Mary Lou Klemcke (nee Kurz)
What age did you begin school?
When I was a child. Daddy did not want me to miss any school which in the long run was a good thing it really helped me throughout life.
What was school like for you?
Well we had no buses for awhile. My father had a car and he took us but we had to walk home which as you can imagine was not fun at all.(she giggles).The school building only had three rooms. I remember my teacher, Mrs. Faye. I happened to locate her awhile back through an article in the paper. I was able to meet her again and it was very special she was such a great teacher.
What do you remember about the Great Depression?
I don't remember it. I didn't even realize it was going on at the time. It was not until I was older I found out about the Depression. To be honest I thought during that time we were doing better than others.
When did you meet your husband Fredrick?
I knew him from school and we were friends but he had a girlfriend already. Fredrick was a grade ahead of me so we didn't really talk much until after school when we were in college and about that time we started dating. Then he went to serve in the Navy around 1946 or 1948 not sure.
How long have ya'll been married?
He married in June of 1948. Nine months later our first daughter Eileen was born. He already passed on but we would have been married 56 years I believe.
How many kids do you have? What were their names?
We had three kids. Eileen was the oldest and then Annettee and Fredrick William not Jr(she laughs). Everyone seemed to think it was junior for some reason. The girls called him Buba but he past on in his early ages.
Tell me more about school. Did you attend college?
Yes I did. I graduated high school. Shortly after I attened college for a year and a half at San Marcus. My college years were times I will always remember. Thats when you really start to enjoy making something of yourself.
Was school hard? What was homework like?
Well school is hard to everyone in their own way. One thing is for sure we did not have all those X equals and so on that you kids have today(she laughs).I think the kids now days have more concerns on school then I ever did (she laughs).I do remember my momma would light a lamp at night time. We didn't have lamps so we used a wick to have light. We had to carry it with us where ever we went because we had no light in the house. That wick was our only light.
Did you have recess when you were in school?
Well we didn't have the kind of games you kids have now. But we played ball. Nothing like today we just tossed the ball back and forth to each other, it was nothing special. My best friend Martha and I was always trying to think of things to do. We never found ourselves getting into trouble though.
Is there anything else you would like to mention about school?
Well lets see. You didn't need a liscens to drive at that time. So when you got to be a senior you could drive the bus. Around my freshman year of high school or maybe before then I'm not to sure we got buses and the school would let the seniors be in charge of driving them no liscense neccessary.
When did you start driving?
I guess I was about 13 or so maybe 14 I'm not too sure on that. Oh but it was a joy. I felt like I had so much freedom.
Did you hang with your friends a lot more when you started driving?
I did I spent most of my time with Martha Sue. We did so many things together. We had good times. Although those fun times had to wait if there were chores that needed to be done we were not allowed to invite our friends over without completing our chores. And momma and daddy checked to make sure the chores were done right.
What other activites do you remember doing while growing up?
Well lets see, I went to the beach several times with my sisters. We went to Corpus mostly. I remember one winter we went to Medina River and the river was all dried up but it was filled with snow. My sisters Billie and Lucile and I played down there for hours. Momma and Daddy had drag us out there almost(she laughs). It sure was fun.
You mentioned you lived on a farm,can you tell me more about that?
Sure,I will tell you what I remember(she laughs). Well my Daddy worked the farm so of course us girls had to help with that. when an animal died my Daddy would tie the hind legs of the animal and carry if off somewhere.It was awful,but we had to help with everything.
What kind of animals did you have?
Well lets see, because it was a ranch we had cattle,goats,sheep,and a few chickens. We had one horse and three mules. Daddy used the mules around the house not a tractor.
Did your family ever pick cotton or do any kind of hard labor like that?
Well back in those days everything was hard labor compared to now. To answer your question yes we picked cotton.
Can you tell me more about that?
Sure can.I went one time with my Daddy after picking cotton to Dripping Springs that was the only place you could market anything in those days. We went one year and sold peaches.
What was it like to wash clothes?
I never washed clothes. I do know we had an underground system. We had this tank and an old fashion pump. We would place a kettle over the fire to make hot water. Momma hired a black lady to help with the clothes. She was such a kind lady I just loved having her over. I remember her telling Momma that rain water was better to use for washing clothes and for your hair. Thats why we had the underground syetem. The rain would fun off the house so we had to keep the top of the house clean to we didn't have dirty water. Momma placed kettles around the house so she could catch the rain. Momma maid made the soap but, I'm not sure how all that was done. After our clothes were washed they smelled so clean and fresh.
What kind of things did you wear?
Overalls and coveralls and of course Sunday dresses. I dont think anyone had jeans.
Tell me about a bussiness your father got into.
Oh yes, Kurz Motor Company. My daddy was a private partner. It was owned by my Uncle Paul, they sold mostly Ford cars. A lot of times when they sold a car they had to teach the person how to drive it. I didn't know to much about it except that it was there. The garged closed eventually around 1945 or 1946 not to sure on that.
How did you see a doctor?
We had to go 12miles for that. I remember one time I was a little thing a toddler maybe. They thought I had sniffed up Karosen. So when we were about to go I said,"We going bye-bye" and thats when my momma knew I was okay.
How did you get mail?
I can remember getting the mail. I would take our horse to go pick it up. We got a daily paper but of course it was late(she laughs). We got a sears catalog and thats how we purchased gifts and clothes. Momma told us to pick out what we wanted. I remember I wanted this beautiful blue dress for Christmas but it never came. So momma gave me a ring so I would have something.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
Sure would. This was a unique experince but I am very glad to have the oppertunity to share my life with you and whoever may read(she laughs).It's been so long sometimes I have trouble remembering everything. Every now and then it will come to me when I sit and think about it but ohter than that I don't remember to much but I hope that I was able to answer your questions and I hope you do good with your class and get an A(she laughs).
Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection. Geographical and historical maps of continents, countries, counties, cities; maps relating to history and current news events. University of Texas Libraries.
Cost-of-Living Calculator. The calculator uses the Consumer Price Index to do the conversions between 1913 and the present. The source for the data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index reflects the cost of items relative to a specific year. The American Institute for Economic Research. P.O. Box 1000. Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 01230.
Small Town Texas Projects. Palo Alto College student/s Oral History project on the town of Somerset, Texas. This Small Town Project was completed in the Fall semester of 2007 as a requirement for Assistant Professor of Robert Hines's History 1302 class.
Photographs and/or documents on this website were provided by MaryLou Klemcke and Timber Thompson. The phots shown were mostly of MaryLou along with her sisters Billie and Lucile and a few contain her best friend MarthaSue and Rudy Opperman. Most of the photos were taken by her partents Gus and Allien one was by a school photographer. The pictures varied from special occasions to everyday life. They were from her photo album located in maryLou's closet