I just found this post in draft!!! This was one of my great grandfather's theater program
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
May 14, 2013
Grandma is now 93 and a half. I've been bugging her for a while now to answer some more questions for me but I think I stumped her with a tough topic. I'm now trying to get some more simple answers out of her. She says she's busy though and doesn't know when she can get to it. My mom and kids and I went to visit her yesterday and I knew if I asked her a question she would go on and on talking about it which is great but we can't remember anything she says so I secretly recorded her on my phone! I'm going to transcribe it here.
My initial question was "Where were you born?" She replied Mexico and that all of her siblings were born in different countries because of her father being a famous magician and always on the road traveling to do different shows. I didn't record the beginning of the conversation but this is where it starts (it's pretty jumpy)...
She's saying where all of her mother's children were born...I missed the first.
"Her second one Venezuela. Her third one was born in Madrid. Fourth and Fifth were born in Cuba. My older brother was born in Tampa, Florida. My sister that died (a year before she was born) was born in the capital Guanasteo (?) in Mexico. That's where they were for the theater then a year later I was born in another capital in a different state in Mexico and a year after that my other brother was born in another state in Mexico. I was born in the Governor's house. The Governor's wife and my father delivered me. There was a revolution going at the time and the doctor couldn't get there. They didn't know what to do with the cord. The maid was getting the hot water and towels and she was a nervous wreck. My father had to cut the cord but they couldn't find the scissors so they pulled and the woman gasped and my mother said "what happened?" She didn't know what happened. We were guests of the Governor because when he goes to a city where he's going to do a show always the mayor of the town would be meeting him and hanging out with all the big shots. The owner of the theater or the manager so that was his life. He was a good story teller too so they all loved to spend time with him. He was a ventriloquist. He was so good he used to keep his dummy in a suitecase and when we would go to the theater we would always ask "Can we see him?" I can't remember what his name was. He would open the case for us to see. He was so good at it that one time in Mexico they were going to these ruins and they had mummies there in a cavern. So the mayor of the town, one of the doctors and other people and my father started to make like the mummies were talking. He said everyone was so scared they all ran out! He used to go out after the show to a cafe and drink tiny cups of strong coffee. They loved to hear him talk telling all these stories. We spent most of our times in hotels. I felt sorry for my mother. We were either catching a train or a ship or a taxi to go someplace. Then when I married "Dad" Stone and Webster moved us all around too but at least we were a few years in one place. Now I live in Turners Falls for the longest in my life. When I was a kid we were in hotels and then we went to live in Spain with my grandparents in a house for 5 years and then when we went to Hondouras...(My mom interrupted with a question "Was your mother's intention to stay in Spain?") If it wasn't for the revolution, yes we would have stayed. I said to Bernie a few days ago you would have had a Spaniard for a father. You'd look different I bet! If that revolution hadn't happened since we were American citizens through my father they wrote to the consul in Honduras who was best friends with my oldest brother (he had stayed in Honduras with my father). We thought we would stay in Spain until my mother got well because she had malaria and she was very sick and if she got another attack of it she probably wouldn't survive and my mother was so afraid of leaving us all orphans there. At that time was the depression and people didn't have money to go to the theater. You could go to the movies for a nickel and go to Spain for $5 which was a lot of money in those days. Then all of his stuff (magic show items) burned in a theater in Columbia. That's when he stopped with the theater for a while we were living in Columbia in a hotel across fro the theater and on Sundays they would have a matinee movie at night it would be his show but that Sunday the theater burned and all of his stuff. He used to go to New York to buy Houdini's tricks. My mother would fly in the air (in the show). So he had all those very expensive things that he would buy, Houdini's tricks most of them. During the depression we were able to live off the money he made. He made a lot of money all through those years. At that time the bank didn't give you any interest, it was just a safe place to keep your money. It was quite a life. When they went to Columbia (must have been another time) they left Ralph and I with friends of theirs who had 5 kids and we used to play with them. The friends said "why don't you leave them here with us while you go?" So they did. One day I got so sick she put me to bed and came back later to check on me and I was picking up rice out of the air...I had malaria. My fever was so high for three days they took me to the hospital. The nurses would try to put ice packs on my forehead I thought they were witches and I would fight! With no mother or father around and these friends were so upset this happened while they were taking care of me.
My initial question was "Where were you born?" She replied Mexico and that all of her siblings were born in different countries because of her father being a famous magician and always on the road traveling to do different shows. I didn't record the beginning of the conversation but this is where it starts (it's pretty jumpy)...
She's saying where all of her mother's children were born...I missed the first.
"Her second one Venezuela. Her third one was born in Madrid. Fourth and Fifth were born in Cuba. My older brother was born in Tampa, Florida. My sister that died (a year before she was born) was born in the capital Guanasteo (?) in Mexico. That's where they were for the theater then a year later I was born in another capital in a different state in Mexico and a year after that my other brother was born in another state in Mexico. I was born in the Governor's house. The Governor's wife and my father delivered me. There was a revolution going at the time and the doctor couldn't get there. They didn't know what to do with the cord. The maid was getting the hot water and towels and she was a nervous wreck. My father had to cut the cord but they couldn't find the scissors so they pulled and the woman gasped and my mother said "what happened?" She didn't know what happened. We were guests of the Governor because when he goes to a city where he's going to do a show always the mayor of the town would be meeting him and hanging out with all the big shots. The owner of the theater or the manager so that was his life. He was a good story teller too so they all loved to spend time with him. He was a ventriloquist. He was so good he used to keep his dummy in a suitecase and when we would go to the theater we would always ask "Can we see him?" I can't remember what his name was. He would open the case for us to see. He was so good at it that one time in Mexico they were going to these ruins and they had mummies there in a cavern. So the mayor of the town, one of the doctors and other people and my father started to make like the mummies were talking. He said everyone was so scared they all ran out! He used to go out after the show to a cafe and drink tiny cups of strong coffee. They loved to hear him talk telling all these stories. We spent most of our times in hotels. I felt sorry for my mother. We were either catching a train or a ship or a taxi to go someplace. Then when I married "Dad" Stone and Webster moved us all around too but at least we were a few years in one place. Now I live in Turners Falls for the longest in my life. When I was a kid we were in hotels and then we went to live in Spain with my grandparents in a house for 5 years and then when we went to Hondouras...(My mom interrupted with a question "Was your mother's intention to stay in Spain?") If it wasn't for the revolution, yes we would have stayed. I said to Bernie a few days ago you would have had a Spaniard for a father. You'd look different I bet! If that revolution hadn't happened since we were American citizens through my father they wrote to the consul in Honduras who was best friends with my oldest brother (he had stayed in Honduras with my father). We thought we would stay in Spain until my mother got well because she had malaria and she was very sick and if she got another attack of it she probably wouldn't survive and my mother was so afraid of leaving us all orphans there. At that time was the depression and people didn't have money to go to the theater. You could go to the movies for a nickel and go to Spain for $5 which was a lot of money in those days. Then all of his stuff (magic show items) burned in a theater in Columbia. That's when he stopped with the theater for a while we were living in Columbia in a hotel across fro the theater and on Sundays they would have a matinee movie at night it would be his show but that Sunday the theater burned and all of his stuff. He used to go to New York to buy Houdini's tricks. My mother would fly in the air (in the show). So he had all those very expensive things that he would buy, Houdini's tricks most of them. During the depression we were able to live off the money he made. He made a lot of money all through those years. At that time the bank didn't give you any interest, it was just a safe place to keep your money. It was quite a life. When they went to Columbia (must have been another time) they left Ralph and I with friends of theirs who had 5 kids and we used to play with them. The friends said "why don't you leave them here with us while you go?" So they did. One day I got so sick she put me to bed and came back later to check on me and I was picking up rice out of the air...I had malaria. My fever was so high for three days they took me to the hospital. The nurses would try to put ice packs on my forehead I thought they were witches and I would fight! With no mother or father around and these friends were so upset this happened while they were taking care of me.
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