Page 187 - Always Virginia

Always Virginia 175

was a little afraid to marry you, because I knew darn well you got
everything you wanted.” I was the only girl, you see, and they were
good to me.

Jack: Did you have any jobs when you were a young girl?

[From 1948 to 1967, Mary Pearl and Bart lived with their priest
son John in his parish houses as housekeeper-cook and gardener.
When Father John died, Mary Pearl not only lost a son that morn-
ing, she also lost a place to live. The story of her later life is used as
basis for Jack Fritscher’s short-story fiction, “Silent Mothers, Silent
Sons,” in Sweet Embraceable You: Coffee-House Stories.]

Mary Pearl: Yes, I worked at Simmons Hardware Company
as a stenographer for six months and at Norville Chapways [sic].
Those were the two biggest hardware companies in St. Louis. I
worked in the bookkeeping department.

Jack: Isn’t Simmons where your brother worked too?

Mary Pearl: Yes, Jim. For a long time, and then he went into
the arl [oil] business. He was one of the head men in the Shell Arl
Company. And he’s got his picture, you remember, Virginia, and
what would you call it, a notification or something, citation, all
the employees signed it and gave it to him.

Jack: What did you think of the First World War when it
happened? Did you know it was coming?

Mary Pearl: Well, I used to hear them talk about it, but we
couldn’t get out of it. I’ll never forget the first morning. They said,
“We’re at war,” and that was it. They shot at one of our ships. Dad
didn’t have to go because he was married, but if it had lasted another
week he would have been gone. He was registered and ready to go.

Jack: What did you think of the 20s?

Mary Pearl: They were very nice, the Roaring 20s.