Interview
Transcript
How long have you lived in Haydenville?
Don: 72 years…April 22nd.
Katherine: 48 years.
What is your earliest/fondest memory of living in Haydenville?
Don: Well I was born in Haydenville, but when I was 5 years old I moved
away from Haydenville, and didn't come back until I was 18. So I went to go work over at
the plant………went to school….graduated up there. And I suppose I worked
over here about 18 years….and got laid off….(not audible, something about his
work history)
What is your earliest memory of Haydenville after
moving here?
Katherine: Earliest memories? Well, we lived down along the main highway
in a double house. Then we moved to two houses up, here and….it was a nice
little town back then. You kept your yards clean, no trash. If you had trash the
superintendent of the plant would come around and tell you, ya know, you get it cleaned up
or, ya know, else. And we rented our house for, first house we moved into…10 or 12
dollars a month. That’s what the rent was. And you paid your own gas and electric. We
didn’t have, when we first moved into town, when I came here, you couldn’t have
a gas stove because they took all the gas to fire the kilns down at the plant…
Don: We bought gas off the company. And finally when they shut down
….gas company took over and put all new lines through…..but we paid our gas so
much a month I think through the company.
Katherine: And he got his pay…you didn’t get paid by check. You
had an envelope, a brown envelope, and every Friday his money would be in that envelope
and that’s how he got paid.
Don: A lot of people would deal it out to the company store…
Katherine: …the company store. You could buy groceries there and
have a bill.
Don: You could buy anything.
Katherine: And a lot of them wouldn’t draw any pay come weekend
because it gone all out in groceries. And they just start over again. How much did you
make an hour when you started?
Don: I made 60 cents an hour when I first started. I made $4.80 a day.
Katherine: It was a nice clean town…
Don: We used to walk the streets….they’d have the fire kilns on
fire down here where they burn the….and we’d stop and get warm in the winter
time. We had a good time.
Katherine: We used to ride the train from here to Logan.
Don: We’d ride the train. I think…
Katherine: …ride the train to the movies…
Don: …it cost 15 cents to board the train over here and go to Logan.
We took the train because it was cheaper. The bus cost us 20 cents. And a nickel went a
lot then (laughs). That was a coke.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the
company as far as what was produced and what was involved in the production?
Don: It was conduit up here, and we made facing brick down at….there
was number one and number two. Number two made building blocks, number one they made
conduits for Western Electric . They put wires through the conduit for telephones.
Do you know of any of the places where the bricks
were shipped?
Don: No, I can’t remember where the conduits were
shipped……more in the South. Then they went to this pottery, ya know, red clay
and that’s really what hurt us, ya know. Down south they made red clay…
Katherine: …and the plastic….came into plastic…
You were talking about there was plant one and
plant two, did people primarily stick to….were there plant one workers and plant two
workers or did they bounce back and forth?
Don: That’s right. There used to be a trestle down there, right
where you come up. And they used to take the clay cars across there and get with both
plants, ya know, for grind up and make conduits up here and facing brick down there. And
that was up here above the trestle was number one and….was number two.
Katherine: They got their clay from clay mine hollow.
Can you describe a typical day at work?
Don: It was hard work. Fast, fast work. Tonnage, ya know, tonnage. You
get paid for so much a ton. Then, in number two, you work on the belt and facing brick
they’d be small and you’d have to load them up on cars and usually about 3 or 4
people unloading them. When they got done they didn’t car pool, they send them to the
tunnel to dry.
Katherine: How did they move them down?
Don: By trolley. Yeah, I used to run a trolley. And I used to pug.
I’ve done everything. 18 years…
Katherine: The pugger was where they mixed the clay.
Don: … water comes in. Clay comes in from a bin and then you mix the
water and it makes the brick. It shoots it up to a dye and then they got a cut off that
cuts off the brick right below where they dye it…
Katherine: You went to work at 7 and got off at what time?
Don: 3:30, 4.
What was the working atmosphere like? Was there a
lot of camaraderie, was it a tight group? A friendly atmosphere?
Don: Yeah, we had a good time.
Katherine: Not all the people at work were from right here in town.
Don: Everybody knew everybody else. We had a good time, you know, we
played around. We had to because it was hard work. We didn’t even last all day it was
that hard. Fast and heavy. Them conduits is heavy.
Katherine: And a lot of them at first got silicosis …of the
lungs…
Don: That was float brick.
Katherine…float brick…and the dust from that got into their
lungs. And he had two uncles that died in their twenties with silicosis of the
lungs….and they finally did away with that, didn’t they?
Don: Yeah. It was a good place to work, it was hard work but the money
was good at that time. We worked when mostly nobody else would work. I think at one time
they hired around 300 people, and that’s a lot of people.
Katherine: …they brought some foreigners in too to work with the
maintenance and …they built the round house for some foreigners. And they called the
row right down there…it used to be called Hunky row and Hungarians lived up in there.
That’s before I came here.
Don:…build doors in the hills….to keep the heat in….he was
from Hungary…
What time period was that?
Don: I can’t give you a specific time, but it was
after…probably in the 50s, I’m not sure. I would say in the 50s.
Katherine: I don’t know because we were married in 51 and they weren’t
here then.
Don: Well I left on the tour boat in 64.
Katherine: They weren’t here when I came here in 51. So it was in
the 40s that they were in here.
Don: I don’t know. I don’t remember.
What was the relationship like between the
supervisors and the employees?
Don: Good. Oh yeah.
There wasn’t a lot of tension between…so
a sense of unity you would say?
Don: Yeah.
What was everyday life like outside the workplace?
What was it like on a Saturday afternoon?
Katherine: Well there wasn’t much to do. They had a company store
but everybody would work in their gardens. Everyone had gardens.
Don: Flowerbeds. Katherine: Their flowerbeds and yards….everyone
worked in that.
Don: Then they’d go to town on
Saturday…
Katherine: …go to a movie…
Don: We had a skating rink up here where
they’re building ….up on that hill…used to be…we used to roller skate
up in here.
Katherine: …a couple nights a week,
wasn’t it, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday during the week.
Was there any kind of company picnics on the
weekends or any kind of festivals?
Don: Nah.
Katherine: They used to have 4th
of July parade and stuff. That’s before I came here, way before I came here. And they
always had a Christmas for the kids and gave out treats…to all the kids in town.
So were holidays a company event? Where everyone
in town would come together to have some kind of…or was it just like the Christmas
and then the 4th of July?
Katherine: Uh huh. The main thing was going on then was usually happening
in Logan. And everybody would go to Logan for things that was going on in town.
As far as everyday functioning, how was it
regulated? Was there a designated person who was in charge?
Don: C.S., the general manager. And he owned the plant NATCO…and he
was general manager and he run the town.
Katherine: When any repairs needed to be
done on the houses, you could call him and tell him and he would report to the workers.
They had men who just done that, repaired homes, and put new roofs on if you had a leak.
Was it repaired pretty quickly?
Katherine: Oh yeah, they were very efficient.
What can you tell us about the school that closed
down? When did it close and why?
Don: Well, let’s see, I graduated in 45. And it shut down I think
right after I went to Logan. They had 8 grades up there. They shut down…they said the
hill was sliding. They condemned it and built a new school up here…a grade school.
But I was in Logan at that time. I was in high school.
Do you know if the school’s teachers were
employed by the company?
Don: No, the school board.
Why do you think the plant closed?
Don: Well, that’s what pops a leak… the way we kept up
modernized and just obsolete and cost too much repair. And these conduits made out of that
red clay was taking over and plastic’s taking over and they just closed it down.
Katherine: They weren’t making a profit.
Don: It’d take too much to fix it up….they just
patched it…
How did the closing affect you, your family, and
friends?
Don: I had to go look for another job.
Katherine: It was very devastating.
……everyone lived here worked here and I thought what can we do? But then this
Moschetti in Pennsylvania bought the whole works and we had the option of buying the house
we lived in. It was $3,000 … for our first home.
Don: Finally a loan company took over and
bought ‘em out and we got our own… there was no land contract…
Katherine: It was very very hard on
everyone because everyone had to go get something……they couldn’t find work,
they had to go…
Don: They had to go out of town. I
started down in Diamond at my uncle’s…he’s a manager in Diamond and he got
me… and I worked down there 3 years.
Katherine: Several of the guys did…
Did a lot of people move out of town?
Katherine: Yes, yes.
Don: I don’t know. I wouldn’t
know half of the people now….very few I know. And you know we say these people is old
people, now we’re the old people. Sad to say.
So how did things change in Haydenville over the
years? Was the feeling of community decreased?
Katherine: Oh yeah. People just didn’t come to church anymore.
Because when we lived here the church would be full before they closed the plant. And also
the ones that lived down near the plant they asked all the men if they would come up to
give so much money a month to help keep the church going. I think they took a dollar or
two out…
Don: Whatever you wanted to give,
they’d take it out of your paycheck…and helped the church, kept it going. Plus
they had a lot of people…
Katherine: What they done after the
people were initially offered their homes that they wanted here then some of the houses
sat empty where people moved out. And then what they started to do was you’d get the
superintendent, who was still kind of running the town and took care of things. And
they’d give him 50 dollars for a down payment. They would move in maybe tear up a
house and go on. So a lot of the homes were just destroyed.
Don: Anybody could get 50 dollars for a
down payment. Maybe live here 3 or 4 months, pay no rent and finally they’d probably
run ya out. But a lot of time they’d have houses tore up. There’s gonna be no
fixin on some of them.
What do you think keeps the town going today?
Don: People workin outside, everybody works outside. Well we got a sand
gravel over here and a pallet…that helps. They’ve got employees. Outside of
that, there’s nothing.
Katherine: Everybody owns their own home
and keeps it up. We still have no city government…
Don: We’re not incorporated.
So is Logan, their police?
Katherine: Sheriff, not their police. Just the sheriff’s department,
and the fire department.
Don: We do have …sewer now and
water.
Katherine: Which you didn’t have
before.
Have you ever wanted to move away?
Don: No.
Why?
Don: It’s my home. It’s not much, but it’s all I know. I
don’t want to start over in a new place. I wouldn’t be satisfied.
Katherine: Neither one of us would like
to live in town. We have our own garden. Fresh fruit, vegetables.
Don: …course I had worked closely,
over to Diamond and I worked at Logan…and I didn’t have to drive very far so I
stayed right here. They’ll. probably pack me here.
Katherine: And our son and our daughter
live right here.
Don: Daughter lives up there, and our son
lives over here.
You established yourselves here, do you think
that’s why your son and daughter have stayed?
Katherine: Yes, I would say so, yes. Because she lived in Groveport…
Don: Her husband works for Cody
Construction in Columbus and he drives to Columbus everyday.
Katherine: … and too, the property
when you bought it wasn’t all that expensive yet.
Don: …you probably bought it for
about 3,000 or 35 hundred back then and get 35,000 for it now.
What kind of future do you see for the town?
Katherine: Well, we’re working on it…
Don: …trying to preserve what
we’ve got.
Katherine: The one thing we really
hate…we had no idea back then that the town had been placed on National Register of
Historical Places or we could have stopped them from tearing down the company store. We
had no idea!
Don: It was beautiful.
Katherine: Oh, it was a gorgeous place.
Beautiful.
Don: ….office and company store, ice
cream parlor all hooked up, and a meat shop.
Why did they tear it down? For land?
Katherine: NATCO sold it to someone and they had a welding…they tore
it down and put a welding place in there, and then it just deteriorated so they
didn’t take care of it. I have pictures of it.
So who put Haydenville on the National Registry?
Katherine: I don’t know for sure. There was a woman, Mary Ellen
Reece, I’m not sure, from Athens…was the first one that…her and…were
two of the first to start with the restoration preservation team of Haydenville.
Do you see the sense of community returning?
Katherine: Yeah, we’re hoping.
Do you think since the plant closed that sense of
unity/community is coming back?
Katherine: Yes, uh huh.
Don: I had a really good friend growing
up here in Haydenville, running around together for several years. Then he got married and
went to Columbus. He was up there for about 30 years and I had a rental up here, and he
bought it and moved back cause he had to retire. Taxes were so high where he’s at
when you retire, you don’t have the income so I sold him the property up here.
Katherine: If you talk to any of them who
used to live here they’ll say Haydenville is still home to me. And a lot of them
would like to come back and live if they could get their spouses…
What would you like to see restored or changed?
Katherine: Well, we’re trying to do the depot across the tracks
there if we can ever get an okay from the railroad.
Don: We have to get grants to do it.
Katherine: We’re applying for
several grants, and we’re doing a museum. We’re trying to not let them tear down
any more of the homes to sell them to someone and fix them up and not move any trailers in
and things.
Don: Did you come in this way? Did you
see the locks? That’s one of their projects.
Katherine: And that belongs to the
historical society in Logan, but they gave it to us…and we want to keep it up and put
up picnic tables and so school kids can come down and learn about the canal, how the canal
boats used to come down.
Was that the first official restored part?
Katherine: Yes.
Don: It used to be all growed up…I
used to hunt rabbits in there.
Katherine: And I knew there was something
there, when we first was married and all these years until they started cleaning up, I had
no idea what it was. You couldn’t see any of it. It was just all underbrush.
Don: That house next door come down
through there on the tote line, canal boat. It came from Columbus. T.D. Brown, he was
general manager at that time. His wife seen that in Columbus, and she wanted it so he had
it shipped down on the canal.
Katherine: …and they have remodeled
it and changed it a lot since then…
Don: It’s beautiful on the inside.
Hard wood floors.
Would you say there’s a pretty large
generation gap between the adults and youth of Haydenville today?
Katherine: Oh yeah, very much so.
Would you say that kids today fully appreciate, or
are even aware of Haydenville history?
Katherine: No. Not the younger generation, our son and daughter do, but
the young kids going to school I don’t think any of them have any idea. Because see
most of them….they could care less. Or they wouldn’t tear up things like they
do.
Don: A lot of the older people died off
and these people came in and they’ve never lived here before.
Katherine: We’ve had a lot of kids
breaking into Fellowship Hall, and that belongs to the church. They just break in and
destroy stuff.
Don: It’s in every small town.
Katherine: Well, in any town, I think
that you live in, small or large, there’s breaking and entering. ….Course we got
after the sheriff and they were coming in quite a bit... but we really have to wait on the
okay from the railroad, and they have just drug their feet for about 3 or 4 years.
Don: It’d be nice to restore it and
have pictures and things there….people could have cookies and….
Katherine: And the train when it comes
up….they could stop….and talk about Haydenville…and at Christmas time they
have the Santa train that goes through.
Do you think the history of Haydenville is
important to the people of Ohio?
Katherine: Oh, I think so.
Don: People’s heard about this town.
Katherine: We’ve had a lot of
publicity. We’ve been in the Columbus paper I don’t know how many times. Our
church serves lunches on a Wednesday and we get people from everywhere coming and wanting
to see the church, particularly the church on the inside. We’ve had people who
collect bricks.
Don: They come from all over the states.
Katherine: …from Canada…
Don: …everyplace…Alaska.
Katherine: What we did, we put our ad,
our article in the Welcome Center (magazine) in Logan. They put out a magazine and we put
an article in there and advertised Haydenville. And of course a lot of people saw
that…And the forestry division has really worked with us because all around these
hills and things belong to the forestry.
Don: It’s company owned…
Katherine: And part of the old tunnel is
going up…where they used to haul the clay out, and we have worked with them, and
they’re thinking about trying to restore it partially and putting like an apartment
there so people can go up and see where the clay come out.
What specifically is the preservation society
working on right now?
Katherine: The museum.
So that’s the top priority?
Katherine: Yes, it is. It probably wouldn’t be if we could get a
hold of the depot, that would be our first priority.
Don: We’ve got a lot of things to
do…they’re gonna work on the roof on Saturday.
Katherine: They’re gonna tear the
roof off and put a new tin roof on. When you start to get grants and things you have to go
with their specs…Some of the people who have really helped us is Tri County Community
Action. They have really…and all we have to do is feed ‘em. And now we are
applying for a Kellogg grant. We have to go to 10 meetings for that.
If you could describe Haydenville in one word,
what would it be?
Katherine: Home.
Don: It’d be home to me! Not too
much left…
Katherine: It’s quiet…
Don: …we’ve got a church…
Katherine: It’s home.
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