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| May 26, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:1
HAPPY WARRIOR - Eugenia Fortes joins historian Lou Catalado as the two are singled out tor praise by
Town Manager John Klimm in his 2003 State of the Town address.
"Some people who come
to this country are very influ-
ential in the affairs of their
community," said John Reed,
president of the Cape NAACP
chapter. "Eugenia was one of
those people. She was born in
Brava, Cape Verde. She was a
shining example of what immi-
grants can accomplish, and we
hope that all people who come
to this country 'mil accomplish
the same thing."
Her pastor at First Baptist
Church in Hyannis, the Rev. Dr.
Carl Heick, said Fortes "was a
tenaciousadvocate for the dignity
of allpeople. She was very gener-
ousinanextremelyquiet way.She
could relate to the high and the
low and all in between."
Survivors include two sisters,
Julia F. Owens of Prairie View,
Tex.,and Marion F.Cutts ofNew
Bedford; and severalnieces and
nephews.
Visiting hours are from 4 to
8 p.m. today at Doane, Beal &
AmesFuneralHome at 180West
Main St. in Hyannis. A funeral
willbe held at 11a.m.tomorrow
at First Baptist on Main Street.
Burial will follow in Oak Grove
Cemetery in Hyannis.
Memorial donations may be
made to NAACP, PO. Box 464,
Hyannis MA 02601 or to First
Baptist Church of Hyannis, 486
Main St., Hyannis MA 02601.
Encountering New
Worlds
Born inl911in CovadeJauna
on the Cape Verde islands,
Fortes was 9 before her father
could send for his family and
bring them to their new home
in New Bedford. The trip on
the schooner Melissa Trask
was long, 31 days, and food
was scarce when they reached
America,onlyto be quarantined
for another day.
"One vegetable that was
brought on the boat was cab-
bage," Fortes told the Patriot
in 2001, "and I love cabbage to
this day!"
After seeingCape Cod,Fortes
agitated for her family to move
from New Bedford to Harwich,
a wish that was granted. She
maintained an extensive veg-
etable garden atthe familyhome
in Harwich until recently.
Fortesattended publicschools
inNewBedford and Harwich.As
a teenager, she went to Boston
looking for work and found dis-
crimination instead.
"She couldn't find a job ,
couldn't find a place to live be-
cause she was black," said Joe
Daluz, fourth president of the
Cape NAACP chapter (Fortes
was the second). "To carry that
burden for almost 80years, from
day to day, and she never let
up on the injustices. You know
that Diehard battery in your
carthat'ssupposed to get extra
life? She took that Diehard and
drained it. She never let go."
Fortes may not have found
employment in Boston, but ac-
cording to Daluz, she may have
met two longtime colleagues,
Margaret and Emerson Mose-
ley, there. In later years, the
Moseleys moved to Hyannis,
where Margaret helped found
the Cape's NAACP chapter as
wellas CommunityAction Com-
mittee of Cape Cod.
As a young man, Daluz re-
called, "I would go over to Em-
erson and Margaret Moseley's
house and we would sit outside
with Eugenia and talk about
all these things. These people
were mymentors. It was aliving
library which I was afforded."
"What Joe told you is called a
conversation inthe livingroom,"
Reed said. "Oral history and
reality cannot be told in a book ,
only face to face. Iam the proud
recipient of that knowledge ...
and I've gotten more lectures
than anybody knows."
Institutions of higherlearning
recognized the contributions of
Fortes. She held an honorary
doctorate of humane letters
from the University of Mas-
sachusetts at Dartmouth and
honorary degrees from Bridge-
water State College and Cape
Cod Community College.
Doing the Right Thing
In 1928. Fortes came to
Hyannisto work at the artificial
pearl company.Sheworked also
asahousekeeper inHyannisport
and a baker and cook for the
Barnstable Public Schools.
"I know somebody that
worked in the cafeteria under
her at the school years ago,"
said Esther Hinckley, whose
husband Eben shared with
Fortes the distinction of being
among the longest-term mem-
bers of First Baptist Church of
Hyannis(shejoined in 1934). "She
was the boss for the town in the
elementary school. If there was a
bad spot, she made them throw
the potato away at Hyannis El-
ementary. Others would have cut
it away, but she just would have
no part of it for the children."
Fortes seemed to find a way
to respond to every need, great
or small.Hinckley recalled that ,
when her husband and she were
ill last year, Fortes drove over
with a special lasagna.
Hinckley said she collected
clothing for Fortes,whofor years
provided them to needy families
in Mississippi's Delta region,
sometimes making the long
drive with her friend Margaret
Moseley, and later by mail.
In recent years, Fortes con-
tinued to callfor asupermarket
in downtown Hyannis, and she
was an honored guest when
the White Hen Pantry on Main
Street was opened.
In appearances at town coun-
cil meetings, she stirred things
up sometimes by introducing
herself as"Eugenia Fortes, from
the 'slums' of Hyannis." Less
a critique of the village, the
word was used to skewer those
elsewhere who harbored such
thoughts.
The last council president to
preside over a session attended
by Fortes, incumbent Hank
Farnham , remembers being
buttonholed by her when he was
a bank official. "She'd always
say, 'Now, Hannnnk, Hannnk,
let me tell you something.' And
I'd listen to her because she
made sense. She was very fair-
minded."
Fortes's community service
waswide-ranging.She served on
the board ofthe HyannisLibrary,
the executive board of Red Cross
of Cape Cod and as a member
of the Barnstable Council on
Aging, Cape and islands Elder
Services, and other groups.
Recognition for such effort s
came in many forms, including
a Cape Cod Academy Living
Heroes award, the Massachu-
setts governor 's Naturalized
Outstanding Citizen award, and
the Region II NAACP Unsung
Hero Award.
"There was a simple phrase
she always used when she per-
ceived an injustice,"said Heick.
"She'd just simply say, 'It's not
right,'and Iwillalwaysassociate
that with her.
A Legacy of Leaders
"I've always seen her as a role
model, someone who stood her
ground ," said Debra Dagwan.
the school committee member.
"Shejust spoke her mind.Ithink
she spoke the truth."
Fortes pushed Dagwan to
run for public office: "She'd
always say, 'Debra, you've got
the education. You never toot
your own horn. You ought to
talk it up.'"
Dagwan's doctorate, Fortes
knew,"wasimportant for people
who didn 't know me and that
would open the door and get
them to stop and think. She
really kept pushing me."
Dagwan's husband Ralph
remembers that push. Oneofthe
lastgraduates ofth< Barnstable
Vocational School, he recalled
being "kind of hesitant in speak-
ing. She always brought out the
best in me. She said, Youcan do
it if you're right. If somebody 's
doing something that's wrong
in the community, say what's
on your mind. "
Ralph Dagwan traveled exten-
sively with Fortes in their roles
as officers of the Cape chapter
of the NAACP "Every place I
went with her, everybody had
great respect for her, even at t he
national level," he said. "If they
were doing wrong, she would
lambaste them."
Fortes inspired by her ex-
ample of health and boundless
energy.
"One of my fondest memories
was the privilege of traveling to
Israel with her afew years back."
said Heick. "We celebrated her
89 birthday while we were
there. She had the energy oi
travelers 20 to 30 years her
junior."
Once, she told Debra Dagwan
the answer: "It was clean living.
I never smoke, I never drank
and I work hard." Also, Fortes
rejected some of the modern
conveniences such as micro-
waves and TV remotes.
Reed spoke with deep emo-
tion of Fortes as someone who
"made me somebody"after her
arrived on Cape Cod as a 22-
year-old teacher.
"She demanded alot ofherself
and those around her." he said.
"Do you think she asked any
less of me?"
And Fortes continues to en-
courage responses to injustice.
Alan Burt , who coordinates the
Salvation Army's Overnights
of Hospitality for the home-
less, is now using a picture of
Fortes as the screen saver on
his computer.
"At times when I spoke at
town council ," he wrote , "I
turned to her and shared that
she was my hero, my example
and the example for all of us to
get out of our homes to town
hall to get involved , to speak up
and be heard."
"As she said all along," Daluz
said, it'severybody 'sjob ,justice.
Every one of us is responsible to
make it right. Since the job ishalt
done , we're gonna continue that
legacy and make sure it's done."
Fortes legacy...
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