Women of Fenn College Oral History Project
Ruth Yurkschatt Shepard (BS, 1958)
Instructions for controlling the program with a keyboard.
Listen to the interview (30:19 min.)
Please note that Flash Player 10 (or higher) OR an HTML 5 compatible browser as well as JavaScript is required to play this recording. If you experience problems, please check your version of Flash or update to a more current browser and make sure JavaScript is enabled.
Interview conducted through Cleveland State University's Mary Joyce Green Women's Center.
Transcript:
SPEAKER 1: We are talking with Ruth Yurkschatt Shepard, who graduated from Fenn College in 1950. OK. We are talking with Ruth Yurkschatt Shepard Fenn College Graduate in 1958. And Ruth, if you tell us something about your years at Fenn, but however, begin by telling us something about yourself.
RUTH SHEPARD: Myself? I am a retired elementary teacher from the Berea schools. I got my degree at Fenn through the co-op system. And I taught out at-- well, I was on co-op at Orange for several quarters. And then when I graduated, they offered me a job. And so I did. I taught fourth grade out at Orange.
And then I got pregnant the second year. And I thought, oh my goodness. I'm going to have to quit. Because you almost always had to in those days. So I went in to see the superintendent, Ballard Brady. I'll never forget his name. He was such a gentleman.
And my voice is shaking. And I'm all scared that when I tell them that I'm pregnant-- well, shortly after the Christmas holiday, I found that out. So I went in and made the appointment and talked to him. And he could see that I was upset and a little bit teary-eyed.
And he said, well, Ruth, what's the matter? And I said, oh my God. I said-- I don't know. I just blurted it out. I just found out I'm pregnant. And you're going to make me lose my job. Or not-- you're not going to make me lose it. You're going to make me quit.
And he got up. And he was so kind. He said, nothing like that. Nothing like that. He came around and gave me a hug and everything. He said, well, that's beautiful. I'm glad for you and your family.
So our first child, then, was born in '59. And I then had one in 1960. I graduated in '58. And then I was out for about 14 years raising the children and then went back to school at Baldwin Wallace and got my master's in reading supervision. And I taught for Berea for 20-some years and then finally retired from Berea as a fifth-grade teacher.
Let's see. After that, it was always just too busy having the three children in four years. But we did live down in Florida after my husband graduated in 1960, also from Fenn. And that was his first job down in Melbourne, Florida. And then we moved back up here after a few years and settled in Berea.
And what else? Just been active in things. Our boys were active in sports. Our daughter was active in theater. And actually, if I have a cross to bear, it is of-- our daughter's been diabetic since she's been eight years old. And at that time, they didn't have the glucometer to measure blood sugar. So you had to urinate and then drop pills in and watch it change color and all that nonsense.
And she's, in fact, going to have a birthday on Sunday the 18th. She's going to be 48. And unfortunately, there have been the markings of diabetes.
She's had all the toes removed off one foot and some off of the other. She lost an eye because the retina kept detaching. And so she has a plastic eye that's done by an excellent, excellent man. And so that got me then started in the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. And I've been active in that.
And then she married. And she has three children. My one son, the oldest son, he has one. And my second oldest has three. So we have seven grandchildren. Is that enough?
[LAUGHTER]
SPEAKER 1: That's wonderful. When you were at Fenn, you majored in elementary education.
RUTH SHEPARD: Yes.
SPEAKER 1: You've been active so much in your life. Any activities at your Fenn years that you recall?
RUTH SHEPARD: Yeah, I was cheerleader--
[LAUGHTER]
--for-- I can't remember. It would have been basketball. That is the only-- not the only, but that's-- and wrestling has become very big. So probably those two. And you can imagine the attendance at that time.
In fact, we did try to form a women's or a girls' basketball or baseball team at Fenn. And wow, I just remembered. Jane Pease, P-E-A-S-E, was just a really wonderful person. She was the gym teacher. And she was going to find all this stuff out.
But I think I kept her too busy, because I was always saying, what did you find out about this? What did you find out about that? And so I just can't remember if we ever did anything with that.
And let's see. I was a member of and president of the sorority.
SPEAKER 1: Oh, which one?
RUTH SHEPARD: Beta Sigma Omicron. That's it. That's it. Why, are you a member too?
SPEAKER 1: No. Another one. That's another one.
RUTH SHEPARD: Oh, that's another one? I think there were just two small ones at that time. And I know you're still talking about activities at Fenn?
SPEAKER 1: Yes.
RUTH SHEPARD: Well, the sorority kept you busy and dating kept you busy. And I met my husband there. That then consumed the rest of my activities from Fenn. And we lived-- remember the old white apartments, right next to the college? Anyway, yeah.
And there used to be a restaurant called Sad's. There's a parking lot a little first. And then there was white apartments. And that was a one-room, a one-room apartment. We were married, and that's where we lived.
We got married-- we were still both in college. I had one full year to go, and my husband had three. And he was in the Marines first. And so he started a little bit later. But I'll never forget the apartment was $67.40 for a one room-- efficiency. Obviously, efficiency.
And where the bed came down, there was a desk on one side. And the whole door came around. And then the bed came down. Yeah, and what other activities?
SPEAKER 1: What was his major at that time?
RUTH SHEPARD: He majored in electrical engineering. And he graduated in '60. And then he kind of got out of it, then. They mostly do-- there's just so many aspects of engineering. So he was more in materials handling and sales engineering.
And let's see. Anything else? Can you turn it off for a second?
SPEAKER 1: Yeah. All right, go ahead.
RUTH SHEPARD: Well, we lived at White Apartments. And what I remember is that-- I can't remember her first name-- Bloomquist lived there-- certainly not in the efficiency that we had. And then I believe Wosenkraft, who-- I can't remember her first name. And she was in charge of student teachers.
And we used to go down, when we were married and living there-- every Saturday, we would go down to the West Side Market. And that was always marvelous. I was used to it from going down with my parents.
But anyway, what was interesting was the grocery stand and the fruit stand was Reeny's. And Mr. Reeny and his wife were always so good to us, because they knew that we were in college. And they charged $1. Every Saturday, it was the same thing-- $1, and pick out everything that you need. I mean, it would be watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, whatever you need-- $1.
And the other person that I have a lot of respect for, where we bought meat-- oh, my goodness. I can't remember. I think it was Sherman. My husband would know if he's here. Because the big thing with them-- we didn't spend $1 a week with meat.
But the wife planned our menu for the week. And she would say, well, OK, now, are you having any company for the week? And are you going to be gone any nights of the week? And are you going to be gone on the weekend or the next weekend? And so she would just package this stuff up. And my meals would be sort of planned. And it was marvelous. It was wonderful.
And they were real good. And of course, I didn't know how to cook the meats. And then that was the other thing. That's why I said my husband would remember their name, because it was hysterical. They would have to tell me how to cook every piece of meat and pork chop and all that kind of stuff.
The interesting thing-- I am going to backtrack to White Apartments again-- with cooking is because we did not have an oven. We only had two burners. There was an oven there, but it wasn't working. And it probably wasn't working for 40 years.
And so for a wedding gift we got a pressure cooker. And I used that for everything-- all my roasts and potatoes-- everything-- vegetables. And boy, this is bringing back a lot of memories, talking about it. I think I'm done with White Apartments and West Side Market and the people that we knew there.
We went back after we had our first baby. And then we had to move to Cleveland Heights, because actually White Apartments was condemned and they knocked it down. So we had to move. And we moved to Cleveland Heights. And nothing to say about that, except the neighborhood wasn't real good on 24th particularly.
And there was a small number of people in college compared to the large campuses. Maybe that was a good thing for us as a couple. But when we moved to-- everybody joked because the apartment was condemned.
And then when we moved to Euclid Heights Boulevard, it was in a big apartment right next to the Heights Art Theater on Euclid Heights and Coventry on the corner. And the first night-- not the first night, but the night was October 31.
And people were helping-- my husband's friends and some of my relatives were helping us move. And you wouldn't believe how much we jammed into a one-room efficiency. But we had to rent a truck of some kind. So here-- we're at the Euclid heights. And all of a sudden-- when they're starting to carry things in the apartment-- and all of a sudden, these policemen are coming around, lights flashing, dozens-- not dozens, probably a dozen cars and so forth.
And the Heights Art Theater was showing Lady Chatterley's Lover. And they raided it, or whatever they call it, because it was so risque. And here we're trying to move in, and they're chasing people out. And they didn't know if we-- they're taking your names. I don't know what happened to the people that were in there.
But they didn't know that we were moving in and out. And so they kept asking us and telling us, don't go there. Get over here. Get over here. We need to talk to you. Well, we had nothing to do with anything. And so that was the other thing that we got teased about by friends.
I can't really think-- that's about my life there. I'll tell you one thing. I lived at home for the first year, maybe, and second year. And then home at that time was Maple Heights. And it was quite a haul.
But anyway, I decided to get a car, which I-- no, I didn't get a car then. What I did was applied to live at the YWCA. And I lived there for a year. And that was nice, really. I mean, it wasn't as good as home, but it was good. The room was pretty small.
But anyway, I did that for a year. And that's when I decided that I needed a car. I don't know how it transpired, I guess probably through the money I earned at co-op and also just at night, too, doing whatever that I had to to get money.
And then once I had a car-- shortly after that, maybe the next year, is when I met my husband. And you don't want to hear that.
[LAUGHTER]
The only reason I would mention it is I did meet him because there was a dance, maybe Harvest Prom or something like that, and our sorority was co-sponsoring with the dorm. And he was ahead of the dorm-- or whatever they called it for the guys. And so we had this meeting on a Saturday.
And he said, well, you have a car, don't you? We both are thinking that we're going to just get things going and then kind of slither out and let the rest of the people take over, which didn't happen that way, because everybody just sat around. And so we're getting impatient, so he said, well, you have a car. Let's go.
That's what we had to do, is buy chicken wire. We were working on a float. And so really, Fenn was the connection for both my husband and myself.
SPEAKER 1: Were there a lot of women at the Y that went to Finn?
RUTH SHEPARD: No. Mm-mm. Maybe a few. Most of them-- I don't know. I can't remember what they did. Probably office work or something. I didn't have time to associate with any of them, because I was always busy studying and going to school.
SPEAKER 1: What made you decide on Fenn College?
RUTH SHEPARD: I got a scholarship for the first year and that got me started. Oh, I wish I could remember this guy's name. But anyway, they were always very nice to me, very nice. And that first year was hard, because I didn't really take an academic course through high school. And I certainly didn't take a language.
And this is something that will be very interesting-- if you have not interviewed Frau Kiefer yet, the German teacher and that, she is one that you will want to. And the reason I'm saying that--
SPEAKER 1: McKeeney?
RUTH SHEPARD: Kiefer. And I think they used to own Kiefer's Tavern, in fact. Kiefer, K-I-E-F-E-R. And the reason I'm mentioning Frau Kiefer was because, like I said, I never took a language. And so I had to at Fenn. And that was either German, French, or Spanish.
My family's German. And I thought, what a snap this is going to be. Little did I know, my parents did not know a dangling participle from anything else. Didn't know what I was talking about. But Frau Kiefer was a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful woman. She had blond hair, held herself very, very well, and taught German.
And the first quarter I got an A. The second quarter I got a B; third, C; and the fourth, she graciously gave me a D. Thank God I did not understand German. That was on German literature. And no, I did not understand.
So anyway, I hadn't seen her for years and years. And then when I was teaching, I was inducted into another kind of sorority kind of thing. Oh, my gosh, I can't remember the name. But anyway, at the induction-- and there's other people around for this special meeting and everything-- I see Frau Kiefer. And she has belonged to that for years. And she belonged at Fenn. And so we had a nice chat and everything else. And I have gotten to know her a little bit more.
Now, the third thing with Frau Kiefer is I also have joined ILR at Baldwin Wallace, the--
SPEAKER 1: Lifelong Learning?
RUTH SHEPARD: Yeah, Institute for Learning and Retirement. That's what it is. And for short, it's ILR. And so I joined. And then again, on one of the pieces of literature and everything-- I think she was one of the officers-- is Frau Kiefer's name again. And she's getting up in years. She's getting up in years.
She said she doesn't really travel anymore. But she's just as-- I mean, her hair's not blond, it's gray. And she's put on weight like all of us. But she's still beautiful. She's still beautiful. She would be one you would not want to miss. Kiefer. I can maybe even get you a phone number, if I can find my ILR stuff.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah, I know some people are in ILR.
RUTH SHEPARD: Yeah. Oh, good. It's really wonderful. It is, it is. And then in the summer, some people, they volunteer for-- they plan trips. And some are daily, and some are four days. They did a train trip this year, which was 12 days all the way across the northern part of the country and into Banff, if I'm pronouncing that correctly.
But anyway, that's how Frau Kiefer-- I just can't believe that I have run into her so many periods of my life. It is amazing.
SPEAKER 1: It really is, yes. Yes.
RUTH SHEPARD: And the reason I mentioned about-- because I got a scholarship. My mother and dad were both from the old country, as they would say. And we didn't have a lot of money. I was the youngest of six.
And we weren't poor by any means-- at least, we don't remember it as poor. And that's, I think, one of the fascinating things when you talk to people. That's all they knew. They didn't think they were poor.
But I mean, we were poor as far as paying for six educations. No, that isn't going to happen. And if you do it for one, you have to do it for the other. And me being the youngest, it was probably not ever going to happen.
So anyway, we survived, and it was fine.
SPEAKER 1: Then you got your scholarship.
RUTH SHEPARD: Yes. And that's what started me. I really had a very good schooling at Fenn. I don't regret it. I think the co-op is such an excellent idea. And I'm sorry to say-- maybe I shouldn't say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. You can bleep some stuff out, right?
SPEAKER 1: Feel free.
RUTH SHEPARD: My oldest grandson's 25 now. When he graduated from Berea-- he went on the co-op, engineering co-op program. And I think everybody in engineering at Toledo has to be on co-op. But let me tell you, it was nothing like ours.
Ours was so good. I taught at that Cleveland State hospital-- I don't know if you even remember that-- around Garfield Heights or something, Turney Road. And of course, that's been gone a long time. Because initially, I thought I wanted to teach retarded children. But after a couple of quarters there, I just couldn't. I just took my problems home with me. I would do the same thing. I just feel too sorry for them, and I couldn't do it.
So I knew that I couldn't do that, but I still stayed in elementary. I forgot where I was going with that. Oh, and so my grandson is at Toledo. And I said when he was starting co-op, just like we did-- the first year, you go the whole year, and then you start co-opping on one plan or another. And it's so big that they didn't get the personal attention at all.
And it was like, you find out about where you're going to co-op, which is not the way that it was at all. Because we went in and met and somebody, and I can't remember who, would say, this is open. That's open. If you don't like this, we can try. There were, I wouldn't say many options-- I don't remember-- but I knew that I only needed one, and that was getting into education, so the rest didn't matter to me.
He didn't have that at all. And I was so disappointed when he said that, because I was prepping him up. I said, you're going to love being on co-op and getting all these variety of experiences. And he did, but it was more on the students' initiative. But you don't know anybody, so how are you going to-- if you're living--
SPEAKER 1: You need [INAUDIBLE], at least.
RUTH SHEPARD: Any guidance on that, they should have. So anyway, I hope nobody from Toledo's listening in. But that would be a downfall. And that would be the reason that Fenn was so great.
SPEAKER 1: That co-op program.
SPEAKER 2: Good teachers. We had good teachers.
RUTH SHEPARD: We did. Anything else? I think I've talked a long time, covered a lot of ground in 50-some years.
SPEAKER 2: Oh, my, yes.
RUTH SHEPARD: How many years was it? Longer than 50.
SPEAKER 2: Yes, since graduation.
RUTH SHEPARD: I don't even know. I can't count.
SPEAKER 1: And a lot of history of Fenn and the area.
RUTH SHEPARD: There was more-- like I say, Sad's Bar was the big hangout.
SPEAKER 1: It was when we were there, too.
RUTH SHEPARD: And they made wonderful hamburgers. Oh, man, that was great. And the rest-- and the YWCA. Well, there wasn't really an area of anything. We spent a lot of time in Panel Hall. Is it still called that?
SPEAKER 2: Yes.
RUTH SHEPARD: Good.
SPEAKER 1: It's been re-finished. It's beautiful. [INAUDIBLE] the woodwork.
RUTH SHEPARD: Oh, my word. Good for them.
SPEAKER 1: You ought to come down sometime, because we have the Fenn reunion [INAUDIBLE], they had tours. And you could see Panel Hall, and then they have the dorms that they remodeled. You get to see one of the dorm rooms. And it's really nice. It's beautiful.
RUTH SHEPARD: Well, that's good. There was someplace else we hung out besides Panel Hall-- but I can't-- was there someplace-- the cafeteria was another one that we hung out.
SPEAKER 2: The old Oak room.
RUTH SHEPARD: Yeah, where was that old Oak room?
SPEAKER 1: First floor.
SPEAKER 2: The Oak Room? Yeah, on the first floor.
SPEAKER 3: I don't remember.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah, it closed. The Oak Room-- I think it was called the Oak Room.
SPEAKER 2: Oh, I remember the offices.
SPEAKER 1: Well, it became offices, but I believe the old cafeteria was there. And then when they opened Stilwell, it went into Stilwell Hall.
RUTH SHEPARD: And Stilwell Hall is where?
SPEAKER 1: Right across from the tower.
RUTH SHEPARD: Oh, it's in another building?
SPEAKER 1: It's another building, Stilwell, yes. And then they put the cafeteria in there. But I don't think that came about till '59, '60 maybe, somewhere around there. My memory's off on when that happened.
SPEAKER 2: That's where it was when I started in '59.
SPEAKER 3: So then the Oak Room was just there very shortly. And they closed it all that year. If you started-- it was just there probably my first year there, and that was it. Yes, the old Oak Room. And [INAUDIBLE].
RUTH SHEPARD: Cutting grass.
SPEAKER 2: Oh, that's what they're doing, yes.
RUTH SHEPARD: They don't come back here. I don't have any grass. Do you want to wait a minute, or turn that off maybe?
