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Houston, Josephine (audio interview #1 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of three interviews with Josephine Houston conducted in the living room of her Los Angeles home. She enjoyed the interview process and found it easy to reflect on her past. 7/11/1980
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- 2021-06-02
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- SUBJECT BIO - Josephine Houston was a thirty-two year old mother of eight when she began working at North American Aviation. The first of four children, born in Broussard, Louisiana, Houston moved to California in 1928 two years after she married. Her husband had family in Los Angeles and he hoped to find better employment opportunities there. Houston remained a full-time homemaker after her marriage, for the next sixteen years, until she took the war job. She worked intermittently after the war ended, primarily as an occasional caterer's server. Although she went back to work at Lockheed in 1952, and continued until her retirement in 1972, she continued to see her life at home as her primary focus. Three interviews were conducted with her in her the living room of her Los Angeles home. She enjoyed the interview process and reflected on her past with relative ease. TOPICS - family background and family history; childhood; domestic responsibilities; housing and living conditions; race relations; and schooling;family background and history; family life; domestic responsibilities; childhood; clothing; religion; schooling; social activities; menstruation; early work experiences; family activities; economic status; Black cosegregation; early work experiences and earnings; courtship; marriage expectations; segregation and racial discrimination; living arrangements; pregnancy and childbirth; move to California; the Depression; househoreligion; family activities; social activities; husband's work record; decision to work in the defense industry; and childcare;
- *** File: rrrjhouston1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:12)... Houston's parents were born in or near the rural area of St. Martinsville, Louisiana. She never met her grandparents and knew very little about their lives. Her maternal grandfather was the brother of Booker T. Washington. Houston's mother, Katherine Washington, was born in the 1880s, the second oldest of four children. When she was a young girl, Katherine's mother died and her father married a woman who was very unpleasant. Katherine's young life was difficult. She was not allowed to attend school; the only education she had was a result of her children's teachings. (3:12-7:18)... Houston was born on December 27, 1909 in Broussard, Louisiana. Her father, Robert Cochran, died when she was approximately eighteen months old. Her mother remarried and gave birth to two more daughters. When her step-father died, the family moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. After his death, her mother married again and gave birth to another daughter in Rayne, Louisiana in 1918; in 1919, she returned to Lafayette. (7:18-9:44)... Houston mainly interacted with girls when she was growing up on the farm. She played games with her sisters and the neighbor girls and her aunt taught them how to embroider. She lived near her mother's family and often spent the summers visiting her aunts and uncles. The girls occasionally played ball with the boys, but they did not socialize with boys very often. (9:44-12:25)... Houston was responsible for various chores both in and outside the house. She was expected to keep her room clean and take care of her clothes. They lived in a "shotgun" house (typical style southern house in which the rooms are arranged in a row) in the country with a living room, two bedrooms, and a kitchen. There was not a schoolhouse in the country and she did not attend school until her mother moved into the city. Most of her time was spent playing with her sisters and neighborhood children. (12:25-15:42)... Her stepfather did not own the land on which they lived, but worked the farm for the "boss" who owned the plantation. Several other families lived on the land and managed the farm for the plantation owner. Some people worked as domestic servants and cooks in the boss' house. Houston occasionally went to the boss' house on "special occasions," like when someone asked her to accompany him or her to the house. The domestic help often brought their children with them to work and they played with the boss' children. However, the boss' children never went to the employees' homes to play. Houston remembers her childhood fondly and admits that her life improved when she started attending school. (15:42-21:51)... When Houston was eight, her mother re-married and they moved to her step-father's hometown of Rayne, Louisiana. Houston enrolled in elementary school in Rayne for the first time It was a segregated school that employed only Black teachers. The white children were taken to their school on a bus, while the Black children walked to school. Houston enjoyed school and was enthusiastic about learning. She does not recall learning very much about Black culture. However, when the family moved to Lafayette, when she was ten, she remembers reading about Frederick Douglas. (21:51-25:24)... Note: the interview is interrupted while Houston answers the door. After Houston's step-father died, the family moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. Houston's mother wanted to be near her siblings. Houston's aunts and uncles provided the family with vegetables from their gardens to help feed the family. Houston's mother rented a three-bedroom house and supported the family by working as a cook for a white family. She went to work at 9:00 a.m. and returned home at approximately 2:30 p.m. (25:24-27:54)... Houston and her siblings attended school while her mother worked. They had to walk to school, which was approximately three miles from their home. She walked there with other children in the neighborhood. One neighborhood girl was taken to school in a horse and buggy; however, most of the Black families in the community did not own this form of transportation. Houston's favorite subjects in school were history and spelling. End of tape. *** File: rrrjhouston2.mp3 (0:00-1:49)... The school she attended in Lafayette was much larger than the one she attended in Rayne, Louisiana. There were several different classrooms. She aspired to be an elementary school teacher because she loved children. (1:49-3:17)... Growing up, Houston was not responsible for any chores of a mechanical nature. Her chores revolved around women's typical homemaking role: cooking, washing, and ironing. She never wore pants when she was young because it was not viewed an acceptable attire for women. Instead, she wore cotton dresses. She did not start wearing pants until she went to work for North American. (3:17-6:58)... When she was a young girl, her recreational activities consisted of fishing, playing ball, and attending church. She dressed up for church and a few of the girls would go downtown and window shop when church was over. Houston was christened in the Catholic Church and most of her family members were Catholic. She attended an all-girl Catholic school for two semesters when she was a small girl. When the family moved to Lafayette, they joined the Pentecostal Church. Houston's mother was very strict and Houston and her sisters were not allowed to attend dances. Typically, she socialized with boys when they walked to school together and while in school. (6:58-10:47)... Houston did not learn about menstruation until she experienced her first cycle. When she told her mother, she learned that when girls reached a certain age their cycle began. Her mother advised Houston what to do, but the experience was scary for Houston. Her mother did not talk about sex other than telling her not to let boys put their hands on her. She was allowed to talk to boys at church and at school. She had a "boyfriend" when she was fourteen; however, their only interaction consisted of him walking her home from church. Courting customs involved a boy coming to a girl's home and visiting her for a set amount of time. (10:47-13:11)... When she was in the ninth grade, she left school because her mother was ill and she had to help support the family. She went to work as a cook for a married couple. She earned $7a week preparing only the dinner meal for the couple. When Houston finished preparing their meal and cleaning the kitchen, she went home. She remained in contact with her friends from school because they attended church together and socialized on Sunday afternoons. (13:11-14:15)... Houston's mother worked five days a week. On the week-ends, the family went to church together or went shopping. They often visited their relatives on the weekends. They usually rode the train to their relatives' farms. Her aunt also picked them up in her horse and buggy and took them back to her home. (14:15-16:15)... Houston gave all of her wages to her mother, and was given an allowance of .50 cents a week, in turn. She worked as a cook for approximately a year while her mother was recovering her health. Compared to most families, Houston's family was simply getting by. She maintained a positive attitude about their situation and felt that their status was simply a fact of life. However, she aspired to make a better life for herself in the future and to improve her situation. (16:15-18:29)... The Black community of Lafayette was very close. People helped each other when someone was in need. Her aunt was involved in a neighborhood quilting bee. Each week-end the women would gather at a different house and work on that neighbor's quilt. Houston recalls helping with the refreshments during these gatherings, but she did not participate in the quilting activity. The mood was jovial and the women enjoyed talking about community events and religion. However, they were cautious around the children and generally sent them out to play if they wanted to discuss sensitive issues. (18:29-19:44)... There was not a lot of discussion within her family about slavery. Her mother occasionally shared stories with the children about their grandfather's life; however, Houston does not recall if he was a slave. Occasionally, she heard stories about what occurred during slavery but the topic was very rarely discussed openly. (19:44-21:08)... There was a doctor who provided medical care in the town of Lafayette, Louisiana. Houston believes that she and her sisters were delivered in their homes with the assistance of a midwife. Although no one in her family worked with medicines, her husband's mother was a midwife who delivered babies on a regular basis. Whenever someone living in their community became ill, the women would tend to them and take care of their families. (21:08-23:18)... Blacks were denied access to certain White-owned businesses in Lafayette. They were not allowed entry into restaurants; only into the kitchen. Houston's elders told her which places Blacks were allowed to frequent and which were off limits. Many Blacks simply stayed away from White establishments to avoid the discrimination. Blacks preferred to frequent Black-owned businesses in the community rather than face segregation. She relates an incident of discrimination that occurred in 1934 when she returned to her husband's hometown of LeConte northern Louisiana. End of tape. *** File: rrrjhouston3.mp3 (0:00-1:56)... Houston continues her conversation regarding segregation in Lafayette, Louisiana. She does not remember any instances of racial tension between the Black and White residents. She did hear of Ku Klux Klan activities, but did not really understand the purpose of this organization when she was a young woman. (1:56-4:03)... Houston sang in her church choir when she was an adolescent. In 1924, when she was sixteen years old, she attended a church revival with her pastor. While there, she met her future husband. She did not pursue a relationship with him until 1926 when she met him again at her pastor's funeral. The two corresponded by mail for a few months until he visited her in Lafayette and asked her mother for permission to marry her. The two married on December 16, 1926. They gave birth to a son in 1927 and moved to California in 1928. (4:03-4:28)... In 1924, Houston left her first employer and went to work for another family, increasing her earnings from $7 to $9 a week. She worked as a cook for this family for approximately two years. (4:28-8:00)... Houston's husband was from LeConte, a town located in northern Louisiana, approximately five hundred miles from Lafayette. She corresponded with her husband by mail for approximately six months before they married. In general, their letters to each other consisted of church activities and telling each other about their lives. They also quoted scripture to each other on subjects related to love and marriage. Houston was seventeen years old when she married her husband. Prior to marrying, her mother did not talk to her about sex or birth control. She hoped for a successful future when she married and wanted to have four children, two boys and two girls. She ended up having eight boys and one girl. (8:00-11:22)... Houston's husband was a lead man for a railroad gang in LeConte. Although she does not remember how much he was paid, it was substantially more than her wages. He went to school until the eighth grade. When they married, she moved to LeConte and they rented a room from an elderly woman who owned a three-bedroom house. The community of LeConte was very similar to Lafayette. Segregation and discrimination existed there as well. Although she was homesick, she eventually got used to the new environment and anticipated their move to California. Her husband's siblings lived in Los Angeles and he had thought about moving there for some time. (11:22-13:13)... Houston's son was born in LeConte in 1927. Her mother-in-law was a midwife and delivered the baby. Houston did not receive any advice from family friends about what to expect from pregnancy or motherhood. In 1928, her husband moved to California and Houston followed a short time later with her six-month-old son. (13:13-15:30)... Houston took the train to California. When she arrived in Los Angeles, she went to live at her husband's sister home on East 48th Place. Her husband had no intentions of working in the railroad industry when he moved to California. Instead, he first worked shining shoes until he found a job as a construction worker on a building on Alameda Street that was to house the bath fixture company, Whiting and Mead. When the construction was completed in 1929, the company hired Houston's husband to work there as a janitor. He worked there for the next sixteen years. Houston believes that Blacks felt the Depression earlier than Whites. It was difficult for most Black men to find a job in 1928-29, which is why her husband initially had to work as a shoe shiner. He was fortunate to be hired as a janitor in the early years of the Depression. (15:30-18:19)... In school, Houston read about California and its history. She remembers telling one of her teachers that when she married she was going to move to California. Her expectations of the beauty of California were fulfilled when she arrived in Los Angeles. Her husband worked for a little less than a year saving money to send for Houston and their son. When he began working as a janitor at Whiting and Mead his pay increased to approximately $25 a week, which was more than he earned as a railway worker. (18:19-23:48)... Houston provides a chronology of the births of her eight children. She initially only wanted to have four children, but kept trying for another girl. She delivered all but one of her children at home. A Black doctor delivered her first five children (third delivery was twins). Although she remembers doctors and nurses visiting her at home during her pregnancies, she did go to a clinic during one of her pregnancies. Her daily activities involved completing domestic chores and caring for her children. Whenever she traveled in Los Angeles she rode the streetcar. This was quite a change from her life in Louisiana because Blacks did not have access to public transportation. (23:48-25:33)... Houston was responsible for managing her husband's earnings; however, they consulted each other on how to spend their money. Even though they made joint decisions on family matters, her husband left most of these decisions to her. They did not have a difficult time providing for their large family. She loved to shop at May Company, purchasing items on "will call." (25:33-26:27)... Although the schools were not segregated in Los Angeles, Blacks predominantly populated the community in which she lived and the student population reflected this racial majority. The schoolteachers were White. (26:27-27:13)... The young boys in the neighborhood worked paper routes and Houston and the other families helped them out by subscribing to newspapers, such as the California Eagle, the Sentinel, and the Examiner. [Editor's note: the former two were Black community newspapers.] End of tape. *** File: rrrjhouston4.mp3 (0:00-2:16)... When Houston and her husband moved to Los Angeles they joined the Emmanuel Church of God located on 22nd and Compton. During the Depression, the church was not involved in the community assisting people in need. Occasionally, the church leaders asked parishioners to make an offering to help someone, but the main function of the church was to provide a place of worship for the community. (2:16-6:52)... Houston and her family enjoyed visiting the beach and Lincoln Park where they played baseball and rode bicycles together. Although she and her husband did not attend the movies, they allowed their children to go. Houston occasionally visited friends or went out shopping and to lunch when she was not busy at home. Her husband worked the swing shift and there was always someone home with the children. If she and her husband went out by themselves, they hired a baby sitter to watch their children. Besides church activities, Houston occasionally attended PTA meetings. (6:52-11:03)... Houston went to work for North American at the beginning of WWII. At the time, her youngest child was six years old. In 1943, her mother moved to California to help care for the children while Houston worked. During the war, Houston's husband continued to work for Whiting and Mead until he found a job in the naval shipyards near the end of the war. He left that work and was hired as a maintenance worker for the Water and Power Department in Los Angeles. He worked there for ten years. Houston's husband was not drafted into the service during the war, and her sons were too young to serve in the military when the war began. End of tape.
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