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Luis:Luis Mendoza Alex M.:Alex McClure Sean:Sean OConnell Neil:and Neil Vaine from Anderson Valley High Schools Voices of the Valley project. Alex W.: We are here today to talk to Yorkvilles own Leo Marcott. Thank you for coming and talking with us. Mr. Marcott: Hey, believe me, its a pleasure, guys. Youre a great group, Ill tell you. And would you do me a favor and everyone say bananas. (Everyone says bananas). Mr. Marcott: Wow, youre a good bunch! (Everyone laughs). Sorry about that! Luis: So, Leo, what was your childhood like? Mr. Marcott: My childhood, well, first thing, I was born awful young. And my mother had nine children. And all in order, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, and than I was supposed to be a girl and then there was another boy and a girl. And I was named Ann (everyone laughs), I must have been an awfully cute kid. I shoulda been twins. Alex W.: Umm. Mr. Marcott: Anyway, I had a wonderful life with my great family; a big family is wonderful, never was able to fight, wasnt allowed to. And my father passed away at 99. Alex M.: Wow, old. Mr. Marcott: He just went to sleep one night and just as peaceful as heck, and to me he was ten feet tall, I just loved him, it was great. Im so fortunate to have such a great family; been married for 61 years to the same woman, can you imagine thatand there has never been another one in all that time. Im really proud of that. So anyway, on with the show, guys. Luis: So, were you funny as a little kid? Mr. Marcott: Well, they say sothe only award Ive gotIve been in 11 theatre plays, besides three of em up in Oregon, we did television showsthe only award I got was class clown and I think there are four of five of them sitting with me right now. (Everyone laughs). Alex W.: Hey, thank you! Were you in sports? Mr. Marcott: Sports, I love basketball. I was very accurate in the quarter line on long shots. In those days you only got two points for it, you get three now. When I was playing ball, I jumped up in the air, knocked my feet from under me, landed on the small of my back, and chipped a bone in my back. That way I couldnt get in the Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines or anything because of my back. And they stuck me in the Army infantry. Would you believe that? I figured I was Pentagon material at least, but not infantry. I was always glad that I played sports, and you guys look like youre good at it. Neil: All right! Alex M.: So, could you tell us about World War II? Mr. Marcott: Yeah, like I just said I tried to get in all those othercouldnt make it, my buddy made it and he never left the city of Portland all the time I was overseas gettin shot athe got a trip to Astoria and back once; he was in charge of officers linen supplies, rough job, (laughter). But anyway, they put me in the infantry back at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and I was buck private; I didnt know what hand to salute with, left or right, but I soon found out, and I ended up in the kitchen for five days, peeling potatoes, cleaning the stove and all that good stuff, and then I started soldiering and I went right up the ranksI was 23 years old when I went in cause I couldnt get in before, and the rest of the guys were 17 or 18 years old, so naturally I was a buck sergeant in less than two months. Alex W.: Wow Mr.
Marcott: And we went to Texas and Louisiana on maneuvers, and when I come
back I was a staff sergeant, and thats three up and one down. So
then we got overseas and on our first attack we lost 32 brave young guys
and the next day I was platoon sergeant, that was three up and two down
roughish. Thats about as far as you can go in the infantry, and
for the rest of the war I only lost one guy, and his name was Romackavitch,
sounds Irish, but it aint. A great kid, but thats the way
it went. Luis: So could you tell us about the Battle of the Bulge? Mr. Marcott: Yeah, the Battle of the Bulge. Hitlers army was shoved out of Sicily, out of Africa, which my brother was in that with General Patton. Would you believe that? Then of course we go to Omaha Beach, thats out of England over to theacross the Channelthe invasion, youve seen movies of all the thousands of guys that got clobbered. He was the first Armored on the beach. Second day, second or third day they brought the Armored on and he went clear to Austria. Well, thenmeantime Hitlers getting pushed right back into it. They stopped us up atmy outfit, I was the 75th infantry division. I was platoon sergeant. I had about thirty young men like you guys. Fifty miles before we got to Berlin, they stopped us because the Russian army was coming in. And you know what they did; they really took over. Hitlers hometown. From there is when I started getting the biggest break I ever had. The captain called me up, he says, Marcott, you are the luckiest guy in this company, and I says, I am? He says, Youve got a pass over to London. Now the war is still on, but it wasits just about over. So I got to go to London. And while Im over there, the war ends. Now isnt that beautiful? (Laughter). Luis: Lucky! Mr. Marcott: So when I came back my company is playing in a softball tournament. The war is over and I got to relax. I think that couldnt happen to a nicer guy, you know? So from then on westayed there for eight months and I was a provost sergeant at the prison then. Thats when I got that job. And uhit was pleasant. I had a jeep with my wifes name on the side of it. And then wed go to football games and it was real great. Luis: Could you give us some detail about the Battle of the Bulge? Mr.
Marcott: Yeah. Thats when von Rundstedtthat was the
big German commanderthe last push that Hitler hadthe
last chance he had. He had not only Panzer divisionthose are
tanks withoh theyre huge, and boy theyll scare
you when they come. They made a big push in Belgiuma big push
that looked like a bulge. Thats where the name came from. Thats
when they committed my outfit. Were right up in the front line and
two men in a slit trench. You dig a slit trench and get down, put a bunch
of fir boughs in there sothe snow was all over and we were
freezin and then you get two guys together and you put your backs
together and it radiates heat, keeps you warm. Other guys were shot in
the shoulder and died from exposure, just from a shoulder wound, because
they froze. It was a bugger, Ill tell ya. Alex: So you got frostbite while you were in the Army? Mr. Marcott: Yep. The day we lost the thirty-two men making this attack in the snow. And there was barbed wire fences here and there you cant see and you run into them. Cause the snow in drifts was two or three feet deep. And all of a sudden we got out into the middle of this big area and the first shotIll never forgetmy first scout, Crawfordthey got him and he just fell over forwards and lay there. So we all played dead for seven hours. We lost all these guys. And nobody near me got killed exceptI mean right beside methere was Tom on one side and Williams on the other and myselfthe only ones that got out of there without being wounded or killedit wasit was a terrible thing. War is bad, and I hope to God that none of you guys ever have to witness any of that stuff I did. But I dont have any bad dreams about that its just something had happened. And I know I got a few of them krauts myself, cause I was a hell of a good shot. And it didnt bother me a bit. You know, you see your buddy get killed why, hey, you gotta get even. Maybe its wrong, but you had to do it. If we didnt do it, they would be over here telling you what to do; so Im glad the war ended like it did. Sean: After the war you did some work in radio, right? Mr.
Marcott: Yeah, I was a radio announcer for a short time in Pendleton,
Oregon. And I was only getting about $67.00 a week. Im used to makin
some money and I had two children at home and a wife and a house payment,
so I didnt stay that long. But it was kinda nice; I hadone
radio show that played at night, played old records from the dustyfrom
the Melody Inn Motel, sponsored this program and Id spin these records,
you know, and tell a couple jokes. And this one record I played, it was
Poor Butterfly was the name of the song. And I used the expression, Lord,
that takes me way back. Boy, the phone rings and the guy that owns
the station called up and said, Dont say that over the radio!
I said, Whatd I say? You used the word Lord.
Boy, look what they say over the radio nowadays. (Everyone laughs). Alex: Yeah. Mr. Marcott: So we had to learn it. But it wasit was it was enjoyable. Lets see thats all I can think of as far as radio goes. Neil: Well, can you tell us about your family? Mr.
Marcott: Oh, yeah. Ive gotwell, Barbara, my wife of
61 years, a little sweetheart. Shes not doin too well sometimes.
But she has had a problem, shes lost the sight in one eye now. Andwhich
is very important. Boy, thats bad. Once in awhile Ill leave
and shell say, Ill keep an eye out for you. (Everybody
laughs). Alex: Well, how did you end up in Anderson Valley? Mr.
Marcott: I was workin for the Navy in Vallejo after we left Portland,
came down here. And a friend of mine that owns the restaurant up in Philo.
Its in shambles now, its across from the grocery store. Its
a real mess there. That was a beautiful building, and they built a big
cocktail lounge there. And the guy says he wanted to buy thewhat
they called the Valley Inn, what is the Buckhorn Saloon now. And they
had me come up and look at it, and he bought it, so I moved up here and
managed that for a couplethree years. And we had the only
liquor in town, we had a grocery section, we had a big restaurant, we
had a barber shop, we had a freight room, a little bit of everything for
a small town. And I had a 29 model A Ford sedan which we put in
the paradeyou could see a picture I supposeand
we won a trophy for that old Ford. It was the only old Ford in the parade,
so next year there was all kinds of old cars. (Everybody laughs). Alex W: (Laughs). Mr. Marcott: For the property and all. And we built a restaurant up there; we had Mexican food mostly; we had steaks, prawns, chicken, hamburgers, and all that good stuff, too. But all the time I had that place Id never had a fight. Nobody ever had an argument or a fight and there was never any graffiti in the mens room either, usually someone does that. Alex W.: (Laughs). Mr.
Marcott: But all those yearsthe people must have respected
us because we were there fourteen years; and we didnt get rich,
but we made a nice living. And the kids went to school here and they both
graduated, Kris and Sue. They were both pepcheerleaders, you
know. Give a yell, give a yell, give a good extensive yell, hip! (Everybody
laughs). Neil: What kind of firewood do you burn? Mr. Marcott: Oh, thats a good one. I burn free firewood. I havent bought wood inthree years. All my neighbors bring wood and pile it up there. Yesterday they brought a load and stacked it, even stacked it in front. Charlie Hiatt, bless his heart, one of my dearest friends. He even sent out a load of wood. Now everybody here knows Charlie Hiatt? Everybody: Yeah! Mr. Marcott: Hes a great guy. And he worked for me when I had the Valley Inn. He kept track of the bottles and everything in the room where all those supplies wasthats what he did for me. But hes been a good friend all these years. Luis: I heard you were a bartender. Could you tell us some of your bartending stories? Mr. Marcott: Oh yeah! Ohthree of my friends are all gone that are great stories, and then theres Digger; hes still here. Now Digger did somethingI think is classic, and Im gonna do it myself sometime. He wanted to borrow twenty dollars and Jeff York, he was my buddy then, says, Hed pay you back. So, I got an IOUgot a paper out, put an IOU. Says, I owe you twenty dollars, here sign it. So he started to sign his name and he stopped and looked up and then he turned down and erased part of it cause he couldnt remember how to spell his name right. (Everyone laughs). Then he finishedhe ran out of paper and he finished his name on the counter. (Everyone laughs). Nobody in the world could have done that except Digger. Alex: No! Mr.
Marcott: Now someday Im gonna go just for the heck of it to get
a loan at the bank, and do that, and you watch the expression on that
guy thats gonna loan me the money. (More laughter). But, ah Buck
Morgan, hes gone; he lost a leg here, several years ago. But he
was funny; he used to s-s-st-st- stut-stut-stutter when he talked (everyone
laughs). And I can always remember this one little story he told about
this one little Mexican kid who was late for school. And the teacher asked
him why he was late. He said, I had to make my own damn lunch.
(Everyone laughs)! She says Ya dont talk like that,
and puts him in the corner. Pretty soon, You come back to your desk
now, were going to have geography class. And she says, Wheres
the Mexican border? And the kid says, Hes home in bed
with my mother; thats why I had to make my own damn lunch!
(Everyone laughs). Alex W: Oh, yeah. Mr. Marcott: Its true, its actually true; its a true story. Alex M: So you were a postmaster after the Leos Yorkvilla? Mr. Marcott: Yeah, I was postmaster in 1974, sold the place in 76. In 1974 I was postmaster, yeah. And we had the restaurant and the post office. And on weekends wed close the post office, but thats when I made my moneymade my bucks across the streetdirectly across the street. And on Monday and Tuesday wed close the restaurant, but I had to be at the post office. So it went on for a couple of years, with no days off. And you get where youre smiling at the people, and then you go home and kick your dog, and that kind of stuff. But yeah, it was great; it was a good thing. II think, what, twelve years, something like that? I retired; its a pretty good retirement. And they got great hospitalization from the post office. That means a lot nowadays, believe me. But I met a lot of good people. And it was a fourth-class office when I got it. And in lessn a year and a half, it was a third class, which darn near doubled my salary. Alex M.: Wow. Mr. Marcott: It was from salesstamp sales, money orders. What you take in is what they account you for. But no, Im glad I did. It was a very dull job, sitting there Alex M.:Ill bet. Mr.
Marcott: Oh, man! That little bitty room, you know, and oh, here comes
somebody! Maybe Ill sell a stamp! (Everyone laughs). It was great.
But we had a lot of fun, and Claude Rosethe guy I bought the
store fromhe was in there one day, and a friend of mine, Abby.
And I says, Hey Claude, howd you like that parrot I sent you?
And he says, He was delicious. And I says, What, you
ate him? For cryin out loud, he could talk. And Claude says,
Why didnt he say something? (Laughs). I think this old
guy was so good. He used to tell stories, abouthe says this
train was going through Arkansas, anddid I tell this one before?
Anyway, he says, That train stop. And I say, How come
the train stop? And he says, Well theres a cow in the track.
Pretty soon, they got going. About an hour later, the train stopped again,
and he said, How come we stopped now? And he says, We
just caught up with that cow. (Laughter). Now that is a slow train! Neil: Yeah, I think so. Mr.
Marcott: Well, he was so funny. Everyone kidded him cause he had
these great big ears that stuck out like a taxicab door, you know. And
he used to tell the greatest stories. He was sitting out there at my restaurant
one time, and he always sat at that middle table for some reason or other.
And I was the waiter and my wife did the cookin and puttin
the dishes out. And we had a little pup, little Bingo, and he always stayed
underneath the dishwasher because it was warm. And for some reason or
other he came out and he went over to Jeffs table and he just sat
up like thisand this is the best line Ive ever come
up with in my lifehe says, Hey, whats the matter
with your dog? And I says, I dont know, I guess thats
the first time hes ever seen anyone eat off of his dish. (Everyone
laughs). Alex W: Mr. Marcott, you made world-famous burritos, can you tell me the recipe to these? Mr. Marcott: Well, I can sell you the recipe. (Everyone laughs). Alex W: Oh, come on, come on. Mr. Marcott: More people that used to out come out the restaurant and wanted the recipes. We had prawns, for instance, with this batter, special batter we made. These people, they wanted it. I cant remember their names. Theyre both gone, too. We didnt give it to them, so they boycotted us. They didnt come in anymore for a couple of months, because we wouldnt give them the recipe. But Ill give it to you now; there is no real recipe. You got a flour tortilla in pretty good size; now if you got your meat cooked already, pork or beef or hamburger whatever it is, seasoned right say with oregano, cumino, and a little bit of salt, not much, and pepper, tomatoand you dont use tomato sauceyou use tomato puree, thats thick, that make a chili relleno sauce, you put that in, and then you just roll it up and course you heat the tortilla first. We had one guy come in; hes crazy about burritos, but hes a vegetarian, so we fixed him a couple with all meat and everything and Oh, man theyre great, lets have a couple more. (Everybody laughs)There is nothere is all kinda ways to fix burritos. You dont make them too thin, we sold maybe fifty tacos to one burrito, but they were good and I still make them, maybe Ill have you out for dinner sometime. Alex M: So, we hear you drove the bus here for awhile. Mr. Marcott: Yeah, one of my friends here, Reno Redding, hes gone too, geeeverybodys gone but mehe had his tonsils out. Like I said before, a kid can eat peanut brittle two days after they have their tonsils out, but a grown-up, it takes a while to heal. So they give me my test for driving, so pulls out of the lot here, and this big old 1960 Cornbinder International man, you could hardly shift the gearsand this little bridge before you get to 128 right there, I was driving, the highway patrol was sitting in the back, and he says, Leo, that bridge is a railroad track, whaddaya gonna do? So I stopped, opened the door, put my signals on, listen close, everythings right, turn the signals off, shut the door, started out, shifted gears, and he said, Whoops, you dont shift gears in the middle of the railroad tracks, so, I got a mark against me for that, would you believe it? But anyway I got past it, but you leave it in gear until you get clear over that thing, cause something could lock right there, and then the train comingthat makes sense, right? Luis: Yeah, it does. Mr.
Marcott: Then the highway patrolI got a kickMr.
Burl Evanshe was in Ukiah. Now he is retired, he was a highway
patrolman. I was going down over Burke Hill, Ukiah, were going over
to rehearse Oklahoma were in the play then, and then all of the
sudden, Oooooooooh, (makes siren sound) Burl pulls me over, he opens the
door, Goin right along, arent ya, Leo? But bless
his hearthe didntno ticket, no nothin,
he is just a nice guy. Neil: What did you do? Mr. Marcott: My dad was in the plastering business and so was Ifourteen years we were together, spreading mud, until I got my arm screwed up here, I dont do it anymore. Yeah, I was in a plastering business, now thats a forgotten trade now, except they do stucco. I used to feel like a million bucks; I came home full of cement and everything, and take a shower and wed go to a dance, but you sit in that post office for seven hours, eight hours, and come home, you dont feel like doing nothing, you get mentally tired, and it is just for the birds, like making a love in a tree, you know. (Laughter). Neil: Did you say hod carrier? Mr.
Marcott: I have a picture in here for you guys. My dad was a plastering
contractor, so you got to pack hod first, thats a big thing you
put on your shoulders and fill it full of mud, and go up ladders. I used
to go up ladders with that on my shoulder with no hands, well, I had them
with me, but I didnt use them, you know, and put this on a mortar
board like this here, Ill show you a picture of it in here later.
Luis: $6.00 for the theatre. Mr. Marcott: The last show I seen was Grease, and that was in Santa Rosa when it first came out. How many years ago was that? Sean: We werent born. Mr. Marcott: I dont go to movies anymore, we just stay home and watch movies. Neil: Then they charge you for those rip-off drinks. Mr. Marcott: Oh yeah, that popcorn, they make more money on popcorn than anything else. Alex M: Like $4.00 for some popcorn. Mr. Marcott: Really? Alex W: And they wont let you get into any rated R movies (everyone laughs). Neil: And they wont let you bring your own food. Mr.
Marcott: The last time, I did go to a drive-in movie. Now we went to a
Ukiah movie once and some kid had spilled orange juice, and I swear it
was sticking to the bottom of my feet, popcorn and paper cups, well, thats
too bad, dog gonnit. I worked at a theatre, too, when I was a young
man, Grenada Theatre in Montavilla. We used to peddle the handbills out
on the porches, and I had kids that worked with me, that put the handbills
out to show you what happened all month long, and then I would help cart
the film in, great big heavy things, haul them up the stairs to the projection
room. Now you can carry them up in one hand. Sean: We heard that you also did some work with plays and that kind of theatre. Could you tell us about your experience with those? Mr.
Marcott: Oh yeah, I got a list here thats twelve different plays
we were in. Started off with Thurbers Carnival, and Dont Drink
the Water, that was Jackie Gleason, Woody Allen wrote that play, and then
You Cant Take it With You, I playedblowing up a basement
with a bunch of firecrackers I was makin in that show, and then
we had the Wizard of Oz; I was Leo the Lion. And then we did Bits and
Pieces, another one. And then Oklahoma, we did Oklahoma up in Portland,
Oregon, and that was on television, put it on T.V. And then we did Lil
Abner up there, and then when it came down here we did Oklahoma for the
Mendocino College, then a couple years later I did Oklahoma for Gloriana
Opera Company up in Fort Bragg. Same role, Andrew Carnes, that was Addo
Annies Paw in that show. Then we did Fiddler on the Roof which I
was, oh boy, the old butcher. In My Fair Lady I had songs and dances I
did in that one, I played Elizas father, Dolittle, you dont
say DO-little you say, Da-LIDDLE. You got to leave that off. That song
went (sings): Neil: Did you cut people off so they wouldnt get drunk? Mr. Marcott: Oh yeah, darn right! Neil: Did they ever get mad? Mr.
Marcott: All those years, I didnt have any fights. You dont
need anymore, I dont like your mouth, go on home, or Come
in tomorrow. No problem, never had a problem. Had a guy want to
bend elbows one night, he was a big one. I says, I am going to surprise
you, pal. I says, Get on here, hold on to this, He says,
You, and I says, Yeah! He got on and I says, You
ready? and he says, Yeah, and I reached over and kissed
his hand, and he let go and he backed up clear back to the jukebox! Im
wasnt about to get my arm broke, but you meet those kind of people,
but you just calm them down. Sean: Going back to when you were working in theatre, we heard that you could sing the song, If I Were the King of the Forest. Mr.
Marcott: Yeah, thats when I was the Lion in the Wizard of Oz, I
could do a little of it for you, I dont have any music, Ill
do it a cappella. Thats the fanciest word Ive used all week.
It went something like this, guys, now be patient(sings): Alex W.: Yeah, a little bit. Mr.
Marcott: No? Mr. Marcott: I still know every bit of it (giggles). You will ask me my phone number sometime, and I couldntits funny isnt it? Alex W.: Yeah, it is. Mr. Marcott: Buthow I can remember. And I got a million stories. And jokes and all that come right to me. But, if somebody says tell me a joke, Ill draw a blank right now duhh (giggles), and I cant do it. But Ive lived a wonderful life, and hope to keep on going for awhile. Im 82 now and Im looking forwardI dont feel a day over 81 (laughs). So hope you guys all live to a ripe old age like I am. Neil: Yeah, me too. Mr. Marcott: And, have an outlook like I do. I just love life and I just wake up singing. Neil: Thats the way to be. Mr. Marcott: Yep. Neil: Boy, its been really nice, do you have any last words? Mr. Marcott: Yeah, what is it they say, the last thing I want to hear at my funeral isHe moved! (Everyone laughs). Mr. Marcott: (Drinks water). Hey, is this straight water? Alex W.: Thats water. Mr. Marcott: Never tried it that way. Neil: Well, personally, I really enjoyed this interview. Alex W.: Yeah, we all did. Luis: Yeah, I did too. Alex M.: Yes, thank you for coming. Mr. Marcott: Hey, you guys are great. You know all the plays Ive been in, I been with people your ageif I have to spend an afternoon with people my age, Im bored to death! Really, its a fact. Maybe you guys kept me young all these years, I dont know. Theres gotta be something to that. Cause I always played of course the father, the grandfather, and in most plays I lost the girl (laughs), but my wife was there, and she didnt mind. But, its great, I got a great family, and I got a lotta good friends, and I hope to get more, and I just made seven new ones right heresee how it goes? (Much laughter). I did that without takin one shoe off. Well, I dunno. Alex M.: Well, thanks for coming, it was an honor to interview you. Mr. Marcott: Well, its a honor to be here, I tell ya. Sean: Yeah, thanks for coming. Mr. Marcott: Sean is it? Sean: Yeah. Mr. Marcott: Sean, you live in Yorkville? Sean: Yeah. Mr. Marcott: Where bouts? Sean: About six miles when youre going towards Yorkville past the Market, six miles past there. You know when youre going to Ukiah to Yorkville, you take the Mr. Marcott: Hopland Road. Sean: Yeah, its about a mile before that. So, pretty far out. Neil: Yeah. Mr. Marcott: Wow. Sean: Pomo Tierra. Mr. Marcott: Oh, youre Pomo Tierra? Which one are you? Sean: OConnell. Mr. Marcott: Youfor crying out loud! Sheez, Ive known your dadI think the world of your dad. Hes a good friend of mine! Ill be darned! Jim Cramer, all those guys still up thereBernstein? Sean: Yup. Mr. Marcott: Kay Jablonski sold her property next to me there, and now we gotta Indian guygreat guy (slams fist on the table). Built like a brick outhouse! He was in the post office yesterday and I come in and he was buying something, and I asked the postmaster if this guys bothering you? (Laughter). As if I was gonna do anything about it! Well, hey, guys, I sure enjoyed this, its an honor, I tell ya. Neil: It was our pleasure. |