page_0078

Waln Brown interviewing Clifford Falatko -19- 8/20/72
tape 5-1
at the lady and she was lookin' at me, I couldn't recognize her a little bit
but she was old lookin' already and I was lookn' at her and I didn't say
nothin' and she didn't say nothin' but she was watchin' me, she came over
and she said "Aint you from Eckley?" I started to cry, honest to God I did,
"Aint you Clifford?" ansd I felt so bad, she had 17 kids, that's what they tell
me she had 17 kids.
WB She'd have kept you busy.
CF She was a hot baby, but she wasn't for me she wasn't meant for me I can
thank God I didn't get 'er I had girls in France my buddies
got in wrong and my buddies coaxed me to sleep with this girl or that girl,
no, I mean in the service I don't know what can happed to me, I came in clean
and I want to go back clean, yeh.
WB Well when did you meet your wife?
CF Raised together all our life.
WB When did you get married, you must have been 25, 26?
CF I was 23, 24 we not born but raised together here, goin' to school together
here, going to school up there by the church, there was a school house up
there.
WB Do you remember what the schoolhouse was like across the steeet, that was a
4 room school house wasn't it?
CF 3 rooms
WB That was up to grade 4 wasn't it?
CF No, to 6- 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, yeh 6 grades
WB And what was it like, first and second grade in one room and 3 and 4th in
another and 5 and 6th in another?
CF Yeh, yeh.
WB Do you remember how, was that a 2 story school or was it a one story?
CF No, one story.
WB Was it very large?
CF It was long.
WB How long do you think it was, 50 ft. long?
CF The rooms were big but I don't know how long, the rooms were pretty big, it
was built just like our homes, weatherboards and everything, it was the same
dam thing, same, same thing.
WB I'm just trying to figure out what that looked like on the inside if there was
3 rooms, was it shaped like an "L" sort of?
CF No it was straight like this, one side from here and one side for the other
side, there were 2 teachers in one. Ralph's mother was on one side and
another teacher, Miss Gaffney on the other was first and 2nd grade, 3 and 4th
Miss Wyatt from here and Miss Conrad from this corner she used to live here
in the second room, principal in the third room and another teacher-6 teachers
WB So how did 2 teachers teach in one room, it seems
CF Well she was teaching hers and this lady was teachin' hers, tha's all.
WB About how many kids would be in, say first grade, about 10 in each grade?
CF A good many, yes, that was a lot of kids, it was pretty big, all seats filled
up.
WB How many kids do you think there were when you went to that school, maybe
60 or 70 kids?
CF I couldn't tell you.
WB Was there blackboards all around the walls?
CF Yes.
WB And I understand the kids in that school, they had the desks that 2 kids
would sit at one desk together.
CF Yeh, I guess it was, one desk for 2, I think so.