William Louis Koenning Jr.

William Koenning high school senior picture (1958)

Floresville, Texas

DATE OF INTERVIEW??

Kevin Koenning

Palo Alto College

History 1302 - Spring 2007

INTRODUCTION

William Louis Koenning Jr. was born in Dewees, Texas . He was born on November 29, 1939 to William Koenning and Bertha Stobbs Koenning. He grew up in Dewees until he was about twelve years old, when his father passed away, he had eight other siblings. While living in Dewees he attended school there at a little country school with two rooms. They then moved to Floresville where he attended middle school and high school. During high school he played football and ran track. He lettered three out of four years in football that he attended there. He graduated from high school in 1958. From here he went to work at Friedrich Air Conditioning. He married my grandmother, Jo Carolyn Walpole Koenning shortly after and had two children Clayton and my mother Norma born in San Antonio. They were living in Floresville and they decided to move to San Antonio because it was close to there places of work. They lived there till just recently six years ago they moved back to Floresville.

TRANSCRIPTION

William Koenning in family grandchildren picture (1943)

What was life like as a boy in Dewees, Texas?
Well, when I was a boy we had to work. Each of us kids had a certain job around the place.

How did you contribute to your family when you were a young boy?
I contributed by tending to the sheep. I would feed and water the sheep, and I would also help my daddy out in the field picking cotton.

Why did you and your family move into Floresville?
Well we moved to Floresville when I was twelve years old. We moved because my daddy got sick and died, and we couldn't farm the land anymore with just my momma, and us kids only.

What grade were you in, at school when you moved to Floresville?
When we moved to Floresville I was in the (Pause) sixth grade I think. I can't quite remember the exact grade.

Did you participate in any extra-curricular activities in school?
Well, I participated in football all six years I could play, and in high school I played football and paticipated in track all four years of high school.

When you were in high school, what classes did you have to take?
Well(Long Pause) we just had to take the basic classes like three years of English, two years of Science and Math, and some other classes like Ag, and Sports.

William Koenning with his friend in 1959

What did you and your friends do for fun outside of school?
We would go down to the river at Joe Bob Kolinda's house and set some throw lines in the river and stay out there the whole weekend.

Did you have a job throughout high school?
Yes, during the off-season the football coaches would make us get a job after school and during the summer hauling hay or working cattle.

What was the high school gradutaion ceremony like?
Well(Long Pause) it wasn't that big, but there were quite a few people there for a class that only graduated 42 people.

Did you attend college after you graduated high school?
Yes I went to college and got a two year degree in refrigeration at San Marcos.

Where did you work at after you graduated and got your college degree?
After, I graduated I started working at Friedrich Air Conditioning, and went to school every day after I got off of work, and get up and do it again the next day.

What kind of work was it when you first started?
Well(Long Pause) when I first started we were building rocket boxes for the military, but after the war, we started making window unit air conditioners.

Did you stay in Floresville after you finished all your schooling?
We stayed in Floresville till, I got married and had children from there we moved to San Antonio.

How many different towns did you live in after you finished your schooling?
We only lived in two different towns Floresville and San Antoino that is really the only two places we lived in.

Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
I don't think so. I can't remember anything else I would want to add.

ANALYSIS

I learned more about what my grandfater did when he was a young kid and what he did to help out with the family around their farm. The most important points I in the interview would be how much harder thing were then then they are today. I learned what happened to his father and why they moved into Floresville from Dewees and I also learned what he participated in when he was in school. In some of the questions he would have to pause and think about it, then he answered but I can't really tell how he looked when he answered because I did my interview over the phone. The stories taught me about how easy school was back then compared to now, and how the working coditions were back then. Most of the stories told came from his personal memories, but the story about the cotton I looked up on the internet. The benefits are that you learned about the person you interviewed, the drawback would have to be some of the stuff told to you might not be completly accurate. This is a effective way of learning about the past through the interview because you are hearing the stories from a person that lived through that time period, instead of reading it straight out of a book and getting bored on the subject being talked about.

TIMELINE

Interviewee's Name born on ______ to in _
Moved to in _ for _
Attended _______ School beginning in _

Dropped out of school in the ___grade in _ /Graduated from High School in
Began full-time work as _________ in
Moved to in _ for _

Married __ on in
First child born in _ at ______

Death of in _ after _ of
Retired from _ in
Interviewed by on ________________

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Handbook of Texas Online is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at UT-Austin. It was produced in partnership with the College of Liberal Arts and the General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin. Copyright © The Texas State Historical Association. Last Updated: May 6, 2004.

Dewees, Texas -where grandfather was born and raised until age 12.

Friedrich Air Conditioning Company - describes place where grandfather worked for 46 years.

Floresville, Texas -grandfather moved here after father died at when he was 12 years old.

San Marcos, Texas - town where grandfather went to college at now known as Texas State.

Cotton - grandfather picked cotton growing up in Dewees until he moved into Floresville.

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Created on September 11, 2002, Revised January 29, 2007