Toni Ryser and Tara Kaprowy

00:01 County

00:03 Mail for Easter.

00:06 My age, I don't tell but then that's a D1.

00:14 And I'm at the Laurel County Library.

00:22 August 8th

00:24 2012

00:37 How was chosen as one of London's Living Treasures?

00:50 And Harlan County

00:58 February 14th and 19 and 31

01:08 3

01:11 Candy

01:14 And

01:19 Thoroughly

01:24 Micky Bells

01:29 Virginia

01:32 Walmart

01:41 A Chester bails and carry

01:49 I had a wonderful childhood.

01:55 I was bad.

01:58 I wasn't considered part of the family.

02:05 Well for the Cubs have to do the dishes.

02:10 I would always tell if I would eat some lard in front of them if they would do my part of it.

02:17 And we done that very often.

02:22 Oh, yeah, I didn't want to work.

02:32 Well, I like school.

02:36 And I made good grades, but what how I don't know have no idea.

02:46 But I was in school in Livingston, Kentucky in the first grade then we moved to Laurel County and I was in the second grade in East bernstadt School East bernstadt, Kentucky school.

03:06 He worked.

03:09 When I was born he was working in the mines in Harlan, but then he started Trucking and he would haul cold toward Louisville and then he would bring back groceries.

03:29 He never with me in my life.

03:34 Yeah, that mother Dua. He let mother do Olga or rage.

03:43 Add one time.

03:45 I was about six years old and I will go we had a bar or house was stopped too far from a bar in Livingston.

03:59 And no, but mother will go to milk for cows.

04:03 How to say papa go to that bar and that's farm and then give me pennies, you know, that's nothing for and so mother told me never go back. Well, I slipped off and went back again. I was about 4 probably at 5 and I got they I'd ask and got my money.

04:24 Chief whip me so bad or she come and got back with me so bad. I remember my daddy say

04:32 Do you ever do that again, and I'll kill you?

04:40 Advance Auto Part

04:43 I was always off on the bar here. I was always there to get money and they give me pennies and nickels.

04:54 Real strict

05:01 We never had any money. We never wanted for anything because she knew how to cook from nothing.

05:10 She knew how to make a simple meal.

05:14 Great.

05:17 Because at that time when I was a little girl Daddy was working probably this $4 a week. I believe that was what it was and we never wanted for clothes. She take old things and make them over.

05:32 And we was probably the best dressed children didn't out because she knew how to turn everything into good. She always did it.

05:44 Oh, she was actually mother was excellent at everything.

05:55 1 timer

06:06 Halal Cafe, and so she says to

06:13 Mother she was afraid that mother stuff might happen to her cat back whatever people use die younger than she says.

06:21 That carry

06:22 Where were the children if it happened to you?

06:27 And she said well so it's so would take my oldest sister so early.

06:35 And so and so would take Mickey my brother. She's just out of

06:52 I had three friends and that was some.

06:57 Mari Mari muster

07:00 And pepperoni and myself and we thought we was quite a crowd and you know.

07:13 Well back, then, you know, we will go to one another's house every now and then play.

07:21 By job

07:25 As we got up to about the eighth grade.

07:29 We lived in a Swiss Community because if they come over here from Switzerland, so what we

07:38 We would last a lot.

07:41 And a good friend told us to Dad's and we are on Friday nights.

07:48 Then we would babysit by the parents went to the Swiss Lodge today.

07:56 Oh well.

07:58 We was that stood in the ball games and whatever.

08:02 And we were

08:05 We got expelled from school what time it got pushed your high school or a couple of days or 3 days or something?

08:14 And my friend Betty Marie wasn't involved in Fall. It happened. Anyway with all done something I feel far.

08:24 And her daddy

08:27 I took really kept her home but not for like a week or two. He was Mister mostra and he was very strict with his children. Has she had that everything it was me that a dumb whatever's happened.

08:48 Oh, yeah.

08:50 If I were your uniforms like

08:54 What have I pretty much you know, I colors was like UK's blue and white and you know, Back Bay and I hate you for the skirts and blouses sweater over it with the school number. So I don't know how that ever happened at Costco in 15 though. I don't know why I feel like they wanted rid of it now. That's what I thought but

09:28 At fifteen I started working for Aetna oil company.

09:35 That was at I fear. I went to school one half the year and then I had all my credits in to graduate with class in that and I got a job down there at all company.

09:51 And I work with them and there was a nice restaurant across the street.

09:57 It was really cleaner than that. That's how you used to cover their Kentucky curl. He will come there ever afternoon and said talk to the older of that and they would say then he started the storm out of here to later.

10:16 Colonel Sanders

10:19 Harland Sanders, okay, Harland Sanders, and they was sit there him and the owner of this restaurant in that talk well at all. I was just across the street. So we would go there in the afternoon to get something to drink or whatever.

10:35 And so my boss who has passed away. Now.

10:40 He says I just don't like the way that girl is treatment by.

10:46 And she was engaged to someone and it she was over there.

10:53 With a loyal man that I didn't know but I was very best, Chivas.

11:00 So they said go over there and see if you can't break that up. So I went over and pushed it around at the counter.

11:08 And not my husband.

11:15 I didn't notice that time. I was just trying to be mean so I said when I got ready to leave Isis up Rd I said pick me up. We'll go to the movies tonight. He said I don't think so. He didn't know me. I don't think so, but he did show up that night and make sure he turned out to be my husband. Okay, you went to the movies in East bernstadt we had movies but we went to London for the movies, but we did have a movie theater in these parts that we had a hotel.

11:50 It was a nice little town making that day. Oh, yeah much better. We had a beautiful Fountain out in the Square. We had a hotel early at a theater. We had grocery stores at 3 grocery stores.

12:14 Okay, you would ride the train. If we wanted to come to London, we would you get on the train you get off for non or I would ride the train back to my original home in Livingston. You can get all the train go down Livingston versus that we had trade service.

12:42 You knew exactly when they would be when I come to ever die. Never die. So all we had to do was be there by

12:53 Graduated

12:59 I guess y'all got married now. I got married at 16.

13:06 Tell me about your wedding day.

13:11 It was just fab play it at my home and I had a most beautiful dress that you could ever even imagine. You can't even imagine that thing that pretty like I said, my mother made it.

13:26 Ed Sheeran you have self

13:31 It was

13:32 White organza with sleeves head all sorts of Ruffles Ruffles Ruffles, are you at all and then thus curved had big applique pic wire saver that big in the leaves and that was all around that skirt behalf. She does all that back. It was beautiful y'all protector.

13:58 I didn't realize that that was

14:03 I work a bark like shit. I didn't realize they appreciate your husband live in my mother and that is wash house. There was a little house at their back door.

14:23 That had two rounds and we made a bedroom of 1 and 3/8 in the kitchen. There's little time at kitchen and we ate there.

14:35 But we had to go a mother that is has to go to bathroom.

14:40 That lasted a little less than two years and we build our home.

14:44 Weekly meals are home and

14:50 In fact the home where I live in now.

14:53 If the same home

14:57 My husband when his parents died besides he want to be on their piece of property.

15:05 So we bought that piece of property. They that passed away. We bought the piece of property and we built our home.

15:15 Anna and it's the same home that we was living there. That's where I live.

15:34 He he held a little cold out right back. Yes. Yes.

15:49 How old were you when you had your first child?

15:52 20

15:54 Cabi

15:57 And how many?

15:59 3

16:01 Logang to three years later and Kim my youngest child came 2 and 1/2 years later.

16:13 I love it. So it came naturally to you. Oh, yeah.

16:22 I think so. I think so.

16:28 I wasn't real good.

16:32 Why do you

16:33 Well, I made a good parts of the Bible verse while I'm talking about.

16:38 Anna

16:43 I was such a worker. I tried to completely.

16:47 For when I was a child and lazy.

16:51 I had so much work to do and I enjoyed it. But the I gave my children. I fought the time I needed but I didn't give him a time. That's her sometimes gives her children today.

17:07 Because back then you was you own the house. You didn't hire help.

17:13 You mow the yard.

17:16 You got you painted the walls.

17:19 You done all the cooking you done everything. So there was something to have that people have now for their children husband was away. That's right.

17:35 Now your children went off to which school which school did they go to?

17:41 Why don't they let these?

17:43 Ace marks inside school I was saying yeah, well my children were all in school.

17:57 My youngest was probably

18:01 A sixth grader at that time

18:05 And

18:08 I had

18:10 People knowing all my friends around and they were real close.

18:14 Music. Live on the chair was gone school and hot my big come down and see me and we'll talk or gossip or he's mostly eat and play cards while I seen a doctor about a couple years that I didn't want to do that so I decided to Draper shop in my basement.

18:37 And

18:38 Let's begin erasers.

18:41 We made drapes for people and

18:46 Best friends everything and then we go and ham. I will go out with her man to hang them.

18:56 And so we up.

19:00 Decided I finally decided that when I go to High Meadows Drive lot of times. I spend a half a day.

19:08 Talking to people about what they was going to do to their house. And what color is going to paint the walls in this and what kind of furniture they should buy so I decided

19:20 About to go spend my time talking. I was going to be selling the furniture.

19:26 And that's what we open. Well, we started building racers.

19:31 Store and has been there ever since

19:40 We had to tell people it was two people sewing and me course when I go out and hang I couldn't soul.

19:48 How well?

19:50 We are.

19:54 I don't know.

19:56 Saturday

20:00 And I was going to

20:02 Bobsled going to the furniture business. And so I had to quit making Drive, didn't have time.

20:12 And the brother which was real good at everything. He would go out to hang with me and loss of that would be at night. You know it go like baby for working and we went in the house that was having election.

20:33 And Manchester, Kentucky and they were really big Democrats and I do that. So I told my brother who has a big mouth. I said don't say nothing that I said, you could get hurt over here. I said don't go but we went in those having a big election in the whole day was threatening walking the floor and whoever it was winning and all this and that mother and I thought my brother is going to break loose at any time. I thought we go get killed here.

21:10 But he did break loose.

21:14 At our said they're so amazed. I didn't know what he was telling them. How much he hated the Republicans do.

21:23 So I just stood there by his side. He said well so that it will get hurt.

21:34 So it was fun.

21:41 Oh.

21:43 East bernstadt it grows so fast, you know, it's hard to get seamstress good seamstress. And that's what that was what we had.

21:55 My mother even outside

21:57 And

21:59 It was we stay.

22:02 From day one

22:04 We had to tell people it would be too much for me. They're drives 2 and 3. I mean we we could have been backed up 6 months. There was never any.

22:16 Stopping to the work in the Draper Department. Never

22:20 So tell me about when you decided to open up the furniture business.

22:25 Oh, that's what I decided to have to go out and hang and Draper's and spending so much of my time helping them with her house.

22:35 What furniture. I thought what if I'm going to talk? I'm going to sell so I went to Market.

22:43 Anna

22:45 What are the what are the largest countries at that time, which was Henry dog?

22:51 We was always happiest in the high-end furniture.

22:55 That's what we always have and Henry. I went in there to see if they had open account with me and they told me no.

23:07 And so why would back they have Market every six months. I want back in six months and told him I wanted to sell the furniture.

23:17 Or some other people that great, but I wanted Henry.

23:21 And

23:24 Hesus

23:27 Well, I can say I talked to really good to him and he said you would have to buy $20,000 worth over the count.

23:37 I said, okay.

23:39 And forward it, but I still said okay and we picked out the furniture. He said now tell me why you pick it out and I'll come by your store and see you before you know, before we do this.

23:55 He said I'll take your order and then everything's okay. We'll we'll say so he comes by the store.

24:03 Here's our furniture store.

24:06 And

24:08 Birdie from the park side of it and then there's a fan and it's all sorts of cows cows cross the road. There's cows. The other side was chaos. He said, who do you hope to sail this furniture to I said you don't worry about it. I can sell it.

24:29 Is it okay he said okay.

24:33 And of course once you got what I asked if you could get any high and if they knew that you were seven. Henredon you could get baked or you could get at all.

24:45 Exactly, cuz I knew that I'd bought Henry. That they were so we had all up but we had all the higher end caps.

24:58 Because really

25:02 There was a stores ever work for you could go and get medium and low and and we are.

25:11 I never did consider nothing but her old course we had different price right but high and was our biggest are big sale.

25:26 Got that good, but truthful is almost it. What?

25:35 This one lady and her husband came in.

25:41 Microwaves in the furniture business early on as they sit down in the floor.

25:48 And the other store haven't heard of him.

25:52 And it was balls pretty muddy, you know, buddy.

25:57 I kind of thought that told me go be nice, be nice and I went over and talked to him and asked him off the wall ending. Could I show him this that me and I said well as

26:14 I told them okay, and I thought it was just talkin though.

26:20 But it turned out it wasn't all they want the house completely furnished.

26:28 I have it worked out to be a lovely couple.

26:34 And at the end

26:38 After we got it all done.

26:41 This lady for the side in her front yard eat your heart out.

26:47 Picture

26:55 Oh, yeah.

27:00 This is

27:07 The store The Royal from day one. That was 68.

27:13 But

27:15 Info about 7 me

27:20 Was the Coleman right here and we never did see any pain after that.

27:29 71

27:38 Oh, yeah, everyone out.

27:49 Well, we could afford to write it first to get hard have sold we go through we would get it loaded on the truck some of it he'll and then we will go to the high school to get.

28:05 Get my son and he'll and it got so depressed people to say, how many do you want head? He would give me a couple of extra and so off with gold at the

28:20 Oh, yeah, they did work to start the cooktop how to get into level 12 at bat.

28:31 Very long we out. We was getting ready for our first sale and we've worked at store all night. Can then Kim and Bo and me and I guess that was said we worked at the store all that and then there was a nice restaurant at frog store.

28:51 And we all took off to that restaurant. They just a big breakfast and let me in and got cleaned up as ready for playoffs.

29:03 All we work hard.

29:13 We went with almost every load either candy or myself aboard Camp. They bought us.

29:40 It's hard to say I think we went in.

29:44 And if we was hanging drapes and sell them self sofa couple chairs. We went in and some kind of free work three roads moving their furniture around hanging their pictures of different location and all this and they got so people they expected that they expected you to come in and decorate your whole turned into

30:11 Oh, yeah.

30:13 And they always did.

30:21 Exactly, and I seen from that that you are just trying to

30:28 Money is invested their homework in math.

30:35 Oh, I love it.

30:44 Most of our customers

30:47 I would say 89% got to be dear friends.

30:56 Friendship and getting things looking nice and then being happy.

31:10 Leave it all together at my house surround in the kitchen floor at life and talk and just have a good time. Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

31:25 We would talk about that fought with the

31:28 Something about the Bay Area

31:36 We sold a house full of furniture I think in a town and they got to be up.

31:44 SA

31:47 They wouldn't pay and they wouldn't get out or something.

31:51 So we took them to court and this lady of the jury looked over with that.

32:07 We had a lot of fun. There's always something happy. We had a lot of fun, but we did get him moved out.

32:20 We went everywhere with you. Where you at, Florida?

32:24 Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio. We was all over

32:32 Word-of-mouth we didn't do it advertised.

32:36 We got so help me to have a sailboat class to hear that would run there then maybe the paper.

32:43 Play Stores advertisement we is worried about it was

32:53 Well

32:57 We've had an awful lot up we've had an awful lot. I don't know about names.

33:11 Washington we went to Washington with loads of furniture 222 of our Senators.

33:18 And maybe a lady in Knoxville that we work for.

33:25 She just said it burned face won't get us off. So she talked call razors. And so

33:32 We picked it out and I mean they told us what they wanted and the size of the room we picked it out and took off to wash it and with it.

33:41 I had no we did crazy things like that all the time.

33:47 Oh, yeah, but so

33:55 No, we didn't have time. We stay so busy.

33:59 We didn't have time.

34:02 Oh, we had a few bad incidents happened, but we had some anymore. It was good that.

34:13 We would

34:15 Load up maybe a truck load of furniture oil.

34:21 Like a customer would tell us the size of their house in Florida sending some blueprint of the rooms.

34:27 A rigid pick out all the furniture and take down there and do your neighbor take

34:35 A day's work or two days work to get them finished and then we'll come back. So got to take one truck sometime soon to have take $2 stuff down there, but we did things like that customers. We had locally then that have another place say

34:56 He was real supportive because he was Swiss and they all like money.

35:03 That's why all the banks are there. Yeah, he was very supportive. He

35:11 He would say he brought in the furniture at the last he he brought he quit his job and just start all the furniture into US. Yes.

35:28 Well

35:30 I stepped back at 3 2003.

35:37 And what is the difference?

35:42 Now the business is good business is not as good as it once was as you know, it's just a quiet.

35:53 But if if you're willing to work the works there and works there and always will be I think.

36:05 And like I said, my customers got to be my friends.

36:09 I like that's what makes a difference.

36:15 My daughter's my two daughters and Bo.

36:21 Roses store now we've got Abigail.

36:36 I'll take the phone at 2.

36:40 Grandchildren that works at store to your house on Sundays to talk about what's going on or though I had to Quick cook if I was really had to help the cook like I used to so I had to quit the big meals, but now they all come to my house on Saturday mornings.

37:02 In fact, they have a big time on Saturday mornings that I fix breakfast for black bikes given Christmas is all that much. Now want to do Saturday mornings.

37:20 Tell me we just have a few minutes left, but tell me about what your Sundays are. Like, I know you like to go to church on Sunday church. I don't guess I missed couldn't have said all these years. So we go to church on Sunday and then my children are all invite me to come eat with them.

37:42 In fact, I thought about three of vacations.

37:46 Isn't that what does that got a hot cake over here come over so.

37:55 So see we're still all lives together. So close that you can walk there houses or ride your golf cart or whatever. And so that's so we still spend more time together.

38:13 I've had a wonderful life.

38:21 You make me cry.

38:26 I forgot the batteries.

38:29 He's very bored.

38:36 I have a son.

38:39 Y'all let yours it was face when I was seven and a half years old. My father told me then though. You'll wait to you're a little older.

38:49 To be sure

38:52 I just counted the days.

38:56 So it's been the best part of my life and I have to say

39:04 My children sometimes would overpower life.

39:08 But I'll always traffic keep that way.