SIGRIST:

Good afternoon. This is Paul Sigrist for the National Park Service. Today is Tuesday, October 19th, 1993. I am in Elmhurst, Queens, New York with Elizabeth Scott. Mrs. Scott came from Ireland in 1915. She arrived May 7th of 1915. She was twenty-two at that time. And we are in her home. Present also is her son, John Scott. Kevin Daley is running the equipment. Anyway, thank you very much for letting me come out.

SCOTT:

(she laughs) You're welcome.

SIGRIST:

Mrs. Scott, can we begin by you giving me your birth date?

SCOTT:

Twenty, the 20th of June, is it 1892?

J. SCOTT:

1892.

SIGRIST:

1892. June 20th, 1892. And...

SCOTT:

In Eng-, London, Aldershot, England.

SIGRIST:

Ah, you were born in England.

SCOTT:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

What was the name of the town again?

SCOTT:

Aldershot.

SIGRIST:

Can you spell that, please?

SCOTT:

Well, I don't know if I spell it the same as it's on the certificate. I haven't got it handy now. Alder-, A-L-D-E-R-S-H-O-T.

SIGRIST:

Whereabouts in England is that?

SCOTT:

Oh, gee, I never thought of (unintelligible)

J. SCOTT:

She don't remember that.

SCOTT:

I don't, I don't remember it. It's another, it's a town outside, you know, London. It's a, what do you call it, a military town.

SIGRIST:

And how, how long did you stay in England before you went back to Ireland.

SCOTT:

Oh, that I don't know because we were babies, you see.

SIGRIST:

So you were, you were just a child.

SCOTT:

Small.

SIGRIST:

You were just born in England.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What is you maiden name?

SCOTT:

Elizabeth Coyle.

SIGRIST:

Can you spell Coyle, please?

SCOTT:

C-O-Y-L-E.

SIGRIST:

And tell me a little bit about why your family was in England.

SCOTT:

My father was in the army. That's why.

SIGRIST:

What was your dad's name?

SCOTT:

William Coyle, John William Coyle.

SIGRIST:

John William Coyle.

SCOTT:

Coyle.

SIGRIST:

And can you tell me a little bit about what your dad's personality was like?

SCOTT:

Well, he was a very reserved man. Very, very reserved and particular and strict. (unintelligible)

SIGRIST:

Can you tell me something that sticks out in your mind about him being strict? Is there a story that...

SCOTT:

(she laughs) Oh, there's lots of stories because they, he used to, my mother used to think I was wild, but I wasn't wild. At least I didn't think so. And one time my mother was, she had to go to the hospital, because I guess it was having children, right and know, and we didn't know nothing about that kind of thing in them days. And I was the eldest girl. Of course, the eldest girl had to take care of the house. And we always had tea, our tea of a Sunday evening around five o'clock. We don't eat the same as we do here, you see. So we were, we had our dinner. And we were going to have our tea. And my father always lay down on a Sunday afternoon. And he, he was laying down. And there was me and Josie and Dollie and Jennie and Jimmy. In fact there was twelve of us. But anyhow, I was supposed to get the tea ready, which I did. I got it ready, but I thought I'd be back before my dad would wake up. And so I got everything ready and set the table for the tea, and went out to see my girlfriend. And he was sleeping. But when he got up, he asked my sister where was I. She said, "Oh, she's gone out." Naturally, a sister would say. So he said, "Where?" And I, she said, "Oh, she went out to meet Annie Morris." That was my girlfriend. So I wasn't back by the time he got up, you see. So that was all I needed. He wanted to where and where was she. He knew her, too. Well, anyhow, he waited till I got home, and he met at the front door. We had a big, big house. And he, he came to the door. He didn't let my sisters open the door for me. And he said, "Where were you, young lady?" I just said, "I went to meet Annie." "Ain't you supposed to be here getting the tea ready?" Well, I tell you, he gave me a beating. I didn't get out for a week.

SIGRIST:

So he was the disciplinarian in the family?

SCOTT:

Just that, anything like that. But in the house he wouldn't allow you. You complain to him about your mother doing this or doing that to you, "That's your mother's job, not mine. I'm supporting you's [sic]."

SIGRIST:

Kind of true Victorian father.

SCOTT:

Oh, oh, he was terrible strict. And when we go out I, you know how girl-, well, you know how kids are, when I was about that age. We weren't fussy about carrying a package or whatever it was. Had to be wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. He wouldn't talk to you if he seen you on the street with a newspaper in your hand. Oh, he was terrible strict.

SIGRIST:

Tell me about some of his other customs and habits in the house. You said he took a nap every Sunday. What were some of the other...

SCOTT:

Sunday. Well, because he off on Sunday. But he wasn't home during the week at all. See, he worked on the railroad then in them days that I remember. He was a chef, my father. And he worked on the mail train from Dublin to Galway. So that he was gone early in the morning, came home late at night when the train, mail train got in. And as a rule I used to have to go meet him because if he had any packages I had to carry them. So, but we didn't see him much, you know. We all had to be in bed. Girls, the younger ones had to be in bed by the time he came home. No children had to be up.

SIGRIST:

So there were very...

SCOTT:

(microphone disturbance) Oh.

SIGRIST:

...regimented rules in this house.

SCOTT:

Oh, he was regimented.

SIGRIST:

Were there any rules concerning dinnertime?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Tell, tell me, tell me what a dinner procedure was like.

SCOTT:

Dinner, dinner was always in the middle of the day there. Two o'clock. Always two o'clock. (she clears her throat) And my second eldest brother and me, we caught typhoid fever one time. And in them days we had Queen Victoria Nurses. And we, Queen Victoria Nurses came around to the house and took care of you. Nobody else was allowed to take care of you, because when the doctor got to know it, of course, he notified them. And she came, my brother was put in hospital and I was kept at home. And, of course, they used to shave your head and everything then. And they didn't give you no meat or anything. You wouldn't eat no meat. (she clears her throat) So, of course, it turned me from meat. I never eat meat after that. I always have, he was a kind of a vet-, veterinarian, my father. And I never eat meat. So when I got to the table, and everybody had to sit at that table, and no one dare touch their dinner until he came and sat down. I would say, and, but I, I always had a kind of a, do something wrong. Anyhow, and he turned, he turned on me. Make you get up and go away. You couldn't come back then until everything was over.

SIGRIST:

Is there a memory that you have of your dad when you were a little girl of something really wonderful that he did for you?

SCOTT:

Well, he was always good to us and that, but I mean, and when we go, sometimes we used to have to go see him in, in the barracks. And my mother used to have to dress us up in your best clothes to see him. And then, of course, you know how a father was, he used to show us off. (unintelligible) He, we used to go, we all, my mother always had us dressed beautiful.

SIGRIST:

Describe, describe an outfit that you remember from being a child.

SCOTT:

Oh, my. I well remember one anyhow. (she laughs) My mother made them. It was a beige coat with a big shawl collar on it with three laps like. Beige trimmed with red. And they were what we wore when she sent us to see him. That was the only thing I can remember, but he was always very proud of us, and that. But he was terrible strict. And when he came home, table had to set for him with a linen, white linen table cloth. He wouldn't eat otherwise. We always had to have a white linen table cloth on the table for him.

SIGRIST:

Can you tell me a little bit about his background and what his family was like?

SCOTT:

You're asking me something? I just got a letter the other week here. I'm waiting to answer it now. My nephew is trying to write up a family tree. And, of course, Mother said and our father, and he wants to know the names to what, had my father any relatives. I don't remember.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember grandparents on your father's side?

SCOTT:

No, I never seen, we never seen grandpar-, in Ireland you don't see them like they do here, you see. When anyone would come, ring the bell at home, in there, you were put back in the kitchen. "Don't you," the mother or the eldest son had to come to the door. That was the only one.

SIGRIST:

So as far as, you know very little about your father's background?

SCOTT:

I don't know anything about it.

SIGRIST:

And he never talked about it?

SCOTT:

I never even knew my father was Irish. John will tell you that. Until I got a letter here some time ago, wasn't it you? From, read it, read it from Dolly, my sister Dolly told me. No, I thought my father was French.

J. SCOTT:

Welsh.

SCOTT:

Welsh. And here he's born in Dublin, same place as I was married in. Born up in, oh, what's the name of the hospital? Up in the Phoenix Park. He used to tell us about that hospital. There was something about it, there was something peculiar about it, and he used to tell us about it, but I, he never mentioned that he was born there. So I don't know only what she told me.

SIGRIST:

So would you say your father is a sort of larger than life kind of character? I mean, he's a big personality...

SCOTT:

Oh, no. He was nothing like that. He was thin like me. (she laughs) Tall and thin.

SIGRIST:

But his personality is...

SCOTT:

Oh.

SIGRIST:

...is very strong...

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. Very. Very.

SIGRIST:

I have to ask you a question because I know I'll forget if I hold off later. You mentioned Queen Victoria. And, of course, you're an older child by the time you...

SCOTT:

Oh, I remember her myself.

SIGRIST:

Tell me what you remember about Victoria.

SCOTT:

Well, I don't, I didn't see her, you know. But in the room where I was laying with the typhoid fever...

SIGRIST:

How old were you when you had typhoid?

SCOTT:

Oh, I forget how old I was, well, I was old enough to notice my family going back and forth during the heart of their dinner. And they said, they'd stick their head in the door and make fun of me because I couldn't eat anything, and, of course, no one could come near the room. They wouldn't let no one near the room. But my father, my mother had a picture over the mantlepiece. We had fireplaces in them, and it was Queen Victoria. And I remember her so well, seeing her with the bonnet and the beautiful clothes and everything. And then the nurses was dressed like that when they came. But they came every day until you were well, and...

SIGRIST:

Was typhoid a problem at that time?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. It was very, very dangerous.

SIGRIST:

Can you tell me a little bit about what it like to have typhoid? What were the symptoms and how you were treated?

SCOTT:

I can't even remember that. But I do remember being laying in bed and watching this picture all the time. And he had another picture there. And it said, "Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connaught," and I used to say that all the time. Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connaught. That was the four...

J. SCOTT:

Four provinces.

SCOTT:

Four provinces of Ireland. And sure I should have known, well, I, we were never allowed to go into our family's business. Never. You were never allowed to go into your, my mother's side I know a little bit. She used to take us to see them about twice a year. That was all.

SIGRIST:

Good. Let's talk about you mom. What was her name?

SCOTT:

Her name was Elizabeth Waters.

SIGRIST:

And can you spell Waters, please?

SCOTT:

W-A-T-E-R-S.

SIGRIST:

And let's begin by you telling me what her personality was like.

SCOTT:

Well, Mother was very, she was very nice and quiet. Of course, she was strict in her own way, you know.

SIGRIST:

Well, how, how would she be strict, you say, in her way?

SCOTT:

Well, I mean, you couldn't do just as you want. You had to do what you were told by her. If she didn't think it was right for you to go out, you didn't go out. If she said, "Don't you answer that door," you don't answer that door. You didn't go to the door.

SIGRIST:

What were some of the things that your mother taught you growing up, maybe sort of social customs and rules?

SCOTT:

Oh, well, that, we had plenty of that. We always had a piano. And she had us all taught the piano. And then when we had our, when we had our friend, girlfriends come over Sunday, only on a Sunday you had your friends, after dinner you could have your girlfriends come. You could have them come but you couldn't go to their's. And we used to have them come and, and we each one of us played the piano, and we'd be singing and Mother always made cakes and pies and had them ready for us, and then we'd have a cup of tea, and all that. Very sociable...

SIGRIST:

What, what about some of the rules maybe about behavior. Like how you're supposed to sit, or how you're supposed to walk...

SCOTT:

Oh, that.

SIGRIST:

What were some of those rules that she taught you...

SCOTT:

You couldn't put your elbows on the table. That's one thing. And you always had to use your knife and fork. Always. No such thing as using the fork like we do here. (she laughs) None of that. And then, of course, you, when you drank your tea you had to have, always have a saucer. Always. You never drink without, I would, I still don't drink with a mug. But you had your spoon, your saucer and you drank. And then you always had your napkin. Oh, always had a napkin.

SIGRIST:

What about, did your mother teach you any sort of household arts...

SCOTT:

Oh.

SIGRIST:

...like embroidery or something along those lines?

SCOTT:

She taught you how to sew and how to scrub.

SIGRIST:

Scrump [sic]?

SCOTT:

And how.

SIGRIST:

S-C-R-U-M-P

SCOTT:

S-C-R-U-B.

SIGRIST:

Oh, scrub.

SCOTT:

Scrub!

SIGRIST:

Scrub.

SCOTT:

Scrub the floor on your knees. And I still do it. I don't believe in a mop. Of course, I can't do it as good as I used to do it now. I mean, I can't get on my knees as good. But that's the way it was.

SIGRIST:

So your mother is really in the position of teaching the children?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes, Mother, yes. Well, yes. They didn't go to work. Mothers didn't go to work. They always stayed home.

SIGRIST:

You have Dad as this kind of authority figure, but you've got Mom who really, teaching the kids how to be proper...

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah, she taught, she taught us how to sew, make our own clothes, how to wash and iron.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember the first piece of clothing that you made yourself?

SCOTT:

Oh, oh, well it was home here I made, but it wasn't, it wasn't in Ireland.

SIGRIST:

Oh, okay.

SCOTT:

It was always here I made, to make all his until he got too old for me. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

She's, for people listening to the tape she's referring to her son John also in the room. Tell me a little bit about her background. You said you know a little bit about her family.

SCOTT:

Well, I know she had two sisters. I, I'm only trying to think of them lately here since he's been, I've been waiting to finish the letter to send him. She had two sisters, but we only seen them once or twice a year. She'd take us down when she had time. And you were dressed up to take, go see your Aunt Ann and your Aunt Mary, but that was all. And then she had one sister that we used to see all the time. Ellie. Aunt Ellen. And she had epileptic...

SIGRIST:

Seizures?

SCOTT:

And, of course, we, we seen her one because we used to be watching her. My mother used to be watching because when she'd go out she could have one. And we used, she used to be notified so many times where they found her on the ground where she'd fallen, you know, and that.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember an instance where that actually happened where you were there?

SCOTT:

I remember once, and that was all where she fell in the fire.

SIGRIST:

In the fireplace, or...

SCOTT:

Well, there were small fireplace, something like that. And she fell and burned all around here (she gestures) and they took her to the union. That was what they used to call the city hospital there, the union. And she was in there for a long time. We didn't see her much after that because, Mother used to go see her, but she wouldn't allow us. She was all marked, her arm was always, was cut always like that, you know, from where it healed. (she gestures)

SIGRIST:

That's an awful thing to happen.

SCOTT:

Well, that's the way it was in them days, you know, it was different (unintelligible)

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

You weren't rushed to hospital like you are here.

SIGRIST:

Do you know how your parents met?

SCOTT:

No, I have no idea. I only heard lately here that my father and mother were married in Dublin. Never even knew that.

SIGRIST:

Do you know what year they were married?

SCOTT:

No idea. Well, I have that letter there. It's...

J. SCOTT:

He don't know, he don't know that.

SCOTT:

Huh?

J. SCOTT:

He don't know that.

SCOTT:

No, I have the letter what gives the year.

SIGRIST:

Well, we can check on it later. Let me ask you this question. What is the earliest memory that you have? When you think back, what's the earliest memory that you have?

SCOTT:

I remember the Dublin Exhibition in 1907. That was the first exhibition. And my mother had a brother James that always, always came up and down to her. He was always, well, he even lived here with me. And he came and he took her to see this Dublin Exhibition. And we had a maid at that time to take care of us, there were so much of us. And anyhow, I, she thought I was a little bit on the wild side, but I wasn't. I used to want to get out, you know. But anyhow I was home, I remember that. And what happened to her? She, oh, she went, he took her on something, and tore all her arm on a, I guess it was the boat ride or something, that you come down that slide. And that's all I remember about her.

SIGRIST:

How old were you?

SCOTT:

Well I was about ten then.

SIGRIST:

Ten.

SCOTT:

About ten. I remember it, you know. Just that I remember, what, and nothing else after. Then I remember outside getting moved, when we'd move around, you know, to the different places. My mother, I was always out and she'd always say, "Oh, my God." You know, I was always cut somewhere. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Do you remember getting hurt once...

SCOTT:

Oh.

SIGRIST:

...and how, and how it was treated medically?

SCOTT:

Oh, no, I don't remember that. As I said, the only thing I remember was the typhoid fever.

SIGRIST:

The typhoid. When you were a small girl, what did your family do for entertainment?

SCOTT:

Oh, well, you had your home, and you had your piano there. You played the piano and you sang together. Always on a Sunday afternoon we always had a sing song. Always...

SIGRIST:

Do you remember some of those songs?

SCOTT:

Oh, gee, please, no, I can't remember that. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Did your, did your family speak Gaelic or were they speaking...

SCOTT:

No.

SIGRIST:

...English?

SCOTT:

No. The only time we spoke Gaelic, she, they, I spoke a little bit but my father wouldn't' allow us to learn it. He was very much against it. And we were living in Galway. And we went to this presentation convent. And the nuns down there taught all Gaelic to the children. But my father warned us we were not to be learning it. We were not to learn it. He did not want that. And, of course, I was stubborn and I don't, I learned a little bit of the prayers. That was all. But now they all speak Ire-, I couldn't remember a word of it.

SIGRIST:

Why didn't your father want to speak Gaelic?

SCOTT:

I have no idea why he didn't want us. He was a little bit on the uppish side, you know. Very, very uppish he was.

SIGRIST:

Can you say something in Gaelic for us?

SCOTT:

(she laughs) Oh, I couldn't remember...

SIGRIST:

Something, a few words?

SCOTT:

Oh, I couldn't remember a word of it. (she laughs) (she prays in Gaelic) That's all.

SIGRIST:

"In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost?"

J. SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

Yeah. (she speaks some more Gaelic) (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Kevin, do you want to fix the microphone on Mrs., we're going to pause just for a moment so Kevin can readjust a microphone.

SCOTT:

Oh. (break in tape)

SIGRIST:

Okay, we're going to resume now. We've got the microphones all in place. While we were paused, it was brought up that your father belonged to a certain organization.

SCOTT:

The Royal Irish Fusiliers.

SIGRIST:

Fusiliers?

SCOTT:

Yeah...

SIGRIST:

Can you spell that?

SCOTT:

...that now.

SIGRIST:

Fusiliers.

SCOTT:

How would spell that?

SIGRIST:

No? Well, anyway, tell me what that was?

SCOTT:

That was the Irish army. He belonged to the Irish army. The Royal Irish Fusiliers.

SIGRIST:

I see.

J. SCOTT:

Excuse me, she's got it a little bit mixed up. What it really is, that my, my grandfather belonged to an Irish regiment in the British army called the Royal Irish Fusiliers. They went to through Boer War and all that kind of things [sic], so...

SIGRIST:

I see. Did your father like to talk about his experiences in the past, or not at all?

SCOTT:

They never speak in front of their children. They didn't in them days, of course. Now they do.

SIGRIST:

What about when your, did you have bro-, there are twelve of you, right? And you were the oldest. What about the...

SCOTT:

I was the oldest girl, not the oldest boy.

SIGRIST:

How, how much older was the oldest boy?

SCOTT:

Oh, my God, Johnny was, there Johnny, and there was Billy and Jimmy, and Dick, and then there was another one before them. And there was me, Josie, Dolly, Jenny and Nelly.

SIGRIST:

Were big families common in Ireland?

SCOTT:

Oh, oh yes. Always. Always. And you weren't out playing like they do here, you know. Just certain times you were allowed out.

SIGRIST:

Did your mother, when she was pregnant with, with some of the children after you...

SCOTT:

Oh, that you never even knew.

SIGRIST:

Well, how did they hide it? I mean, how could you...

SCOTT:

You never knew anything about that. I remember the, I think it was Dick, when he was going to be born I never even knew she was pregnant. But I remember going out of the house. And I said, "My mother was here last night," to my father when he got home. Oh, he said in the morning when he got up, he said, "Come on, you get up now and get things going," he said. "Wash up these dishes. Don't leave nothing. You daren't leave no dishes around the place." So anyhow I said to, "Where's my mother?" "Oh, she wasn't feeling well. She's, she's gone to the hospital." That's all you knew. No nothing. We had a, she had a midwife. I remember her. And she came down to the house. And I said to her, "Where's my mother?" And she said, "Your mother is in the hospital. She's all right." That's all we knew, until your mother came home with that child.

SIGRIST:

How did they explain the child to you?

SCOTT:

They don't explain it to you.

SIGRIST:

Didn't you wonder where this child came from?

SCOTT:

No. You daren't ask. You daren't ask.

SIGRIST:

You simply accept it.

SCOTT:

You accepted it. You have a new brother, you have a new sister. That was it. Oh, they were terrible strict then. Well, it was the same in Ellis Island. Look at the way they examined you then, not like now.

SIGRIST:

Sure, well, we've got a long way to go before we get to Ellis Island. (he laughs)

SCOTT:

Oh, gee.

SIGRIST:

Let me ask about church life. What religion were you?

SCOTT:

Catholic.

SIGRIST:

Catholics.

SCOTT:

Father was, my father was nothing in a way. But my mother lived, to keep peace in the house, she got us up early always and over to church before he'd get up, so there'd be no fighting. We all had to get up and go before ever he'd get up.

SIGRIST:

Do you have any stories that you remember about going to church or about church in general?

SCOTT:

Well, no, I haven't got, no, not very many. We, there was a church right opposite where we were.

SIGRIST:

What was the name of it?

SCOTT:

Saint Ignatius.

SIGRIST:

And...

SCOTT:

Saint, no, what was the name, now, that very, your father used to live in it. (unintelligible) Oh, very high class church. The priest only wore tall, silk hats and, beautiful. My husband used to hang out with a couple of the priests. And, Saint Xavier's.

SIGRIST:

Saint Xavier's.

SCOTT:

Saint Xavier's. That was it.

SIGRIST:

Did anything unusual every happen while you were attending church one time?

SCOTT:

No.

SIGRIST:

No?

SCOTT:

Not that I can remember.

SIGRIST:

How did you practice your religion at home?

SCOTT:

Well, your mother taught you.

SIGRIST:

What kinds of things...

SCOTT:

We went to Catholic...

SIGRIST:

...would you do?

SCOTT:

We went to Catholic school. You learned...

SIGRIST:

Oh, you went to a Catholic school, too.

SCOTT:

Oh, always. Well, the sun wasn't shining, we went to Catholic school. When the sun was up, Mother'd say, "Come on girls, you have to go to the other," some other school while he's like that. And we went. But then back to the Catholic school again.

SIGRIST:

Now did nuns...

SCOTT:

She had a hard life that way. Very hard.

SIGRIST:

Did nuns teach you...

SCOTT:

Oh, yes.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember about attending school?

SCOTT:

(she laughs) The last one I remember, I won't forget it. I was writing on the slate, and this teacher I had, she was a Miss Kelly. Oh, she was terrible. And she would, I don't what she wanted, but I was kind of big then, you know, I wasn't young anymore. I mean, I was, I guess I was in seventh or eighth grade or something. Well, we hadn't seventh or eighth grade. We had fifth grade was I think our highest. But anyhow she was nasty, and she said something to me, and I got mad, and I, I let the slate go. So, and then I run after school. It was a long drive up the (unintelligible) home to my mother. So, of course, as soon as I got home my mother said, "What are you home for?" And I told her. "Get your clothes off. Get, scrub that floor." So I was scrubbing the kitchen floor when the doorbell rang. My mother went up and answered it. We had big houses, you know. My mother said, yeah, so she said, "Did your daughter, Lily, come home?" Lily they used to call me. My mother said, "Yes." Well, she said, "She wouldn't have come only there was something wrong." "So what was it?" So she said, "She threw the slate at me." "Well," she said, "she must have threw it for some reason." But I didn't go back, I know that. And I don't think I ever went back after that.

SIGRIST:

What kinds of things did they teach you in school?

SCOTT:

Well, we taught the Catholic religion, and we taught the same as they taught here, just the same, only you daren't answer back. And you had to be dressed just so, and your nails clean, and your hair tied back. No loose hairs. And your shoes shined.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe the school for me, what it looked like?

SCOTT:

Oh, God, I forget it now. My golly, it's too long ago. I can't remember all that. (she laughs) Too long, you know. A hundred and one years is too long.

SIGRIST:

I'd like to talk about holidays and how you celebrated certain holidays.

SCOTT:

The only one we, well, the only one we celebrated was Saint Patrick's.

SIGRIST:

What did you do on Saint Patrick's Day when you were a kid?

SCOTT:

Well, you just went out and seen the parade. That was all. It was a small parade. There was nothing else. There was nothing else to do.

SIGRIST:

What about Christmas? How did you celebrate Christmas?

SCOTT:

Oh, Christmas, you stayed home. Everyone stayed home. No one went out Christmas. Everybody stayed in their own home. Your cousins or your aunts, your aunts or uncles come to see you, but that was all. But you never went out. Every, all the family stayed home.

SIGRIST:

Would a special dinner be served...

SCOTT:

Oh, yes.

SIGRIST:

Can you describe what Christmas consisted of?

SCOTT:

It wasn't turkey. It was ham or roast beef. Two pieces, a salt meat and a fresh meat. And pie. My mother made all kinds of pies and things like that. Oh, we always had a big dinner on Sunday, on a Christmas. And then you decorated the house, but you made your own decorations.

SIGRIST:

What kinds of decorations would you make?

SCOTT:

Papers. Papers. (she laughs) With colored paper we'd make it, chains, and go across from one corner to the other.

SIGRIST:

It's going to be, it'll be picked up. Yeah, you made paper.

SCOTT:

Yeah. And that's...

SIGRIST:

Did you give presents?

SCOTT:

Oh, no, nothing like that. Oh, no. You'd be waiting for your uncle to come to give you a penny. My golly...

SIGRIST:

What about New Year's? How did you celebrate New Year's?

SCOTT:

Same way. Same way.

SIGRIST:

Is there a New Year's, a certain year that sticks out in your mind because something interesting happened that New Year's Eve, or...

SCOTT:

No, we never had anything special like that. You stayed in your own home. Never went out, only to visit at aunt or an uncle. We had a few uncles, of course, and the aunts. But we always stayed home. Because you had no money to go out and buy things. The first present I got was from my husband that I can remember, when he came down to the house and brought me a pair of gloves.

SIGRIST:

You, you say that you moved around a lot when you were children...

SCOTT:

Yeah, well, with the army...

SIGRIST:

...because of the army?

SCOTT:

Yeah, because of the army. You see, like, now his son is in the Coast Guard, see, they're moving around all the time.

SIGRIST:

Again, she refers to her son, John.

SCOTT:

And that was the way it was then, too.

SIGRIST:

Can you, can you tell me some of the different places that you moved around to?

SCOTT:

I can't remem-, the only places that I told you was Galway, and a place in England called Wokingham. But I wasn't old enough then to go out around like that. And I had a another bro-, I had a brother, the youngest, Jimmy. He was a little bit wild. And we were out one, him and I went out one day, and we were looking for things, you know, we went, we found a prison in London. And we went in there. They're called Mrs. Mabrick's Prison. And she was in the, the cell. Of course, kids, you know, they thought that, but that's all I can remember.

SIGRIST:

Was there one place that you stayed the longest in?

SCOTT:

Well, Dublin was the longest.

SIGRIST:

And did you stay in the same house?

SCOTT:

Yes, in the same house...

SIGRIST:

Can you describe that house for me?

SCOTT:

Oh, gee. Well, it was a big house here like, like we have the brownstone houses. It was a house like that.

SIGRIST:

It was in town?

SCOTT:

Yes. Well, a little bit out of town, but not much.

SIGRIST:

Was it attached? Were there other houses attached...

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. Big houses beside us. It was three floors. The area, first floor and the drawing room. Called the drawing room. You don't, that what they called them over there. That's, that's the house I was married from. END OF SIDE ONE, TAPE ONE BEGINNING OF SIDE TWO, TAPE ONE

SIGRIST:

What, did each room have a specific function in the house?

SCOTT:

Well, each room had a fireplace.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. But did each room have a specific function? For instance, did you only do...

SCOTT:

Oh, you, we had the...

SIGRIST:

...certain things in the parlor and certain in the drawing room...

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah, we had the kitchen, which was down in the area they called it.

SIGRIST:

Describe what the kitchen for me.

SCOTT:

Down underneath.

SIGRIST:

Close your eyes and describe the kitchen.

SCOTT:

Oh, gee. (she laughs) I can remember that kitchen. We had a big, big, long, white wooden table that had to be scrubbed every day. And then the chairs had to scrubbed every day. And the stove had to be cleaned every day and the hearth stone had to be cleaned every day with Bath brick.

SIGRIST:

So is there, is there a fireplace and a stove in the kitchen?

SCOTT:

There's a fire, there's a, no, there's the stove that you cook on. It's a big close range stove, see, and it had, the hot water's on the side of it. And you cook on that. And then there's the scullery off of that where you do your washing, with a big, big stone boiler in it, where you do your washing.

SIGRIST:

Did you have piping in the house to bring water in, or did you have to go get water...

SCOTT:

Oh, it came in some way through the house. What way I wouldn't know. I guess it was already there when we, when we rented the house.

SIGRIST:

So the, the kitchen's in the bottom.

SCOTT:

Big, big kitchen.

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

Yeah. Then there was the parlor upstairs.

SIGRIST:

And what would happen in the parlor?

SCOTT:

Parlor would be where the piano was and the fur-, and the furniture like this (she gestures to the furniture in the room), only leather, of course. And mirrors and things like that. But that was locked up. Only went there on Sunday. And there was the drawing room upstairs, which mostly was bedrooms or both of that.

SIGRIST:

And how was the house lit?

SCOTT:

Oh, with gas. Gaslight.

SIGRIST:

Can you, can you tell me about, what you remember about gaslight and...

SCOTT:

Oh, you know, them little, what did they call them, mantles. You used to call it, there were little mantles, you had to put new mantles in every day or something. That's all I can remember. That's all. We had no electric.

SIGRIST:

Was gaslight dangerous?

SCOTT:

Not in the, no, there was, mantle you had there, that, white, it was white. That I remember. You were always getting new ones. No, we had no electric.

SIGRIST:

But you did have running water in the house?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes, sure, yeah. That was, see, we were in the city. We were never in the country.

SIGRIST:

Now what about bathrooms? Did you have bathrooms in the house?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah. We had a bathroom downstairs. Down by the area.

SIGRIST:

Was there a certain day of the week that was bath day?

SCOTT:

Oh, Saturday night. (she laughs) Saturday night was always bath, bath night.

SIGRIST:

Can you tell me what the procedure for bathing was?

SCOTT:

Well, we had the bathtub same as we have here, and all that.

SIGRIST:

So it wasn't that much different?

SCOTT:

No. It's no, and you had your, you had to see that all your clothes were clean for Sunday morning, ready to go to church.

SIGRIST:

Now, did your mother have like a hired person to help in the house, or did she do everything herself?

SCOTT:

No. Just herself and us to help her. The girls...

SIGRIST:

Tell me how...

SCOTT:

The girls always had to help.

SIGRIST:

Tell me how she did laundry.

SCOTT:

Huh?

SIGRIST:

How did she do laundry?

SCOTT:

Oh, we done the washing in the scullery. And then on, on, well, certain, we had two, certain days for washing. On, on Wednesday you done the white wash, and on Thursday you done the colored wash. You separated the clothes always, and on Friday you done the ironing. Each one had their own, like, my sister and I, each of us had so much to do. My father made them rules. You got to do so much and she's got to do so much. The same way on Sunday. Each one had to stay home on Sunday. Now, next Sunday would be my Sunday, and the following would be her Sunday. And, of course, there used to more fighting over that.

SIGRIST:

So every Sunday someone would be released from the house?

SCOTT:

Yeah. That was able to work, you know, not able to, the younger ones, of course, they didn't do it. Only us.

SIGRIST:

Tell me how you did the ironing, because that must have been different.

SCOTT:

Same as over here, only not electric, of course. We had the irons that stood on top of the stove with the handle on them. And you had them there all the time. You had about six and they were always hot. And you done your ironing.

SIGRIST:

Did you own certain clothes that couldn't be washed? Certain fabrics that couldn't be washed?

SCOTT:

No, no, no. Everything was washed. Everything. Except the colored, the dark, what do you call, tweed. That, of course, you didn't wash. I don't know how they cleaned them. I can't even remember that.

SIGRIST:

Are there certain pieces of furniture in the house that you remember very well?

SCOTT:

Oh, well, you have your living room. As I call, as we called it, parlor there.

SIGRIST:

Yeah. Is there one piece of furniture that sticks out in your mind as something that you remember?

SCOTT:

Oh, we had the couch and we had the chairs. The mirror over the fireplace. We always had, there was always fireplaces in them.

SIGRIST:

And is that how the house was heated, or did you have central heating also?

SCOTT:

That's how the house was heated. No other way.

SIGRIST:

The fireplaces. Who, where did you get the wood from?

SCOTT:

It was coal. Coal.

SIGRIST:

And how was the coal delivered?

SCOTT:

Coal man used to come once a month or so and deliver it, a ton of coal down the area. And then you brought it up to the parlor in coal buckets, in scuttles they called them. Scuttles. And then you had always had a full scuttle standing by the sink, by the stove.

SIGRIST:

What about in the, was there a back yard to this house?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah. Sure. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What was in the back yard?

SCOTT:

Just the flowers and that and my brothers...

SIGRIST:

Who grew the flowers?

SCOTT:

...brothers used to grow a few plants and things. My eldest brother.

SIGRIST:

He was growing the flowers, too, or...

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What kind of flowers did he grow, do you remember?

SCOTT:

Oh, same as here. Lovely flowers.

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

Oh, lots of lovely flowers you had. And especially during the summer, geraniums and I forget the name of some of them. Now I can't remember them.

SIGRIST:

What about, did you keep any animals, pets, any...

SCOTT:

A dog always. Always a dog.

SIGRIST:

Is there a, a certain dog that you...

SCOTT:

Oh, no. Any old dog that came in was kept. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Who, who had a softer heart for animals, your mother or your father?

SCOTT:

Brothers. My brothers.

SIGRIST:

Your brothers.

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah. Always. Always had a dog. We had a dog here always, too. Until lately he got rid of it (referring to her son John).

SIGRIST:

Yeah. So you always had a dog. Well, that's interesting.

SCOTT:

Always.

SIGRIST:

Tell me a little bit about, you gave me the names of your brothers and sisters.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Did, and you said your father didn't really have any family...

SCOTT:

I don't remember any family at all. Now my sister that he told you about, she seemed to know more because they were all there after me. See, I was the first one to leave.

SIGRIST:

To come here?

SCOTT:

Yeah. See, so my, my mother never opened up, and then the, I guess after my father died my mother might have opened up and told them things, you see, so that I didn't hear anything.

SIGRIST:

When you were growing up in Ireland, what did you know about America?

SCOTT:

I didn't know anything about it until he asked me to come.

SIGRIST:

Your husband you mean?

SCOTT:

Yes. He asked my mother and my father.

SIGRIST:

How old were you when you met your husband for the first time?

SCOTT:

I was only twenty-one.

SIGRIST:

When you met him?

SCOTT:

Yes. He came to the house. I met him in the house, in our own house.

SIGRIST:

How, how, how did he come to the house? I mean, why was he coming to the house?

SCOTT:

Well, your parents then, in them days in Ire-, in Dublin, of a Sunday your uncles and aunts probably would come in to see you. And, of course, they always had to have stout in the house. And a, and a bit of cake. Well, of course, there was always a cake. So your mother always on a Saturday made sure that she ordered the stout from the sal-, here they say saloon. There we called it the public house. And no women went into a public house. No women of any kind. So anyhow my mother said to me this day, when I was going up to the station to meet my father, she said to me, "Now, on your way home, stop in to Donahue's [PH], and pick up the package." And that was all you knew. You didn't know what was in that package. So I went in, and he was there waiting. Now, he was the foreman, my husband. And he was waiting on me. So, see, my mother knew him. I didn't. And she asked him down to our house for Christmas, because in Ireland a grocer has to serve his time to be a grocer. I forget how many years it was. It was five or seven years it was. And they live in the house, they live in the saloon. They don't go home. But they generally come from the country. So my mother asked him down for Christmas dinner because they don't have any family, you see. And he came down, and from then on, and that's how he met me.

SIGRIST:

What did you think when you saw him?

SCOTT:

Oh, well, I didn't even think he was thinking of me or looking at me. (she laughs) Never even thought of it. But anyhow my mother asked him to stay that night because it was kind of late, because the dinner was a little bit late and it was a bit late for him to go back to get into the house. So he stayed, and in the morning Mother said to the, before he went to bed Mother said, "Oh, I'll have you up in time in the morning, Mr. Scott." So he said, "Oh, I'll wake up." So anyhow when my mother got up she said to me, "Go up and knock on the door," she said, "where that Mr. Scott is sleeping." And I went up and I knocked but I got no answer. So I said, well, I came down, I said, "There's no answer. He must be gone, Mother." "All right, you stay there then. I'll go." I wasn't let up anymore. So when she went up I guess she opened the door and he was gone already, see. And that was how I met him. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Were there other boyfriends before him that you...

SCOTT:

No, I never bothered.

SIGRIST:

Nothing?

SCOTT:

No, I never bothered. I always wanted a certain kind. That was what I...(she laughs)

SIGRIST:

The perfect man.

SCOTT:

I always wanted one that carried a walking stick and kid gloves. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

That's very Victorian in its own way, too.

SCOTT:

I'm, well, I was always that way myself. I always wore, carried an umbrella and wore kid gloves and walked down the street.

SIGRIST:

You know, before we get too far along, there is something else I wanted to ask you and I forgot. When you were growing up in Ireland and when you were a young woman in Ireland, do you remember the death of someone in the family?

SCOTT:

Do what?

SIGRIST:

Do you remember the death of someone in the family?

SCOTT:

Oh.

SIGRIST:

Did somebody die...

SCOTT:

Well, the only one I can remember that I seen die was my sister, Nelly.

SIGRIST:

How, was she...

SCOTT:

Oh, she was only eight or nine months old. That's the only one I ever seen.

SIGRIST:

And what did die of?

SCOTT:

I don't know. You never were told that.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember about the wake or the funeral whatever there was...

SCOTT:

We don't have wakes. We didn't have wakes. Because a baby is buried right from the house by the family. They're taken up in a carriage. They don't have a funeral for them, now they do here. But they didn't over there. And I remember the mor-, that mor-, the next morn, six o'clock, going to the, my father and my mother going in the carriage and taking the coffin up in to, to Glassinevan [PH] Cemetery. That's where my father is buried, and she's buried there, too.

SIGRIST:

What is the name...

SCOTT:

Glassinevan [PH].

SIGRIST:

Glassinevan [PH]?

SCOTT:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

Glassinevan [PH].

SCOTT:

In Dublin.

SIGRIST:

In Dublin.

SCOTT:

Oh, it's one of biggest cemeteries there.

SIGRIST:

All right. I didn't mean that to be a digression, but I wanted to ask you that before we got too far along. All right, so why did your husband-to-be want to come to America?

SCOTT:

I haven't any idea. But, of course, being the eldest girl it was always kind of squabbling going on with sisters and brothers. It was, you know, when there's a big family there's always squabbling going on. And, of course, I was a little bit on the, I was getting all the housework to do, which was hard on your knees scrubbing and cleaning all the time on the floor.

SIGRIST:

You had to scrub. What were some of the other chores that you had to do in the house?

SCOTT:

Well, you had to pol-, polish furniture, and you had to wax floors. Clean, clean windows. You had to clean windows every week. No such thing as leaving your windows go over a week. And you had to do the washing, help and do with the washing and the ironing, and your mother watched everything you done.

SIGRIST:

Of course, it's a big family. So there's a lot of laundry.

SCOTT:

It is. Yes. But the parents were different then. Different to what they are now. Lord, I wouldn't settle for what I see the kids doing now. I wouldn't stand for it. Now he's an only child. He never got away with that.

SIGRIST:

Again, she refers to her son, John. Let me ask you, so you knew nothing about America, you had no relatives who were in America...

SCOTT:

Nothing whatso-, I had an aunt.

SIGRIST:

You did?

SCOTT:

I had a cousin here.

SIGRIST:

Yeah? What did you know about that cousin?

SCOTT:

Well, I remember my mother talking about her brother, Richard, that she never knew, she never seen him. But she knew he came to America. So anyhow, I had a cousin, too, that taught me in school in Dublin in the Catholic school. And then a law came out that the teachers all had to go through some kind of examination to be a perfect teacher, and she lost out because she wasn't. So she was idle, and she finally got a job in France. And my father was a little bit, knew a lot, that's how I imagined he was French. He knew a bit about France. And he taught her a lot of French and different things. And she, she got a job in France. And by golly, when she got to France after a while she got to America. She got to find out about this uncle here. And she got in with him. And then she came. And her and I was pretty close, so she wrote to me and she wrote to him, of course. And that was how we got to America. And he asked me would I come to America. And I said sure. I was a madman, oh, my sisters and brothers wouldn't go anywhere.

SIGRIST:

Did, did she tell you anything about America? I mean, did she explain what she...

SCOTT:

No. She said it was great, and that she was working, and that everything was fine, and she said my, my uncle and aunt and his wife was ver-, no the wife was dead. But the aunt, but the uncle was alive. So anyhow, I said toward him, and, of course, we could come to them and then we get on our own...

SIGRIST:

Was she...

SCOTT:

...which we did.

SIGRIST:

She was in New York?

SCOTT:

Yes, she came to New York. And then I, we came, we came out to my cousin. But I didn't, we didn't stay there long, in Union Hill, New Jersey. We didn't stay there long. And then as soon as he, he got here he got a job.

SIGRIST:

You, you mentioned your father a couple of minutes ago and you said he was a chef.

SCOTT:

Chef, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Who did the cooking in the household?

SCOTT:

Mother.

SIGRIST:

Your mother did.

SCOTT:

Father done nothing.

SIGRIST:

Never.

SCOTT:

Oh, no.

SIGRIST:

Not even on a special occasion?

SCOTT:

No. He wouldn't let a woman near the kitchen. No woman could go near the kitchen where he worked.

SIGRIST:

But, but he never cooked at home?

SCOTT:

No. Never.

SIGRIST:

What...

SCOTT:

My mother cooked...

SIGRIST:

What kinds of foods did your mother cook?

SCOTT:

Beautiful food.

SIGRIST:

What do you remember? What was your favorite growing up?

SCOTT:

Roast lamb, green peas, mash potatoes and parsley, and, and mint sauce. That I love. Pies. She always made pies. On Sunday we always had two kinds of meat, salt and fresh. And pies of all kind she'd bake.

SIGRIST:

Was there something that your mother made that you didn't like?

SCOTT:

No. No, because it was all plain food. Plain, good food. I don't eat everything here, either. I'm fussy.

SIGRIST:

Were, were the children, especially the girls, expected to partake in the preparation of food?

SCOTT:

No. Only the eldest one.

SIGRIST:

You?

SCOTT:

Then the next one helped.

SIGRIST:

So did you help your mother in the kitchen...

SCOTT:

Oh, I had to do it, whether I wanted to do it or not.

SIGRIST:

What did you enjoy cooking? Was there something you...

SCOTT:

I didn't do any of the cooking. I just shifted the dishes and washed them and set the table and see that everybody was sitting down before one started. One couldn't start before the other.

SIGRIST:

Was your father critical of your mother's cooking?

SCOTT:

No. Never. There was no bossing around at all like that.

SIGRIST:

I mean, he, he was certainly critical of...

SCOTT:

He was cruel.

SIGRIST:

...everything else. (he laughs)

SCOTT:

Picking about it being set up and all like that. And then about who sat at the table when we'd sit down to the ta-, we all had to sit down together for Sunday. Always. The whole family had to sit together.

SIGRIST:

What was a typical Irish breakfast?

SCOTT:

Bacon and eggs and sausages. White pudding, black pudding.

SIGRIST:

What, what is white pudding and what is black pudding?

SCOTT:

Well, we have it here. When we, when I can get it. It's a big sausage like, like a bologna here only narrow. And it's black and it's white. It's, it's lovely. You'd love it. We do have it sometimes. I belong to the Irish club in, in Woodside, you know. I started it in Dublin, in, in New York in 1926. And we get it down there sometimes. They bring, some of the girls brings it in that's coming back and forth, you know.

SIGRIST:

So a typical Irish breakfast is a, is a lot of meat, isn't it?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. Always. My uncles all worked, they were bakers. And they worked at night. So when they come home in the morning Mother used to give them always a steak. Steak and onions. Then they went, they'd walk around a while, then they'd go to bed.

SIGRIST:

What about bread?

SCOTT:

Oh, the bread.

SIGRIST:

Did your mother make her bread or did, did the uncles always bring that?

SCOTT:

No. We bought the bread. We always bought the bread.

SIGRIST:

Uh-huh.

SCOTT:

Mother never made no bread.

SIGRIST:

And what about desserts? What were, you said pies. What else?

SCOTT:

We had rhubarb pie, gooseberry pie, blackberry pie, apple pie, rice pudding, tapioca pudding.

SIGRIST:

So we're talking about heavy substantial food.

SCOTT:

Oh, you got it now. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

I love it that way.

SIGRIST:

All right. We'll get back to getting you to America here. So your husband decides he wants to come here.

SCOTT:

Yeah. He had...

SIGRIST:

But he's not...

SCOTT:

He had it all made up he was coming.

SIGRIST:

But he's not your husband yet at this point?

SCOTT:

He's dead. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Right. When, when did you actu-, you married in Dublin in 19...

SCOTT:

'27.

SIGRIST:

No, you married in '15.

SCOTT:

1915. You've got me mixed up there.

SIGRIST:

1915. Sorry. (he laughs)

SCOTT:

1915. The 28th of April, 1915.

SIGRIST:

I'm shooting so many questions at you that, and can you, can you describe for me what the ceremony was like? Was there a ceremony?

SCOTT:

You mean when I was married?

SIGRIST:

When you were married in Dublin.

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah, I was married in Saint Kevin's church, Mulberry Street, Dublin. The Froka [PH] Theatre in Dublin. (she clears her throat) And there was three other couples with us. We were married in couples.

SIGRIST:

Was that typical in Ireland at that time?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. In, in the city it was. Yeah, it was right in the city, because that's where we lived. I had to be married in the parish church. That was quite a ways from where we lived. I couldn't get married in the church opposite. We're not allowed.

SIGRIST:

It had to be in your parish church?

SCOTT:

In the parish, you see.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember what you were wearing when you got married?

SCOTT:

Oh, indeed, I do well. That suit you see there. (she gestures to a photograph)

SIGRIST:

Can you describe it in words for me, please?

SCOTT:

No, the suit on the, on John. (she gestures to a photograph)

SIGRIST:

Yeah.

SCOTT:

I made that out of my wedding dress.

SIGRIST:

Can, well describe what it, describe what it looked like for us on tape.

SCOTT:

Well, it was a bei-, it was a brownish color. What do they call it? We call it mole. I don't know what they call it here. Suit, made with a big, big hat with a big white feather around. I have the picture somewhere. I don't know. And then we were married at, at eleven o'clock in the morning. And then you came home and you had your, the party at home. You always had the party at home.

SIGRIST:

Did you go back to your house?

SCOTT:

To my mother's, yes. Oh, oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

And tell me a little bit about the party, who was there...

SCOTT:

Oh, all the friends of my mother's and girls and that. And girls I used to go with and that, and fellows where I worked for a while.

SIGRIST:

Was your father there?

SCOTT:

No, he wasn't home. He was working.

SIGRIST:

How did your father feel about you getting married?

SCOTT:

Father didn't say nothing.

SIGRIST:

Did he like...

SCOTT:

He liked him. He liked him. Oh, yeah, he liked him very much. My mother liked him very much, too, very much.

SIGRIST:

Well, that was something, you know, for your father to like.

SCOTT:

Yeah. Oh, he, well, he was nice. He was very quiet and reserved. Very quiet and reserved.

SIGRIST:

His first name was...

SCOTT:

Patrick.

SIGRIST:

Patrick. Patrick Scott.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Tell me a little bit about his background.

SCOTT:

Well, he come from the country, you see. But he never lived in, I guess when he left school they come up to the city, you see. But they had to serve their time to be a grocer. So he, his father put him to serve his time grocery. That's how I met him. And he...

SIGRIST:

Was his father a grocer?

SCOTT:

I don't know what, no, his father was a miner. Coal miner. They had their own mine in Dublin, in Tipperary. He...

SIGRIST:

Oh, he's from Tipperary.

SCOTT:

He came from Tipperary, yeah. And he had a brother, too. But he was a grocer, too. He came up and served his time in Dublin.

SIGRIST:

And that's what he was doing, of course, when you...

SCOTT:

Sure.

SIGRIST:

...when you met him.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember any of your wedding gifts, or did receive gifts?

SCOTT:

Oh, you don't get gifts like you do here. I only had one left. My china.

SIGRIST:

Who gave you the china?

SCOTT:

Where I worked. They gave it to, I worked in the Norton's China Store. It was the government china. I used to count the glasses, you know. The glasses had to be all stacked. (she gestures) The government glasses. And I went with a fellow there for a while, the son. And it was him who gave it to me. That's all. And a prayer book. That's all you got over there for a wedding present.

SIGRIST:

Well, now, the fact that you got a job outside of the house...

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

...was this typical for young ladies in Ireland to...

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. For a little while I got...

SIGRIST:

How long did you work at Norton's?

SCOTT:

Oh, not too long because I wasn't too well. My father wouldn't want me to work.

SIGRIST:

What were you not well with?

SCOTT:

He used to think I, I used to hear a bottle. I used to think it running up and down my, but I'd be running. We'd be always running, you know, to, because you al-, you came home to your dinner at two o'clock, and you had to back, or you came home at one and, and you had to be back by two. And you had to run to make it in an hour, because you had your dinner in the middle of the day. You had none at night, you know.

SIGRIST:

Hmm.

SCOTT:

(she laughs)

SIGRIST:

So anyway, after you got married you came, you left for America soon after...

SCOTT:

We left for America right away that night. That night. The night we were married we left for America.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember what you took with you? What luggage you had or...

SCOTT:

Oh, no, I don't remember that. No, I don't remember. We had a bag of some, I know we had bags of some kind, but he took care of all that. I didn't touch it.

SIGRIST:

Do you remember saying good-bye to your parents?

SCOTT:

I, just like always, out, we didn't pay, pay much attention. We didn't realize we were going to Amer-, I didn't anyhow. I didn't know I wasn't going to come back.

SIGRIST:

Was it your original intention to not stay in America and to come back at some point?

SCOTT:

Oh, always. Always. I wanted to come back. He knew that. That's what made me so sick, because I was always crying. Wanting to get back home.

SIGRIST:

So, so, so...

SCOTT:

See, you miss a big family. That's why. And we always had a good home. And I missed it, you see, a lot.

SIGRIST:

Do you, can you tell me a little big about the process of getting your papers together and all that sort of thing?

SCOTT:

You had nothing like that to do. He bought the tickets. And he bought mine and all. I had nothing to do with anything like that. Not a thing. I didn't have to sign nothing. Until I got to Ellis Island. And I had nothing to sign there until he, they found, when they went through (unintelligible) they found out he was waiting for me. He was all through, ready through. And they kept me waiting because I hid my glasses.

SIGRIST:

Okay. Wait. Don't tell me yet. Let's get you to Ellis Island first. Where did you leave from in Ireland?

SCOTT:

From, from the north wall. Dublin.

SIGRIST:

And then you travelled to where to get the...

SCOTT:

To Liverpool.

SIGRIST:

To Liverpool to get the ship.

SCOTT:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

And what was the name of the ship?

SCOTT:

Oh, I forget that name. It was, the first one we were to come on something happened to it. And it, we came, I think it was The Cymric.

SIGRIST:

The Cymric that you came on.

SCOTT:

Yes. I think it was The Cymric.

SIGRIST:

Had you ever seen a big boat before?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes, we seen them. Lots of them in Dublin.

SIGRIST:

So that was no great surprise?

SCOTT:

No, that was no nothing. No, it wasn't.

SIGRIST:

Were you travelling together alone, or were there other people that you knew who were travelling with you?

SCOTT:

We were, no, there was no one with us. Only him and I. We had our own room. But it was what they called in them days steerage. All the crowds, you know, around. But we were mostly alone. But we had our own room. I was pretty sick coming over because naturally the food was all different and, the way it was served I couldn't, I mean, I wasn't used to it. That was it.

SIGRIST:

Did any family members go with you to Liverpool when you left?

SCOTT:

No. Nobody. Only him and I.

SIGRIST:

So you said good-bye to everyone in Dublin.

SCOTT:

We said good-bye that night and left.

SIGRIST:

And left. Well, good. Well, let's talk a little bit about the boat then. Did you have to stay over in Liverpool before you got on the ship?

SCOTT:

No, we went right to it.

SIGRIST:

Right on the ship.

SCOTT:

It was there waiting.

SIGRIST:

And you said you got sick.

SCOTT:

Yeah, well, you know.

SIGRIST:

Did you get sick right off the bat or did it take a while?

SCOTT:

No, no, coming over, you know, because the food, the smell and everything, and I wasn't used to that. I remember I seen the way it was served, you know, and... (she sniffs)

SIGRIST:

How long did the ship take?

SCOTT:

Seven days.

SIGRIST:

Seven days. What else do you remember about the ship? Did you ever go up on deck?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah. We went up quite a few. And, of course, we were chased, naturally. It was during the war, you know.

SIGRIST:

That's right. World War One has, has broken out.

SCOTT:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

The, the previous...

SCOTT:

Well, I said, it had broken out just the Sunday before I left. Because the Sunday before I left I was up in the park watching the band that my brother-in-laws belonged to. And that was the first of the war. And we were, they shot that, the first guns came in that Sunday afternoon. And I wanted to go back downtown that night, and my mother wouldn't allow, "You're not going down anywhere. You're staying home tonight, young lady," she said.

SIGRIST:

Were there special precautions taken on the ship because of the situation?

SCOTT:

Well, they didn't want you going on, too many on the one side. It would go, it was leaning over, which it was. And then there was a lot of Americans coming back, too, you know, in them days. And they were coming back with them, I remember just this one woman, the old woman, and she was standing there by the side saying the rosary. And I, of course, we weren't that religious in Dublin. I mean, we were religious, but we weren't, we didn't show it. And she was standing there with them, and, of course, she was getting thrown. She was old, very old, as I thought in them days maybe, but she wasn't as old as myself. But anyhow, she died on the boat because, you see, it was too much for her. But there was nothing else (unintelligible) until we got to Ellis Island, and then we went through there. Everything went all right...

SIGRIST:

When she died on the boat do you remember...

SCOTT:

I don't know what they done with her, or...

SIGRIST:

You just know that she died?

SCOTT:

...they don't let you see nothing. And when I got to Ellis Island then, naturally you go through. And he said to me, "You wear glasses?" And I said, "No." I, because you wouldn't be let in here at that time if you had bad sight. So anyhow I had the glasses but my husband, I gave them to him and he was already out, finished.

SIGRIST:

That's right. Your husband got through faster than you did.

SCOTT:

Well, he was already out. He kept wondering what was keeping me. So anyhow I said I didn't. And they said," You must have wore gla-," well, I said I was as a kid, used to steal the old grand-, her, my sister-in-law's grandfather, he had glass, I used to steal and wear them, you know. But anyhow he was a very nice man, this, was with me. And he said to me, "Don't get nervous, Mrs. Scott." He says, "It's all right, you'll get through." He said, "Don't worry, you'll get through." I said, "Yes, but my husband is out there. Now what's, I don't know what's keeping, what am I going to do?" He said, "Don't worry." He said, "You're married," he says, "You have nothing to worry about." But he says, "I'm sorry, but we have to do that job here again." He says, because, he says, "You know, you could be going along the street," he says, if you came in here without being married, you know, if they let me through. And he says we could put our hand on the shoulder, and that was on my mind for, oh, years afterwards. I used to be afraid while I walked. I was so afraid they'd put the hand on me. And he said, "We have to do it." So I said, "All right then," so, he married us. Then as soon as they done that then they let us through.

SIGRIST:

Where, where did they do the ceremony?

SCOTT:

On the ship. Around the, in the, in Ellis Island.

SIGRIST:

Were you taken into an office, or...

SCOTT:

It was a big, big room. Big, big room. Not like it is now. Big old room, you know. I was in it once. Just, just that one day I went down there and I seen it. I forget now.

SIGRIST:

Well, we need to stop just for a second so Kevin can put another tape into the machine...

SCOTT:

Oh.

SIGRIST:

...and we'll keep going and off of Ellis Island and into America.

SCOTT:

(she laughs) Well.

SIGRIST:

So, this is the end of Tape One with Elizabeth Scott.

J. SCOTT:

You ain't got much more... END OF SIDE TWO, TAPE ONE BEGINNING OF SIDE ONE, TAPE TWO

SIGRIST:

We're now beginning Tape Two with Elizabeth Scott who came from Ireland in 1915. And you may hear some exterior noise. There's a Mr. Softie truck out in the road that's making music. Anyway, Mrs. Scott, can you explain to me, we're on Ellis Island now with you...

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

...your husband's gone ahead of you.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Can you find, can you explain for me again why they wanted to, to marry you on Ellis Island? Why your, whatever documentation you had...

SCOTT:

I had my birth, I had my marriage certificate and everything.

SIGRIST:

Why wasn't that good enough?

SCOTT:

I don't know what was the reason. I have no idea what the reason was.

SIGRIST:

How did you feel about this?

SCOTT:

I didn't feel bad. If it was okay with what they wanted, I thought it was the rules. I had to do it.

SIGRIST:

Was Ellis Island crowd-...

SCOTT:

I went back, when did I, when, whenever, well, my mother, when I brought my mother out here. And when she came, she came through Ellis Island. And the man knew me when I went back to pick my mother up. And he said to me, "Well, you're still here." (she laughs) He was so nice. He remembered me.

SIGRIST:

But was this the man that...

SCOTT:

He said, "You're weren't picked up?" And I said, "No."

SIGRIST:

But this was the man who said we need to, to...

SCOTT:

They had to do that. It's, it's a law or something they had in them days.

SIGRIST:

Were you...

SCOTT:

You see, you couldn't come in then with bad sight, and you couldn't come in with a cold. Oh, my. You had a cold, you were kept on Ellis Island. You weren't let go.

SIGRIST:

Did they, did they put you through any kind of medical exams...

SCOTT:

No.

SIGRIST:

...when you were there?

SCOTT:

No. Never.

SIGRIST:

They just basically looked at your papers and decided that you needed to be remarried...

SCOTT:

They had my...

SIGRIST:

...to be official.

SCOTT:

Oh, I know the reason why. They, here you had to go register, see. In Ireland a Catholic does not. We didn't know that. Because we never got mixing with other people to find out these things, you see. And I didn't have the government stamp on it. That was the reason. So that they had to marry me and put the stamp on it. And then they told me then, when, the first time I go back I should go to the priest of the church where I was married and he would put another stamp on it. And he did.

SIGRIST:

Ah, so, I see.

SCOTT:

See?

SIGRIST:

Yeah. So they took you aside.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And they brought you into a room.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

And your husband was there waiting for you?

SCOTT:

Oh, he was waiting, well, then, he came in.

SIGRIST:

And can you, were you the only couple that was being married?

SCOTT:

Yes. It was only a few minutes thing. It wasn't much.

SIGRIST:

Was it, was it a religious ceremony?

SCOTT:

No, we just said...

SIGRIST:

Was it a priest who married you?

SCOTT:

No, we just said, well, he, they said, made the blessing and all like that, but he said, "You don't have to worry. There's nothing to worry about," he said. "It's just on account of this stamp."

SIGRIST:

Interesting.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

So how long do you think you were on Ellis Island all told?

SCOTT:

Oh, God, I don't know. I was there the most the whole day. We got in around, we got in around, I think it was six o'clock in the morning we got in. But, of course, you didn't get off right away. You were kept, it was different things. You had to wait for the different immigration men and all that. But I know I didn't get out there till around five o'clock.

SIGRIST:

And when you were finally released did someone come and get you, or did you just go on your own?

SCOTT:

No. My husband and I, we took a hansom cab as they have now. Of course, in them days they had them right there. And he put the, they put the trunk on top of that, and we drove to Elli-, to Union Hill. That's where my uncle lived. And we went there. And, of course, they were expecting us, but no one met us.

SIGRIST:

Tell me how you spent your first night. (she laughs) It's kind of your honey-, well, it isn't really your honeymoon because...

SCOTT:

It was, because, well, yes.

SIGRIST:

You were sick all through your honeymoon. (he laughs)

SCOTT:

He was, he was an elderly man. And it was his daughter's house we were going to. And she was married, and of course, had a family, too, but I didn't see many of them. And we stayed there then for a while, and then we got our own place. (microphone disturbance)

SIGRIST:

Do you remember, do you remember some of the things that that struck you those couple of days in America, things that might be...

SCOTT:

Well, the first thing that struck me, when I got into their house, the table in the dining room was set for the dinner. For our supper, or their supper they called it. And they had the glass bowl for the spoons. I remember that. And it was pork she had for the dinner. And it was these little sauces with all this corn in it. Kernel corn. And I said to my husband, "Oh, my God," I said, "look what they're giving us for din-, for supper, for dinner." I said, "I'm not eating that stuff," what we feed the, the cattle with over in Ireland. So I wouldn't eat any of it. And it took me a long, and the tea was green. I never forgot that. And I said, "I wouldn't eat any of that. I'll be glad to get my own place." I wouldn't. (she laughs) Terrible.

SIGRIST:

Now, tell me about how your husband went about finding work.

SCOTT:

He was only here three days when he got a job. Manager of, what was it, James Butler Stores. On Fifth Street. Fifth Street, Union Hill.

SIGRIST:

And what did that mean? What, what were his duties as a manager?

SCOTT:

He was the manager of the grocery store, and had others underneath him.

SIGRIST:

So all that training as a grocer paid off, I guess.

SCOTT:

And how. And how. Then he opened three or four more for James Butler in different places. Ridgewood was the last place.

SIGRIST:

Now, was there an Irish community in this town in New Jersey?

SCOTT:

Well, I don't know whether there was any, I guess there was. Yes, in them days there were mostly Irish people then. Mostly Irish then.

SIGRIST:

How long did you stay with this...

SCOTT:

Oh, I stayed there for about, well, I guess it's about six months.

SIGRIST:

So it was an extended period of time.

SCOTT:

Well, I, I wasn't, I wasn't well. I got pregnant, and of course, I got very sick. And I was taken to the hospital then. To the North, to the Union, North Union Hospital. And I lost the child. So, of course, I was too well after that. But then after that we, we found our own place to Ridgewood. Oh, he had to open a store in Ridgewood, New Jersey. And we went there. And we got our own place there.

SIGRIST:

Is this a frightening time for you, because you're in a strange country...

SCOTT:

Well, I didn't think much of it. We, we weren't allowed to think of things like that.

SIGRIST:

But you...

SCOTT:

We were put on...

SIGRIST:

...you were sick, you were in the hospital, I mean, a lot has sort of gone...

SCOTT:

Well, I was worried then when I was in the hospital. Naturally I was upset then because I didn't know much, I didn't know nothing about it, what it meant or anything, until I got home. And, you know, here they use a lot spinach. And this cousin's husband of mine, he was a devil for spinach. And he got a load of spinach and he put it in the sink. He said to me, "Harp." He called me Harp. "Will you wash this?" And it was all cold water. And I know it gave me some kind of a, I know they took me to the doctor, and they said, "She's got a terrible cold." And it went through me, you see, the water. And that was all I, so as soon as that went, got over, I got over all that, I thought, oh, I'm going to get him for my own. And then I got out on my own. But he opened three or four stores for James Butler.

SIGRIST:

Did, did you ever go to work?

SCOTT:

Not here. Oh, I did, but it was here in...

SIGRIST:

Much later on.

SCOTT:

Yeah, yeah. It was later years, yeah.

SIGRIST:

Tell me about the first apartment or house that you and your husband...

SCOTT:

It was Ridgewood, New Jersey.

SIGRIST:

And, and, and describe it for me.

SCOTT:

I had my own apartment. We had our own apartment. Cold water, of course.

SIGRIST:

Was it in a building with lots of apartments?

SCOTT:

It was a two family, four family house. Two on each side. With a big, big porch in the front. And a garden. And we had five rooms. We had the dining room, the butler's pantry, and the, the living room and three bedrooms. It was a lovely house. Like where...

SIGRIST:

Did it have electricity?

SCOTT:

...where he was born. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah, we had electric then. He was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

SIGRIST:

She's referring to her son, John.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

When, when was John born?

SCOTT:

He was born the tenth of, of September, 1917.

SIGRIST:

And tell me a little bit about what you remember about being pregnant with John and giving birth to John.

SCOTT:

Oh. (she laughs) Oh, I remember that well. Well, I was pretty sick all through it. I was in bed a long time with him. But then when he was born everything turned out all right, but it left me pretty weak and sick.

SIGRIST:

Was he a hospital birth, or...

SCOTT:

No.

SIGRIST:

At home?

SCOTT:

No, he was born at home.

SIGRIST:

Did you have a midwife?

SCOTT:

Yes. My midwife was from England, too. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

Tell me a little bit about after John was born and you were, you were weak after the birth.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Who took care of the baby and, and...

SCOTT:

Myself. And I had, I had a couple of friends. And they were midwives. From the other side I knew them, you know. So they used to come down to the house on and off and to help, you know, with that. Knew me, and I had the one woman especially. And she used to come down every day there and, and help me.

SIGRIST:

Did you have a lot of friends...

SCOTT:

I had...

SIGRIST:

...by those first couple of years?

SCOTT:

Here I did.

SIGRIST:

Here.

SCOTT:

Oh, yes, I did. I had...

SIGRIST:

Mostly Irish people?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah. Mostly, you only mixed mostly with your own.

SIGRIST:

How did you meet other Irish people?

SCOTT:

Well, I met them through the church. And if you went anywheres to visit anyone we'd meet different people. You mostly met Irish people in them days. Your cousins and all them were all Irish and, or some part of them was Irish, you met them through them, see?

SIGRIST:

Did you ever experience any kind of prejudice because you were Irish?

SCOTT:

Never. Never. Never. English, yes. That I would. But not Irish.

SIGRIST:

Tell me a little bit about what John was like as a baby.

SCOTT:

Oh, he was good. He was, I had no bother with him, thank God. Never had any bother with him. Only on myself. I was the only one. Not him. He was okay. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

With, with you being weak afterwards was your husband good about doing things around the house...

SCOTT:

No, they don't do it like that.

SIGRIST:

Of course, 1917 is a whole different ball game than now, so...

SCOTT:

Yeah, no, no. He never bothered with nothing like that. The nurse used to come down, and she used to do everything like that. She used to come down every day to see me and done all like that.

SIGRIST:

Did you miss Ireland those first couple of years?

SCOTT:

I did the first couple of years. Yes, I did. I use to cry an awful lot over it.

SIGRIST:

Were you writing to your parents?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. I wrote my mother every week. Oh, yes. She always kept writing.

SIGRIST:

How did your father feel about you going to America?

SCOTT:

Nothing.

SIGRIST:

You, you said he wasn't there...

SCOTT:

There was no, none of that kind of thing like there is here. It was different all together. Only just take care of yourself and keep yourself respectable. That's all. And let us know if there's anything wrong. That's all.

SIGRIST:

Do you know what your father was doing during the First World War, and was he, he was still in the army?

SCOTT:

The First World War?

SIGRIST:

The First World War.

SCOTT:

We were, I wasn't in that, the Second World War.

SIGRIST:

No, I'm talking about your father. What...

SCOTT:

Oh, that, oh, no...

SIGRIST:

In, in 1916, 1917, was your father involved in the war at all?

SCOTT:

Well, I was here, you see.

SIGRIST:

You were here, I know...

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

...but I'm asking you if you know was he involved in the war on the other side?

SCOTT:

Oh, I don't, no, no. He didn't live long after I got married. He died shortly after I got married. He died in 1916. Died in 1916.

SIGRIST:

And so you were here already.

SCOTT:

Yeah, I was here already. And I was here when my mother died, too. Yeah.

SIGRIST:

Now you said that, did you, did you bring any of your family over?

SCOTT:

I only brought my mother over and my one brother. But the one brother got sick here. And then he had to go back again.

SIGRIST:

Tell me about bringing your mother over, because you said...

SCOTT:

My mother didn't like it.

SIGRIST:

You said, you said she had to come through Ellis Island, too.

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

What year was this?

SCOTT:

Oh, I don't remember now. 1923 I, no, oh, I forget the year. I can't remember. But she didn't like it. The flags bothered her. That's the sidewalks. And the grass wasn't green enough. And the church didn't stay open long enough. That was all. So she wanted to go back, and I sent her back.

SIGRIST:

How long did she stay?

SCOTT:

She was only here about two years.

SIGRIST:

Ah. And your intention was to keep her here.

SCOTT:

Well, I thought she'd stay here. You couldn't make her stay, of course. But then my brother got too sick, she had to go back.

SIGRIST:

So your brother came with her.

SCOTT:

Yes.

SIGRIST:

What did he get sick with?

SCOTT:

He got T.B.

SIGRIST:

This was a common thing?

SCOTT:

In here. Yeah, here it was, you see. And, of course, I had an uncle here and he helped me and took care of him. And he said the doctor told him it was best for him to go back, because it would either bury me or him.

SIGRIST:

Was that hard to do?

SCOTT:

Well, naturally you feel it, but what could you do about it?

SIGRIST:

Did your mother go back with him?

SCOTT:

Oh, yes. She had to. You went back with him...

SIGRIST:

Well, she was kind of happy to, it sounds like.

SCOTT:

Well, yes, because he had a girl friend over there, I believe. I didn't know her, of course. And, oh, you get over those things.

SIGRIST:

Tell me what it was like to see your mother for the first time when she came?

SCOTT:

Oh, well, naturally it was nice to see her, and that. I was glad to see her and that. But she didn't like the ways here or anything.

SIGRIST:

Well, of course, she's an older woman at that point...

SCOTT:

Sure, and our living was different to here. Much different to here. See. Now the same as it would be in Ireland. If my mother went down, had to go live in Ireland, in the country, she'd, she'd die, because it's different living all together.

SIGRIST:

Right. And she was very used to...

SCOTT:

Well, we were always the city, you see. And it's different. You get, can't get used to that.

SIGRIST:

Now what was the first year that you went back to Ireland?

SCOTT:

1923.

SIGRIST:

And tell me, tell me what it felt like to be back in Ireland after...

SCOTT:

Oh, I just, it was nice to get back, but then when I seen the different things I was glad to get back here.

SIGRIST:

What was, what was different about Ireland when you came back from what you remember...

SCOTT:

Oh, well, over there you're shopping every day for your food. You're not buying it like we here. And you miss that. And you haven't got the variety of food that you have here. And the liv-, the home life is different. Much different, through it. And you get used to it here and you like it.

SIGRIST:

What, what, what, what was I going to say? How long did you stay in Ireland?

SCOTT:

Oh, we weren't there but a month. A month is all he could stay, you see.

SIGRIST:

What, did your, did your husband feel the same way?

SCOTT:

Oh, yeah.

SIGRIST:

He was happy to get back?

SCOTT:

He never wanted to go back. He says, "I left it to better myself, and I don't want to go back."

SIGRIST:

He just went over there for you?

SCOTT:

Yeah. (they laugh) Ah, well.

SIGRIST:

Well, we'd better wrap up because I know...

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

...you're going to start dinner here soon. Let me just ask you a couple of final questions then. What do you think would have happened to you if you and your husband had stayed in Ireland?

SCOTT:

I don't know. I haven't any idea. Haven't the slightest idea.

SIGRIST:

Are you happy that you came to America?

SCOTT:

Oh, now I am, of course. But then I wasn't. Naturally I was wanting to get home all the time. But when I went home the first time and I seen the way everything was, and you don't have money like you do here. See, here we always had a dollar, but not there. And over there you can't work at everything. Now, here you can turn your hand to any blessed thing. No one says you're, you're not able to do that, you're not supposed to do that. But over there you can't do that. You'd be looked down on. See?

SIGRIST:

That's right. The social structure is much more rigid.

SCOTT:

Right. Much. Much. Much.

SIGRIST:

Well, I guess my final question for you then is, you know, you're a hundred and one years old now...

SCOTT:

Yeah.

SIGRIST:

...and you look back on a very long and a very full life. (she laughs) What is your secret for, for being so youthful and so...

SCOTT:

I don't know. (she laughs)

SIGRIST:

...alert, and, and you look wonderful.

SCOTT:

That's what they all keep telling me, but I don't know why.

SIGRIST:

(he laughs) I mean, what, what do you think has, has kept you so vital and so alive for so long?

SCOTT:

Well, I had a pretty hard life on and off at times, you know. And you have to fight that to get through. And I did. And I've got where I am, and I don't know, I did pretty well.

SIGRIST:

Good.

SCOTT:

And I go as much as I can. I still go now, only that the leg is a little bit bad. But outside of that's it's all right.

SIGRIST:

Well, Mrs. Scott, I want to thank you very much...

SCOTT:

You're quite welcome, I'm sure.

SIGRIST:

...for letting us come out here and we've been talking for about an hour and a half now. (she laughs) And it'd be nice to let you get back your life back to normal, so...

SCOTT:

You know how old he is? (referring to her son)

SIGRIST:

Well, if you were born in 1917, (she laughs) you'd be whatever that is, seventy-six?

SCOTT:

Seventy-six.

SIGRIST:

Seventy-six? You look great, too. (she laughs) It must be, it must be genetics, so. Anyway, this is Paul Sigrist signing off with Elizabeth Scott and her son John in Elmhurst, Queens on Tuesday, October 19th, 1993.

SCOTT:

Yeah, three.