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46 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2019 Remembering the Prominent Manhattan Fashion Designer Arthur McGee: Arthur L. McGee was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1933. His mother was a dressmaker who made her own patterns from newspapers. As a teenager, McGee found joy in making hats for his mother to wear. McGee moved to New York at age 18 after winning a scholarship to attend Traphagen School of Design. Later he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where he studied apparel design and millinery. Six months later he quit FIT because he was told there were no jobs for Black designers. McGee decided to set up his own operation in downtown Manhattan. He made costumes for Broadway actors and actresses, and worked for College Town of Boston, a company on Seventh Avenue. He said in a 2009 video, "I was working in backrooms designing whole collections with no credit." In 1957, McGee made history as the first African-American designer to run a design studio for the sportswear company Bobbie Brooks, in the garment district in New York. "When I'd go to look at lines of fabric, I'd walk into the fabric company and they'd say, 'Where's the designer?'" I'd say, "It's me. It was always like that…just ridiculous. In the '50s, I could make $8,000 designing two dresses for an ad where the clothes matched the car," McGee told EBONY MAGAZINE in 1980. "Then I would walk into an office wearing a custom-made suit and they still assumed I was a messenger." In 1965, McGee opened his own store on Third Avenue called "The Store." As a result, he became the go-to dresser for stars including Stevie Wonder, Cicely Tyson, and Lena Horne. His collection was also sold in Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. McGee was known for combining African fabrics with Asian-inspired silhouettes. His apparel of clean styles appealed to a wide range of shoppers crossing all ethnicities. In 2009, McGee was honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's. He passed away on July 1, 2019, at 86. A memorial service will be held on March 25, 2020, in New York. - www.ArthurMcGee.com Upcoming event(s) Sept. 2 – Labor Day Celebration Dec. 14 – AACC Christmas Gala The next AACC meeting will be on Monday, Sept. 9 in The Lodge Game Room at 6 pm. For info contact Joyce Allen at (951) 769-4354 or Roxie Elliott at (951) 769-2517. ~ Regina Thoma African American Cultural Club The earthquakes in Ridgecrest last month remind us all that we could face the same emergency situation right here in Beaumont. Many of our members joined our club with disaster preparedness in mind, as well as the idea of being available to help their neighbors communicate when cell phones won't work and the power is out. Perhaps the quakes at Ridgecrest have caused you to stop and think about how you and your neighbors might benefit from becoming trained radio operators. If you have, the Four Seasons Amateur Radio Club is here to help. We remain a vital component of the Four Seasons Emergency Preparedness Committee and continue to train residents on operating procedures so that we can all be ready for the 'big one.' Come to our meetings held on the last Friday of every month at 10 am in the RCN Conference Room and find out how you can be a part of the club. ~Jim Peterson, jimsally@hotmail.com RADIO CLUB Arthur McGee, the designer and actress Cicely Tyson. At the July meeting, Harry Henderson, AC2LZ, presents his magnetic loop antenna

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