Marshall, Mary (1904-1988) |
Worcester County Library: Local History and Genealogy Collection, Snow Hill Branch, Snow Hill, MD
|
Interviewee: |
Mary Marshall (1904-1988) |
| Interviewer: |
Eric Burns / Katherine Fisher |
| Date of interview: |
1982 April |
| Length of interview: |
21 Minutes, 43 Seconds |
| Transcribed by: |
Lisa Baylous |
| Preferred Citation: |
“Name, Oral History Collection, Date of Interview, Worcester County Library, Snow Hill Branch, Snow Hill, Maryland.” |
Topical Terms:
Worcester County (Md.)—History
Worcester County (Md.)—Social life and customs
Worcester County (Md.)—Women’s History
Location Terms:
Ocean City (Md.)
INTERVIEW BEGIN
PART I
INTERVIEWER #1: What’s your, do you remember your maiden name? Like, were you married at all?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Do you remem- do you remember your maiden name?
MARY: Mary Catherine Clark.
INTERVIEWER #1: Mary Catherine Clark? Ok. Um, do you remem- do you know your parents’ names?
MARY: Mr. William (unintelligible) Clark.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Um, like, what was your childhood like?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: What was your childhood like? Like, do you remember what you did around the house, or your school?
MARY: Yes, I went to school.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. What was it like?
MARY: Pretty good.
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you, um, like, what subjects did you take? Do you remember?
MARY: No. I went to the fifth grade and quit.
INTERVIEWER #1: At sixth grade? Why’d you (unintelligible)?
MARY: At fifth grade.
INTERVIEWER #1: Oh. Uh, did you take a job after you quit? Like, did you have a job?
MARY: Yes.
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
MARY: Waiting on the tables.
INTERVIEWER #1: Waiting on tables?
MARY: Waiting, yeah.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Um, did you go to church often?
MARY: Not too often. Going to Sunday school.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Um, like, did you have any free time? Like, to do any, like, activities? Like ice skating or swimming or—
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: No free time? Uh, how many brothers and sisters did you have?
MARY: Four sisters and a brother.
INTERVIEWER #1: Uh, ok. Like, did you, um, after you left home, did you, like, get married, or, or…
MARY: Do what?
INTERVIEWER #1: Like, did you, when did you leave home to get married or take on a job or…
MARY: Hmm. I don’t know.
INTERVIEWER #1: Uh, ok. Did you always live in Berlin, or in the area?
MARY: Ocean City.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ocean City?
MARY: Most of the time. When I got married, I went to Crisfield.
INTERVIEWER #1: Crisfield? Ok. When you lived in, like, Ocean City or Crisfield, what were, like, special occasions? Did you have any parades, or—
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: --celebrations or anything?...Huh? Any parades?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Like, whenever you went to town, like, did you see anything? What was it like?
MARY: Whenever I went, (unintelligible) shopping.
INTERVIEWER #1: That’s all you did was shop? Ok. How was, like, you know, was there a lot of policemen and law problems in your town?
MARY: Huh uh.
INTERVIEWER #1: None at all? How did you get around? Did you use car, train—
MARY: In my later days.
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you use horse and carriage?
MARY: Yes sir.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Did you ever ride a train?
MARY: Yes sir.
INTERVIEWER #1: What about a steamboat?
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: No? Did you ever go to Public Landing?
MARY: Yes.
INTERVIEWER #1: What was it like? A lot of swimming and a lot of people?
MARY: Yes.
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you have a good time?
MARY: Yeah. Yeah. Went on picnics.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Picnics. Um, did you ever hear of Red Hills?
MARY: Who?
INTERVIEWER #1: Red Hills.
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #1: Red Hills.
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: No? Did you ever go on Assateague?
MARY: Yes, I’ve been to Assateague.
INTERVIEWER #1: Was it, like, you know, to get out for the day or swim?
MARY: Just for the day.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Did you ever hear of Jake?
MARY: Who?
INTERVIEWER #1: Jake. The alligator that was kept in a Berlin shop? (Unintelligible)
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: You never heard of Jake? Uh, what about…Was there any,
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: --um, traveling circuses or any kind of—
MARY: Yes, I’ve been to circuses.
INTERVIEWER #1: They came to town often?
MARY: That was Ocean City.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ocean City?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: How about, like, do you have any legends or superstitions? …Ma’am? …Uh, like, were there any bad storms or hurricanes that you can remember?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Were there any bad storms or hurricanes?
MARY: Oh, yes! We had a bad storm down there.
INTERVIEWER #1: Do you, like, remember what it was like? What it did or anything?
MARY: It tore up everything.
INTERVIEWER #1: Everything?
MARY: (unintelligible) everything.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah…Did you have any, like, bad snows?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Snows? Did you have real bad snows, like blizzards, or—
MARY: Not like they are, now.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. Ok. Like what, what kind of entertainment did you have? Like music? Did you like to listen to a lot of music?
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: No? What about, uh, like, fairgrounds? Did you ever have any fairs, or anything like that?
MARY: Hmm mm.
INTERVIEWER #1: Nothing came?
MARY: Looks like (unintelligible) going on in my days.
INTERVIEWER #1: Nothing like that? Did you, do you, do you remember what, like, about what time this was? Like before World War I?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: What time was it around? Was it, like, the Depression? Like, when times were bad?
MARY: Yes, we had some bad times.
INTERVIEWER #1: What were they like? Just like…
MARY: You couldn’t get much to do and everything was so cheap, what you did do.
INTERVIEWER #1: Was, like, was a lot of people out of work and…
MARY: They couldn’t get work to do. Wouldn’t pay nothing.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. Did you have a job?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you have anything to do during the Depression, when times were bad?
MARY: Do what?
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you have anything to do when times were bad?
MARY: No. I was married. I had my family.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. So, you had something to keep you going, didn’t you? Ok. Like, ok. Let’s see…Like, did you have any children?
MARY: I had two. I lost the first and my daughter is still living with me.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. Uh, like, did they ever go to town and see circuses—
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Did your daughter ever go to town or ice skate or anything like that?
MARY: She goes to town but she’s awfully big to ice skate.
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. What was the community like? Like, was it just like, you know, everybody knew each other? Was it a close-knit community where everybody knew everybody?
MARY: I don’t understand you.
INTERVIEWER #1: Uh, like when you lived in your town, like Ocean City, did you know a lot of people?
MARY: No. I lived out on the outskirts (unintelligible).
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. So, there wasn’t a lot of people there, huh?
MARY: Not at that time.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. So, you know, you didn’t have much to do, huh? …What did your husband do, like, for work?
MARY: He’s dead. He was a plumber.
INTERVIEWER #1: A plumber? Ok. Like, when you were at home with your children, like, what kind of, like, chores—
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: When you were at home with your children, what kind of chores or responsibilities did you have? Like, jobs?
MARY: Taking care of them.
INTERVIEWER #1: Taking care of them? Washing clothes?
MARY: Oh, yes!
INTERVIEWER #1: Lots of clothes to wash?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Did you send them off to school?
MARY: Yes. Everybody went to school.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. How about after school? Did they have a job or anything?
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: They didn’t work?
MARY: They didn’t ‘til they got older.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. Ok.
MARY: My daughter’s working to the bank.
INTERVIEWER #1: Oh, she worked at the bank?
MARY: Now, she does.
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
MARY: Bookkeeping.
INTERVIEWER #1: Bookkeeping?
MARY: She’s been that for ten years!
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah.
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Do you remember when you had your first car? When you saw your first car?
MARY: Uh, the first car?
INTERVIEWER #1: Yeah. When you saw your first car. Do you remember?
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: You don’t remember?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Did you ever, you never ever went on a steamboat?
MARY: Hmm mm.
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Was there, was your, was there a lot of people in town? Like, did you have a lot of people?
MARY: Quite a few.
INTERVIEWER #1: Quite a few? So, there was never any, like, special events or anything? No parades? …Do you remember any elections? Like when presidents came through or anything?
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Do you remember any elections? Like, when people have presidents come through and speech?
MARY: No.
INTERVIEWER #1: Nothing like that?
(BACKGROUND NOISE)
INTERVIEWER #1: Ok. Well…Well, thank you for your time. That’s all the questions I have to ask—
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: Thank you for your time. That’s all the questions I have to ask. Unless you (unintelligible).
MARY: (unintelligible) I done the best I could.
INTERVIEWER #1: That was fine. (Unintelligible) funny.
MARY: I told you I didn’t know much.
INTERVIEWER #1: Well, you knew plenty. As much as I needed.
MARY: Huh?
INTERVIEWER #1: You knew enough. That was ok.
MARY: (unintelligible) find out much.
INTERVIEWER #1: Yep.
PART II
INTERVIEWER #2: Well, she was…You were telling me some things already, when we were talking about being on the West Ocean City side when the inlet cut through, weren’t you?
MARY: Yes.
INTERVIEWER #2: And, you said there was some flooding there? Did the bay back up? Did the water come from the bay during that storm?
MARY: I don’t remember.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. It had to have come from the bay. But, um, you remember the inlet cutting through. And, she said that she remembers the fish towns and the boat she used to be on (unintelligible) and rode out into the fish towns.
MARY: (unintelligible)…the boat.
INTERVIEWER #2: Really? And right out of the boat? Ok. That’s something.
DAUGHTER: How about the time when they had to take your family out of the area where they lived (until the boat)—
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh! Did they have to do that?
MARY: (unintelligible)
DAUGHTER: It was out on West Ocean City, was it not?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. That’s something. Um, now, your father was a carpenter?
MARY: Yes, Ma’am.
INTERVIEWER #2: And, his name was?
MARY: James Clark.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. James Clark. And, he built some homes down by the railroad bridge on this side?
MARY: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. And, um, he rented some of those homes out, didn’t he?
MARY: He had two of them (unintelligible).
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. And, um, rented some others. And, did you live down in that area or did you live on Elm Street?
MARY: I lived (unintelligible).
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. Right down there. Was it pretty when you used to live down there?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Did they have any bushes or trees or flowers?
MARY: Some homes did.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. Well, that was the main road to go into Ocean City.
MARY: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER #2: In that area. Ok. You can remember the horses and ca-? Do you remember the horse and carriage, instead of cars, can’t ya?
MARY: I rode them a lot of times.
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh, you have? My goodness! You remember the train, too? Don’t you? Going over the bridge. The track was not too far from where you lived, was it?
MARY: Not too far.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. Um, I think last week, you were telling me you used to work in a canning factory.
MARY: Yes. Me and my whole family.
INTERVIEWER #2: You did? And, that factory was on the point, now, across from where the inlet is. Across the harbor of this side. Across Davidson Lynch Fish Company.
DAUGHTER: Yes.
INTERVIEWER #2: Yes. Ok. Down there. What did they can at that factory?
MARY: Tomatoes.
INTERVIEWER #2: Alright. Tomatoes.
MARY: We (unintelligible) potatoes sometimes.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. Did they, um, did they use the railroad to ship the canned goods out on?
MARY: I don’t remember.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. I don’t either. I wondered what the used (unintelligible). Did they do much business with getting oysters or clams from the bay around here? (Unintelligible)
MARY: They did.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. (Unintelligible) heard that either. I thought that’s where C. P. Cropper got his oysters—
MARY: He did.
INTERVIEWER #2: (unintelligible) Alright.
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: That’s alright. You’re butting in. That’s what we need to help us out. Um, where did you go to school when you were a little girl?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Alright. Right on the Old Ocean City Road? Ok. I know where that is. Down from miss-. Down from Doctor Townsel.
MARY: No. (Unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Yeah, way down. Down a little bit, this way. Yeah. It’s hard to get directions straight. Mm hmm. I don’t help, either. Um, was there just one teacher in that school?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Uh, huh. Do you remember any of the teachers?
MARY: I did, but I don’t remember.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. They’ll come back sometime. Mm. Um, where did people in West Ocean City go to church if they went to church? Was there a church out in the West Ocean City area or did you go in to Ocean City?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. The Black church out in that area.
DAUGHTER: I think they went in to Ocean City because Mother was a cradle roll member in the United Methodist Church.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. That, I hadn’t thought of that before, and I was just thinking there. So, you went into, you went to the Methodist Church?
MARY: Yes (unintelligible).
INTERVIEWER #2: You’ve seen some church changes there then, haven’t you? They’ve got a new church. Or, you remember the old church, don’t you?
MARY: I do remember both of them.
INTERVIEWER #2: Both of them. Good. (Unintelligible)…I’m, I’m forgetting things. Oh! I know! You said you worked also, as a waitress, didn’t you?
MARY: Yes.
INTERVIEWER #2: What hotel did you work at?
MARY: At Seaside (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. (Unintelligible), didn’t you?
MARY: What?
INTERVIEWER #2: Shore hand?
MARY: At the beach.
INTERVIEWER #2: Yeah. Ok. Um…
DAUGHTER: Then you moved to Crisfield, did you not?
MARY: Huh?
DAUGHTER: Didn’t you move to Crisfield when you married your husband, did you not?...What did Dad make an hour during the Depression? Our Dad?
MARY: (unintelligible)
DAUGHTER: Wasn’t it like twenty-five or fifty cents a day? I thought you told me.
MARY: (unintelligible)
DAUGHTER: Was it? It was a very small amount. I remember that.
INTERVIEWER #2: Was she here during the Depression, or in Crisfield? I can’t remember from the other (unintelligible).
DAUGHTER: When was the Depression?
INTERVIEWER #2: Thirty-ah, ’28 to ’33. She was here?
DAUGHTER: Ah—
INTERVIEWER #2: She was here when the inlet cut through. That was ’33.
DAUGHTER: Yeah, but I was born in ’36.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok.
DAUGHTER: I was born (unintelligible).
INTERVIEWER #2: Alright.
DAUGHTER: Between.
INTERVIEWER #2: In between. Ok. Um, were there any country stores in West Ocean City?
MARY: Any what?
INTERVIEWER #2: Little grocery stores where you’d go to get your provisions.
MARY: (unintelligible)
DAUGHTER: (unintelligible) Taylor.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. You had a store. Was it nearby where you lived?
MARY: Not too far.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. You could walk if you had to? Ok. Did you have a garden, ever?
MARY: A what?
INTERVIEWER #2: A garden. Did you grow your own fruits and vegetables?
MARY: Yeah. A few.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. Ok.
DAUGHTER: She also lived where Ocean Downs is now. Before they sold it for the racetrack.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. And, oh, right. She told me whose place that was (unintelligible).
MARY: Are you butting in?
INTERVIEWER #2: Yes!
DAUGHTER: Raymond Downs and, what was the (unintelligible) name? (Unintelligible) Downs, Sr. at (kitchens).
INTERVIEWER #2: Alright.
DAUGHTER: I forget his first name.
INTERVIEWER #2: Owned the land where the racetrack is. Had a farm there.
DAUGHTER: Yeah. Father tilled the land.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok.
DAUGHTER: By horse. Behind a horse.
INTERVIEWER #2: Behind the horse, walking. That would be something, hum?
DAUGHTER: I remember that, very well.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. My!
DAUGHTER: Ah…What was on Elm Street before you moved there years ago? Wasn’t it some kind of orchard?
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: There used to be an orchard there?
DAUGHTER: Was it apple orchard or—
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh!
DAUGHTER: --was it a peach orchard?
MARY: Apple.
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh, for goodness! Now, I didn’t know that!
DAUGHTER: Mm hmm.
Unintelligible Conversation between Interviewer #2 and Daughter
DAUGHTER: (unintelligible) and her husband bought the land and, uh, made it into that area.
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh! Alright. I didn’t know that. Good. I think we really covered what she went over before.
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Oh, it sounds like it.
MARY: (unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Right. But, it sounds like it was pretty down there. That would be.
DAUGHTER: What, what did most of the hometown people call that area?
MARY: (unintelligible)
DAUGHTER: What was your father’s name?
MARY: (Clifton William) James Clark.
DAUGHTER: Ok. What did they call the town down there, instead of West Ocean City?
MARY: I don’t…
DAUGHTER: What did most of the old-timers call it? Clarktown?
MARY: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER #2: Ok. After your father, since he built it. Oh, that’s good.
MARY: Ah, that’s over, right? (Unintelligible)
INTERVIEWER #2: Well, you—
END OF INTERVIEW