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Tape 1 Side A 000 Louise Wyant, born September 30, 1923 004 grandparents from Sweden -- Frederick and Amelia Nelson - her grandfather first went to Minnesota, then to Idaho - 1894, her grandfather went back to Sweden for Amelia-- they went back to Idaho and later moved to Washington 021 they bought a chicken ranch in Winlock where Louise spent a lot of time when she was young 029 her uncle was killed in an accident while target shooting 037 Louise first lived in Bukota with her mother and father and her brother, Alan (who was four years older than her) and her sister, Laura (who was a year and a half older) 044 they moved to Centralia 046 in Bukota, during the Depression and prohibition, her father and some of his friends had a still which they ended up blowing up and went to jail - her mother was very excitable 064 her father was an engineer -jobs became scare, so they moved to Centralia around 1930 067 Depression -- she talked about bread lines, soup kitchens, etc. 076 her father became a jippo-logger in Centralia 083 he had a mule to help with the logging - the children would ride the mule down the hill 095 one holiday the family went to Winlock to see her grandparents - she describes the car trip - they had to ford the river when a bridge was out - her mother was screaming about how they were all going to drown 123 she started first grade in Centralia 125 in second grade a new family moved to town - her brother brought home the new boy, Victor Wyant - Louise got a football for Christmas - She was playing football with her brother in an empty field, but when enough boys came, her brother told her to go home, so she picked up her football and ran home. Victor had just gotten a bb gun for Christmas and he shot her in the behind. She didn't drop the ball and kept running -her father had to cut the bb out of her behind and she still has a scar. 143 school-- the Logan School was the first school she went to - the kids had fun playing on the fire escapes -grades 1-8 at the school with 15-20 kids per class (classes taught together-grades 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8) 167 moved out of Logan district and went to Edison School for 6,7, and 8 grades 172 high school --a new gym was built in 1939 which is still used today 184 junior college -- she describes Centralia Community College 193 high school activities: Drama Club, Photography Club, Peppers (like cheerleaders), softball, basketball - women didn't travel to other schools, they played girls teams in other gym classes - in elementary school, they had played against other schools - the boys teams traveled to other schools 221 dating -dated Victor when she was a junior - they had written love letters to each other when they were in grade school - Victor was very shy 230 on a date people would usually go for a walk, go to a movie, go window shopping down town, or go to the soda fountains where they could dance - on Friday and Saturday night, half of the kids in town would be down town - they knew all of the policemen because they walked the streets to make sure that everything was in control 245 when Louise was 8 or 9 years old, her mom sent her down to\\'11 to pick up something - she stole an apple - her mom made her go back to the store and pay for the apple - Louise had to work to pay her mom back for the nickel it took to buy the apple - she had to do dishes, sweep, iron, etc. 276 daily chores - before school -- her brother made sure that there was plenty of wood for the stove, her sister cleaned the kitchen, and she had to clean the bathroom - after school they would clean, iron, etc. 296 she and her sister were fairly close until they got older 300 when she was younger, Louise had a black cocker spaniel - she had a friend who didn't like dogs and once time when she spent the night, Louise made the dog sleep with them on the bed 319 summertime - her dad had beach privileges at Westport because he was a WWI veteran - one time Louise and her sister got lost and had to have a man drive them back to the camp -- the whole camp had been searching for them 385 one lane roads-- every once and a while there would be a circle to the side of the road so that cars could pull off when another car was coming 400 every summer they would either go to the beach or to her grandparents 402 during the Depression-- they were lucky and had enough food because of her grandparents' ranch -- they had chickens and a lot of canned fruit (peaches, pears, etc.,) Tape 1 Side B 000 1939 Victor joined the National Guard - 1941 Victor was called up to Fort Lewis to join the army -Louise would go up to Fort Lewis and they would go to the Sergeants' Club for dancing and live bands 008 George and Helen Swain, an older couple who would also go out dancing, would invite the girls who were dating the boys in the service to stay with them for the weekend - one weekend at the Swain's house, Victor said to Louise "If you're a nice girl rn marry you." and Louise said "WeH, maybe I don't want to be a nice girl." - Victor announced to Helen Swain that he and Louise were going to get married 024 U.S. went to war December 7, 1941 -Louise was sure that Victor was going to be sent off to Europe to fight - Victor came over one day, picked her up, and took her over to his mother's house -- he then asked his mother to go with them to get a marriage license, but she said no; so Louise's brother and sister-in-law got the license with them (he still hadn't asked Louise to marty him) - they were married at her brother's house 049 after they got married they lived in a little apartment 057 Victor lived at Fort Lewis during the week and came home on the weekends - Louise worked at Montgomery Wards as a sales clerk 062 in high school Louise had worked as a soda jerk - her first day they had a sale on ice cream -- two cones for a nickel -she was paid 23 cents an hour at the soda fountain and 35 cents an hour at Montgomery Wards 074 the men in hardware and shoes got paid twice as much as the girls - more women worked there, but aU of the managers were men 088 she quit Montgomery Wards after Victor was transferred - his first assignment was Augusta, Georgia, but he got transferred again while Louise was already on her way to Georgia -- he sent a telegram telling her not to come, so she got off the train - she waited in Idaho for a week with no word from Victor, so she went back to Centralia and asked for her job back at Montgomery Wards - her mother-in-law came into the store one day and told her that Victor had been looking for her -Victor finally called Louise and she went down to meet him in Texas 123 Victor was sent to demolition school at Fort Hood so they moved to Temple, Texas - then they moved to Lampasso, TX after he was done with that school - there were several transfers with only a few months at each place 130 Victor was transferred back to Augusta, Georgia and Louise followed on the train - in Augusta she found a duplex for them to live in 140 she got pregnant with her first daughter, Vicky - Victor was afraid that he would be sent to Europe, so he sent Louise back to Centralia to have Vicky so she wouldn't be alone 144 he wasn't transferred right away, so when Vicky was four months old, Louise and another woman, Elna, drove from Centralia to Dallas - everything then was rationed (gas, cofiee, shoes, etc.) and you had to have a ration ticket to buy things -at Fort Smith, New Mexico, they blew out a tire - the officers them put them up in the barracks and they put Vicky in a footlocker - an enlisted man stayed with Vicky while Louise and Elna went to the officers' club for food 162 they had to go before the ration board to get the tire-- they had the money, but they didn't have a ration stamp - Elna went to the board and was refused - then Elna, Louise, and Vicky went together -- Louise got Vicky to start crying and Elna started crying -- the board gave them the tire stamp 178 Louise and Vicky got on the train in Dallas - the train operators didn't want to give Louise and Vicky a bedroom, so they decided to try the same trick as they did with the tire and they got a room 186 in Georgia, Victor hadn't found a place for them yet, so they lived in a hotel for a while -- Vicky slept in the dresser drawer 198 at that time they didn't Jive on the army bases 201 Victor was shipped overseas and Louise found out that she was pregnant again 204 1945 - Victor decided to stay over in Europe after the war and sent for Louise -Victor Jr. had never seen his dad and Vicky didn't remember him-- Louise had a picture of Victor that the children kissed goodnight 211 they went to New York at Fort Hamilton - they were supposed to be there 3 days and they were there for 3 weeks because the ship workers went on strike - they got out on a boat when the strike was temporarily lifted - no babies were allowed on board -- had to be potty trained (no place for the diapers) - Victor was only I 8 months and had to be quickly potty trained 225 sailed to Germany - took them 21 days from New York to Bremerhauven 240 the children were realiy good on the boat -- Vicky turned 3 right after reaching Germany 249 when they reached Germany, two escorts brought her to Hidelberg where Victor was stationed - the two lieutenants took care of the kids on the 8 hour train ride 273 Victor met them at the train station and took them to their house which had been a Nazi home 284 Louise enrolled in the University ofHideJberg to learn to speak German, but she was more interested in looking around and just being there than taking classes 296 Victor was transferred to Colberg - near the Hummel factory - she toured it several times and started collecting the figurines 309 she describes Colberg Castle - the officers' summer club was there 333 she played bridge with the other officers' wives - there were approximately 20 other army families in Colberg - they were there for 9 months then they were moved to Schwabag near Nuremberg where Roger was born 344 they had several German servants who worked for the army in order to get food - they had a nanny for the children and a Czech cook who stayed with them for the three years that they were in Germany 370 she did sight seeing and traveling - she went to Italy, France, Holland, Czechoslovakia 376 Louise was in Czechoslovakia with some other women when the Russians marched in - Victor had sent her a wire telling her to come home, but she was having a good time so she didn't leave - nobody bothered them, they left when they were ready to go - they found out about the invasion when they got back 400 they came back to the States in 1949, Victor was stationed in Fort Lewis - they drove across the country in the 1938 Chevrolet that they had bought in Germany and had shipped back to New York Tape 2 Side A 000 they came back aboard the USS Stuart, a luxury liner that had been converted to carry troops -rooms for four people (Louise and the three children) - Victor had was assigned a troop on board and had a room down below - both Victor and Victor jr. got sea sick -- Victor Jr. got Dramamine, but there wasn't enough for the troops 022 went to Niagara Falls and then to Colorado to visit George and Helen Swain 029 Victor was stationed in Fort Lewis and they got a home in Olympia, but they only .~J'-.-~~ for about 6 months 037 he was sent to Alaska and they drove the Al-Can highway 047 Vicky stayed in Centralia with Louise's mother because of the polio outbreak, so she flew up later -they lived in Fairbanks in a hotel for a while apartments were being built - Louise didn't like Alaska 080 there was nothing there -- either she cleaned, did craft projects, played board games with the kids, or listened to the radio 094 the families were left to their own -- no military activities planned - it was so cold -- she had to bundle the kid up in layers and sent them to school with flashlights and Louise would watch them walk to school from the kitchen window 107 Valery was born December 25, 1951 - they left Alaska in July - it was light at night - Louise had to put blanket over the windows to make it dark - it was hard to convince the kids that it was nighttime and time to go to sleep when it was still light out 119 they came back on a military cargo plane -- there was a casket in the middle - it was a 10 hour flight and it was not very comfortable 141 went to MacCord to Fort Knox, Kentucky for 6 months of school 146 moved from Kentucky to Texas and got there on Dec. 23 -- they had bought a trailer to bring all the wrapped Christmas gifts - on the way, the kids started fighting and Victor puUed off to the side of the road and kicked them out and drove off -Vicky said "Don't worry, they'll come back-- we've got Valery [the babyr - the kids just sat down and waited for Victor and Louise to come back 176 Louise had rented a house in Texas sight unseen - they had house stuff, but no furniture, so they went out and bought bedroom and living-room furniture, and kitchen appliances when they got there on the 23rd 189 the army took care of all the packing 210 El Campo was a great town for kids -- had baseball, cub scouts, girl scouts, etc. - Louise was volunteered as a scout leader by Vicky for 3 years 226 they lived at the pool during the summer 238 in El Campo, Vicky had joined the Square Dance Club and had to have a dress with lots of ric-rac - Louise had spent all morning marking the fabric with threads and Vicky "helped" her mom by pulling out all of the threads 259 Victor got orders to go to Taiwan and he went over first without his family - they drove back to Centralia first - then Louise and the children went to San Francisco by train and boarded the USS Anderson and then went to San Diego 290 at San Diego the boat picked up some Marines -the Marines were great baby-sitters and would take care of the kids and play games 296 they spent three days in San Diego -- they went to the zoo - Valery lost them in a store in down town and told the saleswoman that her mother was lost 320 Taiwan was a great place for kids -- they had a good time - the children went to school there 340 Valery started school there - she'd go in the morning and later in the day she'd decide that she wanted to go home, so she would get the bus driver to take her home -- she was the only one in the first grade -- she'd go home to play with her friend - back in Fort Knox, she would make the bus driver stop so she could tell her mother "important" things 378 Vicky finished high school at Fort Knox -Victor retired in January and they moved back to Centralia -Victor, Roger, and Valery all went to Centralia High School 391 in Taiwan, the women were difficult to talk to-- very shy and wouldn't look you in the eye - you could talk to the men Tape 2 Side B 000 in Taiwan they lived in Model Village- Western Japanese Housing - then they moved to two other compounds 027 the compound was built in the middle of rice patties - Victor jr. and his friends would catch snakes and dissect them - they could buy all kinds of microscopes, metal sheets, and surgical instruments - a doctor examined the snakes and found that all but one were poisonous, so Victor wasn't allowed in the rice patties any more - to get snakes, they paid the Chinese kids to get them -- when they were caught doing that, they started dissecting mice 057 the petty cab drivers would agree on a fee to drive the kids home and then raise the price when they got there -- the kids had the maids deal with the drivers 067 changes in Washington - the roads -- no more trolley cars and brick roads - down town Centralia used to have lots of shops and boutiques, but now they're gone -- stores are now in the mall or outlet stores - used to have 3 theaters but now they're gone 088 when she was young, one side of the street was off limits to the girls - where the Olympia Club was located 105 Washington people are much more open and broad minded 110 in Texas and Georgia there was still segregation when she lived there - here they didn't see many colored people, but they could go where ever 116 there weren't colored people in her school, but there were Orientals and Mexicans 127 things aren't as safe anymore -Louise never used to lock her door, but she does now 135 the South and Kentucky were more strict, structures, close minded - they didn't feel it as much with living on the base, though 144 officer's wife - expected to show respect for the country and other people - not too concerned with Southerner's thoughts - right or wrong you support the country, regardless of whether or not you personally agreed with the president or congress 162 socialize - play charades - make up games - put on shows, pantomime 176 she adjusted to moving a lot - expected to move at least every three years - military housing was strict - must be spotless when they left - a white glove inspection - she enjoyed the army 187 they always came back to Centralia because their family was there 206 after Victor's retirement, Louise worked for a variety store for four years as a clerk and cashier, she worked at an 88 cent store, she worked in a restaurant and then ran it when the owners gave it up - wages still not equal 226 1961 she made $1.31 an hour 233 Louise went to her children's' sporting events - Roger wasn't very good -Valery bowled, played softball, tennis, basketball 277 once the children were grown and gone, they waited for grandchildren - they took the grandchildren on trips to the beach 293 Louise and Victor took up gardening, vegetables and flowers - Louise also took up quilting -she made one for each of her children and her granddaughters as well as one for Victor and herself
Object Description
Rating | |
Title | Wyant, Louise Oral History Interview, 1998 |
Interviewer | Kaeser, Michelle |
Date | 1998-05-05 |
Description | 120 minute oral history with Louise Wyant, conducted for a Women in the West (HIST 398 course at Washington State University). She talks about her early childhood in Centralia, Washington. She married, then moved a lot because of her husband's career with the military. She discusses her life as military wife in Germany during World War II, and raising her four children. They retired in Centralia, Washington. |
Subject | Economic & social conditions; Housewives; Internal migration; Military service |
Coverage | North and Central America--United States--Washington (State)--Lewis County--Centralia |
Type | Sound |
Genre | Interviews |
Publisher | Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries: https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc |
Rights | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
Rights Notes | In copyright. Item is in copyright until 95 years after 2011 publication date. |
Identifier | ua262b03f28 |
Source | Is found in Archives 262, Women in the West Oral Histories https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc/finders/ua262.htm at Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc |
Holding Institution | Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries |
Contributors | Digitization and description funded through a National Endowment for the Humanities We the People grant for Washington Womens History to the Washington Womens History Consortium, a part of the Washington State Historical Society. |
Language | English |
Digitization | Original audio cassettes were converted to wav files using Audacity and a USBPre interface. Mp3 files were then created from the wav files for online access. Film clips were created as mpeg-4 files using Adobe Premiere Elements 9 to add selected images to the wav audio files. Print documents were scanned to pdf format using a Xerox Workcentre 5030 copier/scanner. |
Description
Title | ua262b03f28_Abstract |
Full Text | Tape 1 Side A 000 Louise Wyant, born September 30, 1923 004 grandparents from Sweden -- Frederick and Amelia Nelson - her grandfather first went to Minnesota, then to Idaho - 1894, her grandfather went back to Sweden for Amelia-- they went back to Idaho and later moved to Washington 021 they bought a chicken ranch in Winlock where Louise spent a lot of time when she was young 029 her uncle was killed in an accident while target shooting 037 Louise first lived in Bukota with her mother and father and her brother, Alan (who was four years older than her) and her sister, Laura (who was a year and a half older) 044 they moved to Centralia 046 in Bukota, during the Depression and prohibition, her father and some of his friends had a still which they ended up blowing up and went to jail - her mother was very excitable 064 her father was an engineer -jobs became scare, so they moved to Centralia around 1930 067 Depression -- she talked about bread lines, soup kitchens, etc. 076 her father became a jippo-logger in Centralia 083 he had a mule to help with the logging - the children would ride the mule down the hill 095 one holiday the family went to Winlock to see her grandparents - she describes the car trip - they had to ford the river when a bridge was out - her mother was screaming about how they were all going to drown 123 she started first grade in Centralia 125 in second grade a new family moved to town - her brother brought home the new boy, Victor Wyant - Louise got a football for Christmas - She was playing football with her brother in an empty field, but when enough boys came, her brother told her to go home, so she picked up her football and ran home. Victor had just gotten a bb gun for Christmas and he shot her in the behind. She didn't drop the ball and kept running -her father had to cut the bb out of her behind and she still has a scar. 143 school-- the Logan School was the first school she went to - the kids had fun playing on the fire escapes -grades 1-8 at the school with 15-20 kids per class (classes taught together-grades 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8) 167 moved out of Logan district and went to Edison School for 6,7, and 8 grades 172 high school --a new gym was built in 1939 which is still used today 184 junior college -- she describes Centralia Community College 193 high school activities: Drama Club, Photography Club, Peppers (like cheerleaders), softball, basketball - women didn't travel to other schools, they played girls teams in other gym classes - in elementary school, they had played against other schools - the boys teams traveled to other schools 221 dating -dated Victor when she was a junior - they had written love letters to each other when they were in grade school - Victor was very shy 230 on a date people would usually go for a walk, go to a movie, go window shopping down town, or go to the soda fountains where they could dance - on Friday and Saturday night, half of the kids in town would be down town - they knew all of the policemen because they walked the streets to make sure that everything was in control 245 when Louise was 8 or 9 years old, her mom sent her down to\\'11 to pick up something - she stole an apple - her mom made her go back to the store and pay for the apple - Louise had to work to pay her mom back for the nickel it took to buy the apple - she had to do dishes, sweep, iron, etc. 276 daily chores - before school -- her brother made sure that there was plenty of wood for the stove, her sister cleaned the kitchen, and she had to clean the bathroom - after school they would clean, iron, etc. 296 she and her sister were fairly close until they got older 300 when she was younger, Louise had a black cocker spaniel - she had a friend who didn't like dogs and once time when she spent the night, Louise made the dog sleep with them on the bed 319 summertime - her dad had beach privileges at Westport because he was a WWI veteran - one time Louise and her sister got lost and had to have a man drive them back to the camp -- the whole camp had been searching for them 385 one lane roads-- every once and a while there would be a circle to the side of the road so that cars could pull off when another car was coming 400 every summer they would either go to the beach or to her grandparents 402 during the Depression-- they were lucky and had enough food because of her grandparents' ranch -- they had chickens and a lot of canned fruit (peaches, pears, etc.,) Tape 1 Side B 000 1939 Victor joined the National Guard - 1941 Victor was called up to Fort Lewis to join the army -Louise would go up to Fort Lewis and they would go to the Sergeants' Club for dancing and live bands 008 George and Helen Swain, an older couple who would also go out dancing, would invite the girls who were dating the boys in the service to stay with them for the weekend - one weekend at the Swain's house, Victor said to Louise "If you're a nice girl rn marry you." and Louise said "WeH, maybe I don't want to be a nice girl." - Victor announced to Helen Swain that he and Louise were going to get married 024 U.S. went to war December 7, 1941 -Louise was sure that Victor was going to be sent off to Europe to fight - Victor came over one day, picked her up, and took her over to his mother's house -- he then asked his mother to go with them to get a marriage license, but she said no; so Louise's brother and sister-in-law got the license with them (he still hadn't asked Louise to marty him) - they were married at her brother's house 049 after they got married they lived in a little apartment 057 Victor lived at Fort Lewis during the week and came home on the weekends - Louise worked at Montgomery Wards as a sales clerk 062 in high school Louise had worked as a soda jerk - her first day they had a sale on ice cream -- two cones for a nickel -she was paid 23 cents an hour at the soda fountain and 35 cents an hour at Montgomery Wards 074 the men in hardware and shoes got paid twice as much as the girls - more women worked there, but aU of the managers were men 088 she quit Montgomery Wards after Victor was transferred - his first assignment was Augusta, Georgia, but he got transferred again while Louise was already on her way to Georgia -- he sent a telegram telling her not to come, so she got off the train - she waited in Idaho for a week with no word from Victor, so she went back to Centralia and asked for her job back at Montgomery Wards - her mother-in-law came into the store one day and told her that Victor had been looking for her -Victor finally called Louise and she went down to meet him in Texas 123 Victor was sent to demolition school at Fort Hood so they moved to Temple, Texas - then they moved to Lampasso, TX after he was done with that school - there were several transfers with only a few months at each place 130 Victor was transferred back to Augusta, Georgia and Louise followed on the train - in Augusta she found a duplex for them to live in 140 she got pregnant with her first daughter, Vicky - Victor was afraid that he would be sent to Europe, so he sent Louise back to Centralia to have Vicky so she wouldn't be alone 144 he wasn't transferred right away, so when Vicky was four months old, Louise and another woman, Elna, drove from Centralia to Dallas - everything then was rationed (gas, cofiee, shoes, etc.) and you had to have a ration ticket to buy things -at Fort Smith, New Mexico, they blew out a tire - the officers them put them up in the barracks and they put Vicky in a footlocker - an enlisted man stayed with Vicky while Louise and Elna went to the officers' club for food 162 they had to go before the ration board to get the tire-- they had the money, but they didn't have a ration stamp - Elna went to the board and was refused - then Elna, Louise, and Vicky went together -- Louise got Vicky to start crying and Elna started crying -- the board gave them the tire stamp 178 Louise and Vicky got on the train in Dallas - the train operators didn't want to give Louise and Vicky a bedroom, so they decided to try the same trick as they did with the tire and they got a room 186 in Georgia, Victor hadn't found a place for them yet, so they lived in a hotel for a while -- Vicky slept in the dresser drawer 198 at that time they didn't Jive on the army bases 201 Victor was shipped overseas and Louise found out that she was pregnant again 204 1945 - Victor decided to stay over in Europe after the war and sent for Louise -Victor Jr. had never seen his dad and Vicky didn't remember him-- Louise had a picture of Victor that the children kissed goodnight 211 they went to New York at Fort Hamilton - they were supposed to be there 3 days and they were there for 3 weeks because the ship workers went on strike - they got out on a boat when the strike was temporarily lifted - no babies were allowed on board -- had to be potty trained (no place for the diapers) - Victor was only I 8 months and had to be quickly potty trained 225 sailed to Germany - took them 21 days from New York to Bremerhauven 240 the children were realiy good on the boat -- Vicky turned 3 right after reaching Germany 249 when they reached Germany, two escorts brought her to Hidelberg where Victor was stationed - the two lieutenants took care of the kids on the 8 hour train ride 273 Victor met them at the train station and took them to their house which had been a Nazi home 284 Louise enrolled in the University ofHideJberg to learn to speak German, but she was more interested in looking around and just being there than taking classes 296 Victor was transferred to Colberg - near the Hummel factory - she toured it several times and started collecting the figurines 309 she describes Colberg Castle - the officers' summer club was there 333 she played bridge with the other officers' wives - there were approximately 20 other army families in Colberg - they were there for 9 months then they were moved to Schwabag near Nuremberg where Roger was born 344 they had several German servants who worked for the army in order to get food - they had a nanny for the children and a Czech cook who stayed with them for the three years that they were in Germany 370 she did sight seeing and traveling - she went to Italy, France, Holland, Czechoslovakia 376 Louise was in Czechoslovakia with some other women when the Russians marched in - Victor had sent her a wire telling her to come home, but she was having a good time so she didn't leave - nobody bothered them, they left when they were ready to go - they found out about the invasion when they got back 400 they came back to the States in 1949, Victor was stationed in Fort Lewis - they drove across the country in the 1938 Chevrolet that they had bought in Germany and had shipped back to New York Tape 2 Side A 000 they came back aboard the USS Stuart, a luxury liner that had been converted to carry troops -rooms for four people (Louise and the three children) - Victor had was assigned a troop on board and had a room down below - both Victor and Victor jr. got sea sick -- Victor Jr. got Dramamine, but there wasn't enough for the troops 022 went to Niagara Falls and then to Colorado to visit George and Helen Swain 029 Victor was stationed in Fort Lewis and they got a home in Olympia, but they only .~J'-.-~~ for about 6 months 037 he was sent to Alaska and they drove the Al-Can highway 047 Vicky stayed in Centralia with Louise's mother because of the polio outbreak, so she flew up later -they lived in Fairbanks in a hotel for a while apartments were being built - Louise didn't like Alaska 080 there was nothing there -- either she cleaned, did craft projects, played board games with the kids, or listened to the radio 094 the families were left to their own -- no military activities planned - it was so cold -- she had to bundle the kid up in layers and sent them to school with flashlights and Louise would watch them walk to school from the kitchen window 107 Valery was born December 25, 1951 - they left Alaska in July - it was light at night - Louise had to put blanket over the windows to make it dark - it was hard to convince the kids that it was nighttime and time to go to sleep when it was still light out 119 they came back on a military cargo plane -- there was a casket in the middle - it was a 10 hour flight and it was not very comfortable 141 went to MacCord to Fort Knox, Kentucky for 6 months of school 146 moved from Kentucky to Texas and got there on Dec. 23 -- they had bought a trailer to bring all the wrapped Christmas gifts - on the way, the kids started fighting and Victor puUed off to the side of the road and kicked them out and drove off -Vicky said "Don't worry, they'll come back-- we've got Valery [the babyr - the kids just sat down and waited for Victor and Louise to come back 176 Louise had rented a house in Texas sight unseen - they had house stuff, but no furniture, so they went out and bought bedroom and living-room furniture, and kitchen appliances when they got there on the 23rd 189 the army took care of all the packing 210 El Campo was a great town for kids -- had baseball, cub scouts, girl scouts, etc. - Louise was volunteered as a scout leader by Vicky for 3 years 226 they lived at the pool during the summer 238 in El Campo, Vicky had joined the Square Dance Club and had to have a dress with lots of ric-rac - Louise had spent all morning marking the fabric with threads and Vicky "helped" her mom by pulling out all of the threads 259 Victor got orders to go to Taiwan and he went over first without his family - they drove back to Centralia first - then Louise and the children went to San Francisco by train and boarded the USS Anderson and then went to San Diego 290 at San Diego the boat picked up some Marines -the Marines were great baby-sitters and would take care of the kids and play games 296 they spent three days in San Diego -- they went to the zoo - Valery lost them in a store in down town and told the saleswoman that her mother was lost 320 Taiwan was a great place for kids -- they had a good time - the children went to school there 340 Valery started school there - she'd go in the morning and later in the day she'd decide that she wanted to go home, so she would get the bus driver to take her home -- she was the only one in the first grade -- she'd go home to play with her friend - back in Fort Knox, she would make the bus driver stop so she could tell her mother "important" things 378 Vicky finished high school at Fort Knox -Victor retired in January and they moved back to Centralia -Victor, Roger, and Valery all went to Centralia High School 391 in Taiwan, the women were difficult to talk to-- very shy and wouldn't look you in the eye - you could talk to the men Tape 2 Side B 000 in Taiwan they lived in Model Village- Western Japanese Housing - then they moved to two other compounds 027 the compound was built in the middle of rice patties - Victor jr. and his friends would catch snakes and dissect them - they could buy all kinds of microscopes, metal sheets, and surgical instruments - a doctor examined the snakes and found that all but one were poisonous, so Victor wasn't allowed in the rice patties any more - to get snakes, they paid the Chinese kids to get them -- when they were caught doing that, they started dissecting mice 057 the petty cab drivers would agree on a fee to drive the kids home and then raise the price when they got there -- the kids had the maids deal with the drivers 067 changes in Washington - the roads -- no more trolley cars and brick roads - down town Centralia used to have lots of shops and boutiques, but now they're gone -- stores are now in the mall or outlet stores - used to have 3 theaters but now they're gone 088 when she was young, one side of the street was off limits to the girls - where the Olympia Club was located 105 Washington people are much more open and broad minded 110 in Texas and Georgia there was still segregation when she lived there - here they didn't see many colored people, but they could go where ever 116 there weren't colored people in her school, but there were Orientals and Mexicans 127 things aren't as safe anymore -Louise never used to lock her door, but she does now 135 the South and Kentucky were more strict, structures, close minded - they didn't feel it as much with living on the base, though 144 officer's wife - expected to show respect for the country and other people - not too concerned with Southerner's thoughts - right or wrong you support the country, regardless of whether or not you personally agreed with the president or congress 162 socialize - play charades - make up games - put on shows, pantomime 176 she adjusted to moving a lot - expected to move at least every three years - military housing was strict - must be spotless when they left - a white glove inspection - she enjoyed the army 187 they always came back to Centralia because their family was there 206 after Victor's retirement, Louise worked for a variety store for four years as a clerk and cashier, she worked at an 88 cent store, she worked in a restaurant and then ran it when the owners gave it up - wages still not equal 226 1961 she made $1.31 an hour 233 Louise went to her children's' sporting events - Roger wasn't very good -Valery bowled, played softball, tennis, basketball 277 once the children were grown and gone, they waited for grandchildren - they took the grandchildren on trips to the beach 293 Louise and Victor took up gardening, vegetables and flowers - Louise also took up quilting -she made one for each of her children and her granddaughters as well as one for Victor and herself |
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