John: So if you just want to sign this [the release form], it just states that ‘I understand that researchers will provide a thorough explanation of the purpose of this research  and will be glad to answer any questions that I have during or after the finish of this study’ and this is just our professor, so you could just jot this number down if you wanted to contact her and for questions and we’ll also give you all of our information.

Ima: And you’ll give me your name and address in case – I probably wouldn’t even call you

J: Sure, ok. Yep, ok and hold onto this. Do you have another copy of this actually?

Dan: Yep. It’s in the front folder.

J: Excellent.

Now tell me, how long do you have to do this? A long time boys?

D: Just for about an hour or so.

No, no. I don’t mean just today

J: It’s a semester long project. Our project is full semester, so we’ve been working on it since January.

Well, that’s good.

J: So we’ll be finished with it by end April. So what I can do is, this here is another copy basically what your signing for us.

Oh, ok.

J: So you can keep that and our professor’s information is right there. If you just sign that one.

Ok. And lets see I sign it here

J: Yep

D: (testing) Did we figure this out? Is it working yet? Is it working yet?

Bring it back. What is the date please?

J: It is … 3, 26, 02.

(signing) 3, 26, 02. Seems funny to write `02. I never thought I’d be writing it in college you know?

D & J: (laughter)

J: Excellent, ok. Well, ok, I guess we’ll just get started.

D: Oh you  got yours [recorder] going?

J: Well, I, why don’t we just tape two? Just press record

D: You’re the one who figured it out.

J: Uhm, you wanna just start?

Dan: Ok, well, just to start, why don’t you state your name, and spell it to make that we got everything right

Ima: Started it right?

D: Yup.

My name is Ima Anderson. I-M-A A-N-D-E-R-S-O-N.

D: And we know we’re never supposed to ask a lady this, but could you give us your date of birth?

Yes, November tenth, uhm, lets see how old am I? That’s awful. Let’s see, I wrote it for them out the other day. I can tell ya I just turned eighty so you can figure it out.

John: Let’s see … that would be … 1922.

Yes, that’s right

D: And, uhm, right your here living at the Tatnuck

Park. T-A-T-N-A-C-K-E-T

D: Ok, and one last, right now question: Your current phone number, like…

Oh shears, I had my own number, they had a 

J: We can contact you through hand.

Oh, ok. Contact me then write down the phone.

D: Uhm, so if you were born in 1922, you were approximately twenty years old when, uhm, during Pearl Harbor? When Pearl Harbor happened?

Yes, yes it was. I’ll have to think back.

D: Yeah.

J: Uhm, where did you grow up, where were you born? 

Quinsig Village

J: Quinsig Village

uh-huh, Worcester.

J: And you said that you went to Quinsig Elementary School?

Uh-huh.

J: And did you also go to High School in Quinsig?

No I went to a private school. I went to Chapel Hill for, uh, Chapel Hill for 2 years, and but then my last place that I went to, this was years ago. Chapel Hill …Waltham Mass. That was it, that was the last place. And it’s still there.

J: When did you come back to this area? You said you went to Washington?

No, I, I got married here in Worcester, and we went down to Florida, built a home down there, and, uh, he, uh, got  sick with cancer. And died and came back here. Now, you’re going to ask me the date

D: (laughter)

J: When did, uh, where were you during World War II?

In Worcester.

J: you were in Worcester

My husband was overseas. 

J: Ok.

And I

J: Did you get married before or after?

I got married in between

J: Ok

He came home on a months furlong, and we got married. Then he went overseas again.

J: Where did he serve?

Newfoundland.

J: Newfoundland.

And then he was going, uhm, top kick-up there. Then he was going, he heard he was going to Europe, and they no, they kept him over there.

D: Oh wow. He got lucky. 

Sure did. My brothers are in the service over seas. One was a bombardier in Guam, and my other brother was right in the thick of it in France.

D & J: Oh wow

D: So they were on both fronts

Mhm-hm. 

J: Uhm, Tell us about your family? About where you lived in Quinsigamund Village?

On State. On Victoria  Avenue, which is still there. And my family, well I’ll wait so you can write it all down. And my family owned a milk business, on Victoria Avenue. The back of it was the milk business, and it was called Salmondson’s Milk, or Victoria Dairy, some of them knew it as.

D: right

And the one’s that started that were my grandma and grandfather Samuellson. Chris C-H-R-I-S Chris, Chris Samuellson they called him. And they brought me up, my grandmother and grandfather brought me up, after my mother and father got a divorce. And I loved my grandma and grandfather so much that I wouldn’t leave them. So there the ones that gave me everything. There the ones that sent me to prep school, sent me, uhm, to college. So I owed them everything. 

J: So you had a very happy life in Quinsig?

Oh yeah. With them?

J: yeah

Oh yeah. I loved school, and I loved, uh, everybody said ‘how could you go to school with a bunch of girls?’ Well, that wasn’t bad because with the choice of boys

D & J: (laughter)

well, we were over crowded. (laughs) I used to tell my dad and he’d laugh when I said that. And he said “That’s you” and my nickname was Sammy.

J: Sammy?

Yeah, Sammy. They called my that because of Samuellson, so that’s what they called me in college. Either Sammy or Sam. 

J: Uhm, were your brothers older or younger than you were?

I was the oldest. 

J: You were the oldest.

My next brother was two years younger than me. The next brother was two years (all in unison) younger than him. Yup. And, one brother, my oldest brother, went to military school. And then the youngest one stayed home. He wanted to go to South High in Worcester. 

D: So he must have gone into the military relatively young. If he was four years younger than you, he must have been sixteen, seventeen when he went overseas?

Which one? Bucky?

D: You younger, youngest brother.

No, my youngest brother, no, he didn’t go over, overseas. No he went to lieutenant school they called it. 

D: Ok, so he didn’t go till later in the war.

Oh he went later, yeah, yeah. 

J: Uhm,  did you, ah, do you remember where you were when you heard about Pearl Harbor?

Yes, very well.  I was on my way to Boston, and I was in the car. And I heard this jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber 
and I said ‘I wonder what’s going on?’ So I shut off the radio, then I turned it on just before I got home. I was coming home from Boston, and I said ‘Oh My God! It’s war!’ Then I thought ‘No, I must be hearing things.’ So seeing as I was driving, being smart I thought I better turn this off in case it was bad news. I was almost home, I rather  be home. And that’s how I heard it, on the way home from Boston to Worcester. It was a shock, I pulled over to the side of the road. I realized that my brothers were already in, and my husband-to-be, oh he wasn’t my husband then though. We got married in the middle, in-between. 

J: Where did you – Where did you meet? 

My husband? We were neighbors, and he was older than I was. So I was just a kid, but he was nine years older. My shears, I was just a kid. So, I used to play a lot of baseball, and sports down a the park, so, and tennis, so one day he can over and said ‘I didn’t know you could play tennis?’ I remember just looking at him, and I said, ‘You want me to give you a game?’ And he said, ‘Oh, that’d be fine Ima.’ So I played him and I beat him (all laugh) in two games. He said ‘I better get home.’ (all laugh) He remembers that, he remembered that, saying that to me, ‘I better get home.’ 

J: Where did you spend most of the war years? Were you in Worcester, or…?

Yes.

J: At that time? Did you, uhm, were you in school at the time? Or were you working at all? 

Lemme think. Yeap, I was a secretary for my dad.

J: Ok.

I was a secretary for my dad at Victoria Dairy. But, then, I can’t remember if I went teaching to school then. Because I taught school here in Worcester, ah, … 25 years. 

D: So you didn’t go into any, like, defense plants, or any of the Rosie the Riveter type stuff?

No. I wish I had. But, I was in the High School teaching now, and I figured I’d better stay because, with the teachers going into the service. We were short.

D: Yeah. A lot of overcrowding?

Yeah. My husband-to-be said to me, ‘If you go into the service, forget me.’

J: He didn’t want you in the service? 

Well, naturally, I might have met some other guy. (all laugh) 

D: So, were you engaged before the war? 

Nah-uh. In the middle of the war.

D: In the middle of the war, everything fell into place? 

nengh

D: Like, that’s when you decided to get married and …

Uh, no, then he went back overseas. And then he came back for shore time, for a month that time. No, I’m sorry, two weeks. 

D: Ok

Then he was shipped way overseas, he was shipped to Newfoundland. Then he was shipped back here, and we got married, and, then he was going to be shipped way overseas, so he decided that, uhm, … that’s when we decided to get married.

D: Ok.

When he heard he was going overseas. Which was good, we had a beautiful, big wedding. 

J: Where were you married?

Worcester, the church we both belong too, (laughs)

J: What’s the name of it?

Bethlehem.

J: Bethlehem.

Covenant Church. Down on Greenwood Street in Worcester. Down in the Village. 

J: Uhm, do you remember, uhm, your other friends in the neighborhood. Do you remember, where, what they were doing during the war? 

Most of them, well the boys were overseas. Most of them were overseas. And, my best friend, she was a nurse at city hospital. And, uhm, the others just working. 

J: Where, uhm, where were they working? Working in plants?

Yeah, some of them were working in American Steel. And, uhm, I don’t know where else they were, most of them would from the Village because it was easier. 

J: Do you remember what it was like, uhm, before and after the war? Before like, everything started to mobilize, for the war effort? Do you remember it being harder to get certain things? 

Oh yeah. Uhm, we were rationed on sugar, and butter. But then, my grandpa, he mad butter because he owned the dairy. He made butter and just gave it to his friends. Because he couldn’t, y’know, he had to feed his friends. And is there anything else? Questions on that? Did you ask two questions with that time?

J: Yeah, I was just wondering what, what life was different? Do you remember how life changed after the boys started going overseas?

The, uh, lights on the streets were dimmed way down

J: Oh really? 

D: Was that to conserve energy?

Yup. I can’t remember if that was the reason, but I imagine that it was. But I image that we didn’t go out, y’know, alone. If we went down to the Village or ice cream or something, uhm, because I had a car, was lucky, but the others didn’t wanna come. But when they put those things over the lights, all it did was shine down.

D & J: yeah

It was dark. 

J: Do you remember anything at any time, anything in the community, about, like German immigrants in the community, or other

D: Like Italians

J: Or Italian groups, or other civic organizations that were active?

The Swedes, and the Danes, and there was some Irish people here that were active. And then the church, lots of groups were active. There was no argument on who was the best or anything like that. We all tried to hang together.

J: It was a pretty peaceful neighborhood.

It always was before, it was during, and it was after. After it was quiet because everyone was so happy. 

D: (laughs)

J: Uhm, do you remember, do you remember when FDR died?

I remember seeing it on TV and watching it, but I can’t say much more

J:  Were you supporter of him?

(Pause) Yeah, we all were, I am trying to remember who was with him?

J:  In the last election?

Yeah

J:  Truman ran with him in his last election for President just before FDR died.

I don’t think Truman was very well liked.

J:  Yeah I think at that time he wasn’t very well liked.  Uhm, do you remember if the USO was popular or active around here?

Interruption

J:  Did they sponser events?

Dancing, dancing was the most popular, um there were other (events) but few would show up.  Dancing seem to be the most popular for the girls.

D:  Because the boys were coming back form over seas for reliefs?

Mm.hmm when they came home they would always come for the dances and the girls were lined up I swear. 
I taught ballroom dancing so I got to know most of the girls and a lot of the boys.  They didn’t know how to dance, that was fun.

J:  At that time why did you think you were fighting the war?  Was if for a noble cause or was it…?

I didn’t think it was noble.  I’m trying to think back to how it started.  That is back many years.  I remember I didn’t approve.  I didn’t think it was necessary.  

J:  And after Pearl?

After Pearl?  (pause)  No, after Pearl it was alright.  When it was near over, you know when we heard, we were all happy.  I have to stop to think, I remember everyone was happy the night it was declared over.  You should have seen Worcester (laughter) I didn’t know where they got all the big fire crackers.  They got them somewhere, this place was booming.  So I got in my car with a bunch of other girls and we went down to the middle of the city, oh it was delightful.  They had flares out and everything.  It was really great to know it was over.

J:  Was this V-E day.

 It must have been, yes.

J:  What did you think about the enemy.  Did you have personal resentment.

No, no real resentment.  We had a few choice words we called them.  Because they weren’t… I don’t think they were very good.  I think they were real sneaks.  They weren’t playing fair.  If you can call that fair…war fair.  My brother was stationed as I said over, the one brother in Germany.  I tell you what he said.  He said we were all so bombed.  They were so glad it was over they just got bombed.  You know (motioning as if drinking) boom, boom, boom, they just shot them down.  So he said we don’t remember two nights.  (laughter)  My other brother who was over in Guam over there he was a lieutanent cornol and he kept his cool.  He didn’t have much to say, you know he didn’t want to talk about it.  When he came home I remember he was saying to my folks I don’t want any of you to talk about it.  I just want to put it in the back of my mind.  Cuz what I tell you won’t hurt you but you really wouldn’t be interested if you weren’t there.

J:  Was it something that deeply affected him for the rest of his life?

Oh my brother who was in France he did, oh yes he was treated by a doctor for about three years.

J: yeah

And he was supposed to be so (gesture denoting macho) for our family.

J:  Do you remember when they used the bomb, the nuclear bomb, do you remember that?

The atomic bomb?

J:  Yeah

I tell you I was scared to death, and when I heard on the radio and the television the man in the uniform was saying  to the people at home don’t fear it because it will never happen here.  They will never throw it over the United States because we were supposed to be well protected and I guess we were because we didn’t get the bomb did we?  I can remember them saying they were really protecting us and I remember saying oh bologna.  But they did no bombs landed here.

J:  Did you ever have a feat the United States would be attacked?

Yeah, we all did.  When we say pictures and stuff how other countries were hit, with children and screaming and stuff we thought we’re next.  Why should we be out of it you know.  Because they had good boats you know.  They had planes and stuff.  We thought how will we escape it?  But we did.

D:  Did you have a lot of air raid drills.

I remember when we went up to Hampton beach we had about five of us girls we had a cottage right on the beach and they all of a sudden there was air horns you know and we thought oh boy, but then they came around in a car saying it was just a drill, just a drill.  But I will tell ya that scared us up there.  Mmhmm

D:  Do you think America should have used the bomb?

Do you think what?

D:  Do you think um Truman should have deployed the bomb against Japan?

No way, it would have killed more people, you know.  They didn’t use it on us so why should we have used it on them?  They were as afraid of it as we were.

D:  Do you think if he were still alive FDR would have used the bomb?

No, no I don’t think he would have.  He was a brave old soul.  He had a lot of common sense and he had a lot of experience with war.  Experience in the way that he knew a lot about it.  Not that I would vote for him or not.  I don’t know now if I would have or not.  Oh it was terrible.  We were always on edge.  The worst thing that I think that we did was that we had air raids with kids in school when I was teaching school.  Those children, they would fall down the stairs because they couldn’t get down the stairs in the schoolhouse down in the yard.  Down in the back we had like a shelter.  More fell and had heads split open and stuff.

D:  As a teacher did you know when you were going to have drills.

No, no one knew except the principle.  But we used to rush right to the staircase, the teachers and hold our arms out so they wouldn’t slide.  And we pretty well with that, they minded us pretty well.  Because in the class rooms we told them that if we had an air drill they were not to run to the stairs.  You could hurt a lot of children.  They were to get to the stairs and just wait.  And they were pretty good really.  It is only a drill I would say and they would say how do you know it is only a drill and its true because they kids were smarter than the rest of us and you know we would tell them that if it was a real drill we would get you out of there.  I would say to myself I would be first.  But not the kids were good.  ( laughter)  They were scared though.  You know when it would first happen the first few drill they kids were scared.  So we would tell them its only a drill.  You have to you would have plenty of heart attacks.  Kids really took it better than I thought they would.  The only hard thing I ever through was when a child’s father was killed over seas.  That was terrible.  Children, the mother would keep them home so the teachers would go to see all of them.

J:  Were there a lot of them?

Um.  I would say here in Quinsig, maybe…ten.  And that was the hardest, to talk to the kids.  They would say it wasn’t your daddy or your mommy.  Mostly daddy’s there were very few mommy’s.  Did you have two questions there, did I miss one?

J:  I think you answered both.  Another question I had was how did you find out your information about the war.  Did you listen to the radio a lot?  Was it always on?

Always,  and we had television because you know my folks had television.  I think radio was better than television.  They would say this is the latest news, television you would have to wait for them to take pictures.

D:  Did you think they news was pretty acurate?

Yeah you know they would push it up a little bit.  Or they would push it down so it wouldn’t be too sad or they would push it up to give a little joy to the people listening.

D:  Going back to when you first learned about Pearl Harbor on the radio did they have the facts straight, were there reports about the Japanese in California or…

Where was I?

D:  No when you first heard about it did the broadcast did they know only Hawaii was attacked or did they broadcast they might be as far as Californina.

It was over seas and they weren’t sure if they had crossed the ocean.  I remember that, cross the Pacific.  I was in the car and I had the radio going and my friend who was with me and she said something about war Ima, and I said war, were?  And then it really came on.  It was really a shock, I could hardly get home fast enough.  I was going down Rt. 9 pretty well.  It was a horrible thing. Oh you would wake up at night, if you heard a plane go over and you were sound asleep you would jump up and wonder if it was a bomb coming.  We got used to it, but you see the airport when right over us here.  Even if it wasn't this airport the planes could be going to Boston or Rhode Island.  Oh wait that airport wasn't there so it would have to be Providence, yes because the Worcester airport wasn't built.  Any plane we were afraid of.  I could never go through it again.  I don't think we will.  I think the other countries are afraid of us.  Some of them, there are some countries that are jerks and don't know their way around.  I think we got too many countries now all together.  Yeah I'm almost sure.  Yeah my brother who is the Lietenant Cornel he still gives lectures in Boston.  He gave one not too long ago, he used to give a lot  but not anymore cause everything quieted down.  

J:  What did he give lectures on?

Oh,  I never really knew because it was to the new military just being recruited, the new ones.

J:  Have you ever read or heard about Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation?

No, is it good.

J:  He basically classifies your generation as the greatest generation that ever lived in America.  Would you classify yourself as that?  Would you classify your generation as that?

Yes…Why because we were all really pushing for this war to be over.  Pushing to get our service men to get the best because we never knew what would happen.  We were always afraid.  We were never sure, sure, sure.  There were so many things that were said that were untrue, even on the television and radio. 

J:  Like what?

Oh there were so many, let me think.  Oh some of them were saying that the big shots weren't telling us the truth and they were covering up to save our faces.  Things like that, and it got so that we didn't believe them and its true we didn't believe them.  

D:  Did you pretty much always have faith?

Oh yeah, we went to church and we had a lot of positive thinking very much so.  Those of us in college, I never did so many prayers in my life cause of my brothers in the service and my husband to be overseas.  The three of them were overseas.  And many of my friends in Washington they were overseas so we would write to them and pray.  It was a terrible thing because WWI I heard my grandmother talk about that quite a bit and I remember her saying don't worry it will never happen again.  And that it will never be bad in America.

D:  Was your grandmother in America during WWI?

No she was in Denmark.  She saw plenty of it there.  She blanked it out, I think one of her sisters was killed over there in Denmark.  She used to say something in Danish, let me see if I can translate.  She used to say they were no good and you can't trust them.  She was lucky to get to America you know, they were holding them all back.  They were afraid on both sides.  They got through it.  She was a very calm person herself so that helped.  But me I would jump every time there was news on the radio and scream to turn that damn thing off they are not telling the truth.  Then my father would come around the corner and kid and say who the hell do you think you know more than the radio people?  I am glad you kids didn't live through it. Yup and my brothers of course did because we were only about a year and a half apart.  Oh, the day I said, oh I came home to my folks and I said I was joining the WAC's and I thought they would kill me.  I will never forget my father, he said if you go in the service and you needn't bother come home and I am going tell Herb you are going in the service.  Herb was they fellow I was so in love with.  I said all right.

D:  Were your brothers drafted or did they sign up?

They signed up.

D:  How did your father feel about that?

Oh that was alright.  One brother had gone to military school for two years.  When he was little he started in military school.  My father thought that was a good education for a boy and it did it calmed him down, he was kind of wild.  I remember him coming home from military school and the first thing he did was take off his uniform.  That was no joke then he had to go into the real uniform.  But I think he was proud of his airforce uniform.  

D:  Do you think it was  pride before the war or after the war?  After he served he developed a pride?

Yes, then he went into the reserves.  You know where the national guard is he was over there.  There is one in Worcester her, big.  They had one down the cape but they had to go down the cape for two weeks to train.  But there was one down by Lincoln square, a big development there it was big.  There were big trucks that would take them down to the cape to train.  You know it is so far away but I remember some of the little things.  It comes to you especially at night sometime I will think of something and then that leads in to the other, you know.  I hope you boys never have to go to war.  Just like I have three grandchildren and I hope they never have to go to war.

J:  Does your family still live in this area?

No my grandparents who brought me up are dead and my mom and dad are dead.  But my two brothers still living.  There were three of us.  Yeah, my grandchildren naturally are living.  They are very young but yeah.  How long have you been going to this school.

J:  We are both juniors so this is our third year.

So you only have one year left and then what?

D:  Oh, Good question.

J:  Busted.

Your junior year, oh I put it off.  My father would said "have you made up your mind what your going for?"  "Could you maybe let me know next week?"  I 'll try dad.  I was a great athelete.  I don't mean great I mean I loved atheletics.  That is why I became a physed teacher and I was the swimming coach.  I tought Worcester public schools, then I got married, and I went back teaching then I went back they begged me to come back.  They begged me to come back because they didn't have any phys-ed teachers.  Then what did they do two years ago, they threw phys-ed all they way out, completely.  I wasn't teaching but I thought what a stupid thing.  They want the kids to be healthy you know and play sports and so they kicked it out.  In high school you can take phys-ed only if you wanted to, if they didn't have enough pupils then they didn't have a teacher.  It's so rediculous really.  The schools have gone down a lot.  I went back to Washington two years ago and their phys-ed department is still going, ya know enjoying it.  Then Worcester, you can if you want,  I don't think it's right.  Do you have it every week?

J:  We don't have it at Holy Cross but we have atheletic teams.  We have intramurals and club sports so you can always participate in something.

Yeah, my grandaughter who is fifteen she has been on the Worcester softball team for four years.  Yeah she plays pretty well, she loves it.  I think its good they like sports in high school.  May I help you any more.

J:  Unless you have any more questions for us or if there is anything else you want to say.  We really appreciate this you have given us a lot of information.  

Well I hope I helped,  I really have to visualized everything.  When I think of what it was like.  The thing that bothered me the most, which was silly I suppose, where the street lights.  They had the black hoods over the lights so you couldn't see the next light but you could only see right under the lights.  

D:  They might have done that to make the cities less visible form the sky.

Oh yeah of course because of the airplanes but I mean it was bad so women wouldn't go out at night because you couldn't see five feet from where that shade was.  So we stayed in.  Of course my husband was overseas so I stayed in anyway.  Yeah, it was not joke,  no joke whatsoever.  I hope you boys never have to live through it.  I don't think you will.  I personally don't think there will be another war in your generation.  I think the United States has their head on their shoulders right now.  Back then when I was in college they didn't have it together then.  Because they hadn't seen the war.  Now because you can read about it you know like Pearl Harbor and everything you know what it was like.  I don't think it will happen in your generation.  There are too many Congressmen who are against it.  Now that it is over, what good was it.  My younger brother said that, what good was it.  Dodging bullets and hide from the airplanes so they wouldn't get hit.  Bobby would say when a plane was hit it would go straight down.  

(tape ends)