Transcript of Live Interview
April 1, 2014
April 1, 2014
As you know, Roosevelt was the president during the 1930s and 40s, and it was the time of the Great Depression. Could you tell us a little bit about what your life was like during the Great Depression? Where you were? What you were doing at the time?
Well let’s see. I was born in 1922. So the depression hit about 1929, I think it was. So I was 7. And I lived in Spokane, Washington. I can still remember Mother taking my sister and I down to the bank to try to get out the money they had in there. And of course, the doors were locked so you couldn’t get into the bank. But the panic – it is still so vivid in my mind. Mother had like 200 and something dollars in savings, but that was a lot of money back in those days when you could buy bread for a nickel and things like that. So, 200 was a lot of money to lose in the bank. But yes, it’s so vivid in my mind.
Do you remember how the Great Depression changed your life?
Well you know, we were young. We knew that Mom and Dad didn’t have a lot of money, but we were happy little kids. My dad was a carpenter and every morning he’d take his toolbox and go down to the Union Hall to see if he could get a job. If he didn’t come home, that was a big thing – Dad was working and we were going to have some money. But they managed…I don’t know how. They kept us pretty shielded. My Grandpa and Grandma lived on a farm, and so they kept us with potatoes and eggs and a few things like that. And Mother just improvised – we ate so many potato pancakes that to this day I still don’t even want to eat one. I remember that! And we, of course you know we didn’t have a lot of things like you kids have now, but the big thing was everybody had an ice box because there was no refrigeration. And a lot of those things, like the ice man would come around and they’d give us a chunk of ice, well that was just like you guys eating an ice cream cone. And we just did what we did. We didn’t have money to be entertained so we played. The fathers would get up and play baseball with us at night in a vacant lot, you know. Things like that…we learned. Dad made a little wading pool for us. We learned to swim in that little wading pool, we learned to ice skate on that little pool, and it was just a gathering place for kids. So you know, we made our own fun. Let’s put it that way.
What are the few main things you remember about Roosevelt's presidency?
Oh my. I was in high school when he took over. I always thought he was just a great, great president. I still remember his speech on Pearl Harbor day. And I lived through that era – World War ll, the Great Depression and everything. So when I watch documentaries, it’s just like I’m living it all over again.
What did you think of him as a leader during the Great Depression?
Oh I thought he was great. I really did. He was somebody you looked up to, and you knew he had you in mind. And I was so surprised that he was so sick and a lot of that time, they kept it from us. We did not know. Knowing that was an eye-opener.
Did you see any significant changes that came forth as a result of his presidency?
Oh yes, the Great Depression got better. It was a slow process, but you know he started a lot of things, like WPA and things like that, that put people back to work. He did a lot of good, I think.
Roosevelt is widely known as the first president to have used the radio to communicate with the people through his weekly fireside chats. Do you remember them? Did you ever listen to them?
Oh absolutely.
Where would you listen to them?
At home. See when I was young, we didn’t even have radios. We had what they called a crystal set, where you could get the signal off the air. So a radio was a big thing when we got that. Even a telephone was a big deal. We had a four party line and no matter the ring, everybody was answering that phone and listening in. And when we got a two party, well that was pretty good. And when Dad got his permanent job with the city, we had a private line. I mean, geez, we were really…we were okay.
Do you remember anything particular about his fireside chats? Or how you felt while listening to them?
I think a lot of it was kind of scary to me. Because being so young, you don’t picture really actually what’s going on. And I looked to my Mom and Dad for more advice about what he was saying and what he meant and things like that. But oh yeah, everybody else to his fireside chats. Oh yes, that was big deal. And if you didn’t have radio, you’d come to somebody’s house that did have a radio. They were that important.
A lot of people consider him to be one of America’s favorite presidents. Do you consider him to be one of your favorite presidents?
I do because he’s the one president from when I was growing up that I remember because he was in office for a long, long time. And he took us through the Great Depression, and World War ll and my husband was in that. I always think he was a very good president. He did a lot for the country.
Is there anything else you want to talk about?
When you’re young, I don’t think you realize what actually is going on until you get older and think ‘Oh now I remember what Mom and Dad were going through.’ And me and my sister often wonder…we always seemed to have food on the table but we, in the later years thinking about it, often wonder if our Mother went to bed hungry so that Dad, Sis and I could have food, you know...And everybody had a garden in the summertime and everybody canned during the winter. And that’s what you did, you know. And everybody shared. It was a community thing because we were all in the same boat...And I remember, well of course Dad working was a big deal and then when he got on with the city, that was a permanent job and that was the big change in our family living as we had monthly income. So yeah…that was our life during the Great Depression.
Well let’s see. I was born in 1922. So the depression hit about 1929, I think it was. So I was 7. And I lived in Spokane, Washington. I can still remember Mother taking my sister and I down to the bank to try to get out the money they had in there. And of course, the doors were locked so you couldn’t get into the bank. But the panic – it is still so vivid in my mind. Mother had like 200 and something dollars in savings, but that was a lot of money back in those days when you could buy bread for a nickel and things like that. So, 200 was a lot of money to lose in the bank. But yes, it’s so vivid in my mind.
Do you remember how the Great Depression changed your life?
Well you know, we were young. We knew that Mom and Dad didn’t have a lot of money, but we were happy little kids. My dad was a carpenter and every morning he’d take his toolbox and go down to the Union Hall to see if he could get a job. If he didn’t come home, that was a big thing – Dad was working and we were going to have some money. But they managed…I don’t know how. They kept us pretty shielded. My Grandpa and Grandma lived on a farm, and so they kept us with potatoes and eggs and a few things like that. And Mother just improvised – we ate so many potato pancakes that to this day I still don’t even want to eat one. I remember that! And we, of course you know we didn’t have a lot of things like you kids have now, but the big thing was everybody had an ice box because there was no refrigeration. And a lot of those things, like the ice man would come around and they’d give us a chunk of ice, well that was just like you guys eating an ice cream cone. And we just did what we did. We didn’t have money to be entertained so we played. The fathers would get up and play baseball with us at night in a vacant lot, you know. Things like that…we learned. Dad made a little wading pool for us. We learned to swim in that little wading pool, we learned to ice skate on that little pool, and it was just a gathering place for kids. So you know, we made our own fun. Let’s put it that way.
What are the few main things you remember about Roosevelt's presidency?
Oh my. I was in high school when he took over. I always thought he was just a great, great president. I still remember his speech on Pearl Harbor day. And I lived through that era – World War ll, the Great Depression and everything. So when I watch documentaries, it’s just like I’m living it all over again.
What did you think of him as a leader during the Great Depression?
Oh I thought he was great. I really did. He was somebody you looked up to, and you knew he had you in mind. And I was so surprised that he was so sick and a lot of that time, they kept it from us. We did not know. Knowing that was an eye-opener.
Did you see any significant changes that came forth as a result of his presidency?
Oh yes, the Great Depression got better. It was a slow process, but you know he started a lot of things, like WPA and things like that, that put people back to work. He did a lot of good, I think.
Roosevelt is widely known as the first president to have used the radio to communicate with the people through his weekly fireside chats. Do you remember them? Did you ever listen to them?
Oh absolutely.
Where would you listen to them?
At home. See when I was young, we didn’t even have radios. We had what they called a crystal set, where you could get the signal off the air. So a radio was a big thing when we got that. Even a telephone was a big deal. We had a four party line and no matter the ring, everybody was answering that phone and listening in. And when we got a two party, well that was pretty good. And when Dad got his permanent job with the city, we had a private line. I mean, geez, we were really…we were okay.
Do you remember anything particular about his fireside chats? Or how you felt while listening to them?
I think a lot of it was kind of scary to me. Because being so young, you don’t picture really actually what’s going on. And I looked to my Mom and Dad for more advice about what he was saying and what he meant and things like that. But oh yeah, everybody else to his fireside chats. Oh yes, that was big deal. And if you didn’t have radio, you’d come to somebody’s house that did have a radio. They were that important.
A lot of people consider him to be one of America’s favorite presidents. Do you consider him to be one of your favorite presidents?
I do because he’s the one president from when I was growing up that I remember because he was in office for a long, long time. And he took us through the Great Depression, and World War ll and my husband was in that. I always think he was a very good president. He did a lot for the country.
Is there anything else you want to talk about?
When you’re young, I don’t think you realize what actually is going on until you get older and think ‘Oh now I remember what Mom and Dad were going through.’ And me and my sister often wonder…we always seemed to have food on the table but we, in the later years thinking about it, often wonder if our Mother went to bed hungry so that Dad, Sis and I could have food, you know...And everybody had a garden in the summertime and everybody canned during the winter. And that’s what you did, you know. And everybody shared. It was a community thing because we were all in the same boat...And I remember, well of course Dad working was a big deal and then when he got on with the city, that was a permanent job and that was the big change in our family living as we had monthly income. So yeah…that was our life during the Great Depression.