10/04/2026
We recently interviewed another former Lynwood Park resident, Mr. Melvin Pender, Jr. He was born in 1937 in Atlanta and spent the early years of his life living in poverty. When he was a baby, his family moved to Chicago, where his parents worked in the defense plants during World War II. Afterwards, his father was drafted into the Navy and his family returned to Dalton, Georgia, in 1942, where they lived in a humble home. Pender pointed out that although humble, they had running water. During his youth, he questioned the segregated society he lived in. “I started seeing things, and I would say, ' Why?” His mother couldn’t answer the question, but she instilled in him the belief that he needed an education, and that one day things would change.
When the family moved to Lynwood Park in 1950, their home was on House Road, which is known today as Osbourne Road. His mother was part of a group (Twelve Ladies Sewing Club) that raised money to buy the land to build the Lynwood Park School. He described the school as a long concrete building, with a stove, muddy land, and a toilet that was 50 meters away from the building. The Lynwood Park School community was nurturing and encouraged the students to pursue their education. After Melvin got married at age 16, he enlisted in the United States Army (at 17). This set him on a 21-year military career, during which he rose in rank from a soldier to an infantry lieutenant in the Officer Candidate School.
In the 1960s, Pender was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. While playing football there, he discovered that he was the fastest runner on the team. At 27 years old, he placed sixth in the 100-meter dash at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Four years later, he won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.
If you or someone you know is interested in an oral history interview, reach out to us! We’d love to hear from you!
