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{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
What is your full name?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mary Elizabeth Washington.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
What's your birth date?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Fourth month, fifth-- Fourth month, in the 15th day of '33.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. And your present address?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Lloyd Bowen Road, St. Leonard, Maryland.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay, um, how many members was in your family? Your mother, your sisters and brothers, and your father.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh, on that side?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
On your side. Your sisters and brothers.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh. Um -- 12.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Twelve. Okay. Any of them still living?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
All but two.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
And is your mother and father still living?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. Uh, are you married?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
And do you have children?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. How many children do you have?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Three.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. And their names?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Marva, Christine and Brendan.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. And your husband's name?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
David.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Uh. Okay. Describe the home in which you grew up in. [[pause]] What was it like?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Well, it was a nice house, and uh, two bedroom, yeah. Well, all the children slept in one room. And when they come up, grew up a little big, it was the attic. She put them back in the attic, the boys back in the attic.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay, okay. Do your children live nearby?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah, on Lloyd Bowen.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Did you farm -- uh, excuse me, did your family do any farming?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Did they own their own farm?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. They farmed for someone else?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh-huh.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
What type of work did they do?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Well, uh, cutting tobacco and corn.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Did you also farm?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Huh?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Did you also farm?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Me?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Yes.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh - well, what you mean?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Did you farm as a child?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh, yeah. I had to help them.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Help your parents.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh-huh.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. What was the first job you had?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
What was the first job?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Yeah.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
House clean.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay, whoa!
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh, my goodness!
[[mumbling]][[crosstalk]]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay, with your first job, did your first job, did you take a first job to supplement the family income or just to make extra money for yourself?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
To make money for myself.
[[laughter]]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
What other jobs have you had besides housekeeping or house cleaning?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh -- I had no other jobs, and I went to the clam house.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. Uh, how did-- Who taught you how to shuck clams?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Norman.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Norman Durrell?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
How long did it take you to get the hang of it?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh -- maybe for the day, you know, and then went off from there.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. When you first started shucking oysters -- I mean, I'm sorry, clams -- uh, before you first started, who-- What was some of the things that you had heard about shucking clams or oysters? What would people tell you about, uh, shucking clams?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
What they'd tell me about them?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Mm-hmm. That it was hard work, or what what would they--
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No, they didn't say it was all work. They say you'd make good money [[chuckles]] doing the time. Anything about work.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. And you're still shucking clams today?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Uh-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
So, for how long have you been shucking clams?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No one thing, I gotta think about it.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
How old were you?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
I was 53 then.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
53?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
53.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Wow.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Because I had somebody give me number 53, and I said, "53 for 53!"
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Uh-huh.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
I was 53, and they gave me number 53!
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Oh, okay. You've been shucking that long, yeah?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah. And now I'm 64.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
So for 11 years.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Wow. Okay. Have you ever taken the children to work with you?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. What do you usually tell them about your job?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
About my job?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
About shucking clams, yes.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Well, I told them it was nice, and -- but it was hard [[laughs]].
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
I believe that.
[[laughter]]
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Are there a lot of young people at the clam house?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
No, not un--. No 18.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
None under 18?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mm-mm. Not under 18.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Why do you think there's so few young people that are shucking clams?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Why?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
I guess because, see, they don't have no insurance on them. And uh, anything that would happen, you know, you're not responsible for them.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
So if you guys get hurt, there's no type of insurance?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah, we don't get them. Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Yeah. Why is it that you would have insurance, but they wouldn't?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
I'm not 18.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay, yeah.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh, I don't know. I don't know.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. So, uh, how many men and how many women is it at the clam house?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Oh, my. Probably--
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Is it an equal amount, or is it more women than men?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
It's more women than men.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. Who's the fastest, the women or the men?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
In shucking clams?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Mm-hmm. Clams or oysters.
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Well, hmm. I don't know about that one. Yeah, I got my back turned to that! [[laughs]] The clams, those, um, hmm, those, what you call them, they are really fast. The Mexicans, they are really fast.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. The Mexicans are faster than the black shuckers?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Mm-hmm.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
[[Chuckles]]Okay. Uh, is it the same pay for men and women?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Huh?
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Do you get the same pay for men and women?
{SPEAKER name="Mary Washington "}
Yeah, uh, in clams? Uh-huh.
{SPEAKER name="Shelia Montague Parker"}
Okay. What do you think makes shucking clams appealing to you?
