Helen Chaney's Oral History Transcription

Description

Helen Chaney's oral history transcription, from her oral history, recorded 7/13/1990, by Davine Pera: Chaney, Helen OH29 1043 Ridge Rd. Montrose, Co. 81401 July 13, 1990 San Juan Living Center Davine Pera 728-3632 OH29 OH File 74:54 min. 86 Tracks Marantz Track1 Intro Track2 Tells her full name, birth date. Track3 Place of birth Track4 Tells about her father. Track5 He was married in Philadelphia in 1905. He’s buried in Telluride. Track6 Tells about her mother. Track7 Helen has one sister. Track8 She speaks of Ralph, her husband. Track9 They were married in Yuma, AZ. Ralph died in San Francisco. Track10 Tells of her parents coming to the United States. Track11 The dates and reasons they came to Telluride. Speaks of father working at Tomboy Mine during the strike, and leaving to go back to Philadelphia where he met his wife and they were married. Track12 They were from the same country but never met until Philadelphia. Track13 Her father worked for $8 a week in Philadelphia, and felt he should move where he could make more money, so moved back to Telluride. Track14 He went to work at the Smuggler Mine. Track15 Helen remembers seeing the snow for the first time when she arrived in Telluride at the age of 3. Her father met her at the train depot. Track16 They rode out to Pandora in a surrey with fringe on top. Track17 They lived with her grandmother and uncles all in one big house in Pandora. Track18 She describes the minature toys her uncle carved. Track19 She doesn’t know what happened to the toys her uncle made her. Track20 Continues talking about the things her uncle made. Track21 Helen attended school in Telluride, kindergarten through the 12th grade. Track22 She was excited for school because she wanted to learn to read. She was an excellent reader. Track23 Names all the teachers she had, starting in kindergarten, up through the 12th grade. 1st Mrs. McKnight, 2nd Stodard, 3rd Kennedy, 4th Winn(Waldo), 5th Priest, 6th O’Kelly, 7th McCray, 8th Mathews. In H.S. Ames, Lamb, Phillips, Mackin. Track24 Speaks of different subjects she took in school. Haywood. Track25 She studied history at home during the summer and the teacher tested her on it during the year. Track26 She graduated with the class of 1924, in a class of 12 boys and 6 girls. Track27 Speaks of the school reunions. Track28 She names some of her old classmates. Track29 Speaks of one reunion in Placerville. Track30 After graduating she attended Parks Business School in Denver. Track31 Later she worked for the Oil Company. Track32 She traveled back and forth to Denver for Christmas vacations on the train. Track33 She came back for two holidays. Track34 She quit her job in Denver and moved back to Telluride. Track35 She worked for C.D. Waggoner at the Bank of Telluride. Track36 She worked there until the bank closed, originally hired temporarily. Track37 Tells what she did at the bank. Track38 She started at $75 a month, but was soon raised to $100. Track39 She speaks of the bank closing and her feelings about it. Track40 She and her parents both lost money when the bank closed. Track41 Speaks of the closing of the bank. Track42 Speaks of Mr. Waggoner. Track43 Continues talking about C.D. Waggoner. Track44 The location of the bank and describes the building. Track45 She worked for the receiver of the bank after the bank closed. Jack Lamb. Track46 She moved to California after the bank closed. Track47 Speaks of her many years (56) she lived in California. Track48 She prefers northern California. Track49 Met her husband there at a ballroom dance. Track50 Continues story about meeting her husband. Track51 She lived in California most of her marriage. Track52 Memories of living at Pandora as a child. Track53 Names some of her childhood friends. Carrieres, Irvings. Track54 They rode a horse pulled sleigh to school in the winter, and a horse drawn buggy in the spring and fall. Track55 The canvas top of the school (bus) buggy was terrible, she thinks the horses slept on it. Track56 Sunday school. The kids put on performances. Tracik57 Tells the story of the snow slide that killed Mrs. Hicks and one other lady, but the baby survived. Track58 Speaks of her memories of the Trout Lake Flood in 1910 when the dam went out. The mules pulled the empty ore cars as the train tracks were out. Track59 The train tracks ran right past her house. Track60 Speaks of the different Carrier children and remembers when Alex and Chick were born. Track61 Only Alex is alive still, and he lives near Cortez now. Track62 One of the Carriers ran the mule train. Track63 The boys were always very polite. Track64 She speaks of her brother, Albert. Track65 Continues talking about her brother, and how she misses him. Track66 Talks about what she’s reading these days. Track67 He helped her uncle who was working for Mr. Hicks until 1928, at which time he left Telluride and moved to California. Track68 He moved back and forth to Telluride several times before moving here to work in the Telluride Mine. Florence was his wife. Track69 Her nephew, Albert Jr., was killed in the mine at the age of 26. Track70 Albert Jr.’s son just had a birthday. Track71 He worked at the mine a long time. Track72 She joined the O.E.S. at age of 23 in May of 29 and belonged for 50 years. Track73 She held office in the lodge in northern California when she lived there. Track74 She also belonged to the Commonweal Club. Track75 They went to dances in surrounding areas in a horse and buggy. She loved to dance. Track76 They had dances in Pandora. Track77 She and group of friends walked into town from Pandora to go to movies. Track78 Recalls some stories when she was young. Track79 Helen could not speak English when she first moved to Pandora, but learned very quickly. She spoke an Alsatian Dialect. Track80 She was shy when she was very young. Track81 Memories of home life. Track82 She sang songs in German. Track83 She spoke English by the time she went to school. Track84 She learned English from Sunday school and from playing with friends. Track85 She remembers how deep the snow was, and watching the train go by as it plowed the tracks. Track86 Times up. End *