Mary Louise James (nee Schimdt)
What was your favorite place in the house?
I guess you can say the kitchen area.
What hobbies did you have then?
I had good imagination, one thing, and I liked to ride my tricycle until I parked behind my daddy's car. My daddy run over it and I liked to play with my cat and animals.
Did you grow up having everything you wanted or needed?
I had what I needed, no kid ever gets what they want all the time.
I was not deprived of anything but I grew up in the Depression so there was not much to
have.
What kind of jobs did your dad have?
He worked for the railroads and then we moved to Somerset and he got a job at a company called Pioneer Oil Sales, it was a refinery and he became the bookeeper.
How long was each work day?
Oh, it was like from eight to five and he had a one hour lunch.
How much did he got paid? Did he get paid by the hour, weekly?
I did not pay that much attention to that because I was just a child.
What did your mom do for a living, did she work?
No, she was a housewife but she did things in school while my sister and I attended school she worked with the PTA.
Did you have a job while growing up?
No!I did well getting up and going to school and doing my homework. Daddy did not believe in girls working.
Was money a big issue as it is now?
No, I did not expect so I was not hurting for anything. I do not think I was hurting for anything and I still do not think I am hurting for anything.
Did you helped your parents with money?
No.
Do you remember any accident you or your family went through?
No, we pretty much stayed home. When I was in high school the only thing that happened to me was they used to have what they called goat roping during the summer and I was riding a paint horse and it took off with me and another person on it. I fell off and hit my head on the railroad tracks, I had about six or eight stiches on my head, but it did not hurt me.
Did you suffer from the Great Depression?
Well, everybody was hurting through the Great Depression. There was not extra money, it was strictly you survive. My father had some chickens when we moved to Somerset that way we had the eggs and the benefit of having chickens. We were never deprived from food.
What was the name of your grandparents?
From my father's side, his mane was Herman Schmidt and my grandmother Louis Kurc and from my mothers side her father was John Dale Carbet and Mary Elizabeth Hunt.
Did your grandparents came to the United States from a foreign country?
My fathers' parents, they came from Germany actually they lived in Berlin. I know very little history there because when World War II came along, grandpa was very upset with his country that he destroyed a lot of family information.
What memories do you have of them?
Oh, grandfather was a strong man and grandma was a little old lady who cooked and we stayed with them when daddy and mother could not take my sister and I.
Did you attended school?
Yes, I attended Somerset High School, I was a mediocre student.
Was it hard for you to graduate?
No, I just did what had to be done. See, it was after World War II so there was not plenty to be offered like it is now. By the way, I graduated in 1948.
How was it to be in high school?
Fun(smiling while remembering)we all had fun, the kids would walk to my house on weekends and my daddy would take us hunting in a group. They used to walk to the house and walked back home.
How did you got to school?
I rode the bus until my senior year that they let me rode the family car. I believe it was a 1940 four door Ford.
What things did your neighboors have that your family did not?
I never noticed. I mean, when I grew up everybody was going through the Depression so nobody seemed to have any more or any less that what we did
Did you have electricity? If not, when.
Not until 1945, I believe. We used oil lamps for light.
Who cooked in your house?
My mother, and I helped her. My sister and I learned from her.
What meant Saturday and Sunday for you?
Saturday it was the day to wash your hair real good for the upcoming week. Sunday we went to church and Sunday school. We visited somebody if no one went to our house. As I grew older my parents and some friends of them would take me to rodeos.
When you were young, what did you hope to be when growing up?
I always wanted to be a wife and a mother. I had thought of going to college but that was never an option for me.
Who did you admire when growing up?
I admired my teachers and my family they were all good uncles and aunts.
What songs did you sing?
Oh well whatever was popular at that time.
Frank Sinatra was just beginning when I was in high school. There were a
lot of songs I just can not remember, a lot of them came after World War II that were popular pop songs.
What traditions are still practiced in your family?
Oh, Christmas and getting together with family I do not do it as much anymore and I do not plan to have family these year, since my husband passed away.(a sad expression invaded her face)But I will go to my children's homes. We also celebrate birthdays.
Where did you meet your husband?
Well, that is an interesting one(smiling)I was a junior in high school and
he had come from the service. I was sitting ouside at the car with my mother and I knew
he was an ex-student from my school and I asked my mother "Do you think he will ever go
with a girl my age" she said "Well if you are a good girl yes." So that summer he dated me
and we decided to get married the end of my senior year. He asked my father for my hand
and we got married October 23,1948. That is a tradition.
What did he do for a living?
He was a farmer after he got out of the service.
When your parents knew your relationship did they oppose it?
No.
What was one of the conflicts you and your husband have?
We really did not have any conflicts, we worked together on trying to make a living and raised our four children.
How long did it take you and husband to have the life you wanted?
It was a work in progress 'til the day he died.
Did you worked as you grew older?
I worked after my father passed away at the ASCS office, Agriculture Stabilization Conservation Service that was located on Main Avenue in San Antonio. I worked there for three years, my husband encouraged me to get at it because after my father passed away, I was very depressed and I needed something to occupy my time and mind that way since I was from the farm I could associate and do something with the farm programs.
How was it to be married and have kids?
Wonderful!(a big enthusiastic smile in her face)Well let me put it this way, there were some ups and some downs like in any family. We had four children, three boys and one girl. They have turned out to be very stable people.
How was your life different from your parents?
Well, things were easier to come by because we grew up in a time that money was able to be had. Where as with my parents it was very difficult as money was concerned. We didn't know any different because they always kept us happy and well nursed and a roof over our head. As a child you do not think of those things and of course there wasn't the television to put ideas in your head or make you unsatisfied with what you have. That is how I saw my life it was fine we had fun, we laughed, we had our sorrows but that is something that happens now and years before.
Frank Sinatra. Photo of a young Frank Sinatra from Sonny Watson's swingstreet.com. The terms 'Ole Blue Eyes' and the 'Chairman of the Board' were used to describe Frank Sinatra. Frank was a crooner rather than a dancer, however he did dance and dance well. Started his singing career in saloons and local dives. Later he would sing with Tommy Dorsey and Harry James orchestra's and by 1942 he would be soloing.
