PAGE 1

FLVT 9 Interviewee: Dorothy Anthony Interviewer: Jenn Garrett Date: November 19, 2004 G: It’s November 19, 2004, and I’m interviewing Doro thy Anthony. Dorothy, where are you from? A: Illinois. G: When were you married? A: July, 1944. G: Do you feel that your husband’s military experience impacted your life at all? A: Oh, yes it did. G: In what way? A: On the fact that we built a home on the G.I. Bill in Orlando. Then we came up here to school. He probably wouldn’t have done it, a lthough he had gone to junior college down there. G: What year did he return from his work in the service ? A: I guess fall of 1945. G: Were you involved in his decision to go back to school? A: Oh, I probably was, yes. G: Were you happy about moving to Gainesville? A: I didn’t mind it at all. G: Had you worked when you were in Orlando? A: No. I was a stay-at-home mom. G: Did you have to make any sacrifices for your husband t o go to school? A: Well, I don’t know if you’d call it sacrifices, but I did work, which I enjoy. Living like we did there, it wasn’t very permanent. 

PAGE 2

FLVT 9 Page 2 G: What did you expect that university life would be like? A: Actually, I don’t know. We enjoyed the football a nd the basketball. G: Did you have any concerns about coming to the univer sity? A: No, not at all. G: Were you interested in taking any classes at that time ? A: I signed up and was accepted, and my first class was goin g to be eight o’ clock in the morning, and I had to walk our daughter to scho ol, but there were some dogs in the neighborhoods, so I just backed out and said, no, I can’t take that class. I worked, too. It had to be an early morning cl ass or a late afternoon class. G: Were you worried about being able to pay the tui tion for that class? A: They gave us one free class at that time if you worke d at the university. Some people got a degree by doing that, people that worke d for the university. G: When you moved into Flavet, did you know how long it would take for your husband to graduate? A: We figured about three years. G: Can you describe a typical day for you while you li ved in Flavet? What time you woke up and what your chores were? A: Get my daughter ready for school and then get mysel f ready for work. Then I walked all the way from Flavet over to the administra tion building on 13 th Street. Then I walked back at noon, had my lunch at Flavet and went back. A lot of times we ate at the cafeteria in the evening. We’d m eet and eat in the cafeteria. G: Which cafeteria did you meet at? A: University. It’s probably nowhere near where it w as then. It was on the campus. G: You were working at Tigert Hall? A: Yes. It’s Tigert now. It was just called administrat ion building at that time. G: It must have just opened when you started working th ere? 

PAGE 3

FLVT 9 Page 3 A: Very possibly. G: What was your job there? A: First I started out as a file clerk. Then I was promo ted to bookkeeper. G: Was the transition to university life difficult for you? A: Not a bit. G: Your husband mentioned that you lived in your own home in Orlando before you moved to Flavet. What was it like going from your ow n home with your own furniture to moving into some place like Flavet? A: It wasn’t bad. It was furnished with little maple furniture. The only bad thing was the ice box. We had to get us a refrigerator. It wa s running over all the time. G: Did it meet all of your expectations as far as housin g? Was there anything from your home in Orlando that you really missed when you moved there? A: No. We never regretted it a bit. G: Can you describe the interior of your apartment a little bit? It was a onebedroom? A: Two. G: It was a two-bedroom, that’s right. A: We had a child. The living room was in the maple furniture, I remember that. G: The maple furniture, it was upholstered? A: Cushions. The wooden frame with cushions with wooden arms. I couldn’t tell you about the bedrooms right now. We probably have pictures, too, out in the living room. G: What did the kitchen come equipped with? A: It had an icebox and a little table and chairs. It had a stove. That’s about it. They said these were old officers barracks. G: You were required to bring your mixer and your b owls and pots and pans and all of those things? 

PAGE 4

FLVT 9 Page 4 A: Yes. Anything like that you had to bring your own . G: You had an oven? A: Oh, yes. The stove had an oven, I think it was down below. G: Do you recall any optional amenities when you move d in? Things that you could pay extra for? A: No. I don’t think we even had a telephone, I’m n ot sure. G: Did you have any other appliances, besides the icebox ? A washing machine, waffle iron, coffee percolator, electric fan? A: Percolator, yes. We always had a coffee maker. G: What about a fan? A: Fan? I think there was a window fan. I have asthm a, and the summers were very bad for me. The fans did cool the air a little. G: Did the windows have screens on them? A: They must have. They’d have to. G: Was there anything that you did to your home to m ake it more livable? Anything to personalize it? A: Nope, outside of the fridge. G: Were you allowed to hang things on the wall or pa int? A: We left our furniture in our house and rented it furnished. At that time, we didn’t have a lot of things. We had gotten married in [194 4] and came to Florida in 1946. G: Were there any pictures on the wall or any kind of window treatments? A: Not that I remember, no. G: What were the issues with sound within the unit, like being able to hear your neighbors? A: It wasn’t bad, although our daughter had a tricycle , and the people downstairs asked us not to let her ride it up there. It thumped. Outside that, no. We may 

PAGE 5

FLVT 9 Page 5 have heard voices, but no problems. G: What about insulation in the winter? Were they i nsulated at all? A: I couldn’t tell you. We survived. It doesn’t get all that cold here. I don’t think. G: Do you know if any of the other residents aided in the maintenance of the structures? Any of the maintenance such as painting or cle aning of the structures? A: I don’t know if anybody ever did anything like tha t. G: Were you allowed to have any pets? A: We didn’t have one, and I don’t know of anyone th at did. G: Would you describe the social life at Flavet Village ? A: Did we socialize there? G: Can you describe the social life? A: The mothers, some of us would go berry picking over t here where it’s Fraternity Row now with our children. We would go hit golf bal ls on one of the fields that’s now being used by the university. We did have one cou ple that we visited with back and forth and played cards with. We went to the g ames, of course. They had babysitting for those who had children. G: Did you have to pay for that? A: I can’t remember. I imagine they were taken care o f. I think they had them over in what is now the ladies’ gym. That’s where you took them. G: That was for anyone on campus that needed child care or just for Flavet? A: I don’t remember if it was just Flavet or anyone. At that time, there probably weren’t that many. They were all in the Flavets. G: Did you know anyone in the Flavet Village before you moved there? A: Before? No. We had no idea what it would be li ke. G: How did residents celebrate holidays? A: We usually went to Orlando. He still had a sister d own there. We went to Illinois 

PAGE 6

FLVT 9 Page 6 a few times for Christmas. G: Were there any parties within Flavet Village? A: I think they had things for children sometimes. G: I read in the Flavet archives that movies were shown at Flavet. Do you recall those and did you ever go to any of them? A: No. We never went to those. My daughter and I w ould go up to the theater because it was cool in the summer. G: Where was the theater at that time? A: It was on the right hand side of University Avenue. I think there’s one of those wild places there now where they have those bands and t hings. I think it was the Florida Theater. I’m not positive. G: Were you close to your neighbors? A: Not real close, no. Of course, we always said hi and we talked and the gals would sit on the steps with their children and watch the m play. I wouldn’t say we weren’t, but we were all busy. The lady below was a nurse. She had a tough time. She didn’t have much freedom. G: Did most of the wives work at that time? A: A lot of them did, I know that. The young couple across the hall from us, she worked while he was going to school. G: Do you keep up with any of your friends that you m et in Flavet? A: No. G: Were there any groups of people that tended to soci alize together? You said that sometimes they would sit on the steps and watch thei r children together. Were there any others? A: I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. G: Were there ever any church services held within Flave t? A: Not that I know of. We went to the first [Methodi st] church. G: What did you do for recreation while living in Fl avet? You said that you picked 

PAGE 7

FLVT 9 Page 7 the berries and played golf. Was there anything else? A: I took bridge. G: Was that a bridge club within Flavet? A: It was for student wives. G: Where would you all play? A: I think it was the old Union. G: What about in the summers? You lived there in the summer. Was there a pool you could go to? A: Yes. G: Which one did you go to? A: It was the old one, the first one they had. We t ook our daughter there for swim lessons. I don’t think either one of us took advantage o f it. G: Was that the university pool behind Women’s Gym? A: Probably. G: It was the campus pool, not just for Flavet. A: It was campus. They advertised swim lessons for the chil dren. G: Were you usually in charge of the household chores? A: Yes. G: When you had to wash clothes, what did you do? A: We had a laundromat over there in Flavet. G: Did it include dryers? A: Yes, I guess it did, because we had nowhere to do any thing in the apartments. G: There were no lines to hang anything on? A: No. 

PAGE 8

FLVT 9 Page 8 G: Were you active in any clubs or groups besides bridge? A: Outside of the church, no. G: Were there any minorities living in Flavet at tha t time? A: Not that I know of. I don’t remember seeing any. Of course, you worked, you were back and forth, back and forth. G: You usually walked to your job? A: I sure did. G: But you all did have a car? A: Yeah. He needed that to get around. G: There’s an incident noted in the Flavet Board of C ommissioners meetings about whether one of the resident’s maid would be able to u se the laundry facilities for cleaning their employer’s clothes. Do you remember hea ring anything about that? A: No. G: Did you know anyone that had a maid? A: No. I sure didn’t. G: What happened when you or someone in your family got sick? Were you able to go the infirmary? A: No. We had our own doctor. G: Would that doctor come to you in Flavet? A: I think my husband may have gone to the infirmary, but we had a doctor. G: Did the doctor come to you? A: I think the pediatrician did come out to Flavet a t ime or two. I do think he did. G: What do you know about the volunteer fire departm ent in Flavet Three? 

PAGE 9

FLVT 9 Page 9 A: Not a thing. G: Was fire a big concern for you while you were livin g there? A: No, it sure wasn’t. G: You were used to the gas cooking and gas heat? A: Yeah. G: Was there a Flavet newsletter or a paper that ran for Flavet residents? A: I’m sure we got information about what’s going on around there. I’m sure we did. G: Did you feel safe living in Flavet? A: Yes I did. G: Was there ever any crime that you can recall? A: Not that I remember, no. G: Did you feel like there was a sense of community livi ng in the Flavet? A: I would say so. G: Why is that? A: I don’t know, you’re just all doing the same thing, getting your education, surviving. G: Were you proud of living in Flavet? A: I didn’t mind it at all. G: Dean of Students R.C. Beatty was quoted as saying th at there was a low divorce rate in the Flavets. Beatty’s explanation for this wa s that the veterans of this era have something in the way of character. What do you t hink Beatty was talking about when he was referring to character and what do y ou think kept families together at that time? A: The generation. We didn’t think of divorce. You made do. You got along. G: Was this the first time that you had gone through h aving to work and things like that? Was this a new experience for you or had you go ne through hard times 

PAGE 10

FLVT 9 Page 10 before? A: It was the first time that I worked after we were m arried, after we came to Florida. I did work in Illinois. G: What kinds of rules were in place for living in Flav et? A: I can’t think of any. I really can’t. We probably had a time you had to be quiet and things like that for people needing to study. I j ust don’t remember any. G: Were those kinds of things generally adhered to? A: I never heard of any problems, let’s put it that w ay. G: Why was that? Even neighborhoods now will have di sputes about things. It doesn’t seem as though you all ever had any. A: I never heard of anybody who had a problem, I re ally didn’t. G: Do you know why that might be? A: Nope. Except we were there for a purpose. I guess we were just happy to have the war over and things settled down. G: Did many residents own vehicles at that time? A: I think so. G: Were there any traffic problems? A: No. G: Did you feel safe letting your daughter go out an d play at that time or did she mainly play in the house? A: She played outside. There wasn’t a lot of traffic around there and so many children. If she was out there alone I might not have let her. G: Did they have a playground at Flavet Three? A: A playground, I don’t remember, I’m sorry. G: I’ve read about the mayors and commissioners of Flave t Villages. Do you know if all three Villages had separate mayors? 

PAGE 11

FLVT 9 Page 11 A: They probably did, yeah. G: What kind of power did the mayor have? A: I have no idea. It may have been just a figureh ead. G: Were you allowed to vote on who you wanted to be mayor and commissioner? A: I don’t remember that either. G: Do you know if women could serve on the board of com missioners? A: I have no idea. I wasn’t interested, I guess. G: What were some of the most controversial issues among t he residents of Flavets? Is there anything that residents were concerned about, having to do with Flavet, having to do with Gainesville, having t o do with the county or school? A: We didn’t have any, and I don’t remember anybody making a big deal of anything. G: How much of a concern was money to you when you live d in Flavet? A: I guess it wasn’t a big concern. We got the rent fro m our home. I worked and he worked. He had the G.I. Bill. G: Did you usually handle the finances for your family or did your husband? A: At that time, I’m not sure. Later, I made sure to take care of everything. G: How did most people afford living in Flavet? A: It wasn’t very expensive, so I don’t know. If one o f them doesn’t have a job, I really don’t know. G: Can you give me an idea of what expenses made up y our budget at that time? A: The rent and the food and a doctors visit, things li ke that. We did eat out at Primrose [Gainesville restaurant]. Have you ever heard of the Primrose Grill? G: Yes I have. A: That was our special place. We love to go there. G: It’s close to downtown, right? 

PAGE 12

FLVT 9 Page 12 A: It was. It’s offices now, I think. Somebody’s got an office in there. That was a special place. G: What other places were there available for resident s to go out and eat? You mentioned that he did go to the cafeteria. A: The cafeteria, yes. Primrose was a special place for u s. I don’t remember others. You didn’t have your fast food then. G: Speaking of that, what time would you get home fr om your job usually? A: About four-thirty. G: Did you usually make dinner at night? A: Yes. If we didn’t eat out. I’m trying to think a bout what kinds of meals we prepared. G: Was it hard to get home in time to take care of you r daughter and to do the nightly meal? A: Not really. Things ran pretty smooth for us. G: How often did you eat out? A: It seemed like we ate at the cafeteria a lot, so tha t helped. We had choices then. As far as the Primrose, how often did we go? I should remember, but I don’t. G: Was it very expensive to eat at the cafeteria? A: No. Very reasonable. G: Was anybody already covered by their university tui tion or anything else? A: No, we paid as we got there. G: You said many of the wives did work in Flavet when you were there. A: Oh yes. I’m sure they did. G: What would they do with their children while they were working? A: A lot of them didn’t even have children yet. I d on’t know, that nurse down below. 

PAGE 13

FLVT 9 Page 13 Her children were younger. She must have had somebod y come in. G: Was there a nursery or anything in Flavet Three? A: Not that I know of. We tried one here in town, a nd she didn’t like it, so I quit my job temporarily until she started school. G: That was the preschool that your husband was telling me about? A: Yes. She just couldn’t adjust. G: Did you have any concerns about raising your child in Flavet? A: Not at all. I sure didn’t. G: Did you expect that your financial situation would change after your husband graduated? A: Oh sure. G: Did living in Flavet influence your life in any w ay? A: I guess you can’t forget the bare necessities that you put up with. G: What were the negative aspects of living there that we haven’t already covered? A: I don’t know. I guess we’re easy to please because I n ever had any [complaints]. G: What was the best part about living there? A: It was on campus I guess. It was cheap, very cheap. G: What was the worst? A: I can’t think of a worst. We had a car to get our g roceries. G: Are there any other individuals that you can suggest that I should interview for this study? A: That lived in Flavet? G: Yes. A: There’s only one couple, and they were graduate stu dents that we were very 

PAGE 14

FLVT 9 Page 14 close to, because he was in entomology, same as my husband. They are away from here now and we just lost contact. We sent Christma s cards for years. Last we heard, I think they were in Tallahassee. G: Is there anything else that I haven’t asked you abou t that you’d like to talk about? A: Not really. G: Thank you so much. A: You’re sure welcome. [End of the interview.]