02/18/2021
As part of the ongoing interviews of North Country senior citizens, with Brian Trainor from WBRV “The Moose”. The Life of a North Country Resident, is a community project that the Boonville Historical Club is providing to preserve the unique stories that these wonderful seniors want to share.
interviewed Vivian Brucker for Boonville Historical Club.
Life of a Boonville Resident- Vivian Brucker
At 92 years old, Vivian has many memories of growing up in Boonville.
A lifelong resident of Boonville, Vivian Bellinger was one of ten children. Her family home was on Charles Street and she had a close, happy family. While many of her family members are now deceased, she still has two younger brothers – Ron in Boonville and Derl in Arizona.
One of her most vivid memories was of Christmas which was always a joyous occasion. Her brothers (growing up) wanted sleds, skis, or toboggans. The girls in her family (including Vivian) really loved dolls. Her last doll was a Judy Garland doll since The Wizard of Oz was popular then. Many years later, Vivian’s niece took this doll to the park and received a prize for having the oldest doll. Vivian still has a set of doll dishes, but little girls don’t seem to have tea parties as much anymore. To purchase presents, each of the children was allowed $5 to spend and went through the Sears or Montgomery Ward catalogs to make their decisions.
When she attended school, she went to the Boonville School which at that time had grades kindergarten through twelfth. All the girls wore dresses, sometimes ribbons, and the boys wore pants and dress shirts, rather than the tshirts of today. One of the special rewards of elementary school was a $1 for perfect attendance. In 4th grade, Mina Noble, her teacher, gave Vivian this $1 for perfect attendance. Of course, as a child, she decided to spend the money at Blankman’s, a 5 & 10 Store. There, she purchased a bathing suit to be ready for the summer swimming at Erwin Park.
Another childhood experience was going to the Boonville Fair, with her brother Harky and sister Yvette. Each had 25 cents to spend which would give them each two rides and an ice cream or the Mickey Mouse show. While they walked around, they had to decide which ride to try. They always went on the merry-go-round, sometimes the tilt-a-whirl, and years later, the Ferris wheel. The usual games of chance were there such as shooting games with mini rifles and tossing a ring around a bottle. While there was animal judging, the children preferred the rides to looking at the cows. Sometimes, they even had cotton candy, but with the warm weather of the fair, ice cream was the normal choice.
While the family did not own a car when Vivian was growing up, they always listened to the radio. All the men in the family loved listening to the fights when they were broadcast. Also, the family did not own a telephone. Instead of talking on the line, they talked with their neighbors and could walk all over town with no concerns. Dishes were washed in the sink by hand and dried with flour sack towels. Laundry was washed in a wringer washer and hung out on a line to dry. There were no computers or even adding machines back then.
As far as food is concerned, Vivian’s family had meat and potatoes plus homemade bread and cooked vegetables. They had a garden and canned vegetables in the summer and early fall.
Milk was consumed by the gallon and soda was not used.
A year after Vivian graduated from Boonville High School, she married Robert Brucker. They have one son, Robert, who is a retired doctor living in San Diego, California. For the past 58 years, Mrs. Brucker has lived near Sunset and is, in fact, the resident who has lived there the longest.
As time moved on, she worked in the National Exchange Bank. From there, the bank’s name changed to Lincoln, then Chase Manhattan, and lastly Community Bank. Staying there for 27 years, Vivian enjoyed her work, particularly encountering many nice people. Of course, there have been big changes since Vivian retired, including computers, atm’s, and automatic deposits.
Not content with just working, Vivian has been active in a number of areas. As a long-time member of the Presbyterian Church, she has had many jobs there including Sunday school teacher, Superintendent, Elder, treasurer, and deacon. In addition, she has worked numerous bake and rummage sales. When Matthew’s Place was first originated, she was on the committee to form this non-profit and was even treasurer there for 25 years. She was also a member of the Boonville Historical Club and treasurer for that club for 25 years. A founding member of Dodge Pratt Northam, Vivian served in a number of roles, last being membership chair person; she is now an emeritus member of DPN. Belonging to the In His Name Women’s Missionary Society for 70 years, she spends her time making dresses for girls in Africa. Often, Matthew’s Place as well as close friends save material just for that purpose.
All in all, Vivian is a conscientious lady whose public spirit has given her an active life in Boonville. After all, it is home and remains an essential part of her life.
