Donn Garwood Interview: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:03, 14 September 2025

I'm Gerry Waterson, and today we are interviewing 'Donn Garwood, who happens to be my brother-in-law. The date is December 28, 2010. This is part of the oral history project of Historic Saranac Lake and we are located here at Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake.

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DG:	My father’s name was Everett Grant Garwood. My mother’s name was Alberta Grace Kerr.\|
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DG:	I attended the Broadway Elementary School from first to sixth grade. At that time we lived on Baker Street, just before my father died and then of course I went to the high school from there, the high school, which is now the middle school.\|
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DG:	On Petrova Avenue, yeah.\|
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DG:	Oh, we lived all over the town. We lived on Baker Street when my father died, Margaret Street, where else did we live, Dover (?) Avenue, Leach (?) Street where I stayed with my aunt and uncle, that’s about it, I guess.\|
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DG:	No. I was on the fire squad too at the high school which was started by the woodworking teacher, Carl Smith.\|
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DG:	Well, my first girlfriend was Caree Yetz, but I liked her when I was in grade school. She lived right next door to the fire house.\|
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GW:	I understand. Now, every teenager and people in high school, had an after school hangout. Was there a place you used to go to, like Bernie Wilson's.\|
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DG:	I worked for my uncle’s, Bill and Earl Kerr.\|
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DG:	Well, they owned a gas station on Broadway and later in the 40s they started recapping tires, so through my high school years I worked mostly down at the recapping plant which was from 1941 to '44 or '45.\|
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DG:	I, after school, I started working at Wilson's Clothing Company.\|
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DG:	Oh, I was there for a couple of years, I think, and had an offer from Cheeseman’s Sport Shop which was just up the hill from Wilsons. I was there until I went in the service as a matter of fact.\|
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DG:	Well, I really, I didn’t realize I was developing I guess, I had, Dr. Waickman sent me to Plattsburgh to have a heart catherization and possible stenting because I was having some problems, shortness of breath and whatnot. I went down there and ran through a whole battery of tests and they finally decided that I should go to St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany and have open heart surgery which I did. I had open heart surgery and worked on two valves, they gave me a new aorta, replaced one of my carotid arteries and send me home, sent me to rehab. So I was in the nursing home for rehab for two months, yeah two months and then came home. I was allowed to go to my daughters for a short period of time because I was on an IV because I had developed ??? when I was in the hospital and I was still on the IV but they let me go home from the nursing home because I could still do the IV with her help so I stayed at her house for a month and then she brought me home. I left home on the 24th of June to take a ride to Plattsburgh and I got back home on the 30th day of September.\|
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 {| class="wikitable"
-|
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+|GW:||First of all Donn, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with me. Let’s begin by asking you some basic questions. What is your full name?|
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+|DG:||Donn Grant Gray Garwood.|
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+|GW:||And you were born in?|
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+|DG:||Saranac Lake, New York|
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+|GW:||On what date?|
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+|DG:||December 21, 1929|
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+|GW:||Okay, what I want to do is first of all get some basic factual questions out of the way. If you could tell me a little bit about your early childhood, and I want to emphasize too I’m trying not to ask you yes and no type questions, I hope you can expound on things a little bit more, but the first things are going to be just basic questions. What were your parents' names?|
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+|DG:||My father’s name was [[Everett%20Garwood|Everett Grant Garwood]]. My mother’s name was [[Alberta%20Grace%20Kerr|Alberta Grace Kerr]].|
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+|GW:||Did you have any siblings?|
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+|DG:||No, I was an only child.|
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+|GW:||Okay, first thing I’d like to ask you is what were your growing up memories, you know, what are the things you kind of remember about Saranac Lake and your own life and your own family when you were growing up.|
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+|DG:||Oh, dear. My memory is very vague.|
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+|GW:||Well, I mean like school, what did you do|
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+|DG:||I attended the [[Broadway%20School|Broadway Elementary School]] from first to sixth grade. At that time we lived on [[Baker%20Street|Baker Street]], just before my father died and then of course I went to the high school from there, the [[Petrova%20School|high school]], which is now the middle school.|
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+|GW:||And that was on Petrova.|
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+|DG:||On [[Petrova%20Avenue|Petrova Avenue]], yeah.|
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+|GW:||I understand. Do you remember your living addresses when you were growing up?|
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+|DG:||Oh, we lived all over the town. We lived on Baker Street when my father died
 |}