Mary Booker, Barbara Miller, and Doug Miller

00:02 I'm Mary Ames Booker. I'm 61 years old. Today's date is Friday September 10th 2021 and I'm in Wilmington, North Carolina. I'm very pleased to be here with my neighbors Barbara and Doug Miller who I've known for probably about 20 years.

00:25 Hello, my name is Barbara Everett Miller. 83 1/2 years old. Today's date is Friday. September 10th. 2021. The location is Wilmington. North Carolina. And my interview partner is merely a means of Booker and she is a wonderful neighbor.

00:51 My name is Doug Miller age. 82 years old. Today's date is Friday, September 10th, 2021 and we're located in Wilmington. North Carolina. The name of the name of my interviewer is Mary Ames. And she is a great friend for twenty years or maybe a little better.

01:14 Wonderful neighbor.

01:26 So, how did you two meet each other? Tell me about that, we met at the singles club in Wilmington. Both of us had previous manager, 30 years each. And then we divorced and the first after divorcing. We didn't know each other, but each one of us went to the singles club. And I saw this man, and he asked me to dance and this is where we met.

02:04 Tell, tell us about when you saw Barbara the first time. Well, I was sitting in the singles club.

02:15 What's a friend, a guy that it was, I didn't really know him, but we became acquainted over the next few days. But all the sudden I saw these ladies come in the door and

02:28 Barbara came in my wife there and had a posture and I would magnetize to her because I haven't seen anybody in the club and looked like her, and so I asked her to dance, but what I did was I walk up to behind her and she wasn't expecting them saying she thought I was a bug, so she rub my, she kept her up on the top of head, like this, to ask her to dancing brush me off like a shoofly, you know, and then I turned around and looked at her and I said, would you like to dance? And she said sure the rest is history more or less, but it's very interesting history and we've my first wife but I was married to for 30 years. Heard. She was a bar.

03:28 She was Barbara and now I have another barber that we, let's see. It looks to be 28 years for you. And I and so I've been spared for. We've been waiting for over 60 years over 50 years. I'm sure. So, anyway, that's a, that's how I met at the end. We've had a wonderful life.

03:53 Did you know Barbara was the one or, how did you know Doug was the one?

03:58 Can we dance till the first time? It was such a great dance, and he was such a good dancer, and it was a waltz. And then, the next song by 6, Could I Have This Dance for the rest of my life and Doug said, he felt the same way. He said this. This is just that I can't believe this is happening and they kissed me on the forehead and he said, I can't help that. I thank you so much for dancing with you. That's the rest of the evening with me and we did. And it was a good idea painting. And I was very surprised because I really did not want to go to the club that evening.

04:45 I think she was a little bashful about going there because she was used to, I guess the place is a little different. He wants to be the leader of the DuPont retirement, as far as the managers.

05:06 Administrative assistant. So everyone at the DuPont said she runs to plan what she says goes because it might as well. Say yes, it does. Speak on that one time. She got a cruise ship for Dupont Personnel. From actually Charleston. Landing from Kinston on Wilmington. And management said no, we will not spend a billion dollars. I think we will. I think we should so that might have thought about it for a few minutes said, go for it. And so they have a cruise ship here for the people.

05:45 And anyway, it's been a wonderful time with the with my other Barbara time.

05:59 Do y'all have some favorite stories that I haven't heard for her?

06:11 Wedding anniversary coming up. So your favorite story has been related to the

06:20 27 years that live in the Arid. And I had three children by my first marriage. And at this time, say they had, they were all through college in Cologne and underarm so that came at a perfect time and I think I did for him. I'll do it after a couple of years, old divorces and whatever. But as far as favorite Still Waters, I think there's a lot of stories and I think it is his so giving and he being the only

07:02 Male on his side of the phone, every year provides a place for a very nice place for its relatives to come and visit because he was gone for 27 years, and the RN and they didn't have them. And he feel so blessed to be back and to finally know his family. So those are all good experiences that I think about how generous he is to the family.

07:34 PS, thank you for that. And yes, I enjoy doing that and I've been doing it for several years and we get together and have a great time. We get away and have fun. My my cousins are female gone. Their spouses we get together. I get to get a place and it's like join us will meet you there. And also, we are going up to a place near Lake. Lure the call the Hawks Nest and it's a beautiful area. Thanks for bedrooms.

08:23 But I am interesting experience for me, was the times while I was living on the farm, and I didn't know this Barbara and she will have a grandmother over in the same area on the farm. And my father, sole fish from a pickup truck, go around to different farms and still deficient and when they were putting that what they call it putting in tobacco, tobacco and tobacco Barns, and he would go up to the Barns and they would

08:58 By the fish left and right because 3:34 in the morning. My dad would be on the way to Wilmington or coming back with a load of fish. And we would go around selling some to the farmers and she recalls her pickup truck and the and the fish guy. I think I was 12 and she was like, maybe a teenager 13.

09:27 But that wasn't, that was a very nice time for me, but I got the cake to change about to Die With Honor. My dad, something else. Another story would be keratin. Hazel. I remember after Hurricane Hazel. We are.

09:44 When would I would let you go down the Carolina beach, then and it was?

09:51 It was a house over in the lake, the house, helping out in the lake, and we didn't have a camera. Wish we had of, but that was fun of the house that we had lived in was, was gone the old garage that Dad built was still there. And so, and every time I go down that way, I'll look over them as a big, huge humongous, something there, where we used to live in a little wooden house, but it was fun back there at this time of year, with a bumper to bumper, and I would sit on the porch and watch the cars go by.

10:29 That was that was interesting.

10:40 Wilmington.

10:42 I'm back to where I'm telling you were very when you were just a baby. Oh, yes.

10:49 In the Winter Park area.

10:52 And it has been so many changes.

10:56 Over the last 87 years in Wilmington.

11:01 And I did first recall. The the War World War II, and the German warships would be out on our coasts and that happened. The sardines will go off in Wilmington, and if it happened at night, everybody had a front porch. And when this happened at night, the people would gather their thumb on the front porch, and we had pallets that we would stay on until the sirens went off. And after that, of course.

11:38 The war, ended other friends, fathers and my father and worked at the shipyard and my mother stayed at home, but during that time, we had the Russians that we can only pay by certain items because service numbers needed things like a sugar food and whatever. And my mother got her first sewing machine during that time and she would since there were five of us children. She would bring so them on a sewing machine and turn them into the Red Cross. I believe it that time. And so do remember things like that and I remembered that we couldn't have. We didn't have that much, milk and sugar.

12:35 Because we had to supply the servicemembers but everybody was so patriotic in those days and you saw the flags flying. You saw a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree swing, someone in the Winter Park area in the Wilmington area was lost. I even had an uncle who was lost at sea during this war and other uncles who were not lost at sea, but a few of them came home and after seeing some of the horrible, but they were never the same mentally after that. And so, lots of patriotism do during those days. When do in Wilmington and throughout the state throughout the country and Franklin Roosevelt.

13:31 Was the president I think during that time and I recall his message over the radio saying the war has ended so we will all very grateful for that. That's one of the treasures that I can remember from that day.

13:49 And dog that was an interesting time for sure. I remember that they built the housing project just for the shipyard workers and I lived in back then it was matted Village and today is long leaf Park and

14:08 When the when the course dad was a crane operator, he was they didn't want to draft him. And so he he was a crane, operator out the shipyard and the outer call and Paving the roads out in that area and the house we lived in back in 1943. It's still there, but it's it's not like, it was, it was, it was newer then of course and then that their Shipyard closed down. They put the the Liberty ships over in the Brunswick River across and accept their first for a long, long time and they finally scrapped them, but after after that or then that Dad went up to Baltimore. And he sent for us my two sisters of myself and we took the train out of Wilmington where we're now, it's like a museum. We actually took the train and Mama.

15:08 Overshot. The runway, she went to Wilmington Delaware and got on the phone somehow with my dad and said, my dad said that, we'll have to try and do a U-turn and come back to Baltimore. So that's the way it was nice. And so we stayed there for a year and a half or two and came back to North Carolina to the farm.

15:36 But the the shipyard closed down and then nothing not too long ago when the, when the railroad railroad move to Jacksonville, Florida. So when you were a kid here during the war and your dad's working, so what are some of the stories that you've you remember about those days of being a kid here? Well, the hell they have a big cement pretty Platinum.

16:10 Four Corners that have these cement things, you thought the city would have to turn the water on and we would get the play in that in the hot hot summer time and we really enjoyed that. But then when they turned it off, have to go home. And that was fun. First grade I walk to school. Probably Babcock & Wilcox needs to be about a mile and a half away. I would walk, I lived in probably all the projects though, except a quart.

16:47 And the

16:49 Those days are really, really I never have never will forget him a fun time growing up here and going to school Sunset Park. I came back from the military after I retired. And what

17:04 I want to see the old school and there's a housing area in the school is gone.

17:11 Oh, okay. Then when I was a kid, we had the German prison camps here in Wilmington. Several of them. And the one I already called was at the corner of Shipyard Boulevard.

17:25 Carolina Beach Road for the CVS store is right now, and they finally got a plaque out there. A few years back indicated before the prison camp was also some of my friends and I was stuck across Carolina Beach Road. It wasn't busy at that time, very, very much. So we would go over there and pretend we were talking with the Germans are, they seemed very friendly, and they would talk back to us with another stand up. And we would talk back to them too. And, you know, it just, it was kind of like a play game. It was really fun, and we did not work. And then we go back, go back to the home. And my mom. Mom doesn't want to go across the road.

18:14 But being there next to the prisoners, they were very nice friendly. I'm just human just like us, we want to see what they look like. But that was a, that was very interesting then. I'm so glad they got that plaque out front in the katyn where it was.

18:36 Yes, indeed.

18:41 So, why me?

18:44 What you think your life would be like,

18:47 You know, when your child, we always think about what our life might be. Like, where are you now? Big tall, adult and we know everything then. So what were your thoughts you up? And what I would like to be in my life when I did. I wanted to be an engineer on a ship and doing those days. There was no money for the very, very many people died during the war thing that I can remove call. Somebody asking me and my father overheard my reply. When I said that I wanted to be an engineer and he told me no.

19:30 Don't you ever? Let me hear you say that again. You will be either a school teacher.

19:38 Or secretary.

19:40 But as far as being on any ship with all this know, so it was a different world, women had their areas and that was in the kitchen and whatever but Engineers will have to be men. And so I never recall mentioning that again. And I did end up in the space of assistance for all of my working years since I was 18 years old.

20:14 But, dude, I'm sure you recall, the women help during World War II, they worked at the shipyard quite a bit. The, the latest were there working, and they would have a babysitter for the kids who ever had the children, but they said they did a huge part for for World War. I don't know about the other one. They helped them there are and their way, whatever they could. But I would be a welder mechanic to whatever it took to, to go to the or but

20:49 I think it's that time that a lot of time of memories as far as of War.

20:56 And Doug women coming out at that time. And the thing I think about them being nurses and doing the war and that was an admirable experience than that. They performed during the first part of the 50s or the mid 50's at the stuff. It was a pretty dead time in Wilmington's because of the jobs were just has not had to let you know, Dupont orgy on those things and the railroad had moved, but they had for some reason they had

21:37 NC the Bailey, The Bijou, the call it in the Mount of the head for downtown movies.

21:43 And then some drive-in theaters to, and I believe, they were occupied for spectrum the weekend like Friday and Saturday, but now where they have, what they call a b to park.

21:59 Up on Front Street over there. If the movies we used to go to the watch, The Lone Ranger in the whole cast have back-to-back kind of thing back in those days. That was a famous movie for for us. I would ride our bikes downtown to go to the beach. You but now I looked at it and I wanted to go back and look at the Bailey is gone at the matter of the colony and the

22:27 It was suck.

22:30 Something to say that I beat you park in the left where I was at the movie for, I give it to them. So that was not very interesting. During that time. There was not much going on for teenagers other than things like going to the movies on Saturdays and making sure that the yards were clean raked and blah, blah blah. And so you would get a dime or quarter to go to the movies. Then then they had the at the YMCA on Market Street. I dance for teenagers every Friday night and all of the teenagers would get together and they would have a bus that would travel to the different communities. And they would pick up these students, the teenagers rather than take them to the YMCA in the YMCA for the day.

23:29 Doug, you'll have to tell him about. Okay. I know I don't want to talk about but it's I had back in those days. It was like DuckTales and Peg, pants, and stripe, and Kleenex, weather's in Surabaya. I was all day.

23:47 Modern close enough to go to the dances of one Friday night and I

23:53 I did not really have to do what Master, what the world did this happen? The other. So I just put on my stripe of the crew neck sweater and my striped pants. So I went to the dance and the but I was over in the corner. I have a group of girls talking. Then they said had been like if you'd answered the zebra yet and that was like I said, I got to be talkin about me, you know, so I walked outside and cool off. I've lost. But then, for the rest of mine. Did they? I think they were taking bets on. Who would dance with me and Beth is beautiful.

24:43 My my two sisters said that you shouldn't have just like that. They finally told me but they were not going to talk to him until I learned, you know, so I can do that to you though. You told me about it, enable to you to join the Army. I think I've got in a different uniform. Some years after that. It was a, it was a Roman uniform on stay the night uniform, and it matched all the time, all the time, and never never problem for 26 years. So, but my two cousins got punished before, one of them is out of the house and leaving lights on the stuff and they were to the two boys. And one was 12 and 13. 14. That's out of the way. My aunt, punish them.

25:37 They have a daughter Frances and she was a little older, probably two or three years older. And so what she did to make him to punish them was she said, and I don't like any.

25:49 You coming. If you've been Rowdy, you put these dresses on the new set out on the front porch.

25:55 And they did. They put that? I got a group of guys. Together. We would keep walking by there because my aunt Naomi have the door locked, I couldn't go in. So she said out there just screaming and double down. So I'm quite a bit after that. I was positive punishment.

26:35 Canada will never forget that.

26:43 And he asked me one time. Why did you guys walked out from any time for? That's a well, we just get back to size.

26:56 He got old enough to start talk about it. So it didn't fit too. Well, either he even got the way joke about it, too.

27:16 Thought you were in the Army. Yeah, 30 years. 25 years, 26 years.

27:29 Fort Jackson and then went to the radio schools, Morse code School info for whats, on July.

27:37 Went to Germany for year-and-a-half from

27:41 Came back in.

27:45 Was in Forty Fort. Knox went to Okinawa went to

27:53 Fort, Carson, and 70, Vietnam, and been around quite a bit.

27:59 I have a layover in Hawaii at one time, but it wasn't fun, cuz it's something wrong with the airplane stuff. They landed there to fix it.

28:09 And went on about the business.

28:13 Why did you not sign up for another Tour of Duty in Vietnam?

28:19 Do they offered me a promotion? I said no, but I think I'll go back to the United States and see what my family is doing. I had three kids. I want to get back to one boy. I haven't seen before. I mean I was born while I was over there and I know that's why.

28:41 I was and I got a promotion anyway, when I was on, Okinawa,

28:47 But it was it was a wonderful time.

28:51 And Military stand-down remember the one of the really down Parks was we've been a five-man tent down one, I don't know. Maneuver. We were testing radios and we was out in the woods and Colorado.

29:10 And the guy said to get, we had a wood-burning stove so I can live with the middle of the tent and they were just blazing, you know, getting everything. It was it was really cold up in the hills and Colorado in December. I think it was or January, but the guy said, a can of open gas and the wind was whipping. He said a can of open gas by the door. The wind blew a rolling a trickle down to the stove first. So I can look at them and they said, well, we go ahead lock up to another 10 out there and see. Very. Well, he said, well, you're not going to get another still if you're going to have to build fire going to sleep.

30:03 But that was that was the bounce out of it. But Colorado with a beautiful we are Jordan, Cheyenne Mountain, and all that.

30:16 Well, we'll say Doug you're probably one of the most patriotic people. I know and

30:23 Thank you for your service. Thank you. God, for being patient with us. We are, we did the best we could. I didn't I didn't volunteer to go. They sent me in the way they were going to send me back to be a novel. My brother had three brothers that were deceased and I was told surviving son, at that time. That didn't send some of the sole surviving son back to Vietnam. I don't know how they do it now, but if you were the only son, you lucked out, and what the place is like, Okinawa, which I didn't mind at all.

30:54 It was suck.

30:57 Fun experience of my honor to serve and

31:01 And always and always try for you really good of the service for you guys. And you people were very patient with us too, because I got some good news and some bad right now, but it was it was pretty even

31:30 Questions, so,

31:34 Who's been the biggest influence on your life Barbara?

31:39 I think the biggest influence on my life, where the manufacturing loses I Dupont, and the people that I was, I feel honored to work with. They were so intelligent and supportive of a lot of things that I would that they didn't treat you as an administrative assistant that they treated you as one of those losses. And so I would say the site manager for the largest polyester producing plant in the world, at that particular time that I was here.

32:26 And Doug the who's been that? Who, who are the people? Who have been the biggest influence on your lot? In addition to your wife.

32:39 My, my parents and

32:44 They?

32:46 They were they made me do the right thing and I had to make sure I said, yes sir. And no sir. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. And one time I got a whip and because I said to my mom I said she said something, I said. Yep. And so she got a little switch and she probably ate, I think that she took me by the hand and she starts sprinkling a little bit and I was going around the circle and I was saying everything. Nice, in the world. You can think of. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am, please just as she got the laughing at me as if she puts it she put the switch down and get out of here or something like that. My daughter took her phone about 1 or something. So

33:39 Yep, I should have took my parents and some of my aunts and uncles and I had a terrible experience over there in the Pacific.

33:55 He was on the

33:59 He was on a March over there and they almost died and came back in terrible shape. He never got over it. It's he was, he could read and write and talk and things, you know, but he was still doing it in his memory and everything was terrible.

34:19 My grandfather was the captain. It for Fisher. My great-grandfather left a Catholic and took him to Elmira, New York.

34:45 And before they would turn them loose. So you had this way into the union and what you did, and they had the farm over in Columbus County. So he had to get back over there to best way he could. So I'll hit you. He walked he walked and talked and he got frostbite on his toes and along the way. Someplace somebody a potato is a couple of his toes and held him up back in those days. It was it wasn't very sanitary, you know like it is today. So he got that you wouldn't go to up to the house. He yelled for them to come out there to him. So that some of the larger sons of his and

35:28 The Story Goes, he

35:31 One of those bring some hot water and soap and

35:35 Add scour him down and

35:39 Get rid of all the Vermin and germs and everything. So they scoured and down and did that.

35:48 Washer.

35:51 With me today means the world to me and I just want you to know what great neighbors and friends you are and his love you both feel the same. You have been such a blessing to us and we can always call you last minute to help with the computer of what the ever and

36:14 We will go to a new yard. And we think of the fact that even though we have three wonderful children, and whatever we consider you as one of them, you have a very blessed that, that, that you live next door to us. And also supportive of us in our old age. Thanks a million, dear one.

36:37 Thank you very much, baby. I miss. It was an honor to come out and help me out today and talk about some of my life and with my wife. I knew it was a real pleasure and honor. Thank you both. Thank you.