Norma's Home is Everything
“Home” is a complex concept that transcends the physical. Ms. Schott’s story takes us on a sensory and emotional journey: care, laughter, grief, loss, the scent of tobacco, and the sound of conversations by the fire on the riverside.
These memories both anchor and ferry her through her life’s transitions.
Born and raised in Richmond, Ms. Schott had responsibilities as a child, which were tempered by playtime as a tomboy – “I stayed in trees more than out there on the ground.” – and time spent forming deep neighborhood ties.
Her family’s home was the community gathering place. She says these formative years are what give her today’s strength.
She tapped into that resilience early in life. When Ms. Schott was 18, her 7-year-old old sister, Connie, passed suddenly from a staph infection. The girls had been close. “She was my shadow,” Ms. Schott remembers.
The family was deeply traumatized. “It nearly killed all of us, to tell you the truth. … That was the saddest thing I think that ever happened in my life.”
Her mother struggled immensely with the loss. Against the backdrop of a new world war, the community stepped in.
“Our preacher came every day and talked to her, but it didn't seem to do anything. And the war clouds were brewing then. One of her friends came by one day, and she had been through this as well. And she told mama, she said, ‘I went downtown and got myself a job today.’ Boston Lum had opened up a place to make eyeglasses for the Navy.
“And so, she said, ‘I got a job today. Why don't you go?’ And mama went the next morning and she got the job. And it brought her out of her depression.”
Ms. Schott set out to make big changes in her own life as well. And when she married and moved with her husband, a military man, her concept of home expanded. She experienced the challenge of maintaining a household while her husband was away in service. Over the years, Ms. Schott’s experience of home has included caring for her mother, her sister, her child, her husband, and herself.
The meaning of home has remained tied to familial bonds and the shared responsibilities of caring for one another.
“When you say home, it means everything.”
An excerpt of Ms. S.'s oral housing history interview. The interview took place at Chesterfield Library - Main Branch on Aug. 28, 2024.
In 1963, when Ms. Schott moved to North Carolina, her definition of home grew in an important way. This was a joyful time of community and connection.
“In the summer, every night everybody on the road brought a chair and we would build a fire and set around fire and talk, the whole summer.”
When Ms. Schott shares her memories of her time in North Carolina, a beautiful, regional accent makes itself known in her deep Rs and drawling As. In the rural setting of the New River, she remembers how she and her husband formed strong friendships that would last a lifetime, further reinforcing her view that home is not just a place, but also the people with whom you share it.
Beyond this idyllic insulation and sense of belonging, Ms. Schott remembers the turmoil of segregation outside the invisible lines of her happy community. She recalls racial discord as somewhat muted where she lived in North Carolina, and in Chesterfield, Virginia, at the time, but that in Chester, Virginia, it was a different story.
“Chester had the feeling that you could drive through – just don’t stop. It used to be that way because they were clannish. Yes, they were. But I think 95 kind of opened that up so that you don't hear anything like that anymore.”
Chester continued to evolve and so did Ms. Schott. Many years later, community connections helped her buy a house near her son and his family. This move to Chester was a turning point for Ms. Schott. The house is a simpler space, and it’s just right for her. She has been there ever since.
Today, Ms. Schott takes life one day at a time. May as well smile, she says.
Listening to Ms. Schott will transport you. You can feel the different sensations of home, and the humanness of sharing space and neighborhoods together: laughter, tears, care, community. Her life reminds us that home is truly everything.
Full text (currently under revision)