Lishman, Nell Turbow 1967-05-10

Mrs. Lishman, childhood resident of Thurber, recalls the Texas coal mining town as it was prior to 1925.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Nell Turbow Lishman

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: May 10, 1967

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Interviewer: Lou Scoggins

Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Background information, Discusses strike of miners’ union (1921), Incident involving ambush by strikers, Description of houses and stores, Meat market provided great variety, Company "checks" used for all services in town, Ethnic groups lived in individual sections, Recalls neighbors, Father’s work in the brickyard varied, Lives o miners often hard, Churches, schools and saloon part of town’s social life, Stores plentiful and prices reasonable, Company doctors kept in town for workers, Flu epidemic effects were broad, Mention’s brother’s birth (1917), Funeral procedures described, Entertainment of various forms, Privately-owned stores located in mesquite groves off company land, Anecdotes concerning mine manager’s children.

Tape 1, Side 2: Work of the miners described, Decline of Thurber gradual through the 1920s, Characterizes the W. K. Gordon family, Visit of Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor, mentioned, Explains method of receiving salary, Automobiles not too popular until the early 1920s, Describes wolf hunter and his dogs, Two swimming holes recalled, Workers union activities mentioned, Population diminished due to company-owned businesses, Migration of miners accomplished by wagon trains, Customs of ethnic groups revealed.

Range Dates: 1910-1925

Bulk Dates: 1910-1925

Access Information

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Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:

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