Rose Richardson with grandchildren Erin and Paul Richardson
Interview With the Grandmother
Paul B. Richardson
Spring, 1994.
Some of my earliest memories are of my Grandmother Rose. She is a strong woman with strong beliefs. She was always after me to go to church and was the de facto head of her family. My grandpa was easy going and not too concerned with governing the household. She is feisty and not at all afraid to voice her opinion to anyone. However, in many ways she was a typical homemaker; cooking and baking and tending to kids. This is our interview.
Q: Okay, Grama, here is the first and most difficult question I will ask you: exactly when were you born?
Grams: (looking uncomfortable) Okay, I was born December 31, 1915.
Q: Can you tell me something about the Twenties?
Grams: I don't remember anything about the Twenties.
Q: Okay. . . . well, how about the Thirties; the Depression. what are some of your memories of those years?
Grams: I had to walk to school without socks. The shoes I wore cost $1.95 from Woolworths or something. I had to walk from 20th Avenue all the way to Sacramento High School.
Q: Do your remember anything else?
Grams: Well. . . . I was given $.50 a week to buy lunch. We didn't have it bad at all. My dad was a bricklayer and he had plenty of work and we had plenty to eat; we never went without. $10.00 would buy a big box of groceries.
Q: A box of groceries?
Grams: Yes, they didn't have bags back then, and these were big boxes. My dad worked hard. I also remember the soup lines, and there were shanty towns near the river and out in Woodland.
Q: What can you tell me about your mother?
Grams: My mom died when she was forty-six, of a heart attack. . . .
Q: A heart attack! That's not too common, is it?
Grams: No, it isn't. My mom and dad were both born in Utah. My mom was wonderful.
Q: Did they spank you? I mean, what were the rules of the house?
Grams: No! We were never spanked. I remember my chore was to kill flies every day when I came home from school. My other sisters had to set the table.
Q: What else in general can you tell me about your parents?
Grams: My dad had a wonderful sense of humor. He would hire kids to help him work at bricklaying. When payday came they had to beg on their knees for the money. . . .
Q: Yes, I remember Grampa "Red". He was a character.
Grams: Yes, he was. Both of my parents were born in Utah. They didn't meet until they were both in Canada.
Q: Why were they in Canada?
Grams: The President of the Mormon church at that time had invited them to settle there.
Q: Okay.
Grams: Anyway, my mom was seventeen and my dad was nineteen when they met in Canada. My dad had a farm there. That's where I was born.
Q: So you're Canadian, eh?
Grams: I remember church was kind of far away. We had a horse and buggy and it took a while to get there. When we got there, we would spend all day there. I remember Dad always had to have dinner ready when he was done working. But sometimes my mom was too busy with other things to have it ready on time, so when she heard him coming home she would put onions in a skillet with some butter. When he came in it would smell like dinner was cooking. This gave her enough time to fix something real.
Q: What are some favorite holiday memories?
Grams: Well, the one I always remembered was New Year's Eve because that's also my birthday. Also we made fudge every Saturday night. We would also make dill pickles and popcorn. My mom and dad would make root beer.
Q: How do you make root beer?
Grams: I don't remember. You could buy the stuff to make it, though.
Q: What do you remember about school?
Grams: Oh, I loved school! I went to Pacific Elementary School on 38th Avenue down by Campbell Soup.
Q: So, what was it like?
Grams: Well, I had a wonderful third grade teacher but I can't remember her name now. Every year she would buy little Cupie dolls for all of the girls.
Q: What exactly is a "Cupie" doll?
Grams: They were these little dolls. . . . Here, I'll show you some that I still have.
(We take a break for several minutes to look at her impressive doll collection, including a valuable porcelain doll that belonged to her great-grandmother!)
Q: Okay, so where were we? Oh yeah; school. What was your favorite subject in school?
Grams: Music.
Q: Music?
Grams: Yes, music. Music is wonderful.
Q: Did you attend college at all?
Grams: Yes. I went to Sacramento City College for three years. I loved it.
Q: What did you study in college?
Grams: Oh, just your basic stuff. I was also in the a capella choir. Miss Ivene Shields was the director.
Q: Why didn't you go away to college?
Grams: Well, like I said, my family was relatively well off during the depression, but sending anyone away to school was absolutely out of the question.
Q: For financial reasons, right?
Grams: Yes.
Q: Were you active in sports during your school years?
Grams: Oh, yes. I played soccer, tennis, and baseball.
Q: Were you in a league, or what?
Grams: No, I just played with the boys after school.
Q: When did you finally leave home?
Grams: All of us (meaning her and her sisters) stayed at home until we were married.
Q: How old were you when you married?
Grams: I was twenty-four and Milt was twenty-seven.
Q: What was the ceremony like?
Grams: It was rather brief. We had it in the L.D.S. Temple in Salt Lake City. (Lecturing now) You know, Paul, it's the only way to marry someone if you really love them (glances at Dannett). Your mother and father were married in the Oakland Temple. . . .
Q: Yeah. . . . but they're divorced now.
Grams: I know, and I'm glad that your Grandpa Milt didn't live to see it.
Q: Uh, okay. How about your life's goals. What was you set out to accomplish, and did you accomplish it?
Grams: There were only two things I wanted to do; one, get a temple marriage, and two, sing in the college choir.
Q: So, hey! You got to achieve your goals.
Grams: Yes.
Q: Okay, let's talk about work. What are some jobs you had? And what did they pay?
Grams: Well, after college I went to work for an outdoor advertising system. . . . my first job was when I was in college. I did domestic work for one of the teachers. The job paid $18.00 a month. After I had worked there for a few months, the teacher came to me and said he could no longer afford to pay that much. My pay was cut to $15.00 a month. I was so mad! I went to the Administration Office to complain and they gave me an office job for $20.00 a month; quite a change for the better. Later, I got a job with the city school district for $70.00 a month. And, of course, after I quit there, the wage went up from $70.00 to $300.00 a month.
Q: What is the Outdoor Advertising System" that you worked for?
Grams: A billboard company.
Q: How was it being married?
Grams: Hell, it was a drastic change. I was a "real" homemaker. I baked bread, cakes, cookies; all sorts of good things. We rented a house on Roosevelt Court. Rent was $25.00 a month but we could barely afford it. Your grandpa kept a garden in the back. I remember one year he planted some crap I wouldn't eat. I think it was okra or something like that.
Q: When did you get this house?
Grams: Your grandpa built this house starting in '45. It took him two years. He could only work weekends and after work on it. He couldn't afford to take time off.
Q: What was it like having kids?
Grams: I liked going to the hospital to have kids because I could just lay around and eat. . . and the food was good.
Q: It must have been costly. How did you afford it?
Grams: It wasn't so bad. The delivery cost $50.00. A ten day stay in the Sutter Hospital maternity ward cost about $90.00. So, we only had to pay about $150.00 total.
Q: Wow! Okay. . . . let's talk about politics. Did you vote back then?
Grams: Yes, I've always voted. I was a Democrat all of my life, and so was my dad. But I'm a Republican now.
Q: All right . . . when and why did you change?
Grams: When we got this rotten president we have now in office. I can't stand her or her husband!
Q: I see. How about world events. What was the scariest world event that has happened in your lifetime?
Grams: World War II was the scariest thing. My oldest, your Aunt Jeanne, was ten months old when Pearl Harbor was attacked. My brother had to go to war against the Japanese. We had to keep the lights off after dark and they would set off air raid sirens for drills.
Q: Anything else?
Grams: The ration stamps. We had stamps for meat, dairy goods, and gasoline. Red stamps were for meat. They were the most prized stamps.
Q: Who were your favorite actors from the period?
Grams: My favorite actor was Janet Gaynor. Wanda liked Billie Dove and Lillian liked Clara Bow. Gene Autrey was our favorite male actor. We also liked Tom Mix.
Q: How much do you think the world has changed since those days?
Grams: The world was totally different back then. Technology has changed the world so much. When I was a girl, bi-planes were used and we rode to church in a horse and buggy. Now you have jets and computers and all sorts of cars everywhere. We could go anywhere at night without fear. We used to take walks at 11 p.m. down Land Park Drive. There were lots of people out late.
Q: What is the one thing you would like to pass on to your descendants?
Grams: Good health, happiness, and no more divorces!
Q: Good. Oh, by the way, is there anything else about your marriage that you would like to mention?
Grams: Only that your grandpa was a wonderful man. And that, unlike most couples, I handled the money.
Q: Really? That's interesting.
Grams: Yes. He was content to work and then give the money to me so he wouldn't have to worry about it. He was always so busy. I was lucky this way, too, because when he died I already knew how to handle everything. Some women are stuck not even knowing how to drive when their husbands die.
Q: What changes would you like to see in society?
Grams: I would like to see crime cleaned up; these gangs should be squashed. I would like to see things oriented towards the family, and I think that parents who don't take care of their kids should be punished.
Q: You should have run for public office. Reviewing your life, what do you regret the most?
Grams: Not work at all when I had kids. I had a job when Anne was eighteen months old. I should never have left the kids.
Q: Okay, Grams, to wrap it up, do you have any questions for me?
Grams: Would you rather live now or back in the old days?
Q: Back then. I think the opportunity to achieve the American Dream has passed. Our country is about through now.
Grams: Yes, but those were hard times back then. Grampa Red up in Canada had to bury his second son, Joseph, alone and by himself. He also had to go out into the blizzards to round up cattle. And, there's also the time when our dog was struck and killed by lightning. One time, when he was out driving the cattle, he found a dead Indian. Indians always came to visit us up in Canada. Those were very hard times. And your grandpa, I mean great-grandpa was only nineteen.
Q: Ok. Thanks, Grams.
Another biography of Rose Richardson may be seen here.
To return to Eunice Richardson's page, click here.
To visit the Christensen family website, click here.
To return to the Richardson Family website, click here.
