CARROLL: How old are you?
HILL: I’m fifty-seven years old.
CARROLL: And Maxine [is] the oldest?
HILL: Yeah, she’s thirty-seven.
CARROLL: How many children do you got [have] in all?
HILL: Twelve.
CARROLL: The one that died, what caused it?
HILL: The doctor [said] he had bronchopneumonia.
CARROLL: Back then they didn't have much for pneumonia, did they?
HILL: No, they didn't.
CARROLL: How old was [were] you when you had your first one?
HILL: Twenty.
CARROLL: Did you breastfeed the babies?
HILL: Yeah, I did except the two last ones, I bottle fed them.
CARROLL: Did you have your babies in the hospital or at home?
HILL: I had some at home and had some of them at the hospital.
CARROLL: When you had them at home, did you have a doctor that come [came] to
the house?HILL: Yeah.
CARROLL: How old was [were] your kids when you started giving them solid foods?
HILL: Mine was [were] eating off the table at six months.
CARROLL: When they start[ed] eating, is that when you wean[ed] them off the breast?
HILL: No, I would always get pregnant [and then] them wean them.
CARROLL: Were there times when you didn't have enough food like during the Depression?
HILL: Yeah, there were plenty of times like that.
CARROLL: Did you depend on a garden?
HILL: Yeah, we had a garden.
CARROLL: Were your babies ever sick?
HILL: Yeah.
CARROLL: Any particular illness[es?
HILL: Yeah, Homer had spinal meningitis
CARROLL: Of course, you took him to the doctor?
HILL: Yeah
CARROLL: Spinal meningitis, what is that?
HILL: It go[es] in the spine, the neck [was] drawed [drawn] back and his foot
[was] drawed [drawn] back [behind him] his. I was sitting at the table, [and] he drawed [drew] back, you could tell he was stiff, his neck was, and his eyes would woller [wollow] back up into his head and his neck popped [when he] drawed [drew] back like that. The next spell, it lasted him from 12:00 till about 5:00 and I took him to the Doctor.CARROLL: Did any of them ever have the colic?
HILL: Yeah, Bill had that for seven months.
CARROLL: What, do you do just let them cry it out?
HILL: No, I gave mine Paregoric.
CARROLL: What did you do for diaper rash?
HILL: I put grease and stuff on them, I put sodie on one and scorched flour is good.
CARROLL: When they would get colds, how would you doctor them?
HILL: I would use grease and I would mix--it was some stuff.
CARROLL: Did they have accidents, like fall and get hurt when they were little?
HILL: Yeah, [they] got Knocked in the head. They were playing cowboys and
Indians and George; he picked up a brick and hit the other one in the head.CARROLL: Did any of them have whooping cough?
HILL: Yeah, they all did.
CARROLL: What is [are] some of your favorite home remedies?
HILL: [All] I just know is to take aspirins, liquor is the best. You take that
liquor and put 1/3 o-f honey and 1/3 of lemon juice and that would make the best cough syrup.CARROLL: Kids have hundreds of different toys and things they play with now.
What playthings did your kids have?HILL: Well, baking powder cans, old broke[n] dished [dishes], mostly just stuff
around the house, they might of [have] got[ten] a doll or a little bitty gone [one].CARROLL: Could you describe how you played with them?
HILL: I never· played with them. I would make faces at them. I would put them in
a box and pull them.CARROLL: Was [Were] there any nursery rhymes that you would sing to them?
HILL: Yeah, I would sing “Rock-a-Bye Baby.”
CARROLL: How did you dress them when they were little?
HILL: I would put gowns and diaper on them.
CARROLL: Did you use pampers or did you use cloth?
HILL: I didn't use pampers, I had some store brought diapers and then I would
buy some material and make them some diapers.CARROLL: Who helped you with the babies?
HILL: Walter’s mom.
CARROLL: Did Walter help you?
HILL: No.
CARROLL: Was [Were] they good to take naps during the day?
HILL: Yeah.
CARROLL: When is it time to go out and pick greens?
HILL: Well, you can pick these river creases.
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