8

Mary Zurko interviewed by Denis Mercier.	1	8/21/72

DM: About the archways in the houses, I know everybody did that, but what was the
reason? Was it because the parlor was no longer used for sleeping, or what?
MZ: Oh, we never slept in the parlor.
DM: Well, some houses were so full of people that they had...
MZ: Oh, they had to where there was a number of people. You know, in this house
we had...
DM: When your husband did that, what was the reason for it?
MZ: Well, Denis, you see that was the kitchen, that room there, that tiny area
that was the kitchen. See, there was no other room on the other, on that
other part. Just a little canopy-like over it, a little shed, you know. Just
to enter. You know, about this wide...
DM: About two and a half feet wide -- real small.
MZ: Yeah. And the window was over on that side there, see, and then it would
give you light to your kitchen, you know? Before that was built. Because
my husband...
DM: The window was over here?
MZ: Right over there, that wall over there. Right over there. But that's the
original doorway -- no, right over here -- where are you looking?
DM: I don't understand this kitchen...
MZ: Wait a minute. The kitchen window, that window, was there, John. That one
was. That was an original. And there was a window there. And a window was here.
DM: Oh, I see. Okay.
MZ: And the winter spigot was here. But then this room wasn't on, see. There was
only this little shelter, you know.
DM: The sinkwas there at the far corner of the house. What direction is this? This is north up this way?
MZ: Yeah, I guess.
DM: Yeah, the northeast corner of the house, yeah. Yeah. The northeast corner
was the kitchen. See, I want to get this on here, because it doesn't,
when you show me it doesn't get on the tape recorder. So I mean, the northeast
corner of the house was the kitchen sink, with a window above it...
MZ: Oh, I see. Yeah.
DM: And where was the stairway? Where did the stairway go?
MZ: Well, see, this was an enclosure, understand.
DM: Yeah.
MZ: Soe, this was the kitchen. And the stove, the heating stove, was ight here.
DM: Here, I'm just gonna put it up here (the recorder).
MZ: Well, then this was all enclosed here, see. And the door was right here,
the door you'd take to go into upstairs. This was enclosed here, see.
DM: The door to the upstairs was over on the northwest corner.
MZ: This is an odd house. And you see, the kitchen pipe - there was no heater in
here, when I came down here. The kitchen pipe went up through there and then
up through the room and then into the chimney. In that room. But, see,
there's no pipe goin' up through this room now. This pipe goes up into the middle bedroom now.
DM: That's where your new chimney is.
MZ: Yes.
DM: That's a strange place for it...
MZ: Yeah...
DM: Because most of them are over in the corners of the rooms...
MZ: Well, you see, there was no chimney -- there was a chimney there, but, you see,
it was all enclosed, you know, that you couldn't see it. It was in the wall,
inside of the wall.