Sarah Clementine Bauer (nee Jacobs)
San Antonio, Texas
December 21, 2003
Joseph Bauer
Palo Alto College
History 1302 - Spring 2004
Introduction
Sarah Clementine Jacobs was born in Bergsmill, Texas on July 22, 1933. She was named after both of her grandmothers' names. Clementine came from her Grandma White's first name and Sarah came from her father's mother's name. Her grandma White called her Sarah Lee cheesecake because she liked to buy cheesecake. She had no nicknames as an adult. Everybody just called her Sarah.
The oldest person she could remember was her Great Aunt Florence White. She lived to be 103 and was a very active little lady. She really hated taking piano lessons as a child and to washing clothes with her mother on Mondays. They had to wash clothes with a pan of water and a washboard. She always wanted to grow up to be a musician or a nurse. Sarah's first job was at a flying school called Alamo Flyers. She worked in the office where they trained pilots to get their license to fly. Sarah is a big 5'2" tall. Her hair has always auburn. Her eyes are hazel. Her health has always generally been good. She has never had any serious illnesses. She works in the yard for her exercise. One of her nasty habits is smoking. She has come close to saving someone's life just by giving one of her nieces the Heimlich maneuver. She was choking on a piece of candy out of her throat.
She sometimes dreams about being with all of her family. Even the family members that have passed away with all of them just sitting around and talking, while having a good old time. The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her was when she was in the first grade and she had wet her panties and her teacher made her take
her panties off and put them on top of the furnace to dry while everyone in the class saw her panties.
The most beautiful sight that she has seen was when she went to Niagara Falls for the first time. In her lifetime, Sarah has owned three cats, one dog, three birds, and twenty chickens.
Sarah likes to listen to country western music. She likes the song "Amazing Grace". Her favorite childhood games were Kick the Can and Red Rover. She liked to ride a bicycle. She went to school at Hot Wells. It was a small nice school. She participated in all athletic activities. She was also involved with the Drum and Bugle Corp. and the Annual Staff.
She was married at Saint Cecelia Catholic Church. She was married for fourteen years. Her husbands name was Ken Bauer. She had three children. Her oldest son, Kenneth Howard Bauer, was born on June 7, 1956 at Wilford Hall, Lackland Air Force Base. Her second son, Joseph Franklin Bauer, was born on August 2, 1957 at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Her only daughter, Cynthia Dianne Bauer, was born on October 18, 1961 at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Sarah is now seventy years old and she is still alive and kicking. This interview will be over the World War Two era. Sarah has grew up and lived during the time of World War Two and has many memories about it.
TRANSCRIPTION
How were the conditions like when you were growing up as a kid?
We had no hardships because older brothers helped the family out. Mother was a good sewer and all of the kids passed their cloths down to each other. Her parents encouraged the kids to do things better, she said "if your going to do something do it right the first time or do your best".
How old were you during World War Two?
About 8 yrs old.
Do you remember your family discussing anything about World War Two?
the only time was when all of the men would get together with the family they would only talk about little incidents. Her brother Frank said "I wouldn't take 1 million dollars for his tour of duties in the war but he wouldn't pay 1 milion dollars for it either and the only way he would go back was if they took 16 & 17 year old boys and put them on the front likes"
What was San Antonio like during the war?
It was a blooming town because of all of the military bases that in San Antonio.
How did the war change your life as a child?
Well seeing what happened it made us fortunate that we were lucky to have all of our boys to come home without a scratch on them.
What were the living styles like during World War Two?
It was not much difference, we did not do with out anything.
How did the war effect you as you were growing up?
At that young age there was not much thought really it was left up to momma and daddy.
Did the war ever scare you?
Yes, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor just on our way to school about 8:00 in the morning, we heard it on the radio from Franklin Roosevelt and also made me scared because San Antonio has 5 military bases and I did not know if they were going to bomb it either.
Did you agree or disagree with the war?
Agree with the war because it was either them or us. We had no choice.
How did the ending of the war change your life?
I was just glad it was over, thank god it did not have any violence in the United States.
What was school like during the war?
just like regular school, it did not change much.
Did they talk about the war on TV or on the radio?
Always on the radio. They only said things in a broad perspective on what was going on. Not much on T.V. The military coded everything. The letters were sensored, blotted or cut out. Sometimes we wold not hear from my brothers for 14 to 30 days. In the letters my brother Frank wrote us, he would always sign it in different girls names that would tell us where he was stationed at.
Did you read about the war in the newspaper? If so what did you think of it?
Yes, but not much. The newspaper was tiny and only 4 pages long but their was not much in it.
Did you ever use rations during the war? If so what were they?
Yes, for butter, soap, sugar, shoes, gas, oil, lard, toilet paper, and milk I think.
Did you have any family members or friends in the war? If so who were they?
Four brothers, Leroy, a corpral stationed mostly in Japan; Frank, a staff sargent stationed mostly in Italy or Japan; Ramond, a corpral stationed mostly in the Phillipines; Arvie, a sargent stationed mostly in Germany; 3 close friends: Arthor English, Aubrey Cross, and Donald Hopkins.
Did you know anyone who was wounded or MIA?
Not anyone real close, but had a few cousins killed although I did not know them very well.
Did you help out any of the troops when they were in America?
I tried to entertain them when they would come in on the weekends or holidays. We sent a box of cookies and pralines to our boys but enough for them to share some with their friends. Some troops used to write letters to my mother, they called her Aunt Clara. They told her how they were doing and if they got married or if anything happened in their life.
What did you do with the troops for fun?
I played games with them, talked to them, ate together, flirted with them, went to drive-in movies with them, and even went to skating rings with some of them.
How did the troops treat you?
Very good, they were just glad to have company. They all had good maners. I never ran into anyone that was out of line. They were all polite and always thanked us for what we did for them.
ANALYSIS
Over the past few months I have been inteviewing Sarah Clementine Bauer, my grandma, over the World War Two Era. With this interview I have learned much about her life through World War Two. After all of these interviews and talking with Sarah I have been greatly appreciated with all the knowledge I have received from her. I thought that if I have never interviewed or talked to Sarah about her past in the World War Two Era, I would never have known what she has been through or how much her past influenced me so much. By learning about someones past it can give you real enacments on what the person has been through in their life. I think that it would be good for everyone to learn about someones past because it can give them knowledge about someones past and help them understand more about history. After this interview I thinnk I will interview more of my relatives or friends to see what they have been through and to see how the events that happened in the past had a great role in their life. I present this interview for everyone and anyone to see how the World War Two Era had an effect on Sarah Bauer's life and what had happened in that time of her life in the past. It was the best experience I ever had with someone and the most that I have gotten to learn about someone.
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