Jeff Mitchell and Terrell Mitchell

00:06 Hi, this is Jeff Mitchell. I'm free for today is Thursday, August 19th, 2020 in Middletown, Connecticut. I'm speaking here with Terry Mitchell and

00:20 I'm Terry Mitchell. I'm 72. I'm in Middletown, Connecticut.

00:30 It's August 19th, 2021 and I'm talking with my son. When and where were you born? I was born in Middletown. That protects Hospital.

00:46 My mother was from Middletown, my father.

00:52 Middletown but was raised in. Saybrook was your brother also. He was racing. Sabre was your mother? Raising milk.

01:07 Grandmother on my mother's side was born in my grandfather's. Born in May. Tell the best of my knowledge.

01:16 American Girl doll. I think I only have two streets part.

01:22 Were your parents like, when you were young? My father worked full-time? My mother was a stay-at-home mom.

01:30 She had to take care of her mother. Her father was pretty much independent till he got sick and his brother lives next door. My mother will take care of him and then a lot, Lou was, I'll take care of her or take care of us was there when she was my grandmother's sister.

01:57 Dental Works.

02:03 If I get home, when my dad was home, he was always working around the house. We lived on Wall Street. My grandparents at the house in the front by a great. I have those small house between our house and my grandfather's, we are in a small house that used to be a farm. They cut the barn and half, moved it onto a crawl. Space foundation for your furnace. It was small.

02:38 Do you have any stories? Your grandparents told you?

02:45 Yeah, my grandfather used to own a store and what kind of store was like a general store. So prior to the depression things are going pretty well for him. But at some point it was the head of the Middletown taxpayers Association and mobile.

03:04 They ran the Main Street Extension, right through his store and almost put them out of business. He moved at the store out to the same compound where the house is working, but the business dropped way off and then when the Depression hit, everybody else wanted money and he didn't collect it. You didn't go asking for anything. They just took the loss. I guess nobody had anything and you weren't going to get anyting your grandfather, on my mother's side. Remember your grandparents on your father's side of my grandfather on. My father's side was a cook on an ocean-going. Tug.

03:51 And he came to Middletown on his way to California, to meet us up with his wife and daughters. But he took sick and he came to the house and saw me. I was the only grandchild he ever met and he checked into Middlesex Hospital in a couple weeks. I feel. So he, where was he from? He lived in, Saybrook. He was working on an ocean-going tug, my grandmother and her two daughters and their husbands had moved to California and he was going to go out and meet him, but he never made it.

04:32 That was Rubin.

04:46 What are some stories that your parents told you about growing up?

04:51 What are when you were younger?

04:56 There weren't a lot of stories except my mother would tell me about

05:01 My grandfather had a small farm on the property and she would tell about them killing the chickens out. She said, when they cut the heads off. They really did run around guy and it was a proper you go, right? And then was a half a bar and left them used to play in the air. She had stories about animals and the

05:29 The rag man would come through and, you know, by used clothing boutique be on cash, paid. For Rags said when she was a kid, the ice man would come along and they all want a piece of ice, you know, just it was a whole different way back. Then say, mouse in house, except he was in the main house, when she grew up and then when she and my dad got married, they got the small house out back. Okay, so that was originally her her house that that she had, okay.

06:15 All right. What is your regarding that? You're the cottage down and see her. I will put your earliest memory of Cedar Island down in Clinton. Probably going up with my grandfather who couldn't swim a stroke. Go out on the boat little 11. 12 ft. Rowboat. Okay. With oyster tongs, who can he wore these? Waiters been deep wet waiters couldn't swim and he dropped the anchor and then be using the top bunk to pull up quahogs the big round. Clams. And then we roll home cuz he didn't want a motor and they make clam chowder and that was one of my earliest remembrances. So who bought the cottage originally?

07:07 And when my grandfather was down there, in 1927, then he went to the Baisden. They had a small store right on the water and they were very friendly with him. And they told him they were selling properties, on Cedar Island. So he went over and ended up buying two lots. They were joining and one had a boat house on it later. They converted to a cottage. The cottage was destroyed and 38 hurricane. Nothing left.

07:44 So somebody else lost their Cottage. They weren't going to rebuild my grandfather. Got all the scrap. Lumber from that two cottages and built a cottage in 1940. It's still there. When, in, in your earliest memory, when you were down there, who was down there with you. Usually it was my mother and my grandfather and my father that grandfather. What's his name?

08:17 How often did you go down to the island as a kid? The kid we would get like 2 weeks down there. My father, we have two weeks vacation, cuz sometimes they would go down for a weekend. But I don't remember. I remember getting the two weeks down there and come back and, you know, having to re-acclimate to the real world. Okay, by Phineas, like there. When you were, when you were younger going, that, the cottage had small rooms later year. If they opened up the wall between the kitchen and the living room. Make a bigger room, but the rooms were small that was gaslights and kerosene lights.

09:09 Gas refrigerator and a gas stove.

09:18 What did you do? That was no electricity. So, I mean, we had a lot of card playing a lot of reading books, but being a kid down there. I like grabbing fish and running the boat playing with all the other kids on the island. It was a great place for dogs and kids, and could just let him go and they always came home. How many kids will usually run around in a, at a time. We had a boat that would go a little bit faster than rowing and my father used to tell me, you know, don't open it up course, I did and maybe a mile from the aisle, and I wouldn't think he could hear

10:18 Who's going pretty good at catching.

10:27 Unless I think was 1955, I was there.

10:34 And there was a hurricane and my father in the neighbor Al have been tying down boats and retrieving, boats that have broken free. And it was really windy and I didn't know it was a hurricane. We didn't have satellites back then. Well, all morning. He'd worked out there. He came in and you know, what's going to go to bed pretty soon. My mother saying Robby Robby Robby. There's water on the front lot. Okay. It was just see what he was sleeping and Ryan Robbie Robbie. There's water on the

11:10 Sidewalk. Yeah. Okay, Robbie. It's coming up the front stairs. I had, we got evacuated in the eye of the storm from the cottage. We stepped into the boat halfway across the harbor. We stepped into a bigger fishing boat. And I took us up to the people's house up on the mainland and they sheltered us for the rest of the storm. How long was it was at the store hours or days or it was ours. So, why was that the best memory?

11:50 Because I learned that if you have a hurricane and you can't do anything about it, you may as well take a nap, any any good memories? You have of of your mom down there, one time and airplane flew over three hundred feet above the cottage. If she lost it, not as mild-mannered then, you know, I learn new words. Okay? Yeah. Yeah, they played cards with the neighbors and it was all those people down there and had a lot of company. Yeah. So there's that there's been other family members who had Cottages down there. Were some of the extended family that also,

12:50 Help here. After my father bought the property to his brother came down and bought another lot and built a cottage. I think he probably had mr. Bird, build a cottage after bird built, maybe six or eight. They were all similar floor. Plan. Fred Fred's brother Charlie. Charlie Charlie. Yeah. He was the next door. Neighbor on Wall Street.

13:19 Okay, so they live close together, all your brother lived around, the corner. That was Harry's tram.

13:29 But his Cottage was up off Main on some Island up there. Okay, so hairy very bought one up in Maine. If so friend buys one Charlie by what other extended family

13:43 That was it for the extended fan. I hear what happened is.

13:50 President's daughter inherited the cottage and then that Cottage, they sold. And she and her husband built a cottage over on the other side of the island. And that's where my cousin still have that Cottage. So easy, episode still family down there where some of your best memories down there with you and either both your two brothers.

14:17 Lobster in, with my brother, Larry. I was always a lot of fun. We go out and some crazy weather, he pull up the pots and you know, sometimes it was a real challenge cry cuz it was all by hand. He didn't have a winch or anything like that for the storm coming in in the waves, were like six safety. And you know, you grabbed the boy and before, you know, it was eight feet off the ground. Okay, cuz of the way, if you're not coming up,

14:56 Anyting. Any other memories of your brother? Don down there. Yeah. Used to do some Lobster into with one of his friends.

15:09 Larry caught blue crabs on a hard shell, in the bucket, a wonderful show, somebody the soft shell. If when he put his finger in the hard shell, like a stone on to it and when I brought it up yesterday, I wanted around and let it let go. If it was for the mark As we spun it around his finger. OK, Google ever did it again, younger teenage older. He was maybe ten Oka. So, we used to drag for bait for my dad lives up a net that we would go on, lock up on the shore. A few feet out into the water and get shiners mummies some crabs. So, a lot of the same things that we do when when I was a kid,

16:08 Soul at last version of the question that you and your friends at down there.

16:16 Water skiing cry when we were teenagers and it was an area, just west of where the harbor activity was that we were allowed to skiing.

16:32 I would ski without my car tax and so, seeing what I was about to hit was a challenge. Did you get a couple things? Maybe I went under a dock went through a marsh, a living sailboat? Okay. So you couldn't see the sailboat that will last request. At the last minute. So what is change the most over the years down there?

17:00 If used to be a place, you could get away from everything, but now it's cell phones. You can't, okay, so some of the technology that nobody had electricity down there, but now everybody seems to have solar power. Do you think that is good, bad? Yes, keep phones charged. She can have lights that you just push a button can get the news with the TV and keep track of the weather that you couldn't do back in the 50s bad, as they can reach you on the phones people. Now put golf carts on the island before, if they didn't, they never had that.

17:51 So more can a modern intrusion to it a little bit. Yeah.

17:59 So back before there were cell phones, we could communicate and and just get them to say there was the only way there is by boat. And if somebody was going to come visit. They would either flash their lights from the mainland or all three times or you know, what time to look for them for a lot more planned on when you were right now, that's why I have a bunch of memories of that. We hired a babysitter to take care of all the kids. While for adults went and did stuff at the babysitter was a teenage girl.

18:58 We came back from the mainland. Our kids could not have gone for all the teenage boys Circle in that girl.

19:09 I remember that there was a lot of attention there you and and Marsha and Larry, what were some things you guys did while you're down there? Well, of course we had to go to the Stop & Shop almost every day to get food. Okay, and one day, Mom didn't go in a plane flew over and sign said it's time to Stop & Shop. We thought that was directed at her, okay? To get things that you enjoy doing on those vacations. I really enjoyed the fishing.

19:54 Like fish, striped bass. Those are the primary ones? Blue fish or mother would catch a lot of Bluefish. So I stopped taking her crap. Was that the show was caught more than me. All right.

20:14 How do you want to see the cottage used by my kids?

20:19 That's a good question. You know, it needs a lot of work to maintain. It has been wracked by many hurricanes.

20:28 It needs a lot of Maintenance every year.

20:34 But,

20:35 The reason that we still have the Cottages because your son told me when he was 8 years old that it's his happy place. Okay, to maintain it.

20:48 Yeah, how has let me know. How is the cost impacted? The taxes went up 15%. This year. Jack's seems a little. Do you see at some point, financially not being able to keep it on, if you keep getting better job. Thank you. Do you see with with environmental impact us, not being able to keep it. What, what do you mean you think about what could potentially happened with climate change in the way that you do, though? The seas are changing. What do you think might happen for real? Right now, we get flooding over part of the island few times every year. The septic system, probably needs to be upgraded.

21:35 We put in a new water line about 10-12 years ago, who that's made a big difference. We have better fire protection down there. Now, what about the hurricanes and worried about every time so I wasn't worried.

21:52 There's nothing quite like sitting in your house watching TV and seeing your Island flooding.

21:58 Yes, I would think that you seen photos of the winter to overhead and what it look like.

22:06 I'm in the city island. It did actually the shape of it changes every year. Well, what happened is back in the early fifties late forties, the Army Corps of engineer.

22:18 Filled it in the space between the island and the mainland and melts at the end. So that's changed the shape of the island gets longer and narrower every year and then periodically they come and they dredge the sand off the point of the island because it's starting to go into the channel and they moved to last time over to Hammonasset State Park there. So, constantly, they're just trying to keep that the shape together of it with trying to keep the channel open.

22:53 But still used in commercially, there's a lot of fishing boats that go down and go. While fishing. Can you describe what the fishing was? Like when you were younger?

23:08 All the great. It was a lot more different kinds of fish. And what kind of fish did you use to catch when you're younger? We catch blowfish more flounder, fewer stripe ass back. Then, right? There was a weakfish. I haven't gained weight fish in the harbor and long time and what can parrots have compared what it looked like, then to what? It's what it's like now. Well now with the regulations you have to get much bigger fish with the striped bass. There's just a slot that you can take between 28 and 35.

23:49 Are you still seeing the same quantity are varieties? What do you see now? I see fewer varieties and smaller, quantities /, fishing trawler, just come right up to the mouth of the channel, There's more striped bass. Now. I'm in the eight more of the other fish in my truck. So overfishing and different fish types. When when I was a kid, I heard stories of my father at my grandfather's brother would set out, set lines, invite 50 hooks, you know, I'm heated everything, okay.

24:33 Weather is supposed to or not early. It was at that he could.

24:44 Okay.

24:49 I think that's the majority of the questions about the cottage. I want to ask what to ask a little bit about you as the parent when I was younger, but you had when I was growing up.

25:04 Actually, you were very easy.

25:08 You were well-behaved very responsible.

25:13 I didn't have to worry about you at all.

25:17 Appreciate that.

25:21 Alright, then just tell me where somewhere or one or two memory when I was little.

25:35 How little it so cute. When you were in high school, I remember you playing football at you were. Starting to chunk up a little bit when you started working out with the football than you got in shape. And I remember watching you tackle, somebody in front of the stands and that was just beaming with pride.

26:00 Any other memories you were in gymnastics, and I used to try to help with spotting. I remember we went there in the week down and right, River planting a tree one day, right? Before we headed out though. We planted a few trees.

26:21 Very and then I put my own kid into a gymnastics and kind of did that for about the same amount of time? I think. I think your last a little longer maybe. But what, what additional advice would you give me about raising my kids?

26:38 I'm not sure, I could give you any more cuz you seem to be doing a good job.

26:46 No other advice though. Well, if you have more patience than me, so I think your way is that. All right? How do you think we are alike?

26:57 I think we're both responsible. I think that we had a lot of family values. I think that you've put your wife first and I always put mine first.

27:12 I love, I think we have pride in our children.

27:24 I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I may have been just a little bit wilder than you were at an early age. A really? Yeah. How. So cuz you didn't tell me how? Well I mean, I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but are there any questions you want to ask me? Rather not know. I'm going to ask you then go to Wilder.

27:49 How are you? I'll be really well.

27:55 I used to go out a lot.

27:59 I was going to college full time. I was working part-time and I was partying time to half. Okay. I don't know if that all adds up, but I think I understand where you go to college University of Hartford.

28:16 Already, are you proud of me. Why? Because I couldn't have expected any more than you've provided.

28:30 And last question I have for you is how do you want to be remembered?

28:35 Oh, I'd like to be remembered as a good family, man. On a good grandfather. Good. That I know. I was fairly good husband. You're very good husband. She's not here to tell you, so weird.

28:54 Alright, well, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

28:59 Okay.