Richard Magill and Eleanor Price

Interviewees:  Richard Magill and Eleanor Price
Date of birth/age at interview:  Dick Magill—June 25, 1917/90, Eleanor Price—May 7, 1918/89
Interviewer:  Gary Granzow
Interview date:  Dec. 11, 2007
Interview location:  Carversville Christian Church
Interview length:  46 minutes
Time span discussed:  1930s through 2007

Summary:   Dick Magill tells about his life and his post-retirement time with Eleanor Price. At the end there is a short section interviewing Eleanor about her life in Carversville. (Part of this interview dealing with Dick’s service in World War II was removed and is available under Richard Magill.)

 

Time markers:
00:00 – introduction, born on Aquetong Road, growing up on Paxton Road farm in classic stone house
02:25 – typical Sunday dinner
03:05 – no water or electricity, well with no pump
03:38 – attending Solebury’s one-room stone schoolhouse for grades 1 to 4, taught by one teacher, coal stove
04:45 – survived depression by living off farm, Doylestown for shopping
05:20 – schools including Carversville, friends from school, orphans from Hillside
06:30 – Christian Orphanage children’s lives and friendships; friends from area
08:05 – walked two miles to Solebury schoolhouse across fields, drove to Doylestown High School in family car
09:45 – using the well to keep food cool in the summer
10:40 – high school classes; learned woodworking,
13:35 – some inventions including hinged flagpole and driveway bell
15:45 – Carversville’s quiet village center, gap pump, car repair, inn once a bar owned by Kling family; blacksmith shop across the creek
19:10 – 105 students in high school class; driving through the snow in a Model A Ford
21:55 – skunk hunting for $2:00 – $3:00 a hide; catching an opossum
23:40 – first job driving truck for Livezey at the feed mill
25:40 – 1940 worked in car shop for railroad in Trenton for more money
26:40 – drafted October 1941  (At this point the tape was edited. The World War II portion is a separate video.)
27:10 – marriage to Ruth Price, early life in army at Ft. Knox, two daughters, returned to Trenton railroad job
29:25 – foreman of car inspectors for 28 years
30:00 – 1980 retired, moved back to Carversville; Ruth died 1957, children 5 and 10 at time
31:16 – Eleanor Price’s husband died 1980, lived alone in Carversville, gradually moved in
32:20 – briefly repaired lawnmowers in Carversville
33:05 – most residents strangers when he returned; many changes, shops all different
34:19 – Dick Magill interview concludes
34:20 – Eleanor Price (Dick’s companion, sister-in-law of his wife Ruth) interview introduction; born in Montgomery County, life on a dairy farm in Bluebell, education in one-room schoolhouse
37:09 – moved to 60-acre Sawmill Road dairy farm; family worked on farm, grew own food
39:11 – current home on part of this property
39:51 – father died, mother kept farming; Dick helped on farm
40:24 – rode to Doylestown High School with Dick
41:16 – met husband at Carversville Church, center young people’s social life; three children grew up on the same farm
43:09 – father died 1938, husband in 1980; growing closer to Dick, sharing their home and families

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