COMMUNITY | Days Gone By
From Jet Magazine, an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community.
BEATING the ODDS HOW A FRANKLIN SERVICE STATION OWNER SENT TWELVE KIDS TO COLLEGE
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BY KATIE SHANDS
ear the intersection of Downs Boulevard and West Main Street in Franklin, an old service station sits empty and a bit forlorn. Just down the road, a brick house with plywood-covered windows awaits demolition. These two structures look like plenty of other properties that have weathered the years, but don’t let appearances fool you. Behind their time-worn facades is a beautiful story of how one family rose above their circumstances and created a legacy of excellence that endures to this day.
Our inspiring tale begins with Monroe Booker, born on November 21, 1921, in Hohenwald, Tennessee. As a young boy, he moved with his family to Franklin, where he spent his formative years studying at Franklin Training School on Natchez Street. Seventeen days after Monroe turned twenty, the United States declared war on Japan. He was drafted into the Air Force and spent about three years in the South Pacific. After his discharge, he opened Booker Brothers Service Station in 1946 with his brother, William. The business quickly became a fixture in their community. Monroe wed Mary Pope in 1950, and the couple lived near the service station in the now boarded-up house at 1508 West Main Booker’s service station on West Main Street in Franklin, today.
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Street. They eventually grew their family to twelve children, all of whom they supported with Monroe’s modest income from the service station. Monroe and Mary’s formal education went no further than high school, and they were determined to open new doors for their kids. Like so many black families, they had plenty of racial and socioeconomic barriers to overcome, but they did not let anything stand in their way. For example, the Bookers
