So my aunt wrote me a letter and told me that Osko Cochrane, the boss,
had seen her in the grocery store and asked where I was; and she told
him. And he said, "Well, get in touch with her and tell her to
come back to work, but to talk to me before she comes—if she
wants to work." He knew I needed to work, and he was a friend
of the family (his sister and my mother were very close—lived
next door to each other—and we knew him, you know.) So he
worked nights, of course, like I did, so I went over to his house, and
his niece went with me (we were good friends). We went over to his house
and he was just getting up as he slept days. He told me, "You
come on in. You're going to have to talk to [his nickname was
"Wild Bill," but I can't remember
[laughter] his name] him now. But," he said, "just
listen; don't say nothing." He was considered to be
pretty rough, this "Wild Bill," the superintendent
then. So when I went in he says, "Oh, you want to come back to
work?" And I said, "Yes." And he said,
"Well didn't you walk out?" And I said,
"Yes." He said, "Why?" I said,
"Well, because I had my pay out in half, and I just got mad and
walked out before I thought"—because I wanted to go
back to work, you know. So he said, "Well, go ahead and begin
to work." So Osko was waiting for me when I went up the stairs;
he was waiting
Page 33 for me at the entrance to the
spinning room, and he said, "Well, how did you get
along?" I said, "Pretty good;" so I went to
work.