Interview w/Angelina Romin

Interview with Angelina Ramm

Couches by Crossroads

March 26, 2002
I: Ok, so I need you to state your name, date of birth?

S: My name is Angelina Ramm, June 30 1926

I: Ok and your age,

S: 75

I: Ok and were you married, let’s say right in the middle how about 1943, we’ll make that like our kind of placeholder…

S: was I married

I: for World War II…

S: 19 yes

I: You were married?

S: no no, I wasn’t married in 1943

I: ok, were you married at any point during the WWII period?

S: No

I: No

S: No

I: Ok so you were single and you live with your parents?

S: I lived with my parents

I: Lived with your parents and did you work?

S: Yup, I worked uh (a little garbled) we made life-rafts for the navy, mhm

I: Ok, did they pay you well? (repeat)

S: Yes

I: They did.

S: Yup yup, piecework

I: Oh

S: You know piecework, making life rafts

I: oh ok thanks interesting ok and what did you I’m kinduh curious did they have like a shopping mall that you went to or like what did you do for recreation entertainment?

S: Shopping mall?

I: Did you like go shopping…or like…

S: There was Worcester Downtown there was no mall

I: Worcester Downtown?

S: just stores

I: Like little shops along the strip?

S: All kinds of stores on front street, main street

I: mhm

S: All stores

I: Ok

S: Nice. I don’t like the mall

I: You like the mall?

S: Nope no

I: Oh, ok, what else have I got in here? Um ok what is your current address and your past address?

S: My current address?

I: Yes

S: Now?

I: Yeah

S: 18 Maurier Street

I: 18 Lawyer Street? In Worcester, ok, and did you live there all your life or did you live somewhere else during that time?

S: No no no I lived in different places yuh know and once I got married I lived in different places yuh know different places,

I: Mhm

S: I lived on Shrewsbury Street, a single,

I: Ok

S: Park Ave when I was married...

I: mhm

S: Rousseau Street (?) um Dayton Place yup

I: Ok all right and did you…

S: (? Street) Waynes Street and now I live on Rockbury

I: ok and did you live on Shrewsbury Street during WWII?

S: Yes

I: Ok alright cool and what was it like was there like um that’s a majority Italian neighborhood right are you Italian?

S: Yeah

I: Yes you are?

S: Yeah

I: Ok, all right, there’s another thing, um you were born in the United States, yes?

S: Yeah

I: Ok

S: In Worcester

I: And you were born in Worcester?

S: Yes

I: And were your parents born in the US too or like…

S: No they were from Italy

I: From Italy ok, So you’re the first generation born in the US?

S: Yeah yeah

I: Very interesting um let’s see um oh education, did you go to school in Worcester?

S: Yes yes

I: And up to what grade did you go?

S: I went up to the 8^th grade

I: 8^th grade?

S: Yuh then my father passed away so

I: Oh

S: We were a big family and I (…low…) you know had to work and stay home

I: That’s really nice of you, my dad did something like that too actually, cause he had 8 brothers and sisters and he had to drop out of school to help them out and stuff…

S: (…unclear…12…) 6 girls no actually 7 girls and 4 boys

I: That’s a lot of kids!

S: well now there’s only six

I: Yeah actually he had twelve, well they were twelve too but like 4 of them died in early childhood.

S: yeah yeah, I well most of them well my sister died when she was about 3 but after that we all grew up

I: mhm

S: and started dying when they got older

I: Yeah

S: you know

I: Mhm, my grandmother’s almost 90.

(laughter)

S: oh isn’t that wonderful!

I: Yeah, she’s great.

S: I think that’s wonderful!

I: Mhm

S: Really

I: It’s amazing I look back and I’m like wow Grandma you were around when they didn’t have cars…

S: Yeah yeah yeah

I: She got to see all the changes that’s amazing.

S: Yeah that’s wonderful

I: You guys are really strong people are definitely getting a little weaker these days you know.

S: I think so I think you know it’s not it’s they’re strong but there’s not…like the ages when I read the obituaries 75, 30’s, 20’s

I: So young.

S: You know you say wow

I: I know what’s happening to ‘em.

S: And then you look and you see 101

I: I know (laughter) the older generation you guys so much stronger than we are I don’t know what it is I think we are living more unhealthy lifestyles now.

S: I don’t know what it is but it seems like the younger generation is not going on

I: Yeah it’s…I don’t know what it is…

S: I think you know more are having heart attacks

I: I know.

S: You know of course they don’t say what reason but it could be OD’s ‘n’ they won’t say it

I: That’s true.

S: They won’t publish it

I: No it’s true.

S: Yeah

I: Very true, they just publish something that’s more PC or…

S: They say people dies and home you know or you know

I: That’s very true.

S: Yup, my ex-son in law his brother was very only in his 20’s and he OD’ed

I: Really?

S: Yeah he OD’ed

I: So young that’s really sad.

S: Yeah it’s sad that is sad

I: Ok let’s see what else we’ve got here…

S: I said look at that little girl I mean the little girl that went to the game and got hit with the puck

I: No way?

S: Yes

I: She died from it?

S: 11 years old she got hit with the puck, she died

I: wow I didn’t hear about that.

S: yeah

I: wow

S: yeah she went to the hockey game the puck hit her in the head

I: oh my god

S: she died

I: stop-playing hockey

S: I know

I: That’s awful, my god.

S: My son, my uh-youngest son plays street hockey

I: Mhm

S: And he always did

I: Wears his helmet though right?

S: No he plays street hockey and one time the puck hit him in the stomach

I: Oh

S: I don’t think he had a girdle on,

I: Oh wow

S: And the bruise like a girdle

I: Yeah those pucks are really hard.

S: But he says now his legs now that he’s older his legs grow numb

I: Really?

S: so I say to him that I thought when he was younger he worked at a gas station and he hit his knees you know and he took care of it but I thought well my legs get numb and I say maybe it was when I hit by the car and he says no it was when I got hit by the hockey puck it hit a nerve so you know it’s pressing on the nerve and then he says his arm goes numb

I: He got hit there too…

S: no yeah wait til I tell yuh so his arm went numb and he got scared he did get scared he went to the doctors and he had a pinched nerve in the nerve he got hit with a hockey puck

I: oh my god

S: he didn’t tell me though

I: mhm

S: and I says how come you didn’t tell me you got hit with the hockey puck in the neck and he say well I didn’t want to scare yuh

I: Oh my goodness!

S: but he got scared

I: I know huh! (laughter)

S: Yeah yeah

I: Hockey’s pretty brutal I kinduh wanted to play but I’m like uh…

S: You know when you think they’re all grown up they’re all grown up you know but they’re still babies

I: (laughing) We’re always babies!

S: (laughing)

I: Ok, I’ll ask you a few more I’m almost done with these and then you can talk about whatever, are you catholic?

S: Yes, no wait I’m Episcopal I was Catholic

I: You were catholic?

S: Yeah

I: So during WWII you were Catholic?

S: Huh

I: During WWII were you Catholic?

S: No my husband wasn’t so I like they’re way of things so I went to his church and I joined their church

I: And when did you get married with him?

S: 1952

I: Ok, and did you have to convert so that you could marry him?

S: No no

I: You just decided that you liked it?

S: No no see I think I got a little mad at the priest because when I had the kids and the priest came up to see me so he says to me well how come you married you know not a Catholic and I says if he was a bad guy if he was a drunk if he was you know I says you don’t tell me about my husband he was my husband, he was a great father and you know he was my everything so I says get out and he says well I hope they don’t bring the kids up Catholic

I: Oh my goodness.

S: and I was real mad

I: Wow that’s a judgmental guy my goodness.

S: So I was so mad at him I turned to my husband’s church

I: mhm

S: you know? And they were the great, they were great, they are great

I: That’s good, actually I was thinking of converting, I was born Catholic and I have some issues with the way they like do heir thing.

S: I say look at all the priests, isn’t that scary

I: Yeah everywhere I look Cardinal Law this Cardinal Law this I’m like ok…

S: yeah did you wannuh be Catholic or you know sending your kids to church for what?

I: I know that’s creepy that’s really scary to send your kids over there…

S: it could happen in any religion though, as you know

I: That’s true, it could be anybody.

S: It’s just that right now that it’s coming out about the Catholics, it’s scary yuh know well what're yuh gonnuh do life goes on

I: Yeah it will get resolved eventually.

S: Oh yeah

I: Something will go down who knows what they’ll do they might cover it up again like they like to do.

S: I don’t know but they seem to be catching more and more

I: Mhm

S: Yuh know

I: I know who knows it could get bigger but…

S: I used to think the altar boys were the best people you know

I: Really (laughter) you’re like man was I wrong!

(garbled)

S: I don’t know alright let’s see I have a few more questions like and I’m almost done um ok alright another of the questions we were supposed to ask was like in Worcester there was a lot of I don’t know if there were a lot of neighborhoods but it seems like Shrewsbury Street was like Italian an then there was like Irish neighborhoods and Armenian

S: There was

I: And um we wanted to know if there were different tensions between the different groups in Worcester or…

S: The only ones I guess were the tensions between the Italian and the French

I: Really?

S: Yeah

I: Didn’t get along too well?

S: No Italians and French no

I: Was there like any particular reason or like…

S: No I don’t know the older ones you know the Italians wanted you to marry an Italian but I married a German

(Granddaughter walks in, quick greeting)

I: Oh (laughter)

S: And my family didn’t agree with it but there was no way to stop it so I married a German

I: Wow

S: That’s who I wanted not who they wanted

I: Mhm

S: And then my other sister married a Portuguese

I: Mhm

S: So they (laughs) you know it’s who

I: Who you fall in love with.

S: Who you want to marry if you want to be you know you don’t want to marry for your family but for yourself

I: Not gonnuh be happy…

S: But I wasn’t sorry I got the best guy

I: Got the best one!
G: Her granddaughter is just gonnuh let her talk

(laughter)

S: he was great

I: mhm

S: he passed away too early but he was great (garbled)

G: It’s all you gram what about um the Mafia gram?

I: The Mafia!

S: No we don’t talk about the Mafia

I: Was there one I don’t know?

S: No no used to be

I: Really?
G: On Shrewbury Street right?

I: No way!

S: Yes

I: Really?

S: Oh yeah

I: So it’s all hush hush?

S: Yeah, if you joined it you could never leave

I: Really

S: And then

I: Were you in the Mafia?!

(laughter)

S: My auntie Nellie was seeing one of the Mafia heads and uh he asked her to marry him and she says no she didn’t go with him anymore because he was one of the head ones

I: Yeah you’re like no way!

S: no uh uh

I: Wow that’s scary.

S: they did have it though, they still have it I think but it’s

I: underground

S: I think they still…

I: Hm
G: Did you talk about Union Station?

I: Oh union station

S: I don’t like it I hate union station

G: What did the people used to do in front of the union station the boys used to yell what was it fish fish fish!

S: No

G: Remember you used to tell me that there were little boys that would sell fish outside of the Union Station on Sundays

S: No no

G: Ok!

I: Nope you hallucinated that!

S: That was a fairytale!

(laughter)

G: Ok I…

S: No but I liked the old Union Station it was you know like say you come in here and it’s empty but Union Station had all like the countries a rumpus room like this and they had stores they had the bookstore and optical thing, barbershops they had everything! You know it wasn’t so empty!

I: Mhm

S: When she was down there at the Red Cross and I walked in there I was like oh! This is awful just nothing

I: They just cleaned it out huh?

S: There was just nothing in there nothing nothing like I said it used to be you could go on a Sunday after church and sit down in Union station and read and stuff and like I said they had like I said a rumpus room too

G: Gram? Didn’t you have a brother who fought in the in WWII?

S: Yeah Uncle Tony

G: Uncle Tony and could you talk about how Uncle Tony did what did uncle Tony do was he in the air force?

S: Army

G: He was in the army

S: In the army he fought Germany

G: He fought Germany

S: Oh yeah

G: How old was he when he went?

S: Well he was young you know in the age of the army

G: 18?

S: (unclear) coast guard

I: mhm

S: he was out all the time on the boat and one time we didn’t hear from him

G: mhm

S: and we called the red cross and the red cross said no they didn’t know where he was he was missing and we didn’t know it he was missing so we wrote to one of his friends and he was in the hospital and that’s how we found out from his friend that he was in the hospital yup but he went to Germany

G: now the Red Cross used to charge for coffee

S: what?

G: The Red Cross used to charge for coffee right?

S: Yeah

I: Mhm
G: Made a lot of people mad

S: Oh yeah a lot of people went against the Red Cross I know we did because they should have known where my brother was

G: Yeah

S: And they should know but they didn’t here nothing but he was in the hospital

I: It’s weird they didn’t even know.

S: Oh they was hush hush about everything

I: About everything huh?

S: Everything

I: Maybe the Red Cross was in the Mafia too!

(laughter)

S: yeah hush hush

I: I had one last loaded question about how you felt about the war at the time did you agree with what the US was doing or like…

S: Did I what?

G: How/ what did you feel about the war did you agree with the US?

S: No

I: No?

S: It was uncalled for, no, they had to go,

G: WWII gram

S: Yeah they had to go it wasn’t like we didn’t declare we went to help that’s what we did we went to help and our boys was going to fight for someone else’s war

G: And then Japan bombed us….

S: Oh yeah Japan was sneaky Japan was very very sneaky because Japan bombed Pearl Harbor but I think if I’m not mistaken I think the United States was wrong about Japan bombing

I: Really?

S: I think so I’m almost sure that they were wrong that Japan was even bombed and they didn’t believe it

I: Hm

S: But they didn’t believe it but there was one sailor the first sailor killed in in...

G: Pearl Harbor

S: Pearl Harbor, was Italian, he lived on Shrewsbury Street

I: Wow so you probably knew him?

S: Yeah yeah his name was Mario Masataro he was one of the first killed from Worcester

G: How old was he gram 18?

S: 19 or 20 around that age he was going to get married but he got killed

I: really?

S: It was sad I know when my brother left to go over seas it was sad because we were not at war we were helping out

I: mhm

S: And that was sad because my brother had to leave us to go over there you know

I: Mhm I’m sure you didn’t want him to go so…

S: You know if there was I mean we should be at war but no no

G: We are.

S: We should but we’re not

G: Oh gram we are.

I: It’s just hush hush.

S: We are? No

G: its operation-enduring freedom in Afghanistan.

S: But I’m just saying it’s you know they get mad that we’re bombing over there but look what they did here

I: I know.

S: And now they just found how many more bodies?

G: Um when I went gram on Sat they found 16 but they found 22 last week

I: wow
G: Mostly firemen

S: So look at all the people that got killed, out of nowhere, you wonder why things like that happen but they do happen

I: Mhm, One last thing um you said like you talked about the Japanese and how they were sneaky coming and bombing Pearl Harbor so did you agree with the US retaliation with the US dropping the bomb over there?

S: I do they should they should I mean come on let’s face it you can’t expect to do that to us and don’t expect it to come back that’s not right you know you give it to me

G: Tit for tat

S: If someone does that to me you think I’m just gonnuh stand there and say ok

I: I’m just gonnuh stand here come beat me up (laughter)

S: Yeah oh hey when I was taking driving lessons I don’t drive today

(laughter)

S: because my husband was teaching me how to drive but and I was alright but you know those cars coming the other way

I: mhm

S: I always thought they were coming to me gonnuh catch me you know so my thought was you gonnuh catch me I’m gonnuh get you first

(laughter)

S: so my husband says you’re not driving

(laughter)

I: Playing chicken?

(laughter)

S: no you know if you think you’re gonnuh get me I’m gonnuh get you

I: You sure you weren’t in the Mafia?

(laughter)

S: no no

(laughter)

(about 5 more minutes of more conversation about driving accidents busy streets, cooking good food, brain tumor a couple of years ago)