Oral History of Carl Soldano
Background
I was born July 17, 1907 and raised in Pueblo, Colorado then came to California in 1942.
My father came to the U.S. in 1896 from the village of Lucca, Sicily. My mother also was born in Lucca, Sicily and came to the United States in 1900. They were married in Publo, Colorado December 17, 1903. I had seven sisters and we lived on a farm. I completed the 8th grade.
I worked on the farm and at various jobs before working at the Colorado State Hospital in 1937.. My job was driving a team of horses pulling a wagon full of laundry. Patients loaded and unloaded the wagon. I would haul dirty clothes to the laundry in the morning and return to pick up the clean laundry in the afternoon. Pay was $50 per month plus room and board. In 1940 the hospital bought a 1940 Chevy panel truck which I drove.
Angela (Angie) Ouglin and I were married on August 26, 1926 in Walsonburg, Colorado. We eloped. Our son Frank was born on January 25 in Colorado in 1928.
Life During War
My draft classification was 3A which meant I was eligible for the draft as a member of an Occupation Army, not front line troop because of my age. I was 35 at the time. I wanted U.S. to defeat Germany and Japan. I moved to California and went into defense work so I did not have to go into the Army but I could still contribute to the war effort.
We had come to California in 1937 for vacation and we liked it. So that is why we came to Richmond to live when there was the job opportunity.
When I came to California to work at the shipyards I drove to Los Angeles with a Mexican guy in my 1942 Chevy. I had two sisters in L.A. My brother-in-law said to go to the San Francisco area because the pay was higher.
I stayed with Angie’s cousin John and Barbara Ogulin on 25th Street and Maine Avenue in Richmond, California for six months. When our house was completed in Richmond in February, 1943, Angie came out to California. Our son Frank came out from Colorado when the school year ended.
We didn’t see any difference how we were treated in our community. Even though I am of Italian descent and we were at war with Italy, I did not experience any prejudice or mistreatment. I did not have any problems.
I was working at the Colorado State hospital before the war. A recruiter from Kaiser came to Pueblo. The recruiter said that if people could weld they could get a job in the shipyards at Richmond. So I took a welding course in Pueblo and went to California after completing the course. When I got to Richmond I found out that I could have taken the welding course at the shipyard and gotten paid 90 cents a hour to take the course. I left my wife and son and the rest of my family to take the job in Richmond.
Wartime social activities
We belonged to the Galileo Club in Richmond. It was a social club with dancing, meetings, dinners, bocci ball. I drove two co-workers to work. We went to houses of friends to play cards.
Outside of work I listened to the radio and read the paper. I followed sports. I went to Nichol Park in Richmond to watch local baseball and softball games. I listen to boxing on the radio. My son and I went to see the Oakland Oaks. I enjoyed dancing and went to the dances around town.
Angie, my wife, wrote to her brother, three brothers-in- laws, one nephrew-in-law and our son at the end of the war. My wife’s brother was in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Health
We were one of the first members of the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan. We did not have insurance before working at the shipyards. Kaiser had an emergency clinic at the shipyard. I had a hip ailment when I left Colorado and I went to the Richmond Kaiser for treatment. I am still a member of Kaiser.
Worthwhile experiences because of the war
I joined the State Guard. We went on bivouac overnights to Tilden Park in Berkeley. We slept on cots. I was an air raid warden. I went to the meetings. I had a uniform and wore a badge. We had drills and marching.
Wartime shortages and rationing of food and gas.
I had a “B” Gas Rationing Stamp because I drove two other defense workers to work. A “B” Gas Rationing Stamp allowed you to buy more gasoline. An “A” ration stamp allowed the purchase of four gallons of gas a week. We had blackout drills. We stayed home after dark.
We were not deprived of anything. I grew carrots, beets, tomatoes, onions, beans, lettuce and in our victory garden. I also planted fig trees and grapes. Corn and melons would not grow in Richmond because it was too cold in the summer. The ground was hard in the summer.
Sugar was rationed. My nephew Anthony Kapana was a merchant marine. He would sail and when he came to Richmond he would bring us sugar.
Wartime work
We lived at 1711 Dunn Avenue in Richmond. I worked in Kaiser Shipyard No. 2.
The Kaiser Recruiter that came to Colorado talked about welder jobs in the Richmond shipyards.
When I first started working at the Shipyard I hired in at 90 cents an hour. I told them I completed welding training course in Colorado. After I took and passed the welding test in Richmond I immediately got a raised to $1.25 an hour and became a certified welder.
My job title was Welder. I stamped my welds with my initials CFS.
Mostly I was the guy who would go along and tack (spot weld plates together). Sometimes I was the guy who would perform the production welding (fully welding the plates together).
I liked the pay and enjoyed welding. I didn’t like the smoke from the welding. I didn’t like the asbestos insulation in the engine room. It was dusty.
We had to wear full leathers, shirt, pants and gloves to protect our bodies from welding burns.
We worked eight hour days six days a week on day shift. We got 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon. We got an hour for lunch. What I would do is eat and sometimes take a nap. There were crap games and card games which were against the rules. Someone would act as a look out to warn the players if the boss was coming. Sometimes guys would lose their whole paycheck at lunch playing games. That was a bad thing.
I had work friends but did not socialize with them outside of work. I mostly socialized with neighbors. I did not maintain these friendships after I stopped working in the shipyards.
Wartime work memorable experience
I remember welding in double bottoms. There were manholes for access. We had to weld laying down. We wore leathers and had to crawl. There were exhaust fans to clear the air. A crew of guys would lay out the plate that was to be welded. Then a welder would come along behind them and tack weld the plates together. Another welder would follow behind and fully weld the plates together.
I met a lot of guys. One guy was a real jokester. He wanted to meet as many people as possible. He would go around introducing himself to people. He would start yawning to see how many other guys started yawning and then he would start laughing. He thought it was funny.
Some guys were goosey which means that they were jumpy or startled easily. If the other guys would find out you were goosey they would come along behind you and grab your butt and watch you jump. Then the whole group of guys would laugh.
Unions
We had a union. I was a member. Union membership wasn’t required.
I am strongly in favor of unions. Latter when I worked for Ford Assembly Plant, I became a Committeeman for the U.A.W. (United Auto Workers).
POSTWAR EXPERIENCES
I felt good that the war was over. As the war was coming to an end, I could see that my job was coming to an end and I had to find another job. I thought about going out to Standard Oil Refinery in Richmond but I was tired of being a welder. I got a job as a switchman working for Southern Pacific Railroad in Richmond. I didn’t know shit from Shinola about it. I didn’t like it so after a couple of months I decided I didn’t want to do that. I thought about going back to Colorado. After that I talked to a neighbor that went to the same barber that I went to. The neighbor told me that if I needed a job to let him know because he could get me a job at the Ford Assembly Plant in Richmond. I applied but was turned down. So I told the neighbor and we went down to Ford together and saw the neighbor’s supervisor. I was hired by the neighbor’s supervisor I went to work at the Ford Assembly Plant in Richmond in 1946. I moved to San Jose in 1955 when Ford moved the Assembly Plant to Milpitas. I retired from Ford in 1972.
How the war changed life
I moved to California for work. If it had not been for the war, I would have stayed in Colorado.
So my mother in law makes, er, used to make this chocolate pie that all the kids loved. Now my sister in law, Rachel, makes it. We have it at all Francis holiday gatherings. We were hosting Christmas Eve with the Francis family at our house this year. As it turns out Rachel couldn't come. We found out last night that we wouldn't have chocolate pie unless we got the recipe and made it ourselves. No problem. My mother in law gave us the recipe over the phone and I wrote down every word. So we made the pie this morning and it didn't seem to be turning out just right. It was a bit runny and we kept thinking it would set up, but it never did. We talked to Rachel and asked her about the recipe and she gave us different amounts of the ingredients! When my mother in law got here she looked at the pie and went on and on about how beautiful they were. I voiced my concerns about the consistency and she said they were fine. Then my husband brought up the fact that Rachel gave us different amounts of flour and such and it was like a light bulb went on in her head. She realized that some of the amounts she gave us was to double the recipe and some of the amounts were not doubled. What a mess...
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