Angelo Kachulis and Nick Kachulis

00:06 My name is Victor Chulas. I'm 54 years old today's date is December 1st 2008 where Northampton Massachusetts and I am the son of Angelo cajulis.

00:17 I'm Angela kachulis on my 87 years old. Today's date is December 1st. 2008, Northampton, Massachusetts. And Nicholas is my son.

00:32 So that look start of talking about your Early Childhood growing up who your parents were and where you were born those sorts of things. I was born in the Bronx New York. My parents sawara Marika and James they were immigrants that came over from Grease came over early 20th century around 1914 thereabouts and it came up here and they work real hard and that we move to Brooklyn. That was the first early years that I remembered my childhood in Brooklyn.

01:16 And that was in the mall probably in the early 1930s.

01:25 Are you if you were born in 1921, right? I was born in 1921. That's correct. So, do you remember anything before the 30s remember anything before the depression? Not really the only the only thing I remember cuz I clearly remember as a child the earliest a child her memory I had was when Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic, I remembered people cheering out in the street really bad and I asked I asked people I what it was about and they said Lindbergh landed in in France. That was 1927. That's the onliest memory I've had as a child. Are you will be about 6 about 6 years old?

02:11 I'm a creature of actually the depression and also World War II that's kind of.

02:20 Basically part of my life depression. I remember very well because it was very difficult for all of us everybody indeed everybody trying to make a living at people work didn't have any jobs. So it was with what we had that is as far as

02:45 You know food and housing etcetera, etcetera and life is a youngster was kind of operation. I didn't have anything expensive toys. It was old televisions at that time. The only you knew how was the radio if you had a radio you should pretty well off now with the would you listen to the radio by yourself with people gather around the radio? How would that work night? We used to listen to the sports sports results and commentator to time with Lowell Thomas the famous traveler that would listen to Amos and Andy and after that

03:35 Go get ready for bed. So does faith. That was you that was the extent of your with your with your parents do that too or is more the kids did it on their own an ice cream parlor and I required a great deal of work many long hours. He wasn't at 8 hours a day job, right you had to work maybe sometimes 12 14 hours a day too much time to spend either and Recreation or even at home at your home or you want to spend time with your children, right? So, you know, we only saw them at a dinner time etcetera in the morning when we got up and say goodbye and going to school so we didn't have that closeness that way that you find with parents today different so much.

04:29 And do you remember being up a boy going out to play like kind of things would you play what kind of games would you play games with marbles shooting marbles in the local guide? So to speak and the other was flipping baseball cards with the Chewing Gum baseball cards and try and when trying to build up your alley or collection, your thing is We we played baseball. We love baseball because we live to Brooklyn that I'm actually everybody was the Brooklyn Dodger fan and children. We we try to emulate the four, please.

05:22 Cuz we didn't have any equipment. So we'll use the old broomstick for a bat baby, And we had a ball if we lost the ball would get try and get the round Stone put some black tape around it to pick up. That was your substitute baseball and we have played that way and we play we go out to play like on a Saturday and Sunday we go out after breakfast and we play all day long. We play baseball or we go to the basketball court at the school play basketball all day long. It's all we ever do we never seem to get tired yet? We come home for lunch and then go right back and play ball again. Will you play baseball with you play the street or you play a lot? It was like a sad lot right a lot that there was no houses. Nothing was built on it, right? I saw you made our own field.

06:19 Set up our own bases with cardboard or tops of the basket made our own faces. So to speak. When did you move to to Williamsburg to the altar. To the apartment over the store or the other things we used to do by the way, the only day we had is going to a movie. Haha. That was a Big Thrill at movies at the time. You can go for about 5 or 10 sets. Are you see a double feature? You should see an episode from a Tarzan cartoon, but you can be in a movie to about three and a half hours and I was a nut that was a tree that was at the Commodore that was right down the street. Would you quiz at movies theater still love you was in the local area. You can walk within a couple of blocks, but it was at the theater at the Commodore that was right down the street from

07:19 The street when I was about three or four theaters in the neighborhood there within walking distance, right? So it wasn't a big thing. We'd go with friends. Sometimes you go with you your siblings, and you know, we have set their own soda space in the house. Mostly Greek was spoken or did your parents try and speak English if my parents don't too much English we have cause slurred English, but we also went to Greece school at an early age. So we learn Greek at an early age to go to Greece school after we finish Elementary School at 3 with hop on a train and go to a tattoo of the church and for two hours. We study Greek language culture.

08:07 Civilization and everything else to 6 and then we ride back home again on the subway or the bus or did you take trolleys even the trolley? Yeah, we take the trolley all over the bridge to Williamsburg Bridge and I went back home and I have to lunch and listen to the radio you ready for bed time that was sweet do that for many many years. So we learned to Greek language. So Rebel conversion Creek better than the parents Converse the passage in English, right, but after a while and being in business, they start to pick up the language from the customers and whatnot. So after a while it was no problem speaking either language for any of us. What about the if you have a early childhood friends that stand a lot of friends at public school like, you know, we was closed and it's a graduation class. Wasn't that big maybe we had about

09:05 3035 graduating and it was one fellow that I was very very close with and it was Tony Caputo. We got to know each other in the 6th grade. I'm sorry in the first grade when we are about 6 years old.

09:20 And believe it or not. We're still in touch with each other today. This is now 80 years of Gone by without swear the years. We've we wanted to the service and kept contact it grew up with a families and children and whatnot that we go out to dinner. We still can keep in contact to this very day. We talk to each other that's a wonderful relationship. 80 years after you met him in in the first grade. That's quite an achievement.

09:53 Are there other memories that stand out in your childhood just just happy memories of just certain moments or certain days that timer vertically the sum of the funny funny strange things happen to me to when I was a baby. I don't remember this but inadvertently, I'll swallow it open safety pin and I couldn't get it out and about parents were frantic. I finally got a somebody surgeon of some kind who was well-versed in this kind of medicine came from came up from the wing weekend out to New York, and he he did something you use some kind of a

10:39 Is scope to go down to my throat and somehow get the safety pin out which was wonderful because otherwise they would have had to promote perform surgery. So that was another time. I had the measles and I want up with double pneumonia and that was a serious illness at the time that don't want to be out of here anyting.

11:02 And so I had an aunt that just happened to drop in and visiting and she gave me what they called cuppings. They put a piece of cotton in a glass let it with a batch and put it on your back until it the oxygen went out and back would be raised with hump. So to speak, you know where the glass was, right? She took a raise and slice it and had all of Bad Blood come out all the fluid another one just became well, I would like to talk to us when I examined be the next day. They just couldn't believe what just what happened what happened Ryan said I was an odd couple of odd things that happened to me as a child a lot of family going in and out of the store and the apartment or a lot of a lot of family around or

12:02 Drop by a lot or relatives come over and visit us no telephones to will let you know in advance if you were coming or you unexpectedly they have done that's the way of your social life Village Life in Greece, but just transport of other other things about your childhood that you wanted to talk about a little bit or three siblings two sisters and a brother and we got along pretty good that was once in awhile, but like siblings did sure but we got along pretty good and

12:59 Best I went on that, you know, we grew up and over while we wait in the store to for fun time to time, but we helped out in a waiter's right behind the counter. And so with that we were able to pull through depression together kind of got it together. And so that made you lose you forever. So I don't know how the Depression started when you were.

13:30 Probably around 10 right the stock market crash where do at a fact that it was very difficult to get started for the parents. I finally got to stablish with a store. But I remember when Franklin Roosevelt was elected and I listen to It's electrifying speech your child after like 11, right? It was just an electrifying moment because I felt it from that point on things will get better and indeed they did to a certain degree.

14:17 So you are aware of all that going on where of the difficulties that people have jobs get a job. They were they were selling apples right? Now. How did you or your family what weather that they kept the store?

14:37 They kept the store the store because the prices were right people at the time they like to come in and have ice cream, you know, it was tough times. So when I go to a movie that like to escape with the movie moving around the corner to the movie, they always like to come and have some ice cream this way. They took their minds off their their economic problems, right? It was not it was not easy for them to want to make it too much money for the average salary with Superman weigh if you're making $15 a week, that was a pretty good salary for a picture. So it was really tough times last added.

15:31 Right up until the beginning of the second world war now whether teachers that you remember from your childhood or from your unit through your schooling high school and that I had most of them very well be specific couple it would stand out. And she taught us believe it or not. We were just

15:59 Like 12 11 12 year old kids. She taught decided to Tisha classical music and she did it by the titles from the from the peace or the composer and she'd have us memorize that or sing along with it and we got to know the peace.

16:24 French and shoot you would have did he like

16:30 Rustle of Spring by saying ding dang. That's a long ding dong Rachmaninoff. And what's that? I became I used to love classical music. Still do to this very kind of Sliders Park in my interest in history. Which later on came in quite handy to me when I decided to specialize in that. Did you remember any moments in your early schooling where something just clicked for you in history class and you suddenly of the event? Haha when the Revolution start that's the way the toilet and of course today. They teach you that way as much as they write tell you about what happened before word, but but how did you reach this point?

17:31 How to get all that kind of thing but the seating for the seed was lay there and I could see that but other than that. The Paw patroller that was about it and I do remember listening to the popular music on the radio to the big bands and all that's what we used to listen to a lot of Fats Waller remember what's a popular Jazz was very popular at the time. He was radio autograph. We we used to listen to The Cure by 78 ya filthy star at the time so used to listen to his records and quite a few others, would you also go to dances and concerts or did that happen a little later when you can have a little later?

18:31 The TJ we score to the YMCA chances at mostly.

18:37 I doubt it was good at Saturday night's we should have for reasonable price for used that that was how I was a night out an item. That was a teenager live live bands that at the end of their site play records. Like was it so that the kids have been able to go to the Mexican polish we got along pretty well. I always got along and had a lot of fun playing mostly playing playing baseball. That's what everybody together those were the years that lasted. I've been tied one on

19:30 We went into the late thirties and then

19:33 Things weren't getting much better economically and then suddenly World War 1 came out to see you. Remember when you work for Pearl Harbor day. I was with my friend Tony we were together was a very cold and I think we had a bottle of Scotch try to keep us warm and cold game was a wonderful game and it became a very famous football game, but people say that they were always there, and during the game.

20:21 There was a the announcer came on the loudspeaker and they asked for a list of Donovan. Please come to the office is an important telephone call from Washington right. Now. This was a Wild Bill Donovan who is the head of the OSS which is which is basically the office of strategic Services Forerunner of the CIA. They couldn't find him and there was nobody at Washington at the time Roosevelt was not there. It was the holiday so to speak on a weekend. I think the secretary of state was down is out called out. How was in South America? There was nobody to contact because Pearl Harbor was being bombed right or they finally got a hold of Donovan. I bet he was at the football game. Did you remember noticing that and thinking about what?

21:21 OSS, I want them to Japanese. I want that we declared war on Japan. He just said it off the type of people felt like there was something in the air or just the opposite the Japanese with taking us at Pearl Harbor, right? So that was that was the beginning of another phase of my life that right there. Now, you didn't go into the service right away, right you worked out for about about a year and a half or so and then in 1943, I was drafted area went into the Navy Seabees actually.

22:00 I have to rub boot training I was stationed in Rhode Island and I went out to California. We going out to the Pacific and ready to ship out and we're going to the Philippines and then suddenly the Philippines fell to MacArthur very quickly. They know what to do with us. So they sent us back home for another 30 day leave, and I was stationed just north of Hollywood and I go to Hollywood like every weekend and I got the meter. I got to see and all the stars. You see him on the Street Cary Grant Bing Crosby. What what what kind of Joey Brown Hollywood Stage Door Canteen that you'd go there you have to dance that have drinks for it and don't know liquor this setup for servicemen and it was serviced by a star's princess. The big star would be back on the counter.

23:00 What time ahead Buster Keaton and make me a Walter to suffer like that? So that was a great way to work. So I wish I wish I was there for about almost a year. So yeah, that was very lucky. I didn't wasn't there something about you were with a unit and it was divided in half and that other half went to Europe in my in my outfit one one group went to North Africa one group by group went to the California and the other two groups were sent to the Pacific DVD. Fortunately. I met a I met a fella with a dancing California one time and I recognized him as a guy who is took pool training with me.

23:46 How to use the security man that the time police so to speak and I asked him what happened today with Jones of Jones Brothers about two or three of them all team Jones and they were on a ship going to Guadalcanal and the ship sank and then they went down with it. Right? So that was a tragic thing and I put this away that breaks came. Didn't you was there something you wish you had a date with Angela Lansbury or something like that?

24:21 What time I was?

24:24 At one of the functions, you know that the right Hollywood. I saw it all cuz I didn't have any money. So so what one time we went to a nightclub?

24:45 And she says well don't worry about the that she was Buddy star at the time you went to the nightclub and hookah pipes for the night or not, but loses her mother-in-law. She says, well, she just she does. She said she doesn't mind my going out with people but with Sailors, she's a little nervous. That was a story there that eventually I shipped out.

25:36 What oversees strange things that was a good part of being a Services meeting these wonderful people and the states and of course got to see America, you know, you got to see some of the natural part but then going over with that was a different story the ship that I was on broke down twice and I'm a little Pacific Ocean scared the life out of us. You know, who's City Ducks luckily was told to Hawaii. We got out of that and then we wound up on Okinawa.

26:11 During that war still going on at the time and besides the war that was bad enough besides the heating and whatnot. That part of the world is it gets hit by typhoons. Typhoon is very common in that area a typhoon is like a hurricane only is stronger. So if a hurricane is 90 miles and 100 miles an hour typhoon make a hundred 25 miles an hour and sure enough one hits when I was there and it was unbelievable to look out the window and see if the Quonset hut for the made out of metal Etc tie to a concrete so to speak fly through the air you're not going to work outside.

26:54 And you just had to seek shelter wherever you could was Shawty mess hall collapse right in front of us. And so I found a lock with a kept frozen meat and supplies and this was study weight Go Dinos couple of thousand pounds and some of the office has some of the men went in and I saw them go inside went into. Yeah, we put out the electric turned off electricity close the door and asked what we spent the night over night. So I think I came on top of you survived and that's how I pull through the house. So that was a story you got back. But what was it like when the war was when peace was declared?

27:42 Where were you when the when BJJ happened vj-day happened? The general Stilwell was the commander at the time.

27:53 Are you on Okinawa and came in August of a 45? It was just the day before you should know we got a bomb that we just dropped on one of the islands the whole island disappeared. That was the first atom bomb that was dropped her that the Japanese were going to surrender surrender.

28:22 Sudley just a whole island exploded with gunshot people find rifles all kinds of Cannon any aircraft guns are guns above our heads. We didn't even know they were located there. Right? I mean it got so bad that you know, we were afraid to somebody's going to be killed right and so it still will smartly told the air at a light and when you heard the area light, you stopped everything and shelter and that's the only thing that stopped at the end of the war and that wasn't there is some story where you were with these guys on a in a camp in California and the cat came back in the car flipped over or something while I was back in California. At least guys. Are you hit your ride? You know what I thought as hitching a ride to another entrance to the same base where I was to put a 5-minute right? But these guys who wear I'm going that way they were going elsewhere. They just come off one of the

29:22 My hair out there for months and they were anxious to go to one of these night clubs right that they heard about this place in Rosa, California. I think it was so come out with us. Well, this one guy that I don't know who is this guy was out of the way you must have been driving anyways driving along and he couldn't see too. Well lost control of the car the car flips over. This is a tree flops up on the back on the road again, and it's upside down good now sitting on the roof and miraculously nobody suffered a scratch or a boy the winds, but the window was broken I crawled out.

30:08 Had that sounds like her out these guys looked at the car up again, and I thought they saw me hitchhiking ride going back the other way and it's the way you going. Is it going back to his come out of goodbyes with you? So that was another weird experience when you got back to Brooklyn after the war. What was the story where the was at? Your cousin's going into the Waldorf Astoria put a cardboard in their shoes and the door falling off the car. So I said Depression years and we want the DeWalt off an old beat-up card.

30:49 How you drives up there? I'm going to a dance and it's

30:52 The doorman comes out to open the doors at old Chevy and he puts his hand on a door opens the door and let her do it comes off. So anyway, that was the story when I got out of service. So I went back to I took a went to a junior college for two years at that. I was hoping to maybe going to go to a full college at to get my degree out. That's what I want to do is very nice and education, but then I went I met my wonderful wife Marina and one thing led to another day. We met her in that with my my father store and I want thing led to another after a while. We we got married.

31:40 And so

31:45 After a couple years, we have a couple of shots if they could make a list of Jimmy and we've had a wonderful marriage since that time. So it was just great. How to show you how to put going on going to school on hold for quite a while.

32:04 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so you want to talk a little bit about when you went back to college. I went back to back to work after we only have less than 10 minutes. So back to work. I work as a sporting goods department and then I worked there for maybe well over 30 years and then I finally retired at the age of 62 and then I decided that well cheese, you know, what's a good time? So I wanted to make sure that both of my boys went to college. So I made sure that I put the money aside and if so luckily Nick both both of them got their degrees from college and are in the music business and talk that talk more about what it was like for you to go to college. I decided to look at the Queens College which we lived in Forest Hills at the time and I went down and I luckily I was able to transfer all my credits from the junior go. What was it like it?

33:04 What was wonderful going back to college? I haven't been to school in 35 years. The first day went in I was 62 years old and they were sold 20 year olds in the school and the class is Apollo comes up to me since Jesus. What are you doing here as well? I'm going back to college this week on the service. Is he up to the party or did you see the area Were You There When the atom bomb promise is? Yes it did. You hear it go off. I should know if I did I wouldn't be here tells your story but I had a Wonderful Life 2 years or two and a half years out that which I was a full-time student was it was a challenging to sit and suddenly have to be no thinking to all these different ways with all these different subjects of the day. I said to myself she's I'll never make this but then as time went on I had no problem. I became a full-time student. I was taking 12 credits as a

34:04 On average every semester and I just it wasn't a breeze or because I studied very hard I want to do very well just do well enough and I did well I majored in history and I got my degree in history, right and I might it in Byzantine at modern Greek studies. And so I was very proud of that. I got my degree in that and that and that way right so that was kind of a turning point in my life that said that that's something you just sort of continue to do. Yeah, I could take you to do that after I graduated I kept taking courses. I was he the auditing classes and I just kept taking all kinds of courses. I branched out from history. I still love Aunt particularly. I take old Renaissance.

34:48 Aurora cartoon the name of the author that it was at the time and I took every off course so probably could take I ran out of what courses I want to ask you. What is a

35:02 We are going back with your parents. What was it like to go back to Greece and see? Well I go back to grease a couple of trips to Greece and I went back and went to my father's Village and I went to see the house is sort of like a wasn't so small hot. So to speak and this is where they lived as a child. And as a matter fact that they had animals that have looked in the same place that it was quite a quite a thing to see the way he was born. It was in Sparta and the peloponnese southern Greece and there was quite a thing to see very moving and as a church there that my father helped build and had his name on it. That's why I went in I was able to go into the church at the local town. So it's quite a moving experience to go back to Greece to see where something about your culture. I met some of my cousins and what not. And so that was quite a thing to see

36:02 I got a taste of your your ancestry. So to speak here where you came from where you where you could have warmed up. If you didn't before other than comes to America, I kind of think I was that was quite a quite a moving pictures. What about having grandchildren? That seems to be a o I have four grandchildren. What what what was it like when you become a grandparent who is very very exciting. We were just so perfectly thrilled. Do you remember playing games with them and they were little or singing songs to them Chris and Dimitri and Maria are the two girls. I used to love to read to read to them a great deal that he married and I act out to the stories in the book and then I played ball with at least a love that to do you remember singing songs to them when they were last night?

37:02 Make some remember any of the songs used to sing to grab Dimitri. Michael Sprite wasn't that one that was based on the Flying Dutchman that that down that don't that I used to love to hear that sound then and I tell baseball stories and tell her name so funny ball players like peanuts Lowrey boom. Boom. Boom. I used to love to hear those names. You know, that's fothergill people at 8 every time they heard these names into this day. Do they remember the name Ember all that? Yeah. Yeah, so it was just it's been a great life be honest with you.

38:02 Through the years and it's just memorable of a very I was very fortunate having a wonderful wonderful wife Marina. She was just a bundle of joy yourself and she's so helpful. I don't know what I would have done without her and have two Great sons and four great-grandchildren and and to paraphrase that great movie. It's just been a wonderful life for me and I have no regrets and actually I'm glad those be living this long, you know, the average age when we were growing up if a person was 50, we could stay with considered an old man. They had no antibiotics then but today's day and age of people live quite a quite a thing so all in all it's it's been it's been a wonderful experience and I have no regrets great by choice. I do it over again.

39:02 By God that he sub-polar through tough times that we had good times, but that's life. Everything is not going to go with you all the way all the time it hits you get bumps in life like a driving a car this year the pothole once in a while and you have to just rise to the occasion. Just keep going.

39:25 Even the situation today we'll get through this too. We've been through this before we've had over depression of the war and we've got the recession now, so it's not the first time and it won't be the last I'm sure so that's that's basically what the whole story is you.

39:47 I don't know what else to add. It's just a great now. I think that's good at nicest thing now is to be able to go see everybody and see the grandchildren fancied up grow and see how indeed they're going through the same face at

40:08 Suds went through right Nicki Jimmy and you can see them growing up in the same bottle.

40:15 Stop complaining about different things and it's just it's just reliving you at your parents aren't against Elvis faked their grandfather grandfather instead of a mother and father, but the problem isn't that not that not that far different than what to eat to have a son in college already to it must be something to have a grandson in college also. Yes. Yes.

40:49 Well well for a scholar very smart and he's going to jail and we were extremely proud of going to an Ivy League school and God. I wish I was in that position he sent for that is a you probably had something to do with it. But he said he's just Trailblazer. I was so very proud of that. We're proud of all of them and I'm sure there will do very well because they're all are right on a ride right now. Hope by reading a little bit to help a little spot to put them on the right on the right Trail, right? So that was that was really great. Okay. Thank you very much. Cuz you're welcome.