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A. Varesano interviewing Helen Fedorsha 6-15-72 Tape 14-2 Page 2
ever happened to him during the First World War, I dont' know, because we never head anything about him after he left. So, they were the only...... oh, and I think, that man they used to call Big Andrew, I think he boarded with us for awhile. But they're the only ones that I remember. But, like at Machella's, My God, they had an array of boarders there!
AV: Did they?
HF: And then when the peddlers would come around, peddlin' different things, they were usually Arabian. And they would have these like suitcases, and they would have dress material or shaving needs or shoelaces or pins and hairpins, anything that you needed. All these little things they'd have. Well, they used to, I don't know how they'd come into town, did they come by train to Foundryville and then walk over here, or how they came in, but then they couldn't finish the town in one day, so they woudl ask for a night's lodging. And there was one man that stayed at our place quite a number of times for overnight. Well, they used to stay in Machella's also There was always room for one more!
AV: In Machella's!
HF: If there was no room anywhere else, there was always room for one more in there! And we used to wait for those peddlers, well, not as much for those peddlers, because after all they didn't carry candy. And there was, down at the Eckley store they had candy, but who's gonna be running down at the store all the time? If you wanted candy, you'd go to Freeland, and you had to walk. Well, you weren't in the mood to walk all the time, everytime you wanted candy. So this one man came around, and he was in a mine accident, and he had lost his sight, his face was all, like, marked with blue, and the coal, when this blast went off, the coal imbedded itself and he had blue marks left on his face. And he was completely blind, and he had some of the fingers off his hands. And he used to come with a big basket ...... and this was a big basket, not like that wicker basket there, it was made of different stuff, but it was a big basket with the handles on the side, and they had like a strap run across. There was a young boy that used to lead him around and he would carry, this old man would carry this basket, and the boy would hold him under the arm and lead him around. Well, when he'd come, he knew where the different things were in that baseket, he could point them out to you. And we used to wait for him, because he always had candy. Different kind of candy, and we'd pick them out and buy them. And he had shoelaces, and he had any little thing that you needed, you know, those little things, and we used to wait for him. Today, my God, the kids wouldn't even want that candy.
AV: What kind did you have?
HF: Well, it was usually lollipops, or something that didn't melt. Because, chocolate he couldn't carry around, especially in the summertime, or it would melt! But as long as it was candy, it was good.
AF: So these were sort of overnight boarders?
HF: Yes, they used to come into town, and then till they would peddle the town they would stay overnight and then you'd give them their breakfast, or you'd give them a bite to eat whenever they would come in the evenings. And in the morning when they would get up, you'd give them breakfast before they would leave. Well, we used to deal with this one man, his name was Mr. Toweel, and my mother never wated to get anything from him. She told him, she said, Nick??? for the little bit that you ate, she said, many times you throw stuff out that you didn't eat, so she said I'm not going to charge you anything at all for it. He was a very nice person. He had a son in Hazleton, I often see that name in the paper. And his son, I don't now what Arabian