TRANSCRIPTION
When where you born and where?
I was born in St. Louis Missouri on October 30, 1952.
So you were in college and a brief term of high school during the 70's during the Vietnam war?
Yes I was
Why did you move from St. Louis, Missouri?
My father was a traveling sales man. He worked for Benjamin Moore Paint Company. We moved to San Antonio because he got transferred there.
He didn't want to go and we all complained but once we got to Texas all of us loved it. None of the kids have left since we got here. Your grandfather loved Texas as well
he was happy to get transferred down here after about a month of driving all over the state for the paint company.
Where did you attend high school? Did you make good Grades?
I went to Churchill High School. I made great grades a lot better than yours son!
Were you aware of the Vietnam War?
Yes I was very aware of the war. It was an important issue and came on the news everyday.
What was your family like concerning the war?
Mom and Dad didn't really talk about the war. If it came up on the news we were allowed to watch the news coverage,
But if the topic came up at the dinner table the subject seemed to change really fast
Why Would the subject change?
Our family was a very conservative one. We were allowed to make our own decisions concerning certain issues I feel my parents didn't know
what to think of the war Your uncles were in danger of being drafted if they did not attend college, and no one wants to see their child get picked into the draft.
That's why my parents forced all of their children to attend college.
Speaking of the draft did you know anyone who dodged the draft?
I knew of friends who failed to show up to the draft board and some friends who didn't even register for the draft because they were afraid of the draft.
Did Uncle Jack and Uncle Steve Avoid the draft? How did you feel about this?
Yes, and No. They both started college both not making good enough grades to stay in. Uncle Jack was in and out of twelve
colleges to avoid being drafted. Uncle Steve joined the coast guard so he wouldn't have to actually fight in Vietnam. I felt like dodging
the draft was not a noble thing to do but I understood why people did it.
You attended College at the University of Texas Correct?
Yes I did attend UT for a while. It was a great place I loved Austin, it was a great place to find yourself.
What did you guys do for fun in the 70's while in college?
Well mostly the same things y'all did we drank, hung out went to movies, some kids did there drugs.
The 70's have the known belief that everyone did drugs did you do drugs?
I will inform you that there was an influence of drugs on the '70's. Flower power was going on, people were more care free and relaxed.
As for me doing drugs I never touched them i still had the conservative family behind me so I never wanted to go against my morals and believes.
What was life like in Austin during the War? Dress? Attitude of the people?
Austin was a weird place now that I look back on it. Everyone dressed In Bell Bottoms and Hip-Huckers Sometimes people wore many layers of clothes.
The attitude was a very lackadaisical one. No one cared about anything, maybe that's why my grades weren't too great. I remember seeing a girl walk into class
obviously doped up on some kind of drugs without any shoes on it was very weird to me but very free and relaxed. I soon went days without wearing shoes. In Austin the Crowd was
in "hippie" attire. But in San Antonio you had to go to certain sides of town. it wasn't as abundant, in San Antonio. Even though San Antonio had more of a conservative edge than Austin,
Everyone had long hair, which is a trade mark of what you would say is a "hippie"
What kind of music did people of your time listen to?
We Mostly listened to people like Peter Paul and Mary, Momma's and the Papa's, Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Moody Blues, James Taylor,
Buffalo Springfield, Jim Croce and Bob Dylan.
Do you think music Influenced the way you thought of the war?
Me personally, no. But a lot of individuals who listened to their music did. I recall at a James Taylor concert in his earlier days he was talking about how the war was
unjust and wrong. When you are doped up or just easily influenced, this might sway your opinion on things.
What exactly was your stance on the war in Vietnam?
The Vietnam war was wrong. There was much confusion about this war. We never really got a real answer as to why we were over there.
I was against the war because of that reason. To this day, I ask why were we there? I don't think volunteering people for a war is good either. If a person doesn't want to
fight why make him? it doesn't help the moral of the country nor does it help the moral of the army.
Did you protest the war? Did you voice your opinion.
I did protest the war. I didn't protest just the war, I also protested against the draft. I voiced my opinion when asked or when it was an organized rally.
I never just yelled out at Military when they were seen. I also never spoke of my opinion to my family because it was still a sore subject. To this day me
and your father don't talk about the war.
Can you describe to me a protest?
The protests were fun. Many people were doing drugs, not myself but, others. Everyone held there signs, burned there draft cards,
laughed and joked about our political system and of course the war. You would see Upper class kids holding hands with middle or lower class kids. If it
was organized right it was peaceful. If it wasn't there were chances of getting hurt from riots or from police trying to break up the rally. Many of the protesters were for
peace so they didn't want to start trouble, just speak their mind. Some individuals who where there were bad apples but you could point those individuals out
and stay away from them. I saw people burning the American Flag which really hurt me. It wasn't America we were protesting we were just protesting the draft and the war.
I always supported the troops and I supported America just not the way things were happening.
Do you feel living in Austin had a influence on your stance?
No i do not feel that way at all. I felt the same way about the war when i was living in San Antonio with Grandma and Grandpa. I just didn't
want to protest while i was in San Antonio, for fear of my parents reaction.
Was your Protesting in Austin a rebellion towards your parents? what about your friends?
Yes it was a rebellion against my parents. Everyone needs to find their own way, and if they are smart they find their way back to where they started. Many of my
friends did do it to rebel against their parents. I had a friend Brenda Donahue who refused to talk to her parents because they supported the war, and her family
was strongly against her protesting. They always warned her of repercussions of her doing so. She did it because she was tired of her parents demanding rules upon her.
Do you feel your protesting the war helped you raise Sarah and Myself?
Yes, I always taught you to stand up for what you believe in, but not to break the law. I could have easily been that kid to smoke pot,
or do drugs but I stood next to my morals and beliefs and I made sure to instill those morals and beliefs into you guys, I never said don't do something
i just made sure you knew the difference between right and wrong.
When you found out that your husband had been in the Vietnam War, how did you react?
I didn't voice my opinion i didn't feel it was my place, each person has their own beliefs, and I don't feel I should preach to people about my beliefs.
You claim now that you are a strong conservative why is this?
Winston Churchill once said- " to be liberal and over the age of 35 you have no brains, but to be a conservative under the age of 35 you have no heart."
I lived exactly to that. I feel as you grow up and mature things start to make more sense to you. Having investments in many different money markets, I have
found that the Republican party seems to watch over my interests better.
Can you explain the '70's to me?
The '70's- from what I saw- was a time of expression. I think America was trying to find itself, as a free spirited country. Today times have changed and it seems everyone
is more conservative. The Laws of today have made it harder for kids to express themselves and I wish kids of today could live 2 weeks in the 70's to learn what it was about and not
hear from people how it was. If you stood up for what you believe in while in the '70's you might be looked down upon but you wouldn't have gotten into trouble if you did it within the
relaxed laws of the time. Now kids are tormented by authority to live within that shell of society, and you can't express yourself without being persecuted. But through me my children
will understand that standing up for yourself and expressing yourself is okay no matter who looks at you wrong.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
I would like to add, that this is a great project for my son. He is able to learn about his parents past. Being Conservative now, I don't feel it is something I would have
normally talked to my son about. During college I took my past for granted, now I wish I knew half the things my parents did while they were in there early twenties, I hope my grandkids
will get to interview their father or mother to learn what he did while he was in college.
ANALYSIS
I was able to learn a lot from interviewing Janet Tennis. While conducting this interview I learned what the times were like back in the 70's and how some individuals
acting during the war. I learned a lot from interviewing my mother. I learned about how my family was concerning the war. I learned my family even though very conservative didn't
necessarily support the war but they also didn't all defend the anti-war movement, like my mother did. Prior to interviewing my mother I was under the impression that the 1970's were
full of cheap drugs and cheaper sex. I soon found out that many of the people in the 1970's were not abusing drugs and weren't all promiscuous. A lot of the people in the 1970's were
just expressing themselves. The benefits to this project are basically we get to look at the topics we have previously learned in a different manner. I would have never suspected my mother
to be an anti-war protester the way she acts now. But after this interview we learn something about someone we didn't know before. Some of the drawbacks are the time consumption, and of course
not being able to ask the people what we really want to know. I would love to know what it was like to be on acid or drugged up during the concerts of their days. I couldn't ask my mother that.
Overall this is a great project to help me learn about the past. My reasoning behind this is because, My mother and I finally sat down and talked about what it was like when she was my age.
and what it was like when she didn't believe in what was going on in our government. Honestly, I would love to do this again with a different interviewee so I could learn more about other people rather
than just one person.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
St. Louis, Missouri.
San Antonio, Texas.
Zweibrueken, Germany.
Anti-War Protests.
Seguin, Texas.
Republican Party.
Return to Oral History Projects
