A
Christmas
Legacy
A friendship begun over a
century ago sfill benefits
hundreds eaeh year in
Fayetteville.
By BILLY ARTHUR
The testimony of a lifelong friendship
of two men— one black and the other
white— makes for a joyful occasion
again this Christmas in Fayetteville.
It is the annual award of proceeds
from what is popularly known as the
"James McAllister Christmas Fund" to
selected residents of Cross Creek Town¬
ship.
Both men natives and born close to¬
gether in the mid-l9th century. James
McAllister was the son and husband of
slaves and close to the distinguished
Cumberland County family which in¬
cluded his friend. Williamson W.
Fuller, who as an adult achieved af¬
fluence but never forgot his roots.
McAllister grew up to be an untiring,
trusted and respectable drayman, and at
his death in 1921 he willed to Fuller all
his property, principally a residence on
Franklin Street, now the site of the
M &
О
Chevrolet Co.
Unable to write. McAllister put his
mark on the document, which read in
part: "I do this for reason 1 have no
children, and my wife is dead, and Mr.
Willie Fuller has always helped me
when I needed it. and has been my
dearest and best friend. My wife, now
deceased, belonged to his father and
THE STATE. December 1986
WMithy attorney Williamson W. Fuller, a Fayetteville native, was the beneficiary in 1921 ot his friend James
McAllister s will. The illiterate wagon driver left the millionaire Fuller this small house, which Fuller promptly
sold, matched, and used to create a trust fund from which Christmas gifts of cash are distributed annually
to selected residents of Cross Creek Township.
mother; it was my pleasure to be near
the family during and after the war. and
the intimacy that sprang up then be¬
tween me and Mr. Willie, then a small
boy. has continued through life. When
I have been in trouble or needed help or
advice. I knew where to turn and Mr.
Willie never failed me.
"He may not ever need my little
home. I pray not. but he will know bet¬
ter what to do with it than I; and in this
I want to show my appreciation for what
he has done for me.
Fuller knew what to do.
As executor, he sold the residence for
$5.000. added his gift of $5.(KK) worth
Bethlehem Steel Co. 1% preferred
stock, and established the "James
McAllister Trust Fund." To it Mrs.
E. E. Smith, widow of the head of Fay¬
etteville State Teachers College, added
another $1.000.
Not A Charity
The fund was placed in the hands of
three trustees, who serve without com¬
pensation and are not bonded. They are
answerable only to their own con¬
sciences and. of course, to the IRS. The
fund is private, not public, and no ex¬
pense is charged to it except for com¬
munication by mail, express, telephone
and telegraph.
Its provisions instruct the trustees,
"whose judgment and action shall be fi¬
nal and conclusive." to pay out all in¬
come annually to selected colored resi¬
dents of Cross Creek Township, chosen
on the basis of gixxl citizenship as well
as need.
At the close of 1985 the McAllister
fund was valued at approximately
$79.(XM). and distributions totaled about
$4.800. markedlv up from $1.100 in
1958.
"The distributions— not a charity-
are Christmas gifts," explains Brownie
I). Schaefer, a trustee. "The basic pur¬
pose is to recognize colored people who
live in close community and harmony
with both races."
List year some 225 persons shared in
the proceeds, which were $20 each, up
from $10 in I960. The trustees hope to
increase or to maintain the present level
of the gifts. "We try to give as much as
we can to as many as we can." Schaefer
says. “The recipients arc generally the
same every year. We welcome and re¬
ceive nominations from the public, but
we can’t conscientiously tell an aged,
genuine, faithful and devoted person he
or she is being passed over or
replaced."
According to Schaefer, speaking tor
himself and the other two trustees.
Charles W.
В
road foot and John G.
Shaw. "It’s a happy time" when distri¬
butions are made in the Fayetteville City
Council chambers. "Carols are sung,
the Christmas story from St. Luke is
read, and prayers are spoken. Several
hundred people attend.
"It gives us a nice feeling to be asso¬
ciated with such a trust and ceremony."
A writer has laudahl) described the
fund as a "moving story of the impact
of two races . . . the friendliness of the
human heart and the brotherhood of
man. whether high placed or lowly, rich
or poor, black or white.
"James W. McAllister. Negro dray¬
man. and Williamson W. Fuller,
scholar, gentleman, millionaire! Some¬
where behind the diverse currents of
(Con limit'll on /Hige 29)
7