Catherine Testolin Oral History
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CHURCHILL COUNTY MUSEUM & ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
an interview with
CATHERINE MARY TESTOLIN
January 25, 1991
This interview was conducted by Marian LaVoy; transcribed by Nancy Durden and Linda Stephens; edited by Norma Morgan; first draft and final typed by Glenda Price; indexed by Gracie Viera; supervised by Myrl Nygren, Director of Oral History Project/Assistant Curator Churchill County Museum.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewer and interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Churchill County Museum or any of its employees.
PREFACE
Catherine Testolin, a reserved, intelligent woman, settled in the chair at her dining room table. She then proceeded with a most interesting interview.
She described the anguish of a young immigrant girl, her mother, who could not speak our language but left her verdant Italy to meet an older man who lived in the barren desert land of Nevada. The resulting hardship in raising a large family on a homestead in the Wildes District and her eventual learning the language and joining with fellow homesteaders. Catherine was the second child of this union and described such things as the hardship in traveling to and from school, the cruel cold of winter, the effects of the great depression on the homesteaders and the community and her determination to get an education so she could support herself. She speaks of her elation at being offered a job with the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District . . . a job that lasted thirty-two years.
She retired only to find herself bored so she launched a new career and opened the first travel agency in Fallon. Catherine's involvement with civic organizations and her dedicated work as a volunteer show an indomitable spirit and a dedicated samaritan.
Interview with Catherine Testolin
LaVOY: This is Marian LaVoy of the Churchill County Museum Oral History Project, interviewing Catherine Testolin, at her home, 745 West Center Street, Fallon, on January 25, 1991. This is tape number one. Good afternoon, Catherine.
TESTOLIN: Good afternoon.
LaVOY: Would you tell me Catherine, what was the name of your father?
TESTOLIN: My father's name was Antonio Testolin.
LaVOY: And when was he born?
TESTOLIN: He was born June 22, 1876 in Padova, Italy.
LaVOY: Did he attend school in Italy?
TESTOLIN: That I do not know right now. I have no record of that. I don't remember him saying anything. He must have because he knew how to read and write.
LaVOY: When did he decide to come to the United States?
TESTOLIN: Well, he didn't decide to come to the United States until after he had moved to France and he heard about the advantages of coming to our States. He had gone from Italy to France and worked there for a while, but he didn't have enough money to cross the ocean on his own. So he got on a freighter and he went across the ocean three times, back and forth, washing dishes, and earned his passage that way,.
LaVOY: My goodness. Did he arrive in New York City?
TESTOLIN: I believe he did. He must have arrived there because most of the people do disembark in New York.
LaVOY: And then from New York where did he go?
TESTOLIN: He went to Pennsylvania and worked in a coal mine there.
LaVOY: Oh, for how long, or do you have any idea?
TESTOLIN: I believe he said he worked about one year or so and he heard about the advantages of going West like the rest of the people, and the opportunities. So he got as far as Utah. He got on a freight train and weaved his way to Utah. He worked there about three or four days and he broke his leg.
LaVOY: Well, how did he break his leg? Do you know?
TESTOLIN: He fell when he was working in the coal mine. From there he went to San Francisco. He was always more or less a salesman and he wanted to get into some kind of business of his own and he had a little grocery store business.
LaVOY: In San Francisco?
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: What made him leave there?
TESTOLIN: The earthquake.
LaVOY: So he had a store in San Francisco in 1906?
TESTOLIN: Yes, he had a little store there. I can always remember him saying that.
LaVOY: Did he tell you anything about his reaction to the earthquake?
TESTOLIN: Oh yes.
LaVOY: Will you tell us about it?
TESTOLIN: I will. He was in this living place. I really don’t know what street he was on, I can’t recall, but he could remember the rumbling and the tumbling and the people running and screaming outside. He said he remembered this lady going out across the street and all she had on was a nightgown and she had this bird in a bird cage and she was carrying it across the street. That was one thing she could save. Then he decided to stay there a few days and most of the city was on fire. He said that was the worst part of it. Then he decided to move out of there because the militia was so bad. They were killing more people than the earthquake because people were stealing, picking up things that were left over in the rubbish. He took the ferry and went over to Oakland. He stayed there awhile and he decided to wait until it was all over with. From there he decided to come up to Tahoe. At the time he was in Tahoe he got acquainted with the Crocker family that had the Crocker Bank in San Francisco. He worked for them as a hired hand. He took the ladies out on the lake and he would take care of their place while the men were in San Francisco because they were in the banking business. He stayed there three months and he did that for two summers. Then he heard about the homesteading in the vicinity of Fallon. People were moving to Fallon to file claims on land. He went out where the Old River District and filed a homestead there but the Mussis jumped the homestead before he did so he didn't have the advantage of getting it. Then he heard about other pieces of land that were open in the Wildes District and that's where the old home is now located.
LaVOY: What do you mean "jumped" the homestead?
TESTOLIN: Well, if you file and someone else has filed before you or gotten to it before you, then they're the ones that receive the homestead, so that’s what they did.
LaVOY: Oh, I see. Now I want to go back for just a minute to his store in San Francisco. Did the earthquake completely destroy it?
TESTOLIN: Oh, yes. Everything was demolished. Didn't have anything left. I have a few pieces here left over that he picked up in the streets.
LaVOY: From the original store?
TESTOLIN: Yes, the store. But, being a single man, he just went from one place to another until he did finally settle in the Wildes District.
LaVOY: Well, now, did he move from the Old River District to the Wildes District?
TESTOLIN: He never did settle in Old River District. He had filed first, out in the Old River District. That's where the original homesteads were. The people who first settled, settled out in that area because that's where the river ran down and went down to the sink. That's where they were getting their irrigation water.
LaVOY: I see. He must have come to Churchill County in about 1907 is that right?
TESTOLIN: I heard him say 1908.
LaVOY: All right. Tell me, did he live there by himself?
TESTOLIN: Yes he did. He lived there until he sent for my mother. I believe she came over in 1910.
LaVOY: What was your mother's name?
TESTOLIN: Her name was Italia Binotto.
LaVOY: Where did she come from?
TESTOLIN: She came from Theine, Italy. She was born there. [June 24, 1892]
LaVOY: Did he send the money for her to come there?
TESTOLIN: Yes he did.
LaVOY: Had he known her before?
TESTOLIN: Yes he did. He remembered. . . my mother always said that he was ornery. When she'd be up picking cherries in the trees, he'd come along and threw rocks at her.
LaVOY: That must be true love.
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: She was much younger than your father.
TESTOLIN: Yes, she was.
LaVOY: But she remembered him, and agreed to come to Nevada?
TESTOLIN: She agreed to come. She had kind of a sad life at home. She was the youngest of the family. Her mother was old and her father had passed away and she was always more or less papa's child. So when she left she didn't leave anything behind, she said.
LaVOY: When she came to New York how did she find her way across the country? Had he bought the tickets on a train.
TESTOLIN: Yes, he had bought the tickets on the train. My cousin was traveling with her and he was only about 16 or 17 years old.
LaVOY: What was his name?
TESTOLIN: His name was Frank Signori. S-I-G-N-O-R-I. And she said that he was very lonesome when he got here. He cried every night because he was still young. But she had no desire to go back. She never wanted to ever, ever go back and visit. She said that she didn't like the life that they had to live there because the rich were rich and the poor were poor. And she was poor.
LaVOY: Was there some story about her missing Hazen when she first arrive.
TESTOLIN: Yes. They were coming across on the train and they couldn't speak English and the man that was supposed to put them off, the conductor, whoever, failed to put them off. Then he discovered when he got as far as Painted Rock--it's Painted Rock now--that they were on there so he stopped the train and left them off, and put them in a little shack. They had to stay there all night, she said, without anything to eat. The next morning when the train came back from the west, they picked them up and brought them to Hazen.
LaVOY: Was there a train stop at Painted Rock?
TESTOLIN: Apparently it was just a water stop.
LaVOY: She must have been frightened to death.
TESTOLIN: She was.
LaVOY: In the meantime your father would have missed her at the Hazen station. What was his reaction to that?
TESTOLIN: He came up with a horse and buggy to pick them up and he noticed that they didn't come, so he went back to Fallon. Then the next day he was notified somehow. Someone told him that they were there so he had to make a second trip back to Hazen to pick them up.
LaVOY: And were they married in Hazen?
TESTOLIN: No. They were married in Fallon but she said she hadn't had any sleep for several nights so she decided to sleep for two or three days. Finally they were married by the Justice of the Peace.
LaVOY: Do you remember the name of the Justice of the Peace?
TESTOLIN: I was just telling someone that it was Lucy Grimes' husband that married them but I haven't been able to go down to find out on the license just who did marry them.
LaVOY: But they were married in Fallon?
TESTOLIN: Yes. They were married in that place right next to the old post office building on the North side where the new post office has a drive in. It used to be the Benadum house.
LaVOY: And that's where they were married?
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: Then she took up life and I'd imagine your cousin did too out on the homestead. Can you tell me about some of that?
TESTOLIN: Yes. Well, he stayed around Fallon and worked in different ranches for a while and then the cousin took off and went to Silver City and worked in mines in Virginia City when they were going well. Then he went on and worked for the PG&E [Pacific Gas and Electric] and different places.
LaVOY: But she remained in Fallon with your father. Tell me about what they raised on their little homestead.
TESTOLIN: They raised animals, which were cows. They didn't have any sheep at that time. They had rabbits, chickens, and pigs. He had built the chicken houses out of adobes.
LaVOY: Made the adobe himself?
TESTOLIN: Yes. He and another man made the adobe bricks and set up the adobe houses. They also built a big cow barn out of it. He would raise vegetables in the garden and he'd go and peddle these vegetables to the mining camp.
LaVOY: Where did he get the water for the vegetables? The Dam wasn't finished yet.
TESTOLIN: Well, at that time, 1916, [1914] it seems to me the Dam was finished. But they began to bring water into the irrigation ditches already from the Truckee Canal and from the Carson River earlier.
LaVOY: I imagine he did a lot with draw buckets too.
TESTOLIN: Yes. We had an old open well one time. I can remember that. Drawing water up and down with the bucket.
LaVOY: I think I read someplace that he used draw buckets to water his vegetables before the water arrived here. What kind of a house did they live in?
TESTOLIN: Well, all they had was a little two-room house. First they had one room, he built first one room. Then he built another little room where we had a kitchen. I can remember that. Then finally the family began to come and they had another room where we all slept in one bedroom and some in the front room. We were all born out at the ranch. Every one of us.
LaVOY: As the family started to come, tell me the names of your brothers and sisters. Who was born first?
TESTOLIN: Marie. She's Marie Guazzini right now.
LaVOY: Then you were second.
TESTOLIN: I was second. My sister Ida was third. Then Tony was fourth and Gilbert was fifth. Then I had a sister by the name of Norma who is deceased now. My youngest sister is Grace.
LaVOY: That was a large family.
TESTOLIN: Yes. Seven of us.
LaVOY: And you lived in three rooms for awhile?
TESTOLIN: Yes. We lived in it but in 1924, I think it was, when the Wonder mining camp closed, my dad bought a house out there for $400.00. It cost, of course, more than that to move it in. I think it cost about $500.00 to have it moved to Fallon.
LaVOY: He didn't move it himself.
TESTOLIN: No. He had a mover. They cut the house in half.
LaVOY: Do you remember who the mover was?
TESTOLIN: No, I don't remember who moved the house. But I could always remember the house coming in in two sections and then they put it together. Then we lived in a bigger home.
LaVOY: Getting back to all of you living in the 3-room house. You say there was the kitchen. What kind of a stove did it have?
TESTOLIN: It had a wood and coal stove. An old kitchen stove. In the middle room we had a pot-belly stove that was for heating.
LaVOY: That would be like the living room?
TESTOLIN: Mmm-hmm
LaVOY: Did you eat in the kitchen or in the living room?
TESTOLIN: I believe we ate in the kitchen. Yes I remember now, we ate in the kitchen.
LaVOY: And then the bedroom… all you children slept together in the bedroom.
TESTOLIN: Yes. We slept together in the bedroom and there was a bed or two in the front room. But not all the children were born while we were living in that quarter. My youngest sister was born in the new house . . . the bigger house. I think my brother Gilbert was also born in the big house.
LaVOY: Did your mother have a mid-wife come in to deliver all of you?
TESTOLIN: Yes. My birth certificate shows I had Dr. Hascall. She was Dr. Hascall. Every one of us was born, I believe, with a doctor.
LaVOY: No mid-wife?
TESTOLIN: No. They came out with a horse and buggy in the early days and after that it was the automobile.
LaVOY: I'm always amazed at these wonderful families that were able to live in small quarters like that and just enjoy life completely. Our modern people just could not do that I don't believe. After the children started coming, tell me, did you have electricity in your home?
TESTOLIN: We never had electricity until 1929. It was put in in 1929.
LaVOY: And how did you happen to have it put in that early?
TESTOLIN: At that time they hadn't built the lines in yet and then TCID had the power lines and they would allow people to put in their own line. We had to pay $300.00 to build the main line before we could put in our own. They sold bonds for it. That's the way they did. So when we put electricity in we became one of the shareholders.
LaVOY: You were a share owner in the power company?
TESTOLIN: In the line that was built. Neighbors had to agree to put in the electricity on this line. I mean those that agreed to pay so much. It was $300.00 I believe, for everyone. It didn't matter how far you were, it was still $300.00.
LaVOY: Was it hard getting the $300.00 to put in the line at that point in time?
TESTOLIN: Oh yes it was. I remember we – The kids – raised the rabbits. We raised rabbits when we were kids and we saved all our money so we could put in the electricity.
LaVOY: Who did you sell the rabbits to?
TESTOLIN: Oh, sold them to the butcher in town.
LaVOY: Do you remember what his name was?
TESTOLIN: No, I don't remember what his name was but my Dad would take them to Reno too, to the stores.
LaVOY: How did he travel in these early days?
TESTOLIN: At first he had a spring wagon and a horse. They called it a spring wagon then.
LaVOY: Do you remember the name of the horse?
TESTOLIN: No. We had one we called Pony, I remember that. That was later. Then afterward he bought a Model T Ford. Then from the Model T Ford in 1929, I believe it was, we bought a Dodge for $1200.00 so that Model I cost $500.00 and the Dodge cost $1200.00
LaVOY: Quite a difference in price. You heated your home then with wood and coal, or just wood?
TESTOLIN: Wood. First of all we heated by wood and then, of course, we could buy coal later on. We got a little richer and so we could do a little more.
LaVOY: Was the wood cottonwood or was it sage?
TESTOLIN: Cottonwood. To begin with we never had trees so they had to get the brush. They dug brush up and heated with that.
LaVOY: Sagebrush always smells so bad when it's burning. That must have been a trial for your poor mother.
TESTOLIN: Well, I know it was, but we survived.
LaVOY: How did you keep cool in the summer? Were the summers as hot as they are now?
TESTOLIN: Oh they were terrific hot.
LaVOY: How did you keep cool?
TESTOLIN: Go in the canal. Cool off.
LaVOY: That seemed to be the pastime of everyone in the Valley. Were mosquitoes bad?
TESTOLIN: I can't remember too much about mosquitoes. I remember at times we fought them off. And flies, we never thought too much about them. We sprayed them and that was it.
LaVOY: When Sundays came did you rest or did you and your parents have to work on Sundays too?
TESTOLIN: Well, we worked all the time during the summertime. We hoed the garden in springtime and we got that done. At noon we quit and we made a cake and a freezer full of ice cream for the afternoon. We had a big dinner every Sunday and went swimmin' in the canal.
LaVOY: Sounds like lots of fun. As the second oldest child what were your responsibilities?
TESTOLIN: Take care of the youngest ones that came along.
LaVOY: Did you enjoy doing this or did you feel it was a bother at the time?
TESTOLIN: No. I thought it was a chore. I never did enjoy it. I thought it was . . . a pain. We washed clothes by hand with a washboard.
LaVOY: Tell me about what was the policy of washing clothes? How did you do that?
TESTOLIN: Well, you'd laugh if you heard this. We'd go outside. We'd have two tubs full of water and we'd have a bonfire under it and we'd wash these white clothes and then we'd boil them.
LaVOY: Why did you boil them?
TESTOLIN: Well, it was the thing to get 'em white. We couldn't get them white otherwise. We always had white sheets, so we had to boil our clothes. Had to boil everything.
LaVOY: Well, after you boiled them what did you do with them? Did you have another tub of water?
TESTOLIN: Yes. We did. We got the water out of the ditch that went by and rinsed them all and hung them out in the sun. big day of washing. That was our chore every Saturday.
LaVOY: Then, when did you iron?
TESTOLIN: We ironed after . . . they were dry enough.
LaVOY: What kind of irons did you have?
TESTOLIN: We had a hand iron and heated it on the top of the stove.
LaVOY: How many of you girls had to iron, or was that just your job?
TESTOLIN: Well, I ironed. Then most of us had to keep up our own clothes when we got big enough. We did our own ironing.
LaVOY: Tell me some of things that you did on holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day.
TESTOLIN: Christmas was always a big day for us. We could hardly wait for Christmas to come although we never received many toys we never made a big deal about it. We got the little things and we got food and clothing, which we needed, and it was a big time for us because we always thought Santa Claus was coming. My mother fixed some food and put it out on the table for Santa Claus the night before Christmas.
LaVOY: And it was always gone in the morning.
TESTOLIN: Yes. It was always gone. We never knew what happened to it, it was gone!
LaVOY: Did you have a Christmas tree?
TESTOLIN: I remember the first Christmas tree we had. We never had one that I could remember, only this time. We all went to bed and it was 11:00 p.m. We jumped out of bed and here was my sister, Ida, the first thing happened, she saw her doll. She wanted a doll so she got her doll. She looked around and she screamed her head off. We looked around and there was a Christmas tree all decorated. I can always remember that first Christmas tree.
LaVOY: Did it have burning candles on it?
TESTOLIN: No. It didn't have candles on it but it had decorations on it, tinsel on it.
LaVOY: Popcorn probably?
TESTOLIN: I don't think it had popcorn. But my mother had gone to town with my father the day before and I guess they bought these gifts and hid it away from us. It was exciting. It was the best Christmas I could remember.
LaVOY: What did you get that Christmas or do you recall?
TESTOLIN: What did I get that Christmas? I can't recall because I never did get a doll and that's why I have a doll collection.
LaVOY: You have a very extensive doll collection.
TESTOLIN: Yes. I can't remember ever getting a doll.
LaVOY: Then I noted in something that I read that Valentine's Day was very important too.
TESTOLIN: It was. It was very important. That was when we exchanged valentines.
LaVOY: Did you buy the valentines or did you make them?
TESTOLIN: No, we bought them. We ordered them from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.
LaVOY: And passed them out among one another?
TESTOLIN: We'd bring them to school and have a valentine box. We'd put them in there and then the teacher would take them out and distribute them. I still have a couple or three left.
LaVOY: Now you're mentioning your school. Where did you start school?
TESTOLIN: I started school at the Wildes District. They had a school house right there where the turn where the road turns to go down to the base [Naval Air Station, Fallon] on Wildes Road. [Wildes School, Southeast corner of what's now Wildes and Pasture Road] There was a school there. Mrs. Roy, our neighbor, was the school teacher. She lived down below us. She would go back and forth with the buggy and we started with her. Then, for some reason, she decided to stay at the school house in the wintertime so we had to quit. We couldn't go. And the following year they started transportation with buses and so we were able to start to school in Fallon.
LaVOY: And what school did you come to in Fallon?
TESTOLIN: I came to where the kindergarten is now.
LaVOY: The Cottage School?
TESTOLIN: Yeah, the Cottage School. They have kindergarten there That's where our first grade was [280 E. Stillwater]
LaVOY: Who was your first teacher there? [Louise Mignon Roy]
TESTOLIN: I don't remember who she was. All I can remember is all she wanted us to do was to brush our teeth all of the time, wash our hands and keep our face clean. She never taught us anything. I failed the first grade because I never learned a thing. I was kept over for a year.
LaVOY: Did you have to bring your own toothbrush to school?
TESTOLIN: If you didn't have it she'd buy it for you. Then Miss Florence Richards was the teacher the following year and we began to pick up on our school learning.
LaVOY: She taught the first grade the second year you were in school?
TESTOLIN: Yes. Florence Richards. I don't know if you've heard of her or not. Years after children whom started school had her, and those that were held over had an opportunity to catch on their education.
LaVOY: Tell me something about the school buses. You were showing me some pictures that were wonderful.
TESTOLIN: They were always breaking down for some reason. We never did get to school on time. When we were in grammar school we were always late, so our principal was going to give us demerits for it. We couldn't help it because the bus was always late.
LaVOY: Who was your principal?
TESTOLIN: I forgot who he was before Mr. Best was there. But I understand that this bus system started when he was there. It was no fault of ours. [Principal Beatty]
LaVOY: What did the buses look like?
TESTOLIN: I have pictures of them here. They had wooden sides on them and curtains.
LaVOY: What kind of curtains?
TESTOLIN: They were made out of canvas.
LaVOY: They were up in the summer and down when it was snowing?
TESTOLIN: And often time it'd be so cold when we got to school we were frozen. Our feet would freeze. They'd break down most of the time on the road then we'd have to get off. I can remember one time making a big bonfire. They had this big bonfire when the wheel fell off.
LaVOY: A wheel fell off your bus?
TESTOLIN: Yes. So it was about 11:00 a.m. when somebody came out to help us. If we got to school by noon we were doing well.
LaVOY: How did the wheel happen to fall off? Did you hit a chuck hole?
TESTOLIN: Plenty of those. [laughter]
LaVOY: The bus didn't tip or anything?
TESTOLIN: No, it just rolled off and it went down on its axle. We weren't going fast enough because we couldn't travel much more than 10 miles per hour. [End of tape 1 side A]
LaVOY: After the wheel fell off that one, what type of bus did you go to after that?
TESTOLIN: We seemed to have the worst bus in the route. They always gave our bus driver that because they thought he was a better driver.
LaVOY: What was his name, do you remember?
TESTOLIN: Well, either the Fergusons or the Ernsts drove it. I can't remember just exactly who was driving it that time when we had this [problem]. Donald Kallenback I think.
LaVOY: He was driving it when the wheel fell off?
TESTOLIN: He was a very good driver but the roads were almost impassable in the winter time. They were frozen and snowy.
LaVOY: Probably very muddy in the spring.
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: How long did school last, when did school let out?
TESTOLIN: It always let out about the first of June. There hasn't been any change in that that I could see.
LaVOY: Who was your very best friend at school?
TESTOLIN: It was Norma Jean Mills, she's a Best now. [Norma Jean Mills Best]
LaVOY: And she was your closest friend?
TESTOLIN: Mmm-hmm
LaVOY: What were some of the things you studied at school… as in elementary school?
TESTOLIN: There was reading, spelling, arithmetic--they called it then, instead of mathematics, which they call it now-English, history, I liked that and I liked geography, very much--penmanship. Those were the main subjects.
LaVOY: When you finished at the Cottage Schools as it's called now, what school did you move to?
TESTOLIN: We moved to the West End here.
LaVOY: Do you remember any of the teachers that you had at West End school [280 S. Russell]?
TESTOLIN: No, I can't remember that far back. I can remember better those at Oats Park because we had Laura Mills and we had Elnora Toft and we had Mrs. Zuckerman, that's the penmanship teacher we had, and Mrs. Smiley. I can remember those teachers.
LaVOY: After West End school, you went to Oats Park school?
TESTOLIN: Yes. The Oats Park School which is the old building standing now.
LaVOY: From Oats Park you went to high school here?
TESTOLIN: Yes. I was, then I went to high school for four years.
LaVOY: Tell me some of the things in high school. Were you interested in athletics at all?
TESTOLIN: I wasn't too interested in athletics. They made us take gym, that was a required subject, at noon we had to take that, but I wasn't too interested. I had made up my mind that when I was going to graduate from high school I wanted to go in to accounting and that was it. I just took all the subjects that were required for the business course.
LaVOY: Mathematics was your strong point?
TESTOLIN: Mmm-hmm
LaVOY: When did you graduate from high school? What was the year?
TESTOLIN: 1932.
LaVOY: Do you remember the graduation ceremony?
TESTOLIN: Oh, yes.
LaVOY: Who was the speaker?
TESTOLIN: It was Dr. . . . I can't remember the name. (Rev. Brewster Adams.)
LaVOY: McCracken by any chance?
TESTOLIN: No, McCracken was our principal.
LaVOY: But you had the man that was a doctor here in town?
TESTOLIN: No. He was from Reno.
LaVOY: And he came out to give the commencement address?
TESTOLIN: Mmm-hmm
LaVOY: Did you have a valedictorian of the class at that time?
TESTOLIN: No. We didn't. We never did have those. Those came up later on in years I imagine.
LaVOY: Now, when you graduated from high school, did you want to go on to college or did you choose to stay here?
TESTOLIN: When I graduated from high school, I didn't have money to go on to college. It was during the depression years so I went back for a post-graduate course in high school. But I didn't stay there too long because my folks needed me to help them out. So I saved enough money by doing little odd jobs and this and that, to go to a secretarial school in Reno. I went there for six months.
LaVOY: Do you remember the name of that?
TESTOLIN: Yes, it used to be the Reno Secretarial School. I had worked previously at the Courthouse under the WPA project . . . what do they call it Works… something …?
LaVOY: Works Project Administration?
TESTOLIN: Yes. I had worked for them and that's how I saved up enough money to go to Reno. When I went to Reno I worked for my room and board so I had that paid for. Then I had enough to pay my tuition.
LaVOY: Who did you live with in Reno?
TESTOLIN: I lived with some Jewish people by the name of Staloff. He was the manager of Montgomery Ward.
LaVOY: Then you came back to Fallon?
TESTOLIN: Yes. I didn't really come back to Fallon. I was going to continue on and I came home one day and the manager from the TCID came out and asked my mother and father what I was doing. He said he had a vacancy in the office if I wanted it.
LaVOY: What was this man's name.
TESTOLIN: Mr. Ward Emery.
LaVOY: Were you pleased?
TESTOLIN: Well, I certainly was. There were no jobs available at the time.
LaVOY: What was your starting pay?
TESTOLIN: $2.97 a day.
LaVOY: And what was involved in your work?
TESTOLIN: I did clerical work, I started from the bottom up. I filed letters and typed letters and did books. Not too much bookkeeping yet. I wanted to get into the bookkeeping part of it. They did have a stenographer there.
LaVOY: Who was the stenographer, do you remember?
TESTOLIN: Vivian Saval.
LaVOY: How long did you continue doing clerical work there?
TESTOLIN: Well, then I did mostly bookkeeping and I learned the processes of the office and did all kinds of odd jobs. Then I became the main bookkeeper there. Mr. Emery had left--he retired in 1949--and then John Hannifan came in. John Hannifan was the secretary treasurer of the TCID. I was appointed the assistant secretary treasurer when John passed away. They gave the title of secretary and treasurer to Phil Hiibel as well as the project manager.
LaVOY: Tell me the names of some of the early people that worked in TCID and any funny stories that you recall about it.
TESTOLIN: Names of people that worked there was Mr. [Walter] Wallace. He was the project manager. Mr. Ray Couch was the electrical superintendent. Then after John had passed away, I took the management of the office and Phil Hiibel was the project manager. I continued doing that until I retired and they had hired Jim Wood as manager when Phil Hiibel retired.
LaVOY: Where was this office?
TESTOLIN: On [120] North Maine Street of Fallon.
LaVOY: How can we place it? Is it where the new post office is now?
TESTOLIN: Yes. Where the new post office is.
LaVOY: Now how long had that been an office?
TESTOLIN: That office building was moved down from Lahontan. It was installed up there at the time they were building the dam. They took part of it from Lahontan Dam and they built on a section on the back of it where the engineering department was. Harry Richards had the engineering part in the back.
LaVOY: When was the office moved to the present location [2666 Harrigan Road]?
TESTOLIN: When they built the office on Harrigan Road. That was after I left.
LaVOY: Did [the building] remain empty until the post office was built there?
TESTOLIN: Well, it was immediately sold as I understand. Someone bought it for a home. I don't know where it is now. It's out here in the country someplace.
LaVOY: Did the ranchers come in and complain as they do now in the TCID office?
TESTOLIN: Oh, they did. It was just a normal routine. We never took it too seriously because we thought that it was our job to listen to their problems, and they did have problems.
LaVOY: What were the types of problems that they had?
TESTOLIN: Mostly, they couldn't get their water when they wanted it and of course during the years when the water was short, that was the bad years. We went through the shortage of water, went through the floods, went through the earthquakes.
LaVOY: Did the earthquakes damage any of the ditches?
TESTOLIN: It did very much. That was one of the biggest disasters that we had. It was bigger than the flood.
LaVOY: The earthquake cracked the ditches, is that it?
TESTOLIN: Yes. We had several, especially in the Stillwater District.
LaVOY: Who had to repair those, TCID?
TESTOLIN: TCID was in charge of repairing them. But the emergency funds came from the government. [tape cuts out]
LaVOY: Catherine, tell me about some of the damage that was
done by the earthquake that you saw yourself.
TESTOLIN: Do you mean in town or you mean out in the District?
LaVOY: Well, in town and in the District. Let's start with the District first.
TESTOLIN: All right. We had ditches in the Stillwater area where the centers were covered . . . came up in a big roll like, and the banks just disappeared. They had to use big equipment to clean the ditches out and it was several days before they could irrigate. There wasn't any way they could irrigate some of the land and most of it was great big cracks. Seemed like it hit most of the Stillwater area, the Harmon District and some of the Lone Tree District had big cracks in it. We spent several days trying to get it straightened out. It took about two weeks before the water could get back in the ditches.
LaVOY: This was during the month of July when irrigation was so important.
TESTOLIN: Yes. But I think no one cared about anything because their land, even their alfalfa fields were non-irrigable. They couldn't irrigate at the time on account of the whole area was just changed.
LaVOY: Were the cemeteries affected out there?
TESTOLIN: Yes. In Stillwater it was. The Indian cemetery. I understand that they had water spouts come up. The Indians got frightened because they thought their dead ones were coming up through it.
LaVOY: Then what damage do you remember was done in town that you recall?
TESTOLIN: The most damage I recall was the Sagebrush building downtown and the old Woodliff building which they had to knock down and there was a little dress shop on Maine Street where the Jeff's Office is now and that was crushed in. Across the street it didn't seem to do too much damage. Just on one side of the street mostly.
LaVOY: How about your father's ranch. Was there damage done out there?
TESTOLIN: Not too much out there that I know. That area didn't get caught in it.
LaVOY: Now this happened in 1954. You were mentioning that prior to that there was a flood. Could you tell me something about the damage done by the flood and how it affected TCID ditches?
TESTOLIN: We had the flood in 1952, I believe. But the flood was mostly along the river. It was mostly upstream up around Dayton and so forth. The flood never damaged too much down below. Of course they had to tend to it. Kept all the ditches full and ran it down to the Stillwater area in every direction they could send the water to because the water was coming over the Dam spillway.
LaVOY: Tell me some of the funny stories that have come to you now about working in the TCID office. Some of the things that happened.
TESTOLIN: I can remember people being very frustrated about times they couldn't get their water when they wanted it. But we did have a gentleman who always accused our ditch rider of poisoning his water. He said he was going to shoot the ditch rider and the ditch rider was always afraid to go down and turn his water in for him. But he eventually died in the mental hospital. I can always remember him coming in and flaring his arms up and down.
LaVOY: Who were some of the ditch riders, some of the older ditch riders?
TESTOLIN: Walter Phillips was one of them. Harold Soule was one of them... then he got a job as a water master, later on in the building. And there was some man by the name of Denning. I wish I had written these all down for you
LaVOY: The ditch riders have a very hard job. They work from morning until morning.
TESTOLIN: They did at that time but now I understand it's all different. They don't work that way. They work so many hours and the relief ditchrider carries on. At the time I was employed, it was 24 hours duty. Each tender was in charge of the irrigation water in his district. After irrigation was completed the water would be released to the next ditchrider down the line.
LaVOY: I understand that there are some houses called ditch rider's houses, what are those?
TESTOLIN: Ditch tender's houses. There's where they lived, that's their residences. The ditch tenders live in those houses.
LaVOY: Now that's not their home, that's where they stay when they're on duty?
TESTOLIN: They live there continuously throughout the year.
LaVOY: How many ditch houses, approximately, were there in the valley?
TESTOLIN: I think there were eight. [see addendum]
LaVOY: And are they still in existence?
TESTOLIN: I wouldn't know. I haven't been with the TCID for a long time so I don't know what they have now. They still have the Stillwater. They still have the one in the Harmon District which is out here by the Rattlesnake hill and they still have the one out in Lone Tree. They have the one up in the Sheckler District. I don't know who tends to Old River, I think they still have one out in Old River District.
LaVOY: Well, with all the years that you worked for TCID, what made you decide you wanted to retire?
TESTOLIN: I was fifty-five and I had my years in and I could retire with my full retirement at the time.
LaVOY: You had thirty-two years in? [TCID records show she started December 28, 1934 and retired August 30, 1968.]
TESTOLIN: Yes. I was able to get on pension then, thinking that I would make out. But I didn't stay retired too long.
LaVOY: How long did you stay retired?
TESTOLIN:I stayed retired only about a couple of months. I couldn't fool around.
LaVOY: So what did you do?
TESTOLIN: I had no idea. I tried to get a job and everybody said I was too qualified for the job. Couldn't afford to pay you what you should be getting.
LaVOY: Those were merchants in Fallon?
TESTOLIN: Yes. So, one day I was driving into Reno and I remembered I had a friend there and I decided to go in and see her. She's in the travel agent business. It just popped in my head, and I thought I'd go in and talk to her. I went in and I said, "Dorothy, what do you think about me being outside sales for your travel agency?" She said, "You can try it if you want, I can't give you any salary." "Well, I'll work on commission," I said. "I'll agree to whatever commission you're getting I'll get half of your commission, I mean by trying." So I started out and it was December and I think I made $12.00 commission. In January I think I made about $30.00 or $40.00. Then I got into it and I went around and talked to people and they all thought I was crazy. I didn't think so because I liked it and I said I was going to get myself something that was never started in Fallon and I was going to bring it to a peak. After working with them for a long time I went up and talked to them again and I says, "Do you want to open up an agency in Fallon? I will run it for you." They weren't interested in coming to Fallon. I says, "I cannot manage it the way I have it, I have to hire somebody to help me. The business is getting too big for me." So I had different girls come in and work. I couldn't afford to give them too much but I gave them enough anyway. I was making pretty good money, I was making good commission by then. Then, Arlene Hirschman came in and she says, "I don't like teaching. Would you be interested in taking me in?" So I had her here in the house, where I had the travel agency. I was just doing it from here as the City had allowed me to do it because there wasn't anyplace open where I could even have an office and I had my license with them. So I hired her and she stayed with me for about six months and then we decided it was getting too big. I went back and talked to 'em again and I gave them the chance and I said, "If you want to, I'll open it up for you". No, they weren't interested and so I said, "O.K., I'll go on my own".
LaVOY: What was the name of that agency?
TESTOLIN: it was the Travel Advisors in Reno.
LaVOY: And you mentioned Dorothy.
TESTOLIN: Dorothy Gates.
LaVOY: So you came back and opened an agency?
TESTOLIN: Well, then we had to go through a lot of rigamarole, but we got it opened.
LaVOY: And what was the name of it?
TESTOLIN: The Travel Center. It was downtown on Center Street, where the Yellow Unicorn is now. I had a little office in there and the two of us worked together and the business kept growing and finally ended up having four people. So, we had to go into computers and after that it was just changing of schedules and changing of prices and it made me decide to retire and I sold out.
LaVOY: When was this?
TESTOLIN: I sold out in 1982.
LaVOY: Owning a travel agency, were you able to take trips?
TESTOLIN: I've traveled all over the world. There isn't any continent in the world I haven't travelled on. I enjoyed traveling at that time. I made three trips to South America. I've been to Mexico. I've been to Alaska. I've been to Australia, New Zealand. I've been to the Orient, Hawaii, Europe, Russia.
LaVOY: Did you travel on your own or did you take tourists?
TESTOLIN: No. We took tours.
LaVOY: You were a tour leader?
TESTOLIN: No, I wasn't a tour leader. We went as agents. They'd give us a discount to go on these trips. I went to Russia, I did a tour through Italy. I did a tour through England.
LaVOY: Getting back to Italy, did you go to your mother and father's home town?
TESTOLIN: We were on a tour and we did go close because it was close to Venice. We had gone up in that country, but I never got back to where my mother lived. My sister did. She and her husband and her daughters did go to see the relatives. But I never did get to where they were really born.
LaVOY: Who did you sell your agency to?
TESTOLIN: I sold it to Arlene Hirschman and Irene McCuskey.
LaVOY: And they are still in business?
TESTOLIN: Well, Arlene Hirschman sold her share to Irene McCuskey so she's no longer in the business. She's back teaching school again.
LaVOY: I noticed that you have such a tremendous doll collection, did you start that when you were doing your traveling?
TESTOLIN: No, I didn't do that until later. I did some of that while traveling. I have quite a few of those that I picked up in foreign countries. In Constantinople, I picked up a little doll which I have. The hardest one I had to purchase was in Russia. Their method of selling things is something else. I was down in Southern Russia and I couldn't speak the language but I went out to this open market. I tried to tell a little gal that I wanted the doll. She just motioned to me. Finally I picked the doll up and brought it to her and gave her the money. Of course we had American money and she had somebody that could exchange it. Whether I got it for the right price or not I'll never know. You never knew anyway so it didn't make any difference. But I wanted it and I have it. Then of course, every country I ever went to from then on I bought dolls.
LaVOY: Well, they're certainly beautiful.
TESTOLIN: Thank you.
LaVOY: When did you father pass away?
TESTOLIN: He passed away in 1949.
LaVOY: So this is while you were still with TCID?
TESTOLIN: Yes. We're with TCID. I lived on A Street at the time. Right there by the post office, in back of the old post office.
LaVOY: You did not live with your parents you lived in town?
TESTOLIN: After we moved off the ranch, my mother and dad moved in with my sister and me. We rented the house for $35.00 per month, it was right next to TCID there. My sister was working for the Bureau of Reclamation at the time upstairs in the old post office.
LaVOY: Which sister is this?
TESTOLIN: This is Grace [Testolin Ricci], the one that's in Dayton. They transferred their office into Carson City so she went with them. It left me with my mother and dad there. My Dad died, he had leukemia. He died in 1949, in October [12].
LaVOY: So you and your mother lived there together?
TESTOLIN: Yes, we lived there then we purchased this house here [745 West Center] and we moved over here in 1952.
LaVOY: When did your mother pass away?
TESTOLIN: She passed away in 1972. [April 24, 1972]
LaVOY: Tell me, living with your mother, in her old age, what were some of the things that you did with her.
TESTOLIN: She loved to go fishing. We went fishing a lot. Every night I'd come home from work and she'd have the lunch ready and away we went. Went up the river and fished in the summertime. She liked that and then she liked to go rock hunting. And then she'd get acquainted with some of her rock buddies and Mrs. Miller--that's Mark Miller's mother--and they were rock hunters. She joined the garden club, she was a member of that. She liked that and she enjoyed going places. Up to her very last week we went to Fernley for breakfast. She always enjoyed going and she liked Mrs. Briggs. She and Mrs. Briggs were very good friends. Mrs. Briggs [Eva B., January 17, 1904 - March 12, 1966] had the station out here at Trinity . . . out here going to Lovelock, where that crossroad is.
LaVOY: Where Interstate 80 and the Lovelock cut-off are?
TESTOLIN: Yes. We used to go up there on weekends because she sold hamburgers and so forth.
LaVOY: Mrs. Briggs did?
TESTOLIN: Yes. Mrs. Briggs. She's Leona Rawlins' mother. The son had built a station and did mechanical work there.
LaVOY: What's his name?
TESTOLIN: His name was . . . [Dean L. Briggs, Jr., January 26, 1930 to March 12, 1966]
LaVOY: Well, that's all right, it may come back to you later. I understand that you had quite a serious happening there. Could you tell us about that?
TESTOLIN: Yes, I can. This very morning, we were going to go up there, I told mother, I says, "Why don't we go right now?" She was working in the kitchen, she says, "No, let's go at 11 o'clock. I have some work to do." So we did our work and we left and we went on up. When we got there the station was bare and there was nobody around. We couldn't figure out what was going on. So I went inside. They had a counter where they fed the people, like a coffee shop, and I decided to go in back of the counter and I told my mother, "Well, I'll go in back and see if I can find somebody in the kitchen, because I yelled and hollered and nobody seemed to respond. Eva was laying on the floor. [end of tape 1]
LaVOY: This is side A, Tape 2. Catherine, we were talking about your friend that you found dead behind the counter. Can you continue with that?
TESTOLIN: I thought she was still alive and she was still alive and I didn't know what had happened to her. I thought someone had probably slugged her with a hammer or something. I could see that she was still breathing but I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't say anything she'd only groan. Finally, I stepped around and I stepped on a shell and I immediately found out that she was shot. In the meantime a little gentleman came in. He probably was a prospector and stopped to get some gas and he helped us out. He got a cold towel and put on the back of her head and we were able to get hold of the authorities. Two boys that came from Lovelock were riding their bicycles out for the day. They called their father who was on the Highway Patrol and he notified the Churchill County Sheriff's Office from there. We were looking for the boy, Dean, her son. We could not find him. We went out yelling and went to back buildings to look around. No, one was around so we decided that he must have gone to Lovelock for water because that was where they were getting their water to drink. A couple of tourists came by and they wanted some gas but we couldn't serve them because we had no way of getting the gas. One of the tourists, the young man, went in to use the restroom and he came out with his hands up in the air and he says, "There's a dead man in the restroom." Then immediately we knew that Dean was there. Finally we stayed until the authorities came. We had called for the ambulance and it had to come from Fallon. The authorities questioned us. There didn't seem to be anything disturbed as in a robbery. We didn't know what the motive was. We couldn't give them any information because we hadn't seen anyone. After a while the authorities let us come on home and the ambulance was on the way but she apparently died on her way to Fallon. That happened about 30 years ago.
LaVOY: That is indeed very tragic. How did your mother react to that?
TESTOLIN: We were so upset for a while. First thing, the news got on the air and our relatives had heard it from all different directions and they were calling us to see if we were the women. They just said that two women had found them. And we had to say yes, we were the ones that found them.
LaVOY: Very traumatic happening. Your mother, as you say, was very active with garden clubs and different things around here. After she passed away you continued living in the house here?
TESTOLIN: Yes, I did. I'm still living here.
LaVOY: Catherine, what organizations have you belonged to? I imagine there are very many of them.
TESTOLIN: I have been with the American Cancer Society for thirty years and during the years I have served on the State Board and I am an honorary member of the State Board. At the time I got my certificate--my plaque for that--I was the second one in the State of Nevada that received one. Judge Manoukian was the first one to get one. So I still serve on their Board and I served with the Red Cross. During the four years I was a Crusade Chairman, I raised over $10,000.00, the most that's ever been raised in this County. I served as the Sierra Nevada Chapter for the years 1963, 1964, and 1965. Also, during the war I served with American Women's Voluntary . . . Service. I was their secretary-treasurer and also their chairman. I served on the Safety Council, I was their secretary-treasurer here.
LaVOY: What is the Safety Council?
TESTOLIN: We had a Safety Council here that was throughout the State and was a National Safety Council which I think they still have one, but it was formed in Churchill County and we had members. It was for driving. It was for highway driving. Then I was a Neighbor of Woodcraft and I've been a Guardian Neighbor for that in the year 1952 and a member of the Pythian Sisters which I am over a forty five-year member. I am the Excellent Senior now of the local Pythian Sisters. I also serve as a guard in the Grand Temple of Nevada. I belong to the Past Chief Order of the Pythian Sisters and I worked in the Hospital Auxiliary. I was a member there and a member of the Navy League. I've been a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club since the year 1941. I served as Fallon Club treasurer and Fallon Club President for two years and treasurer for four years and I was the Assistant District Director for Central District in 1961-62. District Director in Central District in the year 1962-63. Served on all the committee chairmans in the State of Nevada and became an officer as a State Recording Secretary in 1963-1964; State Third Vice President 1964-65; State Second Vice President 1965-66; State President-elect 1966-67 and State President 1967-68. I've been to seven national conventions. Been to practically every State convention with the exception of about four or five. I'm still a member of the BPW Club. Right now I'm serving as the president of the Retired Public Employees State of Nevada, the Churchill Unit. I'm serving as the secretary of the American Cancer Society. Am serving as treasurer of the PEO organization. I became a member of the PEO, Chapter D, initiated in December 1979. I'm past-president of the Lahontan Gem and Mineral Club which I served for two years. And I'm a member of the Clover Leaf Club.
LaVOY: What is the Clover Leaf Club.
TESTOLIN: It is a social club started in the Harmon District. They decided to start a social club for women who like to get together once a month. It's a lot of fun because we just have a potluck and everybody brings food and we certainly do feed ourselves.
LaVOY: Who are some of the members of that club?
TESTOLIN: The members right now? We have 20 members and we have Allene Baumann, Liz Cress, Van Lang and Rita Hess, they're both from Lovelock, and Marie Guazzini, Lila Guazzini and her daughter Morena Heser. We have Vella Torvik, Norma Stark, Sally Landis and Mabel McCart.
LaVOY: Well, most of these women are basically pioneers.
TESTOLIN: Well, they are daughters. This club was started way back in 1920 sometime and Mary Ellen Jacobsen's mother was one of the persons. A charter member would be Mabel McCart. She is still a member. She very seldom comes on account of her health. There's also Betty Alberson. None of my family was ever involved in it. There were quite a few people down in the Wildes District and the Harmon District that belonged to it.
LaVOY: Now that's quite a list of organizations. Did you belong to any others? Or does that about finish your list. It seems to me that you've been very, very busy all your life working for all the organizations here in town. I understand that you were also listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the West. When was this approximately?
TESTOLIN: The Who's Who of American Women I was listed in the year of 1970-71 and also the same year for Who's Who in the West.
LaVOY: Very, very great. I'm very pleased that you were included with that group. Now we have pretty well covered everything I believe. However there's one thing I want to go back on that I should have asked you about when we were about in the middle of this interview. You mentioned, or I guess I should say that I have heard a great deal about the oil boom in Fallon and I just wondered, could you tell me was your father involved in that at all?
TESTOLIN: No, my father was never involved in that. He only bought a share of it for $100.00 and I can remember him coming home with his share and showing this beautiful piece of paper to my mother and she says, "What did you do that for? You don't even have $100.00. You should use the money for something else. We need it for more important things." And he said, "Oh, we're going to have oil here!" and she said "No, well if we have oil, we'll have our farm," she says, "That way they'll dig here too."
LaVOY: What was the name of the company?
TESTOLIN: The name of the company was Fallon Pioneer Oil Company.
LaVOY: Who was the president of it?
TESTOLIN: The president was C.L. Benadum. B-E-N-A-D-U-M.
LaVOY: Is that a family name that you recall from years past in Fallon?
TESTOLIN: Yes. He's a resident of Fallon. He had a garage here in Fallon next to the old Post Office building.
LaVOY: And nothing came of the oil venture?
TESTOLIN: Oh, no. Nothing came. They explored but nothing happened. This was purchased September 25, 1920.
LaVOY: Goodness. Now one other thing I want to ask you about. I notice there's a road named Testolin Road in the area. That is named after your family?
TESTOLIN: Yes, that was named after my parents. And my brother still owns a ranch on Testolin Road
LaVOY: Your brother owns a ranch on the East side of Testolin Road?
TESTOLIN: Yes, on the East side of it
LaVOY: Which brother is that?
TESTOLIN: That's Tony. And he has a ranch out at the Reese River which he's recently sold. He's planning to build a home on one corner of it. I understand he's got it started.
LaVOY: That's on Testolin Road?
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: Was it Testolin Road when you were young and lived out there?
TESTOLIN: No, it wasn't. It was called Wildes Road at one time. It ran into the other Wildes Road that's going towards the base now.
LaVOY: But in years past it's been changed to Testolin Road.
TESTOLIN: Yes.
LaVOY: Well, Catherine, can you think of anything else we may have missed in this interesting interview?
TESTOLIN: Well, I think I've talked plenty. I don't know whether you need to know any more of my life or all the awards that I've won.
LaVOY: Well, you won awards with your different organizations, is that it?
TESTOLIN: Yes. I've been in the . . . different organizations and I don't know whether you're interested in any of those or not.
LaVOY: Well, I think at this point we're more interested with the history. You have a paper that I noticed was a J.C. Penney ad and I would like you to just tell me what some of the prices were in that ad because in this day and age it's very hard to believe that anything could be so inexpensive.
TESTOLIN: I'm looking at one here that was published September 24, 1932 and we have a woman's coat here for $4.75 and a pair of shoes for $2.98, which are arch support shoes, and a man's hat for $1.99.
LaVOY: Didn't I see something there about a man's horsehide coat?
TESTOLIN: Yes, there's one here, it's $4.98 and a boy's size would be $3.98. Then we have a leather jacket here for $4.98. It's also in different sizes and the boy's size would be $3.98. And a nightgown for $.69. Here's a blanket for $2.98, part wool and also another blanket which is cotton plaid for $1.98. We have two gowns for $1.00, for women. Sheet blankets for $.47.
LaVOY: That's unbelievable. Hard to believe that prices were that cheap when we think of what we have to pay for them today. Well, Catherine, on behalf of the Churchill County Museum Oral History project, I want to thank you for this very, very interesting interview.
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