Document text
LIVING LORE
Wheeler
January -1939
per 4.
C/7270--(2-
Continuing record of interviews with Gor Svenson, 62, Swedish
born American lobsterman who for most of his adult years was a quarry
worker in (ilorcester and Rockport, lass.
af.t—w.s' Ire
I get up five, maybe
six otclock have coffee, go down Cove, take my gas launch, go se, my
lobster pots. 1 have twelve, fifteen pots then down off Andrew's Point.
It is not far from where summer people came see.the surf make what they
call Sporting Rock. remember one time I go into place near First Nat-
ional that Captain Mitch his wife hosts dead now got. go in there
get some Copenhagen a br f snuff, poprlgr locally and in there
he's got good pictrre that Sporti Rock. 1 say, ‘How much?' He says,
iSeeini itts you, Gor, 1 give yor it penny. Anybody else I give it
him for penny, too.'/ Very funny feller, t t Captain he's dead now,
his wife nice woman Shits dead too, he always m joke.
)0140.
buy that picture that Sporting Rock it is picture you put in
post -office they send it some feller
are
you kMAW, say,
4
'Here am. Now
back war -time I get picture like that come all way from
ler rk with those Germans they got him in prison there.
t is not pictrre o hat Sporting Rock. It is picture of that
don't know whore it now. Zr I had it now I show you, you
I tell poor something ne happened. It was good picture.
Look rs feller you. think it bite u•
"I take that picture Sporting Rock hang rp in back -horse. I put
it on door so I can look at it. Funny thing hundred times I look that
pictrre, never once I go down look at that Sporting Rook. I do not think
Sponting Rock much to look at anyway. Jnst for summer people. whey
look at anything ttame-siriatererairee•pipee Sometime even, I am down in
Cove my boat, they stand there, those summer people, look at me. You
think they never see Swede feller before. They go Sweden, by gosh, see
enough Swede -fellers all rights More Swede -fellers in Sweden than Finns
on Stockholm Avenue/
ft
ever see that feller send me his picture again. Maybe after w
he go back Sweden, harr? I go back to Sweden sometime me, too.
time rich worn: came down Curtis Street big auto stop see Gor, s 41:Re1101,
Gor. I love you. You marry me, herr, have iota money?1/ Rocke-N
fellerS
"Maybe I buy other attire Spouting Rock som ay. I liked that pic-
ture all right. All gone now. All time fell bp up woods get logs for
fire, nobody cares, they came by 1 tir out, say, 4:Rey, Gor, all right
I go your back-honse?4 I say, 6Sur What the hellS Sometime I coming
back from Rockport go up Fo Street Swede Fellers knock on dorm,
say, 4Hey, all ri go your back -house? Feller says, 4'Snre.1 With
me all ri sure. I never take picture from ba -house. But by gosh
a. eller take that Spouting Rock picture from my ack-housel
g1/24
'That-Imormtng arter tna flall.tLaa I stay out my pots maybe ten
eleven otclock, have to throw most lobsters back, tbo short, take lob
stars like that government feller give you bell all right sure.
ear
f re -alarm blow. I hear lot things ont like that. I hear bell n gas
bolo hoar people talk on s Sometimes I think I hear nois a like
old wom going all time. I 4rn nLok I look bunch of gulls af er boat
fisherman t aning fish4 I do not 1 e those gulls. Dirty. Rat anything.
I tell you some ng. Never eat swordf h Ask fisherman. He ver eat
swordfish. Me knows. He catches swordfish cuts him up, looks i side.
Dirty. Like gulls. d It like gulls.
li look at them sometimes in
fall wind blow in off barbo. Sometimes I think those gu s don't move
at all. You can't tell to lo You think those gul just sit on
wind* barri
"Only bird I like is coot, never eat coot* though. Costs too
much for bunting license. I eat co t* tbo After they cook it. You
have to cook coot lust right. Only s woman can cook coot. I see
nice bird one time* though. Fell ea h him down Halibut Point* big
white owl caught in blue -berry sit his ng hurt. 1 do not like to see
that big white owl his wi rt. That fe er tries to fix wing. Puts
owl in chicken-bouse* s sticks en wing wi h string. Aice owl. big.
rour feet up* I bet maybe eight feet acre And clean under wings.
Not dirty like o s around here and bats. All
says that owl some from way up north like seals.
volunteer nformation that owl was Arctic Owl.
seals wn by break -water, they come with ice.
to. Olean. Feller
Informant's nephew
st Spring we had
Not ared. You go
ti up hit with oar. Got whiskers like old man.
n• r rig er
11.44a^-
sifter 1 sell my lobsters licsamd-BAddslam• FEller says* 4Bey* Got* you
A
hear what happen* somebody kill Swede woman down Pigeon Bill Street94
ck
Fe or tell me all about it. Somebody goes in that Swede w s house
kill he et fire to houses That was fire -alarm
Hey* we have of noise after that. They
whole American army. Nephew int*
r out in harbor.
army down here* get
s to correct a couple of hundred
state troopers arrived to es gate crime and prevent possible sequel.
They came
came from
portl"
Church.
feller' father. They go-eimse -Oharoal that woripni,....thos
around every ho t soldiers and police* too. Fellers
newspapers •o. Every day over papers* t'llurder in Rock
say -he -know who did it.. say minister of Swedish
say '0Issen-fellmr_ILse-aeross the -et t.km.-say Olsen
Olsene. Oult-t4eY
do not kill thst-immmin.- -Thwy-greAhnntelneattlyw--,Pallepe_thinkmazbe they
do,
thrinea.,..,141-papersitt.11s-pen-6i ask them questions. Po li CS -and-
army got all rerfrls4r-gtr-tzr'tTia-t- irfierC'trffiiraVtSiriii'l3Nirbrghr'a-gkr-every.
body que4tiana. I do not go. I do not go to that church. I do not go
to any church. But they ask me questions, too. anre, They ask every-
body in Rockport questions. They came right in house, look everywhere,
say, Who are yoll? Where were you that night? Who you think kill that
woman, ham?)
‘e3nst like that for whole week. bilt they do not get feller kill that
woman. ne night they come down Curtis Street get pool, drunk feller, send
him to Bridgewater. blt that is second awede is lçilled around here and
the police they do not get who did it. One time way before that Hallowe'en
somebody kill Swede tailor feller right over on Main Street, Rockport.
Right in day -time, too. Everybody say that Gregg he get the murderer.
They sat, 4He could not put that Jessie ()oaten° in jail and everybody
sore. Be better catch these murder all right, or he lose job0 Rut he
don't catch imirderer. And to don't lose job, tool
think, 4Maybe, c you could pa murderer. aybe
you some mo you ask qu stio
wha maybe out, get a of money, ma •e they m e
I got pretty good guess who killA Swede anyway.
nk maybe Finn people do it. Finn people do not like Swede fellers.
know some ikndifellers they are all right. Some my friends they Finn
fellers. Alt they do not like Swedes. Swedes bigger, smarter. Better
quarry -workers, better fishermen, better lobsterman. And Swede fellers
they do not get in fights like Finn fellers. Swedes much better people.
Kinder people. You can tell people whether they good to dogs and cats.
You never see Finn feller have dpgs and cats. Swede fellers always.
ff
find dogs, ship to summer people But cats go wild, I got two oats
go wild. Nice cats. Co,, not get them all, though. Sometime you
go up old tracks to •esville back of Carl Btoreyts store. Maybe
you see ten f teen cats, used to be peoples oats, now live in woods
wild. I not like see cats live like that."