Jillian Attaway and Nancy Alcaraz

00:03 My name is Jillian. I'm 32 years old. Today's date is Saturday November 30th 2019. We are in Yuma Arizona the name of my interview partner is Nancy and she is my maternal grandmother.

00:21 My name is Nancy. My age is 84 today is Saturday November 30th, 2019.

00:33 Location is Yuma, Arizona.

00:37 And name of my partner is Gillian and Gillian is my granddaughter.

00:46 Okay, Nancy. What's your favorite thing about the holidays my favorite thing about the holidays is getting together with family. Although we don't have a large family, but we all get together every Thanksgiving and every Christmas.

01:09 Do you or did you have any holiday traditions?

01:15 Not really, but we always baked cookies for Christmas. That was one thing we always did my grandmother was the biggest one. She started the whole thing and back in those days. They used to have containers that we used to call the lard bucket.

01:38 And my grandmother used to bake so many cookies that she could fill that hole container, but then she gave them away to that was that was the most important thing of baking the cookies with baking them and giving them away.

01:58 What kind of cookies were they?

02:02 Her favorite was chocolate chip, but mine was the plain cookie that we did that we made cutouts and then we decorated after they were baked.

02:17 And where was this all happening? I'm from Pennsylvania. And we lived in a little town called trevorton. In fact, it was the little village of trevorton and it was it was so small well because of my age back then there was no hardly anyone in town owned the car.

02:43 So

02:46 Wherever you win you walked and it snowed. Oh did it snow mad after we had our Christmas dinner and exchange gifts. We all put a cold weather outfits on which were called snow suits and we went outside and went sled riding.

03:08 How many brothers and sisters do you have I have I had two brothers and one sister and so you don't play together. Oh, yeah.

03:20 Well, except the last one there was nine years difference between myself and him.

03:29 How did your family spend the holidays together when you were younger? What did your mom and dad do with you guys?

03:38 Well, first of all of it snowed which it always did but we always had my dad make us a snowman out in the front yard, and that really took a last June.

03:56 But it was just everything you do in the winter time. You went by writing you.

04:03 When ice skating when it was cold enough that the river the lake through froze over.

04:12 And that was an all-day Affair to do because we had to walk to the place go ice skating and then walked all the way home.

04:21 On

04:29 I was trying to think of something to say but we didn't even have a place to stop on the way home to get something warm to drink because there was no such place in town.

04:45 Nancy with what is your favorite holiday memory with your children with my children the same thing. My favorite thing was getting ready for Christmas and baking we continue the same tradition. We bake cookies. I didn't bake enough that my grandmother did that we gave them away, but I bake enough for the family. And how many children do you have dancing to girls?

05:19 What are their names?

05:22 Janet and Jody

05:25 When your husband was in the military and you guys lived in Hawaii, was it different having Christmas over there? So it sure was it didn't even feel like Christmas. It was just it was the strangest feeling I've ever had.

05:45 I think we still had.

05:49 This silver Christmas tree. It was a fake one. And I think we put that one up that deer because it was so warm over there you you couldn't even I mean the tree died right away. So I just went with Dugout my old silver Christmas tree and put that up.

06:12 What is your favorite holiday tradition with your grandchildren or your great-grandchild?

06:24 You know, I don't really have any.

06:27 I really don't because I if I make well I do make he likes pumpkin roll and I usually make that for him and a few loaves of pumpkin bread, but I don't bake cookies like I used to I just can't do it anymore.

06:53 But it shopping and everything is so different today than it was before. It's just so hectic and it starts so early that by the time Christmas gets here you're wore out you're just basically tired.

07:11 So it's very different today than when you were a child. Oh my gosh. Yes it just

07:21 When I was a kid, if we got a doll that was the most important thing and that's probably the main thing we got and then the rest was like pajamas or closed but it's not like today where they spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on toys. We didn't get that.

07:45 What do you think the most important thing about the holidays is?

07:53 Just getting together with family. That's that's all I care about.

08:00 Do you wish that our family did that more?

08:08 Well, since we all live together, I mean that live together but we live so close and we don't get snowbound, you know, it's much easier to go visit.

08:20 Then we did when I was a child. Sometimes we got snowed in and you couldn't even get out of your house.

08:34 Who started the Christmas stocking scratchers?

08:40 Oh gosh, I can't even remember when that started.

08:48 I think we all started together really we saw the scratchers and we just decided that was that would be a nice neat stocking stuffer. So, you know, it seemed like Janet but some Jody buy some I bought some and then everybody had a scratcher.

09:07 So that's probably a tradition. Yes, didn't even think of that as a tradition was just something we did.

09:15 None of my friends do it. It's very odd apparently.

09:23 When we have holiday meals and you make food, what was your favorite thing to make when we were growing up?

09:36 Well when you guys were small, we always had Thanksgiving dinner at my house and

09:45 I get up real early in the morning and I put the turkey and and

09:53 Bake the pies

09:57 In fact, I had to get up really early to put the pies in or make them late than the day before Christmas Easter Thanksgiving.

10:10 And now you just make the gravy, correct? No, tell you the truth. My daughter has been conquered. She the first few years. I made it down at her house. But now she just watched me and she makes the turkey. I mean the gravy

10:41 I feel that Christmas and Thanksgiving changed when you moved houses.

10:50 Yeah, when I moved because you guys live behind me and so the house is foreclosed together.

11:01 It's just worthless running back and forth into each other's house. But now and then only that I got older so that's when my daughter Jodi said that she would do on Thanksgiving and Christmas. So it's much easier for me.

11:25 You are clicking.

11:27 You're clicking your nails.

11:37 Do you prefer having less responsibility during the holidays or did you like being busy? I like being busy when I was younger, but now that I'm older I enjoy everybody else doing everything for me. It's so much easier.

11:54 Gosh

11:59 And when we when I lived in trevorton, and I was small my grandmother had the Thanksgiving at her house and to me.

12:10 When I went in that house, she had the largest dining room I have ever seen in my life.

12:18 That

12:20 My family got their hers was there and anybody else that showed up was always welcome to eat Thanksgiving dinner. We always had a big crowd.

12:34 And we always had turkey.

12:38 Do you prefer Thanksgiving or Christmas more? I like Thanksgiving. It's

12:45 It seems more reserved and quieter.

12:54 What was your favorite gift over the years and it doesn't have to be

12:59 A physical gift

13:17 Probably went out his really really small and

13:24 I got a doll.

13:27 And I said it was the most beautiful present in the whole world. It was so pretty.

13:34 And that was probably yet.

13:38 What was it made out of this a regular Dial soap plastic porcelain?

13:45 Probably porcelain, but I had a blue dress and I remember that and a bluebonnet wide shoes.

13:56 But who knows what happened to hit her where it went?

14:06 And then the year my dad came back from the service. That was another good year.

14:15 He didn't make it for Christmas, but he came back shortly after it was in December.

14:36 Over the years you've moved a lot. Where do you think your favorite?

14:43 Hauser place to have the holidays has been

14:55 Probably Hearing in Yuma truthfully in Hawaii. We were there by yourself. Although I really love to Hawaii but there was no family. That was there was no one.

15:14 Oh, I just thought of something to

15:17 When we lived in San Diego and

15:24 Was Camp Pendleton your grandfather was just the four of us and your grandfather invited Marie's over for Thanksgiving dinner.

15:38 And that was

15:41 Really need

15:43 Did you feed them all yes. In fact, that was the first time I ever saw a turkey strip to the Bone.

15:54 Pee like I can't believe

16:01 Was it interesting for my Aunt Janet and my mom Jodi to go back to Pennsylvania when you lived with your mother for a year 200? Yeah. Yeah, it was different it took getting some used to with them but

16:22 They got to know their aunts and uncles and cousins.

16:27 And at least I enjoyed it and I'm sure they did tell.

16:32 Did they react strangely to the snow? Yes, they were cold all the time.

16:40 It was freezing. They couldn't get used to it.

16:46 In fact, they were glad when we move back to, Arizona.

16:53 Do you prefer the warm weather or did you enjoy the snow during the holidays well?

17:01 When you say it like that, did I enjoy the snow during the holidays? Yes, but then after the holidays were over forget it the snow could go my favorite time of the year is the fall.

17:19 And it was Pennsylvania is the most beautiful state when the leaves are turning.

17:27 You just can't even describe what it looks like. It's just absolutely beautiful.

17:40 When we go up to Prescott, and it's only snowed a couple times. Does it remind you of Pennsylvania or bring back any memories? It reminds me a little but it doesn't snow up there it just knows and then blows away I mean

18:00 Like I said

18:03 We would get snowed in in that little house where we lived in trevorton. We had a huge front yard and

18:13 There was no way you could shovel that we were snowed in.

18:20 Until the snow well

18:24 Got a little easier to shovel and my dad would get us out then.

18:28 That was

18:31 Just can't believe it was like

18:36 Do you miss having the fireplace? Yes is one thing I do miss I

18:43 I'm sorry. I didn't have a fireplace built and I moved into this house.

18:51 Head.

18:53 In fact when I had my fireplace, I could put a Mesquite log in the fireplace and the next morning when I was going to work I could check the fireplace.

19:07 Analog would be still burning.

19:10 And I think it was the mesquite wood.

19:18 Do you miss us when we were little opening presents on Christmas Day and sunny when he was little opening presents when he still believed in Santa Claus.

19:30 Yeah, it's kind of fun at the time. But then when everybody gets big and they understand they know then it's you know, just

19:43 I must like process you're going through. Okay, here's your gift. They open it up. And then that's it.

19:49 But when they're little they're all excited.

19:53 And

19:55 I don't think they ever believe that.

19:58 After certain age does Santa really came?

20:08 Do you prefer Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

20:16 Do you mean now or when whenever when?

20:23 When my kids were smaller, they were all Excel excited Christmas Eve. I mean it was

20:32 A job just to get him to bed and asleep and in the next morning was just as exciting because they would get up and they'd be so excited and made go through those gifts like anything and then we would make a nice big breakfast because we didn't eat till about 2 in the afternoon. So we always made a big special breakfast Christmas morning.

20:59 Anda

21:03 I don't know. I think I like both days.

21:07 When you move to Arizona, or was it when you married Papa Al that you guys started to do the tamales Christmas Eve?

21:20 It had to be out here never heard of a tamale. I lived in Pennsylvania.

21:26 Mirror

21:29 So we did that out here.

21:32 Do you like tamales? Yes.

21:36 Yes.

21:45 Do you want to talk about anything else?

21:56 Well during the Christmas season at all. We could think about when we were small as

22:05 Getting ready to go ice skating medalists something we did all the time and I miss that.

22:15 There are four of us. There was two neighbor Girls and my sister and I and we always walk down to the skating rink and that describes a ring. It was really the lake that froze over and then skate all afternoon to we were dead tired or hungry and then walked home.

22:37 We are good ice skater. Oh, yeah. I said I was

22:42 I mean my first pair of ice skates for like a size 12.

22:48 Kids size

22:52 Was Aunt Dolores good?

22:55 She didn't really like the cold weather that much and

23:01 Sometimes she didn't go with us. It was just the three of us then.

23:06 And your brothers didn't go know my brothers were ice skaters now.

23:13 Did you have specific chores during the winter time like cutting firewood or shoveling snow know we're too little.

23:26 I laughed well.

23:31 No, we didn't have to do that. My dad did all that we were just

23:36 Just smile

23:38 And then when we moved we moved to Shamokin when I was 11 and

23:46 The front of the house there was a sidewalk so that

23:51 We had a sweet dad and get that cleared every just about every day is every day at just about snowed. So you'd get swept out in the back was our backyard so we don't have to worry about that. But we had no wasn't as bad as living in trevorton were around in the North Aurora area.

24:16 But life was easier there.

24:20 But not as exciting.

24:23 Indoor Mark Harris in Shamokin or in trevorton you very seldom saw car pass your neighborhood.

24:36 Is that when your dad was a Lamplighter?

24:39 Lamplighter there's a picture of him lighting lamps that you have. It's like a newspaper clipping.

24:50 Did you guys have gas lamps in Shamokin? I don't even remember that. We'll have to find that maybe that was at Christmas time or something, but my dad work for the city, but he

25:04 He did die.

25:07 Maintain them

25:09 The grass around the city the city on property and in the winter time, he drove the snow plow.

25:17 So he would get called out to work. Sometimes it 1 in the morning 12 midnight because the streets had to be plowed and he did it.

25:31 Bedtime

25:45 Do you have any other questions?

25:48 I want to talk about something specific. No.

25:54 I will tell you about the school I went to.

25:59 That way you lie. Everybody want to know cafeteria. We had to walk home for lunch and it was all in one building from first grade to 12th. What was the name of it? Just called the Claritin?

26:18 She said the treverton high school that's where the grade school was. The greatest goes at one end High School is at the other end and was all in one block.

26:30 Is it a brick building West was a brick building and

26:36 Walk to school walked home walked home for lunch because

26:43 The only people that took their lunch where the children that were bussed in from what we called out in the country.

26:52 And soul

26:55 They had eight their lunch there, but everybody in trevorton walked home for lunch didn't matter where you lived you locked home and you walk back to school.

27:09 And you're the oldest so that would mean that from kindergarten or real grade. You will know kindergarten.

27:17 Windham kindergarten so from first grade, you walked home. Yep from first grade. We locked him.

27:23 Were you by yourself in first grade or did somebody walk with you sometimes send a river I was but mostly I went myself.

27:33 Because I was this kid that never wanted to be late. I had to be at school on time.

27:42 And I wasn't going to wait on anyone. I wanted to get to school and make sure I was there.

27:48 You like school? Yes.

27:52 How is your favorite subject history and they don't teach it anymore?

27:59 Why did you like history so much because it was just it was just

28:04 From the year, we got history. It just went on from such and such from the time Columbus discovered America which No One Believes anymore. Anyway, I'm in the second grade you went on and you kept on going until

28:25 Current. Yes.

28:30 In spelling Alex spelling to

28:36 When you did you live in DC for the holidays ever.

28:44 Yes.

28:48 And now

28:51 No, I don't think I did. I think I got home every year for Christmas, but DC was exciting. It was you known, I lived in the barracks, so it wasn't anything special.

29:09 Probably Thanksgiving. I spent there but not Christmas.

29:14 Was it different going from a very small town to a very urban city? Yes, very very

29:22 Strange

29:27 And you had to have friends in their so whenever we went out we went into.

29:34 It won't we lived in Arlington and we would go to DC on the weekend?

29:41 We always went with like three or four other people.

29:48 But that was you know, he went to the Smithsonian Institute. We we we spent about five weekends at the Smithsonian Institute. We went to the Jefferson Memorial Lincoln Memorial.

30:08 White House

30:11 And during the summer we spent probably three or four weekends at the Arlington Cemetery if you can believe that.

30:24 What did you like about living in DC the most other than the store glass specs?

30:35 I think that was said it was just so interesting that City just fascinated me to no end. I just I enjoyed every minute I was stationed there.

30:48 It was really really.

30:52 I mean wonderful and in back in those days too when they decorate it up like nobody decorates.

31:02 The town like they did back then they decorated the store windows were decorated. It was just they had all these animated figures in the windows.

31:19 It was just wonderful.

31:21 And why did you move to DC?

31:25 Because I get stationed there where

31:29 I worked a few pairs.

31:32 And that's the Bureau of Naval personnel.

31:37 How old were you?

31:41 When I got to DC I was 19.

31:46 And when did you leave?

31:51 1956

31:53 How old are you?

31:58 20

32:05 And then I went to San Diego.

32:08 Were you stationed in San Diego?

32:11 What were you doing there? I work in an office that I didn't lie when I worked in DC. I worked in the passport office.

32:22 And

32:24 That would have been to every Embassy in Washington DC.

32:30 I used to have a driver that drove me around with passports. I drive drop them off the embassy to get the visa put on it and then a week later I go around and pick up the same passport bring it back to the office and

32:51 Then the people who wanted to passport renewal would come and pick it up. But that was just continually just drop off passport to go pick them up and that's how I got to see.

33:05 All the embassies and you enjoyed that job all thoroughly. I really really enjoyed it.

33:14 Were you mandatorily stationed in San Diego or did something happen know I wanted to

33:25 I wanted to see Santa I want to see, California.

33:29 Was it very different going from the east coast to the West Coast? So yes.

33:37 I really didn't like it. I don't know people weren't friendly.

33:44 As far as I was concerned, they weren't friendly at all.

33:50 And they

33:52 It's just a different way of life.

33:56 What's the weather in trusting to you that I loved the weather was perfect.

34:03 And you were stationed at Camp Pendleton or somewhere else knows the naval station at San Diego.

34:18 And that's right with my husband.

34:23 So you were in the Navy and he was in the Marine Corps. Yes.

34:28 How did you meet?

34:30 I used to come up to my office and that's how I met him on purpose or for work for work.

34:39 Least I thought it was for work.

34:47 Was that your first time meeting somebody?

34:51 Of Mexican origin. Yes.

35:06 Is there anything else you want to talk about or tell?

35:11 Tell stories

35:14 We don't have to but well when I was in San Diego, I as a dependent then.

35:21 And it was still in the military. I want a Cruz they picked a name out of a hat and I want to cruise on a

35:33 On a destroyer

35:36 And I went we went out.

35:40 Into the ocean far

35:43 Anyway, I got so sick. I thought I was going to die.

35:50 And

35:52 In fact, I turned.

35:57 Most horrible color of white you ever saw in your life.

36:02 And since then I've never been on a boat and I won't go on about never.

36:08 How big would you say the Destroyer was was huge?

36:13 And it still made you seasick. Yes, and you had to

36:17 Donna and the steps on the ship verse like Steve so you had a hold on to both sides walking down the steps and as soon as I get down and smelled the food.

36:32 That did it.

36:39 Where were you going with it? Just just a cruise just to go out to take the dependents out and do the water to see what it was like.

36:49 Rapping on the ship and that was my first and last time I will never go on.

36:56 Another ship again, but

37:00 All the places. I've been I think Washington DC was probably my favorite and maybe it was because of the job, but I really really enjoyed working in Washington DC.

37:16 Did you go visit pop out when he was in Japan now?

37:29 What was something you got to do for the first time in DC?

37:34 A brighter train or yeah. We took one weekend. We took the train and went to New York.

37:43 And in fact, I stayed at the Henry Hudson Hotel when we did the three of us gals and

37:54 I checked about the Henry Hudson Hotel.

37:59 I want to know if it was still there and they told me that it was renamed just the Hudson Hotel and that they were around redoing it. So it's under construction.

38:13 After all these years

38:15 Oh, and then I went to two.

38:21 To see it.

38:23 Oh gosh, I should have brought it up cuz I can't think of his name Kirk Douglas.

38:30 Was doing a show.

38:34 You two minutes was doing a show that Sunday and we went to see that one. Do you remember the name of the show? I think it was around.

38:47 The Navy an anniversary Navy something like that.

38:51 That's how we got in to see the show anyway.

38:55 Did you think he was handsome Cordova ca for said never realized she was so short. Maybe I should say that on TV.

39:05 He was just that you look just like himself handsome guy just short.

39:18 Well, thank you.

39:20 You're welcome.