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https://metzarchive.org/files/original/e411ab75db3d73292840afddb4f5aad8.pdf adf24543246119a4f93310b57d67b927 PDF Text Text Oral History Interview with Carolyn Robledo-Estrada October 26, 2020 This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. Minakshi [00:00:22] OK, Emma do you want to go ahead and start? Emma [00:00:25] Sorry, just one second. Well first of all, thank you so much for joining us for this interview. We really appreciate it. And just so that we can keep it all in on record, can you state your name and the date to begin? Carolyn [00:00:48] Well, my name is Carolyn Robledo-Estrada. Today is Monday, October 26, 2020. Emma [00:00:56] OK, great. Thank you so much. And generally, how are you connected to Metz? Carolyn [00:01:05] So I grew up in East Austin. I live a block away...or I lived a block away on Canterbury Street. And so I went to Metz from first grade to fourth grade. My parents also went to Metz when they were younger. I have some uncles and aunts that went there as well. So we're from the neighborhood. When my parents.. When I grew up and went to college and it was time for me to buy a house, I decided to buy a house close by to my parents who happened to be one..Just like on the next block. So I've lived on Willow Street since 1996 and I taught 11 years at another school and my mom had mentioned that was the principal was looking for a teacher for a position and I think it was.. Oh my gosh 2003 or 2004..maybe 2004. So I interviewed and that's how I was able to get hired on to Metz. So I taught there and I...I went to school there, my parents went to school there, my son, one of my brothers. So a lot of people in my family have gone to Metz. Minakshi [00:02:23] All right. And could you talk about why you initially chose to teach at Metz? Carolyn [00:02:29] Well, I mentioned my mom at the time. My mom had mentioned there was a position that the principal was looking for. And I said, well, I'll go ahead and give it a try. I wanted a change. And I thought it'd be kind of neat to teach at the school that I went to school at. So that's when I had an opportunity to go there. And I was hired on. And that is that's why I ended up at Metz...teaching at Metz. Emma [00:02:54] OK, great. So why did you decide to continue teaching at Metz? What kept you at the school? Carolyn [00:03:08] Well, the teachers, for one. My experience in the previous school...there was a lot of turnover rate and I couldn't believe coming to a different school that was also an East Side school...the teachers stayed there for years. I mean, right now there's one teacher left. Ms. Clark, I don't know if you have talked to Monica Clark, but she's been there the longest. But there's been a few not as long as her, but...a pretty long time. So it was just nice being at a school where teachers stayed and it was nice teaching. Sometimes I would get students who...I knew their parents just from growing up, things like that. It made me feel even more part of the community. Carolyn [00:04:03] So I don't know. I just liked the feeling there at Metz. The teachers have always been great. The students are great. It feels like home, I guess you can say. Minakshi [00:04:19] That's great to hear, and that's one of the main reasons we wanted to reach out to you, because you've been such a big part of the community. The next question we were going to �ask was, are there other teachers besides Monica Clark who've been such a big part of the community there? Carolyn [00:04:34] Oh, yeah. I mean, the ones that are still there, that have been not there as long as her, but..the Pre-K teacher, Ms. Garza. Ms.Rosenthal, I've been there longer than her, but she's been a big part of the community. The fourth grade teacher, Ms. Whitten. She's been there. Ms. Whitten's been there longer than me and Ms. Garza has been there longer than me. Ms. Hernandez as well. She's been there longer than I have. She teaches Kindergarten. I'm trying to think because our numbers have shrunk, we've lost teachers over the years. Part of it's because of that, that we just keep getting smaller and smaller. Ms. Edson...she didn't come back..not so much because of Covid19, but because she didn't feel like using the technology. But she had been there longer than Monica I believe. I think. So those are the teachers now except for Ms. Edson. But there's other teachers like Ms. Sason, Mr. Boss. He's the librarian. He was a librarian for a long time at Metz. Ms. Sweet wasn't there as long as me, but she did a lot for the community... I mean, I'm sure I'm forgetting people. Those are the ones that come to mind that were here a really long time. Emma [00:06:07] That sounds like such a long-standing community...really keeping that connection. Just to clarify a little bit, how long have you been at Metz? Carolyn [00:06:20] I'm starting my seventeenth year. This will be my seventeenth year at Metz. I started...2004..it was around that time. 2004. Minakshi [00:06:43] Could you go over some of your favorite moments from your time at Metz? Carolyn [00:06:47] As a student or as a teacher, or both? OK, so I have to say...being a student at Metz, I mean, I loved Metz School. I can't think of a time being a student there that I did not like it. I liked the fact that the teachers were warm and caring. Carolyn [00:07:11] My mom. Oh, my gosh. My mom saved lots of...You might have seen this already, but...none of the teachers when I came to Metz... none of them were my teachers. But here's a picture of teachers in the year 1980. That would have been fourth grade. So my fourth grade teacher is right there. Her name is Ms. Steel. I loved all my teachers at Metz. Carolyn [00:07:52] We had a lot of organizations. I remember we had student council. I remember learning to play the guitar. And I was in choir. I was in student council. It seemed like there was more maybe there was other things outside of school that I was involved in. So it was just such a nice place to be. I remember the counselor. She was really nice. And I remember, I think a group of girls we got to spend...I know this is not allowed now, but we got to go to her apartment like we spent the night at her house. So it just was nice. The teachers I loved, the kids were great. It was just a nice time being there at Metz. Carolyn [00:08:37] And as a teacher, some of my favorite moments...Actually was working with Ms. Heimsath when I was teaching fourth grade with her, I'm sure she talked about the opera with you guys. Yeah, there were a lot of memories with the students. I was doing the opera. I wasn't as involved. No where near as involved as Ms. Heimsath. But it was always a nice feeling when the students performed their final piece. All the hard work they've gone into to get it done. And it was just amazing what the students had done. They took great pride in that and I took great pride in them working so hard. So that's like one of the big memories I have with being a teacher in fourth grade and that was several years ago. Carolyn [00:09:32] I guess another good memory was also one of the years we did opera. We were celebrating our 90th birthday…it was a real big project. And Ms. Sweet who was a teacher at the �time, she helped track down lots of students that I went to school with and she interviewed them. So I got to talk to people I hadn't seen in years. So I don’t know if you’ve seen the clip, I think it’s on Youtube, but there’s a video that shows some of the interviews. They interviewed my aunt and some of the classmates I had at the time. That was just me reliving the past and doing it with my students. So that was really a good memory. Other memories are just the things we would celebrate, like Dieciséis de Septiembre, Cinco de Mayo. Our Veterans Day...Veterans Day was a really nice...We don't do it anymore...But there was a music teacher who got really involved in that or actually he was a..He was a first grade teacher who started it. So we would bring veterans in and honor them. Those are the kind of the things that are popping into my mind right now. I'm sure there might be others that I will think about after the fact. And I don't know, there was a first grade teacher who started the history project, I think, and that's where we got involved with the celebrating the 90th...our 90th birthday. And then we did our 100th birthday 10 years later. That was really nice as well. I don't think I was teaching fourth grade then. But yeah, so those were big memories that I have of being there. Emma [00:11:24] That sounds like a lot of really great traditions being carried on through the school's legacy. A little bit on the flipside of that, are there any memories you have of Metz that perhaps weren't... Carolyn [00:11:43] Well, when I was a student, I can't think of anything. As a teacher...I mean, there's things that happen when you're with students, but nothing like...oh my God, this is the worst ever. No, I mean, I can't think of anything. We have a poor connection to... oh, OK went away. OK, that's good. So, no, I've always been happy to be at Metz. Minakshi [00:12:18] OK, that's good. Can you describe your daily routine as a teacher at Metz? What would your day look like? Carolyn [00:12:30] In these times...So, it's different now because we're doing...I don't know if you want to know now or in other times...but right now I have students that are remote learning from home. I now still have eight students that are in class. So...I teach other subjects. So we start off in the morning with breakfast. We do our independent reading. We have a morning meeting. Then we start off with our subjects like reading, language arts. We have our recess so the kids are able to go outside for recess. And then I come back, we do math...lunch. The kids are able right now to go to the cafeteria. They have those dividers that are clear so they can see their friends. So they take those to lunch with them and they're spread out. This is not normal times, but that's how they're able to eat lunch with their friends. Then we come back to math and writing and science and then they have specials. But I will say that because we've been gone for so long, the kids that have come back have been so happy to be..Like today I had one student come and he was just happy to be at school. The others felt the same way when they first came because they could play with their friends. I mean, they're glad to be there. I know they're glad because they have a routine and I know it's challenging at home for some of the students. So I don't know if that's the kind of answer you're looking for. Minakshi [00:14:08] That's a good answer. Could you also speak to pre-Covid? What was it like? Carolyn [00:14:13] Everything except the kids were all there...though sometimes depending on the year we've had opportunities, like last year we had a program called PEAS and I don't know what it stands for. I forgot. But they would come in and teach the kids. One year they did teaching about gardening. Last year they talked more about different...more science related...like the water cycle. I'm forgetting some of the stuff. So we've had programs like that. One year we had..a couple years. we had something called CLI- creative learning initiative- where the teachers would come in for second grade and one semester they would teach..I think it was movement, dance, and the other one was more like a drama class with kids. Like this year, we don't have that. We don't have anything. �Another thing for the kids...So I guess when I was a kid, I kind of had this, but we didn't call it that then..we have something called Prime Time after school. A lot of the students will get to stay after school doing different clubs, different activities. Which they enjoy...that's in normal times. I don't know if they're doing it now, if they are it's through Zoom. Emma [00:15:41] This may be a slightly similar response since you kind of touched on some of the things related to student life. But can you describe the daily routine of a student at Metz or even maybe what you can remember from your routine when you were a student at Metz? Carolyn [00:16:14] I don't know if I can add to that. They do have breakfast in the classroom now, which is a little bit new..we used to have breakfast in the cafeteria. That's the one thing that I really like. I didn't have that growing up. They're able to make sure they have a meal. Although they don't do a lot of talking with their neighbors they get to be with their friends in the classroom. We do our subject areas. Some students get help with reading, so the reading specialist will pick them up. Our Literacy First tutors will pick them up. We have to have a special ED...either they'll come into the classroom or they'll get pulled out depending. And then, like I said, in normal times, they would have after school activities. And when I first started at Metz...I don't remember if we had after school activities. I don't think ...we didn't have prime time. I don't remember that happening. So it's nice now that during normal times they have that opportunity here to participate in different...whatever their interests are. And they have different...I know my son is in Boy Scouts...bicycling. One of those martial arts kinda…I can’t think of…I know my son did that one. I don’t know if they had cooking, but they had different organizations that they could do or classes they could be a part of. We also have extended care, which I don’t remember having that as a kid. You know the parents are still working so I do love that for the students that need it. Although they don't have it right now. But normally they would. I don't know if that helps or if you need me to elaborate on anything else? Minakshi [00:18:23] No, I think that's good. Could you maybe talk about any special events or traditions that Metz alone has? Or not necessarily alone maybe just like big traditions and events that are a part of Metz. Carolyn [00:18:41] The Veterans Day one was a big one that I don't think...I don't know if we did it last year, I don't remember. But in the past few years, we would invite veterans and it was a big deal. We would decorate the school, the kids would come up with questions, and we would have an assembly. They would introduce the veterans to the whole school. We would do the Pledge..sing America the Beautiful, I think, or one of the patriotic songs. And then they would get a nice breakfast and then they would go to different classrooms and the students would interview the different veterans. I know one year we had Cornyn. We had him visit one year...he spoke. Carolyn [00:19:42] So what they would do is ask the kids to invite their family members...so they'd send out invitations. Anybody who had a family member that would like to participate. So that's a big one. I'm trying to think...our traditions kind of died out the past few years just because I don't know... But years ago we used to do a teacher talent show, and the kids and the parents got a kick out of that. But that was years ago. I think we did do it more recently. Anyway, so that was kind of a tradition a while back. I do know Dieciséis de Septiembre and Cinco de Mayo we do have. Basically each grade level would present something to the school. I think it was for Cinco de Mayo though...It was really nice. Some of the classes would dance. Carolyn [00:20:48] I know one grade level, the Pre-Kers...The teacher would always read about famous people and they would dress up as the important person. So that was real cute. Christmas time...in the past, they have a breakfast with Santa. So the Santa will come in and they can take pictures. It used to be where Santa came in during the school day, but I think the last few years it �was more on a weekend. The fifth graders the past few years would do a Valentine's Day dance because they were raising money for a field trip because they would go camping. In the past two or three years they did that. I remember the place we went...but anyway..they would raise money. So they had a Valentine's dance and the kids loved that. So for second through fifth grade..that one. I think that's what I can think of for right now. Emma [00:22:08] Out of the traditions you've listed, whether as a student or as a teacher, do you have a particular favorite? And why is that one your favorite? Carolyn [00:22:23] I have to say...The one that we stopped doing that I was really sad about was the opera. When we were in fourth grade. First it was the music teacher and Ms. Heimsath, and they were really involved in doing it. And then over time, this other person took over and then somebody else took over. And then after that, I don't know...it kind of just stopped. But I just thought that was my favorite because the students...they would create the props, they did the production. Everybody had some sort of input into this opera. It wasn't just the people that performed. They had people who did the props. They had..I can't remember what they're called like the manager...not the director...but the kids were very involved in that. So I really liked that the students were as involved as they could with it. And even writing... at one point there were students that wrote the opera. I think it kind of changed after the beginning, but that was the way it was at the beginning...they would write it. And I know Ms. Heimsath was really involved in that part. And they would create the music, everything. So I think that's been my most favorite thing at Metz. Carolyn [00:23:58] What we would do is the opera, the fourth grade opera. I do know at one point second grade would go on this big trip, I think it was to NASA, but I never was a part of that because I didn't teach second grade at the time. There were teachers there that if they liked something they were interested in...they would get involved and they would make sure that the children would get involved. They did it for the kids because they love...Like Ms. Rosenthal, for example, she's really into gardening. And because of her and another teacher we have a garden at Metz that she's worked really hard on and we've had plants planted. So I guess that's another thing. I am more of the type that follows along. But there's been teachers that have shown real great leadership and have gotten involved with the kids because they care about the kids, like Ms. Heimsath. She chose to do opera because she wanted the kids to be involved in that. Minakshi [00:25:12] Could you maybe talk about...So we've done a lot of research and we're also just wondering how to approach this topic. We know Metz is very bilingual, can you describe the role that bilingualism plays in the school? Carolyn [00:25:31] Well, I will say now that this year we're kind of merged, even though we're still separate, but we really are...Metz and Sanchez. Sanchez is a dual language school. So we started off that way a few years back. But because of the population, it changed to where we weren't getting as many bilingual kids. Because in more recent years...I'm not a bilingual teacher...but in the more recent years, the bilingual teachers would get like a mixed class of English and Spanish. So it was kind of hard for them to to do the dual language faithfully. So I know in the 70s, I remember Mr. Flores was really influential. I believe...I'm not sure if I'm correct that in the 70s was when the bilingual education started at Metz. I was in an English class, though, so I can't really speak too much about it. But we definitely respect and honor students of all cultures. We have in recent years...which I thought has been really great...it might have been the past 10 years...And I'm going off topic, but we've gotten Burmese students from Burma. And we've had some students from different countries in Africa. Not a big amount of students, but enough to know it's not just one or two. �Carolyn [00:27:08] For me, I like the fact that we've become more diverse. When I was a kid...well, when my parents were at Metz it was white and then I think the Hispanics started coming in.That was probably in the late 40s or 50s. And when I went to school in the 70s, we were mostly all Hispanic. I remember maybe a couple African American students, but it was mostly Hispanic. And the same thing when I started teaching at Metz.... it was pretty much Hispanic. But as time has passed..we've gotten students from other countries. I like that. I like that our students are exposed to different cultures. I don't know if I answered your question about bilingual education. Minakshi [00:28:05] No, that's great. That's great. Context is also very important. You definitely did answer the questions. Carolyn [00:28:13] Yeah. I mean, I'm not a bilingual teacher. It's kind of hard to answer that question for me. But anyway. Emma [00:28:21] That's actually a great transition to our next question, which is about how Metz has changed over the years. So if you could speak to that topic a little bit. Carolyn [00:28:37] OK, well, I think I might have already. So I do know growing up around Metz my parents did mention that we lived on Canterbury. Actually my mom's family, the house I grew up in, my mom's family lived there. And I think what I've heard from them is that it was mostly white. And I guess once Mexican-Americans started moving in, that's when they started moving out. I don't know if you want to look this up...it came out in the paper and I can't think of the name...my family knows her, but she passed away this year. I think she was like a teacher here at Metz. Or maybe not Metz, but Austin High and Johnston maybe...I can't think of her name. She grew up right down the street...a couple of blocks down from Metz. But she was an educator and she was white. She lived in the neighborhood, too. I think the way I understand it is...my dad also grew up in the neighborhood, but he grew up closer to Lady Bird Lake, the Colorado River. And I want to say that that was more Hispanic. I know over by Zavala Elementary it was more Hispanic. So that's why they opened Zavala up. Carolyn [00:30:15] From what I've heard, they wanted to keep the Hispanic students separate from the white. That's what I've heard. Those two schools are so close together. But anyway, by the time I got to Metz, it was mostly Hispanic. Carolyn [00:30:32] I was in the English-speaking classes, so I don't know about the bilingual classes, but they were there. When I became a teacher at Metz, it was still mostly Hispanic, and it wasn't until...I don't know if it's been about 10 years....I'm just guessing. But we started getting students from Burma, and I know Sanchez has students from Nepal. This year I do have a student from Nepal. And I personally like the diversity. I wish there was more of that. So students can be exposed to different cultures. That's kind of where we are now. So now it's still mostly Hispanic, very few African-American. And then we have very few white students. [00:31:28] And one of the things that has changed a lot is the urban neighborhood schools…people lived in the neighborhood and went to Metz. Now you don’t see that. People either live across at the apartments, across the river. I think when I first started teaching at Metz…a lot of the parents may have gone to Metz…might have moved out to South Austin or [inaudible] or Buda, they would still bring their kids to Metz. And I think part of it was because they had the grandparents live in the neighborhood. That is no longer the case. So it's changed quite a bit. Minakshi [00:32:30] So now we want to kind of switch topics and talk about AISD as well. So how would you characterize the relationship between Metz and then the rest of AISD? Carolyn [00:32:47] Could you explain a little bit more please? �Minakshi [00:32:49] Just like the school and maybe the faculty or the students or...How are they different from what you perceive the rest of AISD to be? Or maybe in whatever way you want to do. Carolyn [00:33:04] I mean, they've talked about how East Austin has been segregated, which I agree it has been. And to some extent it still is. We still have minorities at our school. We're definitely different from the west side of Austin. I do know that. And I think these questions are going to come up...But, you know, our neighborhood has changed, it's being gentrified. A lot of my neighbors are not from here. I do see a lot of dogs. I do see some people with strollers. I do see some children that are elementary age, but the ones that are elementary age do not come to Metz. So it makes me sad that they're not bringing their students to our school but I can't do anything about it. Minakshi [00:34:13] That's kind of what I was wondering. So there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood, but they don't end up going to Metz? Carolyn [00:34:22] I don't know if there's a lot now, but I do see students. I mean I see elementary school aged children...I don't know that there's a lot, but they don't come to school at Metz. I think of few of them do, but not a lot. And I can't say that there's a lot of kids, because I think there are a lot of people in the neighborhood that don't have children that are young. From what I can tell, I mean, there's people but they seem really young, like they don't have children. Emma [00:34:59] I'm thinking about AISD and how it's sort of influenced this final stage of Metz. Were you involved in any of the discussions or the decisions related to the decision to merge Metz and Sanchez? Or how did that process play out for you personally? Carolyn [00:35:31] They did have a committee, I was not on the committee. There were members from Metz, Sanchez, and Zavala. It was painful and sad when they did vote. It wasn't super close, but Sanchez and Mets were kind of close. I don't know. I felt like because Zavala didn't get all the points it probably should've had a run off. But that's not how it worked. It's whoever got the most votes. It made me frustrated because I did speak at the school board. I don't know if Ms. Heimsath has mentioned this to you, but I do know that Ms. Camacho...who the recreation center down the street is named after her...I know she and other parents got really involved. I think it was in the late eighties. I was in college at the time, so I don't remember any of this. But they were having problems with the building, the Metz building. It was old and rundown. And I think Monica Clark's probably talked about her experience. But anyway, they really pushed for them to build a new building. And they were able to get that to happen. And for me, it just makes me sad and frustrated that out of the three schools, that's the newest building. Carolyn [00:37:20] They fought hard to get that building and for it to not be the one chosen. And I don't know what the future holds for that building. I don't know if they're going to knock it down or sell the property. Carolyn [00:37:33] That saddens me quite a bit. And I live right down the street. So I had a hard time with that, because I know that if they build houses...all that hard work that these people, the parents that fought for that school to be built...it just hurts me. It upsets me. Carolyn [00:37:57] I was in the committee to help give ideas for the Sanchez building. Minakshi [00:38:25] The next question is how has the news of Metz's closure impacted students, faculty and parents? �[00:38:37] [technical difficulty] Minakshi [00:39:00] So the question was, how has the news of Metz's closure impacted students, faculty and parents? Carolyn [00:39:11] I'm just speaking from my opinion, so I really don't know. I know...I can't remember how long ago it was....I guess it was last school year...When it finally went to the school board to modernize... Was it last year? Anyways it doesn't matter. Like I said, I spoke and a few other teachers spoke and we tried to get parents involved. Not too many parents, very few parents came to speak. I don't know how they feel about it. I'm sure they're sad...But the fight to keep it open, there were a couple of parents. There was one person that did...She came out on the news and everything, But what had happened to get the school built...the people that were involved...I didn't see that this time around. The kids, like, just coming back this year because we call ourselves MetzSanchez. I have one student, he's like no I'm Metz, I'm not Sanchez. And my son feels the same way about that as well. He's very proud to be a Metz student. So it's sad. I mean, I don't know. I'm sure parents are sad, but the fight wasn't there that I had hoped for. Emma [00:40:44] Yeah. This is an even broader perspective of that..But how has the news of Metz's closure impacted the surrounding East Austin community? Or even how do you see it maybe changing that landscape after the closure? Carolyn [00:41:10] Well, I know people spoke up to try to keep Metz open. There were people who came to the community meetings, but that was kind of after it was decided. As for when it closes, I don't know. I don't know how the surrounding community feels because I don't really know the community now. I think the people that lived here before would be upset, but the people now that live around here, I don't know how they feel about it. And they might be OK with it. I don't know. Carolyn [00:41:55] I would think parents are sad about it. But it's kind of like, well, what can you do? I would actually say there's some parents that I'm sure are not happy or maybe all parents are not happy. But the voice.. you don't hear their voices, does that make sense? Emma [00:42:19] Yeah, completely. Minakshi [00:42:24] So where exactly do you live in relation to Metz...how close to the school do you live? Carolyn [00:42:29] Very close. I'm on the next block. So I live down Willow and then I grew up on Canterbury, which is the same distance. If I look outside the house behind me is the house I grew up in. My brother lives there now, but.. I'm very close and I can see Metz if I stand outside my yard, very close. Emma [00:43:04] This is sort of a continuation of what we talked about two questions ago. But in terms of people who live around you or maybe just in East Austin and are also connected to Metz, can you think of any individuals that come to mind that are sort of in that middle space, being part of both communities? Carolyn [00:43:40] Well, I know there's one family that...well...two families really that stand out for me are the Bravos. They live close to Metz Park. They still have children. I mean, I've got a lot of their children. I think they might have been Metz students. I think. Anyway, they bring their children to Metz, but there is a family that lives closer. I think they live closer to Martin, the Torrez family, T-O-R-R-E-Z. I taught quite a few of those students, I think. Actually I have one of the �students right now... I've taught quite a few, but not all of them go to Metz anymore. I think these past couple of years... one of them went to homeschool and I don't know if they lived in Buda or one of those places. But those two families are the families I can think of that have been a big part of Metz for many years...since I've been teaching anyway. Minakshi [00:44:52] And what are some of the biggest changes that have occurred in this area? Carolyn [00:44:57] Well, the house prices have gone up a lot. Even what I paid for my house...my house is worth way, way more than what I paid for it. I couldn't afford to live here. Carolyn [00:45:16] At one point, I guess flipping houses was the thing to do. So they were doing that a lot in our neighborhood. But now they pretty much knock the houses down and build new ones. So if you drive around, you'll see a lot of new houses. I can't remember the year the power plant closed, but once the power plant closed, that's when the neighborhood started changing. That's when you would see more people come and flip houses. And I think that made a big difference as well. So I don't know if you know anything about the power plant, but I know as a person growing up, sometimes it could be really loud. I remember there would be times in the summer...It wasn't every day, but it would be so loud we'd have to close the door. And I know that there were people who fought really hard to get that Holly plant closed. Carolyn [00:46:12] When I walk around Metz or around the neighborhood, there's just a lot more people that are there that you can tell they're not from here, definitely not from the neighborhood and some don't seem like they're locals. Sometimes I see cars with different license plates from different states. So it's changed quite a bit. And it's more people with money I guess because they're the ones making the property tax go up...the value of the property. Emma [00:47:03] Going off of that, how do you feel about a lot of these changes that have taken place in the community? Carolyn [00:47:09] I do miss the feeling of a community where people looked after each other. You knew the families. I miss that. Carolyn [00:47:25] There's still a few families here that I know that that are from East Austin. But like on my block this summer...Actually the Vasquezs are another family that sent their children here. They just moved. They lived across the street from me. They finally sold their house and moved, which you know they would look out for our house when we would go out of town, that kind of thing. So I miss that. Like the neighbors I have now. I know them, but not all of them. Some of them...I don't know if I could recognize them. The one that's next door to me, I know her. The two that are next to me. But I don't feel like I know my neighbors. So that's sad. I miss the community feeling like knowing your neighbors. Although I know it had a reputation like, oh, East Side, nobody wants to go to the East Side. It's too scary down there. I never felt that way. I felt safe. Carolyn [00:48:34] I don't feel safe now, but I felt safe then because you kind of knew people. I know just from....I have an uncle who probably would like speaking with you. They used to tell stories about how they would go...Well, the boys anyway, back in their day, they would run the streets. They wouldn't come home till it was time for dinner. But that was back in the fifties and sixties where it was safer than maybe the seventies. But anyway, they would just go out and play. And I know when I was growing up, my brothers, I was an indoor person, but the same thing. They played football on the streets and just hung out and you don't really see that anymore. Minakshi [00:49:26] So how have these changes shaped Metz's evolution, would you say? I feel like I know the answer to this one, but is it a positive change, or is it more like a negative change? �Carolyn [00:49:39] Well, it led to the closure of Metz. No, I wouldn't say it's positive for Metz or the schools in this area because even though they were all close by we had it filled to capacity. I remember even at one point, Linder Elementary, that's in South Austin, they were overflowing. So Sanchez, Metz, I don't know about Zavala, Brooke. I think we took their overflow of students. I mean, Brooke closed. I'm sure Linder's not anywhere near what it was those years that we took their students in. People can't afford to live here, so they move out. And so, yeah, that's disappointing. Sad. Emma [00:50:46] This is kind of pivoting a little bit again. But I know that Dr. Lang, our professor for this course, mentioned that your parents kept the Metz news. And we were wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about that. Carolyn [00:51:05] My mom kept articles of...I don't know if it came out in the Statesman or what newspaper, but anything that had to do with Metz. I feel weird because I can't see y'all, but here's something that I didn't even know until we started doing the 100th. I don't know if Danny Camacho...I'm sure he's been mentioned to y'all, he was a historian for Metz and for the neighborhood. So I don't know if she got it from him. Carolyn [00:51:37] But it says here, "A Metz Newspaper". It's kind of faded out. It's a copy from 1955...56. So it's not the original. There's an article, it's funny because it's on typewriter. It talks about like who the safety patrols were. Oh that's another thing. My brother was a safety patrol. I never got to be one. It talks about band. Carolyn [00:52:09] I'm just looking at the titles. Carolyn [00:52:13] Detention Hall. Each teacher has to fill out a slip of paper and it has to be approved by Mr…somebody or other…to see if he thinks the child might need more or less time in detention hall. So far I have escaped. That's funny. So if you look at the names, some of them are white names. Carolyn [00:52:33] They're talking about...meet the secretary of the drama club...world news...talking about the Olympics and Queen Elizabeth's visit to Nigeria. Anyway, there's just different little...I don't know if it's one edition, but it's kind of cute. They just wrote their little article. Let me see what she has here...This is Metz Recreation sorry... Carolyn [00:52:54] Oh, my mom was a Girl Scout leader, but it wasn't really for Metz, it was for the neighborhood. Or I guess it says here Metz Elementary school scouts making up for troop this year. So my mom and this lady started a Girl Scout troop years ago. Here's a picture of us. There's me right there. Selling Girl Scout cookies? Or something I don't know. Carolyn [00:53:53] Somebody made copies of these...funds. This was at a play they had, this is my brother's grade, my older brother. I don't know if he's on here. But anyway, there's just different things that came out. Here's track and field winners. This is when my brother was in school...I don't know where he is in this...this is a copy. Carolyn [00:54:20] I don't know where it is. I guess they came out in the paper here. It looks like the stage they had. The old Metz, I remember it had an auditorium...which they don't do auditoriums anymore. So I always thought that was neat. We had chairs to sit in. So here they perform. Looks like they're singing. My brother's right there. I can see him right there. �Carolyn [00:54:46] You see the plaid pants, so it's in the 70s. Oh, here's another thing I don't remember this as much, but it was a big deal when my brother went...they used to have a book, the kids would create books. My mom saved my brother's. I don't know what happened to it, but they call it the Metz [inaudible]. Carolyn [00:55:09] This one, it says they concluded their business and it's business producing attractive illustrated books written by the school's fifth graders. There's a little article about it and it came in this newspaper. Back then, there were no computers or anything like that. So I think they typed them. And then the parents...my mom said she remembers doing that. And they used contact paper, they would put it over the cardboard so they would look like real books or supposedly real books. So this was in fifth grade and I didn't make it to fifth grade to Metz. So my brother got to do that, I don't know if I did or not, though. I do remember that. Let's see what I have here. Here's a picture of me at the old Metz. I'm the one with red right there. Carolyn [00:56:13] I guess it was a book fair...I don't know if that's true or not, but I'm right here. I don't know if it was the book...I can't really tell, but I said it was. Carolyn [00:56:27] Oh here's Ms. Sweet...if you can talk to Ms. Sweet, she was the one that did the videos on Metz for our 90th birthday. She filmed the people we interviewed, the former students. She was our teacher of the year at Metz and then she was our teacher for the district. It's been several years, but she'd be a good person to talk to. Minakshi [00:56:58] Okay we'll keep that in mind. Carolyn [00:57:00] And Mr. Boss. Here's my dad when he was safety patrol. Minakshi [00:57:05] Wait we can't see, can you hold it up just a little bit? Carolyn [00:57:08] Sorry. So it was there, I guess, M for Metz. And here's a picture of my brother, I don't know what grade he was in there. Here's a picture of my mom. 1953-1954. Her school picture. These are just pictures of the stage...when we would perform on the stage...I don't know what. Carolyn [00:57:39] Well here's my brother's book from the book fair that he made. So I'm guessing he has it. I don't know. This was my brother's fifth grade graduation, you can see the auditorium. So people could actually sit. We don't have auditoriums now. And then this is the principal. He was a really good principal, Mr. Flores. I don't know if he's still alive. I know a few years ago...my mom is no longer alive...but she had mentioned she would see him. And he remembered me years ago when I first got out of college. It would be nice to interview him, but I wouldn't know how to get a hold of him. Carolyn [00:58:32] This is my uncle...these are what my mom has...this is my mom's brother. I don't know if that's what you were looking for, but these are...here's a picture of...this is my brother. She has, I guess, more stuff on my brother for their class. This is my brother right here. So you can kind of see... I remember there was one African-American student in this, I don't know if you can see. Carolyn [00:59:09] And if you watch that...I don't know if Ms. Heimsath...I think if you just do a search on Metz Elementary it'll come up...there's a YouTube. I think it's on YouTube that Ms. Sweet put out...and it shows the project that we worked on, the people that we interviewed that were former Metz students. She was one of them. I mean, what's her name? Joanne. I don't know what �her last name was. Torres, maybe. Anyway, she's a lawyer now. And there are people who have gone to Metz that are lawyers, doctors, things like that. Carolyn [00:59:46] Yeah my mom kept anything that had to do with anybody, she'd keep their articles. Yeah, this is the original article of the Girl Scouts. And I think my mom, when César Chávez went to visit Metz in the late 80s I believe...she went to go see him there at school. She saved that article. Are y'all still there? Emma [01:00:22] Yeah, we're still here. Carolyn [01:00:24] Let me know if I'm going too much...oh here's the article. A better picture of César Chávez when he came to Metz. I believe that's also in that...do a search on Metz Elementary on YouTube, and I think it'll come up and you can hear the people who were interviewed at the time. Carolyn [01:00:51] And this is Ms. Camacho. They were very involved at Metz...and her son, Danny Camacho. He lived on our block behind me. He would do RIF at Metz. RIF is where you would give free books to the kids. So he and my mom would do that every year. But if I remember, I think he might have stopped doing that when I started going there. They said he would decorate the library. They would have like a little case. I don't know what he decorated, but he had a lot of things to decorate the little showcase. Carolyn [01:01:32] Here's a blown-up picture of my dad's picture. Oh yeah look they really blew these up. I think it was for a birthday, somebody blew these pictures up. I'm not in this one, but we dressed up as...well, let's see...we dressed on Halloween for our favorite historical characters. Somebody dressed up as Dolly Madison, Susan B. Anthony, Florence Nightingale, Chris...Charles Drew. That's funny. I don't even know if these kids know who they are. So yeah I think....oh, of course, here is Ms. Heimsath's beautiful artwork. We have a t-shirt. Well, one of the students made that, but she made it nicer. I think I might have more. But anyway, that's what I have. Carolyn [01:02:38] I know Ms. Heimsath has a lot to show. I'm sure she did share. Oh, here's another picture of that. Oh, this is perfect for....this is the one I told you that was a lawyer, but it says Metz school students learn about elections. And here they have little posters. My mom saved that. Carolyn [01:03:05] I know we were in student council, but I'm not sure what...I think it was about student council. Anyway, that's what I have. Minakshi [01:03:21] That was super, super helpful. And we're probably going to contact you again to see whether we can maybe get copies of that. Carolyn [01:03:31] I'll try to organize them now. But yeah, that's fine. And I think, Ms. Heimsath I'm sure has a lot as well. I'm pretty sure. I don't know if one of the questions...if y'all we're going to ask that or not...but people to speak to if you wanted to interview more people. I would say Mr. Boss...Don Boss, he was a librarian at Metz. I could ask one of my uncles, I have one that likes to talk. I don't know if he can do zoom or anything like that though. I don't know what technology he has. Ms. Edson might be a good person, too. She was at Metz a long time. Faith Edson. She was a teacher. Minakshi [01:04:21] How do you spell her last name? �Carolyn [01:04:23] Edson. E-D-S-O-N. Minakshi [01:04:25] Okay, gotcha. Carolyn [01:04:28] Like the people we interviewed...I would suggest you watch that on YouTube. Hopefully y'all can find it, because most people I haven't been in touch with for a long time. But you might learn something from that. Let me see where my phone is. Carolyn [01:05:02] But yeah definitely look that up. Ms. Sweet would probably be a good person to interview as well. And then if you want my uncle's information, you can email me...and I can ask him first or...I don't know if you're interested in him. Minakshi [01:05:23] Yeah, of course. What's his name? Carolyn [01:05:26] His name is Chester Torres. T-O-R-R-E-S. Emma [01:05:34] And I think even if any other names come to mind...or in terms of contact information, feel free to contact either Minakshi or I through email. We would love more of that information if it comes up. Carolyn [01:05:53] OK, and are you doing this next semester as well or other students taking that over might? Minakshi [01:05:58] It might be other students. Carolyn [01:06:01] Oh, okay. Yeah, I can talk to him...but I don't know, would a phone conference or a phone interview be okay with him just in case? Minakshi [01:06:12] Yes, of course. I think we can work something out that way. Carolyn [01:06:16] Yeah, because I kind of think he may not...I mean he might but I don't know. Emma [01:06:30] I guess our closing question is... we went through the formal questions, but if there's anything that we didn't cover that you think is important, related to Metz's history or your connection to Metz that you want to discuss. Is there anything else we should know about Metz? Carolyn [01:06:59] There are stories that say that it's haunted. I don't know. The only experience I can say I have had is last year...was it last year? I was going on the weekends and my projector turned on...the screen projector. That's the only weird thing that's ever happened to me. But I know my uncle, he likes talking about... He has mentioned that when they were little...something about the basketball court, that the school was open. I don't know. I don't remember the specifics. But he believes there's ghosts there...both my uncles do. Carolyn [01:07:46] I love Metz, and I'm sad that it's closing. I really am very glad I was able to meet Ms. Heimsath and her husband...the one that helped design the school. It's a wonderful school. If you ever get a chance to drive by it on the outside...I don't know if they talked about it, but the students created artwork. These little ceramic tiles and they put them all around the school. It's a nice place to be. I'm glad I was able to teach there as long as I did and be a student. I'm proud that my son went there. I have nieces and nephews that went there. My great niece was the last of the people in my family. I have uncles and...like my my parents, both sides of the family know each other. So they got married. They grew up in the community. Metz is a special place for me. I'm �proud Metz alumni. And a lot of great things happen there. It feels like a family there. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it as a teacher and as an educator and as a student. Emma [01:09:30] Well, thank you so much for taking time to do this interview with us and just sharing your perspective on Metz. It's so interesting to learn about the history as we've been doing this project, sort of putting together all the pieces. So we really appreciate you taking your time to do this interview with us. Carolyn [01:09:49] Okay, I hope I gave you a lot of information. Well, thank you guys for doing this. I'm glad you all are doing this. Minakshi [01:10:04] Thank you so much, we really appreciate it. Carolyn [01:10:07] OK. I don't know how to get my screen back on so y'all can hang up. Alright, bye! Minakshi, Emma [01:10:11] Bye! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interviews Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carolyn Robledo-Estrada Oral History Transcript Description An account of the resource This is a transcript of the oral history interview with Carolyn Robledo-Estrada conducted by Minakshi Swaminathan and Emma Fairfield on October 26, 2020. The interview includes discussions of a wide range of topics including Robeldo-Estrada's history with Metz, the changing dynamics of East Austin, and Metz traditions. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Emma Fairfield Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Emma Fairfield Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 26, 2020 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Transcript Subject The topic of the resource Oral history AISD aniversario bilingual bilinguismo birthday building camacho demographics east Austin edificio entrevista ESL gentrification interview libro hecho por un estudiante maestra newspaper opera oral history programs recortes de periódico sanchez teacher traditions transcript vida de estudiantes zavala