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| Pullman Virtual Museum | THE PEOPLE OF PULLMAN | Oral Histories |
These are the questions that we ask our interviewees to answer. If you have lived in Pullman or have any memories or rememberances of the town, the company, or any part of the Pullman experience, we'd love to hear your stories. Please consider answering these questions, either writing out the answers or recording a cassette for us. We also need for you to fill out the permission slip located on the bottom of the page.
INTRODUCTION
1. What is your name?
2. Where were you born?
3. Where do you live now?
GRANDPARENTS
4. What were the names of your mother's parents?
5. When and where were they born? Where did they live?
6. What did they do for a living?
7. What were the names of your father's parents?
8. When and where were they born? Where did they live?
9. What did they do for a living?
10. Do you have any personal memories of them?
11. Did you know your grandparents well?
12. What do you remember about your great-grandparents?
13. Did you ever meet them?
14. Did your great-grandparents, grandparents or parents come
to the U.S. from a foreign country? What stories are told in your family about
the crossing? Do you have any relatives in foreign countries?
15. What ethnic traditions are still practiced in your family?
CHILDHOOD
16. What type of a house did you live in as a child? Describe.
17. What other buildings were on the same property?
18. Did you have a yard? a fence? a swing? flowers? trees? a
lawn?
19. If you moved during your childhood, tell where and when
and what you can remember of each house and the family circumstances and reasons
for the move.
20. As a child, did you have a room of your own, or did you
share it with someone else? If so, whom?
21. Did you have a bed of your own?
22. In what room did you eat? Kitchen? Dining Room?
23. Where did you eat when there was company?
24. Did you house have a parlor or a living room? Was the
family allowed to use it?
25. House was your house heated? Was it warm in the winter?
Explain.
26. Did you have a fireplace?
27. What kind of kitchen stove did your parents cook on?
28. Did you burn wood? Coal?
29. When did you convert to gas?
30. Did you always have indoor plumbing? If not, when did you
get it?
31. Did you always have electricity? If not, when did you get
it?
32. Did your family ever make wine or beer?
33. Did your family always have a refrigerator? If not, what
did you use instead?
FAMILY RELATIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES, CONDITIONS
34. What was your position in the family? Oldest? Youngest?
Were there any advantages, disadvantages?
35. What were your duties as a small child? Describe your
responsibilities as you grew older.
36. Who cooked the meals?
37. Who did the ironing?
38. Did you buy or make your own clothing?
39. Who was the family tailor? Who repaired the family shoes?
40. When did you learn to cook? Who taught you?
41. Did you learn to sew, crochet, or knit?
42. Did your parents keep in touch with distant family?
43. Did you visit relatives often? Near? Far?
44. How did you get your mail? How often? Where was the post
office that you used?
45. Did you have any childhood diseases?
46. What do you remember about family pets?
47. Were you especially close to anyone in the family?
48. How did the family spend its evenings?
FAMILY INCOME AND LIVELIHOOD
49. What did your father do for a living?
50. Did your mother ever work outside of the home?
51. Did you contribute to the family income? In what way?
52. Did you get any allowance as a child? Or did you have to
earn your own spending money? If so, how?
53. Where did you spend it? On what?
54. When did you get your first job outside of the family?
55. Did your family have a garden? For family use or profit?
56. Who did the planting? Digging, cultivating, weeding,
watering?
57. What kind of vegetables did you grow? Who harvested them?
DAYS, SEASONS, AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS
58. What did Saturday mean to you?
59. Was Saturday night bath night? Where, how?
60. What did Sunday mean to you?
61. Was your family religious?
62. What religion were you raised in?
63. Did you attend church on Sunday? Alone? With your parents
or family or friends?
64. Where did you attend church or Sunday school?
65. Did you have special shopping habits at Christmas time?
Did you earn your own money to buy presents?
66. How did you spend Christmas? Describe. Did you decorate a
Christmas tree? Did you exchange gifts?
67. What kind of gifts did you receive at Christmas?
68. Did your family observe Easter? In what way?
69. How did you observe the Fourth of July? Where?
70. How was your birthday celebrated? Did you have a birthday
cake?
71. What kinds of gifts did you receive on your birthday?
72. Did your family entertain often? What were the occasions?
73. Did your family attend picnics? Family reunions?
74. How did you keep cool in summer?
75. Did you go barefoot in summer?
76. What did you wear in winter to keep warm?
77. Do you remember any blizzards, tornadoes or floods?
78. How did these events affect the neighbors, relatives, or
town? How did they affect you?
FRIENDS AND GAMES
79. What did you do for recreation?
80. Did you and your family listen to the radio? What were
your favorite shows?
81. When did you get your first television? What were your
favorite shows?
82. Did you go to city parks?
83. Did you or your brothers or sisters have any hobbies? If
so, what?
84. Who were your playmates?
85. Who was your best friend growing up?
86. What did you and your friends do when you get together?
87. Did you and your playmates play any organized games?
Football? Baseball? Hockey? Kick the can? Describe.
88. Did you ever learn to swim? Where?
89. Did you participate in 4-H or scouting organizations?
SCHOOLS
90. Where did you go to school?
91. How did you get to school? If you walked, how far?
92. Did you take a bus, streetcar, or train to get to school?
93. Were these walks a hardship in winter? In summer or hot
weather?
94. How large was your school in the elementary grades, first
through fourth? Fifth through eighth, eight through twelfth?
95. What recreation was provided or allowed during periods of
rest or recess?
96. Did older students help you or did you help others with
their lessons?
97. What kinds of grades did you get? What were your favorite
subjects? Who were your favorite teachers?
TRANSPORTATION AND SURROUNDINGS
98. Describe the size of the town where you lived or shopped.
99. Where did your parents shop? How often?
100. How large or how small were the stores?
101. If you lived in a small town or on the farm, did you ever
go to the city to shop? Describe.
102. If you lived in the city, do you remember the stockyards?
103. What was the largest town you remember visiting when you
were young. What did you do there?
104. Did you ever travel on a train while you were young? What
was the occasion? Where did you go and with whom?
105. Were you ever away from home as a child?
106. Did you or your family own a horse? A buggy or a
carriage? Were you able or allowed to ride?
107. Did you ride streetcars? How much did they cost?
108. When did your family own a car? When did you get it?
109. When did you learn to drive a car? Who taught you?
110. Where did your family go on vacation?
111. Were you alive during the Depression?
112. Did tramps or beggars ever come to your door?
OUTLOOK AND WORK LIFE
113. Whom did you most admire when you were young? Within the
family? In public life? Why?
114. Did you choose someone to pattern your life after? Who
and why?
115. When you were small, what did you hope to do when you
grew up?
116. What education did you get past elementary school? Did
you study in your adult years?
117. When did you finally settle into your career?
118. Did your family support, oppose, or encourage you?
119. While you were in college or in training, did you live
away from home? For how long?
120. Who influenced you most and helped you to develop your
skills?
121. How many different employers have you worked for? What
promotions have you received?
122. Did you work for the Pullman company?
123. Would you choose the same career if you had it to do
over?
MARRIAGE AND LATER LIFE
124. When and where did you meet your husband or wife?
125. How and when did you get engaged? Married?
126. Where did you marry and who was present?
127. Did you go on a honeymoon?
128. Where was your first home?
129. What is or was your spouse's occupation?
130. How many moves have you made during your married life?
Where and when did you move?
131. Where and when were your children born?
132. What can you remember of their baby days and childhood?
133. Did you or your spouse go into service?
134. If your husband went into service, what did you do while
he was away? Where did you live? .
135. What memories do you have of war years? Korea? Vietnam?
136. How has your health been through the years?
137. Do you have animals or pets?
138. Who have been your closest friends through the years?
LIVING IN PULLMAN
139. When did you come to the town of Pullman? If you moved
here, what inspired you to do so?
140. Where did you first live? Did you own or rent?
141. Was organized gambling at the Hotel Florence common? The
same with prostitution.
142. Were there any brothels in the community?
143. Do you remember any memorable crimes in the community?
Gangs?
144. Do you remember any memorable deaths in the community?
145. Did the company use the Florence Hotel for meetings or
dinners?
146. What was the primary use of the small canal going east
from the plant, past the Pullman Bank, to Lake Calumet?
147. Did you ever visit the water tower or know someone who
did?
148. Did you ever visit the Arcade Building or know someone
who did?
149. Do you remember what shops were in the Market Hall?
150. Did you ever shop in the Market Hall?
151. At what point or date was electric lighting used in a
majority of the Pullman houses? Was gas lighting used in some of the houses
through WWII?
152. When were the alleys in the community paved?
153. When were the brick streets in the community covered?
154. Was it common to take in boarders during WWII?
155. What percentage of the houses in the community during
WWII were owner-occupied?
156. During WWII was the bar at the Hotel Florence patronized
by shop employees?
157. Was there an automobile dealership located in the
stables?
158. During WWII how many mom/pop stores and taverns were
located in N. & S. Pullman? Please list names and approximate addresses if
possible.
159. What were the leisure time activities of the children in
the community?
WORKING FOR PULLMAN
160. If you worked for Pullman, what was your entry job and
what was your job when you left? Give dates.
161. Did you retire from the company?
162. What were your various job titles over your time with the
company? Describe job duties.
163. Give descriptions of the jobs that you had.
164. Please list the names of your supervisors and dates.
165. Please list the names of the departments in which you
worked, and the number of employees in your department(s).
166. Were you satisfied with your retirement income from the
company?
167. If you were a union member give name of the union. Were
you satisfied with the union?
168. Addresses where you lived while working for the company.
Did you rent or own the house?
169. Did you get to work using public transportation; if so
please describe. Did most of the employees take public transportation, walk or
drive to work?
170. Did you bring your lunch or eat in the lunchroom or did
you eat on the job site? Describe the lunchroom. Could food be purchased on the
property?
171. What was your relationship with office employees, locally
and at Michigan and Adams?
172. Was it possible to purchase surplus material from the
company?
173. Was there a full-time doctor and nurse on the premises?
Do you remember their names?
174. Were any employees part of a fire or emergency team?
175. Did the company sponsor outside activities such as
picnics sports, Christmas parties, etc.?
176. Did the company furnish free passes for certain or all
employees for berths in sleeping cars, or were these furnished only for business
purposes?
177. How difficult or easy was it for an employee to have his
son or daughter attend Pullman Tech, after graduation how difficult was it for
the person to obtain employment with the company, did they come in on a training
program that led to a supervisor’s job?
178. What percentage of supervision or management lived
outside of the community?
179. Were children of employees given preference in hiring?
180. Was it possible for foremen, managers and superintendents
to hire directly or would they go through the personnel department?
181. If you worked for Pullman, what buildings did your
department work in?
182. Do you remember or do you know what departments were
located in the water tower?
183. Do you remember or do you know what departments were
located in the administration building?
184. Where was the main gate located at? Did you have to clock
in? Were there guards at the gates? How many?
185. How often were you paid? How were you paid, at an office
or by mail, for instance?
186. Did you belong to the Pullman Club on 111th street? Do
you remember if the owners lived in the building? What else do you remember
about the Club?
187. In the 1940s, what % of employees lived in community?
188. In 1981 what % of employees lived in community?
189. In the 1940s, how many blacks lived in N & S Pullman?
190. During the depression was part-time work available to
allow more men to have a job? That is, was the work spread out?
WEB PAGE PUBLISHING PERMISSION FORM
Date: ______________________________________________________
Interviewer's Name:___________________________________________
(please print)
Interviewee's Name:___________________________________________
(please print)
Interviewee's Signature:________________________________________
Agreement
I grant permission to the Pullman Preservation Alliance to post my oral history
on its Web site.
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if I have supplied my interviewer a photograph, that this photograph may
be displayed on the Web site with my oral history.
Check here if you do not wish to have your full name used, and would prefer that
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