Part 2-An Interview with Grandma Marilyn Ruesch Schneider

Part 2 Interview with Grandma Marilyn Ruesch Schneider

• Do you remember any fads from your youth? Yes, we went to school dances and went to movies. Popular hairstyles?  For the women, the hair was set in curlers and then worn softly curled around the face. Clothes? For women, the shirts were tailored and the skirts were full tea length.
• Who were your childhood heroes? Super man.
•  What were your favorite songs and music? Just 40s music; I can’t remember what exactly.
• Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?  Yes, I had a dog named Danny boy the thirteenth, a cat called Cinderella, some rabbits, pigeons, frogs and desert tortoises.  (It was legal to catch them and have them as pets then.)
• What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend? I grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper? Yes, I had a full page picture of me during a mayday festival. The photographer asked me to pretend like my foot hurt and to hold it. I didn’t like him instantly. So I scowled at him while I held my foot. It was a photograph that led to me being asked to audition for the movie, Gone With the Wind.
• Who were your friends when you were growing up? A girl named Ann, and boys from my neighborhood.
• What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family? The bombing of pearl harbor, After that there were lots of black outs, air raids, and bombs.
• Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?My mother cooked a lot of fried steak and boiled potatoes.  My least favorite foods were canned veggies. And my dad had three different radios going with three different ball games on at the same time!
• How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?  On Christmas Eve, if we covered the couch with a sheet, we were allowed to sit on it. And if we were good, we could also have a fire. (Because for some reason we weren’t allowed to sit in the living room .) That fireplace only got used once a year, at Christmas!
• How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child? Well now we have Television and all sorts of other technological gadgets.
• Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them? My father’s mother, Mary Miller Ruesch . She taught me how to make bread…she scrubbed floors so that her husband could go on a three year mission. That was for their first three years of marriage.  
• What do you know about your family surname? “Rue” means road in French and  “sch” is a Swiss/German ending.
• What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors? Anne Hicks Free was a pioneer who pushed a handcart from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake.  James McFarlane was also a pioneer who came west walking next to a wagon from .
• Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family? Our ancestor James Smith signed the declaration of Independence.
• Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members? Mary miller rueschs bread
• Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family? Heavy eyebrows, big legs, long earlobes.
• Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family? I have a crystal goblet and a baby bonnet from Anne hix free, a bible from Arthur McFarlen, Decorations from Gertrude McFarlane, photos, furniture, and German books from David Ruesch.  
• What was the full name of your spouse?  Dallas Max Schneider, Siblings? David Arthur Ruesch, Parents? David Ruesch, Lenore Ruesch.