Elizabeth Horan  0:00  

Are you ready to start the Grammy?

Yeah. All right. So today I’m going to be interviewing my grandmother June Wester, and we are going to be discussing her life beginning around her 20s. Grammy would you like to say hi. Okay, so we do just have a few questions to begin with, and one second.

Okay, all right. The first question is growing up, what were some gender differences you saw or experienced in the workforce politics or in your own home?

June Wester  1:03  

In my own home, I think I was one of three daughters, and I was the eldest. And so I really, you know, did not distinguish me, obviously, gender differences, and I always felt that my father really looked at me, like he might have a son in the fact that, you know, he expected me to be the responsible one, and to care for my younger sisters. As far as politics there really were not any females that I can remember that were in state office, offices for federal positions. There were Senators and Congresswomen. Could you repeat the question?

Elizabeth Horan  2:08  

So growing up what were some gender differences you saw or experienced in the workforce politics or in your home in your own home, and I you could also cover, in schooling or education as well?

June Wester  2:22  

Sure, when I was in high school, and I went to high school on Long Island, but very many females were not encouraged to be lawyers or engineers. Mathematicians, they will basically there were three fields for women to go into, that I experienced, and that was to be a nurse, a teacher or an executive secretary.

And I didn’t want to be a nurse. And I didn’t want to be a teacher. So I became an executive secretary. So I went to business school for a year. And then I worked in Manhattan. And I was 17, actually, when I graduated high school. So I was in the workforce, really, when I was 18, after I graduated from business school, but I had wonderful positions in New York City executive level positions. And within a couple of years, I was working for the President, I was executive secretary and president of a fortune 500 Corporation. So I had wonderful experiences, met lots of interesting people. And but again, I would say in the workforce, we’re talking about this as 1967-68. And the women’s movement was really, I think, just beginning. I was seeing as I was working, that more women were being brought into executive positions. They were encouraged to go back to college, they hadn’t gotten your degree, and become executives in a corporation. But that was just beginning when I was working at this corporation, and I feel sure if I stayed there, you know, I would have been led into an executive position. But I was very happy being executive secretary of the corporation. So I met many interesting people.

Elizabeth Horan  4:33  

Yeah,  well, to piggyback off of that question, what were some of your designated tasks and responsibilities in this position?

June Wester 4:47  

Typical, typical executives, separate caregiver positions, you know, you’re probably not familiar with shorthand, but that’s business goals that I could type very fast and I could take shorthand. So, you know, my boss would call me into his office, and he would dictate letters to me. But I was also responsible for my own correspondence to other people or speak for him if I was able to. So I also paid his personal bills. We would get together each week and he would share with me what he wanted paid and when he wanted to pay and things of that sort. Should I tell you a funny story, I thought it was a funny story as I kept his deposit close to my deposit slips in my desk drawer. And unbeknownst to me, I deposited my paycheck in his checking account. So when I was withdrawn, on my account, I couldn’t figure that out. And so it turned out that I put my paycheck in his account. So I was very embarrassed that I asked him to write me a check to put into my checking account, but I never made that mistake again.

Elizabeth Horan  6:09  

Yeah, that’s good. So this one’s kind of transitioning. And not necessarily like your involvement, but what were some of your views of the Vietnam War once it began, and American troops being sent to Vietnam? And I understand that you believe that the Vietnam War shaped kind of, you know, grandpa, and stuff like that, and how that like, impacted him as well.

June Wester  6:51  

Okay, well, this, our entrance into the Vietnam War was really when I was graduating high school. So it didn’t have that large an impact on me at the time. And I was busy with my own life, really going to school, and then with new jobs, et cetera. So I really didn’t focus too much on it till we were into the wars for several years. And then they, you know, the people I knew did support the war first. But then, of course, when you saw on the television news, people being killed in all that really had an impact on the American public, and many people turned away from, you know, being involved in the war. And I know that when grandpa did come back from Vietnam, one of the mistakes of bringing soldiers back from Vietnam, they did not come back together, and they came back individually. So they were not ever in a group, you know, where they, you know, had the camaraderie of their, their fellow soldiers and all. And I can remember him telling this story that he had his Marine Corps uniform on, and someone on the street, a well dressed, business like man looked at him, and spit on his uniform and said, “baby killer”. Well, that wasn’t a very, you know, wonderful welcome into the country. So, Vietnam veterans are faced with a lot of discrimination, a lot of issues like that. And I did meet your grandfather until he had been there in the beginning of the war, because he graduated from college in 1964. And then he did join  the Marine Corps, and he was a first lieutenant in the infantry in Vietnam, but he was responsible for many lives. And so you know, when he came back, I think he was a step up as for other soldiers, than someone who had not gone to war because they were responsible for so many lives. And you know, I think when you’re in a situation like that, what could be more fearful than that? Nothing else could probably, I think affect you like a war does. And then we met well, he came to mind Corporation Corporation. And that’s where we met. Yeah. We have another question about well, I just have no

Elizabeth Horan  9:38  

I think this is kind of more transitioning now to like life with grandpa. So after marrying grandpa was there like a major decision or choice that you chose to leave your corporation and then become a stay at home mom?

June Wester  9:57  

Stay at home? Stay home mom. Hmm. Well, actually, I had left when your grandfather and I got married, I chose to leave the corporation because I did not have to, but he was just starting in this corporation. And we didn’t want our friends and associates to think that because I was working for the president, he was getting special attention. So we both decided or I chose to leave, but then I had various other positions. And then when we bought our first house, we moved to New Jersey, I chose to have a job in the area. So when I became pregnant with your father, I actually played with the fact of working because it was close to my home, and I liked working, and I really did think about it. However, your grandfather was transferred from New Jersey to Kentucky, for a position with this corporation. And so then we would not have any support, we’d know no one in the community. And so at that point, I chose to stay at home. Yeah, and most, most women of my age, did stay at home with their children. Also, a lot depended upon where you lived in commuting time, you know, when you bring up the commute into the city, it took an hour and a half or more. So, you know, men wouldn’t get home until later. So they will be putting getting baths and putting children to bed. But anyway, when I was living in Kentucky, there was a period of time when my sister came to live with us. So I did go back to work for “Kelly Girl”, which was a temporary business service, and I had various jobs. And then one day, they call me and they said, we have a job for you to work for the President. And I said, Oh, okay, the president of what, the President and I said know, what corporation might, no the President of the United States. And that was when Gerald Ford was campaigning in Kentucky, to hire a secretary to be available to him and his staff. So anyway, I was hired to do that, and got to meet him and shake hands with him. Luckily, I didn’t do any correspondence. Because I’m sure, quite nervous. But that was that. So we, women of my age, I felt very comfortable staying at home with our children. And we were very grateful that we could do so.

Elizabeth Horan  13:10  

Yeah. Did you ever question or regret making that decision?

June Wester  13:18  

Not in the early years I get when my children were a little older than I could go back to work. I did get my real estate license. And so I did go back to work. You know, when your father and aunt were older, 6th,7th, 8th grade something like that? Yeah. But I’ll tell you, it’s very difficult to do, you’ll find this one day, if you choose to raise children, and also go to work is that when you’re at work, you’re thinking about your children. And when you’re at home, you’re thinking about your job at the office. But today, people have a lot more options where they’re working from home, but you can’t really take care of kids and also work from home. Find someone to take care of the kids because otherwise you wouldn’t be very efficient.

Elizabeth Horan  14:16  

Yeah, well, I mean, now you’re very involved still just within church and other things. So.

June Wester  14:23  

Yeah. All right. Yes. I’ve always been involved in lots of volunteer work.

Elizabeth Horan  14:31  

Well, the next question is, when Grandpa became sick, how did you manage caring for him and also caring for your kids and working as well?

June Wester  14:47  

Well, it was difficult, but you do what you have to do. And you know, I will say that I didn’t think about this at the time but years later I did, as I forgot that my grandfather, who I never knew, had died before I was born. So my grandmother did have to go back to work. And so she worked, and it was when she was in her 40s until she retired. And so again, I did not have to, I was very fortunate that financially, I did not have to go out to work while he was ill. So I could have stayed home with him and taken care of your father and aunt.

Elizabeth Horan  15:50  

Well, next is talking about with Grampy after Grandpa had passed, and a few years later, once you’ve met Grampy, and then ultimately, married Grampy. How was there any drastic difference between raising your own biological kids and then also raising stepchildren as well?

June Wester  16:17  

Yes, well, what I would say is, we married when we were teenagers, your father with the oldest and then Meredith. But my stepdaughter was the youngest, and then the other two were in between. So it was difficult because I knew our children need their parents, their father and their mother. So we never tried to be a parent to them, we wanted to be a role model to them, and to care for them, be there for them, but we weren’t pretending to be their mother or their father. And so we really tried to respect each other’s differences. And it was more difficult for me, I would say, because Grampy would go off to the office, and I have to deal with all of our children. Really, thank you, Lord did not cause this much problem, was it. But they didn’t take it out on each other. If they had a difference with one another. Guess who they came to, me. They were very polite to each other, but I get some of the grief, and you just work through it. I guess one of the bigger problems was narratives like to copy your aunt, and whatever would buy the other one would want as well, didn’t really care. But other than that, really, everybody respected each other and worked it all out. Yeah, it was not easy raising four teenagers and also dealing with grief, as well. Again, our faith got us through it as always. 

Elizabeth Horan  18:26  

So yeah. Well, this is the final question Grammy. But, is there any advice you would give to me? Or any young girls similar to my age, regarding careers and relationships, etc?

June Wester  18:44  

Well, that’s a loaded question. I definitely would say I want my granddaughters to definitely be able to support themselves and follow their passion. I would, you know, many years ago, women would sometimes trade their passion with their desire for their husband or their boyfriend. And I would definitely reject that. If you want to be an engineer, or you want to be a lawyer, whatever you want to be, do what you want to do, because a boyfriend could be here today and gone tomorrow. And this is your life story. And that’s why well, I shouldn’t get into that. But I really am pleased if you don’t have any serious boyfriends because I think you should get your education under your belt and get a start in your career. And, but, you know, girls today can do anything fellows can do and they can do them even better. Yeah, you’re very lucky to be able to be this lucky in some ways that you have all the choices in front of you. But sometimes you can have too many. That could be difficult. Just like, I don’t know that I should get into this, but like sexuality, there are too many choices as far as sexuality, and people are just very confused. And I think our society has confused a lot of young people and taken them down the wrong path. And of course, I always pray that you’ll always be close to God and always know God and always follow your faith.

Elizabeth Horan  21:00  

Well, that is all the question, Grammy. So thank you very, very much for doing this!