Allie Goolrick and Chester Goolrick

00:03 Hi, my name is Allie goolrick. I'm 38 years old today is March 9th 2021. I'm in Atlanta and I'm here with my father Chester.

00:11 Hello. My name is Chester. Gorick. I'm 74 years old. Today's date is March 9th 2021. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'm here today with my daughter Allie.

00:26 Okay. So first of all, I just want to hear about your childhood, I grew up in a small town in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in frog for Washington Lee University and Virginia Military Institute. And it's a traditional small town in a lot of ways, you know, a lot of Little Stores in town and the thing about it was it was so great because a lot of the children that I went to school with were the children of professors at one of the two colleges.

01:02 So it was the intelligence quotient if you will was very high I thought

01:12 I like to think that I was one of those and told some people. So anyway, and it was also an agricultural County. So they were a lot of farms and we lived in the country three miles out of town in the house and my grandmother had bought in the 1920s for $2,000 and have been built in 1786. It was the oldest occupied Stone House in Rockbridge County and my mother and her sister grew up in that house. And after I was born I'll ask my father came back from the war and married and had married my mother they moved into that house to be with my grandmother whose husband had I had by then and so we grew up in that house too. And it was really a wonderful place to grow up because it was a little Creek Running by it called, Whistle Creek.

02:09 And my brother and sister and I found ourselves in a very magical kind of place to grow up. And because you had this Creek Running by the house that we can women and me, of course had I'm not going to say lots of pets will be on a succession of dogs while play Maze and it was just a great place to grow up and it was born up out of town that

02:36 We didn't have to worry about neighbors really but it also made a difficult because I couldn't go in town and play with and nobody to play with six of my siblings. And so we were pretty much on our own.

02:53 And Ally mention this before but one thing my parents always said they were very tradition-bound. I'm about to say hi down because that make some sound to stayed and you know, I'm fine, but they started with some friends of theirs a Fourth of July party when they were young and it grew and grew and grew until eventually

03:19 On the 4th of July something like a hundred people would show up for the 4th of July and involves lots of drinking and fireworks once night ball came.

03:31 My father ordered the fireworks from the safe and sane fireworks company in Elkton, Maryland, and they they came in these kind of these cardboard boxes.

03:45 And they were just spectacular. I work the kind you would see these days at Lenox if Lenox had fireworks displays anymore.

03:54 And we always waited till light bulb Court to put them off and that's where I met my wife. I seen her around town. She was dating a w Nelson and I thought that somebody I would like to meet

04:09 Then one night I went to the theater. Me know and she sat down beside me.

04:14 And I was so nervous that all I can make this a wise could I look at your program? And without looking at me? She just handed it to me and there was no conversation by to see her on the street. And I think she sure is pretty I would really love to meet her and lo and behold she showed up at 4th of July party.

04:32 Friend of mine who lived out somewhere not too far from outside called him up that afternoon. That's the twain come to the Fourth of July party and bring whoever you want to and one of the people who bought was this woman this girl that he's mad. It was not his girlfriend and his name was name is Faye Hamby and she watching them out.

04:56 Call waiting this is so great. I'll tell when I said to my mother, there's a girl out there that I'm going to marry and she said no you're not.

05:06 Context about what this party was like because he said we going to the party at his house and she thought the B was a girl's name.

05:20 So she walked in there just been swimming on the somewhere out in the county. She was wearing a wet t-shirt and called shorts and she walked in and lo and behold your all these people with the

05:35 No fancy clothes on and blankets laid out on the ground. What's silver, candelabrum?

05:42 Picnic baskets Laden with all kinds of great stuff and she thought wait a minute. This isn't a party.

05:51 They were two people there who were greeting people older people and they were wearing all white in that tea bags string around their neck.

06:03 The reason and they both have white hair the reason they had tea bags around their neck was that it was the 200th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

06:12 My father was a military not a was a historian. So he not something you would know, but as I said before so all the sudden horses Corolla and I'm thinking I can't believe that you showed up at my house for this party. She came to meet me which was not true. But we really been together ever since that was 1991.

06:36 No, not 91-71. Sorry 71. We got married in 72 story. So tell me about so before that before you met mom somehow you ended up in the army.

06:56 That is for LSU ever minded.

06:59 I went to Williams College.

07:04 It was really the only place I applied and I got in eye gone to Woodberry Forest prep school for the last two years of high school in Mountain pretty well.

07:13 Don't have to get into it. Williams college and it was the coldest goddamn place I've ever been in my whole life and I'm a little boy from a small town in Virginia is not used to Winners and the winter winners in upstate Massachusetts are just brutal and I wasn't prepared for it. Not only that the Vietnam War was going on. And I was really worried about more because a lot of people being drafted and lot of people have been set up there and killed of course, so the way I dealt with it was just by drinking my ass off all the time and then not going to classes.

07:55 My comeuppance was that I had I was an English major and I had a professor named.

08:03 Bobby Logan, they're all of my sequence for glasses.

08:07 And he hated me and I hated him I could never get on the same wavelength with him. So I got season D's basically then my junior year. He assigned us to analyze a certain poem that he gave us and he said now what I want you to do is come into my office one by one and tell me what your ideas are and I will tell you whether you're on the right track. So I studied the poem and went to see him and told him when I was thinking running about and he said Chester you're the only one in my class has been here so far. He's been told why cry go ahead and write your paper and I'm sure you'll do real well.

08:48 Unlock. This is great. I'll be able to get a good grade for change.

08:54 I went back to the dorm and I've met there was a guy there who was in my class in the same class who is a math. Whiz and he was really confused about about the way but I told him about my conversation with him.

09:06 And he said oh, okay, so he and I turned it on papers and when the papers came back Bobby Logan stood in front of the classroom 7

09:16 You know most of you did real well on this paper on this business analyzing this point, but they were a couple of you liking me and the other guy who just somehow I just went completely off the track the other guy stood up and looked at Bobby Logan and said you goddamn son of a bitch and walk out.

09:35 Bobby Larkins dead

09:38 You know, I've had other students dropped my course, but never quite so dramatic a fashion. I don't I don't recommend it, but he gave me a bad grade and things went from bad to worse after that. I just didn't I just

10:00 My acne at about your new year and I went back home and I was the first person in my family so far as any of us were able to figure out who bought out of college.

10:10 And as I said, the war in Vietnam was raging and I knew what was going to happen. I knew I was going to get my draft notice by the end of the year. So I stayed home.

10:21 And fought with my parents all the time, I would say.

10:25 Well, I'm just going to go to Canada.

10:28 And my father would say if you do that, it'll kill your mother.

10:33 And my mother would say if you do that, you'll kill your father.

10:37 So I had to abandon that idea. If I said the same thing about y'all being conscious objector. They both said the same thing.

10:45 So two days before Christmas live reapplied to another College in Virginia, which was supposed to start on January 31st, which was a Monday 2 days before Christmas. I got my draft notice.

11:02 Which had me reporting at the local post office on January 29th at 8 in the morning written on it in handwriting was somebody from the secretary at the draft board. You knew me said be

11:18 If you're in college on this date, don't bother showing up.

11:23 I thought well, I'm Humphrey, you know, I like sending my money for the registration money for the collagen.

11:31 That Wednesday, I got a call from the same woman who said we need to be here on Saturday. I said, but wait a minute. I'm supposed to start school. She said but when does the school start I said on Monday? She said you be here on Saturday.

11:47 You maybe think that you're going to college but you're not and you're going into the army. So that's what army.

11:56 But you made a strategic decision in basic training Fort Bragg, North Carolina. What are they as they did? Everybody shave my head took every single possession of that I brought with me away from me.

12:17 And read us all through this incredibly rigorous.

12:21 First few days of being yelled at and and being fitted for a uniform and so does etcetera Etc.

12:32 Been after I've been there a couple days. We were all LED one by one into this room where there was some sort of figure of authority sitting there and he said looking at some papers in front of them. I see here where you have signed up you have been drafted for 2 years in the Army. I said, that's what he said. Let me tell you what's going to happen.

12:52 You're going to hate basic training, but you're going to be hate. You're going to hate me even more where you can be sent after this to Fort Polk, Louisiana for advanced infantry training.

13:07 And let me tell you I've been there. That is a hell hole.

13:10 But then after that you can be sent to Vietnam.

13:14 And your ass is going to be shut off.

13:17 I said, okay.

13:20 Jet's Pizza, but you have a choice

13:24 You can re-up for one more year and you can get your toys at any sort of thing you want to do in the army?

13:31 After dark at so I re-upload another year. So now I'm in for 3 years. So I sign up for communication specialist Little did I know that signing up for communication specialist meant that I could potentially become a radio operator in Vietnam, which would have meant that I was first in line marching into the jungle.

13:55 But instead I became a communications center.

14:00 Operator which one I learned how to use typewriters and things.

14:06 Send messages.

14:10 And from Fort Bragg Rouge, Louisiana, rather than being sent to Fort Polk. I was sent to Fort Gordon in Augusta.

14:19 For specialized training one of the things we got to learn how to do is touch type.

14:25 45 words a minute now, I could type with two fingers 35-40 minute, but all am I

14:34 So-called buddies were saying I don't know if we don't learn how to type 35 words a minute. They'll hold us. They'll keep us here another week. And I thought you know, that's something I like to do.

14:49 So when the cat came time for the test I had to tell you this, but I was only able to take 33 words a minute.

14:57 Try to stand on the week. Everybody else got sent to be at Mom and I got sent to Germany. I call my mother up and told him what had happened and he said and it was so delighted anyone else block my mother a brand new refrigerator.

15:14 What's so interesting about you not being able to type or pretending that you couldn't type us then talk about what your career ends up being. But I was in the house in Germany for 1035 days for 2 and 1/2 years, basically.

15:36 And you came home you grew your hair right since I've been in the Army for three years and had my hair cut all the time. When I got back I would let my hair grow for 3 years.

15:48 So there you are with your mother is not pleased about.

15:56 I just wish I don't mind the long hair. I just wish you would get it styled.

16:02 What she meant by that was to go in town and go to her stylist and get a haircut.

16:07 One time I said you were with Mom at least I'm not a heroin addict. She said that was never question my mind I knew perfectly. Well you are my heroin addict.

16:20 But it was everything being a in Europe. I mean, I've never been to Europe before and here I was in Europe are too expensive for me and I just hated the army.

16:35 Okay. Why did you hate it?

16:39 Well, because

16:42 When you're on the Army, you're no longer you you're you know, this other preacher who they think they they made it so they have total control of your life.

16:57 They really do and people said to me later all we must have been so much fun being in Europe and being able to travel round.

17:06 Well, there was that but you always had a sense if you traveled as I did that God the armies waiting for me and I'm going to be just as miserable when I get back as soon as I was when I was there.

17:20 So go and do nothing, but I found out was it in my little Post in Germany because people have been Vietnam still have some months to server left after they locked up Mom some of them wound up in my company in Germany.

17:38 They were horribly bitter.

17:41 Some of them drug-addicted people and I remember one of them is assigned to the company typing pool to the company office and this is Sergeant went down one day and his fingers. He was sitting at his desk.

17:55 And the sergeant said to him private so and so

18:00 You're supposed to be working and probably so until I looked up and it said Sarge I'm way too fucked up to do anything in the sergeant said well in that case go back to the barracks and sleep it off.

18:13 It went back to the barracks and continue to do dope all day long.

18:20 Okay, so you met mom at 4th of July party and you told Easton that you were going to marry her what happened after that?

18:30 Well paying all dated for a year or more and she was in graduate school at York to Virginia.

18:39 And one day I said to her and I was working at the Staunton Leader newspaper by this point. I said, you've got to make up your mind about what we're going to do. And here's what I want you to do. I want you to send me a postcard and on that postcard. I want to see one word.

18:58 I got a postcard two days later on and it said yes, and I called Robin I said are you serious? She said I'm tired of that. You're my family.

19:08 I didn't you threatened her by saying something like if I have to meet someone else I have to tell all these stories over again at her house in Walton County.

19:25 Right after Christmas with you, no matter and she has a sweat of dunking me and then regretting it almost immediately or the next day. So the night before I left to come back, but you go back to Jay Street Baltic. Amber said she didn't want to see me anymore.

19:41 And I said, well, you know what this means. You and she said no what I said what this means is that when I get over this if I ever do

19:54 I'm going to have to meet some other young lady and Imma have to tell the same stories. I told you all over again to that new person you realize how boring that's can be for me.

20:08 And she said, you know, I really don't give a shit.

20:11 About next morning to change your mind.

20:20 So you guys got married at Holland and then tell me about your first job and stand during that part. I was just telling about when I visited I'm here when I get back to Virginia in a week, you have a job.

20:41 I'll consider getting back together with you. So I went back to Virginia and chronically rope a lever letter to every single daily paper in Virginia saying.

20:54 Dear, sir. I have no experience but I'm really interested in those paperwork. I have a history of newspaper in my family. That's ever Xterra.

21:04 I started getting letters back that would say things like

21:08 We don't really hire people who have no experience. I suggest that you try working for your local weekly newspaper first.

21:18 One newspaper wrote me and said to give you some idea of our situation here. We haven't had any turnover in 15 years.

21:28 But then two days before they got back from Georgia, I'd written a letter to the Staunton Leader newspaper, which was the newspaper about an hour north of Lexington.

21:45 And I got a call at 7 in the morning from the managing attitude there.

21:50 2 days before base to get back. Can you just walk in and quit would you come for an interview? So I drove up there and

22:00 His name is Roy Stevenson Stevenson, and I sat down with him and he said I'm not really a newspaper man.

22:09 I thought why the world is the managing editor?

22:13 I'm a farmer turned out. He wasn't really very good farmer, but and he was a terrible man Schnauzer. But anyway, they have me so when they got back I was able to say I've got a job.

22:26 It's up. There you go. What was nothing about newspaper? I mean, I read newspapers that I knew nothing about how you work at 1

22:44 So I showed up for more info for you.

22:52 After what side is that? Somebody just called in and said that there's a truck going through town dropping gravel onto the streets how to go investigate.

23:06 Well, as we all know trucks drop gravel on the streets all the time, so I'm going out drive around and

23:14 I saw gravel here and there but I couldn't find the truck driving crap on my way back and said, you know, I tried as hard as I could but I couldn't discover anyting that's any different from usual. He said well, I didn't really get that call. I just wanted you to learn the streets.

23:30 I've been looking at the street signs.

23:34 Okay, so then you got an opportunity with the AJC. I don't remember how this happened exactly.

23:45 That would help a mother Columbia journalism school, which is arguably the best journalism School in the country and I had a major

23:57 Teacher bear named Norman Isaac's who'd been the Maginot t-shirt of the Louisville Courier-Journal

24:04 Are doctors in the year and he really like me and I like him got towards the end of the year and I thought you know school is going to end in a month or two. I better think about trying to get a job soon.

24:17 So I went into the Norman and I said

24:22 I need some advice and he said how can I help you? And I said well

24:28 I need to figure out how to get a job in journalism. And he said where would you like to work?

24:34 Also do anywhere on the East Coast with blue and I ran through all the places I can think of on the East Coast New York, Philadelphia Washington Charlotte. It's everything and then I said Atlanta and he said I do you like to work in Atlanta. I said, yeah. He said I'll make a phone call.

24:50 Go in another room and I'll make a phone call.

24:54 That's what sounds like a Monday. So I want to know the Roman finally came and you said you have an interview set up for Atlanta for day after tomorrow. He knew the managing editor of the Constitution.

25:06 Allie called in

25:10 And said that he had this guy that he like to recommend so I flew to Atlanta and I went an interview at the Constitution and it happened that

25:22 Atlanta was in the middle of a garbage strike sanitation viewed the Imaginext gym mentor and he said

25:38 Now if you had to cover a sanitation worker strike, what kind of stories would you assign and I dread the Atlanta Constitution. Morning, so I came up with your hired.

25:52 I thought boy that was easy. Anyway, that's that's what happened in series a colleague of mine and I did a series of stories about minimum wage violations.

26:13 And one thing with one area We examined was

26:20 The turpentine industry

26:25 Which involves?

26:28 Not even say they were slaves, but pretty close to it black men in the Pine Forest at Southshore the tapping trees.

26:38 And collecting the buckets of sand.

26:42 And then carrying them to a central place and those that snap was eventually turned into turbine time, but it was extraordinary hard work and they were trapped those men. If one of them decided I didn't want to work for mr. So-and-so it was impossible for him to get a job anywhere else, but we assigned one of our black editorial writers named Lemay.

27:10 To go down to South Georgia and to wander around and try to get a job and move to turpentine first what you was able to do.

27:19 And to talk up and call us and tell us what it was like so it was a great series and then we did all kinds of we did the turbine time for us. We did gas stations where they hire people from nothing.

27:37 You know a lot of things but one interesting thing about the turpentine story was it?

27:43 My colleague Paul Lieberman Lots decided that we would do is before we print things we would go back and give people a chance to defend themselves. If it if they wanted to slowly and I drove down to Waycross weather was a little town.

28:02 You're welcome, but somewhere near there to talk to Junior, but everything was who own the turpentine operation.

28:11 Leave work for junior for a week or so and made way more below minimum wage and 1.2. Call Paul instead.

28:21 You better get me out of here soon. I just can't take this anymore. But anyway, when I drove down there when I called you and said we put the Atlanta Constitution and I'm doing the story about turpentine industry and I understand that you're one of the best turpentine men in Georgia. Can I come interview?

28:44 Tell me about now. I realize it was a certain amount of Triton trapment going on. We didn't care so.

28:52 So we went and interviewed him.

28:55 Leann. And he was standing by his garage in this really nice house out in the suburbs, and then I drove up.

29:03 And I got to the car and eat Junior complex me like no Alchemy way, and then we got out.

29:10 And Junior got this look on his face, like oh no.

29:15 So we sat with Junior on his front steps and talk to him and I said to him think like now Junior.

29:24 I understand that you do not pay minimum wage. Is that true? You said of course I paid minimum wage leaves that look Junior I work for you for a week.

29:36 You little son of a bitch and I made a lot less than minimum wage.

29:43 Anybody was so we wrote those stories and they won national awards. I mean they were sensation.

29:51 I guess I will know and then so I'm trying to look at time here cuz I want to get to 10 minutes. Okay, so I know you went on to work for the Wall Street Journal how far how soon was it after you started there that you had the big headache will actually work at the Constitution and I meant it starts with a couple times and fan on it.

30:21 Went to a movie one Sunday afternoon and I'll send him the concession line and I heard this voice behind me side Chester. How are you? And I turn around. Oh John Huey and John, how are you? How are you? I have to go to work to Milwaukee Journal. I never read The Wall Street Journal in my entire life. And so I said and I was serious I said well maybe if you offered me $100,000 a year, I might consider.

30:46 But and I thought so lonely conversation. It even tell play about it the next day. Monday. I got a call from John said I'm serious.

30:55 But I will not pay you $100,000. She said I don't make $100,000. He was to be rock chicks, but he said come by that Friday. I had a job at the Wall Street Journal.

31:07 I worked for them for a couple of years I guess and then I had a cerebal aneurysm completed the real my career.

31:21 So do you remember about that? I remember the social Gathering I was on the way and we went to this outdoor party that we went to commemorate it. Somebody's anniversary or birthday or something and all the sudden. I got this incredible headache the worst headache I've ever had in my whole life. So I walked around for a while and I thought

31:54 I must be having.

31:56 A migraine, which I never had one off.

32:01 And I thought no that's not dude while I'm having I'm dying.

32:06 And I was I'd had a cerebal aneurysm. I walked inside and I said the fly and am the hostess. I said, I have a terrible headache.

32:16 And

32:18 And said, well you're from Tylenol go lie down and maybe you'll feel better. I guess. That's the last thing I remember for 6 weeks.

32:33 But I was I was okay the next day condos, but then the day after that.

32:40 That Monday

32:42 I was completely out of my head I couldn't have to him to I did not repay was she took me to one of these knocking about classes and whoever was on.

32:52 Dirty side

32:54 He's having cerebral aneurysm take him immediately to DeKalb General Hospital and I'll call ahead so.

33:04 That was on Monday and then the following Monday.

33:09 I had 11 hours of brain surgery where they put a clip in it.

33:15 You're pretty much a nightmare. I mean, I don't remember any of it, but it was a nightmare for everybody else. But as I said, they was 8 months pregnant. So we were really a story here so slow.

33:27 Wall Street Journal reporter in his four wives as big as a house

33:32 And he's dying or honest dad died and she's on the verge of having a baby. So the first thing I remember is after I was in ICU for two or three weeks. They moved me to a private room.

33:47 And also said the first thing I remember was famous talking to her mother in my room and she said Mama I feel labor pains coming on and her mother said we'll just walk down to the hall to the maternity ward.

34:03 And she did and she had the baby 4 hours later and that's her right there.

34:08 It was me it was you.

34:12 But you remember going down the hall to meet me for the first time to meet Allie for the first time in ladies. I saw these babies and one of them.

34:31 And it was Ali waving to me even though she was only you know several hours over and then the lady said when are said well, I have to wear your back to the room now and I said no, I'm not leaving this stay right here. But another thing that happened it was so strange was when I was in the emergency when I was in ICU faced left in the ICU waiting room.

34:56 Every night Neverland home except for a change of clothes and washed her hair in the same Hospital cafeteria. She was in the waiting room and it was a whole family of people in the smoking side.

35:12 They were there because this fellow named Eric Puckett that had a terrible motorcycle wreck. They were all charged and members of the Klu Klux Klan.

35:22 And they have lots of illicit drugs.

35:28 Eric Hawkins girlfriend that I said was this nineteen-year-old kind of bimbo and she was dying to see me, but of course I was in a private room. So after I got into my let me know. See you in about twice when I got into my room she came to see me.

35:45 This woman I've never seen before my whole life came in Saturday in my bed and fake on down and have a lie, and I didn't say anything to her. Of course. I couldn't I didn't even know who Fey was I didn't know who they was but not compare. Anybody else.

35:59 So she gave up out the ball went down to face women walk in and said they I just went down to see your husband. He is so goddamn weird.

36:08 Sat there and talked to him and he didn't say nothing.

36:12 Price of all, let me see if I can explain what's going on here.

36:16 He just had this terrible risky operation. He's almost died a couple times and you know, Eric your boyfriend has had this terrible talk to.

36:26 He doesn't know you was never seen you before in this whole life. She doesn't know who I am. No wonder he didn't talk to you.

36:33 So the girl said well, I guess that's right. I have one question. I want to ask but what do you think your greatest accomplishment has been since you're in your

36:48 Raising you.

36:50 Making you into the wonderful Splendid person you are today. Thank you.

36:59 But I have to continue my story about Dark Places girlfriends real quick. So they then said she then said goodbye. Well, you know, how are you and how's the baby and excetera excetera?

37:11 I thought I said whatever she's out and then the girlfriend but I have one more thing to say. He's so damn weird. He didn't say nothing here, but

37:28 I don't know.

37:30 In some ways

37:33 Sing Brahms requiem

37:36 At your a Unitarian Church was a great accomplishment. I'm in the choir thing return.

37:44 Congregation of Atlanta

37:46 We don't need anymore because of the cupboard, but will you meet virtually?

37:55 And what has it been like getting to be a granddaddy for the first time?

38:00 There's only one answer, but the loud I'm it's wonderful.

38:11 Maddox is such a cutie pie. You know, how many really is?

38:18 I'll sign is somebody going to die. Maddox. My grandson. He is obsessed.. He's very interested in pencils. Are you can't put a pan or a pencil been anywhere or do you want Panda and they're dangerous? So I will I'll hide a pencil or pen Prime and if he sees me do it two days later, you'll go back to the same place looking for it.

38:46 When he's only a year old that makes him very advanced.

38:54 We got to wrap it up. Alright, well, it was really great talking to you. What's the record? Thank you. Thank you so much. We enjoyed it.