Massachussets Six - Text
The subject is a Caucasian male, born 1935 in South Boston. Like his parents, he grew up in Boston (Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park). He spent three years (2nd-4th grade) in Brisbane, California. He served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army from 1953-1956 and was stationed in Korea. He attended parochial school and listed his education as "12+." For the last 15 years he has worked as the facilities manager for a large building on the campus of a major Boston area university. He speaks about the Boston neighborhoods where he grew up, the moment he heard about Pearl Harbor, serving in Korea, his son's accomplishments as an auto mechanic and his job at the university. Recorded by Rebekah Maggor, August 2005. Running time: 05:32
TRANSCRIPTION
My parents grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. My heritage is Irish and English. I was born in South Boston. We moved to Roslindale, which is part of Boston. We moved to West Roxbury, which is part of Boston. We moved to Hyde Park, which is part of Boston. We’ve lived in California, we moved back to Boston after the second World War. I think we lived in California for three years, moved back to Boston after the second World War. Went to parochial school, graduated from Hyde Park High School, joined the paratroopers in the United States Army, served three years in Korea, returned home, spent a year at the… Fort Devins, out in (uh)… Yeah, where? Out near Massachusetts. Married, moved to Hanson on the South Shore.
When I was, probably five or six years old, I was at the Rialto Theater in Roslindale with my older brothers. We left the theater, and to our surprise, all we heard was church bells ringing, fires-- fire bells ringing, the horns buzzing. (Uh) Come to find out, it was the day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and we immediately ran home, not knowing what was going on. And we got there, and President Roosevelt was on the radio, explaining that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor.
Okay, I’m gonna tell you about my son right now. He’s 21 years old, helluva lot better-lookin’ than his father. He’s a graduate of South Shore Vo-Tech. He is an automotive mechanic. He entered the contest that they have yearly. He is the number-- number one-- in his senior year, he was the Number One automotive mechanic in the state, and he’s the Number Three automotive mechanic in the country. And he works for Land Rover. He moved down and lived in Boston for a while, and now he’s back with his old man. (Laughs)
I started working in Harvard 15 years ago. I came here from the Brigham Women’s Hospital, where I was the Assistant Director of Engineering. I’ve been here now for 15 years. I’m the (uh) Facilities Manager for this building. My job is to keep the building in good condition, take care of the students, and take care of all my customers, who usually nag me all the time that something’s wrong.
The seasons in Korea were very extreme. Summer was hot and dusty. Spring was rainy. Fall was usually cold and foggy. Winter was absolutely zero, all the time. You were either walking uphill or walking downhill; there was never any in-between. That’s it! That’s all you get.
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY JACQUELINE BAKER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR TRANSCRIPTIONS, January 16, 2008