Interview of Catherine Robin

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Title

Description

Catherine Robin tells her experience of moving into town with SUNY Geneseo’s organization “Heard @ Geneseo.” She grew up in Dansville but moved to Geneseo, despite it being a college town. The oral interview was taken and transcribed by Chelsea Butkowski, and it was later revised by Jordan Keane.

Creator

Butkowski, Chelsea

Date

2011-11-24

Contributor

Robin, Catherine; Keane, Jordan

Format

doc, 33.3 KB

Type

Interview

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CHELSEA: What was it like moving? You were in Dansville correct, before you moved to Geneseo? CATHERINE: Well… I was in with my son- I didn’t have a place, I was looking for something. CHELSEA: So how was it different moving to Geneseo? CATHERINE: Well I didn’t really plan on moving to Geneseo and I wrote a story about that too: I planned on moving to Batavia ‘cause I had a child in Buffalo, and a child in Rochester, and a child in Dansville and if you look at the map Batavia’s right in the middle and so I thought that was the place to go but I didn’t like Batavia -it’s not a city and it’s not a little town- and I’d never heard of Geneseo, but one time I was coming back -I was staying with my son in Dansville- so when I was coming back I got off three ninety and came through town and so I said when I got down there, I said “I think I’ll go up to Geneseo and look around tomorrow.” And he goes “Oh mom, you don’t want to move there- that’s a college town.” So I said “Well I’ll go up and see,” and I had an apartment by noontime! I lived down and back of the Ponderosa, where the Ponderosa was, there are apartments there. And so what I did when I came up was I went to the store and got a penny-saver, and I went to Burger King and looked for apartments and then at that point Wegmans was down in that -where the Goodwill is now- there was a Wegmans store. So I went over there and used the phone booth and I said “I read this ad about an apartment and I wanted to see it,” and it was on Jacqueline Way- do you know where Jacqueline way is? Well, anyway I asked her where Jacqueline Way was and she asked me where I was, and I said “I’m in the phone booth by Wegmans,” so she said “Well if you walk out of the booth and go straight ahead you’re on Jacqueline way.” It’s that street where the apartments are. CHELSEA: Yea, I think I know where that is… CATHERINE: Well, if you went out of the Goodwill door and went straight -not up by 20-A but straight across- that’s the apartments. CHELSEA: So what made you decide to get an apartment so quickly in Geneseo? CATHERINE: I don’t know: I just wanted to look at it and I liked everything about it so I rented it. You get tired of rooming around sometimes- so I stayed there for four years and then I had the house built. CHELSEA: So what’s it like living in a college town? CATHERINE: Oh I think it’s wonderful, yea there’s always something to do down there. I went down to that -what is it at the beginning of the year with all music programs?- the singing and the- I forget what they call it, but it’s just a little taste of the musicians and … CHELSEA: Oh of each group? That’s the Kaleidoscope concert that they have for parent’s weekend. CATHERINE: Yeah that’s it, I couldn’t think of the name. Do you go? CHELSEA: I went the first two years, and since then I’ve been going to the actual performers that I liked the most, their shows. CATHERINE: But it’s like a little sample, have you been? CHELSEA: No I didn’t get to go- my friend played in it though but I’ll be there next year. CATHERINE: Okay good! [laughs] But I like the plays… and it’s really good. CHELSEA: So you said after you went to Geneseo for a bit you went got your degree… CATHERINE: No, I got my degree before I came up here- an Associate’s degree. And I never got a degree from here because you can sit in on the classes but you don’t get a grade. CHELSEA: So when did you get your Associate’s degree? CATHERINE: I was sixty years old: I went back to college after my husband died with a girlfriend and we graduated together. But we were taking just a course at night- like I say, the last year we had to take a full course at the community college but that was the only time I took four subjects at one time and that’s hard! It’s like every teacher thinks they’re the only ones giving you homework! [laughs] CHELSEA: Or when they make their tests they’re all in the same area of time. Um-hm. What your degree in? CATHERINE: Liberal arts, and then when I started taking classes down here I only took English classes I think and some history. CHELSEA: Just the interesting ones! CATHERINE: Yea right, something I enjoyed. And that’s another thing, I know you don’t enjoy all your classes: there are favorites and there are not. CHELSEA: It seems like you’re really involved around Geneseo as well, you’re in a lot of clubs and stuff. Yeah I really like the town. What are you involved with? CATHERINE: Well, the senior citizens- I was involved with the Red Cross for a long time but not so much anymore. Did you go to the craft fair this weekend? Well I was kind of missing it ‘cause I was away: it’s a fabulous craft fair, they have really nice crafts and a lot of ‘em. And I have always worked at it, taking money when they come in, and that’s fun because it’s very, very business so they give you the money as fast as you can take it and that was fun. So this year I didn’t and kind of missed it. CHELSEA: Have you ever gone to the craft show in Letchworth? They have it Columbus weekend. CATHERINE: Oh yes! CHELSEA: My mom and I went the one year- that is a craft show! CATHERINE: That is a craft show! Well, the Red Cross isn’t that great because it’s all in that one building. It’s all in this armory here. But the one over in Letchworth- I went one time with my girlfriend and we were stuck in traffic near Brian’s restaurant and we decided not to go. I mean we were there for maybe an hour and a half and we got up to the entrance and said forget it! I don’t know where they were parking them, but it happened to be a really nice day and that’s what happened. So this year I didn’t even try but the crafts are beautiful, absolutely, I think they must have to show what they do- no glue, no glue-gun. Have you ever been? CHELSEA: No I haven’t, but I like going to craft shows at home. CATHERINE: Well this one is like the mother-of-all craft fairs: ‘cause they have photography and quilts and paintings and flower arrangements- really nice stuff. CHELSEA: So what else are you involved in? CATHERINE: Let’s see, have you ever heard of- I think I told you two a little bit about the Monday evening class. That’s great. And… oh red hats- that’s supposed to be just a fun things and it is. The reason that started is -why I started with the red hats- I was an ombudsman for a nursing home and I don’t know why they ever used that word, it’s just an advocate. You go over and visit them and you’re supposed to record any complaints that the residents have and then you turn in to the Office for Aging. And the state comes and inspects those homes once or twice a year, maybe a few times more but- but anyway, when the state men come down they go to the Office for Aging first, and they read your complaints, like if somebody had been sores and they weren’t being taken care of or they tied ‘em in a chair. They used to do those horrible things, but now they don’t so much. You’re not allowed to strap ’em down in bed but that’s what they used to do… ‘cause they wander at night- it’s really a problem for them too. And the nurses and -or the aides more of than the nurses actually- have a really hard job. I said one time they’re the ones that needed the advocate. But anyway: we quit at the same time, there were about five of us. And we used to go out -we had a meeting once a month- and we used to go out for breakfast afterwards. So this one girl decided she was really gonna miss the breakfasts, so that’s when she suggested that we all join the red hats- and that’s the only time I see those women now. Usually we just go for lunch once a month, and that’s the only time I see them. CATHERINE: What made you come here as a college student? CHELSEA: Well I don’t know, I guess it’s a nice little town and I liked that there’s a main street and at the same time it’s just very beautiful and not in a chaotic place. I liked that the campus was small and that the area was pretty, and [also] the school itself. [. . .] I think it’s nice that Geneseo is a college because I feel like that keeps the small businesses in the area alive. CATHERINE: I think so too. But little stores do have their advantage and Walmart -I’m not a Walmart fan at all- but they pay somebody to stand at the door and greet you- he doesn’t know you from Adam. You walk into one [of the small stores] and they don’t know your name either but- what’s the name of that variety store…I can never remember it down here…I don’t know whether you know it but the fellow that runs Sundance, it’s his wife [in] the department store up the street that has all the really neat little gifts… Oh is it Touch of Grayce? Yes, the Touch of Grayce. You walk in the Touch of Grayce- if you went in there once a month they get so they know you, they don’t know your name but they do know you, they recognize you. And sometimes they know your name, Sundance knows my name- I don’t know any other store that’s like that… I go to that diner to have breakfast there and the waitress knows my name but it’s- you can’t pay someone to do that and that’s what Walmart is doing. I mean he’s doing his job: he’s saying “hello, hello!” [laughs] CHELSEA: It’s just funny that a job like that exists. CATHERINE: Well, that’s why it does exist because Sam -I wonder about Sam Walton because I’ve read stories about him, I wonder what he would think of Walmart really, because that wasn’t his intent I don’t think- he did want that friendly atmosphere and like I say that’s nothing you can buy. It’s gotta be sincere or it doesn’t work. CHELSEA: Yeah that’s why small towns are nice, I like that: I just ordered a CD the other day from a music store on Main St. and they called me. It was nice ‘cause they don’t always call you about… CATHERINE: It is nice! And there’s a florist shop too that the woman is very friendly and she’s got a lot of really super gifts. You go in Walmarts, yeah they have a lot of gifts… I remember last Christmas I went in there- it was overpowering, but there wasn’t one thing there that was really Christmas: it was plastic, red, fake! But I don’t know whether you’ve ever been to that -I think it’s called the Genesee- the flower shop, a young girl runs it. She’s got a lot of nice gifts in there.