Bess Darling Interview
Collection: Local History Audio Interviews
Title
Bess Darling Interview
Subject
Newton, Kansas - History
Santa Fe Railroad - History
Newton, Kansas - Ragsdale Opera House Fire
Newton, Kansas - The Harvey House
Description
Mrs. Darling discusses her childhood, marriage, and family. She used to work for the Santa Fe and has a long memory of many of the changes that have occurred in Newton over the years.
Creator
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Source
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Publisher
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Date
1977-06-09
Rights
Copyright 2015 Newton Public Library. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission. To request permission, contact Newton Public Library, 720 N. Oak, Newton, Kansas 67114. Phone: 316-283-2890; Email: library@newtonplks.org. Please credit Newton Public Library, Newton, Kansas as your source.
Format
audio/mp3
Language
English
Type
Audio
Files
Citation
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas, “Bess Darling Interview,” Newton Digital Collections, accessed December 3, 2024, https://newton.digitalsckls.info/item/757.
Interviewer
A.W. Holt
Interviewee
Bess Darling
(Mrs. Arthur Darling)
Transcription
BESS DARLING
(MRS. ARTHUR DARLING)
9. JUNE, 1977 INTERVIEWER: A.W. HOLT
INTERVIEWER: This is the ninth of June, 1977, and we're in the
home of Mrs. Bess Darling. Mrs. Darling, when were you born?
MRS. DARLING: October 10, 1899.
INTER.: And that makes you how old?
MRS. D.: Seventy seven, I'll be 78 in October.
INTER.: What was your mother's name?
MRS. D.: Mary Jane Powell.
INTER.: And your father's name?
MRS.D: William Robert Benn, B-E-Double N.
INTER.: Okay and what did your parents do for a living?
MRS. D.: Well, Mother never worked, but Dad was a railway mail clerk. Not, he was on the Santa Fe. He ran to Ft. Worth and back every other night. He would leave about, oh I'd say two o'clock in the morning and then get back the next night. But he stayed over at Ft. Worth, you know, when he got to Ft. Worth for a rest, then came back the next night.
INTER.: Did he talk about the railway much, what did ?
MRS. D.: They would get; on the train and separate the mail and
they put them in slots. Because I know he would take an examination once a year and bring this big box home. Oh, I imagine it had 500 little slots in it and he would put cards in, you know. And they'd grade him on his, if he made mistakes. But oh, he very seldom made a mistake. He nearly always got a perfect grade. But I know he would work on that, you know, a week or two before an examination.
^Refer to A.W. & O.C. Roberson's tape, also, concerning this.
But he did, was that, that was the only job until his death. He died when he was 52. 'Course in those days he died of a ruptured appendix, and in those days, well he was home in bed for a week, and the doctor didn't know what was wrong with him. He was doctoring his stomach. And finally, when they got him to the hospital, his appendix had burst and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Nowadays, they give you so many tests for appendicitis, but in those days and they didn't have penicillin in those days that was back in 1920. So there wasn't any reason for him to have lost his life, because nowadays, appendicitis isn't much of a problem.
But it was then. It was hard on my mother, 'cause the boys were young and they were still in school, grade school. And my sis and I were both working. She's two years younger than I am. She was born on my second birthday.
INTER.: Oh!/ What are the names of your brothers and sisters?
MRS. D.: My brother, well my oldest brother passed away about ten
years ago. His name was Harry, Harry Powell Benn. He was named after my mothers family. And then my younger brother, he lived in Newton. His name was Carl, C-A-R-L Benn, B-E-N-N.
INTER.: And then your sister was?
MRS. D.: Well, her name was Pauline Benn , but she's married to
Stewart Macdonald. That's M-A-C-small D, and they live in Phoenix.
INTER.: Umhum. O.K. And so you went to grammar school here?
Which one?
MRS. D.: And high school.
INTER.: Unhuh. Which ones did you go to?
2
MRS. D.: McKinnley . And then of course, the high school.
INTER.: At that time was McKinnley, did all the grades get together
in the same building, or how was it?
MRS. D.: Yes. Eight grades, eight grades, unhuh.
INTER.: All in one building.
MRS. D.: That's the one on Second Street. Well, between Second
Street and First. I had Elva McBeth, and I had Frank Lindley and a Wiebe, now, I can't think if his name was John Wiebe, and then
2
Refer to Friendly Acres tape, E.P. Roberson, for more on McKinnley.
Miss Leigh, she was my English teacher. She was very good. And ^
Mr. Sterba. 'Course they're all gone now. Oh and Christine Hetzel.
She was the one that taught me everything I knew. She, I went to work as soon as I got out of school.
INTER.: You got a job just right away.
MRS. D.: Right away, for the Santa Fe. They were the best paying
job in town by far in those days. That was 1917. And, I was working for Santa Fe, well as a steno. I took shorthand and typing and did book work, too. So I worked for fifteen years. And then I got pregnant, so I quit. And 'course I lost all that seniority. And then I went back, oh the latter part of 'A9, 'cause Diane was going to go to college. She was in her last year of high school, and she was going to go to college. So we needed the money to send her to school.
So I went, they kept begging me to come back. I said, "I'll come back part time." Well, I went back
part time and then they just kept talking me into taking a full¬time job, which I did. And I was glad, because she got married.
She just went to college one year. She was bound to; well she was crazy about this fellow she married. And so, she did get married.
She went to school one year. I said you've just got to go to college one year. It was a two-year college, a Christian college in Columbia,
Missouri. And, so she went one year, but she got married the next September.
INTER.: Was Diane your only child?
MRS. D.: Umhum.
INTER.: Unhuh. Let me back track a minute and ask you when you
were married.
MRS. D.: Yeah, I was married in April 19, 1926.
INTER.: And what was Mr. Darling's full name?
MRS. D.: Arthur E. and he worked for the Santa Fe fifty years,
before he retired. But Diane was born in December 18, 1932. So I had been married six years, but I had to have an operation before I could ever get pregnant. I just couldn't get pregnant,
I just couldn't get pregnant. And so finally, the doctor said I had a tumor. And so they removed that, and I waited about a year.
INTER.: Well, grand.
MRS. D.: So I just had that one. I had a pretty hard time. And
Art said, you're not going to have any more because the doctor said
Refer to Mrs. Ballard's tape, a 1 so, concerning Ms. Hetzel.
you'd have just as hard a time, 'cause I was in the hospital two days and a night before she was born. And, so I just had one but oh, she's, she's been a lifesaver to me, I tell you. Especially now, since Art passed away. She just waits on me hand and foot.
INTER.: It's good to have family. It is.
MRS. D.: And her youngsters, you know. I never get in a pinch
or need anything that, and they're close. They live just about two blocks and a half up here.
INTER.: This is early memories of Newton (that Mrs. Darling is now
narrating). Were the streets paved when you were first (here)?
MRS. D.; Not when I was, well 'course they were after I was married but when I was little they weren't. I remember this big opera house here at the corner of Broadway and Main. I-I remember that when it burned down. Now I know, my mother got us up in the middle of the night and we 'course we had no car. We never did have a car.
And we walked up and watched that big opera house burn down. And that steeple, it had a big steeple, and we saw that burn. And there
was one man lost his life in the fire. I think everybody else got
out. But they had a lot of bad fires. I know they, where the
K G & E is now, that whole block burned at one time when I was, oh
I think, well it-it was in the 1920's. But that whole block burned. There was a big lumberyard on Sixth Street right back of all these stores to the ground.
INTER.: How did the firemen try to put it out, just with buckets
in a brigade?
MRS. D: Well, I think, yeah, I think they, I think they had a fire
engine then. But the whole block burned before they finally got it under control.
INTER.: What else do you remember, for instance, what church were
you affiliated with?
MRS. D.: Well, I've been a Baptist all my life. My folks were all
Baptists. And all four of we youngsters joined the church. I'm the only one that goes of the, 'cause my brother doesn't go, and my sister I think has joined a Presbyterian church in Phoenix. So I'm the only one that, but Dad and Mom were both real staunch Baptists.
In fact, I, when I got married in 1926, they were building our new church, then, and I was married in the Presbyterian Church, because our church hadn't been built yet. That was in 1926.
INTER.: And the name of the church as it now stands?
MRS. D.: First Baptist. It's the only one in Newton. Well, there's
another Baptist church, but it's the only First Baptist.
INTER.: What kind of stores' did they have at that time at first?
MRS. D.: Well, practically the same as they had now. They weren't
nearly as big, or there weren't nearly as many. But they were, and no supermarkets, of course. We just had little grocery stores.
And I know we had one right on the corner of Third and Main. We lived on Third Street. And we used to go up there to get groceries for my mother. But they, oh, they never heard of supermarkets in those days.
INTER.: What was your home/town like growing up? Could you characterize
it?
MRS. D.: Well, I don't think so. I just had a lot of friends. And
we didn't do much for entertainment, you know. We didn't have entertainment like youngsters do nowadays. We just, we'd maybe have parties on weekends just school parties. But, outside of that,
■there wasn't anything going on. ‘Course I played, while I was working, I played for different, for two different picture shows here. For years, that's before they had talking pictures. And I played the piano for these. Then I even went over to Halstead and played for shows over there. I'd go over on the Interurban. "Cause it ran, you know, just about every hour or two, and I used to go over on the Interurban and play for the shows and come back on the Interurban. In those days we didn't have cars, so I'd just walk home. It wasn't dangerous in those days to walk. You could walk and never have any trouble.
INTER.: Must have been nice.
MRS. D.: You couldn't do it now, I don't think.
INTER.: No.
MRS. D.: Not when you were as young as I was. Well, of course, I was.
Well, of course, I was in my early twenties.
INTER.: When you were playing for the picture show?
MRS. D.; Unhuh. Unhuh.
INTER.: That's really interesting. First person I've met that's
done that.
MRS. D.: Yeah, I played where the Fox is now. And then over on the
corner of Fifth and Main. Let's see what's in that store now?
Fifth and Main. On the southwest corner. That was a smaller one than the Fox. But I used to play at both those shows.
INTER.: Goodness. What kind of songs would you play?
MRS. D.: Oh well now, Indian songs. Nearly everything I play,
I play by ear. Of course I play with music because I've taken lessons. And, well, I'd I play Indian songs when they have Indian pictures, and then when they'd have robberies, I'd play something scary and then love songs when they were making love, you know. And, oh I had a whole, but it was nearly all just from memory. I didn’t have music. I just. I did that years, I seldom ever play anymore. And I love to play the piano, but I never sit down and play the piano any more. I play for church, for our church I play for church every morning, every Sunday morning and Sunday night and for prayer meeting. I did that for, oh,
I think about five years. And then they got the pipe organ.
And I never did learn to play the pipe organ. So.
INTER.: Yes, I've heard that you're a very good pianist, that
you're very talented.
MRS. D.: Oh, I used to be. I never could play nearly as well
as my daughter. She just won I don't know how many auditions. But she never could play by ear like I do. She never could do that. ’Cause I just could hear something and play it after I heard it two or three times. But Diane could never do that.
But oh that kid could play. And she never plays any more either. And none of her three youngsters play.
INTER.: Could you tell me a bit more about the Santa Fe?
MRS. D, Now my grandfather I know worked as a blacksmith
over at Nickerson. That must have been in the 1870's and 80's. And then, they moved to Newton. I guess he retired. And they lived oh, it was kind of on a farm, out on East First. This side of the cemetery. 'Course none of that place was built up. There were no houses out there at all. So that's where Mom and my brothers and sisters were born. Well, no, they weren't born there. They were born and raised there. I think Mom was born in Philadelphia.
INTER.: What were their names, your grandfather and--
MRS. D.: Powell. His name was Thomas Powell and oh, what
was my, oh my grandmother's name was Mathilda, because my middle name is Mathilda, which I just hate. But my Dad's mother and my mother's mother were both named Mathilda. So they stuck that name on me. I don't know, my other brothers and, my two brothers,
and my sister, they weren't named for anyone in the family though.
INTER.: What were their names?
HRS. D.: Pauline is my sister.
INTER.: Oh, right.
MRS.D. And Harry and Carl.
INTER.: Right, right.
MRS. D.: Then Harry passed away in 1966, I think it was.
INTER.: -that you were working with the Santa Fe. How many
women were working when you first started?
MRS. D.: Oh we had about, I imagine six. And 'course when I went back the next time, I was the only woman there for years. 'Cause I know when I'd have a vacation, then I'd always get a, some friend of mine. Now, Edna (Ballard) worked for me, for the Santa Fe. In fact, I, she got this job through just working for me part-time. Then she 'course went up to Kansas City part of the time. But my grandfather, now how long he worked for the Santa Fe I don't know, but I know he worked in Nickerson.
And then he came to Newton. Now, I don't remember if he ever worked as a blacksmith here or not. But I wouldn't doubt but what he did. Because they moved to Newton. So chances are, he moved to Newton and bought this home and was still working for the Santa Fe. And of course, well we all worked for the Santa Fe. Art was head timekeeper for the Santa Fe. He started working in 1916 and worked for 50 years. So, we, every one of us worked for the Santa Fe off and on.
INTER.: A good employer.
MRS. D.: Well they paid more than any of these. Nowadays, I
don't know. I have no idea what these jobs pay anymore. But in those days, I know when I first went out of school, I went up to work for, well Rorabaugh's (Dry Goods) was where KG & E is. That's the store that burned down. And, but when I worked, when they came and got me at the store, interviewed me, you see, to see if I wouldn't come and work for the Santa Fe. And I, they paid me, oh, over twice as much as I was getting; I was a steno for Rorabaugh's. But they paid me over twice as much as I was getting there, the Santa Fe did. You know, 1917, and just being out of school, and never having anything, 'cause I didn't have a thing all the time I was in school...We just didn't have any money. And then, all of a sudden, fall into a good job like that. It was certainly something. Course, Dad passed away,
1920, so my sis and I help my mother 'cause have any insurance, didn't have that big the Superintendent's
I worked down where the shop is had this big roundhouse.
They did all their repairing engines and, oh I think the stalls would hold about oh 35 or 40 engines, maybe not that many. And they did all the repair work on engines here, and all, they'd make the parts for the engines. And 'cause I used to go through that-they'd call it a roundhouse, 'cause it was round. And I'd go through there and take reports and look for men if there'd been phone calls for 'em and things like that. But then they, they tore that down while I was still working and then they took all the engines to Topeka when they, I guess,
I don't know if they did that because it was costing too much here, or what. But oh there were just any number of men just lost jobs. ‘Course they transferred some of them to Topeka^. And Dodge City. They did some engine repair work at Dodge City. But oh, a lot of those men lost jobs. It was too bad. And in those days, they had, oh I don't know how many, most of them were colored and Mexican women that would wipe the engine. And they worked down there. In fact, the Barbara Hernandez that runs this El Toro, she used to wipe engines down there. And everyone liked her. She was just lots of fun. But there were just any number of women that did that, would sweep up the floors and wipe the engines and keep them cleaned up.
INTER.: Yeah, I've talked with Antonio Gomez and the Jaso's
and Mrs. Estrada, and her hu3band for instance (was), they were all connected with the railroad.
MRS. D.: Oh, I just knew so many, oh there were a lot of Mexicans that worked down there and I just knew them all. They were real nice to us, too. The colored fellows were too. They were lot of colored men worked down there. Oh, it was a big shop and roundhouse. Just a big shop. The shop was, where I first went to work, that's where my office was, tin the shop. And, but oh, they had, oh I don't know, and then besides all the men that worked in the roundhouse, that would do repairs on the engines if they were in their stalls in the roundhouse.
(Ed i ted)
INTER.: About Fred Harvey (the Harvey House)*
MRS. D.: They were there on the corner of Fourth and Main, the office. 'Cause my uncle was head of Fred Harvey for year, Will Kosen.
And he married my mother’s sister and then they were divorced.
And he retired and moved to California. He died January 1 of this year. He was 100 years old on that day. No he wasn't 100 years old on that day. His birthday was last August. But he died New Year's Day and he was 100 years old.
INTER.: My goodness. That's long life.
MRS. D.: Oh, it is. But, oh he was smart. I used to, he played the
violin beautifully and my aunt, that's one of Mom's older sisters^
She sang. She had a beautiful voice. In fact, Mom's oldest sister was Superintendent of the Schools for years.
INTER.: What was her name?
MRS. D.: Hagen, H-A-G-E-N. Oh, she could sing. But she was
Superintendent of the Schools here for several years.
(Edited)
INTER.: Could you tell me some more about the Interurban?
MRS. D.: Well, yeah. It ran from Newton to Wichita and Halstead
and Sedgwick. They'd go out Fifth Street and the branch off to Wichita and then go on to Halstead. And oh, I suppose they ran about every hour or two, I'm not sure. But I used to get on that every day and go to Halstead when I'd play for shows over there. I remember the Main show I played for-oh I got so sick of that picture, 'cause they ran it here for a week or two.
And then, they showed it over at Halstead. So I got on the Interurban and went over there and played for it. And, I don't know what year that was. I don't think 1 was married. 'Cause by that time, I think they started having talking pictures.
’Cause I'm not sure what year talking pictures-came' in, but of course when those came in, that did away with all of piano music for... But I made good money and I was working days for the Santa Fe, so I was making pretty good money.
INTER.: (What was your salary at the Santa Fe?)
MRS. D.; I think it was about $65-00 a month, which was good money in 1917- Nowadays that's just a drop in the bucket, according to salaries. 'Cause, well, when I quit work, in 1964 I retired, I think, and, oh I was making I think I was making around $400 a month then. But you know, the wages kept going up. But, it was by far the best paying job in Newton in those days.
INTER.: This is how she met her husband.
MRS. D.: Yeah, we met in high school. He was one of the star
basketball and football and baseball players. They won two or three championships in basketball when he was in high school.
And of course the girls were all flocking after these basketball players. But I started going with him when I was a freshman.
I was just about, I think I had my first date with him when I was a freshman. I was just 14. That was just a real short date
'cause my mother, I had to be home by 10:00 and boy! And that went on for several years before I could, you know really have dates and go out to different parties and things. But I started going with him, well I know my first date was when was just 14. And then oh we went together all that time and didn't get married till 1926.
Oh, we'd have other dates, but I got my ring about 1918, I think.
So, but we still, he'd have other dates, and I would, too. But he was oh, a wonderful basketball player. in fact, he coached, he coached the team at Bethel College for a year or two, the football team, and then he coached the Newton Athletic Club for two or three years.
INTER: He was well diversified.
MRS. D.: Oh, he was, he was very athletic. They say that's,
It’s fellows like that, 'course he had hardening of the arteries, That's what was wrong with him when he lost his life. But they say anyone that's athletic, that hardening of the arteries hits 'em faster than any other type. It certainly did him.
INTER.: What else did he do?
MRS. D.: Well, he was the head timekeeper of course, for the
Santa Fe. That's what he did for 50 years. And, then he did a lot of refereeing. He went all over Kansas and refereed basketball games and football games. He refereed, he'd be gone maybe two or three evenings every week refereeing games. And he made good money. They paid, but he'd I remember he went to Haven one winter night and got caught in this snowstorm and he got out of the car and started walking. It's a thousand, it's just a wonder he didn't lose his life, because he had no idea where he was. It was just a blinding snow. But he hit a wire fence. And he followed the fence until he got to the gate and went up the lane to this house, and I guess they just had to carry him in, he was just. And he, he was there two or three days before they finally could get him back to Newton. But he went all over Kansas refereeing games. Not only basketball, but footba11, too.
INTER,: As an independent agent?
MRS. D.: Yeah, oh yeah. He just went------------ They didn't
do that in those days.
INTER.: I wanted to ask you also would you describe for us
what a timekeeper does?
MRS. D.: Well, he kept time for all the engineers and firemen
and switchmen and brakemen. And conductors and porters. All the Santa Fe, men that worked on the Santa Fe trains. He kept time for them from day to day.
INTER.: How long they worked per day. And for the stenographers too?
MRS. D.: Yes, unhuh. Yes. No he didn’t keep time for the stenographers.
Just for the trainmen. And not any of the office help. But he
was sure good at that, I know. Someone said, oh you're too good,
but you could ask him anything in the way of figures and he
could just have it right on the tip of his tongue. But he had
worked with these figures for years and years and years. That's
all he did. And he was the head of his department. He had
about six or eight under him. But he was really good on this
timekeeping.
(Edited)
INTER.: What do you remember about World War I? How did it effect Newton?
MRS. D.: Well, course a lot of these, lot of these fellows
that I went to school with went. In fact Art, Art went, and went to Leavenworth to camp. But he had something wrong that they, they didn't take him. That was in 1917, I believe. And then of course, I'm not sure when that war was over. But it was over not too long after 1917 or 18. I don't believe it lasted until 1920, I'm sure. But of course Art went. But I don't remember now what it was that his discharge papers said what was wrong but it was such a long word, I didn't know what it meant. And then of course in the second world war, he was too old then to go. We had a family, had Dianne then and so, he wasn't in any of the other wars.
INTER.: How was the rationing then?
MRS. D.: Oh yeah, we sure had that. Now I don't remember the rationing in the first world war. If we did, I don't remember it.
Of course, I know we did in the second, because oh, why we couldn't get sugar or we had to have stamps for everything in those days, you know. 'Course we didn't suffer. We had enough to eat. But then I know they did ration you.
INTER.: Would you tell us who your neighbors were?
MRS. D.; Well, when we were first married, there was a colored family. Her name was Mrs. Johnson. She lived across the street from us. And she used to clean for me. She'd come over once a week and clean. And she was always baking things and bringing them over to me. 'Cause I'd be at work at 8 and wouldn't get home until 5 in the afternoon. And oh, she was a good cook and she was, and she did my washing and ironing and stuff like that.
Then we moved from there. We lived there about two years. And then Art and his brother built homes out on West Broadway in the 700 block. So we lived next door to his brother from 1928 to 1934.
Then Art bought this house. It was just an old estate, and it was just falling apart. We eased up the windows, but they had beautiful furniture in this house. I never did buy a thing.
He bought the house. Well, I don't remember. He got it just so cheap. But it was an estate and they were trying to get rid of it. So he bought it, and he remodeled it from top to bottom.
He, oh, put archways in and tore doors out, and put new floors in. 'Course he, one of the, this had been carpeted two or three times. But he put hardwood floors in and oh did a lot of work to it, and put all new windows and these, the windows he put in.
That was In 193-, well he started it in 1933, I think. And so he had it practically done and he said, "Bess, why don't you go and look at that house." I said, "I wouldn't any more move up there than the man in the moon." He said, "Well just look at it." So 1 came up, and of course, I just fell in love with it. 'Cause we had lived just in a little five-room house and my mother lived with us for 25 years. And so I just, I had so much more room to, with Dianne and Mom and Art and I. We needed more than two bedrooms.
So we moved up. I know my sister-in-law lived next door. And oh she cried when I, she just had a fit, 'cause I was gonna move up here. But oh, we've, I've lived here since, 1934 and I
just would never be satisfied any place else. It's way too big a house for me, but I've lived here for so many years, and as long as I can get the help to help me keep it up, I'm going to stay.
INTER.: It's home.
MRS. D.: It certainly is home. I'd never be satisfied any place
else (edited) I've got so many friends, that I went to school
with that are out in Friendly Acres. I go out to see them all the time. But I just can't imagine. When I've been used to all this room, just to pin myself down to one room.
(Edited)
INTER.: (What kind of activities did you enjoy in school?)
MRS. D.: Well they just didn't have activities in those days.
I belonged to the Glee Club, and but they don't have gymnastics things like they do now. And there are so many different types of classes they have that they didn't when I. They had the glee club and of course a debate club. But I -didn't ever debate. But I of course was always in anything musical.
INTER.: What kind of musical events did they have?
MRS. D.: Well they just have, they usually have them out there on
the stage in the high school. I think I was in one or two plays,
but I can't remember what they was--years ago. But just, just kind
of home talent things. But I was in 1 don't know how many home talent
shows that they had. Well they had shows before the Opera House
burned. And then they had, in the Auditorium, before they tore
that down on Sixth Street. And I was in oh dozens of home talent sketos.
In fact I had the lead in maybe one or two or more, well sang and danced. I danced all my life. Just love to dance. I don't anymore, but I in fact we hadn't for several years, but oh Art was a marvelous dancer and we'd go to all the dances. Just loved to dance.
INTER.: Where did they hold dances here?
MRS. D.: Well in the auditorium here, mostly.
INTER.: Was there a special name to the auditorium or was it just
Newton
MRS. D.: No, it was just Newton Auditorium. And they had the whole,
oh, they'd take the chairs out and oh, 'cause I know I was Harvey County Queen one year and that was oh in 1918 or '19. Oh there were three or four girls that ran for the Harvey County Queen and I won it. And I know they had this big dance in the auditorium.
And then they had a parade and I had a float and I rode on the float. That's been years ago. There hasn't been much going on in Newton that I wasn't in on.
INTER.: You do sound very involved.
MRS. D.: Well, I was.
INTER.: (How would you describe your philosophy of living in
terms of happiness.)
MRS. D.: Oh, I don't know. I've been happy all my life. I was
happy with my marriage, and had this wonderful daughter and my mother lived with me for 25 years. And she helped me a lot because, when Diane was little, and then when I of course I worked for six years before she was born. And mother lived with us. And she helped a lot with the cooking and thing. And we always got along just beautifully. But I, I naturally would have liked to have had more children. And Diane has a fit because I didn't have more children. But she, she had more than she would have had if we had had several because we didn't make that
1NTER.: A priority?
MRS. D.: Yes. So, but I don't know. I just hope she is. I'm sure
she'll get along just as well as I did. She and her husband are very much in love and has awfully nice children. The oldest is 23, and then 21 and 15 And I don't think, I hope she's not going to ever have to worry about money. She'd had so much more than I ever had so much more than I
when I was young. But then I got along all right. You think when you don't have anything, well nowadays, why this granddaughter of mine has so much more than 1 had even when I was a senior in high school. But youngsters just have more than people did in those days because, well my folks just didn't have any money, so, but we got along all right.
(About community activities) I think that was in 19--, oh, maybe 1936, five girls including myself, we started the Bethel (Hospital) Junior Auxiliary. Now they have a Senior Auxiliary, but they didn't have any auxiliaries then, in those days. And then, one of the girls had been in the hospital and she saw so many things that they needed, you know, in the way of quilts and baby things.
So we started the Junior Auxiliary, and we'd meet once a month and make things for the hospital. And now it's a big concern. I go,
I mean I'm on the roll, but I, I've worked hard on that years and years. And they accomplished a lot, oh, so many things that they have in the hospital, the Junior and Senior Auxiliaries bought. You know, 'cause with the dues, and they have these gift day sales at Christmas and one during the spring. And they make a lot of money. And then they furnish food and have dinners. And oh they make ^lot of money for the hospital, quite a lot of things.
Original Format
audio cassette tape
Duration
00:49:08
Bit Rate/Frequency
128Kbps
Title
Bess Darling Interview
Subject
Newton, Kansas - History
Santa Fe Railroad - History
Newton, Kansas - Ragsdale Opera House Fire
Newton, Kansas - The Harvey House
Description
Mrs. Darling discusses her childhood, marriage, and family. She used to work for the Santa Fe and has a long memory of many of the changes that have occurred in Newton over the years.
Creator
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Source
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Publisher
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas
Date
1977-06-09
Rights
Copyright 2015 Newton Public Library. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission. To request permission, contact Newton Public Library, 720 N. Oak, Newton, Kansas 67114. Phone: 316-283-2890; Email: library@newtonplks.org. Please credit Newton Public Library, Newton, Kansas as your source.
Format
audio/mp3
Language
English
Type
Audio
Files
Citation
Newton Public Library, Newton Kansas, “Bess Darling Interview,” Newton Digital Collections, accessed December 3, 2024, https://newton.digitalsckls.info/item/757.Interviewer
A.W. Holt
Interviewee
Bess Darling
(Mrs. Arthur Darling)
Transcription
BESS DARLING
(MRS. ARTHUR DARLING)
9. JUNE, 1977 INTERVIEWER: A.W. HOLT
INTERVIEWER: This is the ninth of June, 1977, and we're in the
home of Mrs. Bess Darling. Mrs. Darling, when were you born?
MRS. DARLING: October 10, 1899.
INTER.: And that makes you how old?
MRS. D.: Seventy seven, I'll be 78 in October.
INTER.: What was your mother's name?
MRS. D.: Mary Jane Powell.
INTER.: And your father's name?
MRS.D: William Robert Benn, B-E-Double N.
INTER.: Okay and what did your parents do for a living?
MRS. D.: Well, Mother never worked, but Dad was a railway mail clerk. Not, he was on the Santa Fe. He ran to Ft. Worth and back every other night. He would leave about, oh I'd say two o'clock in the morning and then get back the next night. But he stayed over at Ft. Worth, you know, when he got to Ft. Worth for a rest, then came back the next night.
INTER.: Did he talk about the railway much, what did ?
MRS. D.: They would get; on the train and separate the mail and
they put them in slots. Because I know he would take an examination once a year and bring this big box home. Oh, I imagine it had 500 little slots in it and he would put cards in, you know. And they'd grade him on his, if he made mistakes. But oh, he very seldom made a mistake. He nearly always got a perfect grade. But I know he would work on that, you know, a week or two before an examination.
^Refer to A.W. & O.C. Roberson's tape, also, concerning this.
But he did, was that, that was the only job until his death. He died when he was 52. 'Course in those days he died of a ruptured appendix, and in those days, well he was home in bed for a week, and the doctor didn't know what was wrong with him. He was doctoring his stomach. And finally, when they got him to the hospital, his appendix had burst and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Nowadays, they give you so many tests for appendicitis, but in those days and they didn't have penicillin in those days that was back in 1920. So there wasn't any reason for him to have lost his life, because nowadays, appendicitis isn't much of a problem.
But it was then. It was hard on my mother, 'cause the boys were young and they were still in school, grade school. And my sis and I were both working. She's two years younger than I am. She was born on my second birthday.
INTER.: Oh!/ What are the names of your brothers and sisters?
MRS. D.: My brother, well my oldest brother passed away about ten
years ago. His name was Harry, Harry Powell Benn. He was named after my mothers family. And then my younger brother, he lived in Newton. His name was Carl, C-A-R-L Benn, B-E-N-N.
INTER.: And then your sister was?
MRS. D.: Well, her name was Pauline Benn , but she's married to
Stewart Macdonald. That's M-A-C-small D, and they live in Phoenix.
INTER.: Umhum. O.K. And so you went to grammar school here?
Which one?
MRS. D.: And high school.
INTER.: Unhuh. Which ones did you go to?
2
MRS. D.: McKinnley . And then of course, the high school.
INTER.: At that time was McKinnley, did all the grades get together
in the same building, or how was it?
MRS. D.: Yes. Eight grades, eight grades, unhuh.
INTER.: All in one building.
MRS. D.: That's the one on Second Street. Well, between Second
Street and First. I had Elva McBeth, and I had Frank Lindley and a Wiebe, now, I can't think if his name was John Wiebe, and then
2
Refer to Friendly Acres tape, E.P. Roberson, for more on McKinnley.
Miss Leigh, she was my English teacher. She was very good. And ^
Mr. Sterba. 'Course they're all gone now. Oh and Christine Hetzel.
She was the one that taught me everything I knew. She, I went to work as soon as I got out of school.
INTER.: You got a job just right away.
MRS. D.: Right away, for the Santa Fe. They were the best paying
job in town by far in those days. That was 1917. And, I was working for Santa Fe, well as a steno. I took shorthand and typing and did book work, too. So I worked for fifteen years. And then I got pregnant, so I quit. And 'course I lost all that seniority. And then I went back, oh the latter part of 'A9, 'cause Diane was going to go to college. She was in her last year of high school, and she was going to go to college. So we needed the money to send her to school.
So I went, they kept begging me to come back. I said, "I'll come back part time." Well, I went back
part time and then they just kept talking me into taking a full¬time job, which I did. And I was glad, because she got married.
She just went to college one year. She was bound to; well she was crazy about this fellow she married. And so, she did get married.
She went to school one year. I said you've just got to go to college one year. It was a two-year college, a Christian college in Columbia,
Missouri. And, so she went one year, but she got married the next September.
INTER.: Was Diane your only child?
MRS. D.: Umhum.
INTER.: Unhuh. Let me back track a minute and ask you when you
were married.
MRS. D.: Yeah, I was married in April 19, 1926.
INTER.: And what was Mr. Darling's full name?
MRS. D.: Arthur E. and he worked for the Santa Fe fifty years,
before he retired. But Diane was born in December 18, 1932. So I had been married six years, but I had to have an operation before I could ever get pregnant. I just couldn't get pregnant,
I just couldn't get pregnant. And so finally, the doctor said I had a tumor. And so they removed that, and I waited about a year.
INTER.: Well, grand.
MRS. D.: So I just had that one. I had a pretty hard time. And
Art said, you're not going to have any more because the doctor said
Refer to Mrs. Ballard's tape, a 1 so, concerning Ms. Hetzel.
you'd have just as hard a time, 'cause I was in the hospital two days and a night before she was born. And, so I just had one but oh, she's, she's been a lifesaver to me, I tell you. Especially now, since Art passed away. She just waits on me hand and foot.
INTER.: It's good to have family. It is.
MRS. D.: And her youngsters, you know. I never get in a pinch
or need anything that, and they're close. They live just about two blocks and a half up here.
INTER.: This is early memories of Newton (that Mrs. Darling is now
narrating). Were the streets paved when you were first (here)?
MRS. D.; Not when I was, well 'course they were after I was married but when I was little they weren't. I remember this big opera house here at the corner of Broadway and Main. I-I remember that when it burned down. Now I know, my mother got us up in the middle of the night and we 'course we had no car. We never did have a car.
And we walked up and watched that big opera house burn down. And that steeple, it had a big steeple, and we saw that burn. And there
was one man lost his life in the fire. I think everybody else got
out. But they had a lot of bad fires. I know they, where the
K G & E is now, that whole block burned at one time when I was, oh
I think, well it-it was in the 1920's. But that whole block burned. There was a big lumberyard on Sixth Street right back of all these stores to the ground.
INTER.: How did the firemen try to put it out, just with buckets
in a brigade?
MRS. D: Well, I think, yeah, I think they, I think they had a fire
engine then. But the whole block burned before they finally got it under control.
INTER.: What else do you remember, for instance, what church were
you affiliated with?
MRS. D.: Well, I've been a Baptist all my life. My folks were all
Baptists. And all four of we youngsters joined the church. I'm the only one that goes of the, 'cause my brother doesn't go, and my sister I think has joined a Presbyterian church in Phoenix. So I'm the only one that, but Dad and Mom were both real staunch Baptists.
In fact, I, when I got married in 1926, they were building our new church, then, and I was married in the Presbyterian Church, because our church hadn't been built yet. That was in 1926.
INTER.: And the name of the church as it now stands?
MRS. D.: First Baptist. It's the only one in Newton. Well, there's
another Baptist church, but it's the only First Baptist.
INTER.: What kind of stores' did they have at that time at first?
MRS. D.: Well, practically the same as they had now. They weren't
nearly as big, or there weren't nearly as many. But they were, and no supermarkets, of course. We just had little grocery stores.
And I know we had one right on the corner of Third and Main. We lived on Third Street. And we used to go up there to get groceries for my mother. But they, oh, they never heard of supermarkets in those days.
INTER.: What was your home/town like growing up? Could you characterize
it?
MRS. D.: Well, I don't think so. I just had a lot of friends. And
we didn't do much for entertainment, you know. We didn't have entertainment like youngsters do nowadays. We just, we'd maybe have parties on weekends just school parties. But, outside of that,
■there wasn't anything going on. ‘Course I played, while I was working, I played for different, for two different picture shows here. For years, that's before they had talking pictures. And I played the piano for these. Then I even went over to Halstead and played for shows over there. I'd go over on the Interurban. "Cause it ran, you know, just about every hour or two, and I used to go over on the Interurban and play for the shows and come back on the Interurban. In those days we didn't have cars, so I'd just walk home. It wasn't dangerous in those days to walk. You could walk and never have any trouble.
INTER.: Must have been nice.
MRS. D.: You couldn't do it now, I don't think.
INTER.: No.
MRS. D.: Not when you were as young as I was. Well, of course, I was.
Well, of course, I was in my early twenties.
INTER.: When you were playing for the picture show?
MRS. D.; Unhuh. Unhuh.
INTER.: That's really interesting. First person I've met that's
done that.
MRS. D.: Yeah, I played where the Fox is now. And then over on the
corner of Fifth and Main. Let's see what's in that store now?
Fifth and Main. On the southwest corner. That was a smaller one than the Fox. But I used to play at both those shows.
INTER.: Goodness. What kind of songs would you play?
MRS. D.: Oh well now, Indian songs. Nearly everything I play,
I play by ear. Of course I play with music because I've taken lessons. And, well, I'd I play Indian songs when they have Indian pictures, and then when they'd have robberies, I'd play something scary and then love songs when they were making love, you know. And, oh I had a whole, but it was nearly all just from memory. I didn’t have music. I just. I did that years, I seldom ever play anymore. And I love to play the piano, but I never sit down and play the piano any more. I play for church, for our church I play for church every morning, every Sunday morning and Sunday night and for prayer meeting. I did that for, oh,
I think about five years. And then they got the pipe organ.
And I never did learn to play the pipe organ. So.
INTER.: Yes, I've heard that you're a very good pianist, that
you're very talented.
MRS. D.: Oh, I used to be. I never could play nearly as well
as my daughter. She just won I don't know how many auditions. But she never could play by ear like I do. She never could do that. ’Cause I just could hear something and play it after I heard it two or three times. But Diane could never do that.
But oh that kid could play. And she never plays any more either. And none of her three youngsters play.
INTER.: Could you tell me a bit more about the Santa Fe?
MRS. D, Now my grandfather I know worked as a blacksmith
over at Nickerson. That must have been in the 1870's and 80's. And then, they moved to Newton. I guess he retired. And they lived oh, it was kind of on a farm, out on East First. This side of the cemetery. 'Course none of that place was built up. There were no houses out there at all. So that's where Mom and my brothers and sisters were born. Well, no, they weren't born there. They were born and raised there. I think Mom was born in Philadelphia.
INTER.: What were their names, your grandfather and--
MRS. D.: Powell. His name was Thomas Powell and oh, what
was my, oh my grandmother's name was Mathilda, because my middle name is Mathilda, which I just hate. But my Dad's mother and my mother's mother were both named Mathilda. So they stuck that name on me. I don't know, my other brothers and, my two brothers,
and my sister, they weren't named for anyone in the family though.
INTER.: What were their names?
HRS. D.: Pauline is my sister.
INTER.: Oh, right.
MRS.D. And Harry and Carl.
INTER.: Right, right.
MRS. D.: Then Harry passed away in 1966, I think it was.
INTER.: -that you were working with the Santa Fe. How many
women were working when you first started?
MRS. D.: Oh we had about, I imagine six. And 'course when I went back the next time, I was the only woman there for years. 'Cause I know when I'd have a vacation, then I'd always get a, some friend of mine. Now, Edna (Ballard) worked for me, for the Santa Fe. In fact, I, she got this job through just working for me part-time. Then she 'course went up to Kansas City part of the time. But my grandfather, now how long he worked for the Santa Fe I don't know, but I know he worked in Nickerson.
And then he came to Newton. Now, I don't remember if he ever worked as a blacksmith here or not. But I wouldn't doubt but what he did. Because they moved to Newton. So chances are, he moved to Newton and bought this home and was still working for the Santa Fe. And of course, well we all worked for the Santa Fe. Art was head timekeeper for the Santa Fe. He started working in 1916 and worked for 50 years. So, we, every one of us worked for the Santa Fe off and on.
INTER.: A good employer.
MRS. D.: Well they paid more than any of these. Nowadays, I
don't know. I have no idea what these jobs pay anymore. But in those days, I know when I first went out of school, I went up to work for, well Rorabaugh's (Dry Goods) was where KG & E is. That's the store that burned down. And, but when I worked, when they came and got me at the store, interviewed me, you see, to see if I wouldn't come and work for the Santa Fe. And I, they paid me, oh, over twice as much as I was getting; I was a steno for Rorabaugh's. But they paid me over twice as much as I was getting there, the Santa Fe did. You know, 1917, and just being out of school, and never having anything, 'cause I didn't have a thing all the time I was in school...We just didn't have any money. And then, all of a sudden, fall into a good job like that. It was certainly something. Course, Dad passed away,
1920, so my sis and I help my mother 'cause have any insurance, didn't have that big the Superintendent's
I worked down where the shop is had this big roundhouse.
They did all their repairing engines and, oh I think the stalls would hold about oh 35 or 40 engines, maybe not that many. And they did all the repair work on engines here, and all, they'd make the parts for the engines. And 'cause I used to go through that-they'd call it a roundhouse, 'cause it was round. And I'd go through there and take reports and look for men if there'd been phone calls for 'em and things like that. But then they, they tore that down while I was still working and then they took all the engines to Topeka when they, I guess,
I don't know if they did that because it was costing too much here, or what. But oh there were just any number of men just lost jobs. ‘Course they transferred some of them to Topeka^. And Dodge City. They did some engine repair work at Dodge City. But oh, a lot of those men lost jobs. It was too bad. And in those days, they had, oh I don't know how many, most of them were colored and Mexican women that would wipe the engine. And they worked down there. In fact, the Barbara Hernandez that runs this El Toro, she used to wipe engines down there. And everyone liked her. She was just lots of fun. But there were just any number of women that did that, would sweep up the floors and wipe the engines and keep them cleaned up.
INTER.: Yeah, I've talked with Antonio Gomez and the Jaso's
and Mrs. Estrada, and her hu3band for instance (was), they were all connected with the railroad.
MRS. D.: Oh, I just knew so many, oh there were a lot of Mexicans that worked down there and I just knew them all. They were real nice to us, too. The colored fellows were too. They were lot of colored men worked down there. Oh, it was a big shop and roundhouse. Just a big shop. The shop was, where I first went to work, that's where my office was, tin the shop. And, but oh, they had, oh I don't know, and then besides all the men that worked in the roundhouse, that would do repairs on the engines if they were in their stalls in the roundhouse.
(Ed i ted)
INTER.: About Fred Harvey (the Harvey House)*
MRS. D.: They were there on the corner of Fourth and Main, the office. 'Cause my uncle was head of Fred Harvey for year, Will Kosen.
And he married my mother’s sister and then they were divorced.
And he retired and moved to California. He died January 1 of this year. He was 100 years old on that day. No he wasn't 100 years old on that day. His birthday was last August. But he died New Year's Day and he was 100 years old.
INTER.: My goodness. That's long life.
MRS. D.: Oh, it is. But, oh he was smart. I used to, he played the
violin beautifully and my aunt, that's one of Mom's older sisters^
She sang. She had a beautiful voice. In fact, Mom's oldest sister was Superintendent of the Schools for years.
INTER.: What was her name?
MRS. D.: Hagen, H-A-G-E-N. Oh, she could sing. But she was
Superintendent of the Schools here for several years.
(Edited)
INTER.: Could you tell me some more about the Interurban?
MRS. D.: Well, yeah. It ran from Newton to Wichita and Halstead
and Sedgwick. They'd go out Fifth Street and the branch off to Wichita and then go on to Halstead. And oh, I suppose they ran about every hour or two, I'm not sure. But I used to get on that every day and go to Halstead when I'd play for shows over there. I remember the Main show I played for-oh I got so sick of that picture, 'cause they ran it here for a week or two.
And then, they showed it over at Halstead. So I got on the Interurban and went over there and played for it. And, I don't know what year that was. I don't think 1 was married. 'Cause by that time, I think they started having talking pictures.
’Cause I'm not sure what year talking pictures-came' in, but of course when those came in, that did away with all of piano music for... But I made good money and I was working days for the Santa Fe, so I was making pretty good money.
INTER.: (What was your salary at the Santa Fe?)
MRS. D.; I think it was about $65-00 a month, which was good money in 1917- Nowadays that's just a drop in the bucket, according to salaries. 'Cause, well, when I quit work, in 1964 I retired, I think, and, oh I was making I think I was making around $400 a month then. But you know, the wages kept going up. But, it was by far the best paying job in Newton in those days.
INTER.: This is how she met her husband.
MRS. D.: Yeah, we met in high school. He was one of the star
basketball and football and baseball players. They won two or three championships in basketball when he was in high school.
And of course the girls were all flocking after these basketball players. But I started going with him when I was a freshman.
I was just about, I think I had my first date with him when I was a freshman. I was just 14. That was just a real short date
'cause my mother, I had to be home by 10:00 and boy! And that went on for several years before I could, you know really have dates and go out to different parties and things. But I started going with him, well I know my first date was when was just 14. And then oh we went together all that time and didn't get married till 1926.
Oh, we'd have other dates, but I got my ring about 1918, I think.
So, but we still, he'd have other dates, and I would, too. But he was oh, a wonderful basketball player. in fact, he coached, he coached the team at Bethel College for a year or two, the football team, and then he coached the Newton Athletic Club for two or three years.
INTER: He was well diversified.
MRS. D.: Oh, he was, he was very athletic. They say that's,
It’s fellows like that, 'course he had hardening of the arteries, That's what was wrong with him when he lost his life. But they say anyone that's athletic, that hardening of the arteries hits 'em faster than any other type. It certainly did him.
INTER.: What else did he do?
MRS. D.: Well, he was the head timekeeper of course, for the
Santa Fe. That's what he did for 50 years. And, then he did a lot of refereeing. He went all over Kansas and refereed basketball games and football games. He refereed, he'd be gone maybe two or three evenings every week refereeing games. And he made good money. They paid, but he'd I remember he went to Haven one winter night and got caught in this snowstorm and he got out of the car and started walking. It's a thousand, it's just a wonder he didn't lose his life, because he had no idea where he was. It was just a blinding snow. But he hit a wire fence. And he followed the fence until he got to the gate and went up the lane to this house, and I guess they just had to carry him in, he was just. And he, he was there two or three days before they finally could get him back to Newton. But he went all over Kansas refereeing games. Not only basketball, but footba11, too.
INTER,: As an independent agent?
MRS. D.: Yeah, oh yeah. He just went------------ They didn't
do that in those days.
INTER.: I wanted to ask you also would you describe for us
what a timekeeper does?
MRS. D.: Well, he kept time for all the engineers and firemen
and switchmen and brakemen. And conductors and porters. All the Santa Fe, men that worked on the Santa Fe trains. He kept time for them from day to day.
INTER.: How long they worked per day. And for the stenographers too?
MRS. D.: Yes, unhuh. Yes. No he didn’t keep time for the stenographers.
Just for the trainmen. And not any of the office help. But he
was sure good at that, I know. Someone said, oh you're too good,
but you could ask him anything in the way of figures and he
could just have it right on the tip of his tongue. But he had
worked with these figures for years and years and years. That's
all he did. And he was the head of his department. He had
about six or eight under him. But he was really good on this
timekeeping.
(Edited)
INTER.: What do you remember about World War I? How did it effect Newton?
MRS. D.: Well, course a lot of these, lot of these fellows
that I went to school with went. In fact Art, Art went, and went to Leavenworth to camp. But he had something wrong that they, they didn't take him. That was in 1917, I believe. And then of course, I'm not sure when that war was over. But it was over not too long after 1917 or 18. I don't believe it lasted until 1920, I'm sure. But of course Art went. But I don't remember now what it was that his discharge papers said what was wrong but it was such a long word, I didn't know what it meant. And then of course in the second world war, he was too old then to go. We had a family, had Dianne then and so, he wasn't in any of the other wars.
INTER.: How was the rationing then?
MRS. D.: Oh yeah, we sure had that. Now I don't remember the rationing in the first world war. If we did, I don't remember it.
Of course, I know we did in the second, because oh, why we couldn't get sugar or we had to have stamps for everything in those days, you know. 'Course we didn't suffer. We had enough to eat. But then I know they did ration you.
INTER.: Would you tell us who your neighbors were?
MRS. D.; Well, when we were first married, there was a colored family. Her name was Mrs. Johnson. She lived across the street from us. And she used to clean for me. She'd come over once a week and clean. And she was always baking things and bringing them over to me. 'Cause I'd be at work at 8 and wouldn't get home until 5 in the afternoon. And oh, she was a good cook and she was, and she did my washing and ironing and stuff like that.
Then we moved from there. We lived there about two years. And then Art and his brother built homes out on West Broadway in the 700 block. So we lived next door to his brother from 1928 to 1934.
Then Art bought this house. It was just an old estate, and it was just falling apart. We eased up the windows, but they had beautiful furniture in this house. I never did buy a thing.
He bought the house. Well, I don't remember. He got it just so cheap. But it was an estate and they were trying to get rid of it. So he bought it, and he remodeled it from top to bottom.
He, oh, put archways in and tore doors out, and put new floors in. 'Course he, one of the, this had been carpeted two or three times. But he put hardwood floors in and oh did a lot of work to it, and put all new windows and these, the windows he put in.
That was In 193-, well he started it in 1933, I think. And so he had it practically done and he said, "Bess, why don't you go and look at that house." I said, "I wouldn't any more move up there than the man in the moon." He said, "Well just look at it." So 1 came up, and of course, I just fell in love with it. 'Cause we had lived just in a little five-room house and my mother lived with us for 25 years. And so I just, I had so much more room to, with Dianne and Mom and Art and I. We needed more than two bedrooms.
So we moved up. I know my sister-in-law lived next door. And oh she cried when I, she just had a fit, 'cause I was gonna move up here. But oh, we've, I've lived here since, 1934 and I
just would never be satisfied any place else. It's way too big a house for me, but I've lived here for so many years, and as long as I can get the help to help me keep it up, I'm going to stay.
INTER.: It's home.
MRS. D.: It certainly is home. I'd never be satisfied any place
else (edited) I've got so many friends, that I went to school
with that are out in Friendly Acres. I go out to see them all the time. But I just can't imagine. When I've been used to all this room, just to pin myself down to one room.
(Edited)
INTER.: (What kind of activities did you enjoy in school?)
MRS. D.: Well they just didn't have activities in those days.
I belonged to the Glee Club, and but they don't have gymnastics things like they do now. And there are so many different types of classes they have that they didn't when I. They had the glee club and of course a debate club. But I -didn't ever debate. But I of course was always in anything musical.
INTER.: What kind of musical events did they have?
MRS. D.: Well they just have, they usually have them out there on
the stage in the high school. I think I was in one or two plays,
but I can't remember what they was--years ago. But just, just kind
of home talent things. But I was in 1 don't know how many home talent
shows that they had. Well they had shows before the Opera House
burned. And then they had, in the Auditorium, before they tore
that down on Sixth Street. And I was in oh dozens of home talent sketos.
In fact I had the lead in maybe one or two or more, well sang and danced. I danced all my life. Just love to dance. I don't anymore, but I in fact we hadn't for several years, but oh Art was a marvelous dancer and we'd go to all the dances. Just loved to dance.
INTER.: Where did they hold dances here?
MRS. D.: Well in the auditorium here, mostly.
INTER.: Was there a special name to the auditorium or was it just
Newton
MRS. D.: No, it was just Newton Auditorium. And they had the whole,
oh, they'd take the chairs out and oh, 'cause I know I was Harvey County Queen one year and that was oh in 1918 or '19. Oh there were three or four girls that ran for the Harvey County Queen and I won it. And I know they had this big dance in the auditorium.
And then they had a parade and I had a float and I rode on the float. That's been years ago. There hasn't been much going on in Newton that I wasn't in on.
INTER.: You do sound very involved.
MRS. D.: Well, I was.
INTER.: (How would you describe your philosophy of living in
terms of happiness.)
MRS. D.: Oh, I don't know. I've been happy all my life. I was
happy with my marriage, and had this wonderful daughter and my mother lived with me for 25 years. And she helped me a lot because, when Diane was little, and then when I of course I worked for six years before she was born. And mother lived with us. And she helped a lot with the cooking and thing. And we always got along just beautifully. But I, I naturally would have liked to have had more children. And Diane has a fit because I didn't have more children. But she, she had more than she would have had if we had had several because we didn't make that
1NTER.: A priority?
MRS. D.: Yes. So, but I don't know. I just hope she is. I'm sure
she'll get along just as well as I did. She and her husband are very much in love and has awfully nice children. The oldest is 23, and then 21 and 15 And I don't think, I hope she's not going to ever have to worry about money. She'd had so much more than I ever had so much more than I
when I was young. But then I got along all right. You think when you don't have anything, well nowadays, why this granddaughter of mine has so much more than 1 had even when I was a senior in high school. But youngsters just have more than people did in those days because, well my folks just didn't have any money, so, but we got along all right.
(About community activities) I think that was in 19--, oh, maybe 1936, five girls including myself, we started the Bethel (Hospital) Junior Auxiliary. Now they have a Senior Auxiliary, but they didn't have any auxiliaries then, in those days. And then, one of the girls had been in the hospital and she saw so many things that they needed, you know, in the way of quilts and baby things.
So we started the Junior Auxiliary, and we'd meet once a month and make things for the hospital. And now it's a big concern. I go,
I mean I'm on the roll, but I, I've worked hard on that years and years. And they accomplished a lot, oh, so many things that they have in the hospital, the Junior and Senior Auxiliaries bought. You know, 'cause with the dues, and they have these gift day sales at Christmas and one during the spring. And they make a lot of money. And then they furnish food and have dinners. And oh they make ^lot of money for the hospital, quite a lot of things.
Original Format
audio cassette tape
Duration
00:49:08
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128Kbps