Interview of Etta Goff on her time as a teacher in Germany following WWII Elsie Hornbacher: …League, interviewing Etta Goff from Lansing. Etta may be located at 323 North Walnut, Apartment 412, Lansing, Michigan, 48933. This is March 26th, 1984. Go ahead, Etta. Etta Goff: [inaudible 0:26] talk right in. In 1946, when Grace and Connie went to Germany, I so wanted to go but my mother was ill and I couldn’t leave her. Elsie Hornbacher: [0:38] Etta, who Grace? Etta Goff: Grace Van Wert. Elsie Hornbacher: Okay. Etta Goff: Then, in 1955, I read in the State Journal that they needed teachers in Germany, and I thought perhaps this might be my chance. I talked to Ms. [inaudible 0:54], our elementary director, and asked if she thought I was too old to go, and she said she never thought of me as being old and to go ahead. Elsie Hornbacher: [1:04] Etta, Etta, uh, how old were you? May I ask? Etta Goff: Fifty-two. I went to Ann Arbor to interview with a representative, and she assured me if I could pass the physicals, there would be a place for me. I passed with flying colors and then came my shots. The doctor put 4 shots in my arm and I told – and told me to go home and go to bed. I told him I couldn’t as I had my church circle dinner meeting that night, and he said by that time he thought I would be a sick little cookie. [laughter] I went home and took his advice but I was up and down all afternoon, and about 5:30, I called a friend and asked her if I got sick at the dinner if she would drive my car home and she refused, so we took a cab. My arm felt like a bl – big block of wood, but I was okay and friends brought us home. On August 16th, all decked out with 2 beautiful corsages, my family and friends came to the depot to see me off to Detroit where I was met by an uncle and 2 cousins with another corsage. I refused their dinner invitation as I thought I might meet the girl from Grand Rapids and the 2 from Detroit in the diner. In the diner, I was the only lady but as I left, I saw 3 girls sitting alone and I asked them if they were on their way to teach in Germany, and there were my 3. In the morning, they drew [cuts 2:47] to see who would wear 2 of my corsages. [laughter] That day was my birthday and when I thought I was alone, I opened a gift and some cards and they caught me. That night, we went to Walgreens so a girl from Chicago who’d, who had joined our group could make a call and while there, they did some shopping. On the way back, one of the girls asked if after I had had my bath, she could come down and I said yes. When I opened the door, there were all 4 with ice cream, cupcakes with candles, and all. They presented me with gifts of gum, Kleenex, and other goodies they’d bought at Walgreens. [laughter] Elsie Hornbacher: [3:34] Those were welcome when you got overseas, too, weren’t they? [laughter] Etta Goff: They did come in handy once or twice. [laughter] We took several trips in New York, and when our call for departure came, we saw the old [Seabourn and Western 3:46] patched up with everything from Scotch Tape to chewing gum. Before we got to [Gander 3:53], one of the patches came off and the engine outside my window blazed way up, but in [Gander 4:00], they got us fixed up and away we went landing at Rhine-Main. From there, I went to, uh, the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Heidelberg because our BOQs were not finished. On the second night, I met Maria, with whom I traveled all year, and my principal. My teaching was very much like Lansing, and I enjoyed it very much. Elsie Hornbacher: [4:27] Uh, Etta, what were some of your first impressions of the school? Etta Goff: Uh. The school was brand new, and we had, uh, uh, the books and everything to, uh, unpack and put away and as far as the building was concerned, that was very much like a, a, 1-room building, you know. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh, in the United States? Etta Goff: In the United States. Elsie Hornbacher: [4:52] Even, e – the building was brand new? Etta Goff: Yes. Elsie Hornbacher: [4:55] They had erected it for a school. Now, had there been a school there the year before? Etta Goff: No. No. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh. This… Etta Goff: This was at Patrick Henry Village. Elsie Hornbacher: Patrick Henry Village. Etta Goff: And, uh, the BOQs were not ready. Elsie Hornbacher: I see. Etta Goff: And, uh, the – a chapel wasn’t built. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. [5:12] Some people don’t know what a BOQ is. What is it? Etta Goff: Uh. Bachelor Officers’ Quarters. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh. Bachelor Officers’ Quarters. They weren’t ready. Well, then, uh, there were some, um, uh, parents over there already. Etta Goff: Yes. The, uh, parents were in their BOQs and homes. Some of the higher officers had small homes there. Elsie Hornbacher: I see. [5:35] German homes? Etta Goff: Uh, yes. Elsie Hornbacher: Uh-huh. Apartments. Etta Goff: Apartments. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Etta Goff: Every weekend, we went someplace. At Thanksgiving, we went to Paris. At Christmas, we went to Italy. And at Easter, we went to the Holy Land. When school was out in June, we toured Scandinavia, Scotland, England, France, Spain, and Zermatt, Switzerland to see the Matterhorn. Maria and I came home by boat going through the hurricane Betsy. Then, home sweet home at [1207 Cleo 6:14]. Elsie Hornbacher: [6:18] Uh, Etta, what was Ger – uh, was your relationship with the German people? Etta Goff: They were always very courteous, very friendly. Never once did I ever hear them say, “Yank, go home.” Elsie Hornbacher: Uh, you didn’t even have a German name. Etta Goff: I had an advantage over there. Uh. I would say – uh, they would say to me, [sie haben ein Deutscher namen 6:41], and I would say, [ja, ja, ich bin alles Deutscher 6:45]. And that immediately put me in their favor. Goff is more or less a good German name, too. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh, is it? Etta Goff: No, but it’s not as well-known as your name. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh. Well, that would help. Etta Goff: Go ahead. Elsie Hornbacher: [7:01] Uh, now, you mentioned something about the gum earlier. Etta Goff: Yes. Uh, when I – uh, when we were going to, uh, West Berlin, we found that one of the girls that was going with our group had one number wrong on her, uh, … Elsie Hornbacher: Gray pass [inaudible 7:20]. Etta Goff: …her free pass. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Etta Goff: And she had to go and have that taken care of, and we said we would wait for her. Well, our train waited for 10 minutes for her to get back, but she didn’t get back in time and that train went away. There was a young captain there who said to us, “If you girls would like to spend a little extra money, I can get you on that train.” So, he said, uh, “Take this train to [Gothenburg 7:51] and, uh, there, you can get on the other train.” So, uh, we were put – I was put in a booth with, uh, a German family; a father and mother and 2 little youngsters, they were twins and darling children. And, uh, uh, I finally asked the father if the children had ever had gum, and he said no. So, I gave them some gum that I had gotten at my birthday party. And, uh, we visited and visited and the children chewed their gum and finally Mother wanted them to, uh, have some lun – uh, supper. And, uh, they didn’t want to give up their gum, but I told the father to tell them that they could have new gum if they would give that to Mother, which they did. And, uh, the father, uh, spoke such beautiful English and finally I said to him, “Where did you learn your English?” And he said, “Uh, for 6 months, I was a, a prisoner of war in the United States.” And he told me that the first part of that time he was in Texas and then he was transferred to New York, and we had such a good visit about things and then I said to him, “What kind of treatment did you get as a prisoner of war?” And he said, “Oh, they were always so nice to me.” And when it was time for me to get off from the train, he said, “Now, you take this little bag.” And he says, “I’ll take your 2 bags and I’ll take them over to the other train,” which he did. So, it shows that if you are friendly with them, they will be friendly back with you. Elsie Hornbacher: Uh, Etta, when I was in, um, uh, Japan in 1949, we were advised not to be friendly with the Japanese – uh, not to, uh, socialize with the Japanese people. Uh, by 1952, it was perfectly permissible, and at no time were we uh, uh, were punished or uh, ostracized for, uh, our Japanese contacts, but it was, was not advisable. [10:12] Now, what year is this again? Etta Goff: ’55 and ’56. Elsie Hornbacher: [10:16] In ’55 and ’56, the Germans were actually taking Americans into their home in order to make them, uh, comfortable in Germany by that time. Etta Goff: Much more so, yes. Elsie Hornbacher: I, uh, in fact, uh, fraternization was welcome to them. Etta Goff: Right. Elsie Hornbacher: But in the early days, I’m quite sure it was not. [10:37] Um, you commented that Heidelberg had not been, um, bombed. Etta Goff: No. There was no sign of any bombing in Heidelberg, but we had to go about 20 miles to Mannheim to see any bombing. Elsie Hornbacher: At all. Etta Goff: At all. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. [10:55] You said you got into, uh, West Berlin? Etta Goff: Right. Elsie Hornbacher: [10:59] And, uh, what was it like there? Etta Goff: And we got into East Berlin… Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Etta Goff: …on a bus. Elsie Hornbacher: On a bus. Etta Goff: And we were, uh, amazed to see so many of the stores in East Berlin with beautiful things in the windows but we were told by our guide that outside – uh, inside of the windows, there was nothing in those stores. Elsie Hornbacher: Oh, they just were a showcase? Etta Goff: They were just for show. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Um. [11:36] Etta, what did you do, uh, prior to going overseas? Etta Goff: I had taught in Lansing, uh, for – oh dear, how many years? Elsie Hornbacher: It’s not so important. [laughter] Etta Goff: For several years. [laughter] For, uh, a long time. Elsie Hornbacher: Alright. [11:53] And how many – what did you teach in Lansing? Etta Goff: I taught 1st grade. Elsie Hornbacher: [11:56] And what did you teach in Germany? Etta Goff: I taught the same books in Germany that I taught in Lansing with the – uh, and when I went over, there was one little book that I wanted and they didn’t have it there, so I asked my principal and she said, “Etta, if you want it, you can have it.” So, she ordered it and when she looked over – uh, looked it through, she said, “Oh, I’m so glad you asked for that book.” She says, “I think that’s the funniest little, uh, book that I have had in, uh, teaching.” Elsie Hornbacher: [12:28] Who was your principal, Etta? Etta Goff: My principal was, uh, Ruby Anderson, and she was a dear. She was always so fair, so lovely. She had a car. If there was any time that we needed to go to, uh, the hospital or anyplace, her car was right there to take us. She didn’t like to drive, so she took – uh, had another teacher there who did like to drive and was from Hutchinson, Kansas, also. Uh, and Iris always did the driving for Ruby. Elsie Hornbacher: [13:08] What kind of a car did she have? An American car or a European? Etta Goff: Uh, she had a European car. Elsie Hornbacher: I see. Mm-hm. [13:16] Uh, Etta, what was your pay when you went overseas? Do you happen to remember? Did you take a loss or a gain? Etta Goff: I, I don’t remember what the pay was, but I – uh, if I remember right, it, it was around $900 less in Germany than it was here. But I was – be – uh, glad to give that up for the experience of going to Germany. Elsie Hornbacher: [13:39] That was teaching in the dependents’ schools. Etta Goff: That’s right. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. [13:43] Um. What was the nature of your housing? Etta Goff: Uh. We were, we were in BOQs and, uh, by BOQ, I think I said, it was, uh, Bachelor Army Quarters. And I was just about a block from the schoolhouse and, uh, uh, I had to share my bathroom with another, uh, person. She was not a teacher, she was, uh, a secretary. Elsie Hornbacher: [14:14] Did you have, uh, a room alone? Etta Goff: I had a room alone, and when I first went into the BOQ when it was – uh, my room was finished, uh, so that I could get in. Uh, I went over one noon to look and see what it looked like and, uh, I found the – an ugly green chair in my room; it was very worn and it wasn’t pretty at all, and as I went by where some men were working, there was another chair that I really took quite a liking to so I said to them, “Would you trade those chairs? Bring that chair into my room and take the green one and put it in that room?” They said, “Sure.” So, I took the chair and, uh, uh, had it in my, uh, my room. Then later on, our, uh, [inaudible 15:13], uh, which is – was our American, uh, housekeeper, uh, saw a chair that she – [just match 15:26] … Elsie Hornbacher: [inaudible 15:26] Excuse me, she was a German housekeeper for the Americans? Etta Goff: She was a German housekeeper. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Etta Goff: And, uh, uh, she, uh, uh, saw another chair that matched the little chair that I had in my room and unbeknownst to me, I came home at night and found that other chair in my room, so I said to her, uh, “How do I get this chair?” And she said, “Well, you do quite a bit of entertaining in here and I thought you needed an extra chair, so I gave it to her.” I shouldn’t tell this, but, uh, uh, coffee was so rare in Germany, we weren’t supposed to give them coffee, but I did give her a little bottle of instant Maxwell House and she was very appreciative of it. Elsie Hornbacher: [16:21] Uh, did the, uh, housekeeper tell you anything about herself? Etta Goff: No. No. She, uh, told us very little. I – uh, she did say that they had a hard time, uh, uh, buying things and doing things, and I had a cape made from a fur coat before I left, uh, the United States and I took that with me and, uh, she always admired that, uh, cape, so when I left, I gave her the cape and she just broke down and cried about it; she was just that happy. Elsie Hornbacher: [17:00] Mm-hm. Was she married? Etta Goff: Uh, I think so, but I don’t know. Elsie Hornbacher: I see. She was quite, uh, reserved… Etta Goff: Yes. Elsie Hornbacher: …of her own personal life. Etta Goff: Yes. Elsie Hornbacher: Sometimes they… Etta Goff: At, at night, she went – always went home when her work was over, but now, what home was, I don’t know. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. [17:16] Was your room in a hotel or was it in, um, another kind of a building? Etta Goff: It was, uh, ju – uh, just a building full of just rooms and bath. Elsie Hornbacher: I see. Etta Goff: It was a big building. Elsie Hornbacher: [17:33] Did you have hot water? Etta Goff: Yes. Elsie Hornbacher: [17:35] This was not common for the Germans at that time. Etta Goff: No, I presume not. Elsie Hornbacher: Mm-hm. Um. [17:42] What did you do after your service was concluded? Etta Goff: Uh, I came back to Lansing. Elsie Hornbacher: [17:49] And you…? Etta Goff: Uh, uh, to teach. And when I first came back, at the first party in the fall, uh, I had received, uh, a welcoming letter from the superintendant of schools in Lansing and from, uh, the, uh, mayor’s office, and, uh, uh, one or two others welcoming me ba – uh, to Lansing as a new teacher. [laughter] So, at the first party, they were giving the new teachers a rose or a carnation, I don’t remember which it was. So, I put one in my – on my coat and people said to me, “Etta Goff, what are you doing with that? [laughter] You’re in Lansing after all these years!” And I said, “Well, I was welcomed as a new teacher, so I thought I might just as well be a new teacher.” [laughter] Elsie Hornbacher: And you’re back home from where you started. Etta Goff: That’s right. Elsie Hornbacher: This has been a delight interviewing you, Etta. /ad