Document text
ORIGINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Cheek one)
PUB. Livingi. Lore in New
Rnzland
TITLE An Alien in Yankee New England 41
WRITER Wade Van Dore
DATE 009 116. P. P. 9
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN Interview
COMMENTS
STATE
NAME OF WORKER
ADDRESS
DATE OF INTERVIEW
SUBJECT
NAME OF INFORMANT
ADDRESS
Mrs. Zimmerman An Alien in
yankee New England
Paper One
Massachusetts
Wade Van Dore
New Marlborough
February 28, 1939
Living Lore
Mrs. Zimmerman
New Marlborough
Old Mrs. Zimmerman is Swiss by birth, German
by marriage, American by naturalization, and New
Englandish by habitation. She is a nice -looking,
friendly, motherly woman not much past fifty, but
her health is not good and probably she will not
live many more years. A result of her ill health
is that she is nervous. All the same she has a way
of accepting life pleasantly from day to day as
people of strong peasant stock often do, taking
great pleasure in fancy work, flowers, good cooking,
a clean and cheerful home, the kindnesses of friends,
and the love and prettiness of her little grand-
daughter. She is not appreciated by her children,
who accept her work for them as a matter-of-fact,
and who do not realize the seriousness of her health
problems. They are thoughtless rather than deliberately
unkind.
The mother's reaction to this treatment is
an intense gratefulness to anyone else who shows
the slightest interest in her or sympathy for her.
She will talk *great length about her problems,
more repititiously than informatively. She is
sincerely bewildered by the tightly closed doors
of the neighborhood in which she finds herself in
New England. There is no kinship for her with the run-
down hill families, and the only others, with one or
two exceptions, are summer city people who keep to
themselves and do not care for visiting back and
Mrs. Zimmerman An Alien in
Tankee New Angland
Paper One
STATE Massachusetts
NAME OF WORKER Wade Van Dore
ADDRESS New Marlborough
DATE OF IkAiRVIEW February 28, 1939
SUBJECT Living Lore
NAME OF INFORMANT Mrs. Zimmerman
ADDRESS New Marlborough
forth. This attitude has not been helped by
the actions of Mrs. Zimmerman's daughter and
son-in-law since buying their country home.
They have been rude and unkind to many of the
natives, including those Whose former home they
bought. The few tamer people who know and like
the natives resent ill treatment of them and do
not care to know such unmannerly folk. They
know that Mrs. Zimmerman is not responsible for
these actions, but still by force of association
she must suffer for them too. Mrs. Zimmerman
realizes all this, and her loneliness is doubled.
She is so genuine, good-hearted, and wholesome
that her daughter OEMS almost unrelated to her.
The young couple, living in Hartford, bought
the old Chase farm for little more than the pro-
verbial song. Besides an old house of great
charm, the property included a smaller house
where the descendants of the original farm -owners
had lived, even after the first sale of the place
to a New York doctor. When sold again to the
Hartford people, the occupants of the smaller
house, were forced out by subterfuge and bullying
rather than a straightforward statement that their
home was needed for Mrs. Bell's mother. Mrs. Zimmerman
had made friends with the former residents of her
little house and felt badly to see them treated them
so. She remained friendly with them after they moved
away, and often visits them.
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: is Zimmeman An Alien in
Yankee New England
Paper One
Mrs. Zimmerman had brought her blonde, curly -topped little
grand -daughter to play with our four -year -old, and while the children
were playing together on the floor we offered our guest a cup of tea and
a cookie.
"These cookies were made with bacon grease instead of butter
for shortening can you taste it?" I asked her.
"Not so much. I use bacon grease in.my cookies too, But we
don't have much bacon and I use most of the grease in soap."
"Soap? Do you make your own soap?" I asked, incredulous, in
this day of manufactured soaps. "'inky, I never knew anyone before who
could make soap. How do you make it?"
"sell, first uf all you need a stone crock, and you put a
can of lye in that with a quart of cold water. You haf to do that the
night before, and let it stand so. Then you take four pounds of
grease it don't matter what kind, but it should be strained so it is
clear, and heat it so it is just melted and lukewarm, not hot. Pour it in
the crock with the lye and water, den stir it good for about five minutes.
Den let it get hard, and you can cut it in cakes. I haf enough soap made
right now to last a year maybe. Acta It is easy you should make it too."
"But I always heard that home-made soap was hard on your hands,"
I said. At this Mrs. Zimmerman spread out hers eloquently.
"Look at mine!" she demanded. It don' hurt mine none. I always
used it, since I wass ust a little girl in Switzerland. My mother made
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Living Lore
-2-
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: MOsy Zimmerman An Alien in
Yankee New Englana
Paper One
all uf her soap that way. Many times haf I been glad to make my own
soap, when I hadn't much money. Den I could use what money I had for food.
In Germany during the mar
"Ch weren't you born in Switzerland?" I interrupted.
"Yes, I mos. On a little farm oh, a very nice little farms
We had plenty cows, and we made lots of cheeses and butter. Ever'body
worked, the children did all the chores. Sometimes we went to school
not very much, dough, but I can read and write. I hdf learned many tings
since I grew up. On Sundays we did no work at all besides what we had to,
and den we wore our best dresses and went happy to church. They were such
pretty dresses: I yust wish I had one to save for the baby. An' would
you believe it dey are in style now dose striped country skirts and
aprons. I wass a pretty girl, people said like my daughter iss now
and I had a lot of beaux:"
She laughed shyly at her own story, and her fine eyes shone,
remembering long -ago slinny Sundays. I could well believe that she had
been a very attractive girl prettier, I felt sure, than her Americanized
daughter.
"Den, I met Hans and we right away got married," she went on.
"And I had six children. One, the oldest boy, is still in Switzerland,
and I haven't seen him since we left. He hass now a little boy ten years
old. My, wouldn't I like to see him, dough: Then I lost two babies. It
was a hard thing to have babies den, and lots of times they died, or the
-3
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: Mrs, Z 1.4.errgan Au Alien in
Yankee ew England
Paper One
women died because dey weren't taken good care of. I never once had a
doctor when my babies came yust midwives, an' sometimes dey were yust
dirty ant ignorant women. My babies were all big too not like dese
little seven -pound ones that the girls have now. Eight, nine, ten pounds
mine all were! I guess she hesitated, then went on bravely "I guess
maybe it wassn't so good for me, dough. I went to the doctor yesterday.
He said I haf' some trouble left from one of dose times, an, if I don't
haf an operation it will be bad. Well, I've lived long enough anyway.
My children don't need me any more."
"But wouldn't you like to see this baby grow up?" I asked,
indicating the child on the floor.
"My, yes: but she too can get along without me. Mine got
along without their grandmothers. Hans' mother was never friendly with
me, and my mother died. We left Switzerland to work a big farm in Germany
before the war came. I worked as hard as Hans. Yes, I did. I milked
eleven cows twice a day, and I worked out in the fIrlds, yust like a man.
I used to bring my little girl in a carriage and leave her in it under a
tree at the edge of the field while I worked. Den I had to cook and keep
house besides. That wassn't eassy either. We had only one room in our
cottage. It had a thatched roof and dirt floor and white -washed plaster
walls. We all slept and ate and lived in that one room: I had to carry
water to cook with an drink, and do my washing in a river that ran near
us. Our house wass much poorer than even the houses that people on relief
-4
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: living Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: jke Z erman An Alien in
Ya124ee eyr England
Paper One
haf here, but we were always very, wery clean. And we had money enough
too. That was yust the way farmers lived. We got pretty good wages, and
saved our money. We had bank accouriM and five thousand dollars insurance
on every one of the children. But den, the mar came, and our money that
we worked so hard for, wass soon not worth hardly anyting. So we went back
to Switzerland."
"Tut how did you happen to come here?" I enquired.
"'Hans had a brother that went to Ohio, that's why. He said
we should came. And the Swiss government was paying fares for people
who wanted to go to America. Dey wanted to get rid of us," she laughed.
"But we had to sign papers that said we would not come back. So we
went to Ohio.“ Mrs. Zimmerman smiled. Her face shone. I could see that
Ohio, not Switzerland, was truly her homellace.
"Ach, I love Ohio: The people, they are so friendly: There
wassn't a day I didn't go to Doctor Hoffmeyer's. I would go in, and if
dey were haffing supper I would get a plate and sit dawn right with them.
If I didn't go over some days Mrs. Hoffmeyer would send the dimildren to
see if I wass sick. And all the neighbors were like that. So good:
They had a party for me when I moved away, and all of demgave me presents.
There are no neighbors like dat here. I get so lonesome dat I tink effery
day I will go back to Ohio."
Mrs. Zimmerman speaks of Ohio as if it were a village instead
of a state. To her Ohio means a small commuhity bounded on all sides by
kindliness. She resumed after a short pause.
Name: Wade Van Dore
Assignment: New Mariborstugh
Title: Living Lore Topic:
En ip Alien in
ee ew lan
aper One
"Here I don't know hardly anybody but you and Mrs. Cruickshank,
and my daughter doesn't want me to go there or come here, either. She
doesn't like it because the people in the big houses haven't come to see
her, but I tell her she and James had no right to treat the Cruickshanks
like they did, and the people around here don't like it. I yust don't
know why they did it. And I don't care if they like it or not I am
going to see Mrs. Cruickshank. She is so nice! I lather. And you too
you have been better to me since I have been here as Mary has been
herself. She iss so young! Maybe when she iss older she will be better
but den I will be gone! Maybe it iss my own fault, dough maybe I spoiled
her my only girl, and the baby. But before she got married she was
always good to me cooking and cleaning the house while I worked out."
"What sort of work did you do?" I asked her.
"Well, after we mass in Ohio awhile, Hans he got sick and
couldn't work. So I did housework and washing until the children were
through school. Then my son got a job in Hartford, and when Mary came
to see him, she met James, and married him. Then Eric, my son as is still
at home, he wanted to come and work in Hartford too. So when Mary and
James bought this place up here in the country, they wanted Eric and me
to live here. But oh dear, I am so lonesome with no neighbors and no car.
I had a car all the time, always till I came here. Now Eric needs it to
go to work. And it iss so far to walk to anywhere. I wish the Cruickshanks
-6
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: &lb. erman An Alien in
Yankee ew England
Paper One
could haf stayed in their house! I would haf stayed in Ohio If I knew
how lonely it would be! But I am getting too old now to work so hard
and make my own living."
MI's. Zimmerman was on the verge of tears after these
assertions, and for some time neiVier of us said anything. Finally,
however, she shrugged her shoulders and smiled.
"Look don't you think this will be pretty?" she said as she
spread on her lap the crochet work she was doing. art is going to be a
tablecloth for Mary. She asked me to make it for her. But I can't do it
very fast because the thread is so expensive, and I don't have much money
to spend. I made Mary some riding breeches last week, and I made a good
heavy quilt out of woolen squares tailor's samples they were, Achl
I keep busy all the time cooking, cleaning, sewing and cleaning the
big house too. Mary hasn't any help but that nurse -maid, ant she won't
even wash the dishes yust think of that:"
We watched the children building a house of blocks and smiled
at their delighted shrieks when it tumbled down.
“Janey luffs to come here and play with Peter. She talks all
the time about going to Peter's house. She iss too small to know if
people haf a grand big house or not."
There is a growing plant upon the window sill, and our guest
notices it.
*You haf a new plant? I haf one like dat too only mine is
much bigger I've had it so long. It hass grown out of many pots. I
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Livilig Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: MOs. Z !II erA An Alien in
Unkee 4:1w •-land
Paper One
brought all my plants with me from Ohio in the car. I couldn't bring
many things, but I brought my plants. I luf to haf things growing around
me. More than Americans do, I guess. In Europe where I lived the
farmers tended their land carefully, but here it seems evertbody yust
tries to see what they can get out of the land. Almost nothing is put
back in, and much is wasted. Nothing effer wass wasted on our farm in
Europe! You should see the way people pick up sticks and twigs and dried
grass to burn! When I came here I could not understand how the folk could
be so extravagant, burning so much wood! It wass the same way in the
fields. After the harvest came folk to look for effery small potato or
grain of wheat left behind.
"Effery bit of manure wass precious in Germany. We saved it
carefully, to spread on the fields. And nobody had garbage to yust
throw away. Effery thing wass used for something. Neffer a crust of
bread or a cup of sour milk was thrown away. There mass some stuff for
the pigs, and what they would not eat was put in a compost heap.
"Lots of women there put food in their soup that Americans
even poor Americans throw away. Our soup kettle was always on the
stove, and we put in it bones, and bits of vegetable or cereal, and
boiled it all together and then strained it. Then we put in some rice
or barley and cooked that. It makes fine, hearty soup, a whole mealwith
bread and cheese."
-8
Name: Wade Van. Dore Assignment: New Marlborough
Title: Living Lore
Topic: Mrs, Zimmerman An Alien in
Unice. New England
Paper One
"Aren't you rather shocked, then, by the shiftlessness of some
of our neighbors?" I asked.
"Yes, I am: And I think the farmers around here would be
better off if dey were more careful of their land and their wood and
beasts and all and if their wives made soap and clothes and rag rugs
for their houses, instead of buying so much."
"Some of them are still thrifty, and do these things," I told
her.
"But in Europe country people still do the things that their
ancestors did, in the same way, for hundreds of years back. And it seems
very nice that they do."
"Do you ever wish to be back there again?" Mrs. Zimmerman
hunched up her shoulders and slowly smiled in a characteristic way, then
answered me.
"Aoh, no. I like the comforts we haf here. And they are
sure to haf war there soon again. That Hitler hass got the Germans crazy.
No, I am lonesome an, sick an' old, but I guess I rather die here in my
bed as to be hit by a bomb in Europe."
"And you are alone at night too, aren't you? Are you very
afraid to stay alone?"
"No why should I be afraid? I got a gun under my pillows
Dat fellow Gil Carter came around drunk last Saturday night about two
o'clock in the morning, hollering an' singing an, making a big fuss.
-9
Name: Wade Van Dore
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: New Marlborough
Topic: Mrs. Zimmerman An Alien in
Yankee New England
Paper One
Mary an' James were in the big house, an' James came out with a shotgun
an, told Gil to go along home or he would shoot him. Gil was scared, I
guess, but he didn't want James to know it. I had opened my window and
I heard the drunk one holler, 'You can't shoot me, mister: People around
here don't do things like that:' Then he went away. I hope he don't
come back again."
Mrs. Zimmerman folded up her crochet and put it into a bag.
"Cane Janey, it iss time to go home," she said, and iitarted to put on the
child's coat and bonnet, encountering considerable resistance as her
victim would much rather have continued playing.
"They are going backto Hartford tonight, and I shall be lonely
again. Soon you will come up if you can? Please, I would luff to see you.
An, I will give you some butterscotch pie an, coffee:"
So the old lady and the little girl started for home, the
grandmother with the folkways of middle Europe bred into her bones, and
the tiny girl so close to her in blood, but so distant in the way of life
she is destined to follow.