SIGRIST:

This is Paul Sigrist for the National Park Service. Today is Thursday, September 16, 1993. I'm at the Ellis Island Recording Studio using the portable DAT equipment, and I'm here with Bridget Joyce. Mrs. Joyce came from Ireland in 1921 when she was twenty-one. Anyway, good morning.

JOYCE:

Good morning.

SIGRIST:

Can we begin by you giving me your birth date?

JOYCE:

April the 24th.

SIGRIST:

And what year?

JOYCE:

Oh, I guess it was 1921, I guess, I don't know.

SIGRIST:

1900.

JOYCE:

Oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

You were born in 1900.

JOYCE:

Yes, I was. I get mixed up sometimes.

SIGRIST:

Okay. Where were you born, in Ireland?

JOYCE:

The island, Carraroe.

SIGRIST:

Can you spell that for me?

JOYCE:

Carraroe is C-A-R-R-A-R-O-E. Carraroe Island.

SIGRIST:

And where in Ireland is that?

JOYCE:

Connemara[ph].

SIGRIST:

What part of Ireland?

JOYCE:

It's western Ireland.

SIGRIST:

Did you say County Mayo?

JOYCE:

No, no, County Galway.

SIGRIST:

County Galway.

JOYCE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

Can you tell me a little bit about what the town looked like that you were born in?

JOYCE:

Well, it was, like, the seashore there, you know? A long, country place.

SIGRIST:

Was it a resort town, by the water?

JOYCE:

Yes, pretty close to the water. I lived pretty close to the water, yes.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe what the town looked like?

JOYCE:

Well, it's just living people, you know. They have, some had a farm, some didn't have a farm, some did work, some couldn't work, you know.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe what your house looked like?

JOYCE:

Oh, it's a little house with a flat roof, you know?

SIGRIST:

How many rooms?

JOYCE:

I guess we had four, three, I think, three-and-a-half. Three in it upstairs. We had the upstairs, too.

SIGRIST:

How did you heat your house?

JOYCE:

Ah, we painted it, and we made a fire, a coal fire.

SIGRIST:

Did you have a fireplace or a stove?

JOYCE:

We had a fireplace, and we had gas, too. We had, um, we could have a, heat in the stove, too, you know. Yeah. That's how we heated it.

SIGRIST:

Did you have animals?

JOYCE:

Yeah, we had animals. The cows, we had cattle, we had horses, we had pigs, and all that.

SIGRIST:

So it was like a little farm.

JOYCE:

It's a little farm.

SIGRIST:

Was your father a farmer?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, we just lived there, and that was our living, you know, living and raising horses, and raising cows, you know, just, they had the milk every year, you know. They could have a cow all the time, gives milk, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you have to milk the cows when you were a kid?

JOYCE:

Yeah, I milked it, I think, once or twice. Not too often. ( she laughs ) No, not too often.

SIGRIST:

What was your father's name?

JOYCE:

Coleman.

SIGRIST:

Coleman?

JOYCE:

Yep.

SIGRIST:

That was his first name.

JOYCE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

And then what was your maiden name?

JOYCE:

My maiden name, before.

SIGRIST:

Before you were married, what was your last name?

JOYCE:

Flaherty.

SIGRIST:

Can you spell that, please?

JOYCE:

F-L-A-H-E-R-T-Y.

SIGRIST:

So your father's name was Coleman Flaherty.

JOYCE:

Flaherty, yes.

SIGRIST:

Tell me what your father's personality was like.

JOYCE:

Oh, he was a hard worker, always making you work, a hard worker. That's all.

SIGRIST:

What did he look like?

JOYCE:

Oh, he, not, uh, a good, healthy man so far till he got sick, you know? Well, I wasn't there when he did get, that was before, after I come out here, he died.

SIGRIST:

He died after you came to America.

JOYCE:

Yeah. Yeah, he did.

SIGRIST:

Do you know a lot about your father's family and his background?

JOYCE:

Yes, I do.

SIGRIST:

What do you know about your father's background?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, they were like, uh, people that lived on the country, on the farm, and raised their children, their families, and that's all I know, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you know your father's parents?

JOYCE:

Well, yes, I did, you know. My grandfather, yes, on my father's side. Like, they died with us, stayed with us and died there.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember about your grandfather? What sticks out in your mind?

JOYCE:

Oh, I remember when he, when he was at our house, then he got sick and he died, and he was buried from there.

SIGRIST:

How old were you when he died?

JOYCE:

Oh, I was just a little kid. I couldn't tell you how old I was. I was just a small child. But I remember that.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember about when your grandfather died?

JOYCE:

I remember when he died, and he was laid out. I remember all that.

SIGRIST:

Was he laid out in the house?

JOYCE:

In the house, yes. In the house.

SIGRIST:

And there was no grandmother, just the grandfather.

JOYCE:

No, the grandmother on that side wasn't living at the time. She was dead. But I had a grandmother on my mother's side.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh. Do you remember her?

JOYCE:

I do. She, she came and lived with us in her later years, too.

SIGRIST:

And what, when you think about your grandmother on your mother's side, what comes to your mind?

JOYCE:

What comes to mind, you know, I remember when she was there, and she was company for us and all that, you know? And she didn't do any work any more, you know, she was getting old, but she was a good person.

SIGRIST:

Did she ever cook something for you that you liked?

JOYCE:

No. I think my mother did most of the cooking and all that, you know.

SIGRIST:

What do people eat in Ireland?

JOYCE:

Oh, we ate, uh, everybody eats mostly like they do here, the same thing, the meat and potatoes and all that, you know, kill the cow, or kill the pig, or lamb or something, you know, and you got meat.

SIGRIST:

Would they kill the animals right on the farm, or were they taken away?

JOYCE:

They take it home, they kill them right there. Did it all right there.

SIGRIST:

If your mother wanted to cook something special, say, maybe at Christmas or Easter, what was a special dish that she would make?

JOYCE:

Well, you'd have ham, or chicken, or we'd kill a sheep or a pig, you know? Or that, for them holidays, you know.

SIGRIST:

What was your mother's name?

JOYCE:

Same name I have.

SIGRIST:

Bridget.

JOYCE:

Yeah. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

What was her maiden name? What was her name before she . . .

JOYCE:

Same thing, but not, we weren't related.

SIGRIST:

Flaherty?

JOYCE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

That was her maiden name, but no relation.

JOYCE:

Yes, Flaherty, yes.

SIGRIST:

Well, that's interesting.

JOYCE:

Yes, that's right.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember about your mother's family, her background?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, I remember them well enough, you know, that I know, all about them. In fact, in fact, there isn't too many of them left. Now they're gone, I guess.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe for me what your mother's personality was like.

JOYCE:

She was good, my mother was good. She was a nice person. Always worrying about everybody, you know.

SIGRIST:

What were some of the things that she had to do around the house?

JOYCE:

Oh, she used to like to work in the garden, you know, with cattle and all you've got to work on there, you know? You've got to help with everything. Milk the cows, and all that, you know? Feed the chickens, feed the lambs, you know?

SIGRIST:

You have a garden, you said?

JOYCE:

Oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

What would you grow in your garden?

JOYCE:

Potatoes, cabbage, turnips and all that stuff, everything. We got . . .

SIGRIST:

So you pretty much were self-sufficient.

JOYCE:

Yes, we were, yes, yes.

SIGRIST:

Do you know how your parents met?

JOYCE:

Oh, I don't, it's so long ago, but they all lived in the same neighborhood, you know. There are people, you know. That's all I know.

SIGRIST:

Did your mother or father ever tell you anything about when you were born?

JOYCE:

Well, there was nothing to tell, but I was there and how old I was and all that, you know.

SIGRIST:

Nothing about the birth.

JOYCE:

No, no.

SIGRIST:

When you were born, or anything like that?

JOYCE:

No, no.

SIGRIST:

Were you the only child, or were there others?

JOYCE:

No, I have other, there was six sisters and two, brothers, uh, six sisters.

SIGRIST:

Can you name them all?

JOYCE:

Two brothers. Yes, I can name them all. They're one, one of them died, and there's, I guess, two or, two other girls, one of them living. My two brothers are dead.

SIGRIST:

When you were, when you were living in Ireland, name your brothers and sisters who were living in the house with you.

JOYCE:

Well, who was living there then when I lived? I had my sister Ann, and Sarah, and, uh, (?), when I was there. And my two brothers was there.

SIGRIST:

You had a sister Mary?

JOYCE:

Yes, yes. Yeah, she never left Ireland. She still, she died back there, yeah.

SIGRIST:

So it's a big household. You have a grandfather, you have a grandmother there.

JOYCE:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

You have kids.

JOYCE:

Yes, kids, yeah. My mother took her mother when she got old, and my grandmother died, and then, on my mother's side. Then she had to take her mother home with her, you know, take care of her.

SIGRIST:

Did you kids have to go to school?

JOYCE:

Oh, yes, we went to school.

SIGRIST:

How did you go to school?

JOYCE:

We walked, walked.

SIGRIST:

Where was the school in town?

JOYCE:

It was on Carraroe, not far away, but we walked there. It was a good walk, but we walked there every morning.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe what the building looked like, what the school building . . .

JOYCE:

Oh, it was a big, tall brick building. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What kinds of subjects did you learn in school?

JOYCE:

Usually the same thing they do here. You have to learn how to write and read and all that, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you learn Gaelic in school?

JOYCE:

I knew my Gaelic before that. They didn't teach it back then.

SIGRIST:

Who taught you Gaelic?

JOYCE:

I learned from my parents.

SIGRIST:

They spoke it in the house?

JOYCE:

Some, yeah. Some Irish, some English, you know? Yeah. Oh, I did, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Tell me, since this town is so close to the water, to the sea, what kinds of things did you do? Did you go boating, or swimming?

JOYCE:

Yes, you could go boating if you want to, whatever you want. We never had much time. We all had to work.

SIGRIST:

What kinds of chores did you have to do in the house?

JOYCE:

Oh, I had to go to the well and get the water, different things, you know? Wash dishes and all dried up, and all that.

SIGRIST:

How did they do laundry in Ireland?

JOYCE:

Take it up to the lake and wash it, you know. But, they used to, they have every, all the convenience now, you know.

SIGRIST:

It's different now.

JOYCE:

Yeah, it's different now, yes. Yes.

SIGRIST:

Tell me, what religion were you?

JOYCE:

Catholic.

SIGRIST:

Was there a church in town?

JOYCE:

Oh, yes.

SIGRIST:

Tell me a little bit about going to church when you were a girl.

JOYCE:

Well, we made sure that we went to church every Sunday, all together, you know, and back. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How long would you be in church on Sunday?

JOYCE:

It takes over an hour for the mass. It takes over an hour.

SIGRIST:

Now what about at home. How did you practice your religion at home?

JOYCE:

You had to read books, and you learned that in school, too, you know? You learned your religion in school. And then you're born with that, you know? You can't, uh, lose it, you know? You're born with the religion. You have to have it.

SIGRIST:

Did you ever say prayers in Gaelic?

JOYCE:

Oh, yes, I did.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember any prayers in Gaelic?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, a few. Not that many.

SIGRIST:

Could you say one for us on tape?

JOYCE:

( she laughs ) I'm losing it any more, really. ( voice off mike ) Huh? ( voice off mike )

SIGRIST:

The voice that you're hearing is Mrs. Joyce's . . . daughter?

JOYCE:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Can you say something for us in Gaelic? Anything?

JOYCE:

Oh, yeah. (Gaelic) You know what that is. ( voice off mike ) ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

Can you bless yourself . . .

JOYCE:

(Gaelic)

SIGRIST:

Thank you, thank you. Well, tell me, why did you want to come to America?

JOYCE:

Well, I used to write to my aunt here. And . . .

SIGRIST:

Whose sister was she, your mother's sister?

JOYCE:

My father's sister.

SIGRIST:

What was she doing in America?

JOYCE:

She was living there with her husband and one son, and she always wanted a girl also. I was the one to volunteer to come out here. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

What did you know about America?

JOYCE:

I thought, well, I didn't know much about it, but I come back to find out, you know?

SIGRIST:

So you were just kind of curious.

JOYCE:

Yeah, that's right. I wondered what it was all about, you know.

SIGRIST:

Your aunt, was she working, or was she just . . .

JOYCE:

No, she was a house, she was a housekeeper. Her husband worked.

SIGRIST:

And where did she live?

JOYCE:

She lived down the block, you know, in Pittsburgh.

SIGRIST:

In Pittsburgh. She had gone, is there a lot of, were there a lot of Irish people in Pittsburgh?

JOYCE:

Oh, yeah, there were. There still is. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

One thing I want to ask you before I forget is tell me how World War One affected your family in Ireland.

JOYCE:

World War One?

SIGRIST:

The first World War, which happened prior to your coming to America. Did it affect your family at all?

JOYCE:

No. My, uh, we didn't take, no, we didn't, uh, associated that way with trouble very much, you know.

SIGRIST:

Nothing?

JOYCE:

The only thing, the Black and Tans went through some of England, you know. They were shooting people. That's all I know when I come out here.

SIGRIST:

Oh. Tell me what you remember about them.

JOYCE:

Because I had to leave, uh, a week ahead of time, just so I could stay in a hotel in Queenstown to get away from the Black and Tans, we'd stayed, before we went on the boat, you know?

SIGRIST:

Do you remember seeing fighting?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, I never saw it, but I saw them on the road as we passed along, you know. We were told to watch out, not to, uh, and be careful, on the road.

SIGRIST:

Was that a scary time for people living in Ireland?

JOYCE:

Well, some places, but it wasn't around where we were. It was pretty quiet back then.

SIGRIST:

In other places it was . . .

JOYCE:

Yeah, in other places, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did your mother and father want you to go to America?

JOYCE:

Well, I didn't want to go myself when I had to go, but in the last minute I had to go because I had my money paid for the trip and all.

SIGRIST:

Did your aunt pay for your trip?

JOYCE:

My mother told me to go, and if I didn't like it to come back. That's what she told me the day I left. I'll never forget that. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What, what time of the year did you leave in 1921?

JOYCE:

Oh, I was there in the springtime.

SIGRIST:

And what did you pack when you left?

JOYCE:

I packed my clothes, a few pieces of clothes, you know, a change of clothes, and, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember, did you have a suitcase?

JOYCE:

I had just an old suitcase, yes.

SIGRIST:

And who gave you the suitcase?

JOYCE:

Well, when we, at home. Some carry a little bag, we had those little bags, you know. We got them to put my things in, you know?

SIGRIST:

And you had to go to Queenstown?

JOYCE:

I had to go to Dublin, and I had to go to Queenstown and stay a week in Queenstown.

SIGRIST:

Did you go by train to Dublin?

JOYCE:

Yes. I did it all by myself. My mother went to Galway with me, and then I went, she put me on the train. I went on the train to Dublin. I went from there to Queenstown the next day, and I was two weeks in Queenstown because the Black and Tans was pretty bad, and people wasn't leaving. And, uh, then we had to wait for the boat to come in. The little boat came in. First you have to go on that and get examined. They examine you, like, physical examination, you know? Then I, you had to go, when you get through with that and get okayed, you go on the big boat.

SIGRIST:

What was the name of the big boat?

JOYCE:

I think it was, uh, I think it's the Cunard Line. I'm not sure, really. It's so long ago. You know, the boat I was on coming here, it left the bay down here, you know, I should be on that leaving, but the boat ahead of us had sickness on, and they kept us three days in New York, on a boat, an old boat. We didn't have nothing to eat but stale bread and everything else. The fellow used to come on every day with a basket of sandwiches, and we used to buy a sandwich from them for ourselves. You know, the people that was kept on the boat. They didn't want to, uh, the other boat had to go back, you know? But they kept us on this old boat. So I wrote, we wrote home. Two other girls and I, we wrote back to our parents, because, back to Pittsburgh, and tell them that we were on this boat, and we didn't know what they were going to do with us, because the other boat ahead was on quarantine because they had some kind of a sickness. But our, we were all right, we were fine. So then finally the third day they took us in here.

SIGRIST:

To Ellis Island.

JOYCE:

And all I knew here that I went to the window, a couple of windows, and signed papers, that's all. And these two friends from Pittsburgh came in. I had two girls with me. Their sisters came in here when we were ready to leave Ellis Island. Then we took the train to Pittsburgh that night. It took all night. We got to Pittsburgh the next day.

SIGRIST:

Before we get to Pittsburgh I want to ask you what do you remember about the boat trip coming over, being on the ocean?

JOYCE:

It was all right, you know. There was a lot of sick people on there, you know? It was fine.

SIGRIST:

Where did you sleep on the boat?

JOYCE:

I slept in the bed, I call it the bunk bed.

SIGRIST:

Let me just fix this. ( referring to the microphone ) There you go. Um . . .

JOYCE:

Those two bunks on the boat, you know, one bottom, one top. I was told take the top one all the time, you know. ( she laughs ) I was told that by somebody.

SIGRIST:

That's right, that's right.

JOYCE:

So I took the top one, you know.

SIGRIST:

Now, was there somebody sharing this . . .

JOYCE:

There was somebody underneath, you know, too. But, uh, you know, that boat had rough weather coming out here, very bad weather. We had to put the safe, safeguards on ourselves.

SIGRIST:

The life preservers.

JOYCE:

Yeah, because they were afraid, the storm. We had gone through a storm coming out here, you know.

SIGRIST:

Do you know how long the boat ride took?

JOYCE:

I think it took, uh, two or three days, I believe, and anyway I had to get stranded in New York, three days on that old boat, on an old boat. They were not, no food there or nothing any good, you know? Really, it was awful! They should not treat us like that, you know. But we didn't know any better. We didn't know how to raise Cain, you know, you don't know. You've never left home. But, uh, then they, well, I wrote to my aunt and told her about it because, well, then she didn't come. She was old, you know? But these two girls come to get their sisters, and they came in here as we were signing the papers to leave, to leave for Pittsburgh.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember, when you were on Ellis Island, do you remember what you were wearing?

JOYCE:

Oh, I was wearing a dress, and a, and a coat. I was dressed up. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember what Ellis Island looked like?

JOYCE:

Well, it wasn't much then. It was small. It wasn't like this now. It was a small place. I don't, really. I went in and there were two or three windows, to sign papers.

SIGRIST:

Were there lots of people here, or . . .

JOYCE:

And you had to have landing money. You had to have landing money, or they wouldn't let you out, because they didn't want you to be sponging on somebody else when you got here. You had to be able to pay your own, for your own, till you get a job, you know? So, anyways . . .

SIGRIST:

Did you eat while you were at Ellis Island?

JOYCE:

No. No, we did, we, on the train going to Pittsburgh, I got sick. I ate ice cream, and I got sick on it. When I went to (?) I was sick that morning. Yeah, I was sick that morning. She took everything out from me. She knew the other boat had sickness on, and she was worried were we carrying some disease or something with me. She made me take every stitch I had on off and throw it away, my papers and everything, you know? And she put an old housecoat on me, made me go up to the second floor where the living room was. I remember it well. Sunday morning, it was. And the people got in from church, and they were waiting to see, see the old lady coming in from Ireland.

SIGRIST:

See the immigrant come in.

JOYCE:

Waiting to see me, you know? And I was so sick because I ate the ice cream on the train. And what they give me up there but a dish of ice cream. ( she laughs ) And all the ice cream I had on the train, you know?

SIGRIST:

How did you get along with your aunt?

JOYCE:

Oh, she was fine with the whole thing. She was fine. Pretty good.

SIGRIST:

How long did you live with her?

JOYCE:

Well, I went to work, see?

SIGRIST:

What job did you get?

JOYCE:

Well, I went out doing the house, I was working, you know.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember the first family you worked for?

JOYCE:

I worked in Sewickley for the summer, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Doing what? What were your duties?

JOYCE:

They're not there any more. I was helping the cook, doing second cooking. They had a butler there, and there was enough help there they had their own dining room, and the family had their own dining room. There was only a lady and her brother and sister there. That's who lived in the place. And, uh, they, uh, the other dining was for the help. I did that. I helped to cook, you know, and all that.

SIGRIST:

Did you have to wear a uniform?

JOYCE:

Oh, yes, I did. Yes, I had to wear a certain dress, an apron, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you see anything in America that you had never seen before?

JOYCE:

( she pauses ) Well, I don't think I, I could see things, that I don't know why it would (?) now really. I know when I sit on that boat that time, it was an awful thing to do, with, on that boat and keep it, I'm telling you.

SIGRIST:

Did you miss your mother and father?

JOYCE:

Yes, I really did, yes. Everybody gets homesick when they leave home, you know?

SIGRIST:

Did you write back and forth to them?

JOYCE:

Oh, yes, I always write back and forth.

SIGRIST:

Did you send them money?

JOYCE:

I don't think they need much money, because they had their own. They had their farm, and they had their own money. I didn't have to, you know, they had their own money.

SIGRIST:

Did any of your brothers and sisters come to America?

JOYCE:

My, uh, two sisters did, three sisters came here. Yeah. There's two here, now there's one pretty sick, and the other one is, has her own home still, you know.

SIGRIST:

And did they get domestic work like you got?

JOYCE:

Yeah, they did. They went out working, yeah. They worked for different places, you know. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

How did you, um, uh, how did, did you go to school when you got to America, because you were a young woman at this point.

JOYCE:

No. I went to work and I learned, I learned.

SIGRIST:

Did anyone ever make fun of you because you were an immigrant?

JOYCE:

No, nobody, no. They did not. They were glad to have me, you know, really. Then he saw I could work and do things for them. I think all the girls came, they were good workers. You know, they did their job.

SIGRIST:

Did you ever regret coming to America?

JOYCE:

Well, uh, no. I didn't. I made a couple of trips back myself since then, but my mother was gone, my father was gone, so I only have nieces and nephews back there now.

SIGRIST:

When did you get married?

JOYCE:

Oh, God, when did I get married? I got married a long time ago. ( she laughs )

SIGRIST:

Well, was it, was it soon after you came to America?

JOYCE:

I was in and out of (?), sure. ( voice off mike ) That's when I met my husband.

SIGRIST:

In 1925, your daughter says.

JOYCE:

Yes, my husband.

SIGRIST:

What was your husband's name?

JOYCE:

John.

SIGRIST:

And, um, John Joyce?

JOYCE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

And, uh, name your children for me.

JOYCE:

There was Mary, (?), my children, and there's Jack. I have three boys and two girls.

SIGRIST:

Did you live in Pittsburgh with your boys?

JOYCE:

Yes, I'm living in Pittsburgh all the time, yes. Yes.

SIGRIST:

So are you happy that you came to America?

JOYCE:

Well, I don't know whether I am or not, you know, really. At the time, I don't know. I was lonesome at first when I came here, you know?

SIGRIST:

It was hard work, too.

JOYCE:

It was. I had to work hard, yes. I had to work hard.

SIGRIST:

Did you ever go back to Ireland?

JOYCE:

Oh, yeah, I did.

SIGRIST:

When was the first time you went back?

JOYCE:

Oh, I forget. It was a long time ago.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember how you felt when you got to Ireland?

JOYCE:

Well, I saw everybody, that same old thing, you know? They're all working, working and keeping the farm and all that same thing, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did it look the same to you, or did it look different?

JOYCE:

About the same, I guess, about the same.

SIGRIST:

Of course, in a lot of ways, Ireland isn't that much different from America, so.

JOYCE:

That's right. A few places, you know, don't have the, well, they have everything back there now, all the convenience back there now, you know, really.

SIGRIST:

Sure.

JOYCE:

They do, all the convenience. ( voice off mike )

SIGRIST:

Uh, Mrs. Joyce's daughter is referring to there not being indoor plumbing in the house in Ireland in 1963. Mrs. Joyce, I want to thank you very much for taking a few minutes out and . . .

JOYCE:

You're welcome.

SIGRIST:

And coming up here and telling. I'm very interested in your story about being kept on the boat. I've heard this, actually, quite a bit.

JOYCE:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

It's not such an unusual situation.

JOYCE:

It was terrible for them to do that, really. You know, if I knew enough, I'd have been, well, you know, you don't know, and you're glad to get out of there. But I didn't know, you know, anything about it, but they should be punished for that.

SIGRIST:

Well, it was a long time ago at this point.

JOYCE:

Yeah, a long time ago is right. We couldn't sleep on the boat because it was filthy. You know, and then the fella came in with sandwiches, every day a basket. We bought sandwiches, a sandwich, from him. That's what we ate.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. Well, anyway, thank you.

JOYCE:

You're welcome.

SIGRIST:

This is Paul Sigrist signing off with Bridget Joyce on September 16, 1993, using the portable DAT machine at the Ellis Island Immigration Recording Studio. Thank you.

JOYCE:

You're welcome.