Audio
Yvette Pierfax Oral History
Transcript
INTERVIEW WITH
YVETTE PIERFAX
May 30, 2011 – Teresa Switzer, Interviewer
TERESA: Hello. My name is Teresa Switzer and today is May 30, 2011 and I’m located at Angela Bates’ home in Bogue Kansas. I’m here to conduct an interview with Yvette Diane Pierfax. May I get your full name again and spell it for me.
YVETTE: Y-V-E-T-T-E D-I-A-N-E P-I-E-R-F-A-X
TERESA: Thank you. And when were you born and your age?
YVETTE: I was born December 14, 1950 and 60 years old.
TERESA: Are you married, divorced, widow, single?
YVETTE: I’m divorced.
TERESA: What was your spouse’s name?
YVETTE: Reginald Pierfax.
TERESA: What was your maiden name?
YVETTE: Yvette Diane Sayers.
TERESA: When were you married and where?
YVETTE: I was married July 26, 1980 in Nicodemus Kansas.
TERESA: How many children do you have and what are their names from oldest to youngest?
YVETTE: I have three children. My first is Marcel Julian Pierfax. He is 28. Miranda Pierfax. She is 25. And Andre Pierfax. He is 22.
TERESA: Where do your children live?
YVETTE: California.
TERESA: What particular town?
YVETTE: My oldest lives in Rialto and my two younger ones live in Covina.
TERESA: And do you have any grandchildren?
YVETTE: I have three grandchildren. Myia Pierfax. She is eight. Marcel Junior. He is 6. And Justin Pierfax. He’s three.
TERESA: And are they all with one child or do you have them from each one of your children? The grandchildren.
YVETTE: They are from, they are my oldest son’s.
TERESA: Now, Diane, where were you born?
YVETTE: I was born in Hays, Kansas.
TERESA: Who are your parents and did they grow up in Nicodemus?
YVETTE: My parents are Clarence and Yvonne Sayers. And yes, they grew up in Nicodemus.
TERESA: And if you have siblings, what are their names and ages starting with the oldest?
YVETTE: Marilyn Louise Sayers Gray. She’s my oldest sister. My youngest sister is Vicki Jones and she-s 59. Then my youngest sibling is Aaron Sayers and he is 57.
TERESA: And how old is Marilyn?
YVETTE: 61.
TERESA: And do you know who your grandparents were on both sides of the family and their names?
YVETTE: Yes, on my dad’s said it was Wilma Sayers and Irvin Sayers. On my mother’s side it was Halbert Napue and Vernita Napue.
TERESA: Where did you grow up and where did you attend school and what was school life like for you?
YVETTE: I grew up in California. I started elementary school there and it was tough at times. My mother worked three jobs at one time and I managed to get two years of college.
TERESA: Did you do like any outside activities or do you have any memorable events in story?
YVETTE: I loved to dance. And I loved to socialize. And I just liked being around people.
TERESA: Have you ever lived in Nicodemus?
YVETTE: No.
TERESA: When did you start coming to Nicodemus. Can you remember coming any other time outside of Homecoming?
YVETTE: I just basically Homecoming. Our parents used to bring us back here every year when we were young. And I know it was basically around Homecoming because I remember all the people. We very seldom came, maybe a few times. But most of the time it was for Homecoming.
TERESA: What do you remember most about coming to Homecoming?:
YVETTE: Just preparing food a lot of food and trying to find some time to fish. Just being excited about seeing everyone.
TERESA: And how did you usually travel when you came out here?
YVETTE: By car.
TERESA: What do you remember, what’s one of the most memorable experiences that you remember coming out from California to Nicodemus for Homecoming? Anything that kind of stands out?
YVETTE: Yes. I remember coming out here and we’d always want to come a little earlier so I could go fishing and I would go fishing with my grandmother and Aunt Juanita. One of the most memorable moments was I went, I was out there I caught a great big turtle. I mean a huge turtle and my aunt told me that she would make turtle soup for me and when I pulled it up I dropped it and it took off running and you know later on, maybe a year or two later I asked her what happened to the turtle. She forgot and left it in the trunk and it spoiled.
TERESA: Oh no. When you came down to Nicodemus, where did who did you usually stay with and where?
YVETTE: Well, we stayed with both our grandparents at the time. I stayed in Hill City at my grandpa Sayers place with my grandmother and then I would stay at my mother’s mother’s house down in Demus. We would kind of go back and forth.
TERESA: How do you view yourself and your family in comparison to those who grew up in Nicodemus?
YVETTE: I think it’s a slight difference because the city is expensive and when you come back here, it’s like what might be expensive to them here isn’t expensive out there.
TERESA: How many times did you miss coming to Homecoming?
YVETTE: Not too many when I was young. I think a few times after I got older I would miss maybe ever other year or something like that. But not too many. I always liked coming down.
TERESA: What do you remember about the dances during Homecoming? Do you remember when there were bands versus DJ’s, any memorable stories about either one of those two forms of entertainment?
YVETTE: I don’t remember bands. I just remember being in the Hall and getting a ticket and it was dark and I enjoyed being in the Hall; but I don’t remember the bands.
TERESA: What do you remember most about the food and/or the vendors?
YVETTE: It was good. I remember my mother’s, my mother having her little Vonnie’s Café trailer up there frying chicken, how she would wait right until the dance would take a break or the entertainment would take a break and she would always rush to put that chicken on so the people would come over there and smell it. I know the food was really really good. Not just my mother’s but everyone’s was good.
TERESA: Diane, what do you remember most about the fashion and talent show and did you ever participate and what did you wear?
YVETTE: Yes, I’m one of those that like to get involved in activities at Homecoming. I’m not shy. So it doesn’t bother me to always try to get with my sisters and try to think of something before Homecoming to do and we always try to get our outfits together for the fashion show. I think I have been in just about every talent show. Except for last year, I wasn’t here. But I always try to get in the talent show. Fashion show and the talent show. I remember I coordinated our talent, we had an En Vogue. I put that together and I still look at it sometimes. It was fun and we practiced. It’s been years; but it was fun. Now when my children come back here, I always try to encourage them to participate in something because everyone has talent so I try to encourage them to get in the talent show or model or something. I just don’t like when they come down and don’t participate in something. We have to keep that going for Homecoming to be nice, you know. Everybody has to participate in something.
TERESA: Did you ever participate in the parade?
YVETTE: No.
TERESA: And when you came down here, what were some of your favorite cousins, ones that you kind of ran around with, you know, who were they and how were they related to you?
YVETTE: When I was young? I’d have to say Linda and Patty Jones because we were always going out to their home and it was different because they stayed so far out to me, when I was young. But now that I’m older, it’s really not quite that far; but seemed like it was so far, way out where no one was around. And we’d do things to keep us entertained and because they were farmers, we’d milk the cows, we’d gather eggs, we would make milk. So all of that was interesting to us and my Aunt Bert would make a lot of, she would bake all the time, homemade bread, pies and cakes. So that was fun going out to their house just seeing the way they lived compared to the way we lived in the city and it was amazing how they had to do things to survive.
TERESA: Your Aunt Bert was
YVETTE: My mother’s second, no third sister.
TERESA: So that would make them your first cousins. Did you ever have an opportunity like spend more than just the few weeks, or couple of weeks during Homecoming, did you ever come out for the summer to Nicodemus and stay an extended period of time?
YVETTE: No, I didn’t. I’d either come a week before homecoming and stay a week after Homecoming. But it was always around Homecoming.
TERESA: And also as part of that, did you ever attend the Graham County fair after Homecoming? What did you think of the fair in relationship to the Nicodemus Homecoming if you ever did attend?
YVETTE: We did attend the fair and it was fun. It was different. I think I rode on a few rides. I used to like the ferris wheel. I guess when I was young, it seemed so big. But I remember going up there to the fair. I didn’t really stay that long.
TERESA: What do you think about having Nicodemus to come to as it relates to you know a family and your own? How do you view coming down to Nicodemus in relationship to your family, your town, what does it mean to you?
YVETTE: It means a lot. Because we go back so far and the history of it. I’d like to see it keep going. I always tell my children the history of it and when I’m not here anymore, I’d like them to continue to come back and to let them know at least they have somewhere they can go if they ever want to get away from the city. You want to go to a quiet place, you can go there and retire and just enjoy your senior years.
TERESA: Now what church do you belong to?
YVETTE: I belong to a church called Maranatha Community Church in LA.
TERESA: What activities do you do with the church?
YVETTE: I’m a Sunday School teacher for 25 years.
TERESA: How wonderful. Do you teach a particular grade or do you teach the adults or
YVETTE: I started off teaching second, no I started off teaching fourth and fifth. I did that for about ten years. Then I went to junior high school. Now I’m teaching second and third. I’ve been teaching second and third for some time.
TERESA: Now what were some of the skills that you learned from either your parents or your like grandparents or an aunt, you know, quilting, sewing, fishing, horse riding?
YVETTE: My skills that I have, I didn’t really realize it until I came back here this time, I have a lot of my mother’s skills. I love to cook and eat; but I love to fish and I love to sew also. Just finding the time to do it, quilting no, but I did love to sew and fish and I feel like I acquired that from my mother and I’m also a people person because she is a people person too.
TERESA: And that kinds of leads into the next question, what relative had an impact or major influence on you and why?
YVETTE: My grandmother, Verna Napue and my mother. Because my grandmother, she always showed so much love and caring and she always wanted to make sure we had food all the time. My mother, she loved us. She really truly loved us and she had an impact on me because she kept every single thing and I know she always used to tell us to stay close to the Lord and no matter what happens, always stay close to the Lord and your life will work out fine. I think that’s one of the main things that she instilled in me and my life. To always put God first and to never leave Him.
TERESA: Are there places in the town or in the township that have any special meaning to you and if there are, why and where are they?
YVETTE: The old church. And I think the post office too. The old church and the post office. The old church because I just remember that so well before they added on the other one. I remember my grandmother in there singing and both grandparents. Everyone in there singing and sometimes when I look at it, I see them, you know. And the post office because it was I guess since they made that old movie in there with my grandmother and Cousin Ora and all of them and my grandfather and they were all in there making that movie and I still have it and it’s a historical site. It truly is a historical site.
TERESA: Are there any other stories that you remember about relatives and other people in the Nicodemus community you know in particular maybe a funny farming story that you kind of heard passed down or hunting or fishing or anything with school, just something that kind of stuck out with you?
YVETTE: Yes. When we were young my younger sister Vickie and I stayed over to my Aunt Juanita’s house. It was during Homecoming time and my grandmother had a lot of people staying over there. So she tried to spread it out so we went to my Aunt Juanita’s house. We were laying in there in the bedroom and we kept hearing like someone was walking in the house. And my sister called out for my Aunt Juanita and she, we kept calling out to her; but it sounded just like someone came in the house. So when she walked down the hall and came into the bedroom, we said someone is in here. And she said, there is? And we said yes, somebody walked in and they are walking down the hall. And when she went in there she laughed so hard and she teased us about that for years. It was a big bull frog got in there and he was hopping down the hall and we didn’t know it sounded like a person walking and she laughed and she teased us about that for years. When we got older, we were so frightened, you know that we were hollering for her and we just after we got older we would always think back on that and start laughing. Until she died, she would always remind us of that. That was one fun moment. Another one. I would have to say at my grandmother’s house she would always tell us that there she had a lot of our belongings when we were little down in the cellar or somewhere around the house; but she didn’t know where it was. So I was always curious about where that could be. No one could remember the exact spot; but I guess it’s like something underneath that has a lot of stuff from when we were young. They used to always be a mystery to me because I always wanted to go down there and look at it.
TERESA: Just a hidden storage place. Do you have any particular relatives that you maintain a contact with on a regular basis and who would they be?
YVETTE: On a regular basis. Well, my uncle Leatrice. He’s the only one left now out of his siblings. I try to keep in touch with him as often as I can. And I guess, the Bates, Cheryl and I are pretty close in California because she’s from Kansas and Nicodemus and we hang close in California. And that’s all.
TERESA: Well these next few questions are mainly in looking to the future of Nicodemus. Do you try to mentor any of the younger generation relatives and who do you kind of talk to you know kind of keep the trust of Nicodemus alive with?
YVETTE: Well, my children and my grandchildren they’ve never been down here but I always talk about it and show them pictures all the time. And you know I love working with children. So if I see some little kids down here in Nicodemus, I try to encourage them to always participate in homecoming and to bring out their talent whatever it is. So everyone has a talent; but you just have to bring it out by using it. So I try to encourage them to never forget about Nicodemus.
TERESA: What do you think is important for the next generation of descendants to know about Nicodemus or the people of Nicodemus?
YVETTE: That they need to continue to support it. Support the Homecoming. Do everything they can to keep it going, to keep Nicodemus alive. And know that it’s definitely a historical site and it means a lot to all of those who are here and all those who have gone on and that they would want us to keep it going from generation to generation.
TERESA: What does being a descendant mean to you personally?
YVETTE: It means a lot. It means a lot because I just it has so many memories. I feel everyone’s spirit when I come here when I’m walking. I feel everyone’s spirit and I talk to them, that’s just me, I feel their spirit more so than when I’m in California because it’s so busy, so many people; but when I come back here, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful, deer walking around, pheasants. I just love all of that. I just feel like it’s a very relaxing place to be when you just want to get away and walk and talk.
TERESA: And another part of that question is then and you probably kind of touched on it as well, what does Nicodemus mean to you?
YVETTE: It means a black community that was basically all of my relatives, but back as far as I can think of and they settled here and my mother and my father grew up there. Their parents and it’s like the beginning of my generation. So I would like to for my children once I’m gone away from here, I would like them to keep it going. Keep coming down here and tell the history of it to be able to say that this is where your grandmother’s mother, keep going back as far as they can and so that they can appreciate you know what we have accomplished there.
TERESA: What is your biggest concern about the future of Nicodemus?
YVETTE: That it would get too small and that no one will move back in and then just fade on out.
TERESA: And what do you think is the value of this oral history project, if everything was done right, what do you think would be the value of what we are gathering the information?
YVETTE: The value, well, I really don’t know other than it would you mean the interview and all. I think it would be nice for our children, grandchildren to hear what we have to say, what we have to say about Nicodemus and when we’re gone on, they can sit back and listen to us. We need to keep Nicodemus going because that’s what our parents wanted to participate even though you’re not here for the Homecoming, just try to do what you can to make it happen every year. Even if you’re out of state, just try to get together with the community, our Homecoming Committee and just communicate and see what we can do. It shouldn’t be just the people here in Kansas, in Nicodemus, but it should be I think it should be a Homecoming Committee involving more than just the people here. Because eventually if we don’t do it like that, it will fade out. So we need to communicate more as a family and be on a committee to help the Homecoming to be a success not just depend on the people that are here.
TERESA: What would you like to tell the next generation of descendant?
YVETTE: Well to come down as often as you can because as I told my children, that your grandparents are not going to be around forever. So come down and see your relatives, get to know who your relatives are, your history of your parents and just get to know who you are, who your people are. That’s basically it.
TERESA: Well thank you Diane. It’s been a pleasure talking to you today and getting your viewpoints on Nicodemus. You have a wonderful rest of the afternoon. And happy Memorial Day.
Description
Oral History Interview with Yvette Pierfax from 2011.
Credit
Teresa Switzer Interviewer
Date Created
05/30/2011
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