Voices of the Past
Ryan: “The process of growing up is extremely influential on the person that the child later becomes in life. So what was your childhood like, and how has it shaped who you are today?”
Jean: “Well I grew up in the 50s which was a great time to grow up…in many ways. Uhm family was very important. Group activities. I was taught responsibility. I was taught to be frugal. I…the life I lived, I thought we were pretty well off. And uhm it turns out my mother was just very good with money [laughing]. We were quite poor but I never knew that. Kids didn't know much about those things in those days.”
Ryan: “Okay…So you said it was a great time to grow up. Uhm…why…why did you say that?”
Jean: “Cause there was rules, you knew what you had to do. There was limitations and you knew where they were. Uhm it was uh…musically a great time to live and looking back on it, if I had to choose when I would want to live, it would be during the 50s.”
Ryan: “Okay…so when you think back to your childhood was is your most vivid memory? What is the first thing that pops into your mind?”
Jean: [sigh] “The first thing obviously is my family. Uh…my activities in school, my church-we had to take two busses to get to church; it was that important. My grandfather [alcoholic] lived with us and my mother took care of him…without any complaints. My father worked 7 days a week. He worked for the Long Island Railroad and there was no union then and they were expected to work 7 days a week. So I remember that vividly. I also remember that when it came to taking a vacation, that my mother would break everyone’s piggy banks the night before, and when we woke up in the morning we were packed and ready to go and off we went. We never did anything really spectacular, but she always managed to uh get us away for a couple of days.”
Ryan: “Cool.”
Jean: “And I remember that my mother fed homeless people on our back porch. There were no food pantries then and places for people…homeless people to go. There wasn't even the name homeless people. But my mother fed them and there was several people that came to the back door regularly and she feed them out on the back porch.”
Ryan: “Oh wow. That’s cool.”
Jean: “Yeah…It is cool.”
Ryan: “So would you consider, were your parents politically active when you were growing up?”
Jean: “Not really, I mean they were pretty basic. They voted. That was very important to them that they voted. But they were not actively involved in any political party, activities, or elections. Uhm… it was different back then because you didn't have to go around with petitions like you have to now. I’m sure they did, but it was within the hub of the political party, and we weren’t involved in that.”
Ryan: “So…it was….less communal would you say? Or…”
Jean: “Less communal?”
Ryan: “Less of a community thing to do?”
Jean: “Oh…much less. It really wasn't at all. I’m sure there are people, obviously there must have been people that did all those political jobs. But we were not part of it.”
Ryan: “Okay. And so you mentioned that your dad worked for the Long Island Railroad before there were unions…uhm…so did they ever discuss and unionization or any other politics?”
Jean: “Yeah. It was a big deal in those days. And the thing I most remember is when they went back did a 6 day week. And that was like…huge that he only had to work a 6 days a week. So… but I also remember not answering the phone sometimes because if someone on the 7th day who was supposed to work that called in sick, then the person who had already worked their 6 days would have to work. And as far as I remember there was no monetary gain for overtime.”
