Oral History Interview Rose Pero

Partial Transcript: Rose Pero: Is it moving?
Teka Ward: Mmhmm.
TW: Today is May 8th, 1984. My name is Teka Ward. I am interviewing Rose Pero of 4815 South 6th Street, Louisville, Kentucky. Our topic is Lou Tate and the Little Loomhouse.

Segment Synopsis: Teka Ward introduces this interview with Rose Pero about Lou Tate and the Little Loomhouse.

Keywords: 6th St.; 6th Street; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville, Kentucky; Louisville, Ky; Rose Pero; Sixth St.; Sixth Street; Teka Ward; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Weaving

Partial Transcript: As we begin, please tell me something about yourself.

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero introduces herself by sharing about her career and her hobbies. She was a charter member of the Hobby Weavers of the Ohio Valley, which she says began in 1956.

Keywords: Handweavers Guild of America; Hobby Weavers; Hobby Weavers of the Ohio Valley; Indiana Weavers Guild; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Guilds; Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Weaving

Partial Transcript: I understand that you were a former student of Lou Tate.

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero shares about how she met Lou Tate by driving out to Kenwood Hill with her mother after her mother had read about Lou Tate and the Little Loomhouse. Pero began taking lessons at the Little Loomhouse and Lou Tate's home on 3rd Street. Pero also shares about the different names that people called Lou Tate depending on the period in her life in which she met the person.

Keywords: 3rd St.; 3rd Street; Kenwood Hill; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville, Kentucky; Louisville, Ky; The Little Loomhouse; Third St.; Third Street

Subjects: Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Nicknames; Weaving

Partial Transcript: My first piece was a Rose Path and I thank Tate for all of her knowledge about it because she had me to sign my first piece of weaving.

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero explains how Lou Tate was proud of her because she successfully signed her first weaving piece.

Keywords: Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Rose Path; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Coverlets; Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Tate always was planning ahead.

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero talks about Lou Tate's teaching programs. She explains that she traveled with Lou Tate out to Fort Knox to teach weaving to soldiers. Lou Tate also hosted people in Top House from Great Lakes Naval Training.

Keywords: Fort Knox; Great Lakes Naval Training; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville, Kentucky; Louisville, Ky; Naval Station Great Lakes; The Derby; The Kentucky Derby; The Little Loomhouse; Top House

Subjects: Horse racing; Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Teaching; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Also during the period of the war she gave a party one weekend and we went up and down the ridges in the hill and collected the metal that had been disposed of...

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero remembers a party that Lou Tate hosted during the war when they scoured Kenwood Hill for scrap metal to assist the war effort. She also talks about visiting a bird refuge near Richmond with Lou Tate and other weavers from the area for a meeting. Pero describes another memory of a state weavers' meeting at Natural Bridge. Lou Tate tried to organize a state weavers' guild, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Pero describes another trip she took with Lou Tate up to Chicago on a train to attend the meeting of the Colonial Coverlet Guild. Rose Pero also visited Fort Wayne, Indiana with Lou Tate to attend another meeting focused on coverlets.

Keywords: Bird refuge; Chicago; Chicago, Il; Chicago, Illinois; Colonial Coverlet Guild; Fort Wayne, In; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Hull House; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Mark Cumberland; Natural Bridge; Richmond, Kentucky; Richmond, Ky; Scrap metal; The Little Loomhouse; Wood Bousman

Subjects: Coverlets; Guilds; Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Schools; Social settlements; Weaving

Partial Transcript: I can recall when we went to the Louisville Public Library on York Street and began a file of people's names and addresses. This was to help Tate distribute her publication, The Kentucky Weaver.

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero recalls how she helped Lou Tate to gather contacts so she could distribute her publication, The Kentucky Weaver. The Kentucky Weaver was a monthly publication. Pero explains how weavers would visit Lou Tate to learn how to create weaving drafts. Pero also remembers when Ada Dietz and Ruth Foster visited from California, and Lou Tate helped them with their algebraic equation weaving process. Later on, Pero corresponded with Ada Dietz and expressed such an interest in the algebraic expression method of weaving that she received a box of Dietz's weaving in the mail after Dietz's death.

Keywords: Ada Dietz; Algebraic Expressions; California; Handweavers Guild of America; Hobby Weavers of the Ohio Valley; LFPL; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville Free Public Library; Louisville Public Library; Rose Pero; Ruth Foster; Table loom; The Kentucky Weaver; The Little Loomhouse; Weaving drafts; Wood Bousman

Subjects: Guilds; Kentucky--History; Libraries; Library; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Weaving; Woolen and worsted drawing

Partial Transcript: When Lou Tate was doing these publications, who helped her write them and type them?

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero explains how Lou Tate was assisted with creating her publications and who would help her. She says that Lou Tate did much of the work for her publications herself. Pero explains that people helped with a lot of house chores at the Little Loomhouse. Pero describes the Loomatics of the Little Loomhouse Graduate School, and even reads from a diploma they created. Pero also explains how the Louisville Craftsmen's Guild was created through a collaboration with the Louisville School of Art on South 1st Street.

Keywords: Dan Peterson; Doris Tipton; Hulsman; Loomatics; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville Artisans Guild; Louisville Craftsmen's Guild; Louisville School of Art; Peggy Lumpkin; Rose Pero; Sam Kendrick; Samuel Kendrick; Sue Kendrick; The Little Loomhouse; University of the Little Loomhouse Loomatics

Subjects: Guilds; Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Mimeograph; Schools; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Which of the cabins did you all do most of your weaving in?

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero discusses where weaving primarily took place at the cabins. She names the cabins from top to bottom: Top House, Wisteria, and the Little Loomhouse. She also shares that some of the students at the Little Loomhouse, including herself, eventually became associate weaving teachers. They assisted in teaching weaving classes at Nazareth College.

Keywords: Doris Tipton; Little looms; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Nazareth College; Nazareth University; The Little Loomhouse; Top House; Wisteria

Subjects: Kentucky--History; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Universities and colleges; Weaving

Partial Transcript: I wanted to ask you about going to 3rd Street. You said you did do some weaving there?

Segment Synopsis: Rose Pero talks about visiting Lou Tate's family home on 3rd Street to take weaving lessons in her early years of knowing Lou Tate. She more often went out to the Little Loomhouse to take lessons on Saturdays though. Pero recalls that Lou Tate had many gatherings on Kenwood Hill. Rose Pero describes a Hadley pottery cup that was awarded to her by Lou Tate during one of the get-togethers.

Keywords: 3rd St.; 3rd Street; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Mary Alice Hadley; Rose Pero; The Little Loomhouse; Third St.; Third Street

Subjects: Kentucky--History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Pottery; Weaving