Oral History Program Betty Wooley Interviewed by Jenna Parmer 11 February 1998 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Betty Wooley Interviewed by Jenna Parmer 11 February 1998 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed Kelley Evans, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Wooley, Betty, an oral history by Jenna Parmer, 11 February 1998, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Betty Wooley. The interview was conducted on February 11, 1998, by Jenna Parmer, in Layton, Utah. Wooley discusses her life and experiences and also talks a bit about the differences between men and women during her time. JP: Where were you born? BW: In Ogden, Utah. JP: Did your family ever move, or have you stayed in this area all your life? BW: I've been here all my life but ten years. My husband was in the service so we traveled around a lot. JP: What was your Grandmother like? BW: My Grandmother? Oh dear, just a real sweet lady and a really wonderful lady. She lived in Riverdale and I stayed with her sometimes when she was older and I helped her out. I just remember liking going to stay with her. It was fun. She had a sidewalk and I could roller skate. You know those roller skates that you take the key and clamp them on your shoes. JP: What is your Mother like? BW: My mother? Well, she was just sweet, intelligent lady, very witty, very talented, she had a lot of talent. There was nothing she couldn't do. I remember in my childhood coming home from school and canning. And there was always a quilt in the living room, and I just remember all the people coming to quilt. Times have changed so much. Back then, everybody helped everybody. It was really really nice. She went on a mission. skip in interview 1 JP: Could you tell the difference between girl's work and boy's work? What were the differences? BW: Well, I did mostly in the house. I did help out in the field and that. No. Because my Mother took care of, she milked the cows and fed the cows and everything, and my Dad had a business out on Mountain road. He had a cafe, and she had to do all the man's work. skip in interview JP: Where and when were you married, and how old were you at that time? BW: I was nineteen and I got married in June, of 1949 to my first husband in the Logan temple. JP: How did you meet your first husband? BW: Mutual and just church functions and that. That's where I met him. JP: What about your second husband? BW: I met him... I can't remember just when, but I was divorced when I met him and I can't remember. I shouldn't forget that. I was married in 1964. I was married thirteen years to my first husband, and had all my children. JP: Did you ever work outside of the home during your marriage? BW: Yes, I worked at Clover Club the night shift. JP: What were your duties there? BW: We soldered and built missiles. It's hard to remember. JP: Do you remember what the minimum pay was at that time? BW: I think it was four dollars and something. JP: What job options were available to women? BW: Just retail work, really, or working at the Clover Club, The potato chip factory. JP: What were the attitudes towards women working outside of the home? 2 BW: Oh they weren't supposed to work. I don't think it was looked down on much, but you know they were supposed to stay in the home. That's the way it probably should be, if you can do it. Sometimes you can't do it. skip in interview JP: What were men's roles in raising children at that time? BW: Well my husband helped me. JP: Did he change diapers and everything? BW: Oh yea. He did. He changed diapers and things like that. JP: How often did you go grocery shopping? BW: Every two weeks. JP: What kinds of things were on your regular grocery list? BW: Baby Food. No, oh just um, you know we couldn't afford to spend a whole lot. We had to get a lot of macaroni, and things that would go a long ways. We'd by our meat and things like this, and hamburger; we'd have roast, but we wouldn't have steak or anything like that. skip in recording JP: Have you been to college? BW: I took just a couple of classes in it. I've been to, I graduate from Beauty College. JP: Where was that held? BW: That was out in Roy, called Manuel's Beauty College. JP: You said that you had taken some classes at college, BW: Oh yea, but it was-... JP: At Weber? 3 BW: Yeah Weber College. JP: Was it Weber College at that time? It hadn't turned into a University? BW: Yeah, Weber College. JP: While you were there, what was your major? BW: Oh I took office machine and things like that, just Clerical work. JP: What were the attitudes toward women at college at that time? BW: Well, they treated me ok, maybe because I didn't pay attention. You know. JP: Was there a big ratio difference between guys to girls? BW: I don't remember. JP: Did you ever know a woman who pursued a Man's career, and what challenges did that create? BW: No I don't think so. JP: What are the obvious changes that have taken place in the community? Are there any new businesses, housing developments? BW: Oh yes. Well, you wouldn't know it even fifteen years ago. There was nothing really here. The mall wasn't here. The Ernst and the Safeway down that way was here, but the Mall wasn't here. And the banks, and so many banks and mortgage companies, and so many restaurants, chains. Not real good ones either. But it's-and the theaters. We use to have just one theater. Two theaters. I worked at the theaters when I was in high school. On main street where that bakery is down there. That bread bakery. Down by where the trade center is on 400 main. The other theater was down there. I use to have to walk past Layton Elementary I walked from there to primary. I use to stop at the store. My mother 4 would give me a dime or something, you know, I was hungry when I got out of school. It was quite a walk. You know where you go over the bridge in Layton? The viaduct? JP: On Gentile? BW: On Gentile. That building where it has offices and dental stuff on the right? That use to be our church. JP: Really? BW: Then on Gordon Ave. Clear up at the end up there where the light is on the left hand side, that use to be our very first church. My children were all blessed in the Layton and then the one on Gordon, the new church on Gordon. skip in interview JP: Have you noticed any changes in the attitudes or values of the people who live in your area? BW: Yes I have. I think the attitude of the LDS people, I don't think that they are as helpful. As they use to be. And I think it kind of as the same people keep doing the same thing. The same people hold positions in the Church and I happen to know a few that I don't think are worthy of it. You know, and I don't believe in putting someone in a position in the Church to try to reform them. And I see it. I've lived here all my life. I've seen it. I see it at Sunday school, and I just think the attitude. I can truthfully say that I have not had one person offer to do one thing for me, except my brother in law before he died. When I was younger than that they was right there when you needed them. My Mother was always there when they needed her and I was to, you know. And I'm willing to do anything, but I, I'm not a person to ask, I would never ask anybody to do it. I'd do it myself before I did anything, you know. And, Joe Love offers once in a while, I sure love Joe. You know him? 5 JP: Yes. BW: He's so neat. He's my home teacher. And I really like him and their family is really cute. JP: What has kept you in this area for so long? BW: Well, my family. My children. I would have gone. I hate to leave him, I feel like I'm deserting him, but I have to go on with my life. I will be close to the temple. I can look out the back door and see the temple. JP: So you are planning on moving in two weeks to Las Vegas? BW: Yes. I'll be going in a few months. JP: You have children there? BW: I have a daughter that lives there. I have one in California, and Colorado. The one in California is probably going to move to Las Vegas though. JP: That will be nice. BW: Yeah it will be. I'd just like to get them all around there. JP: If there was one thing in your life you could change, do over, or try, what would it be? BW: Do over or try? Well, don't think there is anything I'd do over. I take the advice of my parents for one. I don't know. I'd go to college. I'd get a better education, you know. I'd do that. I would listen more to my mother. I think I'd just have gone to college. Or I'd have stuck with hairdressing and pursued it more. I do love making women pretty and things like that. I feel like I haven't, I feel like there is so much more that I have to learn before I leave this earth. But, I am going to go back to college down in Las Vegas. JP: Oh. What's your major going to be? BW: Well, I'm going to learn how to run a computer. That's one thing. I want to get on the internet and talk to my son. He's online. I just want to learn. I really do. I think I should take 6 advantage of it. Cause that's all you can take with you, is your knowledge. You can't take any money or anything like that. That's one of the most important things too, is your family. JP: Did you ever find yourself saying things that your Mom said, that at the time you said, 'I'm never going to say that to my children?' B. W. My mother use to always say, I hope you have a daughter just like you. So I did. Cindy, in Las Vegas, she gets more like me than any of my other daughters. I was going to do what I wanted to. I figure you pay for your own mistakes, but you could sure save yourself a lot of headaches too if you listen more to your parents. I'm sure you do. JP: Well, I try. 7