Interview with Kathleen Cowan
Date of Interview: November 25, 2010; El Paso, Texas
Interviewer: Desi Baca
Transcriber: Desi Baca
Baca: It’s Thanksgiving Day of 2010. The interviewer and transcriber for this interview is Desi Baca and today I will be interviewing Kathleen Cowan in her home at 9800 N. Loop in El Paso, Texas. Can you tell me first a little bit about yourself? Maybe where and when you grew up, just walk me through your life so far.
Cowan: I was born in Bellingham, Washington, which is near the Canadian border in March 1931. So that makes me 79.
Baca: Did you grow up there?
Cowan: I grew up in Washington State, but our family lived in various places because my dad was a schoolteacher. In those days with the Depression you went to where the job was if you were lucky enough to have one.
Baca: Besides moving around, was there any other ways in which the Depression affected your life?
Cowan: Well, I was fairly young so I do not recall the early parts of it, but probably by the time I was six or so I had some inkling as to what was going on. The times were tough, and there wasn’t a lot of money for luxuries or anything. It was really pretty much just survival.
Baca: Of course.
Cowan: Yes, and it was hard during World War II as well. I was a little older so I remember when our family had to switch from butter to margarine. They stopped producing butter here in the United States for civilians so that they could ship butter to the soldiers who were fighting overseas. So here in the United States we had to use margarine. It was so fake—it was actually white, but you had to color it to turn it yellow like butter.
Baca: Wait—you had to color it yourself? Or did they add coloring in the production of the margarine?
Cowan: No, you had to do it yourself. There was a little packet of food coloring that you would add. I just remember hating it. The other day in fact my sister Shirley and I were talking about this. Neither of us will buy margarine ever again. But I think a lot of it has to do with our recollection of the war itself, and the butter/margarine debate was a connection to that.
Baca: Okay. And so you lived in Washington until what point?
Cowan: I lived there until I graduate from high school then I went to Portland, Oregon and went to bible school for a year. After that I worked in Portland for about a year till I met and married my husband.
Baca: Okay. Tell me a little bit about that.
Cowan: About that? You mean our courtship?
Baca: Yes, if you don’t mind.
Cowan: It was an arranged date; they called them blind dates in those days.
Baca: I don’t mean to interrupt, but they still call them that.
Cowan: (chuckles) Oh do they? That’s interesting. He was in the air force, and my roommate had connections with him through her sister and thought we ought to meet. One time when he came to Portland to visit they arrange for us to go out with another couple. I wasn’t supposed to see him until later in the day but we walked over to his house which wasn’t far and he was there, soaking his foot. I had my hair in curlers. Not very romantic. We started dating and he would make the trip from around San Francisco by bus up to Portland and we actually had a wedding date in December but he was presented orders to go to Chicago at the same time that we had already set a wedding date, so I believe it was Thanksgiving weekend and it was a choice of waiting for three more months till he gets back, and postpone the wedding, or get married that weekend. So we decided to get married that weekend. So I only knew him about three and half months actually. But it was during the Korean War, and things happen pretty fast sometimes. It wasn’t terribly uncommon to see things like that happen back then.
Baca: That’s a good story. I understand you ended up in education. Tell me a little bit about that and moving to Texas.
Cowan: Oh, well a little more than a year after we got married he was sent to El Paso to Fort Bliss to go to OCS and I followed him which many young women did in those days and I got a job here in EL Paso. I wasn’t a college graduate at that time, so I was working in the bank and various other jobs—office work. Let’s see. He got through his OCS and didn’t complete the coursework and was almost finish, but things happen for him to continue and so he was discharged in El Paso and we started our family and decided to make EL Paso our home and after I had the honor and privilege of having three wonderful children and stay home with them, it became evident that it might not be too bad an idea to go back to college and get a degree in teaching since that was kind of expected of the family members. My mother was a teacher; my father was a teacher so it made sense. Earlier on I had sworn Id’ never be a teacher but you come around as you grow up. So I started as a freshman at what’s called UTEP, it used to be Texas Western College. This was in 1960 when my oldest child was going to start first grade, but the other two children were still at home. I was fortunate to have a maid to take care of the kids wile I was in school and I finished getting my degree in four years and got a job right away and taught for 30 years. I taught kindergarten and first grade, and retired in 1994. So all in all I taught from 64-94. I loved it. Every day was an adventure with those kids.
Baca: Wow.
Cowan: Does that bring you up to date?
Baca: Well, yes, that gives me some type of context in which to look at things, but what I’m really interested in is your contact and experiences with the media. So, tell me a little a bit about the media you’ve consumed.
Cowan: I can remember the radio being on the news stations and I remember my grandfather always listened to the news and I thought it would never end. I can also remember hearing Adolph Hitler making speeches on the radio and you could hear his voice, and of course you didn’t know what he was saying, there was quit e a bit of static too. He was kind of scary, even to me as a young kid. When the war broke out, we were living in Tacoma, Washington and we listened to a lot of radio programs. We were pre-teens at that point and the radio was sort of a thing that families got together and did in the evenings. There were detective shows, like the Green Hornet. You made all the pictures in your head. In the afternoons there were kid shows like Jack Armstrong and I remember at my grandma’s house we would always listen to the Lone Ranger after dinner.
Baca: So it was like a communal or family…?
Cowan: Yeah, family entertainment. I guess nowadays people listen to the radio in the car, or at home by themselves more. But then again, television came around.
Baca: And what did you think about television?
Cowan: The first television I watched was in El Paso when El Paso got its television stations. We were probably one of the first people to buy a television here. My husband was very interested in watching television and he enjoyed it a lot. He still does in fact. As we do now, we had our favorite shows. I can’t really remember what the first ones we watched were called though. They had a lot of musical programs on television in those days too. They would have music and dancing on them.
Baca: When television came about, do you think it replaced the radio or did you still listen to the radio?
Cowan: It pretty much replaced radio, except for in your car. You still enjoyed it there. Sometimes I enjoyed music and still enjoy it on the radio if it’s available. But for me, it was largely replaced by television, yes.
Baca: Speaking of music, as you know, I’m in a class this semester on the Beatles. I’ve been meaning to ask you for months, did you ever get to see the Beatles on television? Particularly the Ed Sullivan Show?
Cowan: Yes, it was very exciting. I remember when those guys came out there in their funny hair, (laughs) it really made an impression on you. The music was fine with me. It was good. The Ed Sullivan show was a competition type of show, wasn’t it? Maybe I’m wrong about that.
Baca: Well, yes it was a variety show.
Cowan: That’s right.
Baca: And Elvis? What about him?
Cowan: Yep, it was the same with Elvis. Some of our elders didn’t approve of Elvis Presley, rock ‘n’ roll and his dancing. I saw him on TV too. But I was okay with Elvis, with all of it. He had good music.
Baca: Very nice. So what about your present day consumption of media such as the internet? Have you gotten into any of the new media? What are your views on those types of things?
Cowan: I enjoy it. I like to do some of my shopping that way. I love eBay. I like to check up on my family and friends on Facebook. However, I don’t often comment or contribute but I read it all. Also, I have my iPod that I enjoy listening to books and what not. I have music on there as well. It’s convenient. Your music goes with you wherever you go, whether you’re up or down or in or out-- it’s there. That’s neat. They should have had them when I was a kid!
Baca: What about newspapers? Did you read them?
Cowan: Well, when I was in grade school we had Scholastic, I’m sure.
Baca: What exactly is that?
Cowan: Scholastic? It was a newspaper format for kids to read and keep up with things. It was national coverage that they thought kids ought to be aware of. I remember there was great push in high school for students to be aware of current events and stay up on them and I guess that stayed with me because I really enjoy watching the news (laughs). It came from my grandfather. He listened to the news and I guess it stuck on me. Although I detested it when he was watching it and enjoying it, it wasn’t something a kid would like, but you grow into it.
Baca: Which is your favorite form of media?
Cowan: Form of media? What do you mean by that?
Baca: Yes, so like radio, television, internet, newspapers…
Cowan: I’d have to say television. I don’t very often go to movies, but I occasionally do. I’d definitely have to say TV.
Baca: And why is that?
Cowan: Well, radio was nice, you know, I loved to listen to it. I read and still read the newspaper every day. But television had that visual aspect to it. You could see what was from all across the world and I just thought that was fascinating. There had never really been anything like it before.
Baca: I see. As you know, I’ve been pretty interested in America in the 50s and 60s, especially with the classes I’ve taking this semester. Did you remember anything about McCarthyism, or communism in the media?
Cowan: I remember it being on the news a lot. I couldn’t understand was going on. I just know there was an awful lot of information out there. I vaguely know what it was about even now.
Baca: That’s alright. Do you remember anything about the assassination of John F. Kennedy?
Cowan: Yes. I was doing my student teaching so I was in class when we got the word that JFK had been shot and then it was constant news coverage for it seemed like weeks. I’m sure it was more like days, but it just seemed to go on and on and on. I don’t know, I guess I just kind of lost it. I didn’t try to follow that real close. It was just too much, you know…and it was sad.
Baca: Yeah. My last question to you is: are there any other stories that you remember sitting down to listen or watch that sticks out to you?
Cowan: Well, I know that my children and I always watched I love Lucy and there were several in that period of time when my kids were into it as well. Also, the Mickey Mouse club shows entertained my kids when they were a little but younger than that. Usually when I was making dinner of something, they were watching the Mickey Mouse Club. Those two stand out in my memory.
Baca: Well, I think that’s all I have for today. If any other questions come to mind, I may be back to ask you if that’s alright.
Cowan: Surely.
Baca: Thank you so much, I appreciate your time and all the insights you’ve provided for this projects. Thanks Grandma.
No comments:
Post a Comment