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»^80-104 Mrs. Niceine Weber

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-^0-104 Mrs- Niceiae Weber

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YAZOO COUNTY BICENTENNIAL

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

INTERVIEv-JEEi Mrs. Niceine WeUer

INTERVIEifSRi Lisa Nicholas

SUBJECT! Life of Interviewee

DATEi September 1974

LNi What is your name?

NWi Mrs. Niceme Weber.

LNi Where have you lived?

NWi I live in Lebanon.

LNi Were you bom there?

NWi Yes. I bom there in Lebanon. I come after I was 18 yearsold# I got married. I come to this country.

LNi Who did you marry?

NWi I marry Armeen Weber.

LNt So you came here when you were 18 years old? What do youremember about Lebanon?

NWi Oh, I remember lots about Lebanon. >7e used to....my familyraise olive and grape and wheat and we work hard — just likewe do here. I had six brothers, one sister.

LNi What are their names?

NWi One of them named Mosaf, one them named Jeris, John, andEllis, and Salime. My sister named Saf.

IN I What part of Lebanon did you live in?

NWi I live in North Lebanon.

LNi Around what cities or towns?

NWi Beruit - between Beruit and Tripoli,

U,. H.». y.« .v.r a,n, b=ok to Ulanon ,l„oo

NWi Oh yos. 1 wont in 1907 ond i wont 1962,

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LN. v/hat did it seem like since you lived here?

Scenery just beautiful. rything just wonderful.LNi Is your old house still there?

NiVi Yes. We got old house and new house.LN, Do you still have any relatives that live there?

neicas'and Shlws?^® ' brother live there and lots of

Knon?^°" all this on T.V. about

nothi^happen?®* ^ i^. This day though,LNi Why did you come to Yazoo City?NW, 1 got married - oome over here for honeymoon.LNi And you just decided to stay?

Nt'/i To stay....because my husband wanted to stay.LNi ivhat kind of work did your husband do?

We had a variety store.

INi VJhat did Yazoo City seem like? Or the United States?

some®iewf Some old,

yo" have to make when you

®P®®^ English — thats »n thave to learn it all from the beginSig^ "LNi Were you scared when you came here?NWi Yea. I was scared. l minn

lots but I got over it. People a lots — cried aL». you 0... h.u.

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LNi About what date was this?

NWi It was *28, but I can't tell you the exact day - its beena long time.

LNi How did you leam Sngllsh?

NWi V/ell, I guess God helped met little bit here# little bitthere. Its a lots of nice people in Yazoo City that usedto just help me.

LNi What people did you meet when you first came here?

NWi Well, I met my husband's people — Mr. Nicholas, Mrs. Nicholas.Miss Barbara used to come to the grocery store and show methe name of the tomatoes and different things - "What's thisname?" and "Vihat's that name?" So I pick up words.

LNi Why did your husband pick out fasoo City?

NWi Because he had a sister here.

LNi What was her name?

NWi Rosie Nicholas —- your great grandmother, then he had a cousinnamed William Weber.

LNi Do you remember anything that happened that was really funnywhan you first came here that seemed so strange to you?

NWi Well, strange to me when I hear people talking, I think theywas talking about me. Making fun of me, you know?

LKi What kind of customs do you think Lebanese families havepreserved over the years?

NWi Well, we had a wonderful custom — everybody stick tofamily and love one another

We ea-t food. We eat meatj we eat lots of lam^. «...beef. We didn't eat much pork. The same some

.

LNi What kind of foods did you eat?

NWt We eat food.beef. We didn't eat much pork. The s&mA +^4^1 luhere - only things we cook differ^t! ^

LNi Did you bring over any foods from Lebanon?NWt Well, I brought some fice

Sweet^Bweat^ brought someMohali - sweet. sweet, you don't mawake here.

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VJhat about kubie?

Well, we can make it here — make it anywhere. I can't"bring it from Europe here. We come....we come in boat, notairplane. That stuff v/ill spoil.

NWt What do you remember about the depression? Were you herethen?

NWi

LNi

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Well, Yes, I v/as here.

What do you remember about it?

Well, I remember how everything was bad. People didn't havemoney to spend. And just all the bank close and you know —some bank, we lost money in iti some bank, we don't.

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LNi

Do you remember the flood of 1927?

Oh yesI

What was that like?

Well, it was bad....was bad.

Was much of town under water?

Oh yes.

vmat happened the first time you went out to buy a dresswhen you got here?

NWt When I got here, 1 went to buy a dress — I don't know whatto tell^thera I want but I pick what I want and bought it.

LNi

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Did you have problems with money?No, no trouble. I went to the Apparel Shop one time andMiss Johnson and Miss Mable had it and they thou^t I don'tknow better and every hat they put on me and they say itwas beautifull I said, "Look, I see myself in the mirror -you don't have to tell me how pretty hat are." She don'tbother me no more.

She don't

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wiythin^^^* here, did Yazoo City have any theatresOh yes, we had three.

What were they?

The Yazoo Theatre....and what was that Unole Dan had?

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LNi Palace?

NWi Palace....and another one where tlcCrory used to he the.

LNi Dixie?

NWi The Dixie.

LNi Did you ever go to the shows?

NWi Sure.

LNi Xihsit kind of shows did they have?

NVJi Well» they used to show all kinds — opera and things likethat.

LNi Opera? Do you remember when the theatre was an opera house?NWi I reiaemher when Yazoo Theatre was.

LNi ivhat kind of operas did they show?

NWi Well, they show singing and dancing and different thingslike that.

LNi 'Afhen you le" from Lebanon, was it a whole group of youthat came over?

NW, Oh yes, from diffement parts of the country. We met onthe ship.

LNi Did you know each other before you left?

NWi No.

LNi Who were some of them?

NWi V/ell. we met some people from Bngl^d, Russia, Holy Land --just different places. When we got to New York, everybodywent their way.

LNi V/hat kind of schools did you have in Lebanon?

NV/i We have schools Just like we do here. We had good schon-\in Berult. Lebanon. American school teach evemhin^swap children, you know — some go here, some go Sre.

LNi Exchange students?

NWi Yes.

LNi What language did you speak?

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NVJi Vifell, I speak Arabic — Lebanese.

LNi Do you still remember how to speak it?

NWi ifll come back to you but now they _Spanish, English, Russian, and they all speak it good now.

LNi Have you liked to live here?

NWi Yes, this is my home -- my citv™"* ̂Yazoo City. I love the people in Yazoo City.

LN. Have you ever wished that you still lived in Lebanon?NW, Well, not exactly - not after my mother and father died,

I don't.

LNi When did they die?

NWi He died in 19^^81 my mother in I960.

LNi Do you remember World War I?

NWi Yes, we had hard times.

LNi Hard times here?

MVT TT T ««« Thev Stopped the school for four or five yearsth4re®bSse key was bombing school - bombing everythingyou can imagine.

LNi Where you there then?

used to take us up to the movintaina and hideoul'inkavef-- mkrus go in caves to save us.LN. Was anything - lil^e your house - hit by a bomb?NW. Oh yes, school and some houses around country. Thank God.

our house didn't get hit.

LNi What kind of houses did you live in?

NWi Brick houses.

LNi Did you live on a farm?

Uv. in

LNi ivhat was the name of it?

NWt Named Auba.

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Mrs. l/eber 7LNj Did you -travel much around Lebanon?

^ ^ n «-r+oT* T s:ot married. Me and my husbandtravkL flots for six Whs and saw the country. Beforefwaf^riel I didn't see too much.LNi Did you ever go to the Holy Land?

. . +'hci TTftiv Land and spent about six daysdoXlherL''®BL^ti^Sl, wonderful, you feel like you walkingon air.

LNi VJould you say something in Lebanese?NWi (She says ^®+^have'a coca coka7^WoSd'^you like to have

v/ould you liiCe JO navou'ould you likesomething to drink?

LNi Thank you for talking to ma,m, ,do.. mi. ».t yo" " «•« •""" ■*"

they tell yo« "that.LNi Thank you for the interview.

-END OP INTERVIEW-

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