Helen Mary Pawlik
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Helen Mary Pawlik was born on June 28, 1915 in
Kosciusko,Texas Albina Hedwig Wiatrek and Felix Robert Pawlik. Helen is the fourth of five children. She and her brother were very close to their maternal grandparents since they lived within walking distance. She was a member of St. Ann's Catholic Church while growing up. Helen and her family lived across the street from the church in Kosciuszko. Her father, Felix, farmed and raised cattle on about 250 acres of land, which he owned nearby. Felix was also a carpenter and later owned a grocery store.
In 1920, the Pawlik home received the Kosciusko telephone switchboard where Albina was the operator. When Helen was ten years old, she was trained to work it. The switchboard was a very small one, which Helen had to use a hand crank to ring the customers. She went to Kenedy to train so she could get the calls quick in case of an emergency. They were getting more members, and it was hard for her to keep up even with some help from her mother as it was a 24-hour job.
In August of 1942, Ms. Pawlik chose a less stressful job and moved to San Antonio. She receives a job at San Antonio Drug Company where she worked for about a year. She then started to work at Sweeney & Company Inc., where she worked for 40 years before retiring. Now she enjoys her free time by having her hotline with friends, knitting, and others crafts.
Describe your childhood.
Life was difficult growing up in Kosciusko,Texas. My father worked in San Antonio, Texas as a carpenter and only came home once a month by train to bring money back to mama. We would eat vegetables from our garden, and we raised our own cows and chickens. Our diet consisted of homemade breads, vegetables, and very little meat. Sometimes for supper all we would have to eat was tea cakes and coffee. We had to help mama with the farming. We grew cotton and corn on two acres inside of Kosciusko.
What was going to church like as a child?
Well Church was different then it is now. There was one priest for every church. Masses lasted a lot longer. It seemed as if the sermon lasted for a hour. We made our First Communion when we were in the first grade. All the children would sit in front of the church and were supervised by the nuns. If we were bad they would shake us or just point their finger and you knew they meant business. The men and women sat on different sides of the church.
Describe your experiences as an operator.
In 1920, the Kosciusko switchboard was moved from Victor Cellmer's home to our house where my mother worked it. At the age of ten, I was trained to do this work. The switchboard was very small and I had to use the hand crank to ring the customers. I helped my mother out while I was going to school. When I finish school then I worked it full time. I was paid forty dollars a month for being on call twenty-four hours a day. The switchboard was located in my room so I would be able to transfer the calls at any hour of the day. When I first started there were only ten phones in the area but as time went on the number grew. I had to keep accurate time since no one had TVs or radios. Everybody would call for the time so they would get to church on time. When there was a death in the area I had to notify all the people of the news. I went to
Kenedy, TX to train so I could get the calls through quicker in case of an emergency. I had to miss several events because someone needed to be there to take the calls.
After doing this interview with my great aunt Helen I have learned about life in the early 1900s. I have always known about my aunt's job as a telephone operator, but did not realize that she was forced to miss family events just so others could talk to each other. I found it unusual that she was able to attend school until the ninth grade. Many times people were forced to quit school at an early age to help with house chores. Being a telephone operator was the perfect job for my great aunt since she was able to receive all the latest gossip.
Mapquest provides a map of
Kosciusko,Texas where Helen was born.
Operator gives a brief description of being a telephone switchboard operator.
Mapquest provides a map of San Antonio, TX where her father worked and where she resides.
Mapquest provides a map of Kenedy, TX where she was train in case of emergencies.