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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorthgate Panel 1Interviewer- Bill Lay Interviewee- Glenda Alter Bill - What we are going to do, Mrs. Alter, is talk about... Glenda - Glenda Bill - Glenda, all right, is we are going to talk about what life was like as you remember it when you lived here in College Station. What we're trying to do is get a background from various people and well try to patch this together with the series of tapes and eventually work out some kind of a history. We will take down the information on a tape recorder, I'm not going too try t take notes, I might put a few things down as we go along but then they will transcribe this and they will send it to you so that you can go over it and correct any of the mistakes which we had, fill in parts which may not have come clear on the tape or things that you have thought of after you were talking with us this morning. Glenda - OK Bill - Can you tell us, first of all, who your father was and what type of business did he run here in College Station? Glenda - All right, he was J.B. Lauterstein and he had military supplies and a tailor shop. He sold uniforms and all the supplies that went with it. I believe he opened his business probably in 1936 and retired in 1946. They had a great many friends with the young boys who were in school here, and my mother worked with him in their business. Other than that, I mean that was the type of business that he had. Bill - Well, were these tailor -made clothes? Glenda - They were. He took the uniform measurements here and my uncle in San Antonio had quite a large military uniform business, and so he sent the measurements to San Antonio and they were made there and then sent back here. At one time, my uncle supplied more uniforms , I think, that were tailor -made uniforms than any other, or as many I suppose as anybody else in the world. Bill - He was quite well known. Glenda - He was. Bill - There in San Antonio. Glenda - Yes. Bill - Was there anybody else in the family that that worked in the tailor shop with your father and mother? Glenda - Just my mother. Bill - Were there other people that worked in there or was it just your mother still? Glenda - No, there were others. He had people with the cleaning part. He had quite a few people, pressers in the back. My father never really knew about the cleaning business himself Bill - So he ran a cleaning shop as we would know it today. Glenda - Right. Bill - He did cleaning for the cadets and people here in town? Glenda - Yes, exactly, and he always had a lot of Aggies who worked for him in the different project houses and dormitories; they were like agents. They would bring in clothes from the other boys, and it gave them money to work their way through school in a lot of cases. Glenda - I remember at one time John Kimbrough who was here in 1939. He was a fullback at A &M. He worked for Daddy for a while, and I think there was a head cheerleader at one time. Buster Keaton was one of the boys. In San Antonio now there's a veterinarian, Roscoe Sealy, who is a friend of ours and he worked for my father. He has very nice memories of him. Bill - So he had agents out in the dorms? Glenda - He did. Bill - So to speak, that collected the uniforms. Glenda - He had very long hours; he did so much himself. It was nothing for my father to work 10 or 11 hours a day. Many times at night, I would be doing my homework until he finished his work. He did take all the measurements himself for uniforms. That part was his. As far as the cleaning part, he hired people. He really didn't do any of that himself, and they had alterations and that type of thing. When school opened here in September that was the big time of year. You know, I guess school merchants - at Christmas time - that's their biggest time of year. I remember when we first moved here, and my father was there maybe 3 or 4 thousand students here possibly, and he said one of these days, A &M is going to have at least 7500 students. So we've come a long way. Bill - Well they had about 7500 students, as I recall, somewhere around 1950 or 1953. Glenda - How many now? Bill - Now there's 42,000, roughly. Glenda - How he would be amazed. Bill - He would be amazed. I don't remember that you've mentioned, but where was your father's store located? Glenda - It was at the Northgate - the last store at the end of the street beyond Holick's. The very last store on the comer there. Bill - That would be next to the Baptist Church. Glenda - Right, right, well I guess that's the Baptist church there, yes, just where that little yellow roadster is there on the end part of it where you see the drawing board sign. That was part of Daddy's property and later it was divided up when he sold his business. Bill - That stayed a cleaning shop for a long time I think, and it eventually burned, I guess you know. Glenda - Yes, there was a bad fire. Bill - Smith Cleaners, I do remember. That was in the late 70's as I do recall. Unidentified - early 70's probably. No, I guess it was. Bill - I don't remember it was after I got here, and I got here in 71 so... Glenda - Across the street from his store was Aggieland Studio. Bill - Right. Glenda - Next across the street was where Reverend Norman Anderson, his daughter Teenie Anderson. I don't know her married name now but she's on your committee here. Her father was a minister there. His family's children all grew up there and we were friends; he and my mother were good friends. Bill - She is pretty excited about the project too. Glenda - Isn't that wonderful. I'm sure her memories are probably much better than mine are. Bill - What are some of the other memories? You mentioned that Mr. Holick was in that complex there. Glenda - There was a Zubik's Tailor. Bill - Zubik's Tailor, I remember there was another tailor- I couldn't remember which one. Glenda - And, coming this way toward the campus was a drug store on the corner there. I don't remember the name of it now, across the street where the yellow car is now was another pharmacy. Bill - That's Loupot's store now. Glenda - There was a Mr. Feaster, who was the pharmacist. I can't remember too many of the other shops that were along in there. Hornak, Mr. Hornak, I can't remember, he had his own shop next to Holick's or if he worked for Mr. Zubik, but Lil Honek and her sister were both here; they did interviews with you also. Bill - I didn't meet them, but they were tailors also? Glenda - I can't remember exactly. I believe they were. You know that was such a big business here because they all wore their wonderful uniforms. Bill - Everyone had a uniform. Glenda - And the seniors wore, they called them ice cream pants, you know, kind of like riding britches I guess, and they wore those shiny boots. Bill - You know they still do. Glenda - Do they still? Oh, I didn't know that. Bill - Yes, we have no cavahy but we still have Senior Boots and we still have the riding pants. Glenda - Very glamorous looking. Bill - Very glamorous, I guess. Mr. Holick is not there, I don't think, now, but people are still there making boots for that, so those are still things that the people in the corps look forward to. Glenda - What about Ross Volunteers, do they still have that? Bill - Still have Ross Volunteers, yes, and they have women in Ross Volunteers now. Glenda - Oh they do? Bill - Yes, women of course. I heard last night they had 100 women in the corps this year, that's 5% of corps, I believe , are the figures that are women this year. Glenda - Interesting. I went to A &M one summer because you couldn't go in the fall; it was not a girl's school, but I had taken Trig at Texas and we were going together at the time and I didn't do very well. My thought was that I needed to take it over again, so I took that and forgot what else, a government course, something like that. One summer here, and more or less six weeks at time to make up a course. Bill - Right, and what year was that? Glenda - It was probably '47, and that was my only experience going to A &M. So I still consider that I went to A &M. Bill - That's right, that's the only way you could be an Aggie. Glenda - Right, right. Bill - Tell me about the other members of your family. Did you have brothers and sisters? Glenda - No brothers and sisters. Bill - No brothers and sisters. Glenda - Only child and so, my father wouldn't let me date Aggies at the time because, you know, they were too old. Bill - You were not a member of the Bryan 300 then. I think that's what it was called. Glenda - I think when I was a senior in high school I was in the Cotton Ball that year, a duchess or whatever it was. Then I could, but before that he was very strict. I wasn't allowed to do that. Bill - What were some of the things that you remember about growing up in College Station? Glenda - Well, it was certainly a lot slower than it is today. It was a good town to grow up in, I suppose. I went to school in Bryan also, I graduated from Bryan High School. Of course there were some courses there I thought I could take that I couldn't get out here in Consolidated. So, I came to both reunions in High School in College Station and in Bryan. I think there was this Aggie spirit, you know, that you hear about that is so strong. I had a friend, Munnerlyn, who later died, whose mother was the one who wrote the "12th man" song that they still, I'm sure, use. Bill - Still use it. Glenda - We were school -mates at the time when her mother wrote that song. We used to go the knot -hole game on Saturday morning. I think, for $ .50 you could go to a football game. Bill - Still do, not for $ .50, but still they have a knot hole game. Glenda - Big thing to do then, and of course Thanksgiving was a wonderful time here. My family had open house and we had lots of visitors and of course the Bonfire the night before was always a lot of fun. During the war years, there were so many young men from all over the world here. My parents really had a home for a lot of them here, and on Sunday afternoons they would come for lunch at our home. So it was beyond business, I guess a small version of a USO, because my grandmother was still living at the time and they loved her cooking. We had a book that they would sign, and there were so many that my parents would hear from when they left here, as well as the students before the war. They had boys from all over the United States that would write to them and then when they went over seas they would write to them. My father always had a cigar in his mouth. He rarely ever lit it, but it was like a trademark and a lot of them would send cigars to him or they say they thought about him in different places in the world. As a businessman, he had a lot of integrity and I remember one of his best slogans was to "let your word be your bond." I really valued that because you don't really see as much of that today as you saw then. He had a very good friend, Mr. Ballerstedt, who was a barber and I think right on the campus. I've forgotten the name of the building now, but it was right where the old bugle stand was. Bill - Oh, YMCA. Glenda - YMCA building, right. He was his good friend and they had a lot of business together, and it always was a handshake that was their arrangement. Once in a while they had a lease or paper to sign, but when they did business together they shook hands and their word was good enough. I think that's a valuable thing. Bill - I do too. I wish we had more of it today. Glenda - Right. Bill - Anything that you want to add about the life and the area that does not have to be particularly on Northgate. What we're doing, we started on Northgate, but we're taking more of what their calling Memory Lanes and they will be other parts of town and they will be faculty and they will be former students and these kinds of things. We will be dealing with all of them. Glenda - You probably should have sent me some questions ahead of time so I could have been thinking along those lines more. Of course I spent a lot of time at the Carnegie Library in Bryan. When we fist moved here, we moved to Bryan and Daddy's store was out here in College Station so that was the five mile trip back and forth, you know. There were two separate and distinct towns at that time. I guess it has probably sort of merged somewhat today. Bill - You can hardly tell when you leave one and get to the other, but those have lived here ten years or more know where the dividing line is. Glenda - Of course, when I first came here as a little girl -that was 1936 -and I remember one of the things that bothered me so much were water fountains for the colored and for the white. You don't see much of that, I think, probably in the South today at all; you shouldn't. But it really bothered me. The times have changed. Bill - Were there many black people living in the community at that time? Glenda - Oh, I'm sure there probably were. I remember on Saturdays there were so many people that picked cotton, and as I remember , it was mainly Mexican people but I'm sure black people too. But they would come to town in trucks, and they all had on evening dresses. They'd come to town to shop and spend money after they'd after they'd been paid for working in the fields, and it always seemed unusual to see them in their evening dresses, coming into town. We had a servant in our home always, I remember when we moved here there was a woman who helped raise me, she came with us, and at the time she was paid $7.00 a week, a long time ago. Bill - Where did you move from? Glenda - From Hearne. Bill - From Hearne. Glenda - My father's business was there before we had a fire and it burned. Then he went to San Antonio and he worked at my uncle's military store. There's where I think he learned to take measurements and uniforms and so then after he got back on his feet, then we moved here and stayed from then on. He was quite a loyal Aggie supporter, and later when they retired and were able to travel more, he went to a lot of different places in Europe, frequently would run into Aggies all over the world. Bill - Obviously, Northgate has changed some but it hasn't changed a whole lot. Were there other buildings there which you remember which may not be standing now? Glenda - I don't really know. I know there was a church down beyond Daddy' store. Rev. Sweet was the minister there. His little girl's name was Sylvia. We belonged to the Temple in Bryan, Temple Freda which is the name of the little building, Freda. I don't know if it is still there. It may be since that time a new Jewish temple has been built, but we would go to services back and forth in Bryan, I bring that up because Daddy was so friendly with so many ministers here. It was very ecumenical before that was a popular term. I don't remember now exactly the circumstances, but behind Daddy's store was a small wooden or frame building where they had cleaning equipment supplies. One morning he came and it had been knocked down, torn to the ground and I don't know exactly the reason for that being done. I don't really know, but I remember that happening and we rebuilt it and went right on. By and large, College Station was a very friendly community, and, of course, there was the Aggie Spirit. There wasn't anybody who didn't say "Howdy" to you when you passed them on campus. You'd go other places and people would look at you funny if you were speaking that way, but that was always the way it was here. Bill - I still have a habit of walking down the street in Houston and want to speak to everybody. Glenda - Of course. Bill - Or wherever. Glenda - It was just the way we grew up, an open friendly kind of an attitude. Bill- You mentioned something in a letter I saw a while ago about your mother and that you had a real good day that day. Glenda- Yes. Bill- What is a good day in a tailor shop? Glenda- I guess before the war a hundred dollars was considered a good day. Bill- Do you remember, do you have any idea of what a uniform may cost at that time? Glenda- I have no idea. I do know to have a pair of pants cleaned and pressed it was 15 cents. See the difference today? Bill- Can't do that today. Glenda- Can't do that anymore, can you? No, that I do remember. I mean prior to their coming here were the depression years, when they were in Hearne before their fire. I remember my mother saying one day they took in 10 cents; they sold a spool of thread. Bill- Having hard times. Glenda- Hard years, and I was a depression baby, as they were called. Bill- I understand that I was too. Going back again, you mention that most of the juniors and seniors would have their uniforms, a set of uniforms - maybe not all of them, but at least one dress set of them. Glenda- Right, or they wore Sam brown belts. I remember those wonderful brown shiny belts and the boots, of course, and the ice cream pants. I think they must have been sort of a grayish beige color, lighter than the olive drab and they called them ice cream. Bill - Pinks, I think that's what they refer to. Glenda - Pinks, yes that's what it was. They looked wonderful. Bill- They still do. Glenda - And, of course, when the war started, Daddy began to take orders for navy Marine uniforms. Bill- And they shifted over to whatever they wanted. Glenda - They did whatever - very few soldiers had tailor -made uniforms. Bill- Probably so. Glenda- But there were some who did, and of course, officers were more likely to, but they had the Air Force, the Marines, Navy and V12. That's not what it was called, they had A.S.T.P., I think it was called , and all the different branches were represented. Bill- Do you remember seeing any change of what took place before the war, as far as your business is concerned, and what took place after the war? Glenda- Well, of course. Business was much better during the war because there were so many people stationed there. Oh, another memory just came to mind. They made a film here at one time of A &M. It was called "We've Never Been Licked ". I don't think it was an Academy Award film Bill- No, I don't think it was either. Glenda- But it was fun. Bill- You were here at that time? Glenda- I was here at that time, and Daddy had the cleaning concession for the studio that filmed the movie. I've forgotten the girl's name that was the star, but I had a picture of her at home. She came to one of our Consolidated football games and sat in the stands with us. That was fun to do but the film never went very far, I don't think, but it was an exciting time. Bill- But we still show it. Glenda- You still show it? Bill- And we, the University I think, bought the rights to it. Glenda- Oh, they did? Bill - And we still show it to the freshman every year. Glenda- Well it was fun time. Bill- You mention you had a picture of the female star there. Glenda- Yes. Bill- Do you have other pictures or momentous or records of that time? Glenda- You know I looked so hard, I couldn't find them. I looked really hard for them. I have one picture of my mother and father behind the tailor shop. You can't see anything but them because there was snow, and there weren't too many times that it snowed in College Station. Bill- Absolutely. Glenda- But it must have been when I was in elementary school- probably early 40's, late 30's. I don't remember when that snow was, but these pictures I've kept for a long time and if I ever find anything more, I will send it over. Bill- But if you do run across any momentous... Glenda- Sure. Bill- Or any other things of that nature that you would be willing to share with the historic committee. Glenda- Of course. Bill- If you'd like the pictures back, they'll make copies and give them back to you. Glenda- It's wonderful what you all are doing, I wish I had better recall, but as we talk you know, things come to my mind. Bill- Well, a lot of these things you haven't thought about in 20 or 30 or more years. Glenda- Well thank you, a few more than that probably. Bill- You mentioned the Cotton Ball a while ago. Was that a big time around here? Glenda- Oh yeah, it was a big thing, well so much was done with cotton at A &M and that was a big prom, I guess. Oh they also started The Grove over here when I was in high school. Do they still have The Grove? Bill- Still have The Grove. Glenda - That was nice. I remember one other thing that had nothing to do with my father's business, but we were very friendly with the Taubenhaus'. Dr. Taubenhaus was a scientist at A &M, and Mrs. Taubenhaus was very active in the society here. Dr. Taubenhaus, as I remember, was the founder of purple cabbage that was developed here at A &M, and he did a lot of research here before he died. Also, there was one of the buildings on campus where they raised rabbits. I don't know if it was for research, or for what purpose, but I remember Mother bought one for me for 50 cents. Oh, and another thing, across the railroad track was the creamery, A &M Creamery. Bill- Yes. Glenda - The most wonderful ice cream and chocolate milk you ever tasted. Do they still have it? Bill- That hasn't changed. Glenda- Really, some things don't change, do they? Bill- Some things never change. Glenda- It was a real treat to go over in late afternoon and have chocolate milk over there and have ice cream. Just wonderful. Bill- Actually, it got moved to on campus. Now it is back over there. Glenda- It is? Bill- The place where the creamery was over there, as you recall, is now called West Campus, and you may want to go drive around. Glenda - Probably full of butter fat which makes it so good. Bill- It is probably full of butter fat. Glenda - What about the train station, wasn't there a train station? Bill- There was a train station there, but the train station is no longer there. We have a train station now, although it's a metal barn, but the plans are for the city to build a replica of the train station there, and it's over where Marion Pugh Lumber Company used to be. Glenda- It was beyond the Campus theater over in that direction. Bill- Yes. What, the railroad station? Glenda- Yes. Bill- It was between. The railroad station was over by the creamery, where it used to be, over right through where you cross over into that. Well, that's still the entrance to that part of the University; of course the train station is gone and we have 6 or 8 big buildings. Glenda- Well, can people still go over and buy ice cream, milk and things like that? Bill- They are on Saturday, whether they're open until afternoon, I'm not sure. I think they close at noon, except on football weekends, and then they stay open so they can sell. Glenda - One of these times, I guess we might come back and do that. Bill- Some things, like you say, never change, and the creamery is still making good ice cream. Glenda- Still good. Hadn't thought about that movie in a long time. Bill- Everybody that was here during the 40s knows about the movie and everybody afterwards knows about it because they have probably seen it at some time or another but not for a long time. Glenda- Martha O'Driscoll, I think was her name. Does that sound right? She was the blonde actress. Bill- That I don't remember at all, I'm trying to think of the male star on the thing. Glenda- I don't remember that. Bill- I can't think of that either. But anyway, it's still shown, patched up a little bit, but it's still shown. Glenda- Good. Bill- Are there other things that either of you want to add? Glenda- I was just going to say, some of you lived in the project houses, didn't you? Sylvan Atter- O.K., Jersey Street went down to where the railroad tracks were and just inside Jersey Street was where they built project houses. They were 2 story buildings, dormitory style sometimes as many as 8 in a room. This was too catch overflow when they ran out of room in the dormitories. You got assigned to the project house and that meant you were way over here and everything else on campus was up here, so you had to either have a bicycle or some type of transportation to get you there, but be careful if you take a bicycle. You might be sitting by as a freshman by somebody to do a job, your bicycle was left on campus you had to walk all the way back on campus to get your bicycle. Bill- Uh huh. Sylvan- Anything beyond that was just open country. A few houses. The school was much more closely closeted in one area up near Highway 6, the corner of Highway 6, and University Drive. I guess it goes through there now. When I say closeted, I mean it wasn't dispersed like it is. You didn't have all the buildings that are here. There never was a cyclorama until, oh golly, I guess long after I got out of school. Bill- Cyclotron. Sylvan - What is it- Cyclotron, OK, I wasn't a scientist and I wasn't inclined in that direction . I stayed here for just about two semester and then I was drafted into the service because I was physically , my doctor said, physically disabled not to go and... Glenda - When he tried to lift a football player is what he really tried to do at one time in a game. Sylvan- Yes, and they carried me off the field, but it was a good school, it ingrained how to study and how to be disciplined and accept it and enjoy it and that was the best quality you could get from a school. Glenda- Well, I don't know that the hazing part was that way. They thought it was, at the timed the boys did, but... Sylvan- They didn't expect that to be considered, the disciplining that I am talking about is the one to one discipline, person to person, the respect that you had for the upperclassmen and for other people. Glenda - There was a lot of pride. Sylvan - Great pride. Glenda- But the hazing part was terrible. Some of the boys really were bruised. Sylvan- But it was a great school as far as, was outstanding as far as football and sports were concerned. Bill- '39 was a good year, wasn't it? Glenda- It was a good year. Are they still part of the Southwest? Bill- For two more years they will be. Sylvan- 'Til probation. Bill- They're on probation this year. But they're still the Southwest Conference as football and I think all sports will go on for two years, and after that several schools are going with the Big 12, the Big 8, excuse me, which will be the Big 12 now and some of them are going with the ...I forget, Rocky Mountain Conference or Pacific Coast. Glenda - And the stadium, as it is now, was not, I'm trying... Sylvan- It was extended twice. Bill- The old stadium is still there. It is all hidden underneath everything else. They've added onto it twice. Glenda - And they had an auditorium over that way too. Bill- The Down Natotorium. Glenda- Downs. Bill- It's still there but not used for competition. Glenda- Oh, I used to swim there. Bill- They built on the corner just down the street on the comer of what is called Wellborn Road now, not Highway 6 anymore. On the corner of Wellborn, I think that Joe Routt, they built a Cain Pool, and it's a Olympic Size pool and they've used it for the past twenty years I guess, but they're building a new building now across the street where the fields would have been across Wellborn Road which will house... I think it has a new pool in there which will be used for competition but it will be an indoor pool. The outdoor pool for competition is not very good. Glenda - They never had shopping malls, like you know we do today, we have so many malls, I guess out towards Nervosa, there's a whole center. There was nothing like that. Bill- Where did you do your shopping? Glenda- We went to Bryan mostly, for groceries and things now. There was a, when we first came here, a grocery store directly across the street. I can't remember the name. Bill- Charlie's. Glenda- Charles Opersteny, that was his name. Bill- Right, and he stayed there until about 5 years ago, I think Glenda- Yes, and that name just popped into my head. Bill- Charles Opersteny. Glenda - Another thing on the campus across from where the mess hall was Aggieland Inn. Bill- Yes. Glenda - That was the hotel, I guess, and it was a really a treat to be able to go down and have dinner in the dining room there. Once in a while, Mother would take me there or my dad would or on Sundays occasionally. Food was always so good, and I think students worked there as waiters. They worked their way through school. It sort of reminded me of eating on a dining car on a train, because the service was so beautiful and the tablecloths were so white. It was just a good memory, and it was a wonderful place to go. Bill- That building stayed until about the 1960's, I think And I think it was torn down in the 60's, as I recall. Glenda- Well, what about the old mess hall? Bill- Still there. Glenda- It is, and is it used? Bill- Sbisa Dining Hall. Glenda- Sbisa. Bill- It's still there. You would not recognize it in the way that they serve food. It's all cafeteria style type things. Sylvan- It was classic to how they used to serve as many people as they did in a very short time. They did a good job of it. Bill- They did an excellent job of it . Bill - It used to be they had a set menu, but now you can get pizza or you can get a regular cafeteria fare or you can get sandwiches or hamburgers or whatever. Glenda- Freshman had to eat square meals; remember that. Sylvan - If you went through any part of this as a freshman, you won't ever forget. Glenda- I ate in the mess hall once- I don't know why. I was with someone I can't even remember. That was fun. Bill- A lot of the traditions haven't changed. They've dropped some, added others, but they're still heavily steeped in tradition and the corps and the university as a whole. I mean it's even though the corps is the keeper of the spirit they claim. The other 39,000 are pretty deeply ingrained in Aggie traditions and spirits. Glenda- At the time, Dr. Walton, I think was the president of A &M College , T.O. Walton. Bill- Dr. Walton. Glenda - In fact, I think I still have a gift they gave me- a little silver powder scoop sort of thing - when I graduated from high school. That was a long time ago in 1946. Bill- Yes, the Waltons are well ingrained in the community. Glenda- Is Travis Bryan still living? Do you know? He was the president of Central National Bank. Bill- You talking about the older man? Glenda- Yes. Bill- I don't think the older man is I think his son is now president. Glenda - The reason I asked is that the other night I was looking through some papers, really looking for some pictures for you, and I came across a letter he had written to my father. I should have brought a copy of that letter, and he was thanking him for opening up an account in the bank and said how much he valued his business, how well- thought of he was in the community, and whatever Daddy could throw the way of the bank would be most appreciated. It was really a beautiful letter. Bill- I think Travis Sr. died. Travis Jr. is still here in the banking business. Glenda- Of course, we did not have the College Station Bank when we were growing up; well, I mean, they did later on but not when I was a child. Sylvan- University National. Glenda- University National Bank. Bill- Located right there on the corner. Sylvan - There was no bank there. When that started, Mr. Lauterstein was one of the initial stock holder investors. Bill- Oh he was? Glenda- Not initially, but he did become one. Sylvan - When it became open- when stock became open in the stock market. Bill- He bought stock in the first bank we had here. Sylvan- Yes. Glenda- He was a great supporter of College Station, and anything he could do to help the business, he would. Bill- Are there other things that you can think of that he might have done outside of his business? Glenda- I remember when we talk about investments, my mother saved dimes that would come into the store. Every time dimes were counted at the end of the day, she would put them into a little bank. They bought a little house that I think was being moved off of the college campus. I think they were just getting rid, and it was for sale. They bought it with those dimes and moved it beyond Northgate to a lot somewhere, and it was like a dollhouse. It was darling, and it was rented to students that were married and lived off campus. They always called it "the dime house ". Bill - That's quite interesting that she could save, and did save, enough money- just a dime at a time. Remember that Rollie- it all adds up. Glenda- But, of course, they did not cost as much then. Bill- Right. Glenda- But by comparison, it took longer to save. People worked pretty hard. Child- It's like putting a dollar in everytime now. Glenda- Well, that's about right. Sylvan- It wasn't at all easy because not to far from Bryan/College Station, there was a little community called Dime Box. Bill- That's right. Sylvan - Over on the other highway is New Dime Box. Glenda- Yes. Sylvan- People respected the dime at the time. Glenda- Oh, I remember one time when the March of Dimes was such a big thing, you know, a national fundraiser. They had a radio broadcast from Dime Box, Texas. And I think President Roosevelt started that because he had polio. Bill- He probably did. Glenda- It started because of the polio foundation. My memory gets a little hazy. It takes something like your good questions to trigger memories. Bill- Well, sometimes we have to talk about it to get through everything. Glenda - That's right. Bill- We. Our memories not. We save a whole lot in our minds, but it's hard to recall it sometimes. Glenda- My father used to say he could remember what happened to him as a boy, but he couldn't remember what he had for breakfast. Bill- That's the way a lot of us are. Sylvan- He was buried here in the cemetery. Glenda - In Bryan. Bill- In the Bryan cemetery? Glenda- Yes. Bill- And that's which- that's the one to the north of town? I don't know, there may not be but one cemetery in Bryan, I don't know. Bill- The big city cemetery? Glenda- Yes. Sylvan - The Jewish community took a section and had the ground hallowed and established a chain - linked fenced area that they kept separately. Glenda- We noticed today that they're going to run out of land, unfortunately, before too long; it's not a very large lot. Sylvan- That's what brings us back to College Station too. You visit the grave of your parents, and you have to take pride in how it looks and how it's kept- just as they did in their lifetime - and it should be kept the same way. Glenda- My grandparents are buried in Calvert. Bill- The College Station cemetery may not have even existed when you were here. I'm not sure. Glenda- I don't think it did. If it did, I didn't know it. Sylvan- It would have been out here. Bill- It's out on Texas Avenue now. Do you remember where Shiloh Hall was? Glenda- Sure. Bill- It's right next door to Shiloh Hall. Child- Fort Shiloh? Bill- Of course, Shiloh Hall is now Fort Shiloh, a restaurant. Glenda- Isn't that funny? Bill- It's still, though, basically the old building. Glenda - There's another club behind Shiloh Hall that I wasn't allowed to go to also, and I can't remember the name of it. What was it? It was like a nightclub. Bill- That one I'm not familiar with. Glenda- I think it was nearby. It was over the railroad track. Bill- Oh, STPSJ? Glenda- No. Bill- Not that one? Glenda- No. Bill- O.K., that one used to be over towards the Air Base. Sylvan- This was like Grode's. Glenda- I can't remember the name of it. Sylvan - Out beyond the creamery, maybe about 3,4, or 5 miles offto the right hand side. Bill- Franklin's. Glenda- Franklin's yes. Sylvan- Yes, Franklin's. Glenda- Franklin's. You must have been there. Bill- I haven't been there, but I know about it. Glenda- I could never go there. I told you I was only a child, and they wouldn't let me have a bicycle because they thought it was dangerous. I was a Girl Scout, and I never could ride to the meeting. One time, after the meeting was over, everybody left on their bicycles, and I had to walk home. I was so mad that I came home, and I really fussed at my parents that I had to be left out of the party and I didn't have any friends because I didn't have a bicycle. So, my daddy finally said, "O.K., I'll order you a bicycle. I have a friend that's in the hardware business and I'll write him tonight and see if we can get you one." And that night, they froze bicycles because it was during the war, and they needed the metal. You know, they wouldn't sell them to the public, and I never got the bicycle. I grew up in spite of it, you know, but that memory comes back too. Now that I think about it, the war brought a lot of changes after that time. Child- I remember my grandma would say she would get the gum wrappers and peel the foil off of them. Glenda- Yes, that's right. They did save things like that because all that was important to the war effort. Bill- A big ball of silver paper. Glenda- Have we covered all your question? Have we missed some of them? Bill- Oh, you've covered everything and more. I just want to be sure I haven't missed any of the things, but yawl have so many great experiences to share. We appreciate those. Sylvan - This is a second home. Bill- Well, it's become my first home now. We traveled around the world quite a bit after leaving here, but when I came back, we decided we were going to stay after we retired. Glenda - Where did you live in England? Bill- A little town called Lechtworth. Glenda- Near London? Bill- Yes, it's about 40 miles north of London. We were stationed at a base called Chicksand, which is a very small security service base which nobody has ever heard of But we live in Lechtworth. The last time we lived in 2 or 3 towns, but we ended up in Lechtworth. Glenda - Our daughter lived in London for 3 years. Her husband is with Citibank, and they lived in St. John's Wood, and so we'd go there to visit. She had little twins that were born there, so we loved it. Bill- Well, my middle daughter was born at South Reisler Hospital there in London, so she's always claimed that she was British. Child- My grandmother bought a can of London fog that really has a wrapper on it. Glenda- How cute. Child - And she won't let me open it, and I know there's nothing in it but air. Glenda- Sounds good, doesn't it? Bill- Are there any questions you might want to ask about what was going on in the early 40's when they lived here? Child- Was the traffic different? Glenda- Honey, there wasn't much traffic, you know. There weren't as many cars, and the students rode bicycles a lot like my husband said. Child- Still do. Glenda- yes, not too many motorcycles, that sort of thing. It certainly wasn't primitive, but each time in your own life, you think this is the most modern of times. Child - And I was going to say that pink building, that second store, looks like the I think it is the Casa Tomas now or something like that. Glenda- Well, darling, when I was little, there was a dentist up there, and to get up there, you had to go up a stairway in between. Bill- Is that...that was an outside stairway. Glenda - That's right. Is that still there? Bill- yes. Glenda- No kidding? I hated going up there. It wasn't a painless dentist, but I did go there. Bill- Were the streets paved at the time? Glenda- I think so. It wasn't that far back. Bill- Wasn't that far back. Glenda- I was a librarian until I retired, and I ran into a former library aide one time and he said, "Oh, Mrs. Alters, I remember you from a long, long time ago." And I said, "That's one long too many!" It wasn't that long! Bill- A long time ago is all right. Glenda - Right. Bill- Well, we certainly do thank you for sharing thins with us. Glenda- It's been a pleasure. Bill- And like I said, if you can think of other things, you can add it onto the transcript when we send it to you, or if you find other mementos you want to share with the committee. Glenda- Pll do that. Bill- They would certainly love to have it. Glenda- I think probably I have a scrapbook somewhere. I'll look again. Maybe there are some things in the scrapbook that we can send. Sylvan- Can you get a copy of the history that was in the showcase we saw? Bill- yes, I'll ask them to send you a copy of that. Glenda- Yes, I would really like to have it. Bill- And also, if we have any extra copies of the videotape, I'll ask them to send you that too. Glenda - Great. Bill- We do want to share some things with you for making that effort to come and share your things with us. Glenda- Well, it' a pleasure. Sylvan- Can I add a couple of things? Bill- Surely. Sylvan- Pm a lawyer, and I've been practicing since 1940, well actually 1950, and have been aquatinted with, and on many occasions visited with, John Lawrence here in the city. John was State Bar President of Bryan a number of years back , and I believe he passed on. I don't remember if it was from an illness or what. Bill- I don't remember. Sylvan- His father had an interest with a director of the bank, one of the banks downtown, uh maybe it was First National or I might be mistaken. At any rate, you generally would gravitate towards the people who do the same kind of thing you do, and I became friends with John. I used to rely on being able to call him up and ask him to do something for me regarding some of the properties he had at that time. It would be something I might take care of if I was here by myself, but I could always call John. His family was here a long time in College Station and Bryan. Bill- This was John Lawrence? Sylvan- John Lawrence. Bill- Good, well, we'll pick this up from conversation because I have a list in here of people that we're planning to interview, and we've been trying as we talk to other people to add whomever they may know, because you or somebody will think of one person, and somebody else will think of somebody. Glenda- Sure. Sylvan- John had exceeded the usual run with me because he had gone to the top. As far as being a lawyer in the state of Texas, to be President of the Bar Association statewide is quite something Bill- O.K, well, we'll want to pick up and follow if he's still alive- follow him or some of his ancestors. Glenda - I'm sure you know Bill Lancaster. Bill- Oh, yes, Bill's on our committee. Glenda- Well, Bill and I were in school together. When I came back to the reunion, I think the Sunday morning breakfast was at is home. That's the same home he grew up in where he had classes and learned how to dance there. His mother was always so warm and opened her heart to many things. Bill- You've mentioned being a lawyer too. There is supposed to have been a release form we had here, and I'm sure they will include that release form to you. Like I said, we had other people sign it when they were being interviewed, but they didn't send me one. I'll ask them to send you one. Sylvan- So they don't publish something Glenda- We want royalties, huh? Sylvan- Something we might think would be embarrassing or otherwise infringing upon your privacy. Bill- Right. Glenda- It sounds so well organized. Yawl have just done a wonderful job. Bill- Well, Gracie has done a excellent job getting everything organized and the committee that works with her. Actually, they're very enthusiastic about it. Glenda- Oh, I can tell you. Do you think there will be any more meetings like yawl had before, that I wasn't able to come to? Bill- Probably not like that. Actually what, now I don't know which committee, the one, the first orientation thing. Glenda- It was a month or two ago. Bill- All it was just breaking up and talking like we're talking right now. Glenda- I see. Bill- We just had interview sessions. Glenda- Well, there was a little program that they sent me in the mail that was really nice. Bill- Yes, they did that, and we had some people there come and talk about what the history society, what the history group was about, what we were trying to do, and these kinds of things. Basically, like we've been talking this morning. I hope I've given you most of those things. Glenda- You're a good interviewer. Bill- In time, I'll get you the book and the film That should pretty well give you everything they saw. Glenda- Yes, we'd love to have that. Bill- Good, we'll get that to you. Glenda - Thank you so much. Bill- We certainly thank you. Glenda- It has been nice to meet you. I hope you have a good year at your new school.