Kitzi Ball
Kitzi Ball was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1926, given her lifelong nickname by her father who was charmed by her red hair as a baby. Because her father worked in the ready-to-wear business as a store manager and eventually vice president of the Three Sisters Company, the family moved often during her childhood, living in Dayton, Ohio, Chicago, New York City, Peoria, Illinois, and finally the Lansing area of Michigan. Her younger brother was born in Dayton, and one older brother's asthma prompted several of the moves to drier climates. She attended junior high in Peoria, high school in East Lansing, and remembered her grandmothers, one born in Germany and one in Vienna.
After high school Kitzi attended the University of Colorado, the University of Wisconsin for a summer, and Michigan State, but she longed to work in a hospital. Though her father believed Jewish girls did not become nurses, she found she could train as an x-ray technician, cashed in war bonds, and enrolled herself in a Chicago program. She lived and worked happily in Chicago for over two years, loving the city and her work. In 1951 her father, wanting his family together, moved everyone to Texas and bought a chain of ladies ready-to-wear stores, and Kitzi joined them in Dallas.
In Dallas Kitzi met Myron at a dance, and after a memorable early outing to see Sophie Tucker at the Baker Hotel, they married in 1952 and raised three sons. She worked briefly at Baylor Hospital, then at the Patternoster Clinic and the clinic of Dr. Ben Barzon and Dr. Dave Winer, and later ran a Republic Bank lunchroom for ten years. She volunteered at Golden Acres for 25 years, giving manicures to residents and helping with trips. She recalled delivering Meals on Wheels the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Deeply proud of her close-knit family, she urged her sons and grandchildren to stick together and to do their best at whatever they chose.
Full Transcript
KY 1926 de Mo Iowa yeah so the first question is why are the restes on the Moine that's a very good question where did the name KY come from my father when I was born I had a massive red hair and he went up isn't she the sweetest little kitsy witty you ever saw and he said I'm calling her kitsy and that's not the real name right and I don't really want to tell the real name don't tell the real name but you've been called KY your whole life I've been called that my whole except when I went to school I will tell you I
had to use the real name so actually when I went to Michigan State I got away with murder there so to speak because a driver's license has the real name on it and I drive on campus you had to have a permit to drive on campus which I didn't and uh if I pic was picked up I was KY I wasn't Francine yeah oops I said it KY let's go back 1926 what do you remember when you're just a little girl in De Mo we didn't live there that long we lived there just few years and then we moved to Dayton Ohio okay where my
younger brother was Barn okay and then from Dayton Ohio we moved to I think it was Chicago Illinois okay and then from Chicago Illinois we moved to New York City now this was all when you were a child all when I was a child is this because your dad's business yes what in what business was your dad my father was in the ready to wear business and he had was manager of different stores throughout the city and then when we moved from Chicago we moved to New York where he became vice president of the firm and what was that company it was called three sisters
company it was ladies dress well ladies ready to wear company and we lived in New York City for I guess about nine 10 years and then my older brother had asthma and they told him my dad we got to go to a drier place so we moved from there to peori Illinois which was a cultural shock oh I'm sure I mean it smelled there cuz they used to throw the malt from the beer plant in the kapoo creek that was the name of it so and then from poror Illinois we ended up in laning Michigan and from laning Michigan my family moved down to te
to Texas and I was living in Chicago at the time I was ahead of my time I went to Chicago and became an x-ray technician and I didn't want to live in Michigan it was too small town my dad wanted his family together so we moved to Texas and both my brothers one was still in school on College and the other one was in business with my dad and we had a chain of stores here Daddy bought certs ladies ready to wear yeah now where would you call you know your childhood where what town did you live in the longest uh lived in the longest
time not any particular place I went to Junior High in peori Illinois okay High School in Michigan Lancing Michigan and I guess grade school in New York City you know the beginning kindergarten you remember the name of the grade school in New York no my brother went to PS 86 I remember that okay and what what was the name of uh the school in Poria your Junior High Columbia Jun Junior High okay and then uh in it was Lancing you went to high school I was just about I when I started high school was in East Lancing Michigan name East Lancing High okay what was
high school life like for you what was high school life yeah it wasn't fun I didn't enjoy high school we moved there in my I think it was the end of my sophomore year and you move around you know and they were all college professors kids that were going to the school and it was a click kind of school I couldn't wait to get out of school to be honest with you so after high school was it on the college or did you go to work no no I went to University of Colorado in Colorado I went there for one year that was right at
the end of the war and 19 the big boy you know the second world war and the kids were coming back from school soldiers boys you know and they didn't have a dormatory for us so if I wanted to stay there I had to live in a um uh gym GN asium with a whole bunch of girls and I thought this is ridiculous I'll go home to Michigan State and live at home and go to school there so I went to University of Wisconsin for summer school so that I wouldn't lose grade points and then I went to Michigan State and I went to Michigan
State for two years and I didn't enjoy it I won't tell you what why but anyway oh I didn't enjoy it I really wanted to go to work in a hospital okay and I wanted to be a nurse and I'll tell you my father said Jewish girls aren't nurses and why was that that was I don't know that was his feeling of it years ago so I investigated and found out I could become an x-ray technician so I enrolled myself in school in Chicago cashed in war bonds and enrolled myself and then I told my parents I'm going to Chicago I'm going to become an
x-ray technician and I did and I lived I went to chicag when I went got to Chicago I lived in a girls club for a year and then I met a somebody and we had an apartment there and I was in Chicago for over two years yeah what now what do you remember about Chicago what do I remember about Chicago oh it was wonderful it was just a great City yeah and a lot of activity we lived around the corner from uh the Cubs but anyway field yeah and I dated there and I had fun yeah and I worked and enjoyed working yeah now what
year was this we moved in Texas in 51 so I guess it was 19 49 48 and 49 50 yeah and my dad wanted to move to Texas he wanted his family together now you you had moved so often as a young girl and all do you know how the depression when you were very little um the depression came to the country did that affect your family at all do you know did your folks ever talk about it well I think that happened when we were living in Pur Illinois and uh it didn't affect us that much though it really did yeah okay and how
did World War II affect your family just like everybody else you had uh food you know stamps right gas stamps uh no my older brother was uh couldn't get in the army because he had asthma my younger brother was two years younger than I he wasn't old enough and uh I will tell you though that I went down I must have been 16 at the time wanted to enroll and join the Army and they said fine come back with your birth certificate well the war went on then the war was practically I think was over and we used to vacation at MAAC Island and we
were at maak Island when the mail was delivered and there was a card that I needed to appear and I said well I guess I'm not going to get in the army I can't go back and I so I mean it was a standing joke I was too young then was your dad in the service at all my dad was in the first war yes he was in World War I World War I yeah did he ever tell you anything about it any stories that you could share no only that one the time came for him to get out they asked him to remain because
his handwriting was so gorgeous seriously his handwriting was so beautiful and he stayed in the Army for I don't know maybe another year you know where he was stationed during the war no he never talked about it he really didn't and and why was that do you think cuz we kids didn't ask him and daddy never said much of anything about do you remember your grandparents at all I remember my grandmothers but and my grand and I don't remember my grandfather do you know what your grandfather did for a living I think he was in the furniture business originally and this is on your mom
or dad side that's on my father's side my grandmother one grandmother was born in Germany the other one was born in Vienna yeah yeah and I really do not remember my grandparents that much do you know what your other grandfather did though for a living I have no idea when did you meet your husband here in Dallas we had a dance and he was with someone else and we were introduced we said hello and I didn't think too much of him and he think too much of me and then he called me up for a date and I said okay and I didn't know that
when he called the story is it was his birthday and he wanted to take me to synagogue to Temple and meantime my younger brother was home from school and my older brother I believe was had just gotten married yes he or he was dating I don't remember the dates that two well there at any rate they were going to go see Sophie Tucker at the old Baker Hotel uh and uh I wanted to do that so I called up my husband who wasn't then and said hey how about going with my brothers and we'll go see Sophie Tucker and he was spot he couldn't do
anything to say yes so he did and that's it that started it and what year did you guys get married 52 okay 1952 and where did you settle down where'd you make Home Dallas and how has Dallas changed over the years well first of all there's no more Apartments like we lived in that's number one and number two uh it's some so much traffic unbelievable and you saw the city grow up just grew up all around us yeah yeah yeah absolutely now are you involved at all in the Jewish Community I volunteered at Golden Acres for 25 years I used to go out there and
give manicures to the elderly and then I also took them on trips if you know they helped do that and then I I just worked out there volunteering for 25 years yeah what was that happiest time in your life yes the happiest time is when all my kids are together cuz we have three sons one that lives in Indiana one lives in Maryland and one lives in Florida and that's where all the grandkids are and when we all get together that's when it's a happiest time yeah now tell me about being a uh an x-ray technician what was that like for you oh I loved
it it was really it was it was just fascinating I'm was like I wasn't a doctor I wasn't a nurse but I was with people and able to help people who is the most famous person that you exr it was in Chicago and he had a perfume company and he was also a dress designer and I can't think of his name but that was your most famous broken bone huh yeah that was the most famous one I worked here in Dallas too by the way when I finally came to Dallas I worked for one week only at Bor hospital and I heard the male technician
there say I'd never have a woman as an x-ray technician they had me filing the x-rays cuz in those days everything was done filed and I decided I'm not staying here I didn't go to school to be a file clerk so I went in and I resigned and the doctor want to know why and I told him he' never said anything about it that was it so then I went to work for patter nostril Clinic which was a very big industrial Clinic here and I worked for them for about a year year and then I resigned there because I supposedly was going to go on
a trip only that didn't pan out so then I got a job with the barzon Winer Clinic Dr Ben barzon and Dr Dave Winer and they're well were well known in Dallas and I worked for them for a year almost two years and they just had a fit when I resigned cuz I was their Girl Friday doing everything besides x-ray now was there an invention or something that came along in your lifetime that you wow how did we ever get along without this that's cute I think the garbage disposal will be honest with you yeah oh that's that's great I think that and it most
of the time it mine doesn't work or something's wrong with it yeah now you know as an x-ray technician though do you know how the technology has changed over the years from when you started I tried to go back to work I was going to go back to work with this doctor and I went one day he had a a clinic way out some place and I went one day and went out there and they were they were so kind to me and they were showing me the everything and it was so different and I came home and the next day it was pouring down
rain and I said you know I don't think I'm going to go and be do that at all so I did not I never went back out there but I wanted to go to work because my kids we had three sons in college at the time so I went to work for rep uh for Republic Bank I ran a restaurant a lunch room for them started on Greenville Avenue and then we moved up to Walnut Hill that's when the bank really was big and uh cross from Presbyterian hospital and I ran their so-called lunchroom which was open to the public for 10 years yeah so
and I went to night school to find out about quantity purchasing and buying how did the uh President Kennedy assassination affect you oh God very bad it's very sad my sister-in-law and I were delivering meals on wheels that's before I had went to work at the bank we were delivering meals on wheels we had one more stop to make and we decided I was driving to park our car and we got out of the car and went where everybody was standing and we watched and then we got back in the car I took her back to Preston Center because she was to meet her father
at the dentist and I didn't have a radio on my car in those days you bought the cheapest car or whatever you had you know whatever you could afford and I didn't know that he'd been assassinated and we got back there and I dropped her off and she says wait I'll go in and see if Dad still here and she comes running out and then she told me that's when I found out about it of course for 3 days like everybody else we sat around television said you and myin have three kids right six grandkids what advice does Grandma have for the Next Generation do
what you want to do don't let anybody talking to do something you don't want to do and if you want to be I've told this to my sons too if you want to be a garbage collector be a garbage collector be the best garbage collector there is do the best you can I will tell you something else I told our three boys growing up I got three sticks and I broke stick like that and then I put the three sticks together and you break the three sticks I said you guys have just got to stick together and be friends and so forth and these boys
they keep in touch wherever they are they vacation together with their cousins every summer and every winter they go either fishing or they go skiing but with my with their cousins My Three Sons do that they are very close all these boys very proud of my kids well thanks for doing this today well thank you for having me do this