The person whom I interviewed was Bethel Hart, my grandmother. She is about 65-years-old and has lived in Winchester, Tennessee for all of her life. When I asked Granny Hart if she would mind getting interviewed she said that I should interview someone else because she wouldn’t remember anything. I told her that was the exact reason I was interviewing her. Last time when I interviewed Granddad Arnold he remembered too much and I had to do allot of writing. I didn’t feel like writing that much this time.
- On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) can you rate the Kennedy presidency? 7; because he helped us during the Cuban Missile crisis.
- In what ways did America change when Kennedy became President? I don’t know.
- What impressions do you have fo segregated America; lunch counter sit-ins, marches, “white/colored” drinking fountains and waiting rooms? She said that she remembered those days. They [the black people] came into Coons (a local restaurant that has been in Winchester for as long as anyone can remember) and sat down and ate. They were served and Winchester didn’t have any problems from then on.
- In your opinion, how did most Americans see Martin Luther King, Jr.? He tried and meant well.
- How would you rate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s August 28, 1963 speech at the Lincoln Memorial? Can you name one specific memory of the day? No. I probably didn’t watch it.
- Overall do you believe Martin Luther King, Jr. was good for America? Why or why not? He was good for the blacks. Not necessarily for the rest of America.
- How did Malcolm X impress you? How did most Americans view Malcolm X? Why was Malcolm X not as acceptable to white society as M.L. King, Jr.? Martin Luther King was for white and blacks. Malcolm X was only for blacks. He was like the black KKK.
- Where were you and what are your memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962? Do you agree that the US came very close to nuclear war? Yes I do. Kennedy helped us out of that situation. That is one of the only things she remembers about Kennedy.
- Where were you and what were you doing on November 22, 1963? What was your most significant remembrance of that day? I don’t remember.
- What type of music did you listen to in the 60s? Why? Whatever her son Wayne was listening to: the Beatles, etc. She listened to country music and people like Bin Cosby.
- What television shows did you watch on a regular basis? Do you believe they were a fair and accurate depiction of life in America? Partridge Family, Johnny Carson, Ed Sulivan, Leave it to Beaver, etc. No, they weren’t an accurate depiction of life in America.
- Why was the US in Vietnam? Do you believe the US should have been in Vietnam? No.
- What did you think when America had to leave Vietnam without a “victory”? I thought they were wasting their time. We shouldn’t have been there if we weren’t there to win.
- What impressions do you have of the counterculture, anti-war demonstrations and protest movements against the Vietnam war? Well, I don’t think we had any in Winchester. If I had to do it all over again I would take my kids to Canada.
- How did you react to the end of the war? I was glad. The troops didn’t get treated right when they came home.
- How did the war change America? All wars make the economy better.
- The decades of the 60s and 70s were a decade of change in America. Did the changes make America a better place? Why or why not? I don’t think it made America better. As a nation we might be better off than we were, but our morals have one down.
- During this period of twenty years who do you think was the best president for American? I think that Nixon did a lot for this country except for the scandal thing.
- Were you a flower child? No, I was not.
