Page A3 The Joan De Arc Crusader
/ Sunday, June 16, 2002
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People (cont.)
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Nostalgia
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Crossword
A6
Bill and Helen
Mitchell: The Crusader interview
by J. Bueker
Page A3 The Joan De Arc Crusader
/ Sunday, June 16, 2002
Front Page
A1 / Editorials, Chuck's Corner A2 /
People (cont.)
A4 /
Nostalgia
A5 /
Crossword
A6
Bill and Helen
Mitchell: The Crusader interview
by J. Bueker
The Mitchell family has graced Joan De Arc Avenue now for a full four decades. Having arrived in July, 1961, they have been witness to virtually the entire history of our venerable street, from its earliest years up to the present day. On April 20, 2002, Crusader CEO, publisher, editor and reporter John Bueker sat down with Bill and Helen Mitchell in the living room of their lovely home at 3231 for a friendly conversation that fondly touched upon their wide-ranging and unique Joan De Arc memories, an assessment of the street today, and a glance ahead to the years yet to come.
| John: Well, I would just like to thank you folks once
again for granting me the honor of this interview against your own better
judgment. And I'd like to say how very pleased I am to see that you are both
alive and well. I think that's great. Bill and Helen: Thank you, John. John: I suppose the most logical question to begin with would be, what are your earliest memories of Joan De Arc Avenue? What was the street like when you moved in? Helen: Empty! Bill: Empty. There were... our house was the only one on the south side of the street, wasn't it? Helen: The one next door wasn't here... Bill: There were a few on the north side. Helen: Yeah. There was nothing, all the way down to Sweetwater. We could see all the way to Sweetwater. John.Cool. Helen: 'Cause they started up on Thunderbird, and then they came south. So yeah, there were some on the other side of the street. Bill: But they were scattered, there weren't too many. John:So this was just like a field (to the south)? Bill: Yes. Helen: Yes, it was just wide open. Oh, we used to have the worst storms. John: The tumbleweeds! Helen: Oh yes, the tumbleweeds. Bill: We had a sewer problem when we moved in. Helen: Yes, there were wood chips or something... Bill: And we couldn't use the shower, and we stood out on the little tiny patio that we had, you know that little four by six cement thing, and with the hose we took our showers. John: (Laughs) Helen: Well it was dark, there weren't any lights, you know, street lights. We just went out as is, 'cause we had to do the girls too, you know. But then they came out to fix it, it was just wood chips. Of course, we had those tar paper sewers too. Well, Sandy and John lived up on... John: Voltaire. Bill: Was it Voltaire? Helen: Well yeah... I was thinking it was Sharon. John: Yes they did. If memory serves, you folks emigrated here from South Dakota... Helen: North Dakota. John: (Laughs) I knew I was going to pick the wrong one. Why did you ever leave such a lovely place? Helen: Hmmm... Bill? Bill: (Laughs) Oh, I'm on the soapbox? Oh dear... why did we leave there? John: I was thinking perhaps the weather... Bill: Do you think maybe the weather might have had something to do with it? John: That was my hunch. Helen: Cold feet! No, Bill was stationed at Luke and when he was discharged, at that time, the military didn't pay for your education. So we went back and he finished at the university up there. And he said "As soon as I graduate, we're going back. I don't even want to look for a job up here!" And so, here we are. John: What was your major? Bill: I was an accounting major. Helen: Tell him how many majors you had, Bill. Bill: Well, I was one of the few people who was a senior for five semesters. I had an awful time. John: Oh please. I've got that beat easily. Bill: Does that sound familiar, John? (Laughs) John: I was the major king. Bill and Helen: (Laughs) John: Now I realize that your years here on Joan De Arc have been absolutely defined by two major events, the Bueker's arrival in 1963, and their departure in 1977. But what other major events come to mind when you look back over the years? Helen: (Long pause). Hmmm... I can't think of any major ones! (Laughs) Bill: Carl used to come down and help me repair the old Corvair. That was pretty major. (Laughs) Helen: Major events... |
Bill: Some of the parties were a lot of fun. We were all of
the same age group, with kids... Helen: I think that you and I were probably a little older. Well, let's see... Konnie had Annie when she was over here. Bill Dickey died... Jack and Jean were divorced. Bill: After they had six kids. John: Do you ever hear from Jean Humphries? Helen: No, but she married her old friend from back in Pennsylvania, and they live in Flagstaff. Konnie told me about that, she went with him for years. But as far as the kids go, I have no idea. John: Do you remember the early years of the Crusader ? According to our records, you folks never did have an official subscription to our newspaper. Would you care to explain why? Bill: (Laughs) Helen: I don't think we even knew it was available until Konnie told us about it! Your mother didn't advertise for you, I want you to know. John: I did a lot of my own advertising. Helen: Oh. Okay. John: The Bueker-Mitchell bridge parties are very much the stuff of Joan De Arc legend. Did the Mitchells ever win the coveted Bueker Cup? I seem to remember it being a more or less permanent fixture in the Bueker household. Helen: There was a cup? Bill: There was a cup. I remember it. John: It was this hideous, brown plastic cup that my father came up with. Bill: That's right. (Laughs) Helen: I don't remember a cup. Bill: Carl and Helen liked to play bridge. Barbara and I... just weren't interested at all. They forced us to play. Helen: Yep, we did. We forced them to play. John: And that's exactly what my mom reports as well. Helen, you were an "emergency mother" on Joan De Arc back in the 60s... Helen: A what?... Bill: What does that entail? Oh... you had a sign on the window?... John: You had a sign on the window, and if a student walking home from school... Helen: Oh, yes. John: ... got into trouble, you would... Helen: I had forgotten all about that. It was on construction paper and had a big, red "E" on it. John: Yes. Well actually the original ones, if I recall correctly, had a black "EM" on them and hung above the front door. Later, they went to the bigger red ones. Helen: Yeah, that's the one I remember. Huh. John: Okay, well let me finish my question now. Bill and Helen: (Laughs) John: Helen, you were an emergency mother on Joan De Arc back in the 60s. Did you ever have any actual emergencies to deal with, or were you just trying to draw attention to yourself? (Laughs all around) Helen: I never had any emergencies, I don't think. (Laughs) John: Well, it was good to know you were here, just in case. Helen: Thanks. John: How are Julie and Kathy these days? Do they ever come to visit? Are they still madly in love with me? Helen: (Laughs)... I don't know... John: You don't know whether they come to visit, or... Helen: Oh yeah, they come to visit. Bill: They do come to visit. Kathy won't drive up here. She has a nice new car, but she won't drive. She doesn't drive the freeways. John: She never did like the freeways. And now they're such a nightmare... Bill: Oh yes. John: Okay. You folks have lived next door to the Smiths for about 30 years now. Have they managed to convert you yet? Bill: (Laughs) Helen. No, but they've never tried, either. (Continued on Page A4) |
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