Margareta Stoichkov interviews Elizabeth Masztl

The interview with Elizabeth Masztl, on 10/13/2009, brought the past to life in the present. Her memories were filled with vivid images of farm life in Hebron, Connecticut. In the 1930s, Elizabeth was the 6th daughter in a family of six girls and one boy. Her parents handled all the jobs around the farm. It wasn’t easy to work in the fields with the horses and to produce the food for everyday life. They had cows, horses, chickens, and pigs on the farm. Their day was really long; it started early morning and lasted until late at night and everyone in the family had their chores. Elizabeth was nine years old when she started milking the cow twice a day. Her family grew their own food from their garden.
Also, she had her own handmade dolls because her parents could not afford to buy more than one. She played with and dressed the wooden dolls. She smiled and said,”I made more than one, I had a doll family.” That was her entertainment. They also read a lot, played cards and told stories to make the nights funnier. They listened to the radio which was important in their lives.
They heated the house with a wood stove and had no electricity and no refrigerator. The ice man brought ice to their house for their ice box.