Alex Albright 0:03 Interview with Mrs. Henry L. Kathryn Hodges. 320 Sunnyside drive Washington North Carolina November 13, 2003. Mrs. Hodges, can you tell me when you were born?Katherine Hodges 0:23 Yes. I was born on June 14 1915. In MarchAlex Albright 0:29 in Washington, North Carolina. And can you tell me your your parents names your mother and your father?Katherine Hodges 0:35 My mother was Catherine Blunt Burgo Harding and my father was Edmund Hoit Harding.Alex Albright 0:41 Did you have any brothers and sistersKatherine Hodges 0:43 I have one sister Rena Hoit Harding. But we he was always known as PP was she older he was a year younger. And I gave her the nickname of PP because she was red headed, and her mammy called her Pinkie Pie. And I couldn't say Pinkie Pie. So I called her PP. And she's always been known as PP.Alex Albright 1:07 And what did your father do for a living?Katherine Hodges 1:09 My father originally was when he was married, he was working in a shoe store. And then he went and from there, he went to the Washington house exchange. This was way back before he was married, which was the liver staple here in town that was run by a Polish Jew who came here from Poland, and couldn't speak a word of English when he came. But anyway, he later went into the fertilizer and insurance business with his father in law. And then like two that went into a after demo, speaking and spoke all over the country. Alex Albright 1:55 Now what was the subject of his speeches,Katherine Hodges 1:57 he was just a humorous and this type of Will Rogers and he was always considered the North Carolina's ambassador of goodwill, because he always boosted North Carolina and Washington and every story has a local name and tell the characters in the story at a local name in Washington. So people to this day all over the country. Talk about different stories that he told with whose name he never hit his foot me 400 or 4999 speeches. His goal was 5000 but he died. A to speak in from Georgia after his 4999th speech. But he never told a story without telling one on his great his first Grandson Rusty Hodges in everybody knew Rusty. Oh, he's spoken most Oh, all states. He was in Alaska a number of times in Canada and in Mexico speaking. And when did he die? He died in 1970 after speaking, making his last speech in Rome, Georgia. On September afternoon, very hot to Around 3000 people outside and on the way home driving home that night he had a heart attack and died in GeorgiaAlex Albright 3:34 when you were growing up here in Washington, What school did you attend?Katherine Hodges 3:41 I went to the public schools we went to the Washington high school build and had all of the grades in that that one building it was off Shepherd and Bridge Street and first grades were held in the basement to the lab I mean to the school house. And then the second and third grades were in little houses behind the school. And then we later have another school built here the John Snow school which was built in but I went I went to the fourth grade in the John Snow School and then how graduate from high school here on June the third 1932Alex Albright 4:33 Do you remember the names? Put it through this way? Do you still keep in contact with some of your school friends?Katherine Hodges 4:41 Well, yeah, not many. I'm one of the few that I don't know but but three of my high school friends that still live inAlex Albright 4:57 What was the your favorite subject and School.Katherine Hodges 5:02 Well, I liked old things, mostly history. I loved history. I like geography. But I left for myAlex Albright 5:12 that's a common field. Can you tell me a little bit about your family background? Where did your, your parents people come from?Katherine Hodges 5:23 Well, they're not many people. This day and time that live in the same town. As long as my family has lived here. I'm the sixth generation that grew up and lived in Washington, and my family. I grew up in the house with four generations, which is unusual. My, I lived in when my great grandfather's house, John G. Pergo, was my great grandfather. And his son Lee of fire, William Pergo, who was my grandfather, and his wife, my grandma, her dad, and when she gave birth to my mother, so he moved there with with his father. My mother was raised by her grandfather and grandmother blonde. She had they lived at their house when they will my grandfather and his wife lived there, the blunt house and when she died, giving birth to this child, she asked that her grand parents be allowed to raise my mouth until she was a little older, which she did, because they were old men that lived in the grant and the big old house. And my mother did not go to live by at that house until she was nine years old. And then I had to she and my father were married. They live there and kept house follow these old people. My great great aunt, also lived at the house.Alex Albright 7:08 when when was married. When you when she went to keep house. When was that?Katherine Hodges 7:13 Well, my great great aunt had lived in the same house all the time with the father, her brother in law, John go, she never married. And I think another interesting thing about that was she was the only woman commissioned in the Confederacy from this area. I'm not sure where that was from the state of North Carolina, but she was in the commissary department, but then never married, but always was proud of her commission in the Confederacy. And so she lived with us until she died. She died in 1921. And so I grew up in the house with my great grandfather was a Confederate veteran and costs his system low. And I said I'm just so sorry that I never got around to really asking questions and learning more than I did from them. Who was being small I never thought about as gonna hold those kinds of questions. But it was really, really interesting to live in the house with all the old folks and our house was headquarters. All of the family whenever and relatives came to town for Thanksgiving a Christmas overlay and many a time we had 35 for Thanksgiving doing law and it was a very close knit family.Alex Albright 8:44 Describe a typical Thanksgiving dinner. What would be on the menu.Katherine Hodges 8:49 Oh, we always had most southern US head collards and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving but we never had we never had collards and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. But we had roast turkey with stuffing inside the turkey not in a pan, rice and gravy that we always had never had it of course then you didn't have kin things but we had fresh cranberries and and macaroni and cheese which was one of our specialties. And always green vegetables we had spring beans. Brocolli or spinach or any kind of vegetable then usually beats because they gave color to the place. We had those and then for dessert. We had a coconut pudding, which was not a coconut pie, coconut pie. Sometimes people would put Marang or cream or something on that but a coconut pudding was was good and did not have any Marang Have any kind of cream on it and we had two kinds of Blancmanges and I still have the molds that the Blancmange was made in one was white and one was chocolate and all the chocolate when we had graded coconut on that and on the on the white Blancmange we had the, of course Blancmanges just white Monge, but we call them white and chocolate Blancmanges and white we had the pineapple all around the, chopped up pinnaple around the Blancmanges and of course we always had nuts and fruits and a lot of the dessert was was was eaten nuts were brought on and we all sat around the table and cracked nuts and always have a big crowd that the children usually had to sit on or not the room at the tables because Couldn't get everybody at the dining room table at the same time. But we had Oh, everyone was seated.Alex Albright 11:04 I understand that your mother in law later in life became blind and that you helped with helped her with work in the kitchen.Katherine Hodges 11:17 Well, that was in later years. That was my mom my mother was was blind for the last five years of her life and totally deaf she did not see or hear either one. Alex Albright 11:28 Can you tell us a little but about how you helped around the house at that time?Katherine Hodges 11:34 Well, not we lived up on where we were born. I was born and raised down on Main Street, East Main Street, where the parking lot is down by now across from Liggins beauty shop down there between between Moffitt and Bama Street was our home place. And then in 1929. We built a house up on shell drive upon the motor and moved up via in January 1929. And then my mother was beginning to lose her hearing in sight. But that wasn't the time but she did not really lose her sight until late I was married. And then to go from so much that happened in between.Alex Albright 12:43 I understand. I understand that Cecil B DeMille attended your wedding. Can you tell me how that happened to me?Katherine Hodges 12:51 Yes. That the DeMille's were from Washington. They came down the hill in the late 1700s, from Connecticut, and Thomas DeMille. Opened a store here in Washington. And they also had had some boats that were they use the fly back back and forth from the West Indies. But anyway, the way we were connected to them. My great grandfather, new family knew the meals. He was from Long Island. And he came down to work as a young fella, he came down to work for the tongs to meal in his store. And he was he was John fuego was my great grandfather. And they he while he'll, of course the civil war broke out. And he decided not to go back to Long Island to fight for the Yankees. He decided to stay here. And he of course had to fight to get he had three bullets of three brothers in the Union Army enforce. He stayed and fought with the Confederacy and he eventually married our n poet who was the sister of Cecil the meals grandma is the way that you and so we will go see some of the meal was was not born here but all of his that his great grandfather and his grandfather lived in Washington. And William did meal Cecil brother was born here in Washington at the meal house up on Bridge Street. But that summer Cecil's father who was Henry DeMille was A playwright. And he and his wife decided to go to New York for the summer. And they stayed a little bit too long. And Cecil was born up in New York state rather than here in Washington, but they came back here. And, and business has stayed here. But Cecil did not live here too long. But his his folks still stayed here. They were here. But he went, he and his mother and father went to New York, Henry DeMille, his father was, was with David Glasgow, and they were or they wrote together and plays in Holland. So see some of the meal really never came back here to live, but always kept up with all of the family. And he was the same age as my grandfather, William Pergo. So they correspond, corresponded all the time and kept up in each summer, that the meals, some of his other relatives lived up North always came sail for the summer and visited us down on Main Street, that was before we moved up down on the water, and all the meals stayed in touch. We were all a close knit group. And we've kept up with all of them. So when I was married, my grandfather was corresponding with him all the time. So grandfather said send him an invitation. He may come to the wedding, and I said, Oh, we won't. He said, I'm gonna send him one. So we did. And we heard from him and he said, he would like to come to the web. And he had not been Eastern down here a long time because he'd been to New York. But he said, I would like very much to come. I'm going to be in Norfolk. And I'm going to Charleston and we'll be on a boat, and we'll come down by boat to from Norfolk to Washington and then go on to Charleston. So who did he that's how he happened to come so he, he came and got in here on a Friday night and was here for Saturday, then he he didn't go to the wedding festivities on the wedding break because they met my father to have a barbecue for for him and all his contemporaries and dignitaries here in town while the bridal party went to a wedding breakfast, and then he attended the wedding. That at noon at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and he signed my marriage license. Why do you have to have a witness so he signed my marriage license. And then he spent the night spent the night on the boat which was stopped up at the buoy yard which is not there now but at that time was saying located at the corner by the bridges. And he went to St Peter's Church Sunday morning then sat in the regular family queue they had St Peters he's in the plate that moment and he was a showman as always was and put the five $1 Oh silver dollars in the in the play that Sunday morning of course then $5 A good contribution to put in the ball from playing. So he put that in there and we all lay although they will count in the mind won't know where those silver bow was came during was that I have yet to come to the wedding. Alex Albright 19:01 When was the wedding?Katherine Hodges 19:02 In August 31, 1940. And we that we had the reception of it on our house on no shell drive. And of course in the living room was a reception receiving line for the bridal party. And then we had a receiving line in the sunroom which go into it with Mr. DeMille and math. The older members of the family that had knew him and kept up with him so everyone could have a chance to go speak to him. And then I went my husband and I would it interested in sail and so we left had that had that sail boat dock down rod jawed and we went off on sail boat. And that night have been the next day they came by going toward Charleston. And we were a they couldn't leave they were gonna leave at the weird and that night, but the Coast Guard had called and said don't die and let live the meal your knees, because there's a terrible hurricane on the way. And they told mount the boat. This was a couple getting married going off on a sailboat and this and but don't die let them leave us an awful storm on the way this was really before we too knew too much about hurricanes. And we had we'd never had one since 1913. And but we were not afraid that the well that we said we were going in anyway. So we did left but we did stop in flux be open again. It's a night but the meal yard waited till Sunday 8am to signed it to go.Alex Albright 21:03 Can you talk a little bit about your husband? Can you talk a little bit about your husband? Was he also from Washington?Katherine Hodges 21:11 Yes. He was not born in Washington. And he was born in New Bern, but moved here quite young. And they his father was in the fertilizer business and have a bowel factory made bout potatoes. At that time. Aurora was one of the greatest and largest potato growing sections in the country. And so they all potatoes for New York outfit here. And so they made barrels to put them in to ship them up now.Alex Albright 21:51 How did you meet or where did where did you meet your husband?Katherine Hodges 21:56 Well, he's living here since we were touring. We went through house food Guild and all that, but I didn't date him through school. And then he went, he went to work. We'd always known each other. He went to Capitol Hill. And she played baseball. He was a small person, but a wonderful athlete. He was he played baseball, basketball and football and was kept mobile three high school teams. Small, they're small, but a wonderful athlete. And when he went to Chapel Hill, he played on the first a first baseman on the baseball team at Chapel Hill. And it always loved sports. And he loved to sail. So he dealt with in all the world. He had been sailing all of his life.Alex Albright 22:53 I understand that. Your husband was drafted during World War Two. Were did he list?Katherine Hodges 23:01 No, he was great. We he was in the National Guard for a long time. And he had served in the National Guard. At the time I was working in Washington, DC I went to work in Washington DC in 1935. Our Congressman Lindsey Seaguar. AndAlex Albright 23:23 what did you do for? What did you do for the congressman?Katherine Hodges 23:27 I was secretary of Iowa and we had we had his office was in the Capitol building. And so that was a wonderful experience for me because he was heavily accounts committed. And that was the reason he had his office in in the Capitol, on the floor for and because his committee was in charge of the House Restaurant, which was right next door to our office. So we were I was able to be in the home everything up though, of this grape and music House Majority Leader at the time, and he his office will try. Of course the whole for now is and Mr. Bankhead was a speaker he was upstairs. So we were in and out and so on. All the big shots up failed the time and enjoy. Had in the office in the capitol house. We always have a pocket in place and it was a good experience for all of us.Alex Albright 24:33 Where did you live when you were in Washington?Katherine Hodges 24:35 I lived in a boarding house with a friend of mine right off Dupont Circle.Alex Albright 24:43 How long were you there?Katherine Hodges 24:45 During his time when he called when he had me. He was a cousin of man and a real good friend of my mother and father's they all flew friends. And he stopped me on the street one morning I had I did not I was not a college graduate album is all of this law but student that went St. Mary's foot for two years. And no, we didn't, we're not able for me to go to college. So I went to Greensboro and lived with my hand and took a business call was so came back and just pick up jobs. My first job I got out of school was was National Youth Administration. And this was in 35. And it was all right, I enjoyed it. It gave me a lot of good experience. But I worked with with these people that had not enough, not a whole lot, no jobs, and I found them jobs in schools and hospitals. And that's what that was what it was. And then I had that Mr. Warren saw me on the street one day and said, cat cap out going to Washington and working for me. And I said, No, you don't want me. I said, I'm not that good secretary. And he said, Oh, yes, y'all. And it'll suit me. All right. So I said, All right, I'd like that. But that said, I'll tell you, I know you'll never have nerve enough to find me. And I will go for three years as I allow my work for is three years in that Tiki will put up with me for that long. But I'm gonna stop by for three years. And so he said, Oh, I work that way. So I went and stayed three years. But as it turned out, at the end of three years, I had already fallen in love and decided to get married. And he had been appointed Comptroller General by President Roosevelt. So he was retiring from Congress, the first of July. So that gave I was out of job then anyway, so I came on home and got married. And that'sAlex Albright 27:07 when you're when your husband went off to the service. What was life like for you? Well,Katherine Hodges 27:14 I was I had the National Guard went off. While I was still working in Washington. And Lindsey seemed to think that maybe Henry would not be hindered wanted to get out of the National Guard. But he talked to a lot of folks and they said this out to take his giant being draped. And so we were married. And then he was drafted. I had two papers, and no. So he was, he went to Italy, he was in Italy, the whole time. He was over via an olive tree alone. His father owned an apartment house and we will live in a little old house up on Main Street, which was coal fired furnace, which he didn't want me to have to shovel coal with two babies. And he so I went, moved up while he was in service in the apartment on Main Street. And then when he came back after service, he didn't have a job. He didn't want to go in with his father, which he had been with his father had died. Anyway, on Pearl Harbor Day, he was listening to the radio when it was announced that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. And he had a heart attack when he heard the news and died that at noon, and so he didn't want to go back into fertilizer business. So in the meantime, my mother had had a lot of stuff aside. So there was not room we live, had, my father owns his farm owned this big farm down here. So we always spent the summers at the College of Iowa and no, there was not room with my sister who was taking care of my mother and her family. So they had to say that I'll give you the lot next door when you can build your supper shack of Anaconda. So you can come down here and spend the summer so Henry took the year off and built this house himself. He'd never built anything in the world. Boom, put it away. He built the house. So we moved down here in 1946.Alex Albright 29:47 I understand that you lead the parade the parade at the end of World War Two is thatKatherine Hodges 29:53 no more well to it was World War One.Alex Albright 29:59 Can you tell Can you tell how that happened? You were you were four or five years old?Katherine Hodges 30:06 Well, then battery B was here in town and they all went over in World War One to Gail Cole Rodman was head of the bad rugby and no. They were all local fellows that went open fought together in World War One. And they came back after the armistice. I guess probably that was probably 1919. I don't know close to the fight and was open on the 10th of November in May 19. Eight teams in November last night, do you need him? And so they all came back. And I think I'm not sure what, what year or what month it was. But they all came back on the Atlantic coastline. And my father was just love to put on big shows and everything. And he claimed this tremendous celebration when all of the bad Rick came back after World War One. They had. I have pictures of all of the head artists built on the corner of Main and Market Street. Tremendous high arches on each color color. And the train came in about level o'clock that morning on that Atlantic coastline up with the Art Council he is and to deadhead to, he played his old plan to celebration and he had two of the girls who were engaged to the soldiers to lead the parade. And I was four years old. So they brought me along with them. So I came between the two girls leading the parade from the coastline up to Main Street where the archers were away. All the celebration was held. That's how I have it inAlex Albright 32:11 historic occasion. Let's go back to after World War Two. You mentioned that you had two children during the war or just before the war. What were their names and when were they born?Katherine Hodges 32:28 My first child was was Henry L. Hodges, Jr. We asked. I think it was interesting thing. At the time I was pregnant. I was reading a book was called to see our lady and I just enjoyed the book. I thought of one of the best books I had read of leaving South Carolina and the main character was a red headed fellow that was admired a lot and his name they called him rusty. While I was just sure my first baby was gonna be a redheaded boy because my husband was sort of overnight reddish and loving the members of my family and not to say that I know that that baby's gonna be a boy. And I don't want him called Henry Jr. Little hand wringing. I'm gonna go this code in rust. So no, he was born. He was redheaded we've been rusty at the since he was born. Oh, no. This in December 1941. And then my daughter was born in not all of us. 1943 So they will close together. And she was named Catherine blonde for me. In my family. All the girls have been named Katherine Blonde on my mug on my mother's side old old generation tablet Katherine blow blonde. And then we so achieved that fly. She was called Catherine blonde.Alex Albright 34:05 After after the war. I assume that you and your husband continued to live in the house. They doKatherine Hodges 34:13 is we've lived here since we came. We will. The house as it was built was laid right on the ground. And of course, as I said before, we have never had a hurricane come in so cold or can we then know Eustace and things like that. But the last stone we ever had up until that time was in 1930 in September 1913 When the all of the railroad trestles were washed away in the bridge across the road washed away the whole town was on the wall. But then we didn't call them hurricanes it was just called the 1913 stone. And we'd never have another stone like that. Until 1950 For when we had Hazel, and our house was built on the ground level, and it was just torn up completely every one day every door was washed out and the waves went right over the ceiling and it was just horrible. Well, we rebuilt it on the roof it fixed it up. That that fold and welcome. And the next year 1955 We had three hurricanes, then. And the same thing with that house was torn up completely again. And I put the third win in 1955. I said I'm through. I'm not afraid stones. I can go through them. But I am never going to clean up on love when we had black moon about over a foot deep all over the whole house. And we had to just to bring shovel and shovel out with wheel boughs and bring in the hose and wash it all out. And it was a mess. So then we raised this house. And of course we didn't know anything about reason then. And we could have felt lucky at the graves the house. We never moved out. We raised it. We stayed right here never took a picture off of the wall. And it was finished and through in one week. And now I told the reason Harkins it takes two years to raise. It's bad. We do have had water in it sets that with these, this harkensAlex Albright 36:35 I'm interested in your observations about how life has changed in Washington, over the period of time that you you've lived here. What would you say would be the biggest changes that you've noticed? I mean, besides the fact that it takes two years to fix up the house after Hurricane, it's well, instead of one week.Katherine Hodges 37:02 There have been a lot of changes. Washington was a small town. I mean, really, we never had any new commerce. We'd never had any industry here. And the first we didn't even know how to treat treat new commerce and strangers here because it's been the same founders that had always lived in the first industry we have ahead here was when Texas school moved down in Aurora, and they were the first people that ever came here. And it took us a long time to learn how to treat new cops, and strangers. And I see how we could have gotten along in the last decades without these new commerce. I don't know because they have really done more for this town than anybody I've ever seen in my life and up without Cypress land and Pamlico plantation. They've all just done so much to improve Washington and volunteer for everything. But I think we're still a close knit community I don't see that many changes really. I mean, we still do the same things we've always done course. It's all different when I was growing up because when I was growing up my father was the one that instigated everything in town he just love to promote the town. And we will we pride ourselves on being the first ones to do everything we keep we had the first set of Christmas tree lights in town way back you had candles on this Christmas trees but you didn't light them on the count of five but you had put a candle close on the tree. But he heard about a spring of Christmas tree lights in Chicago one year and older some and we had the first spring but before that we had the first outdoor Christmas tree in town and now you'reAlex Albright 39:22 about what time periodKatherine Hodges 39:25 this was in the 20s this was all going up in the 20s it was we had a tree it we put a tree in the front yard when we lived on Main Street and deadhead the tinsmith here make stalls. Oh, I would say the way to 10 inches wide out of 10 and we as children help paint, paint the stars red and green and then we have an electrician he'll make a spring lights because regular light books and like like extension cords but he connected it all together and we had the first outdoor Christmas free diet. We did more for Christmas in anybody you have ever heard of that was even when we went high school we we were the first ones that started singing Christmas carols in town. My father got a foul one of one of the stores here in town did have a delivery truck. So Mr. Bear let dad have the crust of the crook every every Christmas. And we went around and sang to all the shut ins and the hospitals and he played an accordion so he always carried the accordion with him and we played we sang in closeness scout and visited older Jordans and we we did a lot for Christmas. Specially at church when and way back lamb at the Episcopal Church was the only church that have a Christmas service. And now whole church was decorated like nobody's business. Everybody worked for weeks, getting all of the green room selected and everybody made all the reason new loaves and rodents for the church. And we did a lot for Christmas. My grandmother was the first one that wrapped ever wrap Christmas presents in town. Hall fall called brother ran the beat oh the biggest department store here in town and he saved that tissue paper album shoe boxes, and the Reubens height came in hiking two boxes. And she was known as thin the first lady that ever wrapped up a Christmas present in Washington. There were so many things way back that we did that nobody else had ever done because my dad is remembered everything that ever went all the way back and his grandparents and great grandparents.Alex Albright 42:21 I understand you took a very long trip across the country when you wereKatherine Hodges 42:30 to travel, I'd always want to travel and I wanted to go to California. I've heard a lot about California. This was I got out to St. Mary's. But we still had no moneyAlex Albright 42:42 time in the early 1930s. Sometime in the early 1930s.Katherine Hodges 42:47 Yes, this this was in 19. And I graduated from St. Mary's in 1934. And about to go but then I went took that visitors course in '35. So when I came home I said in 1936 I wanted to go California. Well I found heard about a tour, out of Georgia, a bus tour which was called the Georgia caravan. But they charge $300 for the trip to go from Georgia to California and back when there was no way in the world I could find in $300 I didn't know why in the world, I'd do it. But I thought Well, I'll start working and see if I can save up $300 within the meantime, Chamber of Commerce put up a half contest here. And this was of course before the mall and the object of the contest was to get people to trade at certain stores in town. We had one grocery store, one drugstore, one dress shop one as he took everything and those in the contest. Sell credit cards for those stores. And the one that got the most points one and the prize was the Brand New Plymouth automobile. And I got thinking about it and I thought well, I believe I could could win that thing. And so I went to the Herbert Hall who was a car dealer, it was putting up the car and I asked him how much he would allow me would he give me for the car if I won the contest? And he said well it's a four door Plymouth brand new four door Plymouth and the cost price is $600. So if you can win it, I'll be glad to give you the $600 instead of the car so I said all right, I win it so I did and I won it. We had to visit around and we got up all kinds of stuff steel and iron to pile up for the wall way off foot and know when they will collect in there than that And so gave my sister $300, and i took $300 and we were going to take the bus trip. And then my friends wanted to go so we had two other friends that wanted to go with us, which the D ID. And then Mr. Bowers, Frank bow said listener you I won't lose it to go when I've just bought a brand new car y'all can take this car and drive if you wanted to take loose acid fine. So October, they let me plan the trip and we had a tote mastered each one of you can be put $250 in the pot in the door kid. And we can each have $50 spending money. But that's all that's all everybody can take. So they said fine. So we started out. It's called the five of us. And we went in 34 states. And we went into Mexico twice. We went into Canada twice. And we went 13,000 miles, gone 10 weeks and we both all of us came home with $100 we had quite a trip but we stayed with a lot of friends and we're entertained royally. We were written up in all the papers every way we went. And we have a letter of introduction from the National Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC because one of our friends at work by was a secretary to the national press. So he wrote us to whom it may concern and so we could go into any Chamber of Commerce in the country and we got the role your treatment. But then we've also in in California and we we visted the Demilles out there in California he took us all through the studios we went to his home for lunch and we went over to Catalina Island we did everything we saw everything and did everythingAlex Albright 47:21 can you remember the the root of your trip where did how did you get around the countryKatherine Hodges 47:28 I wrote to, I planned it all that don't miss it was not trip and that just it was at the point I wanted to and went where I want to so I wrote to Conico which our company somebody told me they were pretty good about planning a trip and they sent me a map and mapped it out how to go so we went the southern route came around went up through California up into Canada to paint and later we use and then I went up into the New England states and down and at the time my father was was a district governor of rotary so he gave us names of all his friends and he admitted these in the national meetings that he knew so we wrote to them and they all were real sweet and good to us and then in Oregon the Navy the fleet was in in in in our in Portland, Oregon for a week. And so the one of the girls ants knew new oh the Navy crowd out by a husband was army but anyway he knew the Navy crowd. So we went out obtained by the Navy in in in Portland they had T tanks as follows us on board ship and we had old soldier parties and everywhere we went we were out contained.Alex Albright 48:57 The car never broke down?Katherine Hodges 49:00 We only had one flat tire. And then when we came we never had any wreck or any problem until we got to New York and we spent the night with a friend of ours who was married and lived in New York and we wanted to go to Macy's to shop so we didn't know much about driving in New York so Warren's brother was there in New York and he said I'll drive y'all down by Apple having a you have to both with driving and I'll take calls I'm gonna I work nearby we hadn't even been in the car 10 minutes when he ran into somebody didn't do much damage but that was the only problem we had that awful fountain but that was about it. So anyway, we we have a nice trip but everybody in town was sick to death of it. We did nothing but talk about it was a pain in the neck. What was the folks hear about it? Anyway, we had a lot of fun. Then later, I decided, well my mother died when my mother died, oh, my father was really sort of down in the dumps. So he had begun making speeches. With the way he started making speeches, when he was district governor, he went around to make his annual visits at all the clubs. And he rather than making a real dry speech about the Rotary, he told stories with his speeches, with everybody thought it was just flying. So they kept calling him to come back every time they'd be in the comic convention, anything they'd call him on him to go make the speech. So we'd started charging $25 A speech. And then it got so many couldn't keep working and keep them up. So then he went up to $100. And he still kept getting found that he decided he'd quit work and just take that on full time. So he signed up with the Knight and Fault Club, in Topeka, Kansas, and they booked him and he made a friend, Bob Kashmir, who was also on that circuit, and also a tour director. So the some of the act of some aid to my mother, dad needed to do get away. So he went with Bob Tasmania on a trip to Europe. And he came back and he said, Let me tell you something, I believe you and I can have a career the two of you are just as good as those professionals can, how about you and me going into two business. So I said all right. So he said you write the letters, I know enough people around that we can get plenty of people to go. Well, Luther Hodges, at that time was was a governor of North Carolina and a real good friend rotary friend of dad does and he was elected president of Rotary International and the first ever that and his national meeting was in Nice, France. So we use that as an excuse to get a cry and we will go into the rotary national rotary convert international rotary convention in Nice. So we went over to that. And when we all the people on the tour said oh, I clap. I wish you'd go and take another one and take other people said we'd like five children to go with you. So we've said all right. So we waited till Katherine was 16. So Catherine and Robin and Ross, and all love we went in 1959 and took the older children of these people were with us, but we didn't end up with just 35 young people. Old folks wanted to go to so we had 35 old folks that morning. So we went with over seventy people on that tour, and we have a real good time with all the young folks and then we did another one but we had fun doing it. We got along as good as those professional tour guides.Alex Albright 53:30 Do you have any grandchildren?Katherine Hodges 53:32 Yep. Yeah. Rusty, my son has three, no four and Katherine has one run one daughter. And she has six children. They live up on Long Island. Rusty's son he lives out in near Detroit, Michigan. He has three. His daughter Katie has just had a baby and named for me they call her Kat too. So I'm delighted to have all these sweet little children aroundAlex Albright 54:16 how did you survive the hurricane that just came through? Isabelle?Katherine Hodges 54:20 Oh, that was fine. That was And by this time it was we've been fired that and had counted but not here but I didn't stay here none of my neighbors stay down here. They all afraid of stones. I've had been through so many that don't bother me. But anyway, I don't stay down here by myself. And so they all most of my friends go over to Williamston to the motel and of course Rusty wanted me to go into sand with them but I didn't want to go into why and what I didn't want stay here alone because I do have some damage and so after side that go to the Beaufort County nursing home that's where I'm gonna end up, I can't I can't look at look out for myself. So I called out then I asked him if they take me in that place. So I went out there and stayed. Another friend of mine was in the same fix I'm in. So she went with him and we have a wonderful time stay in the nursing home from two nights. I'dAlex Albright 55:23 like to ask you about what what are you? What is your opinion of the current social and political life here in Washington? What is your opinion of the current the social and political life here in Washington right now?Katherine Hodges 55:43 Well, I'm happy to have been real involved in politics. I know when I went work with Lindsey Warren, when he was in Congress, I told him then I said, I'm no politician. I'm not gonna get out and beg for votes or anything else. But I'm a Democrat. I've always been a Democrat, and I don't mind anybody know it, most all my friends now Republicans. I'm still a Democrat, and I was not in favor of really going into Iraq, but I and I think we should support the made the soldiers over by and I think Bush is doing all right. Do you stand up saying anything against him? I think you've done the best he can.Alex Albright 56:36 Why do you? Why do you think it is that you're still a Democrat? And your friends have become Republicans?Katherine Hodges 56:45 I was born and raised one, I reckon thats why. And We never had any Republicans in this area. But when I was growing up, we only have about two Republicans around here. And we just always been Democrats and but now I'm not gonna go into politics. But I just was born and raised a Democrat and I reckon, I always will beAlex Albright 57:15 Do you still travel. Do you still travel?Katherine Hodges 57:17 No, I don't travel anymore. I'm to blind, I cant hear to start with. I'm totally deaf without hearing aids. And no, I don't see well enough to get around by myself. So I'm perfectly satisfied right here at home. My children are in and out all the time. I have a lot of friends in the nail. And I love the church. I go to church all the time. And they all look out for me down by. But we were always really interested in the church. My grandfather was Rector here at St. Peter's for 44 years. And my dad was organist for over 40 years, and we've been really involved in the church always. SoAlex Albright 58:08 have you ever held church office at any time? I mean, theKatherine Hodges 58:13 church women Yeah. And all those kinds of leaders, that sort of stuff. And I've done that and then tellAlex Albright 58:21 me some of your activities in the church. What type of things did you do?Katherine Hodges 58:27 When the children are in high school? I rendered a young church when I was always advised with them. I even work down as a secretary at the Church for one of the ministers here. I've had jobs within the church women's organizations I've have an assitant job. So through the years I've done lots with connected with the church though Sunday I dug a shove of dirt for the new parish because when my dad was was here, the chairman of the building committee for our first parish house in 1926. And my sister dug the first shovel of the dirt for that. And so they thought out did the show before we had two or three people digging shovels I wasn't the only one but so they had me dig a shovel dirt for the new Parrish house asked last week.Alex Albright 59:34 Do you have an opinion on the current split or possible split in the Episcopal Church?Katherine Hodges 59:40 Well, I'm not I don't I'm not worried about that either. That doesn't bother me a bit. I can accept that. Sit over there and I'm not gonna leave the church. I've been Episcopalian and been at St. Peter's all my life and I certainly not let that get me upset. They play they open the door and I think it will affect eventually. I can exceptAlex Albright 1:00:13 my tape is about to expire. So I think rather than it stopped in the middle of a question or a middle of an answer, that this would be an appropriate place to stop out. So I thank you. I thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you