HMS Students Interview Firemen's Home Residents

I met Helen Polidor at the Fireman's Home and it was a pleasure. She is very easy to talk to because of her amazing stories and how she is so nice and open to talk to me.

By Alexis Doto Age 11

She was born in 1918, in Hudson N.Y. She actually lived through the Great Depression. She remembers picking several types of berries with her sister so that they could have their own spending money. She remembers in the winter, for fun, they would sleigh ride and walk over the Hudson River. Also, a boat would dock and throw coins into the river. The boys would dive in and try to get them!

Helen dropped out of school when she was 16 because she wanted to make her own spending money. For extra money she took care of a child. It was very exciting for her during World War II when she worked helping to fix airplanes wings, or a riveter. She worked at other jobs, such as at the match factory, too. She's had some interesting jobs.

Helen was engaged to her husband Louis Polidor in 1946. She met him at a dance. They have been married for 62 years. She took a lot of time off from work to have her children Thomas and Maria. She also has 2 grandsons and a great grandchild on the way! Helen was very proud of her beautiful home that she kept spotless! Her husband was the city treasurer for many years. She remembers trips to Italy, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Myrtle Beach.

Her life at the Fireman's Home has been very good. She actually lives there with her husband, Louis. She describes the care as very good with lots of activities and trips. She thinks it's the nicest place you can go to! I happen to agree with her because I notice on my visits that it's true.

I asked Helen about Thanksgiving memories and she fondly described spending time with her family. She is thankful for many things. Her family, the nice people around her, being at the Fireman's Home, and the prospect of being a great grandmother!

What I Learned From My Interview With Helen Tomlin

By Amanda Chaplin, age 11

Helen Tomlin was born in Altoma, Pennsylvania in 1918. That makes her 90 years old. She lived a happy childhood on a small farm. Helen had a sister that she grew up with. They were very close friends. They liked reading, jumping rope, hopscotch, and trick or treating.

Because Helen is 90 years old, she grew up during the Great Depression. She remembers many people being homeless at that time. She and her sister actually picked strawberries for 3 cents a basket. She remembers having very bad times when she was 11 years old. She described being worried about her parents. Her friends were also having bad times. It seemed like everyone was having the same problems. Helen described hobos coming to her family's house and her mother would give them fresh bread that she baked. Her mother would never let them cook because she was afraid they would waste food. Helen remembers that in the 1940's her husband worked in an ammunition factory. This was during WWII. She remembers everything being rationed. She also remembers living through the assassination of J.F.K. in the 1960's. The entire country mourned.

Helen said that she has four children. She had three boys and one girl. She was married to her husband John for 62 years. Her husband was a firefighter for 50 years. Helen worked in the auxiliary to help with the funding for the firefighters. Helen described the auxiliary throwing dinners and parties for the communities.

Helen is thankful for her family and the fact that they live near her. They are very attentive. She had a good husband. She is also thankful to the fireman's home for their great staff and service.

What we learned from our interview with Walter Bodin

By Ashley King and Gina Leccese ages 11.

Walter Bodin is a nice guy, he opens up fast and he's a pleasure to be with. Yet something you probably didn't know about him was that he's been in a wheelchair for 18 years. It all started when he had an accident on the job. To fix the accident he was going to have a back operation. But that back operation didn't go too well. So that is why he's been in a wheelchair for so long. But things were different before the accident. He used to go fishing with his dad (may he rest in peace) and he even went to Disneyland. He was even in the boy scouts of America until he was 40. He was 56 when his dad died. Things were very different after the accident. He has been to a nursing home in Massachusetts. He even went to Disneyland a second time when he was in a wheelchair. He said it was very different since he wasn't able to walk. He was slower and it wasn't as good as it was before he was in a wheelchair. But despite his hard times he has kept a positive attitude. He has made some friends at the Firemen's Home and is the same friendly, open guy he was before the accident and the operation.

Conchetta Formichelli

By Christopher Alata and Gregory Abreu

Conchetta Formichelli was born in Italy, April 18, 1920, and moved to America when she was 5. The first thing she did was getting off Elis Island. If you have a slight fever when you got to Elis Island, you have to go back. So she was an immigrant. Her father got hear first. He sent the family after he saved money. Still the family couldn't come over right away because there was a quota on immigrants from different countries. They had to wait for 4 years to come over. When she was young the gas price was about 30 cents. She had lots of jobs in factories. She also became a waitress in Saint Charles Hotel.

She lived through the Great Depression when she was young. She said people were committing suicide in the Great Depression. They canned food for the Great Depression.

Her husband was in World War 2. When her husband was near a tank, someone threw a grenade at it and it exploded. He survived it but the guy right next to him died. While her husband was in World War 2, she brings her 4 boys with her in the factory. When she got back from work, she collapses on her bed. She gets $60 each month at her job.

In her life at the Firemen's Home she haves 3 meals. Every morning she goes to physical therapy. She use to sleep with her husband but he died. Her husband was there before her. So when she was visiting him, he died. While she was there her legs got weak so she stayed there.

What I learned from my interview with Willard Grant

By Evan Nolan

Willard Grant was born in Austerlitz, New York in 1919. When Willard went to school he learned in a one room school house, where 5 grades were taught in one room. These students sat in different places according to their grade. In the summer time, Willard and his friends would pick blueberries and sell them for 25 cents a quart. His father got him a horse named Ginger. Later, Ginger died so he got a new horse named Felix.

When Willard got a little bit older he passed a course to be able to sell insurance. Willard tried to join the army but got rejected because while he was on a call to extinguish a fire, but some nearby tar caught fire and burnt most of his skin. After his recovery Willard finally enlisted in the Air Force. As soon as Willard got his pilots license the Air Force moved him to the infantry unit. After enlisting Willard was sent to a training camp in Long Island. During training a couple of guys wanted to try skipping training by saying they were sick. The next day the Sergeant came into the barracks with two toothbrushes, two cans of water with detergent and said "when I come back those stairs better be sparklin'. Get to it boys!" After Willard left the army he became a member of the Chatham Fire Department. He answered many calls and was part of the volunteer fireman drum core. On September 11th, Willard and his fire department were called to New York City to help out because the twin towers were going down. Willard ran inside the towers to save people. As soon as he got out the tower it suddenly collapsed.

Willard remembers most of his Thanksgivings as pleasant ones. He would go to his uncles along with twelve of his family members. He and his family didn't usually play family sports; instead they would watched the Giant's games and have pleasant conversation.

What we learned from my interview with Wayne Price

by Nazmul Bhuiyan & Austin Ellsworth, Ages 11

Childhood

Wayne Price is a 55 year old resident of the Firemen's Home. He was born on July 29, 1953. He lived in Forest berg. He is a Christian and went to Monticello church. He had two parents and five siblings. There were two older sisters, two older brothers and one younger brother; he liked them all. He played baseball. His father worked at a maintenance hotel for 25 years. His dad was his hero. His mother did not work but took care of the children. His least favorite chore was stacking firewood. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and camping. His first car was a '65 Chevy Impala.

Adulthood

Wayne married a woman name Janet. He met her in high school and they got married five years later. They honeymooned in Maine. Six years later they had two children; a boy and a girl. The girl is now 28 years old and the boy is 23 years old. He built his own house for his family. He was a firefighter for 28 years. He trained two young firefighters named John and Daniel Cassidy. They went to Antarctica and mailed him back a patch. He is an ex-chief firefighter and then became an assistant chief for four years. He put out more than 300 fires. His biggest fire was a two ½ story house.

Points of History

When he was young, gas cost only 39 cents per gallon. TV was only in black and white and there were only four channels.

Life at the Fireman's Home

In 2003, his left leg and arm became paralyzed but he entered the home until June 11, 2008 after his next stroke. He has made a lot of friends. His family comes to visit often. He likes the home except for having to wake up early. He like to watch TV (the news and history channel) and read the paper.

Thanksgiving

He is thankful that he is still living and that his family is healthy. His favorite Thanksgiving was when they had a big family dinner with his everyone in his family. They had tables and food spread out throughout the house. He likes the turkey part of Thanksgiving and like to watch football.

What I learned from my interview with Elizabeth Stacey

By Patricia Van Valkenburgh

Elizabeth Stacey was born on May 2, 1928 and is now 80 years old. She was born in Coxsackie N.Y. Elizabeth recalls having a nice childhood that includes her 3 brothers William, Joseph, and Jack Riley.

When Elizabeth was fifteen, she dropped out of school to work in a pocketbook factory in Athens where she cemented bags. Soon after, Elizabeth married William George Stacey and together they had their son George Francis Stacey. Elizabeth has two grandchildren.

Elizabeth thinks that the Firemen's Home is a wonderful place to be and that you couldn't find another place like it if you looked all over the world. She came to the Firemen's Home when her husband passed away. Elizabeth enjoys playing bingo on Thursdays, playing cards, and going on trips. When she is not doing that Elizabeth watches some TV. Her family comes to see her at the Firemen's Home as often as they can.

One of Elizabeth's favorite holidays is Thanksgiving, though she likes them all. Elizabeth remembers that when she was little her family would go to Coxsackie to have a Thanksgiving feast with other family members. Now that she resides at the Firemen's Home, she has Thanksgiving dinner there and visits with her relatives.

What I learned from my interview with Glenn Amesbury

By Richard Dellavechia

Childhood:

He was born and raised in a family of 7. Some of the chores he did were taking out the garbage, shoveling snow and setting the table. He also played in the Elks band. He played baseball. His positions were 1st base and pitcher.

Adulthood:

He joined the fire company as captain of Hook and Ladder. After then he became chief. He was married in 1965 after war. He coached Little League from 1965- 1970. His teams were okay.

Points in History:

He was in the army 42 rainbow. He was incharge of keeping the weapons clean. He was a Riflemen. He was in the Korean war. He wasn't edgar to go.

Miscellaneous

He enjoys baseball, and his favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. He has been to Fenway park several times. "When your older never give up and Take one day at a time" were two quotes of his.

Life at The Fireman's home

He has been there for two months. He is involved in a lot of activities like bowling and shuffleboard. He eats a lot. Breakfast at 7, lunch at 12, and dinner at 5.

What he is Thankful for

He is thankful for a good staff and good service. He is happily retired.

What I learned with my interview with Lou Ann Newman

By Tiffany Kastner, Age 12

Childhood:

Lou Ann Newman is 53 years old and was born in Jim Port, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1955. She had a good childhood. When she was a kid they rode their bikes. She played football and softball and used to camp out in the woods. Her best childhood memory was when her Dad surprised them by spending the night in the cabin.

Adulthood:

When she was older she drove a school bus and worked in a hardware and home center store for eight years. She was in the fire department and worked in First Aid and CPR.

Points of History:

Her father and grandmother were in the Great Depression. She collects recipe books and her favorite recipe is chicken ala king. She was in the blizzard of '77 in Buffalo where they had 124" of snow. There was so much snow that they had to put it in railways cars to get rid of it.

Life at the Fireman's Home

Life at the home has been busy. She attends different activities and trips. Her one daughter visits her often because her other daughter lives in Florida. She gets calls from the daughter who lives in Florida. She likes to play bingo at the home.

Miscellaneous:

Her favorite book is The Great Gatsby and her favorite movie is It's a Wonderful Life. Her favorite animal is horses. She had a sister and two brothers and one brother died four years ago due to a bad life style of drinking, drugs, and smoking. Her favorite subject in school was history and she also took French. She was very active in gym classes and worked as a substitute gym teacher. Her favorite TV show is The Price is Right.

Thanksgiving:

She is thankful for friends, family and most of all her daughters.

What I learned from my interview with William C. Rosenhagen

By Zach Keeler age 12

William Rosenhagen as a child enjoyed taking care of his 2 dogs named Amos and Andy and his cat named Mittens.

William's favorite part of his childhood was playing baseball in his free time, and taking care of his younger sister.

William remembers when he became a full time active member of the Independent Hose Osling Fire Company, in 1996. He felt very honored when he was selected line officer twice. William and his fire company were called to duty on September 11, 2001. William and his company were stationed just outside of New York City for 2-3 days.

William says that the best thing that has ever happened to him was becoming a resident of the Fireman's Home because there is a sign on a bus that says "a home away from home" and it makes him feel very comfortable here. He came here because both his parents had passed. Soon after he sold his house so he could come here. He had visited here before to see a friend that lived here. He liked it here so he applied to come and then he was in.

William loves Thanksgiving because he has a lot of great memories. He remembers when his father first let him carve the Thanksgiving turkey. He also enjoyed stuffing the turkey and helping his mom make the stuffing. William says he likes this Thanksgiving memory because he liked feeling that he was helping out. He now celebrates Thanksgiving by eating a lot of food at the Fireman's Home and going to mass in the new chapel. William has a second dinner with people that are close to him down in Platakill a few days after Thanksgiving. When he used to eat Thanksgiving dinner with his parents, after he would go help serve things at the fire house. His favorite part of the meal was when he could have his favorite dessert cherry pie and apple crumb with a little ice cream on the side.