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Shirley Faye - The Coal Miner's Daughter
68 Plays1 year ago
Shirley Faye passed away January 31st, 2023. She was the last of her siblings, including Gertha, Arnie, Gerald, Sandy and Carol, who were all children of Holly and Thelma Tritt. This recording is of her telling the Tritt family story, and her own life story. Shirley died a month later. We miss her (and all the family) very much.
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Transcript
Family History: Ancestors and Bootlegging
00:00:00
Speaker
Grandma, grandpa, Elma and Holly, you know, like where they started because it seems like they Broke off or like from their other families or whatever Or maybe not maybe I had just died off you just yeah, but they cuz they've made the move out west right? Yeah, and that was seems like it was a separation. I know a whole lot about daddy's family. I know that yes, I have sister Maggie she lived down in Ruston and
00:00:30
Speaker
When he was a young man, he would do the bootlegging. Oh, the liquor bootlegging? He was a bootlegger. Yeah, the moonshiners. He was a moonshiner, yeah. And he used to run moonshiner. This is in Virginia? And he was in Kentucky and Virginia. Oh, okay. Back and forth. Yeah. He was running moonshiner. He was shot. He was shot through the chin. He was right here. Oh, really? Under the chin.
00:00:58
Speaker
It came out of here. Really? How old was it when that happened? It was a young man. It was before he met Grandma? I'm not sure now if that happened before or after, I think before. Yeah. Wow. He was a moonshider. Did he get shot by the law or some other moonshiners? Maybe some other moonshiners.
Tales of Virginia and Early Family Life
00:01:18
Speaker
Some other moonshiners. How do you know that story? You told me that story. You told you that story. That's a small story. Meantime story.
00:01:39
Speaker
That's funny. I've heard that he got shot, but the story that I remember was he got shot fighting over Grandma in a bar. That's for some reason, that's how I was moonshine. They tried to turn him into a hero, but he was a moonshine. He was an outlaw. But daddy never was. He never was a big drinker. Right. He never was. Yeah, that's good. No, he wasn't a big drinker, but he would take a drink of it.
00:01:53
Speaker
How did he tell it like he was scared or detailed like he was tough?
00:02:06
Speaker
I've never really seen him drunk. Yeah, right. And Grandma neither, right? She never drank. Yeah. But they both smoked. They both smoked. They both smoked, yeah. He smoked for years and then she started smoking after his kids were all born. Yeah, that's right. I heard that before. She started late, but then she gave it up early. Then she gave it up again. So where did they meet? Where were they? Back in Virginia. They met in Virginia? That's where Mommy lived.
00:02:35
Speaker
Right. She lived in Virginia. And he must have been doing outlaw moon chugging stuff or something. I was going back and forth between Virginia. So he probably met her on a run. He was 10 years older than her. Oh, yeah, totally. Yeah, he was making a run and went into town with some money or something. She was out walking around. Yeah.
00:03:03
Speaker
That's funny, that was in Virginia. She was young when they got married. Like what? Fifteen, sixteen, something like that? Sixteen, sixteen. Yeah, okay. Yep. And they got married in Virginia? Yep. That's true. What were their parents' names? Do you know them? Mommy's parents' names was Maude and Arie. Maude and Arie. A-R-I-E. Arie. Arie. Arie. Excuse me, Arie.
00:03:28
Speaker
And her name was Maude. That's a cool combination, Maude. And daddy's mother's name was Lucinda. Lucinda. Did you ever meet these people? I don't remember ever meeting daddy's parents. I think they died. Yeah. I met mommies. Did they ever talk about where their European heritage is from or anything like that? Yeah. Have they been in the United States a long time? Yes. For a very long
Coal Mining Journey and Life in Washington
00:03:53
Speaker
time. Yeah. Right. They came over early. Right. Yeah.
00:03:59
Speaker
And then, so, did you meet any of grandma's family? Yes. You met Ari and Ma? Oh, yeah. We went back there once when I was in kindergarten. Oh, really? About a week, me and Carol. Oh, really? Back on the train. From Washington? Yeah, and we spent about a week. How long did it take you to take the train from Washington to Virginia? Several days. Just the two of you?
00:04:22
Speaker
with mommy. So this would have been like, even late 40s, early Holbury? Late 40s. Wait, Holbury? I think I was in kindergarten. The first grade, Terrell was... That would have been like six years old. Terrell was about four, I think. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, that'd have been right around 1950. He used to give us a right. We got pictures of him giving us a right on his workhorse.
00:04:51
Speaker
And then he grew tobacco leaves, lots of tobacco and farming stuff. And he would load up this long flatbed trailer that his horse would pull to the market. And he used to load it up with his tobacco leaves and all his stuff.
00:05:08
Speaker
to go to the market and you would let me and Carol ride on the back of the trailer with a horse puller. And that's not with the horse puller. Oh, that's funny. And we would ride to the market like that with him. Oh, that's funny. And he'd sell all his goods. You did that for that week when you were out there? Yeah. Oh, that's good. And then we got to go to school with the kids and we got to go barefoot. Nobody wears shoes. Yeah, right.
00:05:30
Speaker
and a lot of kids were sitting in the windows, you know, for seats. You're like a Loretta Lynn song. You see the kids sitting in the windows, one leg outside, one leg in, you know. Yeah, right. Right, like a horse. Oh, that's fun. I remember all that. So you stayed out there with Grandma, just the three of you? Yeah. Grandma and Grandpa. We called them Mama and Papa. Mama. Papa. Papa. There was no Grandma and stuff. And then you took a whole week to get back. Yeah. Wow.
00:06:00
Speaker
We were done a good while. Yeah, that sounds like maybe almost a month or something. That's good. Is that the last thing you saw? No, because then they were going to move out here a few years later when we got here. I think I was about the sixth, seventh grade and they were going to move down and rest in
00:06:20
Speaker
and they did get a little house down there. How did everybody know about Ruston? I don't know. Well, Clyde and Julia and all, and Kermit and Eric. Yeah. And all of them lived down in there. Well, okay, hold on a second. Let's start from the top. Let's go. So, Thelma and Holly meet, and they get married in Virginia, and do they, they have the fruit, when do they have what have been Gerald? Arnie. Arnie. Gertha. Gertha, that's right, Gertha. That was their first word. But see, Daddy had,
00:06:48
Speaker
I told you daddy had a half-sister Maggie. She had a son Robert that was daddy's nephew, Robert Clark. They moved out here to Washington. Oh, those are the Clerks? Roger Clark and other Clerks. Then after they moved out here, daddy wanted to come. So then we came out here.
00:07:12
Speaker
And we went to— Why did they move out here? For jobs or something? Yeah. Coal? Coal mining. Yeah. Because that's why everybody was doing coal mining or just bootlegging. So then after Daddy moved out here, everybody else started coming. And Clyde and Kermit, they got on down to Smelter. And Daddy,
Family Roles and Challenges
00:07:31
Speaker
we moved to Puyallup first. I was born near Puyallup. You were born in Puyallup? Yeah. Where in Puyallup?
00:07:39
Speaker
down somewhere. Yeah, right. But where we living in Puyallup? Yes. Where we living? What part? In the valley? I don't... Valley. Yeah. And because Robert Clark moved out there somewhere too. Off the river road or something in that area or in there? I think out in the farming. Yeah. Then we moved to Leavenworth after that, where Carol was born. Oh, I didn't realize you moved to this area, then to Leavenworth.
00:08:09
Speaker
Yes, I was born here. So we moved to Leavenworth and Carol was born in Leavenworth. And after that, daddy got on. He worked at the mill there for a good while, Leavenworth, where you showed me the picture where we lived. Right, right, right. And after that, he got on at the coal mine in Ronald and Rossman. So then we moved over to Ronald, which is above Rossman. Right.
00:08:38
Speaker
We bought a house there, and then that house came up in Roslyn, so we sold that house in Ronald. And we moved down to Roslyn. Oh, okay. How old were you when that happened? Before school. This is before school. So when you took the train to Virginia, you were in Roslyn? Yes. That's where you took the train back? Okay. All my memories started in Roslyn. Oh, yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.
00:09:04
Speaker
and my mom's too. Now, where was Gertha born? She was born in Virginia. Gertha, Arnie, Gerald, and Sandy were all born in Virginia. They were all born in Virginia. Grandpa was working in the coal mines. Grandpa was working. The kids are being raised there. Yes. Say that again. Gertha, Arnie, Gerald, and Sandy. Yes. Me and Gerald were born in Washington. Right. And you were born in Puyallup and mom was born in Lebanon. Yes. OK.
00:09:34
Speaker
Then you were growing up in Roslyn. That's where we just stayed. And what was Grandpa doing? He worked in the coal mine over there. And then Roslyn. Coal mine. Yeah, right. And then after several years, the coal mine caved in on him. Right. He was one of the ones that it got caved in on. Right. And it broke his back. Well, he spent a long time in the hospitals. How long? Months. Wow. He was laid up for months.
00:10:02
Speaker
Well, it ended up disability in him for the rest of his life. Right. And I think Brian told me the story or something about, he got, you went through a bout of depression and he had to be institutionalized. Yes, he did after that. Um, because of his back and the pain. The pain and everything drove him just out of his mind. Really? Like how, what do you, what do you do? You just, he wasn't with it. Right.
Family Bonding and Outdoor Adventures
00:10:29
Speaker
Do you remember this? Oh, yeah. How old are you when this happened? I was probably in the seventh grade then, seventh, eighth grade. Oh, wow. Wait, no, I was in the ninth grade when he was in the mental institution to remember someone made a remark at school about these crazy people over there in the hospital. And I heard them say it. Yeah. And I got really mad. Yeah, because your dad wasn't there. I said, they're sick. Right. Yeah. I said, they're not crazy. I said, they're sick.
00:10:59
Speaker
I got in a big argument with somebody over there and I was like, I don't know, but I didn't know. And I wanted to get on your bad side. And then how long he was in there for a couple of months? What did you all... He was in there for a couple of months. Did that scare you? I bet you still... Yes, it did. It scared us. But he was making things over there. He made a wallet and he was making things for Mommy. And Mommy was going over on weekends spending the week. It was at Medical Lake.
00:11:31
Speaker
She was going over on weekends on the bus. And then you kids would just raise yourselves? Yeah. And then when he finally did get to come home for good, it was at Christmas time and the sheriff brought him home. We weren't expecting it.
00:11:49
Speaker
But the sheriff came down the hill with him in the car. What? Blowing his horn full blast. Oh my goodness. Down the hill, back yard to see what was going on. And he had daddy in the car and we all just started crying. And daddy eats. Then he stayed home. He was good though. Oh wow. You're like one of those videos you see on the internet.
00:12:18
Speaker
And then he was good after that? Yeah, he was good after, always good after that.
00:12:25
Speaker
And that was at Christmas time. Yeah, that's cool. Right for Christmas. He always, I remember him as being really good looking. I remember him being kind of, I thought he was just the coolest person,
Sandy's Life: Marriage, Challenges, and Resilience
00:12:38
Speaker
like a badass, like tough and smart, you know, all of those types of things. Yeah. He did take nothing off and nobody. Was he a big man or? He was a small man. Small man. But you'd think he was giant the way he controlled everybody.
00:12:56
Speaker
He pulled the shot slow. And then they come to turn off our electricity one time. He said on the fun steps that they were at the end of the yard, and they would have had to come in the yard to shut it off. Daddy had his gun right there. I'm telling you, there's about two more steps and you're done. Because I will stop you.
00:13:21
Speaker
And so I already didn't get turned off. Oh, that's funny. Because I told you I'd be down to pay on a certain date. You're right. Because I will be there. Yeah, right. Because I'm not going to tell you this one more time. Yeah, right. Get the hell out of here. Yeah. They got their money on the day he said it. Yeah, right, right. That was funny. He was good. Yeah. Is he a good dad? He was really good, yes. Yeah.
00:13:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's good. He taught Carol how to fish really good, Carol. She was the best fisherman. Dad and her fished all the time. Oh, that's where she got it from. Her daddy got it. See, I didn't realize that. I always thought she got it from Jim, my dad. From this little. He was taking her, they would go fishing almost every day. That's what brought my mom and dad together. They both could fish because my dad, Jim, was taught to fish by his grandpa. Yeah, by his grandpa. But taught to fish young, you know.
00:14:20
Speaker
Daddy, I didn't like, he used to date me too, but I didn't like it. I didn't touch him. She was right in there. She was so good. Yeah, she was like tomboy. His fishing partner was there.
00:14:35
Speaker
I didn't realize that. They went all the time, all the time. All throughout Rosalind and everything. She wouldn't rather do nothing but fish. That's how I remember her too. She always caught the first fish and the biggest fish.
00:14:55
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that's fun. Well, Dee got that trait, I think, too. Yeah, I think so, yeah. I think he heard it. He got it. Yeah, for sure. That next level. And what about Grandma? Is she a good mom? She was a good mom, yeah. Old fashioned. Right, yeah. She was a provider. She was a provider, yeah.
00:15:26
Speaker
Daddy had a huge garden, always going. She worked in the garden too, and then they canned everything. We had a basement full of just shells and shells of canned stuff. That's fun. Gotta keep us all winter, you know. That's where you got it from, huh? Because I know you and my mom used to do that. We used to have all kinds of canned stuff everywhere. I know, but we used to, me and Carol used to can. Oh, we had lots of canned stuff. That's where you got it from? Yeah. And Grandma? Yeah, she canned everything. Wow, that's amazing. She kept us fed.
00:15:58
Speaker
That's good. Did you all have money or no money or poor middles road? Poor. Poor? Yeah, we didn't have much money, but you didn't need as much money then either as you do now. Nobody had a lot of money then. Yeah, right. Everybody was in the same boat. Yeah, right. So it all felt just normal. Everybody felt normal because everybody was kind of in the same plane field. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:16:21
Speaker
It wasn't like, oh, look at her, you know, it was not like that at all. Right. Everybody was kind of, they just leveled out. Yeah. And then, OK, so what about you and all your siblings? How did you all get along? Did you know Girtha very well because she was a big age friend? Yes, Girtha didn't take care of us. She played the mom role? She was kind of like another mom. Yeah, right. Yeah, she don't take care of us all. Yeah. Was she good? She was really good. Yeah. Nobody loved Girtha. Yeah.
00:16:50
Speaker
I loved Gertha. Yeah, she was sweet. Gertha was good. And Arnie and Gerald, they were good brothers. They watched over us girls. Yeah, obviously. Nobody would give us no. I can't even imagine being on Arnie and Gerald's bad side. They're big men. Nobody would mess with us. Yeah. Everybody knew that.
Growing Up in Roslyn: Home and Sibling Dynamics
00:17:10
Speaker
There were six of us kids. Gertha was the oldest.
00:17:14
Speaker
And then Jarny, then Gerald, Sandy, Shirley, along with the baby. Describe the house in Rosalind that you grew up in. Just a one bathroom. Six kids, eight people. He had one wood stove in the living room for the heat for the whole house.
00:17:32
Speaker
And to get upstairs to our bedroom, you had to go out on the back porch. Oh, Jesus. You had to go outside of the back porch to get to your bedroom. Did you have any heat up there? Just a little heater. All that downstairs would go up. Oh my God.
00:17:50
Speaker
Daddy kept the stools going all night. Oh, right. You have to. When I've been in the house and I think about people living in, I don't even, where did you sleep? Some of us slept with mommy, some of us slept with daddy, some of us, us three girls would sleep together a lot. In one bed? In one bed. Yeah. And daddy and the boys would sleep in the bed, you know, and then mommy would sleep with somebody downstairs. Right.
00:18:13
Speaker
We just stopped, you know, wherever there was a place. Oh my goodness. I was just kind of scooted in and sometimes being churched up with that. That was just normal though, right? It didn't seem weird. It just seemed like normal. You just go to find a place to sleep. Did you always have enough money to get food and stuff like that? We always had, I always made sure we had money for food and medicine and we never did without anything. Did anybody ever get real sick?
00:18:42
Speaker
No, Carol was kind of a sickly baby. Yeah, she was kind of a runty sick baby, right? Yeah, she was real well all the time. She was always kind of a little unhealthy. That's my precious mom. She was very sad Joe Carol was. Oh, I love that.
00:18:58
Speaker
That makes me even love her more. Yeah, she was very, always very fragile. But tough at the same time. Yes. Tougher than the moment. She was mama's baby. Inside, she was a tough fighter. Mommy always babied her. She's down mommy's lap, I think, till she's 13. She didn't care either. Yeah, that's a good place to be. She liked it. She was really good. Yeah, that's good. That's really good.
00:19:27
Speaker
So was it a happy life growing up? It was. Did you grow up happy? Yeah. We had good Christmases. Yeah. We all got our dolls and we got, I think that we went, got dolls, pajamas, the airbrush set, gloves, socks, a game, maybe each game. Yeah. What kind of stuff did you do on the weekends? We would, uh, a lot of times back in the summertime, we used to go on a lot of picnics next time slot. Yeah. Up to Sam the sack or up to the lake. Daddy,
00:19:56
Speaker
mommy would take us up the lake a lot or down the Red River. Pack up a car and have a truck.
00:20:02
Speaker
in the creek, you're gonna get cold because of water now and then. He didn't go home late in the day. We were always going somewhere. They took us a lot of picnics. We had a ton of picnics, always on a picnic somewhere on the weekends, it seems like. All the kids, everybody together. The whole bus. We don't crowd in.
00:20:28
Speaker
And it was fun. Arnie and Jerry would play baseball or throw the ball back and forth, daddy with them, you know? Yeah. It was fun. The girls would go pick flowers and we'd make perfume. Oh, that's fun. I love it. Just so many things. That's such a good place to grow up, too. It was a beautiful, and then we had our own creek down by our house, you know, that creek down there. Yeah. Me and Jerry were going to be buried. I've never been to it. No. The creek has dried up now, though, but it's still all there. Yeah.
00:20:57
Speaker
The little bridge is there, everything's there. That's where you want to be scattered? That's where Sandy's at now, me and Gerald are. She's waiting for me up there. Yeah, I know. I'm waiting for you to go. I'm not going to make this trip twice. And Lisa and Holly are, they know exactly where it's at. And Amy does too, right? That's where me and Lisa and Amy are. I'm counting on one of those two. They would like to go anyway.
00:21:27
Speaker
That's where we used to always play in Gerald at one part of the creek where you could dam up and make a swimming hole. Then we'd go swimming. And this is the creek that you were talking about? Yeah, we grew up by, yeah. What was it called? Did you have a name for it? No, it was the creek. If he got mad at us, he wouldn't let us go in the swimming hole on that day. So we'd go home, cry, and giggle.
00:21:55
Speaker
How did you end up going from Roslyn to... Where'd you go after Roslyn? Why did you leave Roslyn? To Tacoma. Well, because as Arnie got older, he came over to work in the smelter. So he dropped out of high school or something like that? No, finished high school. So, actually, start there. So, who finished high school? Arnie. Did Girtha finish high school? No. What did Girtha end up going to do? She married a sailor, Jack.
00:22:23
Speaker
She married a sailor named Jack. That's where Jack's from, right? Yeah. Right. He was from Texas. He was a sailor. She had a little baby that died. Before Jack? Terry was his name. He was a stillborn. Oh, did she know it was going to be a stillborn? No. Oh, geez.
Gerald and Arnie's Life Paths
00:22:43
Speaker
It died right after she had him.
00:22:46
Speaker
Was that hard on her? Yes, it was. Yeah, it was hard on everybody. She's buried in Creole. Terry, this baby? Yeah, Terry. Wow. Terry Eason. Wow. That's Jack Eason's, that's the guy that she, she married him? Yeah. And then, okay, she had Jack and then who does she have, and she had the other baby and lost it and she had Jack. Yeah. And she didn't have any other kids together? Why did they get divorced?
00:23:11
Speaker
They were just two young, you know, their kids. He was a sailor up here in Bremerton or something like that. She moved to Texas with them for a while, then they moved up here and then back to California and then she came home and they got divorced. And then that's when she met Stan. Yeah. And then where'd she meet Stan? Dan and Cleo, she was working at a restaurant. And Stan
00:23:40
Speaker
to come through town. And then they had a bunch of kids. They had Craig, Warren, Valerie, Vicki, and who am I missing? That's a bit, four. Craig, Warren, Valerie, Vicki. And then Jack was the other one. And then there was Arnie.
00:24:07
Speaker
Who did Arnie? He was over here working at the Smelter. So he left school or he graduated. He graduated. And then he, where did he graduate from? Easton. From Easton. And then he came over here and started working at the Smelter and he met Carol Jean. Yeah. She was in Tacoma, Ruston or something like that too. Yeah, he met her and then they got married and had five children. They had Larry, Terry, Tina, Tammy.
00:24:37
Speaker
Wade, five kids. And then she fell in love with Gerald. Uncle Arnie, this woman named her brother, has five kids with Carol Jean. And then... Gerald gets out of the army and comes to stay with him.
00:25:02
Speaker
Arnie's wife falls in love with Gerald. Arnie and his wife get a divorce. Gerald and Gerald hook up. Okay. What did Gerald do? Now Gerald, when did he grew up in Rosalind? Yeah. He went to Easton. No, he went to Cleo. He went to Cleo. He graduated exactly did all highest up. Yeah. Right. Smarty pants. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. I always hear Gerald being smarty pants. Yeah. He was very smart. He went to college, right? Yeah.
00:25:30
Speaker
So you graduated in Cleo, and then you went to, where'd you go to college? University. Which ones? Seattle. Oh, Washington? University of Washington? Oh, that's right. I think you did go to UW. Yeah, in Seattle. I heard a story about Gerald, and I want to know if this is true. So this is what my dad told me. He was going to a class for his pilot license. Day one, he showed up and just said, I already know all this. Let me take the test. OK, so that's a real story? Yes. I don't know the story. What is it?
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I, I, you probably know. He'd been studying it himself, the piloting. Yeah. Yeah. And he knew everything before he even took the test. Oh yeah. He says, I already know it all. And they tested him and he had everyone right. Oh wow. Yeah. Oh, that's great. That's how smart he was. Yeah. Yeah. He knew it all. He gave me my first computer. Did he? He bought me my first computer. That was nice. It was very nice. Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:27
Speaker
It was a Commodore. He was a hand-me-down. He wanted an upgrade, so he gave me his old one. Yeah, it was great. I loved it. Oh, God. He was making his own programs. He did flight simulator games. He would make them and stuff like that. He was really, really good. I love flying. Flying is playing. And he played football, right? Yeah. Did he play football? He was captain of his team, yeah. You did? Yeah. University of Washington, right?
00:26:55
Speaker
You ever heard the story about the fight at the goldfish tavern? Didn't he beat up a bunch of bikers once? He ran over one of their bikes. They were coming at him, you know, and he told me to move. The guy wouldn't do it. And Gerald says, I'm coming. And he says, move. The guy said, no way. And Gerald says, watch me. And he ran over. Then what happened? Then he went looking for Gerald. And Gerald took off.
00:27:25
Speaker
He kind of stayed low for a while, because he had over the bike and destroyed it. Oh, Jesus. Well, there was a few of them, you know, and they were... Yeah, right. They were coming for me to see I don't know. And they weren't going to stop. So the next day I got my choice. So he got it and went, shh, because I'm out of here. That's funny.
00:27:45
Speaker
So, uh, so Gerald, when did Gerald meet Eileen or Elaine? The goldfish, I think. Yeah. Okay. That's the North end thing. Next door to almost just a couple of houses up. Oh, I didn't realize that. Yeah. And then, uh, they had Gerald and Eric. Was there any other kids that you had? Yeah. You had, uh, Donnie. No, those were Elaine's kids. Those weren't Gerald's kids.
00:28:11
Speaker
He just had Eric and Steve. He just had Steven though. But there was Donnie and who else was the aliens kids? There's a couple of gals here. Yeah. Kenny. Donnie and Kenny were the two boys. There's two girls out there. Yeah. Right. The, um, all right. So then what are we down to now? Sandy. Sandy. So Sandy, she, where'd she graduate from high school? She didn't.
00:28:35
Speaker
She didn't graduate from high school. Neither did I. So what did Sandy do when she left high school? Why'd she leave? She got married. To who? To a guy in California. Carrie was his name. How'd she meet him? Just to stand. She was
Sandy's Independence and Family Life with Al
00:28:51
Speaker
only married to him for a few months, and they got an unknown. Wait, did they get married up here down in California? Up here. Was he just coming through town or something? No, he was...
00:29:04
Speaker
He was up here for the summer with some friends. I didn't even know him that well. And they hooked up and got fell and madly in love and got married right away. Just like, this is perfect. Let's do this. Let's make this for life. They did that, yes. And didn't get last. So they got married and then they went straight to California? Then she came home and it was over. You remember when that all went down? How old were you when that happened?
00:29:30
Speaker
about 16. 16. Sandy's gone, now she's back. What did she say when that went down? I will. Thank you. It didn't seem to bother her then. Then what did she do after that? She stayed in Cleoam or what? Yeah, she stayed in Cleoam. Then she married Bob Spurrier. Bob Spurrier. She met him in Cleoam? Yeah.
00:29:53
Speaker
And then where did they move to? Where'd they stay? Well, he was a lineman, so they traveled around quite a bit then. Oh, OK. They were married for quite a few years. Right. And they had Lisa and Holly. That's right. And he was running around on her, so she divorced him. So she leaves him? And she stayed single for a long time, a visionary thing. When she left him, where'd she go? She lived down there above Clyde Joye's house for a while.
00:30:22
Speaker
apartment they had above their house. Then she just raised the kids. Yeah. She raised a kid and she worked. That must not have been easy. She had, you know, Holly special needs. Right. That's all by herself. She took care of Holly. And she met Frank? Yeah. Where'd she meet Frank? To the big bed was. Oh, that was because he owned it or? He owned it, yeah. What'd you guys think of Frank when she met Frank? He was nice. Yeah.
00:30:53
Speaker
He was a nice dad. Everybody liked him. He was very friendly and nice, which he was. Yeah. He always struck me as a pretty tough dude though too. And he was a tough dude. You did want to get on his bad side. I bartended for him and anybody gave me hell while he threw him around. He literally took him up and opened the door and tossed him. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was a badass dude. He goes, don't ever come back. And then they had Amy together, right? Yeah.
00:31:19
Speaker
All right, now we're down to you. Now we're down to you. What now? You finished high school or you didn't? You didn't finish high school. I moved over here. I didn't like school. You didn't like school? Why didn't you like school? I just hated it. What was it like to go to school? What were you thinking about instead of school? Nothing in that school. I hated school.
00:31:44
Speaker
Then I met Elle, my married Elle. Wait, wait, hold on. Where did you meet? You're going to start with... You can't go through that one that fast. This is the... I was staying with Arnie and Carol in your house. You were staying with Arnie and Carol Jean? Yeah. Wait, you left high school. You're like, I'm out of here. I got to go do something. Well, I stayed with my aunt and uncle. I stayed with... I had all kinds of others. Was your mom mad and dad mad that you left high school, dropped out of high school? They didn't care? At that time, it wasn't all that big of a deal for the woman to get her education.
00:32:15
Speaker
At that time, it was more important for him, the man to have his education to take care of the woman and kids. You know what I'm saying? You're like, I'm going to go find a man. Nowadays, it's for yourself. It wasn't like that. Back then, you were just thinking about, I'll find a man and I'll be good. Just search for the best man you can find. And he was a good man. Now, where did you meet up?
00:32:39
Speaker
He was at a friend's house next door to Arnie and Carol. Oh, sorry, hold on. Let's go back here. When you dropped out of high school, where did you go? I came to Tacoma. Because that's where Gerald, I mean, Arnie and Carol came one. I stayed with Arnie and Carol, so then I stayed with my aunt. How many kids did they have then? All of them? No. I had about three of them, I think. About three of them? Then I stayed with my aunt and uncle a lot up here. I had all kinds of relatives over here.
00:33:03
Speaker
Everybody was done in the North End there. Yeah. And you were just kind of bouncing around the families. And I just met Al. What were you doing? Were you working? No. You were just kind of being around family. Yeah, right, right. Helping around. Yeah.
00:33:18
Speaker
I worked at a restaurant for a while down here in Ruston. What was that? The three little pigs. Three little pigs. What was that? It was right next door to the big bad wolf. Is the building still up? Yeah, it's part of the Ruston Inn now. It was the big bad wolf and the three little pigs. I worked in the three little pigs. The bar was the big bad wolf? It was owned by different people too. That's funny.
00:33:45
Speaker
And then, um, okay. So you were working at three little pigs, a little bit, helping out doing stuff like that. And then you met Al. Where'd you meet Al? How'd you meet Al? He was next door to, he was at some friends house next door to Argy and Carol's. And then he met me and then he started showing up more often. How'd you guys, what, what did you see? When was the first time you saw Al? Yeah. What was he like? He was very nice. This is your grandpa. Yeah.
00:34:13
Speaker
Yeah, he was very nice. He was always, well he's always been nice. He was a nice person, really. Yeah, I loved Al. There was nothing bad about him. I loved Al. So, but what, you saw him and then just clicked, you felt, yeah, you start talking, what'd you talk about? Just everyday stuff. Just everyday stuff. Yeah. Hi. How old were you when you met him? I think about 17.
00:34:39
Speaker
1718 right now. What was he doing? Was he in school? No, he was six years older than me. That's controversial. He was doing office equipment. Like selling it or something like that or fixing it. That's how I remember him. He always had typewriters and computers that he was repairing in his place. He always wore a suit.
00:35:08
Speaker
Do it. So you're like, Oh, this guy's got some brains on him. What kind of car did he have? I don't know, but it was a little convertible. So what year this one is?
00:35:19
Speaker
Mid to late 50s, huh? Yeah, it was a small car convertible. It was cute. Oh, that's fine. That car. That was another feature. He liked it. His brains, his fancy car. I liked that car. Oh, that's good. Did you guys take drives in it? Oh, yeah. What did you drive around to? Down the park. Point Defiance. Yeah. Just drove it around. He was really a gentleman. I got to say that for him. He was really nice. Oh, that's good.
00:35:48
Speaker
I mean, we didn't even go down the ocean in the morning and come back in the afternoon, you know? That's great. In that car? He was good. Yeah, he was a good guy. Does the two of you or? Just the two of us. Sometimes the friends would go too in your car. Right. It was fun. We had fun with him. Did all of your siblings like him? Yes. And did he have siblings? Yeah, a bunch of them. I still am. I remember Al being tall. Is that right? Yes. He was tall.
00:36:18
Speaker
Really taller, like 6'2". He was a fast driver too, man. It doesn't surprise me that he had a sports car. He was always a fast, sporty driver. Yes, he was. Always a sporty driver. He really liked driving. So you're driving around, being teenagers, having fun, falling in love. Yeah, when you decide to get married. How do you ask you to marry him?
00:37:06
Speaker
So you said you said yes, obviously, where'd you get married? Where? Tacoma. Nice. You did. Was it a big wedding?
00:37:19
Speaker
It was average size. But, you know, the whole family and everything. How long did you have a wild plan for? Did you get married right away? A couple months. A couple months? Yeah, I wore a wedding dress. Who were your bridesmaids? My aunt stood up for me. My aunt and uncle were my... She was the best man. She was my maid of honor. The Terry trip was my little flower girl. Oh, really? Yeah, that's right, because Terry had been around. That's right. She was just a little girl that didn't grow like that.
00:37:50
Speaker
Oh, that's pretty cute. Yeah, it was really dark. Right, right. I don't know. There must be pictures of that wedding, right? There used to be, Jimmy. I don't know where any of them were at. I don't think I've seen. I know. I haven't seen any in years. You and Al got married 6th Avenue in the church. All the family and friends show up. Good times. And then where were you living? What house were you living in then? We lived down in Lacey. Wait, you moved to Lacey? Yeah, Al worked down there.
00:38:19
Speaker
What did he work? I was working on Olympia. What, doing what? The machine? Smith Corona, yes. He was working at Smith Corona, fixing typewriters and stuff? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Okay. Did you like it down there? I loved it, yeah. We did love it. What kind of place did you live in? We were in a trailer park. You were in a trailer park, yeah? We had all kinds of good friends and our landlords were so nice and we had them all now. Was this, you were renting the trailer?
00:38:46
Speaker
Yeah. And then, uh, we bought wood down there in the, in the singing trailer park. Yeah. Okay. We loved it down there. And then, so you're living newlyweds, having fun, got a job, got a baby. And then, so you had your first baby, Mike. Mike was at school and I had him use in California. Wait, what do you mean? He was, what do you went to school for? For his business. They sent him to school. Some training.
00:39:12
Speaker
So when I had my first baby, my neighbor took me to the hospital and had to drop me off because he dropped me off at the door there and took me in. This is down in Olympia or something? He parked me at the hospital because they had to get back and go to work. So I was dropped off at the hospital all by myself.
00:39:36
Speaker
As we walked in, they said, can we help you? And you're like, yeah, catch. That was not it. Grab your gloves. This one had my baby. Oh, wow. And you had Mike. I had
The Tacoma Years and Family Growth
00:39:50
Speaker
Mike. Was it a fast delivery? No, not really. It was complicated and hard and painful and all that big old baby. A little bit of each. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Mommy was going to be there with me and she had been with me.
00:40:05
Speaker
But something happened to Daddy and she had to go back home like two days before that. Then as soon as I had the baby, she came back. Gerald drove him back over because it was in the wintertime. So I was okay. So how long were you in the hospital for with the baby? Three days then. Three days, and then you came home. When did Al finally come home from California? When life was a couple weeks old. And you're like, surprise! Surprised when you had a baby.
00:40:33
Speaker
Cause he didn't know and, or no, you can, did you call him? You could call him then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your phone's down. Yeah. And then, um, okay. Our landlords, they're older people and they took, they treated us all like their kids. Oh, that's great. So they watched over me every day. Oh, that's good. So you had Mike and how old were you when you had Mike? 19. 19. 20, I think. Then John was born the following year, a week, a week, uh,
00:41:02
Speaker
before Mike was born. They were one week apart in a year. What were their birth dates again? John's is January 14th and Mike's is the 21st. Mike was born the 21st of January. Oh, my boys and Mike are on the same day. Yeah. January 21st. Yeah, and then the next year, January 14th, John was born.
00:41:22
Speaker
One year. Wait. Oh, January 14th. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. One year apart, exactly. Almost within one week. Wow. Jesus. You're just popping them out, man. You know you were young. You could have waited a month. Brian's birthday was the 31st of January. Well, you know what you do in the spring. Mommy got mad at Al. She says, you need to be that little girl alone.
00:41:50
Speaker
He's a kapala. What are you going to do? You need to make your own kapala. Oh, that's funny. So you have John, and John, you're living in the same trailer park with your own place when you had John? Yes. No, we moved you by the lake. We had a duplex by a lake then.
00:42:11
Speaker
What lake? Oh, Capitol Lake or something. I don't know if you remember. Yeah, right. And then so... I'm thinking Black Lake. Yeah, maybe that's... And then that's where John was born.
00:42:26
Speaker
So, okay. And then John was the easy baby, easy delivery. John was easy, yeah. He was natural. Yeah. He was the easiest one. Yeah, right. And then... Because they were so close together is why. Right, right. And so, and Al still has the same job. And then Darren, where were you living when you had Darren? Why did you move from the lake to Tacoma? We just moved into a house.
00:42:51
Speaker
You want to be close to the family or something or what? Yeah. And we moved out of the trailer into a home. Well, the trailer, you went to another trailer and died of the lake. Okay. And then you went into a house. Yeah. Then we went into a house. Right. Having the two kids, we went into a house. And what was, and so did that mean Al had to change jobs? No. He was driving. He transferred to Tacoma. Oh, okay. But he can still. We moved into the house where I met Al next door to Carol and Arnie.
00:43:19
Speaker
Oh, okay. They moved out and we bought the house. Oh, I see. It's not an opportunity, went for it. And Al can still work in like the Tacoma. Right. Okay, store whatever, right, right. Yes. And you had Darren. He had Darren. Yeah. And he went to hospital. He was my hardest delivery. He was a big baby, huh? He did not want to come out.
00:43:42
Speaker
He got a black eye coming out. The doctor had that thing right by his eye and that blackened his eye. Oh my gosh. He kept going. The doctor didn't give him a position. Soon they'd go up and he'd slop right back up there.
Loss and Family Impact
00:43:56
Speaker
God damn it, Darren. Look. Get out. The doctor was saying that. Yep. He wanted to stay right. Where is that? Oh, that's funny. Where was that? What hospital was that? St. Joseph. St. Joseph in Tacoma? Yeah.
00:44:09
Speaker
And by that time, the whole family's around now, right? I mean, you're in Tacoma, so everyone's poppin' cigars. And my mom was around at that time, too, right? And then, okay, so you have Darren, and John, and Mike, and you're down in the house in Tacoma.
00:44:29
Speaker
Over by the, yeah. Over by, where's this at now? What's? Over on Gold. Over, no, no. Oh, on 31st Street in Orchard. 31st Street in Orchard, that's right. Yeah, this is that place. And then. I got pregnant with, then three years later I got pregnant with my little girl. Right. And I had her and I lost her. And what was her name again? Deborah Jane. Deborah Jane. Yeah, I had food. And that was, yeah. I got food poisoning from a dragon on Sixth Avenue. Oh, I thought it was on Pearl.
00:45:00
Speaker
That's the story I always hear again. She's pleasing. Did you still birth? You didn't still birth? She died inside me. That must have been really hard. I started having her at home. Was that hard on you? It was very hard, yeah. Did it break you down? Yep. Did you lose your shit? Yep. They took me in the ambulance and the one guy kept saying, please stay till you get to the hospital. Please, please, please.
00:45:38
Speaker
That was not good. Debbie, you said? Debra Jane. Debra Jane. I named her. Why'd you name her Debra Jane? I named her after my mother, Jane. Your mother? My mother's name was Jane. Oh, at Thelma. Thelma Jane. Thelma Jane. And why Debra, though? That was a name that me and my girlfriend, when we were teenagers, we decided we would name our kids. And because she was killed in our senior year of high school.
00:46:06
Speaker
Oh, how she was killed? With a bunch of other kids. In a car drinking? Ah, Jesus. So when I had my baby girl, I named it the same name that we chose. Baby chose with her, I see that. With her, Deborah. Then I added my mother's name to it, Jane. That's nice. That's how I came up, Deborah Jane. That's good. I kept her part in it too, my girlfriend. Yeah, God. Because we chose that together. Right, right, right. How did you hear about your friend dying?
00:46:35
Speaker
woke up in the morning when my mommy came upstairs and woke me up and told me. Oh, Jesus. I bet you that was not easy. Because I was supposed to have been over there with her that week. And I went to the coma instead. And I came back from Tacoma and got woke up the next morning hearing that she died. She was killed the night before. They were parked alongside of the canal, are you? And then what?
00:47:00
Speaker
And one of the kids got, one of the guys got out of the car and I guess he was, it's never been really proven, but they think he was kind of messing with them, rocking the car. And it walked right over into the canal. They're thinking, I don't know if they've ever been proved or not. How, did any other kids die? They all died. They all died. That was in the car. Did you lose a lot of friends? Who were they? Or just, they were all, you knew a mom. Oh Jesus. Yeah. And then in the paper at that time,
00:47:28
Speaker
On the newspaper, they just took the picture as they were pulling the car up out of the water, not even thinking that Judy's face was smashed up against the window. That was your friend's name, Judy? Yeah. Judy Vernon, yeah. That was my best friend. Well. You're all, you're all, here's the school. She would appreciate it that you try to keep the name going. Yeah, we picked out our names together.
00:47:55
Speaker
Uh, so, um, you have the stillborn girl, your only girl, you loser. Geez. Then three years later, I had Brian. Does Brian a surprise? Yeah, he was. Well, all the kids, I mean, you knew what you were doing the other times, but yeah, Brian was a surprise. But I was really happy for it. I mean, when I found out I was pregnant, I was really happy. I wanted to live with him. And I didn't care for the boy or girl. Right. Right.
00:48:25
Speaker
Yeah. A redo. Yeah. But this is the first year. I got to say to me, this is the first year I never made it out to my cemetery to put flowers in my baby's grave.
Life Transitions: Divorce, Work, and New Relationships
00:48:37
Speaker
First year I got everything out in the garage still. Wow. And then you're, um, you have Brian, this is 1973. And then you get a divorce. Yes. Why'd you get a divorce? We just, he was always gone from work.
00:48:55
Speaker
I just kind of fell apart. So, uh, what was he doing? Traveling or what? He was always getting scared. I'm busy with his friends, you know, after work sometimes. Did you guys fight a lot? No. And did you, uh, you were just, you just decided, I mean, you're trying to raise all these kids and need more help. Was he ready to get divorced too? Or was it a fight?
00:49:22
Speaker
You didn't want the divorce. You didn't want it, but you. Was there anyone else in the picture? No, not that time. Everybody thinks there was, but there really was not. If I went to work and then I met. Well, hold on. You went to work, you're in Gove, and you got four boys, Al moves out.
00:49:45
Speaker
that I went to work for Frank. Well, hold on. Al moves out and then he stays in the north end though, kind of that, right? Like he, I remember he lived in Fife or something. Yeah. But he stays close. Yeah. And you, and you're able to maintain the house. You could afford it. He was helping or something like that. You know, it was making, making it all work. I got $300 for four kids. That was a nice house. But at that time, $300 was,
00:50:13
Speaker
sufficient. I mean, it sounds nothing now, but that time it was, I mean, it was, my house table was wanting to use $60 a month. What year is that? 75, 76. That's 75. I think that's 75. 76 right now. And then, so. 48 years ago, Brian was about two. Yeah.
00:50:41
Speaker
So you're a single mom, raising four boys, and you gotta go get a job. Which I mean, yeah, I got it right away. Yeah. Where were you working? The sink.
00:50:53
Speaker
down at the bit, this has been the big bad wolf? Yeah, it wasn't a mystery yet. Right. It was a tavern still. I worked there a lot of each time, you know, you had bartender. Right. Is that where you met Mike? Yes, that's where I met Mike. So Mike was a patron, Mike was a customer? Yes. And you were working? Yup. And your eyes locked? Yup.
00:51:14
Speaker
When did you be Mike? What year was this? Within the year. Oh, that's why everybody thinks that Mike got it. You didn't even know Mike then before? I really didn't. And then you fell in love with Mike. What year was that? In the 80s. You dated for a long time and then you got married.
00:51:41
Speaker
And me and Al always remained friends. Yeah. Yeah, we were friends. And Mike and Al, they didn't seem like they had any beef for anything. Al used to come over for Christmas. Yeah, right. He'd spend Christmas with us. Yeah. And then right before Al died, when Al was dying, Al would come over and spend a lot of time with me at the house. Oh, I kind of remember that a little bit. I took the time off from the rest of the, only the rest of it. Yeah, the day. I'd stayed home a lot and Al would come over and spend the day. Yeah. Even they'd take a nap on the couch. She spent a lot of time at the house with me.
00:52:13
Speaker
We spent a lot of time together talking and rehashing. So you and Mike... And Mike would even leave for the day and let us be. Right. Just leave us here together. Yeah. You know, it was nice. Yeah. So I don't have nothing bad to say about any of them. You know, they just, everybody does their own things. And when did you divorce Mike? About 2000, 2001.
00:52:38
Speaker
He moved out and then you stayed in the victory for a while yourself, right? I stayed there for a couple of two or three more years. That's what I remember. And did you live there with you during that time? Or was this you? I had someone else taking care of them. Oh, okay. And then my friend would say, hey, that's Linda. She lived there with me for a while and helped take care of them because I was also working at the rest of the men, plus being a caregiver. Right. I was doing both. Right.
00:53:06
Speaker
And then you sold, then you met Chuck. No? Yeah. Is that what happened next? I met him when we owned the restaurant. I knew him from the restaurant days when we owned the restaurant. Right. He was a customer and he was always really nice. You know, you're not supposed to fall in love with the customers. I know. You keep doing that. I didn't. Too strong. I married him once. I married him once and then I divorced him right away.
00:53:36
Speaker
Chuck. Yeah. Wait, what? I married him once more. I married for a few months and then I divorced him. And they got married again? Because he was drinking. So I divorced him then several years later and he quit drinking and we got back together and then I married him. Then he stayed not drinking.
00:53:51
Speaker
I didn't know that. I said, no, if you're going to drink, I don't, I don't want a part of you. I want a part of you to bed, so I divorced him. Ah, interesting. Then he quit drinking and then a few years later. You smart man. You knew if the options are to give up you or dog all, there's only one answer for that. I'm going to be married to him. I said, I'm done with drinking. That's why you left Mike. Yeah, I said, I'm done. I said, no more drinking in my life. Yeah, right. I don't drink. I don't like it. I don't want it. Yeah. Nope. Ah, okay. So.
00:54:21
Speaker
Then he died. Oh, I know that. There I am. So, okay, let's go. Now that we're all caught up on you.
New Mexico and Returning to Washington: Family Reflections
00:54:30
Speaker
Well, actually, hold on. So we're not quite caught up on you yet. We have, you married Chuck, you're out in Vickery. Yes. And then from Vick, then you get taken to New Mexico. Yeah. Why'd you go to New Mexico? Just nice weather. Just living there. Whose idea was that? He is, but just to... Why? Just because that seemed like a nice place to be. Nice place to live for a while. Try and... Where in New Mexico do you live?
00:54:51
Speaker
us cruises and truth or consequences. And did you like it down there? I loved it down there. Yeah. Yeah. Why'd you come back? I was trying to miss the kids and family. We were gone a few years. Yeah, right. And it was time to come back to the kids and everything up here. What'd you do when you were down there? Vacation. Just went all over, seen all kinds of places, did things. Yeah, hunting. Yeah, I saw you hunting turkey. Yeah. I did everything there was to do. We'll see everything.
00:55:20
Speaker
I loved it. We had good friends. It was nice weather here. Chuck wasn't drinking. Was he good to be around? Yeah, he never did drink again. You liked being around him? Yeah, I did. No drinking, that was nice. Did he want to come back up here? It didn't matter to him. It didn't matter to him because his kids were never close to him. Mine were.
00:55:47
Speaker
And so you came back here, and then where did you move? Back in Olympia or something like that, right? Another trailer park? We stayed at the Sons of Bunny Lake for a while. Then we went down to Lucy, to a park. And I liked it thoroughly well. Then when he died, I got rid of the trailer.
00:56:05
Speaker
and moved into one of their traders that was right next to her that they just got through fixing up. It was really nice in there. So I moved in that place. I had my own private yard and everything. I loved it there and I had good neighbors. Everybody's watching out for each other. Then Carol was starting to get sick. That's when we brought you here. Yeah, I know. I was coming back and forth to Carol almost every day and I gave up working with Holly because Carol was getting sicker.
00:56:33
Speaker
And I wanted to spend more time with Cheryl. Okay. Well, speaking of her, so mom, then where you and you and my mom were close. Yes. Yeah. And she graduated from high school. She graduated in Easton. Easton. Right. She placed army graduated. And that's where she met my dad. Yes. And you were already moved out when she met my dad. Yeah. I was living in a lefty with Al when she met your dad.
00:57:01
Speaker
Right. And then they live with you in Olympia? No, she did. She did. She did for a short while. Yeah. And then my dad went to the service. Yes. And that's what she moved to with my dad's family. Yes. Yeah, that's right. I think, well, that's all the kids. That's the whole story. Okay. And all of them. And that's it. That's all of them.
00:57:27
Speaker
That's the last one. That took a while. And then you're the last one to survive. The last one. Gerta died first. Then Gerald. Then Gerald. Then Arnie. Then my mom. No, the Sandy. Then my mom. Then now you're out of the mall. Here I am.