People who Make Red Hook: Henry Watkins: Following in his mother’s footsteps

Henry Watkins, a Minister at Calvary Baptist Church, was originally from Borough Park and moved to Red Hook with his mother and sister when he was 13.

“It was rough when we first got here,” Watkins said. “We came from a quiet neighborhood, and it was night and day. When we first came out here, you either knew how to fight or you had to learn how to fight. There were a lot of shootings. It was a big adjustment.”

Watkins would help out other members of the community in many different ways from an early age, something he learned from his mother.

“My mom always made extra food because you never knew who might be hungry,” Watkins said. “She would always say, ‘If it’s enough for one, it’s enough for two.’ Our door was always open, and she would never turn anyone away; she would help out.

“Our house was like a shelter. We would have people come by and say, ‘We don’t have food, or we don’t have a place to stay right now.’ My mom would say, ‘We could sleep on the floor,’ and she would never turn anyone down. On Thanksgiving, my mom would make food for us and food for the homeless. My siblings and I would go out and give out the food together.”

As Watkins grew up, he followed his mother’s lead and worked with other local leaders, including Andrea and Jay McKnight and Wally Bazemore.

“I would take elderly folks shopping and get them food,” Watkins said. “A lot of times people would come to me when they were homeless. We had a pantry where they could come down and get food, and then I could give them a letter from the church to help get them set up at a shelter.

Karma
“I recently had a friend come to me who said, ‘I messed up, and I don’t have anything,’ so I went in the refrigerator, went in the cabinets, and made him a care bag and told him, ‘You could come again. No problem.’ I never know if I’ll be hungry or homeless one day, and do unto others as others do unto you.”

Just like his mother, Watkins always makes a point of helping others out during holidays.

“Each year with Andrea McKnight we give out turkeys and toys, and more or less anything that we can get our hands on,” Watkins said. “I have a little car, and we always fill up that little car with everything to give out. Last year we gave out a lot of hats, scarves, gloves, perfumes, and lotions to the elderly, and that was really nice.”

Over the years, Watkins has been in touch with many of the people he helped as children, and he has watched them grow up.

“One young lady, who was tough, was having a fight outside with a guy,” Watkins said. “The guy had been beating her cousin, and she was choking him, and I yelled, ‘Get off of him,’ and got her off of him. Years later, she thanked me and said, ‘Henry, I could have been in jail if it wasn’t for you.’ That was an intense example, but lots of people have thanked me over the years, and I think it’s nice to be nice.”

Watkins’ faith has been at the heart of the work he does to give back to the Red Hook community. His mother’s side of the family had some famous preachers, and he took after them.

“I always wanted to go to church when I was younger, and my mom would take me,” Watkins said. “One Sunday when I was about seven, she let me go out and play, but I wanted to go and listen to the Lord, so I went to church myself. I opened up the doors; everyone looked at me, and I told them I had come by myself without my mother. The pastor said, ‘This is going to be a mighty man of God. He’s going to be a preacher.’”

Three heart attacks
Watkins has had some struggles with his health and has survived three heart attacks. His faith helped him get through them and recover. During one of them, he went temporarily blind.

“When I got out of the ambulance to the hospital, I was starving,” Watkins said. “I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear the doctors and nurses bustling around. The next thing you know, they brought me something to eat, but I could hear God saying, ‘Don’t eat it.’ I smelled it, and it was bologna and cheese and very salty. If I had eaten it, I would have surely died, and it just made my faith even stronger. After a few weeks, my vision was shadowy, but it started coming back.

“After another heart attack, I was in the ambulance, and then I said to the nurse in the hospital, ‘Miss, please don’t let me die,’ and she said, ‘Don’t you let you die.’ I said, ‘Lord, you’re right here. I know you’ve got me by my hand and I trust you.’ I got a couple of stents in my heart, but I recovered.”

While we were talking, Larry Massey stopped by to see Watkins. He explained how Watkins helped him when he was going through a really difficult time.

“I used to be a really bad alcoholic,” Massey said. “I was 140 pounds, and I wasn’t eating, and I went to the hospital, and they said, ‘You can’t keep living like this.’ That was five years ago, but ever since those five years, Henry and I have been really close. Any time I’m stressed out about anything or need a ride to the doctor, he’s there for me. I can really depend on him.”

Throughout our time talking, Watkins got phone calls, which he said is completely normal. He has helped out financially with funeral services for the family members of people he knows; he has helped people work through relationship issues, and has given his time to people whenever they ask for it. He has given presents and donations to lots of people, especially children and seniors. After we spoke, he was getting ready to help install lights for a neighbor.

“When people get excited, and they’re thanking you for the presents, that feels really good,” Watkins said. “I want to help out everyone that I can, just like my mom. It feels good to do good.”