Code,913017
Subject,Robert Brooks
Date,8/13/2013
Interviewer,Terre Maher
Abstract,"Robert Brooks, a resident at Judson Place, gives a detailed description of his early life. He discribes his various homes and the neighborhoods they were located in. He also remembers nuanced details about the schools he went to A.J. Rickoff and Hazeldell. He recalls his time in college and what he did after college. Then after working for Cleveland Public Schools for many years, he retired and gained all kinds of freedom and volunteer opportunities. He concludes by talking about the various jewels that Cleveland has to offer."
Tags,"Glenville, Mount Pleasant, 1920s, 1930s, Great Depression, Immigration, ""Cleveland Double"" house, coal trucks, coal heating, A.J. Rickoff School, Hazel Dell School, Terminal Tower, Mozart, Yiddish, French, garment industry, John Hay, Cleveland College, night school, streetcars, University Circle, Severance Hall, Cleveland Public Schools, teaching, English as a Second Language, retirement, Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Luke's Hospital, World War II, jewels of Cleveland"
Special Notes,Minute 48 the doorbell rings and the interview is interrupted
minutes:,
0,Sound Check
1,"Introductions, Grew up in various neighborhoods: Glenville and Mount Pleasant"
2,"Describes homes in Mt. Pleasant - called ""Cleveland Doubles"" built in the 1920s"
3,"Population boom due to immigration, both Glenville and Mt. Pleasant were immigrant neighborhoods"
4,"Cleveland Double discription, (4:40) coal trucks"
5,how coal heating worked
6,Mother made feather quilts to keep them warm at night
7,How his father heated the house in the morning
8,A.J. Rickoff was the neighborhood school - Demolished now
9,"Description of the elementary school continues to 9:40, walked to school"
10,Moved to Glenville in the 1st Grade (1933) because rent was raised
11,"Father was one of 11 partners in an industrial laundry, but it went bankrupt and then the father did what he could"
12,Describes Glenville
13,Moved from house to apartment - no porch and it was more crowded
14,(14:20) Hazeldell School very different from previous school - liked it very much
15,The rules changed - got him in trouble on the first day - Good story here
16,Got lost in the morning; dismissal had to march to music
17,Hazeldell had outstanding teachers; he couldn't wait to get there on a daily basis
18,Loved reading time; (18:40) 2nd grade field trip on a train to Terminal Tower
19,(19:35) he was taught Mozart in the 2nd grade
20,"""Taught us to be Americans"""
21,"grandparents spoke Yiddish, bit of english"
22,"Large Classroom sizes, which combined grades at times"
23,French classes starting in the 1st grade
24,music class often; art once a week
25,Parents came to the US in 1913; recalls his mother's trip to Cleveland
26,Mom worked in NYC in the garment industry
27,She came to Cleveland looking for employment
28,Describes his outfit for going to school
29,Didn't like the garter belt and short pants
30,Describes his shoes and what a galash is
31,
32,Went to college but it was not in the plans
33,"While working at a clothing manufacturer, he took night classess at John Hay and then Cleveland College"
34,Was a stock boy and packer at the factory; he took french classes at night school
35,
36,Paid for college all by himself; (36:20) $10/credit hour which was quite steep because the factory started at $20 then moved to $40
37,Loved college and he took streetcars to get anywhere
38,
39,"Always enjoyed coming to university circle, he calls it enchanting"
40,$0.50 to sit in the balcony at Severance Hall; (40:35) goes back to talking about the Great Depression
41,"He remembers that it was a struggle to pay for the streetcar, which was $0.02 cents"
42,Education was worth sacrificing for according to his parents
43,"""anything that had to do with money was painful"""
44,(44:45) he was economical and he saved
45,Difficulty in taking care of his grandparets
46,after Cleveland College he taught at Cleveland Public Schools - French at the elementary school level and the youngest he went was 2nd grade
47,Learned a lot in retirement taught between 1955-1983
48,(Doorbell rings)
49,Retired early because he couldn't stand working anymore due to the problems arising in the adminstration
50,no one took teaching French seriously - cut his periods and took away his classroom
51,Tried to put blame on him
52,"what he did after he retired: volunteered various places: Convention and visitors bureau, adult learn, neonatal at St. Luke's"
53,Taught English as a second language; (53:60) describes the change in student attitudes over time
54,World would change if more learned a second language
55,2nd language makes people powerful
56,Spent a year in Germany with the army 1951-1952
57,"WW2: Classified as unskilled laborer (as a teacher) at first, lists his jobs for the military"
58,Joys of aging are a deep secret
59,with retirement came a lot of freedom; things began to make sense
60,Thinks that Cleveland keeps its jewels secret and has for his whole life
61,"Big Cleveland fan now mentions the jewels like the council on world affairs, and the International Piano Competition"
62,
63,Trees and sidewalks are also key because not every city has that luxury. End of Interview