What was it like for you growing up?
Well, it wasn't bad or anything there just wasn't much excitement going on becuase we hardly ever had anything we were so poor.(laugh) I can remember looking forward to fridays becuase we got to go with daddy to Griff's (a little burger joint right down the road from where we lived) and we'd buy 10 burgers for a dollar. And eatin a hamburger for lunch, dinner, whatever was rare for us since we didn't have the money to eat them all the time like you can now. So for us, getting to do that was a real treat. Other than that, and maybe playing games with my brothers and sisters, and sometimes the neighbors if we was getting along with them,(laugh) that's probably about it.
What kind of games did you play back then?
We didn't play board games or anything like that becuase we didn't have the money for it. So we just played games and made stuff where it didn't cost nothing to do it. Sometimes we'd make our toys out of things like corn cobs, sticks, cans, whatever we could find that we could make something out of.(laugh) That's pretty bad isn't it. We just had no money for anything else than what we needed. We also played a game called Annie Over which was probably the one thing we did the most. We'd get a big group together and usually play at our house. Not becuase we had a big house, we just had a pretty good size yard to run around in. So we'd split up into groups and go on each side, and then yell out real loud "Annie-Annie Over after we threw the ball. I never could catch the stupid thing and i wasn't fast at all.(laugh) But i enjoyed playing, especially since there wasn't anything else to do. We had to do stuff like that to keep from getting bored to death.
What were some of the most tiresome chores you can recall?
Oh that's easy, i'd have to say scrubbing all the clothes on our old washboard. My hands would get so tired sometimes from doing that and we only had one so my momma made that my job. Everyone had their own chores to do, and that job happened to be mine. I mean it they felt like they was literally gonna fall off.(laugh) But i really can't complain a whole lot becuase momma did more than i would have ever dreamed of doing. If she could do what she did to raise a family of 10, then i can't say much for washing a bit of clothes. But i think that was the one thing i didn't care for the most.
Were you ever so poor as to say that you did without the basic necessities at any time such as electricity or indoor plumbing?
No, not really. I mean there were a few times when that happened but it wasn't too often. Daddy always made enough to get us by, we just never had anything left over after the bills and stuff were taken care of. We usaully had everything we needed so we really didn't do without the things we had to have. It's so funny, your dad makes jokes about us being poor and that we used to tie a piece of bacon around our upper lip at night, so when we woke up we thought we'd been fed already.(laugh) Course i know he's just kidding, that isn't true. Or atleast i wasn't around then if it was.(laugh)
Did everyone in the family finish school?
Yeah, believe it or not we all did. And some of us even went to college. Your Uncle Bill went and got a degree in business, and Aunt Jeanie did too and that's why she makes good money doing what she does selling property up in the hill country. I went for a little while but it wasn't for long cause i had Jeff soon after that so i stayed home and took care of him. Larry had a good job so i didn't really worry about getting one til after a while. We always had what we needed and then some. I gues that's why i never really went back. I didn't feel like i needed to. But anyways, yes we all finished school thank God. I don't know how sometimes,(laugh) but we did.
What was the first job you ever had?
The first job i ever had was working at a
Goodwill department store. And i pretty much answered phonecalls all day for the delivery trucks that came in once a week. But i only did that for about a year cuase that's all i could really stand.(laugh) That's the only thing i did so it just got real old after a while and i thought well i need to move on and do something different, so that's just what i did.
What did you do when you or someone in the family got sick?
Well, the best thing you could do was just to stay rested, and take it easy for a while until you were feeling ok again. One thing she did was she'd take some lemon juice and mix it together with some vicks and then heat up on the stove. We'd lean over and breath it in real good to help with the congestion and stuff. And when we had an upset stomach, she'd always make us some potatoe soup and then have us sleep with our knees tucked real close to our stomaches. But that's really all we did. What medicene they did have back then momma refused to give us, even if we could have been able to afford to but it.(laugh)
What was your best paying job you ever had?
I think the best paying job i ever had was probably working over there at Alamo National Bank. It wasn't my favorite job but it payed the best. I think my favorite job was either being a teachers aide or a cafeteria lady at the elementary school. I enjoyed being around the kids so that's why i liked doing it.
Do you remember any important events or anything that went down in the history books that might have happened back then that you can recollect? And if so, what were you doing at the time?
I think the thing i remember the most was when they were rescuing those people over there in Vietnam. I can still see the people reaching for the helicopter as they were taking off after they had a load of people. I guess the saddest part about it was seeing the chidren over there. They didn't want to get left behind, but a lot of them did. It was enough just to make you burst out into tears. And then of course, when the president was shot. I remember ironing Larrys clothes when it come on the television, and he was out messing with the goats. And i called him in, and we were both just standing there in shock. We couldn't believe it, and neither could the rest of America i'm sure. That was another sad time. But other than those two things, that's really all that I can remember that happened.
If there is anything you could have done differently, what would it be and why?
Well, to be honest I really can't think of anything. But even if I could I don't believe I would have changed anything just because that's the way it happened. And iv'e enjoyed my life, and that's how the good lord wanted it to be for me so I'm plenty happy with that.
Annie OverThis website gives a description about the game and how it is played.
washboardThis shows a picture of a washboard and people would scrub the clothes with a thick-haired brush or a rag of some sort when washing.
Goodwill Department StoreThis website gives information about the industry itself as well as locations, employment, and what Goodwill is about.
Alamo National Bank This website gives info about the corporation, banking with them, locations, and other things regarding the bank.
