everything those days was linked to President Tubman. "So say one, so say all!" And Pa was a big "Tubman buddy" until they fell out later.
What Our 'Normal Day' Looked Like
Our normal day began with morning prayers and ended with evening prayers before we went to bed. Ma was a good cook and an early morning person. By the time we woke up in the morning to brush our teeth and say "Good morning" to our parents and siblings, you would hear the whistling sound of the tea kettle and the aroma of the delicious fish gravy and hot short bread. We took turns learning to set the table for dinner, lunch, supper, etc.; and, on Sundays, we spent over half of the day in church.
We all sat and ate at the dining table together during breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. On Sundays, we ate breakfast and went to morning service and came back after church service to eat lunch and rest for a couple of hours. After our Sunday ciesta, Ma would give us some pocket change in case if we wanted to go to the movies after Sunday school was over at 4:30 Liberian Standard Time (LST). We did not deal with Greenwich Main Time (GMT) back in the day. During Sunday School we studied portions of the Holy Bible, listened to Biblical stories and learned Bible verses.
We finally got a little two-hour break and leisure time that we could spend to do anything we wanted to do, like going to visit a girlfriend, dating a girl to go to the cinema to watch a movie or a musical production at Gabriel Cinema, Roxy Cinema, Rivoli Cinema, Walker Cinema, or Crown Hill Cinema. But, you had better not be late for your 6 or 7 o'clock curfew, or you would get some good whipping. To tell you the truth, folks those days just did not spare the rod because if they did, we would be spoiled by now!
My adoptive Mother Mrs. Amanda Mitchell-Stubblefield, may her God-fearing soul rest in the bosom of Abraham.
Pa and Ma Were Good Providers
Pa and Ma were very good providers. He worked as ADC to the President of Liberia and Ma worked two jobs as a nurse to keep up a decent Christian home. She took care of our needs. Through both of them we lived a privileged lifestyle second to none but Ma and Pa always wanted us to engage in worthwhile pursuits and to become productive citizens of Liberia and they did everything humanly possible for us to succeed.
As younger kids in the home, we hardly did much work but to take care of the lighter stints. The older boys that lived in the home did most of the harder chores, like scrubbing the floors, taking care of the dirty dishes and the trash, etc.
We had "washmen" that lived in the basement of our house. They did our laundry every week. The washmen collected our dirty clothes from our hampers mid week, washed, starched, and ironed them over the weekend and we got our fresh clean clothes no later than Sunday or Monday the following week. Man, those Washmen were very humble and effective and they knew about keeping clean and dressing neatly in public. So, when we stepped out, we turned eyes, heads, and necks!
During holidays, our dress clothes were imported. Each of us had the opportunity to search for holiday clothes in a catalog. The boys had the option to choose the coat suits they wanted and Evelyn chose the color and type of kan-kan dresses she wanted to wear for Christmas or for the July 26th Children's Ball. The "July 26th Ball" was held annually for children living in Monrovia and its vicinity under the auspices of the First Lady of Liberia, Mrs. Antoinette Tubman. Meeting with the First Lady of Liberia was one of those events I looked forward to because it was not all about the delicious cakes and sodas and jollof rice they served us but it was a gathering of some of Liberia's finest children from well established homes,as well as children from the slums of Monrovia, like PHP, Soniwen, Bassa Community, West Point, Clara Town, Logan Town, New Krutown, etc.
At this auspicious national occasion, we learned to curtsy before a lady when we asked her for a "set" or a dance on the floor; and, we curtsied or bowed when we took our partner back to her seat or family table. Talking about "bluffing", man, we were the bump! We were dressed to the teeth and we displayed our best manners because if you slipped and said or did anything wrong, your parents were immediately notified and "You know the balance" Frederick Honder used to say in his Biology class at LU!
Pa as a Disciplinarian
Pa was a very good and stern teacher and disciplinarian. He was also fair. He and Ma did not pick and choose. All children in the home, whether biological or reared, we were treated equally and fairly. As a disciplinarian and teacher, Pa was no joke when it came to disciplining us for infraction of house rules, or when he was tutoring us. As a teacher he did not have the patience to teach one thing over and over. So, he instituted a punishment and reward system whereby you got some special privileges like pocket change to go to the movie on Saturday after you did your chores at home and/or to attend a friend's birthday party. The punishment was mainly corporeal and he had a rattan especially for that purpose.
Pa was as strict and mentally sharp as the head of a needle; and, as a General in the National Army, he expected us to be agile, eloquent, and to pronounce our words distinctly when we spoke. Being from the olde schoole, he pronounced his English words with a British accent. I remember, he beat the crap out of me because I pronounced the word "infant" with an American accent ("infent"), instead of a British accent ("infant"). Mehn! Pa was a "Papa don't tak no mess" when dealing with his children.
Later, I found out there was a vast difference being tutored by an Army General than sitting in Dolly Bracewell's classroom at Daniel E. Howard on Sekou Toure Avenue. In her second-grade class, I got all the pats and tender loving care, even when I missed the correct answer to a question, there was a second chance; but with the General, you either know it and get the praise or you don't know it and get ten lashes of a tight rattan in the palm of your hand. Mind you, you were not allowed to change hands! All the lashes went in one hand so you know which part of your body got the punishment for not knowing your lesson for that special tutoring.
To make the tutoring competitive in the home, we were allowed to beat the person who did not give the correct answer or who did not know the spelling or meaning or the pronunciation of a word in the assigned reading. Therefore, on several occasions if my siblings did not get it right and I did, he would give me the rattan to beat whoever did not get the answer correct in the palm of that person's hand. He would say, "Beat him!" or "Beat her, Joe!"
And, on top of that, the General made sure my lashes were hard enough for the person to feel it so they would improve in their academic performance, which was the goal of the corpreal punishment. If I didn't whip my sibling as hard as I ought, I got two swift lashes in the hand for not meting out punishment as it ought to from the army standpoint. Come to think about it, we were reared as "Military Brats"!
The Stubblefield residence was in Central Monrovia at the corner of Gurley and Benson Streets. Beneath the house were stores leased out to Lebanese traders who ran some of the finest shoes stores, boutiques, and general merchandises in the country. Opposite the house was Maxim Hotel and all around us was bustling night life, hookers on Gurley Street, and nightclub goers and boozers. Therefore, children in the Stubblefield home were restricted not to go outside the home apart from going to school in the morning or going to and coming from church or Sunday School on Sundays.
Our Neighborhood and Community
Also, as kids growing up, we did not have a playground in our neighborhood or community we could go to, to play. So, mainly, we were confined to the four corners of our home to exercise and entertain ourselves. The nearest 'playground', Coconut Plantations, was located on South Beach near what used to be the American Legation and it was many blocks away from home. To go there to play required special permission from Ma or Pa and it was very rare that we got permission to go farther away from the home. We got a "yes" to go out to play if we did well in school or if we were on our best behavior during the week, and so forth.
Come to think about it, nothing was free. You had to do something commendable to get a reward and you got punishment when you misbehaved. Reynold, Evelyn, and I were very wild and so we needed a little bit of taming now and then to quiet us down.
Our Racoon Knew the Stick to Rub its Butt on!
The old folks say, "You can play with your Mommy's breast but you can't play with your father's beard!" In other words, our racoon knew the stick to rub its butt on! We could take our friskiness to Ma but we were not drunk to get in the general's way! Like most mothers, Ma was lenient and soft-spoken. So, we got away with many things we could not do when the General was around. Ma would advise and say: "Joe, Reynold, Evelyn, your stop the rough play before someone gets hurt!"
That was it. You were not getting Ma to say another word. In return we respondeda, "Alright, Ma", like we really meant what we were saying. Liberian man says, "Where side"!
Okay, we would quit running around the house for a few minutes and let the noise die down as though we really meant business. After a while, we would resume running up and down in the home like were were never told to stop disturbing. However, when someone truly got hurt, that's when it was Ma's turn to prove she was right, when she advised us to stop the rough play. She would grab the green alcohol bottle and raise it up for you to see what was coming up for you. then she took the green alcohol and rubbed it on your sore; and, while you were grinding your teeth, that's when she said, "I told your to stop the rough play but you didn't listen. The alcohol gon make you listen!" The old folks always had a way of subduing us!
As a soldier, Pa was hip to our games! He knew we were only quiet when he was home but on the loose when he stepped out the front door. So, sometimes he would ambush us. He would also pretend he was going out, slam the front door and go down stairs. He would hide where we could not see him on the Benson Street side of our home. Most times we peeped through the living room windows to find out if he were really gone out. After a while if we thought Pa was gone, then hell would break loose again but we were not always lucky to make the right decision because the General was ahead of his game!
Well, there is always "one day for master and one day for rogue", Liberian man says! On this particular day God made, we started running and screaming like fools after we checked and thought Pa was truly gone out. Menh, before you said "Jack Rabbit!" that soldier was back in the house. He caught us red-handedly and whipped the living crap and hypocrisy out of us! From that day, we learned how to remain calm, whether Pa was home or not.
Our late brother Harrison Francis Stubblefield, Sr. May his soul rest in perfect peace!
We had so much fun when we were growing up that my adoptive parents and siblings and I bonded, even after I returned home to my parents. I visited Ma and Pa, especially when he had a stroke and was confined to his bed. I could not believe seeing the General subdued to his bed but whenever I entered the room to speak to him, he turned around, looked me in the face and said, "Hello, Joe" with a glee in his eyes. He loved hearing me talk about my academic success and how my parents were coming along. For Ma, it was the same thing. She loved to pray and so when I visited her by her bedside, we would end our endless conversations with a prayer.
My darling baby sister Evelyn Stubblefield
Liberians are One Big Family
Two good things I learned from the Stubblefields are: (1) to be God-fearing because through God all things are possible; and (2) not to be prejudiced.
General and Mrs. Stubblefield treated me just like they treated their natural born children so I grew up learning not to be prejudiced but to be loving and caring. I learned from the Stubblefields to treat everyone with respect and love. I don't believe in segregation. I don't believe in "Congau" or "Country". I see and treat everyone as human beings, as Liberians. Through this upbringing and way of life, Christ became the center of my life and thoughts and I became very sensitive to the sufferings of the less fortunate of the Liberian society--a category in which my parents fell due to the caste system that was established in Liberia when indigenous royalties were dethroned to establish the Republic of Liberia.
When we became adults, our paths crossed so many times. Wilbert our oldest brother became a famous Liberian businessman. My family and I moved into the Stubblefield building on Jamaica Road in my sister Evelyn's apartment and once again, Reynold and Harrison and I reunited. My wife and children got to meet them and man, what a family reunion that was!
We lived in the same compound during the Liberian Genocide until we came in exile to the United States. Even at that, we still communicated and kept in touch. We lost Reynold and Harrison but we keep in touch with Wilbert and Evelyn and my niece, Sister Adeline's daughter Angeline Sonpon, and my nephew, Sister Beatrice's son, Wellington Trinity. Come to think about it, Liberians are one big family!
Rabbi Prince Joseph Tomoonh-Garlodeyh Gbaba, Sr., Ed.D.
Published November 12, 2021