Gill's Grill

Gill’s Grill was listed in the Green Book from 1947-1955 as “Gill’s Grill” under “Taverns” in Elizabethtown. No address was given for the business.¹ 

Gill’s Grill opened in Elizabethtown around 1938. It was owned by Elizabethtown native J. Cirt Gill, Jr., who operated the restaurant and dance hall from 1938-1948. It is not clear when the business closed.²

John Cirt Gill, Jr. was born in Elizabethtown in 1911. He graduated from NC A&T University in Greensboro in 1938 with a B.S. in Business Administration and returned home to open his own business, described as a “cafe / dance-hall combination.” He married Margaret Anne Boykin, a high school Music and English teacher. The couple relocated to Greensboro in 1948. Gill accepted a position as an “experimental Disc Jockey” at Greensboro radio station Mutual WGBG and became widely known for his radio show, “Jam-A-Ditty,” named for a Duke Ellington song. Gill, who also went by “Jam-A-Ditty,” played popular music and was known for his wit and humor. He was on air six nights a week and was the first African American to work as a full-time disc jockey in the area.³

J. Cirt Gill, Jr. passed away in 1960. He was working toward a master’s degree at NC A&T University at the time of his death.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2022

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 64; Green, 1948 Green Book, 62; Green, 1949 Green Book, 56; Green, 1950 Green Book, 62; Green, 1951 Green Book, 53; Green, 1952 Green Book, 53; Green, 1953 Green Book, 53; Green, 1954 Green Book, 52; Green, 1955 Green Book, 53.
2.  V. Anthony Horne, Jr., “Voice of Greensboro,” The Carolinian, March 9, 1957, 18, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org; John Cirt Gill, Jr., Elizabethtown, North Carolina, U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1940 United States Federal Census, Elizabethtown, Bladen County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Cirt Gill Jr.” or “Kirk Gill Jr.,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1950 United States Federal Census, Elizabethtown, Bladen County, North Carolina, digital image s.v. “Cirt Gill Jr.” or “Cort Gill Jr.,” accessed from www.ancestry.com. Note: Gill lived next door to Lena Dunham Turner, who may have owned Liola’s Beauty Salon, another Green Book business; Gill’s mother’s maiden name was Dunham.
3.  V. Anthony Horne, Jr., “Voice of Greensboro,” The Carolinian, March 9, 1957, 18, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org; John Cirt Gill Jr., December 18, 1960, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Radio Figure Dies at 48,” The Charlotte Observer, December 20, 1960, 11, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Ernest L. Johnston, Jr., “Popular Dee-Jay Succumbs,” The A&T College Register (Greensboro, NC), January 13, 1961, accessed from https://digital.library.ncat.edu/atregister/173. 
4. “Radio Figure Dies at 48,” The Charlotte Observer, December 20, 1960, 11, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Ernest L. Johnston, Jr., “Popular Dee-Jay Succumbs,” The A&T College Register (Greensboro, NC), January 13, 1961, accessed from https://digital.library.ncat.edu/atregister/173.