Full Transcript: Sophie Yakubowski on Marriage during World War II
Sophie: Yeah, within—I got married in September and in January he left to go to the army, yeah. And he stayed there for three years then he came back. And then from there then we lived upstairs and then we moved out and we just kept moving, you know, looking for different places and stuff. I knew ahead of time that he was going to do that, see, I knew ahead of time he was going to leave. And I stayed with his parents so I wasn’t too worried about it. Of course, I don’t think that his parents cared for me. Funny thing, they took it out on me, because my mother and dad had so many kids and they didn’t like that. They were more or less, such kind of a—I don’t know if you understand Polish—well, in Polish it would be —- you know, that they were always better than somebody because they had only two children, they had two boys. That’s all they had. And they figured that it’s a shame that my mother and father could have had so many kids. You know, and they took it—what they thought about my parents, they never met them. They never met them, they never came to the wedding. They never came to the wedding. So can you imagine how I felt when I had to come and live here? You know, there was something, but I mean I wasn’t afraid. I tell them to go to hell and that’s it. I wouldn’t care. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to meet my parents. Well they thought that we came from bleh—such a kind of a family. That that’s all they want is kids, that’s all they want to do, whatever to have kids. And not them. They just had those two boys, and they just thought that, and one boy was in the Navy. He went to that school in the Navy, what do they call it, I don’t know. So that’s why they took it out sort of on me. Then after a while, after I lived here, after a while, my father-in-law started to come through a little bit better, and my mother-in-law okay. I mean they didn’t do nothing to me. I mean you know, it wasn’t like they showed too much, they weren’t too friendly though you know, they weren’t very friendly. But after a while they got ok. You know, after a while. But still they were met my parents or anything else, never.
Interviewer: Would you get together with your whole extended family for like holidays?
Sophie: Oh yeah, yeah. They would, my—not see, when I used to have like that, my mother-in-law she never used to come. She never used to come too much. Or if she did it would have to be that she would coming in the morning and my family would come in the evening. Yeah, that’s the way with my mother-in-law it had to be. Because she still didn’t care about my family, you know, about my parents.
Interviewer: How did you family feel about that?
Sophie: My parents didn’t say nothing about that at all. My mother and father never said anything to me about it. They felt, if she’s like that, just leave it alone. And that’s it. You can’t change them. She was like that all her life my mother-in-law. And like I says, why take it out on me? I mean what the hell? And my husband, the reason he wanted me to come live here while he went to the service was because he didn’t want me to stay at home because he knew I was going to run around with men. He knew I was going to run around and have a good time all over. And he knew that if I was here that I would be sort of watched by his parents and then I couldn’t just go out anytime I wanted to, go to a bar, or go this. You know, and sit with guys or something. Yeah! That’s probably what I meant. Yeah. And he knew that. He knew that he didn’t want that. So he says, no you’re going to go with my parents and you’re going to stay there. And I never went to any place when I was here, oh boy, I didn’t dare. Well you know, I was 17, and I was scared too. Because if they threw me out where was I gonna go? You know it was better living here I was freer. They would help me out sometimes with everything or something, they’d buy me something. My parents, they never did, because they had no money, they had smaller kids! I left school because he wanted me to come and stay with his parents and live over here. Never thinking that maybe I should stay—and well we got married in September and that’s the start time you’re supposed to start school. And he figures no well we’re just going to have to have a couple months to be together before I went to the service so you go to school later on, he says. So that’s exactly what I had to do, see. Because like this then we would stay here, we would help out as much as we can, because my in-laws they were pretty good to us they never charged us for anything or whatever. You know. And at that time they used to eat down in the basement, they used to eat downstairs, and this was always clean and everything else you know, and whatever. So it was, it was alright, you get used to it. I told you, I went to high school, and I went to the eleventh grade and I quit, I had one more year to go. And it bothered me and it bothered me, bothered me. Forty years later, forty years, no not forty years,thirty years later, twentyfive or something, I went back to school and I got my diploma. Yeah, so yeah. Hamtramck High School. And I was over there just the same thing, just as mean as all hell, I tell you. I went at night, you know at nights we went to school my sister and I. She had a couple years to go and I went and boy we, the boys used to come to school with their parents you know hanging, you know how real low they used to have these pants. They’d come in and I’d be hollering at them, pick up those pants! Oh yeah, they all knew I was mean. So one time, he walked in the door and he saw me and he started picking up his pants, yeah. [Laughs]
Interviewer: Would you get together with your whole extended family for like holidays?
Sophie: Oh yeah, yeah. They would, my—not see, when I used to have like that, my mother-in-law she never used to come. She never used to come too much. Or if she did it would have to be that she would coming in the morning and my family would come in the evening. Yeah, that’s the way with my mother-in-law it had to be. Because she still didn’t care about my family, you know, about my parents.
Interviewer: How did you family feel about that?
Sophie: My parents didn’t say nothing about that at all. My mother and father never said anything to me about it. They felt, if she’s like that, just leave it alone. And that’s it. You can’t change them. She was like that all her life my mother-in-law. And like I says, why take it out on me? I mean what the hell? And my husband, the reason he wanted me to come live here while he went to the service was because he didn’t want me to stay at home because he knew I was going to run around with men. He knew I was going to run around and have a good time all over. And he knew that if I was here that I would be sort of watched by his parents and then I couldn’t just go out anytime I wanted to, go to a bar, or go this. You know, and sit with guys or something. Yeah! That’s probably what I meant. Yeah. And he knew that. He knew that he didn’t want that. So he says, no you’re going to go with my parents and you’re going to stay there. And I never went to any place when I was here, oh boy, I didn’t dare. Well you know, I was 17, and I was scared too. Because if they threw me out where was I gonna go? You know it was better living here I was freer. They would help me out sometimes with everything or something, they’d buy me something. My parents, they never did, because they had no money, they had smaller kids! I left school because he wanted me to come and stay with his parents and live over here. Never thinking that maybe I should stay—and well we got married in September and that’s the start time you’re supposed to start school. And he figures no well we’re just going to have to have a couple months to be together before I went to the service so you go to school later on, he says. So that’s exactly what I had to do, see. Because like this then we would stay here, we would help out as much as we can, because my in-laws they were pretty good to us they never charged us for anything or whatever. You know. And at that time they used to eat down in the basement, they used to eat downstairs, and this was always clean and everything else you know, and whatever. So it was, it was alright, you get used to it. I told you, I went to high school, and I went to the eleventh grade and I quit, I had one more year to go. And it bothered me and it bothered me, bothered me. Forty years later, forty years, no not forty years,thirty years later, twentyfive or something, I went back to school and I got my diploma. Yeah, so yeah. Hamtramck High School. And I was over there just the same thing, just as mean as all hell, I tell you. I went at night, you know at nights we went to school my sister and I. She had a couple years to go and I went and boy we, the boys used to come to school with their parents you know hanging, you know how real low they used to have these pants. They’d come in and I’d be hollering at them, pick up those pants! Oh yeah, they all knew I was mean. So one time, he walked in the door and he saw me and he started picking up his pants, yeah. [Laughs]