WEBVTT
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Interviewer: Okay. This morning I'm out in Whitacre and I'm talking to Mr.
Steve Vravel at 100 Cherry Street. And we're just-- We just laid an old
picture out in front of us that he has of the mill and thinks it goes back
before 1905. And Mr. Vravel is working the mill for 46 years, so I have a
lot of questions for him. Now, if it's okay with you, I'd like you to kind
of talk about what you did in the mill and everything. But if it's all
right, I'd like to get down some--
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Steve Vravel [Vravel]: Well, in 1928, I was hired as a messenger boy.
Interviewer: Okay. Vravel: September 1928, I was hired as a messenger boy.
Interviewer: All right.
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How long did you stay in that job?
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Vravel: About two years.
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Interviewer: And then where did they put you when you moved out of that?
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Vravel: I went pulling up, as a door operator in a [inaudible] mill. Then,
I went into the Labor Department. And from there I went to the maintenance
department as a crane[??] for about 3 or 4 years. In 1941, I went on plant
protection. He stayed there till 1975.
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Interviewer: And plant protection are the policemen in the mill, is that
right? Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer: Okay.
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Vravel: That's what they call the department, plant protection or
security.
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Interviewer: Okay. Let me get a little information about you and your
family so that I can place you. How old are you right now?
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Vravel: Oh, I'm 63 years old, and I'll be 64 in August. Interviewer: Okay.
Vravel: August 10th.
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Interviewer: And were you born in the US or in Europe?
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Vravel: Homeville. Interviewer: Okay. Vravel: Jane Street at Homeville.
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Interviewer: And where did your mom and dad come from?
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Vravel: From Austria-Hungary, which is Czechoslovakia now. Interviewer:
Yeah.
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So the part of Austria-Hungary that they were from is now Czechoslovakia.
Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer: Did you did you speak Slovak in your home?
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Vravel: I could speak two languages. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: I visit
her for 2 or 3 years with my father and mother.
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Interviewer: When you were young?
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Vravel: I went there when I was nine years old and came back when I was
11. Interviewer: Mm.
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Did you go to school there then, and everything? Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer:
Yeah. Huh. So in your home, did you speak both Slovakian? English? Yeah.
Yeah.
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Vravel: Slovak Languages, you learn because the way it's spelled, that's
the way you pronounce it. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: There's no silent
syllables or. Some Q's and X's there like we have in English language.
Interviewer: Yeah.
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I recognize it because I went to Slovak Catholic School, you know, in
Chicago. Uh. And what did your dad do when he came here? Where did he
work?
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Vravel: He worked-- Well, they didn't have job classifications. I guess
everything was, classified as labor.
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Speaker3: Them days you didn't have to have an exam, just they say, you're
good for a word. That's all.
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Vravel: They put you on a scale and they [uh]. Felt your muscles and
shoulders and-- Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: He came here in about 1906 or
something like that.
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Interviewer: Mhm. And what mill did he work at? Here in Homestead?
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Vravel: He started McKeesport for about a year, then he transferred the
Homestead.
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Interviewer: Can you remember if your family had any politics? You know, I
mean, did they--.
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Vravel: Well I was a private investigator for 17 years from the-- Never
occurred to play politics. I studied criminology, and finally I teamed up
with a couple of good attorney friends who wound up as their investigator.
They licensed me with the courts of Allegheny County, which is a private
detective agency in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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Interviewer: Did your dad have any kind of political interests?
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Vravel: He never bothered with anything. I don't think he had 3 or 4
grades of school.
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Interviewer: Did you go to school here in Homestead?
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Vravel: Saint Michael's school in Munhall. Interviewer: Okay.
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And your family never moved away from Homestead then you were--
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Vravel: We were always in the Whittaker area as long as I remember.
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Interviewer: Okay.
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Vravel: I've been living at this address, since I got married in 1930 or
32.
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Interviewer: Can you remember what your mom's life was like when your dad
was working in the mill? How many kids were there in the family and--
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Vravel: Five living in the two dead.
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Interviewer: So she had seven kids and she-- Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer:
Did you have-- Did you have anybody else live in the house with you besides
your immediate family, like boarders or anything like that?
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Vravel: No, they were five brothers, and I'm the middle one. I have two
older brothers and two younger brothers. Interviewer: Uh huh.
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And do you remember what your mom's life was like, what she had to do at
home?
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Vravel: The old time people, hard work [Laughs] raising big families, you
know? [Laughs]
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Speaker3: I think one was born in Europe, but it died while they were in
Europe.
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Interviewer: And was it your mom that took care of the-- Like let's say
when you fellas went out to work, did you put the money together and did
she take care of the family budget or how did you run that?
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Vravel: Well. I worked in a glass house when I was 14 years old till I was
16. Called Glass Company of Swissvale. We're making about 20 or 30 cents an
hour.
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Speaker3: Them days. People lived in two rooms with-- Two rooms and you
thought you had everything with a family. Interviewer: Yeah Speaker3:
That's the way. And sometimes they had a boarder in with them. Interviewer:
Yeah, I know.
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Then did you take your wages home and give them to your mom? And then--
Vravel:I
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was always on a good side. I gave the money to Mother and she gave me what
she thought was the appropriate amount. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Vravel: I. I never got more than a quarter or $0.50.
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Interviewer: Then how old were you when you went in the mill if you were
already working?
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Vravel: 16 years old. I retired when I was 62. Interviewer: Okay.
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Interviewer: Do you have any children yourself?
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Vravel: Three married daughters.
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Interviewer: Okay, and have they stayed in the area or have they moved
away to different places?
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Vravel: They're living.
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Speaker3: One is right here.
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Vravel: One lives next door.
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Speaker3: I'm a great grandmother. [Laughs]
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Vravel: Huh? Don't tell them your age. Interviewer: Yeah.
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You must have started early.
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Speaker3: These are my two great grandchildren. She's my granddaughter
here. Interviewer: Uh huh. Speaker3: And, uh, she just had this, and he's
only a year and a half. Interviewer: Huh. Speaker3: This is three. And
that's my granddaughter, and she had this-- She got married early, 17, 18.
Interviewer: Huh. Speaker3: So I'm a great grandmother.
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Vravel: I got married when I was 20 years old. We were both the same age.
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Interviewer: And was your wife from this area, too?
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Vravel: Yeah, from this house right here.
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Interviewer: What did your dad do Mr. Ral-- Mr.Vravel?
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Vravel: He was a steelworker in--
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Speaker3: He worked first in Edgar Thompson in Braddock. And then from
there he moved to Homestead Steelworks, after he came here. I was born in
Braddock. Vravel: He worked most-- Speaker3: I came here when I was five
years old, and I've been here since then.
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Vravel: He worked in our city[??] most of his life.
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Speaker3: But my my father came from Budapest, Hungary, and my mother was
from Czechoslovakia. And they met in Ohio when they came from Europe.
That's where they were married.
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Interviewer: But then you grew up around here, then to. Speaker3: Then.
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from Youngstown, Ohio, they moved to Braddock. They used to have these old
apartments like they make now, you know, renting[??]. Yeah. And that's
where I was born on Cherry Way in Braddock.
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Vravel: Finally, you wound up on Cherry Street-- [Laughs]
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Interviewer: And-- What did kids do in Homestead when you were young? Or
let's say in this area when you were growing up?
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Speaker3: Well, nothing what they do nowadays.
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Vravel: We used to shoot pool and ball. There was no saloons and it was
dry. Everything was dry.
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Interviewer: This would be--.
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Speaker3: When I was young they had that United Candy Shop. But oh, I was
15 and it was there in Homestead. United Candy. Well, we went to have
Sunday service and have a little chat with the girls. Interviewer: Yeah.
Speaker3: And then when we became 15 and 16, we was hunting for a jobs
already. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: They had the Pistol[??] National
Candy Factory and East Liberty. Well, and that's where the main thing when
you get out of grade school we went right to work. Interviewer: Yeah.
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So you worked in that candy factory? Speaker3: Yeah.
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Speaker3: Five years.
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Interviewer: Huh?
Speaker3: Hershy [inaudible].
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Vravel: She still has a sweet tooth. I have to get her candy every other
day.
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Speaker3: I could eat five pounds in three days.
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Interviewer: You mean you didn't get sick of candy after working in that
candy factory?
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Speaker3: I still crave for candy.
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Interviewer: I like it too, but I don't know if I'd like it after working
with--.
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Speaker3: I ate three easter eggs after. A two pounder and two one
pounder. And in about two days-- I used to make them too.
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Interviewer: Was this-- Speaker3: You know what I worked for?
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Speaker3: 18.5 cents an hour. $1.87 a day. What did you
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Vravel: do with all the money? Banked it.
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Speaker3: And.
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Workeda really labor. When they put you on a conveyor, that candy was
coming down and you had a pack. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: And it was
coming down by hundreds and hundreds and they put a box in front of us, you
know, box it. And we worked like this all day long. People don't know what
work is nowadays.
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Interviewer: But you couldn't slow that down anyway then. They adjusted--
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Speaker3: No. It was run by a man inside with the hot choc[??] came and
then came through a cooler.
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Vravel: Couldn't keep up the chocolates would go on the floor.
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Speaker3: If the conveyor-- If he couldn't keep up they would have went
over the floor and you'd be fired. Them days, everybody was afraid for
work. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: I mean, we all used to love to work. I
worked five years in losing two days only for gas.
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Vravel: You know what gets me back to-- I worked 46 years and enjoyed it.
Never bothered me to work. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: I was glad to go to
work. Because down through the years, all the men going in the mill,
they're all my friends. But then another generation came in and then
another generation. The last year that I worked, I don't think I knew 5% of
the people going in.
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Speaker3: I think when our parents died, my father-- when they were up in
60, they died. I don't think they had such a thing as pension.
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Interviewer: No, I don't think they did.
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Speaker3: They, they worked until they died. And then if you couldn't work
when you had to stay home, is what you have. Interviewer: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker3: There was a thing because I remember my father, you know--.
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Vravel: One thing about it, I can knock on wood. I've never been in a
hospital all them years. Interviewer: You didn't get
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hurt while you were working?
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Vravel: I never got hurt. Never hurt no one else.
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Interviewer: Was it pretty common for fellows to get hurt, though?
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Vravel: Oh, yeah. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: We didn't have no safety
enforcement like now. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: One time, you could go to
work with tennis shoes and sunglasses. Speaker3: As far as I
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can remember, I remember streetcars in Braddock when I was five, when they
had the running boards on the streetcar. And they used to hop on, and then
hold the hickey. And I don't know what they--.
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Interviewer: That's a long time ago.
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Speaker3: They just hopped off. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Yeah, I worked a little while in the mill [Phone Rings], you know, around
Chicago, and they don't let you wear tennis shoes anymore.
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Vravel: Oh, down through the years, I see a lot of changes amongst us.
Homestead area and the Homestead mills. The offices were replaced. I spend
a lot of time at the main gate. You know, we used to have a dental office
there. An employment office. Now we have the dental office inside the plant
in a central area. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Interviewer: They're still an employment office like outside isn't there?
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Vravel: There's an employment office outside across from old OH4[??].
Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: They don't call it employment law. They call it
the Office of Personnel. [Laughs] They use big words.
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Interviewer: Well, how did you use to get hired in that steel mill? I
mean, how did you get the job?
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Vravel: I was always interested in police work. Fact, I studied
criminology. And I had an uncle working in the police force. They were on
the police force.
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Interviewer: Who-- Was that here?
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Vravel: In Homestead Steelworks. And he recommended me Friday and they
hired me Saturday.
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Interviewer: But this wasn't when you first went in. This was when you got
hired on to the security force there. Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Vravel: I've been on security since 41 till I retired.
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Interviewer: Then if you started with them, you said in 28th?
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Vravel: September, 1928.
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Interviewer: Then were you there when when they were organizing the union
and everything? Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer: Do you remember that? Yeah?
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Vravel: In fact, I was one of the police on the gate. They wouldn't leave
no one in. We had, supervisors and the police at the gate, and I was one of
them. They had the table out in the street. You couldn't go to work unless
you sign that union card. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Some guys try to sneak
in, but management told them that you can't use the gate. Why, don't come
in at all because you're just going to get in trouble. Somebody'll follow
them in.
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Interviewer: This was like as late as you said, you started with security
in 41. Vravel: Yeah. Interviewer: Yeah. Weren't they were they organizing
in the late 1930s here, like during the Depression?
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Vravel: Well, unions kept expanding gradually all over. I think Homestead
area was, right, right before Pearl Harbor or something like that. It was
in the late 30s, I think, when they were-- when they were doing that.
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Interviewer: And there wasn't any kind of trouble, no violence around it.
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Vravel: We never we never experienced no trouble with the organizations,
that is the unions. Because they have a pretty well-organized system, our
personnel department. If they wanted something, they-- they cooperated.
When they-- Suppose in the-- now is May the 28th. If there is-- were
supposed to go on strike in June of this year, let's start banking their
furnaces two, three days ahead and pull and switches. Interviewer: Yeah.
Vravel: When the last turn worked, we used to close the gate and put the
chain on lock on. And that was it. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Until they
negotiated a contract.
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Interviewer: So the company was always ready for a strike then? Vravel:
Oh, yeah.
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It was done in an orderly manner. No violence.
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Interviewer: Can you remember, was there a, [um]-- A strike after the war?
Like 46?
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Vravel: We had about 6 or 7 shutdowns. Most-- Union Railroad is a
subsidiary of US Steel and they went on strike and slowed the mills down.
During the war, there was about five coal strikes. Interviewer: Yeah.
Vravel: Let's spread out till they start laying them off. Interviewer:
Yeah.
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So what was your kind of work there at the mill? What did you end up doing
when you were working for security? Were you always at that front gate?
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Vravel: General security men were needed.
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Interviewer: And then you'd just go around the mill? Vravel: Yeah.
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Where needed. Yeah.
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Interviewer: Did they check--? Where I work, they check people's IDs
pretty closely and they had a picture on them and everything--.
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Vravel: When they were going into the plant, you show your card in this
form here. Their new system is now the picture, and department. It should
be here somewhere.
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Interviewer: Mhm.
Vravel: That's US Steel and identification card. It's my handwriting,
that's my picture and that's my department and check number.
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Interviewer: So they show this when they're going in, then.
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Vravel: You can't enter without this. When you're entering, why, you fill
out a identification-- slip. And you get somebody to identify her or call
the foreman up. It come to-- He'd okay the entry of the man without his
check.
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Interviewer: Can you remember anything about the fraternal organizations
or the ethnic organizations in town? Is that a place where people would
spend a lot of time?
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Vravel: Well, Halstead is noted for ethnics. We have the Polish club,
German Club, Slovak Club. Anything you name, we have it in Homestead. Same
with churches. Interviewer: But with
00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:05.000
Interviewer: one generation after another go into it? Or did it-- Did
people, the younger people, start falling away after the-- Vravel: Start
falling away.
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Vravel: Yeah. At one time everything was a certain club, certain church.
Now everything just thawed out. They don't care what club you belong to, or
what church you belong to. That's the attitude today. Interviewer: Yeah.
00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:26.000
But things used to be much tighter. Vravel: Oh, one time, if
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an Irish girl married an Italian, they disowned her or sum like that. Now,
no one seems to give a doggone. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Well, was it different then? Were the relations between different white
ethnics different than relations between like whites and blacks at that
time?
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.000
Vravel: They didn't have no black problems then. It only started in the
last ten years.
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Interviewer: But there were black fellows working in the mill for a long
time.
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Vravel: They're are all my friends.
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Interviewer: Yeah.
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Vravel: If I meet them on the [inaudible], they'd call me Uncle Steve
yet.
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Interviewer: So you don't remember much trouble in the days when you--.
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Vravel: They were too busy working to go out and parading and carrying on,
trying to destroy the system. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Speaker3: Your dad's on [unaudible] [Background noise].
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At that time, they didn't have many
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colored people in-- In that town right now. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3:
Where were they?
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Interviewer: I don't know where they lived. No.
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Speaker4: I mean,
Speaker3: they were in only few, you know.
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No matter where you went, you see them. Interviewer: Yeah.
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Vravel: When I walked the avenue or anywhere I go. I know we call them
colored people now. They like to be called by black people. The ones I
worked with, there's nothin to it, meet them on the avenue. Shake hands.
Yeah, but this other generation, these dropouts from school. And since dope
started in this country. And booze.
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Speaker3: I think nowadays where they make a mistake is learning that
black history. And that's what puts all that in them. And they think that
we're the fault of that. But if I told you about the white people come from
Europe, they were slaves who were $2 a week.
00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.000
Interviewer: Yeah.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:37.000
Speaker3: And they weren't even allowed in with the people when they went
to Squirrel Hill for the Jews, you know. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: And
they, they weren't allowed to eat with them and they got $2 a week during
their whole horse race. So I don't see where they think they were slaves.
Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: I worked for 18.5 cents a nine. I worked like
a slave for 18.5 cents. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker3: So I don't know
where--.
00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.000
Vravel: That's not enough to get a beer with now. Interviewer: Yeah.
00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:40.000
No, it's not.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.000
No, you wouldn't get far with that.
00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.000
Vravel: No. Heck, no.
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:58.000
Interviewer: Well, did the people-- uh. Um. --Who were born here in the
US, did they ever look down on the foreign born people? You know, like--.
00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:11.000
Vravel: Probably in the early century. If you came from Europe, they
called you a honky or dago or sloppy Irish. There was always friction
between them.
00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:15.000
Interviewer: But by the time you were growing up, you don't remember much
of that kind of thing.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:51.000
Vravel: It all wore off. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: It all wore off. In
other words, you go to a-- Talk to any of them. They they feel independent.
They feel in your company as friends. There's no no hatred like there used
to be. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: No hatred. The whole thing started when
all this dope started. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Before the Vietnamese
war. Just getting worse by the year. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Until they
finally start carrying out on the streets.
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:59.000
Interviewer: You think that that's a problem in Homestead now? With, uh. I
mean, there's-- You think there's a lot of dope in Homestead?
00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:02.000
Vravel: Every city has dope in this country.
00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.000
Interviewer: But Homestead seems like such a small place. There's a lot of
it in Chicago, I know, but--.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:29.000
Vravel: Well, Homestead, was always noted for numbers. Booze dives.
Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Since they open up the beer gardens in 1932 when
Roosevelt was elected. Then things just started-- They-- Nobody makes
moonshine anymore. Interviewer: Yeah Vravel: It used to be a common thing
one time, to make moonshine.
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:30.000
Interviewer: Huh?
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:31.000
Like during Prohibition?
00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:36.000
Vravel: During Capone days. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Everybody had a
still. Huh?
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.000
Interviewer: And you couldn't get in trouble for that? I mean, they didn't
the cops didn't crack down?
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:54.000
Vravel: Well, they had the, town constable. They didn't have county
detectives raiding and the county police and all that. Interviewer: Yeah.
Vravel: Nobody bothered because were different people in it.
00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:01.000
Interviewer: Were there still places where you could even go to drink like
taverns and stuff? I mean, even though they weren't supposed to be open.
00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:14.000
Vravel: I was too young to remember that. I was in my 20s and I guess they
had their [inaudible] then. But when I was young, drinking never bothered
me.
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:25.000
Interviewer: Yeah.
Vravel: Now you give a kid a beer or a shot, he wants to go. He doesn't
know when to quit. Interviewer: Yeah.
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.000
After
00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:34.000
Prohibition, when the taverns opened up again, was that a kind of place
where you'd go to meet people? I mean, there's an important social--.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:42.000
Vravel: I do it now. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: I'm going to leave the
house around 12:00 to make my rounds. What else to do?
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.000
Interviewer: Right. Right around here.
00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.000
Or do you go down town--?
00:25:45.000 --> 00:26:02.000
Vravel: I have a pass. I can go anywhere. I don't like to go to town no
more. It takes too long to get down there. And I don't like to-- I worked
in a law and finance building down there, and I spent a lot of time in a
courthouse. I don't want to even look at the courthouse anymore.
00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:03.000
Interviewer: Yeah, you've seen enough of that.
00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:17.000
Vravel: I had it up to here. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: At one time, a
judge was a respected person and an attorney. Now, I wouldn't bet a nickel
on him.
00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.000
Interviewer: You think they
changed or people's attitudes towards them to change?
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.000
Vravel: Well,
00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:26.000
laxity on the enforcement.
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.000
Interviewer: You know, when somebody caught that they're not really
prosecuted--. Vravel: Well, I'll just
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:53.000
Vravel: gave you an example. Two guys came from Las Vegas. They were there
ten days. They're both murderers. Our system that, whoever approved it,
they probably studied it and they figured it out vicious enough to let out.
But they still shouldn't be out. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: You've seen in
the morning paper.
00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:54.000
Interviewer: I didn't see it today, so.
00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:15.000
Vravel: Yeah, I'll show you right now. Fella, he stabbed the girl on the
125 times killing. He went down in the boxing tournament down in Las Vegas.
That's what upsets the people. They don't care to go to court anymore.
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:21.000
Interviewer: Yeah.
00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:45.000
Vravel: Another thing, now, say you and I witnessed a crime. They take you
to say-- They put your name on there, your address, your occupation. They
pick out a jewelry. They give her names, addresses and all that. It's wide
open for somebody who wants to harm you. Interviewer: Yeah.
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:47.000
Yeah.
00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.000
Interviewer: I mean, like if somebody wanted to threaten a witness or
something.
00:27:49.000 --> 00:28:01.000
Vravel: Well, I know when I worked on civil and criminal investigations. I
didn't care to get down there anymore. You'd think I committed a crime
instead of being a state witness.
00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:04.000
Interviewer: Yeah.
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:06.000
You used to have to appear in court then?
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:38.000
Vravel: Well, actually, I was a they called it a state witness. Whatever
crime I was on or whatever I was assigned to. What job I--. By an attorney.
Then I served papers and all that. I don't notarized not assign it. Then
turn the papers in. Then they took me in for verification, and some things
that I might have overlooked. We rehearsed the case.
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.000
Interviewer: You mean before you.
Ever went in, you would kind of figure out what the case was going to be
like?
00:28:41.000 --> 00:29:08.000
Vravel: Everything is planned. Everything is planned. Someone has a trial
coming up, you'd be surprised how much goes on behind the curtain. That's
the reason they have all these phones that're tapping and all that. My
phone here, I don't care who taps it. And I've been around this country.
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:09.000
Interviewer: Yeah.
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:34.000
Vravel: And I was internal security camp in Poston. We had the-- 18,600
American Jap-- Japanese of American-- American born in a camp. On the other
side, we had a United States Army. Everything went through a central
telephone system. We knew everything was going on.
00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.000
Interviewer: Where was this?
Where did you say this was?
00:29:36.000 --> 00:30:11.000
Vravel: Poston, Arizona. Interviewer: Huh? Vravel: It's right on the
Colorado River. Because when I used to leave the camp, I went with Father
Gilbert. He had to attend the-- He had to have service in Blythe,
California. When we go on to California, on the California bridge, which
crosses that Colorado River. I used to get get the state policeman, he
said, Where are you going? I said, Way to California. That was a mile away
only. Interviewer: Well, how did you
00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:13.000
end up down in Arizona, then?
00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:17.000
In the
army or-- Vravel: No.
00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:24.000
I've done a lot of things that, I was paid to do and get around.
Interviewer: Yeah.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000
But who was it that hired you? Not the government?
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:31.000
Vravel: No.
00:30:31.000 --> 00:31:31.000
When you're a private detective, you don't know where you're going to wind
up. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: I wind up on cases with the FBI. Secret
Service. Interviewer: Yeah. Vravel: Just the idea when you're in that
field, you don't know where you're going to wind up. Interviewer: Yeah.
