Uncrowned Community Builders

Ertie L. Hilliard was born April 11, 1905, in Halifax, North Carolina. She attended a rural school and was a member of Smith Chapel Baptist Church. Mrs. Hilliard and her twin sister, Mrs. Gertrude Jenkins, were two of eight children born to Ester Harris. Being reared on a farm in North Carolina, their parents couldnââ?¬â?¢t afford to give them the education that they dreamed of for their children.

Mrs. Hilliard married John T. Hilliard on January 7, 1923 and had four sons and three daughters. Along with rearing her biological children, she was also surrogate mother to her youngest brother and a niece.

In 1925, Mrs. Hilliard moved to Buffalo and joined the Friendship Baptist Church. Later she was one of the founders of the Pilgrim Baptist Church. She was president of the Senior Usher Board for twenty-two years; president of the Senior Choir for one year; president of the Mission Society for two years; chairperson of the Motherââ?¬â?¢s and Deaconess Board; Sunday School teacher; assistant superintendent of Sunday School; supervisor of Junior Ushers; and a member of the Pastorââ?¬â?¢s Aid Club.

Mrs. Hilliard knew the importance of her children receiving a good education. Her concerns went beyond their academic studies because she also encouraged some of her children to study the arts. In order to be a help to her children who studied piano, she also took piano lessons. She was very active, vocally and visibly, at her childrenââ?¬â?¢s school. She didnââ?¬â?¢t wait for Parentââ?¬â?¢s Night to talk to their teachers. She would go to see their teachers whenever she felt the need. She never allowed anyone to dictate to her children what they could or could not do. Her response to such negative input was that her children could do whatever they had made up their minds to do. The good Lord gave them a brain and with His help and guidance they could do whatever they had a desire to accomplish.

Mrs. Hilliard was one of the finest seamstresses in the City of Buffalo. Her passion was in alterations. Without any formal education in sewing, she used her God given gift to work in one of Buffaloââ?¬â?¢s exclusive womenââ?¬â?¢s clothing store, the Town Shop, on Chippewa Street during the early 1950s. She also was the owner and operator of the Twilight Taylor Shop located at William and Jefferson Streets in the late 1940s.

Even though Mrs. Hilliard couldnââ?¬â?¢t go to school as a child, she never gave up her dream of obtaining a diploma from elementary school. After her youngest child graduated from eighth grade, Mrs. Hilliard went to evening school at School #32. She worked hard and received her diploma for completing elementary studies.

Her other activities included president of great Lakes District Ushers; president of Usherââ?¬â?¢s Auxiliary of the Empire Baptist State Convention; first vice president of the Interdenominational State Ushers; Mother of Usherââ?¬â?¢s National Baptist U.S.A., Inc.; member of the Board of Directors of American Red Cross; volunteer service to E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital; and booster member of Buffalo Arts and Music School Parentââ?¬â?¢s Association.