Document text
Roaldus Richmond
Recorded in
Writers' Section Files
t,TE: AUG 23 194u
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The yard was a brilliant area in the long busy main streat.
Red -capped arc -lights thane upon red-and-whita gasoline pumps
standing in a double row. The place was clean and attractive.
The smell of gasoline and oil was pleasantly diluted by the
keen autumn air. The attendants, in blue uniforms with red
,piping mad letters, were young men with fresh faces. Their
voices were cheery as they said: "Fill it up, sir?". The fon-
/liar question that is heard all over America, and a decade
ago was answared„ "Sure." Nowadays the gamma reply is: "Make
it five."
The interior of the station was bright too, and warm.
Tbree attendants lounged about, smoking cigarettes and arguing
which was the best football team in the oountry: Cornell, Tenn
*swoop Southern California". "Tenn/oases didn't play anybody
this year," protested one. "They had too soft a schedulil."
Another said: "I saw Cornell at Hanover* They've got a great
club." after' a time the talk turned to the war in Europa:
"Germany's sure raising boll with England. Ritlar's going to
lick England without ever fighting on land." Another heated
but good-natured argument started, went on for awhile, and was
dropped.
Bill Maitland, the assistant manager, sat on the edge of
the flat-toppan desk swinging his legs, inhaling deeply on his
cigarette. Attached to his belt was a change -making apparatus
2.
such as streetcar conductors wear. he tapped this with long
stained fingers as he talked. :Le was a tall dark young man
of perhaps thirty, slender and lithe, with a lean face and rim-
less glasses. When he moved he was quick and energetic. There
was a hard quality of independence in him. Only when he smiled
was hie dark harsh face agreeable.
"I've been down here about three years," Vaitland said.
"I come from the northern part of the state Newport. ,I was
born up there, Yy folks had a fax on a hill over the west
side of Lake 14enphremae:og. Nice view over the town, and you
could look straight up the lahe for miles. That's some lake.
%did looking with the islands and wooded headlands and mountains
beyond. Owl's head can be seen from quite a distance. Supposed
to be named after an Indian chief. It's a mountain on the Can-
adian side.
'46 had a swell place there. Guess I was happier there
than I'll ever be anywhere else. Didn't know it at the time,
of course. Thought I nad to get away from home the first thing
I did, I was brought up to work and work hard. Started do-
ing farmwork when 1 was a kid. (An't say I really liked it.
but it was a great place to live. They call it Maitland Ei11.
Uy family had been there a long time. but we sold the place
after my dad died. The last few years we were there my mother
took in tourists. I didn't like that much. Don't like tourists.
But I didn't have to see much of them. I was working in a ser-
vice station in 4emport then. You see enough tourists in this
business, too.
"I remember the family reunions we used to have there on
the hill. -en
...ow I hated them. Leal big old-fashioned family
reunions, you know. i'icnic lunch on the lawn; everybody taking
eaapshots; all that. T us' e1 to run away and hide in the barn.
Lad a big haybarn. after the hay Wa3 lowered a ways you
could take some awful leaps from the high beams. Us :Ids played
there ala the time. es..d secret hideouts and everything. 'as
ield a pretty tough an of kids on the ,eet ide. Once during
4 family reunion I brought the an up to hide in the barn.
Teen I got bome of r.:y sisay co.;Iiins out there to play. did
a job oa them all rightl One of them way named Alfred and
played the flute. I hated thet family stuff, But it meant a
lot to my ols. no.; that I've grown older I can understand.
Jed. the..;- were all fine folks. leerular old elan stuff, you
kr107.
"I went to high sehonl in Ifewport. Played basketball and
football. I wasn't any star but I played. ke had pretty fair
teams too. aen I went to the Thaversityof Vermont for a year.
didn't want to 6: there.
.aeted to go out-of-state somewhere.
eut Vermont was my moteer'y school the a house =ether at
her sorority there now. end my older sinter went there too
she's a nurse now, in New eaven. 3o they sent no to Burling-
ton. end busted out. n't etudy at all, didn't even
try to get by. Don't .now what was wrong with me. That ended
my colaege career. I can sea ltiat a fool I was, new. I thought
they'd sand me somewhere else, but Dad said I'd had my chance
and paeeed it up. I could go to work.
"I tricc:. quite, u few things and finally landed with Standard
I've been with teem ever since. I worked aleout three
4.
years in the Newport station. Then I got transferred here.
We had a nice station at home and a good bunch working there.
Not so much competition there. We did a wonderful business
in the summertime. We all got bonuses. But there are too
damned many stations everywhere today. Look at tills town.
Look at this main drag. Fvery other place is a gas station.
The ones in between are beer gardens. That's all they have
in this town. Filling stations for cars and people..
"In thirty-six I went to California. Drove out with a
couple other fellows. It was a swell trip. We want out the
southern route. The Texas Centennial celebration was on that
summer, you know. We took that in, It was some show. Cal-
ifornia's a great place too. Like to live out there. The
other boys stayed. I'd still be there if Mother hadn't called
me home after Dad was 'hurt. He was gored by a bull and he
never recovered from it. Suffered like hell, I guess, although
he never said anything. Dad was a fine man. Slow -talking,
slow -moving, easy-going; quiet and deep. Maitland traits
that I didn't inherit. Everyone in Newport liked and respected
him, We couldn't keep the place after Ded went. Mother wanted
to get away. So we sold. When I go back to Newport now I
don't go near the hill. I lust don't feel like seeing the
place with somebody else living in it.
"Out on the Coast I had a good time. You'd be surprised
how many Vermonters have gone out there to settle down. I've
got relatives out there, quite a few of them. They're all
doing well out there; living pretty high. Seem to be more
opportunities there than back East here.
5.
-"Ty wife's a California Girl. :et her when was out
L)I.
no came 7:ant and we wore married. She's been worhing
in a bank hero, and that elps. These jobs don't pay much,
you o: the boys 113(20 kind of sore when I Got the
assistnt raanaGer's job. They'd been nore a lot lociger than
I haA. They 1LvA and I came from outside. Most of them
are pmtty good follows.
'oe tot along o.k.„ and have aaae
Good LI es tocether. hut tore 's ealousy here toe same as
every ere else. Jealousy, hypocrisy, politics, backbitin6,
L;UOSS
you can't Got away :rom it, no matter what you do.
fl,
tink I GoinG to Got a station of my own before long.
13 Aow liaf-2pshlre. It'll be tout,',h GoinG though. Competition's
awful i:ecn. Nel stations G,-,ing up all the time. There oucht
to be soe reatriction, JOMO way to limit them, it Booms to Imo.
"I'vo Got an old T:ord to banG around in. I'd be lost with.
out a srate of some kind, ways hut. a car to drive at home.
,)011voro iilk witl. It mornIn(s; took the fellows, or a Girl,
out :i1611to.
alwa-a had a lot of fun around !ewport. 1)ur-
!_nc prolLibition we wol-e up ovol- the bordor half tie time, drink
In G that ,:anadian ale. I o for that stuff'. e had a speed
b( t on .t.E1 lac, too. 14emphremaGoGle a Great place for boats.
"Lsed to, do lot of skiinG„ all the winter sports. ,,sed
to play a loti of Golf an tenniL;,, toc. but you don't havo mudh
tir;e for thl on a job like this. About all o do is Go out
dancInG' anO Orinkinc beer, Go to a show, somothinG like that.
In tbe sumtV we co SWICI;...17ii; kA lot. LO:40 of thoso old aband-
one cillar:103 make perfect avitir.,:int; places. Thoy fill up with
A
sprintwotoli, you Jlow,, hundr:ds cf feet deep some of them.
6.
All kinds of diving places from the sides. The water is nice
and clean. We used to go up every afternoon or evening after
work. Take a few bottles of ale along. Lay around on the
granite blocks, Just like a private swimming pool. Hell of
a lot better than these public places. We used to go to Little
John quarry, up on the Uill, but they drained it and started
working it again this last summer.
"Some of the boys working here are college graduates. You
find a lot of college non in service stations these days. I
guess it helps
a little. But not a hell of lot, Not as
much as it should. It's kind of discouraging to go four years
to college and then have to pump gas for a living. But it's
getting so they figure they're lucky to find any kind of work.
nd 1 guess they're about rights
We don't get many stonecutters in here. Yost of them
drive cars though. They probably patronise their own country-
men who run stations. Can't blame them for that. We get more
tourist and through trade, T think, than local, of course we
do have our regular local customers.
"Some of the people are pretty decent. L'ome of them are
snotty as hell. Order you round like a dog. You know. 'until
you feel like creaking a wrench over their heads. Once in
awhile you pick up a good tip. For changing a tire, or a grease
sob. Put not so much nowadays. And some stations don't allow
tipping.
"The hours are longs but you get some time off every week.
The night hitch isn't bad in summer, but these winter nights
are lona, and cold and empty. Nobody stopping in. Nobody going
'7.
by. Well, WI; a job. And that's about all you can say for
it. It's a livine, and that's what we have to make."