Diane Driscoll

Author

Julie M. Luker, Concordia University, St. PaulFollow

Files

Interviewee

Diane Driscoll

Interviewer

Cole Steinberg

Transcriber

Cole Steinberg

Generation

Silent Generation (1928-1945)

Neighborhood

Payne-Phalen

Document Type

Oral History

Date of Interview

6-7-2022

Keywords

Payne-Phalen, Saint Paul, 1945

Disciplines

Oral History | Psychology

Abstract

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Diane Harrelson Driscoll is a Caucasian female born on October 4, 1945. She is the second oldest out of five children. Her father worked for a phone company and would do a part-time gig managing the Capitol theatre; her mother worked for the Pearson Candy Company, and then worked at the central cafeteria in the St. Paul schools. She grew up Catholic. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Driscoll starts by describing some of her memories of her immediate and extended family, going into summaries of her parent's upbringing, followed by a few recollections she has from how her and her siblings spent their leisure time and schooling. She mentions how they had a family dog named Sandy. She briefly discusses how her family's economic status affected her family, that whilst they didn't have a lot of money, it didn't limit what activities they could do. She goes on to describe the impact that religion had on her and her family and recalls a couple memories of little children who died during fire-related incidents - and talked about how guilt was heavily driven in the Catholic church. Driscoll talks about how much she loved the neighborhood, and how safe it was, even though it was a poor neighborhood: she continues by describing what her name looked like, as well as sharing some memories from the house. She mentions the value of respecting people and their property, as well as acceptance, and how everyone was private about their own things. Afterwards, she touches on the activities that were done for leisure time, such as sports, family picnics, going to the cabin, and other sorts of entertainment like playing cards. Driscoll mentions what schooling looked like. She ends the interview by describing the local issues affecting the neighborhood, mostly talking about the impact war had on the community, as well as discrimination.

Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of Concordia University Library or Julie Luker, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, St. Paul.

Recommended Citation

Luker, Julie M., "Diane Driscoll" (2022). Saint Paul and Surrounding Area. 13.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/tc-ohp_interviews_stp/13