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Angela Varesano
7/20/72
Joe Charnigo

School discipline was by paddle. If somebody in class did something wrong, the whole class would suffer because no one would "suck after" or squeal. There would be no recess for a couple of days. They also get paddles. You only got hit twice, but with the suction of the paddle, you wouldn't sit for a while.

Joe used to play the harmonica or mouth organ, as he calls it, while driving the mules. The mules got so used to hearing the mouth organ that they wouldn't go without the music. Songs he played included polkas, "My Blue Heaven," (which was his first harmonica song) "Down in the Valley," and "Down by the Old Mill Stream." He used a Horner "Marine Band" harmonica in the key of C.

Hucksters used to come through one at a time. While one was inside a house, they took the whole load of bananas, the whole stock, which was a couple dozen. They took them into the woods and got sick.

Emro Silvasi was the mean man. He had a canvas-covered wagon which was black with red wheels. The canvas could be rolled up on the sides and back. He would blow a horn; he had a scale cleaver, and chopping block. It was pulled by two horses. His mother would always buy her meat from him. She also brought from hackster, bayer, and grocery man.

To play nipsy a circle was made in the dirt and two and a half feet in diameter. Ten steps from the ring is a line. If the nipsy went into the ring, the batter was out and another player took their turn. If the nipsy landed on the line, the batter got one "crack" only. Any place outside of the ring, he got three hits.

A player put their foot on the circle and tried to make it to where the nipsy landed in the number of steps given by the batter. For example, the batter would say, "I'll give you six steps to make it to the nipsy." If he makes it, then he gets as many points as steps. If he doesn't make it, then the other player gets the points.

The night before Halloween they would go around tearing off gates, changing the board walk over the ditches. They left