Frederick William Waidner (1909-1989) oral history: Wilmette Public Library Local History Collection

Frederick William Waidner (1909-1989) oral history

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Track 1

RA: Let's begin by your saying your full name.

FWW: My name is Frederic William Waidner, and I was born in Wilmette October 15, 1909 at 1046 Greenwood Avenue.

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: That was before the hospital, I think. I am not sure.

RA: Oh, yes, I....

FWW: Everybody was born at home in those days.

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: So -- my Mother was born at 1041 Forest Avenue before me 18, uh, was it 1884?

RA: And your Mother was whom?

FWW: Susan Panushka.

RA: Oh, yes, of the....

FWW: There were about eleven in that family.

RA: Oh, really? I had no idea that it was as large as that.

FWW: She was about the third from the youngest and she was the last one. She just died last June. She was 94 years old.

RA: For goodness sakes. And she had lived in Wilmette all of those 94 years?

FWW: Uh, practically. She - she sold the house finally. It got to be too much and she had an apartment on Central Street, Evanston.

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: And then she went to live with my sister, uh, yes, my sister in Potomac, Maryland.

p.2

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: For seven or eight years.

RA: How many of you were there -- siblings did you have?

FWW: I had two brothers and a sister.

RA: Four of you.

FWW: There were four of us and I had an older sister that died when she was about six because of sickness. My mother was sure it was from appendicitis which they didn't know anything about in that time.

RA: That's right. And I assume that your doctor was Dr. Stolp.

FWW: Sure.

RA: Everybody in Wilmette during that period of time had Dr. Stolp, although I did hear from one of the Weedon sisters about another doctor who lived down on
Green Bay Avenue, but she couldn't remember his name, but she had to go for him one time when one of the -- her siblings was ill.

FWW: Oh, um hum.

RA: And in the middle of the winter and she rode back in the cutter.

FWW: Oh, yes.

RA: So that I haven't been able to pick up his name.

FWW: I couldn't - I wouldn't know that.

RA: Well, the people who had Dr. Stolp, of course, because he was the only doctor. (Laughter)

p.3

FWW: He was the only one I knew.

RA: (Laughter) Yes. Well, that's quite possible. Let me take that.

FWW: No, this is all right. We finally ended up with his bag - medicine bag.

RA: Oh, didn't....

FWW: For some reason, I don't know, we had it at our house for quite a while after he died. It came over to our house some way and it had all of these little things full of pills.

RA: The pill bottles?

FWW: Yes.

RA: Oh, yes. Was it the kind....

FWW: Yes.
RA: .. . . that folded out and the pill bottles were all in a row?

FW: Yes. Um hum.

RA: This is -- of course, this generation knows none of these things that you and I, uh, just considered a matter of course, but doctors write our prescriptions today rather than to carry medicines with them.

FWW: Oh, sure. Yes.

RA: This is uh....

FWW: And I suppose a lot of them were pink pills (Laughter) and he carried just nothing - sugar pills and....

RA: That's right. Tell me, uh, what is the profession you

p. 4

have followed?

FWW: Music.

RA: Music?

FWW: Yes.

RA; In what areas?

FWW: Well, I started in high school playing clarinet and then I went from there to saxophone, to flute, oboe, English horn. You see, I play all of the woodwinds.

RA: I see.

FWW: And I've been playing all different kinds of groups. I played with the Chicago Symphony for a couple of weeks. They needed a sax player and, uh, polka bands, (Laughter) wedding bands... (Laughter)

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: ....all kinds of things.

RA: Are there many of those groups now still that play?

FWW: Oh, yes, because I still play.

RA: And do you have a registry or something where you....

FWW: No, the leaders call you.. They know what you can do and they call you.

RA: Word of mouth.

FWW: Like tomorrow night I'm at the Bismark Hotel and the next night I'm at the Hyatt House out at O'Hare.

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: It's a different place every night.

RA: How interesting. It keeps you busy.

p.5

FWW: Oh, yes.

RA: And then you teach, I believe?

FWW: Yes, a couple of days a week.

RA: And where do you teach?

FWW: Main South High School.

RA: Oh, yes.

FWW: Of course, now you're getting away -- you want to hear about the church. 
(Laughter)

RA: I want to hear about the church and your -- your family's affiliation there.

FWW: Yes. Well, let me just talk about my family which -- because they were both Methodists.

RA: This is fine. I would very much like that.

FWW: Yes. Well, my Grandpa Panushka and his wife, Henrietta, moved to Wilmette from St. Louis and I'm sure she was a charter member. Now you said it wasn't in the…

RA: Well, now this is only men. There are no women's names. This is not a charter group that we have, and I will get that for you to see. This is the list of the first contributors and the date of the church's establishment.

FWW: Oh, um hum.

RA: There is the date.

Creators:

Waidner, Frederick William, 1909-1989, Interviewee

Adler, Rhea Saul

, Interviewer

Media Type:

Audio

Image

Text

Item Type:

Audiocassettes

Description:

Interview with Frederick Waidner by Rhea Adler in Wilmette, Illinois on December 6, 1979.

Place of Publication:

Wilmette, Illinois

Date of Original:

6 December 1979

Subject(s):

Musicians
Oral histories
Waidner, Frederick William, 1909-1989

Local identifier:

R977.31 WA

Language of Item:

English

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