Ruff, Curtis 1998-09-25
Court reporter Curtis Ruff discusses his early life in Mobeetie, Texas and his involvement in the Korean War. He talks about his beginnings as a court reporter and the Lubbock law community.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Curtis Ruff
Additional Parties Recorded: None
Date: September 25, 1998
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Fred Allison
Length: 1 hour 40 minutes
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1: Curtis Ruff, background,
Born: July 23, 1932, in Mobeetie, Texas,
Joined the Army in April 1950,
Volunteered to go to Korea,
Joined the 2^nd Infantry Division (January 17-May 30, 1951),
Wounded and returned home,
Discharged, April 1953,
Moved to Plainview, Texas,
Enrolled in court reporting school,
Mrs. Lipperts (teacher and counselor),
Moved to South Dakota,
Worked as a court reporter for six months,
Moved back to Lubbock (1955),
Appointed as court reporter for six years by Judge Robert H. Bean,
Lubbock First National Bank,
Opened free-lance court reporting office,
Retired July 30, 1998,
Mobeetie, Texas,
History of the town,
Agriculture,
Family,
Father died when he was young (1936),
Had 14 children with two different wives,
Mother,
Worked in sewing room in Shamrock, Texas,
Family (again),
Army,
Basic training at Fort Ord, California,
Kitchen Patrol Duty (KP),
Attended school at Fort Bliss, Texas,
Korean War,
Severely injured by mortar shells,
Descriptions of the war,
weather,
geography,
air support,
Korean civilians,
Incidents.
Tape 1, Side 2: Captain Mark Clark,
Descriptions of the war (again),
patrols,
prisoners of war,
combat,
integration of black and white soldiers,
Communist containment,
Court Reporting,
Plainview court reporting school,
Mrs. Lipperts (again),
Cousin Joe Ruff, court reporter,
First job in South Dakota,
Judge Frame,
Moved back to Texas and worked as a relief reporter (1955),
Worked for Judge Robert Bean for six years,
Free lance court reporting,
Judge Robert Bean, district judge,
Descriptions of the judge,
Descriptions of the districts.
Tape 2, Side 1: Descriptions of the districts (continued),
Cases,
Criminal,
Murder cases,
Race relations,
Drugs,
Murder cases (again),
Lawyers—Lubbock,
Crenshaw, Dupree and Milam, insurance defense,
Bob Huff—personal injury claim,
Forrest Bowers,
Best lawyer,
Charlie Jones,
Criminal Defense Lawyers,
Court Reporting,
Hardships and problems,
Courts,
Increasing number,
Legal system,
Changes,
Technology,
Paperwork,
Lawyers,
Increased number,
Drive for money,
Murder case,
Dr. Edenoff,
Divorce case,
Murder’s wife’s lawyer,
Chris Farmer, defense lawyer for Dr. Edenoff,
Court reporting (again),
New technology,
Computer stenographs,
CAT—Computer Aided Transcription.
Tape 2, Side 2: CAT (continued),
Hunt case,
Salary,
Business,
Family members in court reporting,
Lubbock law community,
Lawyer styles,
Court reporting (again),
School,
South Dakota,
Mobeetie High School,
Preparation for career,
Education,
On the job training,
Wife,
Met at court reporting school,
From Lawton, Oklahoma.
Range Dates: 1932-1998
Bulk Dates: 1950-1980
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.
