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Transcription: [00:13:00]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Sixty, about sixty-some dollars.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
A day?
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
A day.
[00:13:06]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Uh, what's a, what was a routine day like for you? I mean, once you came in, what, what was your day like? What did you do first to get started?
[00:13:18]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Ok, we had these gallon pails. You had to go in and get those. You had to put water in them, then each one of— everybody had their own spot at the table. And then you put your apron on, and the guys that brings out the oysters from the back room would put the oysters on the table, and the day was started.
[00:13:41]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Who were some of the faster shuckers at the oyster house?
[00:13:45]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Oh dear. Um. [[sighs]] [[ Blondel ? ]] Mason was one. [[chuckles]] Well, there was a lot of them. It's hard for me to name them because most of them was really, really fast.
[00:14:08]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Now, I think you're being modest because from what I understand, you were very fast.
[00:14:13]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Well after I once learned—
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
[[laughter]]
[00:14:16]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
See, when I started— I went, I was working right beside, um, what was his name? What was this guy named? Good lawd, been so long. Um, I have a picture of the guy, but I just can't [[ ? ]] him. He was a very fast shucker, and shucking oysters, um, if the person working next to you can really, really shuck oysters fast, so this is a really encouraging role and I'm going to try and do this too, and that's how I really got started.
[00:14:55]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Ok. Is it true that you have a number of awards and certificates from, uh, shucking oysters?
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Mhmm.
[00:15:02]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Uh, ok, what type of awards and certificates do you have?
[00:15:06]
{SPEAKER name="Ruth Smith"}
Well, the certificate is just a proclamation from the courthouse, um,