The Yesteryears

FOREWORD

Hayward J. Camper was born in Newark, New Jersey on November 23, 1919 to educated, professional, loving and caring parents, Archibald and Augusta Camper.  The family lived in Baltimore, Maryland until 1925 when they moved to Prescott, Arizona due to Hayward’s father’s serious health condition.  As a World War I veteran, Mr. Camper qualified for a transfer to a government facility in nearby Whipple, Arizona.  His doctor believed he would benefit from the warm dry air in the southwest.

At seven years old Hayward went to live with his Aunt Try (Tryphena) in Phoenix, Arizona to attend school.  After the death of his mother five years later, Hayward’s sister, Blanche and his brother, Douglass were also sent to Phoenix to live with Aunt Try.  The three younger siblings remained in Prescott where Hayward’s father signed their house over to a man and his wife to stay and take care of his young children.  The three younger children later went to a welfare home.  Douglass joined his siblings at the welfare home because of friction between him and Aunt Try.

Hayward endured and coped with adversity, shameful verbal and physical abuse, frustration, ridicule and loneliness at school, at home and in every area of his young life.  He learned from an early age that privilege came with being white.  As a teenager Hayward worked in multiple jobs experiencing and surviving the pain of segregation and discrimination.  Notwithstanding the hardships and malicious misfortunes, Hayward kept his eyes on his goal, saved his earnings and maintained his focus.  He would go to college someday.  He would succeed.

As soon as he was old enough, Hayward thought he would escape to the military.  He thought anything would be better than his life in Arizona.  What a rude awakening he discovered when he found his adventure in a Mississippi boot camp was worse than any of his previous experiences.  He had jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.  The disparate treatment of blacks was unimaginable and unconscionable.  He was happy to be discharged with a foot disability.  However, he never allowed the disappointments of his awful, disdainful and sometimes, discouraging circumstances to thwart his motivation and determination to succeed.

The military GI Bill enabled him to receive a college education.  While in college he met and married Isabell J. Dawson and together they attended school and raised their five children.  They each eventually received their master’s degrees and became teachers and principals in Arizona.  Their lives were far from “normal”, however.

The excitement of his first principal/teaching job soon turned to fury over racial in