Belva Willard Age: 99 Occupation: Housewife Hometown: Hemlock Grove Interviewer: Joseph McCall

Where did you go to school?              

Interview

Q: Did you have sports in school when you were young?

A: I don’t think so.

Q: When you were young, did you play any sports just for fun?

A: Oh, yes sometimes.

Q: Did you play baseball?

A: No.

Q: What type of games did you play, do you remember?

A: In school, at recess, just a little of this or that, that’s all I can say about it.

Q: What were they called?

A: What we did, I don’t believe that I could even tell you, of course we did have names for them, I’ve forgot all about that.

Q: Since you’ve been alive, what historical event, (wars, civil rights marches) affected you a lot?

A: The war.

Q: Can you remember any funny stories that happened to you when you were a kid?

A: Of course, there were a lot of them. There was a split stool at recess and of course there were different types of things that were played, but when it rained we had to quit.  That is just about as much as I can remember.

Q: Did you ever skip school?

A: No, I was always there. I know one day, school was dismissed and an awful storm come up and we had to walk through that storm home. It was clear across the hill and the hill was high.

Q: Where was the school located?

A: Bedford.

Q: When were you baptized?

A: Yes, there were three of us.  I think we were close to home.

Q: Do you remember where it happened?

A: Right there in the creek, this was a long time ago.

Q: Was church any different then than it is now?

A: Yes, a lot different.

Q: Did you get in trouble for talking in church?

A: Let’s see, yes I did.  I had to stand up front but I don’t remember what it was about, I know I had to stand and it hurt though.

Q: What kind of music did you listen to, or did you sing?

A: We just had several things around the house, just whatever started up.

Q: Did you play an instrument?

A: No, there was something but I can’t remember now what it was.

Q: Was it a recorder?

A: No, I can’t recall.

Q: Is there anything else that you can think of that was really interesting that you want to tell us, anything funny or sad?

A: If I could just think of them, of course.

Q: Did you have any pets?

A: Oh yes, we always had pets, dogs.

Q: Did they get in trouble around the house or were they good?

A: They always stayed outside, we didn’t bring them in.

Q: Did you get along with your parents?

A: Yes.

Q: Did you ever have a goldfish?

A: I don’t get it, I don’t know what you are saying.

Q: Fish.

A: Oh, we went fishing at the creek.

Q: Did you ever catch any?

A: Oh, I suppose I have, not very much.

Q: What was your favorite thing to do?

A: Nothing in particular, if something needed to be done, I did it.

Q: How did your grass in front of your house get cut? Did you have a mower?

A: Well, yes we used whatever we had, that is just about as close as I can get to that.

Q: When you were young, were there any movie stars that you thought were really cute, any of the boys or men?

A: Oh yes.

Q: Did you have any role models, any one that you respected or looked up to?

A: If anybody was doing something and he won out with it, well that was nice.

Q: When you were a kid, was there anybody that you wanted to be like?

A: Well, yes, maybe somebody that had something nicer than we had, it was kinda nice to look up to them.

Q: Did you have your own room in your house?

A: Yes

Q: Do you remember when the Ohio River flooded?

A: Yes, but we were too far away from that to be hurt at all.

Q: What were the winters like?

A: Back then they were really bad and we went to school regardless.  I know I sat home one day and it had rained and I threw off my coat I stood in the kitchen floor and stood there, so that was kinda cool.

Q: What did you do when school was out?

A: We just had work at home.

Q: Did you ever go to the Meigs County Fair?

A: Yes.

Q: What was that like?

A: Just about anything in that line.

Q: Did you ride the rides?

A: No.

Q: Did your family ever have any animals to take to the fair?

A: No, they didn’t.

Q: What did your parents do?

A: My father was a blacksmith and my mother sewed for people.

Q: What all did your father make?

A: On horses that was the shoeing, sometimes there was one that kicked him over the anvil and so that horse got a thing put on his nose and they twisted it and it had to stand up pretty good now.

Q: So your mom made all your clothes?

A: Yes.

Q: Is there anything that I haven’t asked you that may be interesting?

A: When we went to church and the river was so deep, you’d have to go through it and we’d be pretty muddy when we got there but we still went to church.

Q: Church was important to your family?

A: Oh yes, that’s right, dad took us

Q: Did you ever go sleigh riding in the winter?

A: Yes.

Q: Was there any big hills that you went down?

A: No, not if we were going with anyone else, but if we were going alone we would

Q: Were you ever married?

A: Yes, I didn’t have any children though.

Q: Where did you meet your husband?

A: I can tell you, they had a pie supper. They put them up, then they had to put their name on them and then bid on the highest one. And he’d go went to where the other one was sitting and I was with that lady that day because I didn’t know I was going to that. And I wasn’t ready, but she just insisted since she had a pie to go, and I went. And so when that fellow got that pie he brought it back. And I was going to get up and I said no, I’d have to eat it, and when that was over with he took me home that night.

Q: Do you remember when you were married?

A: Yes, we were married real close.

Q: Was it Hemlock Grove?

A: Yes, everything was Hemlock Grove.

Q: Your first house, what was it like?

A: It was an old log cabin and it had been kind of worked over in different ways, but finally it had to come down and make another house. We had a nice home after a while.

Q: What job did your husband have?

A: He was always a working but I just can’t recall where.

Q: We can shut the video camera down unless you have something else you’d like to tell us?

A: Oh, if I could just think, there would be a lot of things, things that happen that turn out to be funny but I just can’t put my finger to it.

Q: If you got sick when you were younger, did you go to the doctor?

A: Yes, I had a doctor, what was it?

Q: So, he came to your house?

A: Yes.

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