I've been through an awful lot with doctors you know. They've ruined my health. They've ruined my marriage. I could have got married. I had a diamond ring bought for me and everything. I had to get my thyroid removed and I almost died. I couldn’t get married. I was too sick to raise a family so I remained single. Then they took all my toes off from a misdiagnosis so then I diagnosed my own case. So I saw more blood and I read up about cancer. (hands me a photograph about herself)

Wow, what a beautiful picture!

I was only 21.

That's in 1941?

1940 - see what it says.

1941, 22 years of age. Can I tell you a little bit about why I want to talk to you about the war? I go to Holy Cross in Worcester. We are doing a project called the Worcester Homefront Project. We are interviewing people who lived in Worcester during World War II. If you don't mind I am going to record our conversation so I can then listen to it later.

You're recording this? Can you play it back?

Yes, I can play it back and actually I'll type up everything. I'll type up our conversation and if there is any part that you don’t want me to use…

Now one thing - I want to say something. My family was affiliated with Holy Cross College on my brother Joseph's side. I hate to say it but some is even a millionaire.

Really

That's a lot of money

Yes

But they work for it. They had the smarts to do it. Now my sister, right here. I am the only one in my family living. There were five children. Three brothers and two, my sister and I. That's her husband. They both passed on. I am the only one living.

Oh my goodnees.

I lived history too. They lived history. He was in the Navy.

Really?

Yes. I went out with a staff sergeant. I met him at the YWCA. I led a very interesting life.

Oh wonderful. Can you tell me a little bit about…

She worked for the Jesuits up at Holy Cross college. Anges and Bea Zimmerman- I know the names. They worked there. They were terrific workers. I had an uncle. My Uncle Freddie, he was a master, a master now electrician. Not an ordinary electrician. He knew his electrician stuff. Where the big dorms are. He lost his leg to poor circulation. Those dorms are awful high and he climbed those high ladders. I think he was 79 when he quit work.

Oh my goodness that's a long working life. So were you born and raised in Worcester?

Yes, now I'll get serious. I was born in Worcester Massachusetts. I'm a native of Worcester Massachusetts. 476 Franklin St. My mother had all her children at home. They only had to pay five dollars for maternity. And now, a women gets pregnant she's got to go to the hospital to get the best of care and it costs five or six thousand dollars. Am I wrong?

No definitely not wrong.

Then, when I lived at 382 Franklin St. my father was getting sick he was a truck man. He worked awful hard. He hanged around with the men, you know the truck men. My mother was home washing. They didn’t have the facilities them. They had to work on the scrub board. Now you're going back a lot in history. Now they've got all the modernization. I had a beautiful Maytag. I had a General Electric refrigerator.

You had it all!

When I lived in home tenements. I used to be a former entertainer. Impersonate trumpets. I would go at weddings, private weddings, and banquets. Then I worked at a factory. I made more money in factory work.

You worked in the factory during the war?

Yes, I - government work.

Tell me a little bit about that.

Yes, I worked in Graton Knights leather factory where they stitch now the astronaut's suits on Franklin Street. 356 Franklin St. Therefore I stitched. To put the binoculars on our soldiers. To put them in the container. To see the enemy . How close they were. Then I put them on straps in the strap department to put them on their uniforms. Then, the pistol holders. To carry the pistol, on the hip. I made good money. We were union. I got a man's pay. Any woman got a man's pay for doing man's job because we were union.

Did you start working when the war began or had you been there before?

No my first job, when I was 16 years of age, I had to go out. We were poor. A lot of families were poor like we were. We had to go out and get a job. When you are sixteen you only have to pay a dollar at City Hall down here on Franklin Street. Main and Franklin Street at City Hall. Therefore I got my permit. My first job was C.A Ronners, a shoe factory. I was in the showcase putting up the mannequins. Then I was a sales clerk. I did quite a bit.

Then the war started and you started at the factory?

Yeah I worked at Graton Knights. I worked at the shoe factory first and then when Japan sneaked over and bombed Pearl Harbor December 7^th 1941 I was only 21 years of age or 22 I was just a young woman then. It was interesting then. To see how we had to work. They had me teach because I knew how to do my work so good. I put out the production. I did not have to work right up until the last minute when the bell rang for us to leave. I was done with my work. I was fast, neat and efficient.

What was it like to live in Worcester during the war?

They had margarine-not real butter. Your mother and father would know this. You are too young- you weren't born yet. Do you come from a large family?

Not too large - I have one sister.

What are you majoring in at Holy Cross College?

Political Science

Political Science? Well I have on my brother's side, Sharon. She studied at Clark University in philosophy and history. She's a school teacher. She lived in Texas but it floods too much so she had to get a way. She lives in Baltimore, MD and has a daughter - smart as a whip. She inherited it from her mother. They fell in love. She met her husband up there. He got his masters degree in Bio-chemistry. Bio-chemistry is the environment. Now are you learning?

I am learning.

What else can I say?

What did you do for entertainment during the war? You mentioned some of the men you met at the YWCA.

Yes, now when I was young. It isn't to be conceited. You can see that picture of mine, twenty years of age. They used to say, "You've got a pretty face and beautiful skin." When I had my period I never had blemishes or pimples or anything. I was just blessed you see. But now, I am 82. Now I had a permanent and a shampoo and wave. Therefore we had margarine. That was like a piece of lard. When we were kids, we did not know what depression was. But my father, saw to it, he was a truck man and he made good money in those years when the economy was different. Now things are awful high. He had some very good tools. He'd go out and sell it and buy the food to put on the table for us kids to eat better than margarine.

Now I was born with talent. It was in my family on my mother's side. Not my father's side, my mother's side. I played the harmonica. I played Elvis Presley. I learned Al Joseph. The famous mammy singer, Sonny Boy. Then I went into more than twenty songs. I had three throat operations and they damaged me. Then I had a nasty fall. I don’t drink and smoke. I used to belong to the YWCA, on Highland St., right near St. Patrick's Cathedral Church.

What was that like?

Beautiful. She was the gym master. I was very trim and slim and she would say "Bea I am going to get more beef on you. More beef!" I said ok, I could use it. I was five feet eight but I must have shrunk. I must be five feet seven now. You shrink as you get older. I know you are not the same when you are 22 and 82. At 22 I was full of stamina and energy and I miss it. I miss my freedom. I loss my freedom from my fall. I get out of breath easy. The age is there now. I am not no kid anymore. I had a decent life though. I had a lot of boyfriends. I never had to get them, they came after me and they'd say, "Can you dance? You've got talent. We love a girl, young and vibrant that has a lot of energy." You know boys are they are young too. At that age they were in sports. I even read the paper to learn how they are to think of other things to talk about. If you don't want to have loose marbles you read things so you can think of things. Like "Did you hear the Red Sox's won last night? Did you hear about Larry Bird and the Celtics? Did you hear of Jordan?" But what do you want more of me to say to you?

Just talk about what it was like during World War II.

It was bad. It was bad. My boyfriend, he got the ring. I said "Wait a minute Bob, we're in the thick of a war." His name was Robert but I called him Rob. We grew up together as kids. He said, "I love you Bea because you are a clean living woman. Its hard to get a clean girl. I've got to go to war." He joined the submarine. The one that says, "One, two three fire. The torpedoes that bombed the enemy ships in Japan. You know who our president was? He was Franklin Roosevelt. His wife was the brain. The first lady was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. She was very, very intelligent. She would tell him. He was an ailing president. I loved him. We all loved him. He was the one that signed social security to action. He signed it. I've got a social security card. I even remember the number. Now I am going to try to give you Sugar Blues. I learned it from listening to the trumpet players. (Impersonates a trumpet song) I damaged my voice box. I almost lost my voice box to surgery. The doctor said that I have to save my voice. They sent me to Tufts Medical School in Boston Medical School. Its one of the nicest schools you could go to.

Well thank you Bea for talking to me. I really enjoyed it!

You're very welcome.