James Hamilton

Author

Julie M. Luker, Concordia University, St. PaulFollow

Files

Interviewee

James Hamilton

Interviewer

Julie Luker

Transcriber

Charlene Botones

Generation

Baby Boom Generation (1946-1964)

Neighborhood

Multiple Saint Paul

Document Type

Oral History

Date of Interview

6-6-2022

Keywords

Multiple, Rondo, Cathedral Hill, Randoplh Heights, Macalester-Groveland, White Bear Lake, Saint Paul, 1951

Disciplines

Oral History | Psychology

Abstract

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: James M Hamilton is a Caucasian male born on May 9, 1951. He had 10 siblings. His father worked as a printer, as well as some other jobs, whilst his mother did not work for a long time due to her constant births. He grew up Catholic but is now atheist. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Hamilton starts by briefly describing where he grew up, but mainly focused on recounting stories of specific members of the family: such as how poorly his father treated the family due to alcoholism, the pain that his mother went through in her faith life, primarily due to the elders at the church, as well as the lives of some of Hamilton's siblings. He mentions how he wasn't close to his paternal and maternal grandparents until later in life and recounts a couple stories about them. He briefly discusses his religious upbringing and his current thoughts on religion. Hamilton goes on to describe his family's socioeconomic status as well as what his home and neighborhood looked like. He mentions the shared value of learning that the rules that families gave to their children were not absolute, due to his sociological theory on life because of the diverse community. Afterwards, he touches on the activities that were done for leisure time - such as baseball, sleepovers and comic books - as well as schooling and its strict regimen from kindergarten to early high school, followed by some positive experiences during his high school years. He ends the interview by describing the local issues affecting the neighborhood, talking about the 1960 election between Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald's death, racism, and a couple wars.

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., "James Hamilton" (2022). Saint Paul and Surrounding Area. 32.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/tc-ohp_interviews_stp/32