Oral History Interview of Francis Christmann Interviewed by: Elissa Stroman November 3, 2011 Lubbock, Texas Part of the: Women’s History Initiative Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Copyright and Usage Information: An oral history release form was signed by Delbert Trew on November 3, 2011. This transfers all rights of this interview to the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University. This oral history transcript is protected by U.S. copyright law. By viewing this document, the researcher agrees to abide by the fair use standards of U.S. Copyright Law (1976) and its amendments. This interview may be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes only. Any reproduction or transmission of this protected item beyond fair use requires the written and explicit permission of the Southwest Collection. Please contact Southwest Collection Reference staff for further information. Preferred Citation for this Document: Christmann, Francis Oral History Interview, November 3, 2011. Interview by Elissa Stroman, Online Transcription, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. URL of PDF, date accessed. The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library houses almost 6000 oral history interviews dating back to the late 1940s. The historians who conduct these interviews seek to uncover the personal narratives of individuals living on the South Plains and beyond. These interviews should be considered a primary source document that does not implicate the final verified narrative of any event. These are recollections dependent upon an individual’s memory and experiences. The views expressed in these interviews are those only of the people speaking and do not reflect the views of the Southwest Collection or Texas Tech University. 2 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Technical Processing Information: The Audio/Visual Department of the Southwest Collection is the curator of this ever-growing oral history collection and is in the process of digitizing all interviews. While all of our interviews will have an abbreviated abstract available online, we are continually transcribing and adding information for each interview. Audio recordings of these interviews can be listened to in the Reading Room of the Southwest Collection. Please contact our Reference Staff for policies and procedures. Family members may request digitized copies directly from Reference Staff. Consult the Southwest Collection website for more information. http://swco.ttu.edu/Reference/policies.php Recording Notes: Original Format: Born Digital Audio Digitization Details: N/A Audio Metadata: 44.1kHz/ 16bit WAV file Further Access Restrictions: N/A Related Interviews: Transcription Notes: Interviewer: Elissa Stroman Audio Editor: David Rauch Transcription: Emilie Meadors Editor(s): Katelin Dixon Interview Series Background: The Women’s History Initiative began formally in June 2015 with a concentrated effort to record the stories of prominent women from across the South Plains. The interviews target doctors, civic leaders, teachers, secretaries, and others whose stories would otherwise be lost. 3 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Transcript Overview: This interview features Francis Christmann of Lubbock, Texas. Christmann talks about her experiences with both Allegro and the Lubbock Music Club. As such, Christmann discusses how these groups functioned in her life and the manner in which these groups have evolved over time. Christmann also talks about the structure of the groups and her involvement at local, state, and national levels. Length of Interview: 01:28:19 Subject Transcript Page Time Stamp Background 5 00:00:00 High school years 9 00:08:51 Early involvement in music clubs 11 00:13:03 Changes in club demographics 13 00:17:59 Children 15 00:22:43 Other music club involvement 17 00:27:46 Working way up in music clubs, roles held in the club 21 00:34:04 Club meetings, order, locations 23 00:38:25 Favorite programs 25 00:42:11 Current involvement 27 00:47:44 Federated aspect of the club, hierarchy and structure 30 00:55:50 Summer music camps 33 01:01:36 Changes in the process to become a club member 35 01:08:45 Singing in churches 37 01:12:48 Legacy of the clubs 41 01:19:57 Keywords gender roles, music clubs, social clubs, women’s studies, West Texas music 4 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Elissa Stroman (ES): This is Elissa Stroman, and today’s date is November 3, 2011. Today I interviewed Francis Christmann at her home on Fourteenth Street. This interview is a part of the series of oral history interviews I’m conducting with members of the music club communities of the South Plains. Ms. Christmann has been a member of both the Allegro and the Lubbock Music clubs since the 1950s and she’s been involved in the Texas and National Federation of Music Clubs since the sixties and seventies, so we spoke on her involvement with all those organizations. Okay, so the first question I’ve been asking all the ladies is where and when were you born? Francis Christmann (FC): I was born at the Edna Gladney Home in Fort Worth, Texas, November 15, 1928. ES: 1928, okay. FC: And adopted nine days later. ES: Really, okay. Well then—interesting, okay so tell me about your parents, what did they do? FC: Well, my mother at the time, I was—she adopted me, was just a housewife. We moved to Thurber, Texas, as I say, when I was nine days old. Thurber, now, is a ghost town. ES: Right, it’s got a really great restaurant though. FC: Oh yes, and that’s where the First Presbyterian Church used to be up on what we called New York Hill. The house that is still there, the big white house by the Smokestack, was our home because my grandfather was superintendent of the brick plant. All the brick you find in Lubbock, Tarleton, Texas Tech, all over at the time, he made. ES: So when I go by and eat at the Smokestack and I look at that white house, you grew up there. FC: If you’ll look at the Smokestack you’ll see my grandfather’s name, Joseph Lee Watson. 5 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program ES: Oh, that is one of my questions. What’s your maiden name? I guess I should have asked. FC: My maiden name was Dalmasso. ES: Okay. FC: A good Italian name, and I married a German and so we fought constantly, but it was fun making up. ES: Now how do you spell Dalmasso? FC: D-a-l-m-a-s-s-o. ES: Okay. FC: And my father actually sold Thurber when the miners went on strike. It was the only totally unioned [sic] town in the United States, but he sold it house by house. My father was with Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company. So when the miners went on strike, they said, “To heck with you.” They discovered oil in Ranger which was eight miles away. ES: Right, so just move over there. FC: So we moved from oil town to oil town. I actually went to the first grade in Thurber. My mother had graduated in 1925 from Thurber High School, and as I say, we went from oil town to oil town until he was sent for the last oil town to Kermit and my mother had had it. So my grandmother and grandfather were here; my grandfather, as you can tell when I was born it was the Depression years, so this is my second time around, had lied about his age to get a job with the state highway department repairing roads. But anyway, my mother decided it was time that she did something for me. I was ready for high school, and she went to work for the Dunlap Company and ended up buying for forty-two stores, junior sportswear. She was a go-getter. 6 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program ES: Especially in that day. Well, I mean I guess it makes sense. FC: Well this was in the forties. ES: In the forties, okay. FC: I graduated from Lubbock High School in ’45. ES: Okay. FC: And North Texas State in ’49. ES: Okay and what were your degrees? What did you get a degree in? FC: Voice with a violin minor. ES: Okay, when you were growing up did your mom play any instruments? FC: No, but she sure kept that hickory stick close to be sure I practiced. ES: Oh really? Okay so y’all had a piano in the home? FC: That was why I chose the violin in the beginning. At four years old when I started, we owned a piano. I’ve always been different. ES: So you had a piano in the house, but you wanted to learn something else so you picked up the violin? Okay so you took various lessons from different people? 7 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program FC: Yes. ES: So as y’all moved around you would find different teachers to teach you violin? Nice. FC: I studied with the Dunn Sisters in Lubbock. ES: Oh okay, okay yeah. FC: Dor. Dunn’s two, Bula and Mary for piano and Bula for violin. ES: I’ve heard their names passed around. A lot of people have taken from them. FC: Tech didn’t really have a music school at that time. We had one professor, Dr. Julian Paul Blitz. We were on the third floor of the ad building, and he was the only teacher.