A nearly 99-year-old Nevada County resident recalls growing up in Nevada City and Grass Valley, later living in San Francisco, Alaska, Hawaii, and the South Pacific with her contractor husbands. She describes her family—two attorney husbands, a bus-driving father, and a miner associated with the Idaho-Maryland mine—along with the era's dangers, her own back issues, and a strong pride in Nevada County's history and neighborliness. In the brief interview, she and the interviewer emphasize the importance of preserving these memories for younger generations to understand how people lived and the hardships they faced.

Full Transcript of the Video:

What I wanted to ask you is, what's your full name?
My full name is Alice Caroline Hammond.

And you were born where?
I was born here in Nevada City, right across the street, in 1925.

Here at this Nevada City sanatorium, is that what they called it?
Yes, yes, I was in the Nevada City Sanatorium in 1925.

I was born and had the same nurses that we, fortunately, are dedicating today.

And where did you grow up?
Did you grow up here?
I grew up, I lived in Nevada City until I was in the fourth grade.

Then we moved to Grass Valley.

And I lived in Grass Valley until I was 40, 50 years old.

I have lived, I lived in San Francisco while my husband was going to school.

I lived in Alaska, I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska.

I managed a pipeline camp in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

I've lived in Hawaii, I lived in the middle, South Pacific.

What was your husband's occupation?
My husband was a contractor.

He was a contractor.

So he built things in all those locations?
Yes.

I see.

Yeah.

So, yeah.

He was also an attorney?
Yes, actually.

My second husband was an attorney and he was attorney in Grass Valley.

I see.

Yeah.

In that?
Yeah.

The last name, Hammond.

Oh, who is he?
My father was Art Hammond.

When I was born, he was driving bus from Nevada City to Grass Valley.

And I can remember many times when I was five years old, I was allowed to walk down the
three blocks from our house, down town to catch the bus down at the foot of the hill
and go to Grass Valley for a big ride on the bus.

Yeah.

And I had lunch with my daddy.

Well, is your father, where was he born?
Where's your dad born?
My dad was born in Nevada.

In Nevada?
What town?
Well, he was born in a little town that was right outside of so-and-under Reno.

Elko?
Elko.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

And when he moved to Grass Valley, what was his name?
I really don't know when he moved here because he lived here when my sister was, no, they
didn't live here when my sister was born, so they moved up here sometime before I was
born.

In his occupation?
He worked in the mines at that time.

He worked in the mines?
Yes.

You know what mining worked for?
Idaho, Maryland.

The Idaho, Maryland.

Uh-huh.

A lot of people work in the Idaho, Maryland.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And do you know when he stopped working at the Idaho?
He was skip-tender.

He was a skip-tender.

Skip-tender.

Skip-tender.

What does that mean?
Well, they had skips to get down to the flats in the mine, and so he was a skip-tender
that took the workers down, and they were building the third floor of the Idaho, Maryland
mine.

Interesting.

Yeah.

And so he worked there for many, many years, and he had been injured, so that's why they
gave him the job of being skip-tender, so he didn't have to muck in the mines anymore.

That's true.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I know a lot of miners were injured in summer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

In any accident.

Yeah.

It was a dangerous occupation.

Yeah.

It was.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I had a very bad back.

I'm very, I've always been very pleased and very proud to be born in Nevada County because
I think it, well, to me, it sort of is history.

You know, it's different than a city.

You're born amongst a wonderful country of people, and you know, like all the neighbors
just spoiled me all my whole life.

I went, when I would go down to meet my daddy who was driving the bus, when I was only five,
my neighbors would pick me up from my gate and take me past their gate to the next person's,
and the next owner would take me there to the next block to the next person, and she
would walk me down the hill to the plaza right down here to meet the bus.

So when your father was driving the bus, this was after mining?
Yes.

Yeah.

Well, before and after.

Before and after.

Yeah.

And so what did he work for?
What was the bus company?
Well, he worked at Idaho, Maryland.

Oh, so the bus was probably owned and operated by, Idaho, Maryland?
No, the bus was separate operated.

The name just flew by through my head, the bus was owned by another person, and daddy
was his bus driver, and the name flew right out of my mind, so I'm sorry, with my age,
I have that problem.

Well, you know, I have a question for you, who's this lady right here?
Well, this young lady lived right next door to me.

She lived right next door to me when I lived over on Clark Street.

I see.

So you guys lived on Park?
Yeah.

Clark Street?
Yes.

Clark.

But I now live at the Bret Hart.

Got it.

At the Bret Hart.

Yeah.

Oh, it's a great place to live.

Wonderful.

She's independent living.

She's still independent.

That's bad.

And how old are you?
I will be, I will be 99 years old in December.

Congratulations.

She's finished.

99.

Oh, my goodness.

Yep.

Well, thank you very much for the interview.

Oh, well, thank you.

I think this is wonderful to have this.

Well, you're going to help out everybody in Nevada County.

Right.

And that's why we're here.

Our younger people learn about their history.

I think so.

That's why it's so important.

We feel it.

Yes.

And, you know, people don't realize what the situations were in living that long ago.

They don't.

They don't think about it until they hit them over the head with it sometimes.

Right.

Well, thank you, Alice, very much.

Well, thank you.

Very soft.

We'll give you a break.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate all of you.

You're welcome.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.