LaMae Beauty Parlor (Thelma K. Stokes)

La May Beauty Parlor appeared in the Green Book from 1947-1955.  It was located at 703 S. 15th Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was listed in the Green Book as “La May--703 S. 15th St.” under “Beauty Parlors.” The shop was owned by Thelma King Stokes.¹

La May Beauty Parlor (also called La Mae’s Beauty Nook and La Mae’s Beauty Shop) was a beauty shop located in the home of Thelma King Stokes. Thelma was born in Wilmington, NC, in 1913. She married a laborer, Addison Stokes, around 1940. The couple moved frequently during the 1940’s, residing with their daughter, Dorothy, at 807 Wooster Street in 1940; at 817 S. 8th Street in 1942; and at 907 S. 9th Street in 1943.² 

By 1947, the couple had purchased a home at 703 S. 15th Street. Although Thelma began to advertise her beauty parlor in the Green Book in 1947, her business did not appear in the Wilmington city directory until 1952. Thelma operated La Mae’s through at least the mid-1960s. Addison continued to work as a laborer for the City of Wilmington.³

Addison Stokes died in 1980. Thelma King Stokes died in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2003. Today, 703 S. 15th Street is a private residence.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2019

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 66; Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Green, 1949 Green Book, 58; Green, 1950 Green Book, 64; Green, 1951 Green Book, 55; Green, 1952 Green Book, 55; Green, 1953 Green Book, 55; Green, 1954 Green Book, 54; Green, 1955 Green Book, 54. 
2. Hill’s 1938 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, p. 426; Hill’s 1940 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory p. 411; Hill’s 1942 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, p. 463; Hill’s 1943 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, p. 639; 1940 United States Census, Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, digital image s.v. "Sarah Germany," accessed from www.ancestry.com; Addison Stokes, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Thelma King Stokes, October 14, 2003, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, Death Indexes, 1908-2004, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
3. Hill’s 1947 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 191, 300 classified directory, p. 469, street directory, p. 71; Hill’s 1948-1949 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 184, 293, classified directory, p. 166, street directory, p. 71; Hill’s 1952 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 166, 261, classified directory, p. 421, street directory, p. 18; Hill’s 1956 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, p. 309, classified directory, p. 6, street directory, p. 34; Hill’s 1963 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, p. 201, classified directory, p. 155.
4. Addison Stokes, May 28, 1980, Wilmington, New Hanover County, Death Certificates, 1906-1944, accessed from www.famiilysearch.org; Thelma King Stokes, October 14, 2003, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, Death Indexes, 1908-2004, accessed from www.ancestry.com; real estate listing for 701 S. 15th Street, www.zillow.com.