Mary J. Briskey (nee Cantrell)
was born on September 3, 1940 in Wichita Kansas. Mary lived on a small farm growing up and used to collect eggs from the hens as part of her chores when growing up. She was married at the age of sixteen, to Edward Briskey who then became a sailor in the United States Navy. Mary has traveled around the country as a military spouse, while raising her three children, and lived in for many years. She currently resides in Jourdanton, Texas. At seventeen, you're very naive to what's going on around you. Me and your grandfather were very naive. We were kind of dumb, but we left Wichita and went to San Francisco. And lived in Quonset huts because the ship was in dry dock. We were very naive; we thought to go to the movies for a dime was really good. And before then we couldn't afford it so ...yeah we were naive out there in the world.
(Interviewer: Edward L. Briskey, Palo Alto College Student, Maymester 2003)
Beatrice M. Harris was born on January 15, 1927 in Moscow, Tennessee. She spent all of her childhood living with her grandparents in segregated Fayette County, Tennessee. Early on in life, she had to juggle school and maintaining a large farm.
I went to school through the 8th grade. It was rough then. It was a rural school. We didn't have desks like you do. We had benches--and no library. We used books that the whites didn't. We used springs for water, and for heat, we used wood heaters. Potbelly wood heaters. Our parents would cut the wood, and haul it to the school too.
(Interviewer: Adrian Harris, Palo Alto College
Student, Spring 2002)
Augustina Rosales (nee De Leon) was born on May 28,1929. She was born in Nixon, Texas, and was raised in Tilden, Texas. She now lives in Jourdanton, Texas, and has been a resident of this community for the past thirty-seven years.
When Grandpa (Jesus) and I got married we both had to work. It was not easy to raise six kids, a lot of work. Like my daughter Rosa she says she is always tired I say if I be fifty years old, I'd jump as high as a house. I was never tired.
(Interviewer: Tina A. Elkins, Palo Alto College Student, Spring 2003)
