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"(3.1
PIRLITLOCK P. K. RUSSO
11183. D.•
i las. is a spinster, third generation Scotch, seventy0.400-
ears old who lives alone in a single hatie0 on the upper end of the ale04
It is the only sincle house loft on that side of the street, and sternal
back from the sidewalk with a fair sized lawn in front, and a large yalid
in the rear; none of the other houses has so much space aroUnd it, ilha4,1MW
first covered the street, we were under the impression that the house 1MM
empty. Tho windows were completely shuttered, and there wan no indieattill
that the house was occupied. We did, however, knock at the back door. It
a crack
was opened,/ after someone witlAn unbarred, unlocked first one door and tb000.
a second storm door. A bright eyed, white haired, old lady peered out Ok.
us. We shouted through tho storm door, and finally she opened the (100‘ 10
us. After we !Lcd: explained, she naked us to return the following day aba0t.
ten thirty In tha r,erning. She stAled, "I've worked hard all 1..:y life,Ased(
now T ta: IN 1t easy. I don't {:et up before ten o'clock."
7 ism D. -or.c.rboroci very lit'ae about her early eyperiences.' She -4,
told us her father hnd built t -e house the yerx after the great blizzard'
fifty years ago. 'Heise were only three houses on the street then; therei
were big open lots all around, and the Sound used to come almost up to bapOw.
The boy e used to lump from one bog to onother. The railroad wai on thi0.
street level then, and the big garaos on State ,Itreet vas stable. I 'IMO:
born at ttroiriouse Point, twelve miles from hartford. Ly father was a pli*
and Oil Stove or chant. I can tall :Iou all about oil stoves and yoWNOV
be surprised to know that I can tell you hew to manufacture in and all
bout tobacco. That's what everybody did around there. I came to Bridgelige
when I was nineteen with the sister of our lethodist minister, who alb*
no if I wanted to come down to Bridgeport and work in 0 corset factory.
said,, 1 -Are, I'll go', Ives willing to take a chance. Then my sister
town IvaIly broke up our h9F,41Itter on the whole family came
W1
Before my foully care I boarded out with a prIvatik
Pae,e 2. Interview with I iss D. Clinton AVG. aurvOy•
ry first .lob was in the Thorapson-1,ancdon Corset factory. I did nice weeks s
clove fittinc. worked from seven in .the norning till six at hidat, with
fAn hour off for lunch, re used to ipt up before six and walk about a railif
to work, cnd thch walk back at night. It was faster than waitinc for the
horse cars thoy used to make a circuit of the. city, Durinc the cleveland-
administration, they were slack in the Aletory; I worked part time and mad*
ten to twelve dollars a week, Then I went to. work at the star shirt factOry.
as a buttonhole operator. Ty sister ism worked there too, but she went t0-
cvner C _Later,
was a Lood worker and they sent for no, too, but I never
or7:ed ore. wori:cd the sal- e hoire at the ,tar, and Ilion we had to
ri on: mtil five; o'clock on ;titurdays we thou, ht it war vonderfule'We
ot an ir
the nion ca, c 5.n* C Ass could not remember emy
details ns to ito non eir the Co. ands)
it didn't want them
to think was deriving 4,he benefits wf,Alout ;vin in ny dhare. he workers
rent out on strike and I vent too. The company rlovod to :411tiore, Larylavd -_
sore of the workers went down with the conpany 7 would have cone too if
I didn't have 1-yr other to look after. The company didn't wai,t to be diOft
tuld you cant bliro thou in a way. .f -ou,bad tventysfive thous
sand dollars you wouldn't want anyone to toll you what to do. I made big
pay at the 4,3tr.
"'Alen I Went to work at the !,ryant A.ectric, where I made codkatio,
assembled chains, put chains in the sockets," she pointed to the electric
licht with a wooden -.;ardstiek which she 'Tad in her hand durin6 tie entire
-t r.YLev. "There were mostly fereicters at the ryant Incarian and
4,0-10 (%nd a lot o wor:en. '21107 were fast workers and strocgo
.17 nice, very nice. ....here was a strike in .ryantfs too. L dont remember
ruch about that, !).1t I went 60 -Anton while the strike was on, and then Mime
back when it was over. !iot's coo 7 reember, the suporintendent thua4mt
us in when we owle back," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, and ungbomm4
-t
"1 always say I was In two labor fijits, and two church fights. I used to
Page 3. Interview with Use D. Clinton Avenue Survey,
belong to the first i'resbyterian Ghurdh on Lyrtle Avenue and State Street#•
Sore of the z!e:}Hbors wanted to discharge the minister, and the other meMbers
didn't want him to o, c3 we walked out and started a church of our 010M.-
eaid ulint I nod &dr though before I left, and lot it A, at that. I
u_an't CVPU .;CY; ructh,ee called it tho eeoplets Presbyterian Church, but,
now its called the 'ostrinistor l'resbyterian filurCh. '-2han they had a
powamow there. It MB about the ninister, and I paid to my sister, Mae,
you can stay here if yo.1 vent to, hut Ifn getting out', and I haven't been
there since. I have nothing against either church, and no one has anything
against moo I guess. 37 always paid up. We can't all think alike, but when
the ,,:burc can't agree,what can you think about other people.
used to have a good tine then there were a lot nore =Ole.
carts, and I used to go to the 01 -)era clown on Lain street, We used to take
the boat twice a month down to Few York the rystal Viave and the Ranee.
dale they were lovely boats. It vas a n-ce little sail in the summerim
tine, We'd be working and someone would eay, fi,otIn go to 14:17 York, andoif
wetd. Lo, 11:1.0 -itiends Whore 1 worked, and in the rhurch, 1,ut I dfideitt
an:: rA.ends f".n 3-7nov vhy they were all nice people.•
:eped worhinL on r other died. 1 took care of the house. 7'y
sist,Jr was bed-rf_Cden or years bol:,;ro she died five yeare ago. I've bean
since then. I used to ,o to the movies (own taun tt Jolt's
with a friend of nine, hut sinoe Jahn didd, I go to the ovies out here now*
It came to quite a bit, you know, with fares and all. Yes, I like the moV100,
don't you? I x) every -ednesday and Saturday afternoons you 'know* 1*4
be afraid to caeo bac:e to the house alone at nicht. I uess I like any klnd,
of rovies especially since the ealkies care. Tho first movies I sae, the
nen and vor-on were about so hegh,' she edasured off about eight inches on
her yardstick. "I didn't go so ruch then an I do now. Ikea great nowalow
reader too, you know. I go to the library and get about four books a week*
Yy friend gives no enough ragazines last re over the winter 1111 NW*.
to start boinb to the library now that it is warner.
I 12.k Jose.t
"ace 4. Interview with rips D. lintion Avenue
don't ::ou? ;lust finished readinc, 'ono With The Wind' I wasn't stuck
m it. -;o! ethrIn in raindod ro c) sa,othinL that happened to MD When
was e Lirl ,;ness t'zet's rhy I sort of liked it. I listen to the
at ail the on -undays listen to th Philft
o c.lt every lay L:4d at r.y paper, then I chock off the
,A,c)ra ra o ear (Inc: pin thr 2,oLrre-.- on the wall over the radio,
don't See stopped listidg H71a1 they had a lot of Lood prOgrOM4
Then I do cet out end visit with -2rioWn sorletines. 7- listen to the news
broadcasts too, in, I thinh it's awful. I can't lueLine what is happening,
In a way, its because wo lot the children have too ueh the childron do
:list as they have a mind too thores no Lettl,.L away film it, Lon't you
t In3 so? I roan stealini.; and all that. childron now have those movies,
and the lictures in the pa or. It's a wonder they 6,on't have soi_c awful
disease they're always pullinL thl c out of the rubbish ;hyt5r• back
yard is a niece and I don't dare say anythint, to than. You hnow, 1 live
alone, you can't toll what they'd do. ?he ,1111Cren breal: .he 71.11dore I
had to card up the cellar last year. '2hat's why I hoop the shutters closed.
onft La:.e say booh. tow L;erba e y yard and old tipers. The
t o at o o sa etln. about it, our yearn clip WIZOi vo had the blizzard,
a-litle boy crawled over 1.1.'„) snow and -).Er,od in here, tbrouCh the sh,atters*
70 ::;ottinc away :rol. it, he was so cite. Tht.: eiiLronvmuldn't halm" me, but
scnetires they .r1.6.iten e.
,o to od at nine. 6of,letes sit u till
twelve and listen to special 'roadcasts. oh, Y ot Avland ant! ranee And
C,erany, too. I ot fror the other nijlt. It's awful, ?Thetis
7,a') eninc. Itler shouldn't have :one what he did. he )(por laieer. I
bet the poor or an people rich they had hir back more than once since Hitler
cot in. I road the other day whore a rah had a fortune loft to hi tt in Italy
but he won't c;o thore to et it, 17(,u can't blaze hiu. _ver since the world
began there have he zi wars and runors of war. I hope the war won't AOIMO here.
Tho -orld ar was terrible. ',hey roped us in. I think :loovor vent too far.
don't list ,,m to the President
That war broad was terrible. it rade ne sick.
Pate 5. Interview with Miss D. Clinton -Avenue Survey.
ruch on the radio. ITIn not interested in those things so much. It worts
you up and makes you mad. Well, you have to grin and bear it. YOU know
when I worked in Bryants, a Jewish woman worked along side of me. I liked
her a lot, she was awfully nice. She used to call me her Sarah. WhenI
used to tell her we'd have to grin and bear it, shed came back and say,
'grimed and bury it'. That was fanny. Up where I used to live in
Warehouse Point they were all Genuine Americans Yankees, they call
them. There were two Scotch families, and one German; that's all the for.
eigners they had. I wouldn't know the place now. I 'eard an inglishman
speak at the United Church Forum. I couldn't understand a worit he said.
I always say, Yankees, they have a twang, the Irish, they have a brogue,
the Scotch have a burr, but what has the A*Iglishman get?'.
"Last year I took a trip with my neice we went out to California
and ilrizoni. It was lovely; we traveled by pullran. I like to travel. itve
be:in un to Boston, have you? But ive ne New York City. I don't expect to.
live forever, so T. like to enjoy myself when I can."
Miss D. showed us throuch the house. It was imnaculate. There
were seven rooms with bath. No furnace had been installed by Liss Da. father
as the- family was undecided about staying. Miss D. heats the house with a
eisal kitchen range; she lights the fire anew every morning. The house was
furnished with stiff old furniture of the 1900's very well cared for. There
were two organs, one in the living roam and one in the -dining room; Miss D.
used to play them. She told us she didn't like the piano because it sounded
'like old tin pans'. Piss D. used only three roams for living quarters; the
rest were shut off. Miss.D. does all the cleaning and cooking for herself,
When we left she told us that she had enjoyed our visit very much and asked
us to call in again to see her, She told us she liked to chat and didn't have
nlaeh company. The xsocer next door told us that Miss D. purdhases all her
Groceries there now; vhen her sister was alive she insisted that the dhOpping
be done on State treet. He told us she was very nice and a good friend of bit.
6. 7/1trvicw with Liss D. Olinton Ave. 3urvg,
fJmplio,' flat oc) hnd roney. V;Ith large gostures -he told us that eh,
'eta thto tio tnxi-eab, oes to tho library, cots a lot of books, and th00
canes ho e a ain in her taxi. -,791rly. "rook. She buys her coal in August,
fills up her cellar, and buys a hundred bngs of charcoal.'