Code,518044
Speaker,Rena Fiedler
Date,6/29/11
Interviewer,Carolyn Conklin
Abstract,"Rena Fiedler grew up on her grandparent's farm, the Stanford House, near Boston, Ohio. Her grandfather's aunt, Ellen Stanford, passed the house along her nephew, Ernest Dickenson. Rena's parents, William Hatch and Fanny (Dickenson) Hatch, lived at the Stanford House until Rena was in gradeschool. On the Stanford property, Rena's grandfather had many livestock, corn, and other produce. Rena remembers details about the farm, as well as life in Peninsula c. 1930s forward. The Stanford House currently operates as a hostel in the National Park."
Tags,"Stanford House, Cuyahoga Valley, Boston, Peninsula, Stanford Hostel, Point Farm"
Special Notes,"About 15 minutes into the interview, I paused the equipment to let Rena  find her parent's home on the map."
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0,introductions; b. 1926 in Boston
1,"born in the Stanford House, grandparents' home"
2,"her grandfather farmed everything, many livestock;"
3,farm layout and extra fields across from canal
4,"hired men to work the farm, day laborers and some who stayed, others stayed in house."
5,"farmhouse details, mounting stone for loading into horse buggy;"
6,grandparents' history
7,"living at the Stanford House, only child, pets and small horse"
8,"often alone as a child, playing invented games and with animals"
9,"general memories of being a child on a farm in the valley, no fears, story about grandma feeding homeless"
10,memories of grandmother; hired men loved her grandmother's cooking;
11,"memories of grandfather, games they played; some (voluntary) chores"
12,"giving milk to cats; lived at Stanford until she started school, then moved, but lived with grandparents during summer"
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14,location of parents' house along Riverview Road (just north of Stine Rd)
15,memories of mother as an artist
16,grandparents and parents very involved in community groups and events
17,livestock and sweet corn on grandparent's farm; mother was born away from farm
18,"grandfather's previous residence was a smaller farm, the ""little farm"" near the Stanford House"
19,
20,"father's history; paternal grandparents from England, grandfather made cheese"
21,
22,"new parents' house; father worked at a dealership in Bedford, OH; memories of father"
23,more pets and memories of her dog
24,"neighborhood friends, bicycle"
25,"visiting friends and stores in Boston, bought ice cream, candy, etc.; Boston High School (now Woodridge)"
26,favorite teacher
27,babysitting job in high school; 13 students in graduating class; parents purchased produce from Stebbins' store in Peninsula
28,grandparents purchased bread and other goods from Boodeys' store; otherwise ate what was on the farm
29,"nice to grow up here, safety, knowing neighbors;"
30,"Peninsula had Italians and Boston had Polish, clash of personalities"
31,"typical day for grandfather working on farm, farm work, lunch for the family and hired help"
32,
33,"living through the winter, wood-burning stoves"
34,"grandfather bought and sold some livestock at auctions, made all money off of farm"
35,"favorite places on farm, her room, playing in hay bales"
36,local businesses
37,
38,"electricity and technology, used to have a lamp to carry to bed, didn't mean much to Rena as a young girl"
39,met husband at high school; short details about husband's history (Jim Fiedler grew up on Point farm)
40,
41,"changes in valley over time, more people, National Park taking over and ""ruining"" land (negative)"
42,
43,"life after marriage and high school, eventually moved back to Brecksville, husband worked in dealership"
44,changing landscape
45,"more about landscape; interactions with wildlife, pet skunk story"
46,general memories of feeling safe in the valley
47,no knowledge of Merkle family or history
48,gradual change towards corn as the main crop in valley
49,closing
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