Life History of Lois Rotella

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Dedicated To Main Page Life History Project

1. Tell about your favorite uncle.

My Uncle Ike (Alexander Adamson) was my Aunt Lena Gagne Adamson's husband. He was fun to be around. He enjoyed life. When my family visited my grandmother in Schuylerville, he and my aunt would be the first people we would visit. Their children are still my closest cousins. He was a fun loving teasing man. Family was his pride and joy. When he and my Aunt passed on the left a family of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren which they both would have enjoyed.

2. What changes have you seen in technology? (Indoor plumbing, water, telephones, computers, cars, etc.)

I remember when I was growing up in a tenement building in NYC we didn't have a private bathroom and steam heat. We shared a toilet with the next door neighbor and the tub was in the kitchen. The only heat was the stove in the kitchen. Our air conditioner was a huge chunk of ice bought from the ice man who carried it up 4 flights of stairs and put it in a huge pan and we would turn on the fan to cool off the room. That is the most vivid memory I have of plumbing in my life time.

3. Tell something you remember about one of your grandparents. (Were they funny, crazy, loving, mean or special in a certain way.)

About: Joseph and Lucinda (Bentley) Gagne

As far as a grandparent I had only my mother's parents. My grandmother was Lucinda Bentley Gagne and her husband was Joseph Gagne. My grandfather died when I was only 9 years of age. Now my Grandmother she was funny, strict and loved to laugh. What I remember most is when we played cards. We would play rummy and she would hold all the cards and never put one down. We would tell her she was cheating and she would tell us it was her house and her cards. I also remember when it was hot she would tell us to stop coming in and out of the house. We would let all the flies in. She would put the hook on the back door screen door to keep us out until lunch time. She loved to have visits from family. I also remember I really didn't know her name because she was call Mom or Grandma. When one of her nephews came by he called her Aunt Cindy. I ask who was that and she said that was her. I then asked was her name Cynthina and she no it was Lucinda. I miss her very much.

4. Did you ever have an accident, illness, or an operation? Pick one and tell about it.

I did have an illness when I was about 10 years old. I had Scarlet Tina which is a milder case of Scarlet fever. I was out of school for three weeks which I liked but it was also to close to finals. I had to do homework every night and my mother would take it to school everyday. I went back to school just when final test were given. I did well and past to the sixth grade.

5. Tell what your hobbies or interests are. (Do you sing, sew, write, hunt, build things, let us know more about you.)

The answer to question is so many.

I love to research family genealogy. I got hook on it when I saw Roots the Movie. It got me thinking I didn't really know much about the family. I also love doing crafts of all kind. I do scrapbooks now. I am taking the old pictures and putting them into scrap pages and explaining the who's and what's. That is fun. Right now I am compiling a scrapbook recipes book from relatives of my great niece as a wedding or bridal shower gift. It is a lot of work but fun. I also love to crochet. My mom showed me how and she learned from my grandmother Bentley Gagne. My grandmother was a whiz at sewing and natting. She would look at a picture and make it. It amazed me how she did it.

I think my best hobby is getting together with family and making things. When ever I get with my niece we would go to the craft store and make something. She showed how to make albums with fabric and now she tells me I took over. Ha Ha.

6. Tell about the changes in television. (Anything you want, earlier shows vs. today's shows, invention of VCR's & DVD's, the sky's the limit.)

Television aha there is a definite change in TV's and programing. I remember the older TV's that were in a wood box and had a picture tube and other tube's in the back. I also remember that television went off the air every night and came back on in the morning. There was no such thing has 24 hour television. We had many entertaining programs. There was variety shows where you saw new and old performers. Families watched together. I remember the most important thing I saw on television was JFK's funeral. It remained the most important thing I saw until Sept 11, 2001. I also enjoyed TV in black and white. The one program that got me started on genealogy was Roots.

7. Lets be romantic! Tell us about your valentine, first love, first crush, or how you were proposed to, or how you proposed to your sweetheart.

I am going to tell you about my first crush. He worked at the A & P Supermarket. He was a cashier and would volunteer to get anything for my Mom and would stand only on his line. His name was Robert and I thought he was the cutest thing. After a while when I would go into the store and get on his line he would talk to me. I thought that was the greatest. Nothing ever came of it because he graduated from high school before I could date. But he was my first love from a distant.

8. What types of jobs have you had and which did you prefer?

The answer to this question is very short. I basically have only three jobs. When I was in high school I worked as a tutor for about two years and a cashier in a supermarket for about three years. I than started working for a bank and am still there after 32 years. As far as which job I enjoyed the most was being a tutor. I loved the fact that the kids got the problem or story done or read and understood it. I guess that aspect of teaching was not in my cards.

9. Who was your best friend while growing up, or who is your best friend now? Let us know a little about the friends you have had in your life.

Friends, they vary with years. When I was a child I had several best friends. Their names were Christine and Linda. Linda was my closest because our mother's were very good friends. We even went on vacation together. We loved to play with our Barbie dolls. We lost touch after High School. In high school I had 2 best friends. Their names were Joanie and Pat. I still occasionally here from Pat. We used to call each other after we got home from school and go to movies. It was a fun time. Now as an adult I have several best friends. They are Carmen, Marcene, Debbie, Kim and Arlene. Carmen i meet at work and I have known her for over 30 years. She is there for me and I for her. Marcene is another co worker that I have know for at least 10 years. She is there for me also I for her. Debbie and Kim are my nieces and we love being together and have fun or just talk. Arlene is my sister in law. We love being together and shop and eat out. We love to craft and have taught each other fun things to do. We also have fun just talking or playing board games. I just wish we had more time to be with each other. Life is so short that I miss time with them.

10. Tell us about your favorite Aunt

Favorite Aunt, now that is hard. All my Aunts were special to me because I wasn't near them all year. I only saw them in the summer when we visited my Grandmother. My Aunt Lena was the aunt we went places with. We always had fun when we were together. Our families had a great time together. I am still close to my cousins Lucy and Barbara because of our relationship as kids. My Aunt Naomi was the fun aunt. She loved to dance and have fun. I remember once she even took us roller skating and we had a ball. Last but not least is my Aunt Dot. She would make Barbie doll clothes for my doll. I use to love to watch her make them. She is the only Aunt I still have left. She is the connection to the large family that was. I certainly miss all that have passed on. I miss their warmth, personality and laughter.

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