Interviewer: Geralda Martin
Interview Date: December 8, 1985
Location: Heart of the Valley Center, Corvallis, Oregon
Duration: 0:32:18
This interview was conducted on December 8, 1985. It features five women - Maybelle Wheeler from Lincoln, Nebraska; Bernice Brechbill from Freeborn, Minnesota; Verna Carothers Bennet from Portland, Oregon; Ethel Bruget from South Dakota; and Marjorie Applegren from Missouri - who all witnessed Halley’s Comet as children in 1910. Each is interviewed in turn and describes the area where she lived and what her family was like. The narrator then explains how she and the people around her conceptualized the comet.
All of the narrators remember how frightened people in their communities were by the comet – a prevailing belief from a particular interpretation of the Bible was that the appearance of the comet heralded the end of the world. As such, the women report witnessing people in their communities taking drastic actions to prepare for the planet’s imminent demise including selling all of their property and slaughtering their livestock. Although their communities had reservations about the comet, the families of the women did not fall victim to those superstitions and encouraged their children not to fear it.
The women all had differing responses to the confusion and excitement in their communities. Maybelle Wheeler was terrified by the stories she heard from her neighbors; Bernice Brechbill, Verna Carothers Bennet, and Marjorie Applegren were fascinated by the extraterrestrial visitor; and Ethel Bruget was a little bit nervous but felt comforted by her family’s positive attitudes. Verna B. Carothers recalls that a few people in her community were old enough to have seen comets or other astronomical wonders before, but for most people, including herself, it was a completely new concept.
The biggest impression the comet made was its novelty - all five women remember hearing that no one had ever seen or heard of anything like it. Halley’s Comet passes by Earth once every 75 years. Its last visit was in 1986, and it is next expected in 2061.
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Description
All of the narrators remember how frightened people in their communities were by the comet – a prevailing belief from a particular interpretation of the Bible was that the appearance of the comet heralded the end of the world. As such, the women report witnessing people in their communities taking drastic actions to prepare for the planet’s imminent demise including selling all of their property and slaughtering their livestock. Although their communities had reservations about the comet, the families of the women did not fall victim to those superstitions and encouraged their children not to fear it.
The women all had differing responses to the confusion and excitement in their communities. Maybelle Wheeler was terrified by the stories she heard from her neighbors; Bernice Brechbill, Verna Carothers Bennet, and Marjorie Applegren were fascinated by the extraterrestrial visitor; and Ethel Bruget was a little bit nervous but felt comforted by her family’s positive attitudes. Verna B. Carothers recalls that a few people in her community were old enough to have seen comets or other astronomical wonders before, but for most people, including herself, it was a completely new concept.
The biggest impression the comet made was its novelty - all five women remember hearing that no one had ever seen or heard of anything like it. Halley’s Comet passes by Earth once every 75 years. Its last visit was in 1986, and it is next expected in 2061.