Anna Louise Tittman Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Anna Tittm
A. A little rough, little rough, you know. They wexen't
but they were roundish, like so. And they were about so
Q. About six inches high?
A. And one of the thin@ I wanted to do when I "drowned1'
and build houses out of those blocks.
Q. Because they were paving the street at that time?
A. Yes, they were paving the street and they all lay on
of the house.
Q. What year would that have been? Have you any idea? 1
A. a, I was about six, I guess.
Q. So that would be about 1890? I
A. Yes. I think so, maybe a little older. i
I
Q. Were they using any brick for paving?
trictly round
2%
Yllie was go out
~r lawn Fn front
A. No, not then. Just the blocks. And I can't
tween them. I think it was tar or something, I'm not s
been sand. I don't how what it was they--but
the flat end up, you see, and the flat end down, and then "they'd have those
c m s to fill in.
Q. That must ' ve been a big improvement. Did they build
t
dawaUs af the
s m th?
I
A. No, the city never built sidewalks then. No, we before
we had paved streets. Yes, we did. That little old
who was riding along, it was a country mad. Pkybe
If you haven't 1'11 just give it to you. He was and he saw
a hat in the road. Do you knm that story? And he
it up and a voice sad, %n't take rqy hat off.
a horse under me. " The mud was so bad, you see.
Q. (lawter) Do you ren"~rrd3er getting stuck in the mud time you had
to cross the street?
A. Well, it was bad and we didn't have?-well, we had ove hoes 3.n the
winter and we had long underwear and thattd go down there and your stockings
would corn up over that. And you had garters that w t around this
way and cut off your circulation. (laughter) And we bat d in the washtub.
Q. Where was the washtub? In the kitchen?
I
A. Yes, oh sure, in the That's before my fathe
room. When we had the could have the tub Zn