10 Questions?

[Lima Whiskey]

I have, after being forced into disability started going to college to learn a new trade. As part of a class I am taking I have to conduct an 11 question interview with someone born between 1925-1955. I was hoping someone on the site might be willing to help me. I don't want to do it with the typical parent or grandparent as everyone else in the class will be. I would like to find someone from a different geographical area. Your identity would remain anonymous. Just need year of birth and area grown up in plus the questions. If there is enough interest I could post all the questions here in the thread and have multiple members answer them within the thread. Any takers?

[Truckinbutch]

Well , I'd be inclined to help out on a public forum so long as the questions aren't too personally invasive . Don't think I'd care to do a private interview . I fit the age criteria . Don't know about the geo location until you tell us what you are looking for .

[Lima Whiskey]

Thanks TB,
The questions aren't too personal. As far as geographic area, I live in east central KY. I just don't want someone from here like everyone else in the class will. All the interviews will ask the same question and i want some variety from the rest. I know that you have shared a lot of your life on the forum TB. I enjoy reading those threads. I have a very high respect for your candidness and honesty. The questions are:

What year were you born?

1) What did you do for entertainment when you were young?

2) Was segregation prominent when you were growing up and how did it effect you?

3) If you could go back to a specific time in your life would you and what would the time be?

4) How have you seen advice given to youngens change since you were their age?

5) How have the way of women and men treat each other changed over the years?

6) How has education changed since you were young?

7) When you were young what was the "greatest modern convnience" growing up?

What was the biggest struggle of your teenage years?

9) How has transportation changed?

10) What is the greatest American tradgedy of your lifetime?

I would also ask that you include the area of the country you grew up in. If anyone wants to answer the questions but not publicly you can pm or email them to me. If someone from outside the U.S wanted to chime in I think that seeing the different views and answers could be interesting. Especially what the other parts of the world see as the greatest American tradgedy. This assignment is for a Communications class. The purpose is to show we can listen to the person giving the answeres to the questions then compile the answers into a oral presentation to present to the class. No names or where you are required and none of the questions are required to be about distillation. If they are so be it. I'm sure part of some peoples entertainment might have been heading to the woods and doing a run with an elder. If asked where I met the people for this interview, they will be from a Ford truck forum I belong to. The only people in my opinion that need to know this forum is here will have already found it doing searches like I did. Plus I don't want to put ideas in the minds of the younger under age college kids that are in the class.

[Truckinbutch]

LW ,
What you are asking isn't overly invasive . It will take up a lot of band width here , though . I'll try to hit some of the high points that can get short answers . Many require in depth responses to get a reasonable overview . Perhaps there could be another venue that responses could go to rather than tie up this grand site . That said:
1950 . North central WV. Farm raised amongst numerous coal camps segregated by ethnicisity (sp?) . Dwight Eisenhour changed all that when he consolidated all the 1 , 2 , and 3 room schools into one central grade school in 1956 . We all had to sort out all our own problems at ground level and did it right well .
Q-2 : I didn't realize there was a 'segregation issue' until I was in the 5th grade . I'd been a Safety Patrol student long enough to earn a trip to Washington ,DC . 12 of us in a car convoy for our trip of a lifetime ! The Smithsonian , the monuments , Mt. Vernon , WOW! I was the only one , other than the teachers , that had been more than 25 miles from home in their whole life . I can remember nearly every detail to this day
(Forgive my coloquialism here , it was the way we talked about ourselves at the time .) A mixture of polaks , hunkies , farm hicks , dagos , and one nigger . The jew boy got sick and couldn't make the trip. We shared the harmony of the trip and the touring . Motel was no problem , one room for the boys and one for the girls . We brought enough food with us to picnic the night we got there and spent all the next day seeing sights we had never seen before . The final event was to be a real sit down dinner in a fancy(to us) restaurant . We all got seated and were looking over the menu when the waiter came to our table and informed the chaperons that the rest of us could be served at the table but poor little Sharon Clark , who happened to be guilty of being hungry while black , had to eat in the kitchen . Even in the 5th grade we were shocked at such treatment of a friend in a public establishment . None of us ate there . We left and went to a grocery store for more sandwich material to eat at the motel .
Q6,Q10 ; same answer , the dumbing down of America
Q 1 ? Before or after puberty ?
Q 3 As I was then or can I carry back what I learned over the years ?
Q 7 Central heat and inside plumbing .
That the kind of info you want ?

[Lima Whiskey]

Thanks TB exactly what I'm looking for. Q1 maybe before and after for me, it was hunting or fishing somewhere after it was trying to talk a girl into going hunting or fishing somewhere. Q3 I believe it would be at that time as you were at the time. I didn't see a response for questions 4 and 5. I hadn't thought of the use of bandwith. If anyone has a suggestion as to where i could post the questions for reply I would appreciate it. By the way I feel a little out of place in this collegiate endeavor. I had worked hard all my life. Grew up on a 500ac. farm mom and dad were tenants there, Dad also worked a full time job at a factory in the next town. I graduated High school worked locally for a couple years then joined the Marines. I married a little mountain woman from close to home while I was enlisted. We came home after my service with her carrying my first born. I worked industrial maintenance for years did a couple more tours as a civillian for Uncle Sam. About three years ago I started having some spells where I would pass out and such. I was forced by my previous employer to leave employment. They said I was a safety issue and couldn't be in the building. I have a total of 5 kids at home. I two step kids that are grown. I didn't want my youngins to see their ole man sitting around the house not working except for doing the hobby farming. I decided I would go back to school so they could see that it is expected to be productive. The plan is to become a veterinarian. So I have found myself in a bunch of classes filled with 17-23 year olds at the ripe "old" age of 38. y oldest two kids are their ages.

[Truckinbutch]

I went into an underground coal mine at the age of 18 with the goal of leaving at 38 . Worked night shift and farmed , logged , and ran trucks during the day to make that dream happen . Got 4 kids on the ground during that time that I love to the max and they followed me every day until their mother went to see a judge . Short story long : at 36 I was a divorced man whose x-wife was gettin $2600 a month per the judge's order and a directive from him that if I quit my job he would jail me for life under contempt of court .
I beat all that , got my kids back , and got all but one of them through college degrees . My current wife and I live comfortably . Life is good ....
A Marine is never beaten . Some are just put under the dirt until they are needed again . I'll do what I can to help you but I would like to not abuse this site . Those unanswered questions require paragraphs to address .

[Lima Whiskey]

I appreciate what answers you have given. It has been more than I could have hoped for. Like I said I'm 38 and starting over. I fortunately still have the same wife. She is a tough one. We survive. I will make my kids life better. If I can't provide it for them I will at least show them how to go about getting where they want to be.

[smokerscully1]

I check into this forum frequently but don't log-in much--just haven't got much to contribute--finally something I can contribute too.
I was born in '49 in South Missiouri-went to high school in Minnesota--got drafted in '69 and moved to Northwestern Ontario in '72.
1) Played a lot of football and baseball in the yard with my brothers and buddies--Huntin and fishin were abig deal--fightin roosters was too--it were legal then.
2)Segregation was something I heard about but didn't experience in a state sponsered way. Guys I went to high school with mostly had never met a black person in real life.
3)There are moments in my life which I would like to relive and moments I would really like to forget but no time period as such that I would like to re-experience.
4)Don't know that it has--I didn't listen to my elders enough and young people don't much listen to me. Way of the world I reckon
5)I don't see much difference in the way men and women treat each other.
6)Don't know as education has changed much either--they still teachin kids to read and write and cipher ain't they?
7)Hot and cold runnin water is a major convience--my mother loved her washin machine and my father would say refrigeration--but the TV was a big one when I was growing up.
8)Lookin back I would say my biggest struggle was being accepted by my peers--spent a fair bit of time wonderin what girls thought about.
9)Flying somewhere by airplane was a big deal when I was a kid--I got close kin now that practically live on airplanes now.
10)My father would say WWII and my mother would say the Great Depression. A lot of people my age might answer the assasination of JFK--I would say the Vietnam War.

Like a lot guys on here I worked with my hands my whole life--logging and construction--guiding. I was lucky in that I come from a large and loving family --got a good basic education and still have a love of learning. Had the love of a good woman--shes passed on but her love sustains me still.

[Lima Whiskey]

Thanks smoker. When I was a kid, the old house we lived in didn't have running water or a "bathroom" we washed in a big galvanized tub and used the outhouse. I thought running water was great when we got it. I was about 7-8 we got a washing machine and dryer at the dame time!

[Lima Whiskey]

I've been busy lately and haven't been on here much. I just wanted to say thank you guys for giving your input. I got 75 out of 75 possible points on my presentation. Ya'll made it easy.

[bluenose]

I've been busy lately and haven't been on here much. I just wanted to say thank you guys for giving your input. I got 75 out of 75 possible points on my presentation. Ya'll made it easy.

excellent work lima!