Tidbits from the Interviews

On August 13, 2007, Jack and Pauline were interviewed at their home in Portland, Maine. Recently, I reviewed the transcripts from that interview and decided to share some tidbits of information from the conversation. The day of the interview culminated a series of recorded conversations about their lives.

Source:  Hurricane Ski Slope

All of the answers provided below are paraphrased from Jack and Pauline reflecting on their lives. The pictures shown in the post relate to the answers.

Thinking it would be kind of fun, I have decided to use a quiz format. Sadly, there are no prizes to give away. Of course, the answers are located at the end of the post. 

So here we go…

1. Where did the Siulinski's almost move to?

2. Where did Jack and Pauline spend their summers in childhood?

3. What other occupation might Jack have chosen for a career?

4. What one value from Memere made an impression on Pauline?

5. What favorite places did Jack and Pauline name as having traveled?

6. In retirement, Jack had a part-time job. What was it?

7. What sport did the Siulinski family most enjoy together?

8. What location did Jack and Pauline take the family to for regular vacations?

The answers:

1.     Around 1960, while the family was living in Augusta, Maine, Jack pursued a work opportunity in Florida. The family came very close to relocating to Florida. The neighbors in Augusta actually hosted a going away party at a local hotel for Jack and Pauline where they accepted a gift; a silver bowl with "Westwood" engraved on it. Jack soon after decided not to take the job.

2. One of the most distinct memories of Jack's childhood was his many summer trips to the farming town of Jemseg, New Brunswick in Canada. Likewise, a vivid childhood memory of Pauline was summers spent at the family residence on Crescent Lake in Raymond, Maine.

3. Some of the training Jack had in the Navy was in the area of electronics so he thought he might have gone in the direction of being an electrician. As it turned out, he turned what was a hobby (photography) into a profession. Being paid for doing what you love is a great lesson in life. In my case, I am hoping to one-day turn my passion for oral histories and genealogy into a supporting income. 

4. Both her mother and her father influenced Pauline's faith in God.

5. For Jack, Hawaii and for Pauline, Niagara Falls (she was overwhelmed by the waterfalls). Jack also mentioned he liked going on cruises.

6. Jack worked for National Car Rental, driving cars from one location to another.

7. Skiing - it was the sport we all learned at a young age and practiced every season when Jack and Pauline purchased family passes. Our training mountain was Hurricane in Falmouth, Maine; no longer in operation but remembered by the Ski Museum of Maine. We then progressed to King Pine in New Hampshire which is still in operation. 

Source: I4BarHarbor

 
8. Bar Harbor was our rustic family getaway. 

Feel free to add any of your memories attached to these answers by adding a comment below or by sending an email.

Earliest Memories

Now a blog is not a book but it is a way to get started on the massive amount of information I have collected in almost three years of doing family history. One way of structuring this blog is to use the same format of questioning that I used when I interviewed Jack and Pauline. In this regard, the contributions of other family members will make a completed family history more rich. Thus we begin with earliest memories.
Jack's earliest memory is one from nursery school . He attended Catherine Morrill Day Nursery on Danforth Street in Portland. The nursery has been in operation there since 1922. Apparently, how to eat crackers without getting crumbs all over the place was an important skill to learn in those days. Jack tells us how to do it:

"The teacher showed you how to eat graham crackers without getting crumbs all over the place.  I remember that because I still do it today.  When you're taking a bite out of a cookie or a cracker like that you suck in so that the crumbs don't go all over the place, they go in your mouth."

After hearing Dad's story, I am surprised that the nickname of 'Cracker Jack' did not come to be!
He also remembers being served curdled Macaroni and Cheese at school and not ever liking it again. It's interesting how experiences with food can stay with you so long.

An earliest memory of Pauline regards a custom no longer practiced. Wakes used to occur in the home of the deceased. She tells about it here:

"On the front door they used to have a wreath and you knew then that somebody had died. That’s the first time I had seen a dead body and she was laid out in the living room and my two sisters said, “Come on, let’s go see Aunt Marie.”  Her name was Aunt Marie. So they brought me in and I knelt down at the casket and I'm looking down and I didn't like it.  Then my sister Lorraine said, “Touch her, she’s cold.” I said, “No, I don't want to touch her!”  Aunt Marie was Memere's oldest sister who married an Irishman, John King. They lived on a farm in Limerick."

One of my own earliest memories is darting around Westwood Road in Augusta in my little metal car shown below. By this time, my oldest three siblings had begun school which left the youngest three to terrorize the neighborhood but it was much fun. In Augusta and Westbrook alike, our family was fortunate to have playable streets and friendly neighbors with lots of kids.
So what is an earliest memory of yours?