Kitty Peightal
Keywords: Saranac Lake, Tuberculosis, Everett's, Riverside Drive, Will Rogers,
Interviewed by Kayt Gochenaur on 07/26/2018 as part of the Oral History Project at Will Rogers.
Kitty was born in June of 1927 in Saranac Lake. Her grandmother Nellie Everett was the first of the family to come up to Saranac Lake, where she came several times to “take the cure” from tuberculosis. In 1910 her family moved up. Fred Everett, her husband, started Everett’s, a men and boy’s clothing store. They bought a house at 37 Riverside Drive where both Kitty and her mother were raised. Nellie passed away while Kitty’s mother was still young. Kitty grew up in the Riverside, while her grandfather was still living there, and she spoke about regretting not asking him more questions about his life, and raising children on his own. She remembers him having a little alcove in the dining room with a rocking chair and a radio, where he would read the Saturday Evening Post and cowboy novels. He was a quiet man who loved gardening. Kitty attended Petrova elementary school, and then Saranac Lake High School, where she started dating Jack Peightal. They enjoyed going to the movies together, boating, and picnicking. After graduating in 1944, Kitty attended Syracuse University for Art and Industrial Engineering. After graduating from Syracuse in 1948, she and Jack got married and moved to Albany where he was going to school, before moving up to Saranac Lake in 1952. Her father had bought the house next door to her grandfather’s, and when Kitty and Jack moved up they bought that house from her father. They lived in one of the apartments and rented out the others. They eventually moved back into her grandfather’s house, after her father had died. Kitty and Jack adopted two children, a year or so apart, and 8 or 9 years later Kitty and Jack had a child. They raised their children in the family home making four generations of Kitty’s family to live in that home. When she lived in Albany, Kitty had worked for Singer (the sewing machine company) and continued to work for them when they opened up a shop in Saranac Lake. She also played the organ at the Methodist church for 25 years. They sold the Riverside house in the 80s, and they built a smaller house on Harrietstown Road. After Jack passed away in 1988, Kitty moved to some apartments on Lake Flower. She moved to Will Rogers a few years ago and enjoys knitting and reading mystery novels.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.
Interviewed by Kayt Gochenaur on 07/26/2018 as part of the Oral History Project at Will Rogers.
Kitty was born in June of 1927 in Saranac Lake. Her grandmother Nellie Everett was the first of the family to come up to Saranac Lake, where she came several times to “take the cure” from tuberculosis. In 1910 her family moved up. Fred Everett, her husband, started Everett’s, a men and boy’s clothing store. They bought a house at 37 Riverside Drive where both Kitty and her mother were raised. Nellie passed away while Kitty’s mother was still young. Kitty grew up in the Riverside, while her grandfather was still living there, and she spoke about regretting not asking him more questions about his life, and raising children on his own. She remembers him having a little alcove in the dining room with a rocking chair and a radio, where he would read the Saturday Evening Post and cowboy novels. He was a quiet man who loved gardening. Kitty attended Petrova elementary school, and then Saranac Lake High School, where she started dating Jack Peightal. They enjoyed going to the movies together, boating, and picnicking. After graduating in 1944, Kitty attended Syracuse University for Art and Industrial Engineering. After graduating from Syracuse in 1948, she and Jack got married and moved to Albany where he was going to school, before moving up to Saranac Lake in 1952. Her father had bought the house next door to her grandfather’s, and when Kitty and Jack moved up they bought that house from her father. They lived in one of the apartments and rented out the others. They eventually moved back into her grandfather’s house, after her father had died. Kitty and Jack adopted two children, a year or so apart, and 8 or 9 years later Kitty and Jack had a child. They raised their children in the family home making four generations of Kitty’s family to live in that home. When she lived in Albany, Kitty had worked for Singer (the sewing machine company) and continued to work for them when they opened up a shop in Saranac Lake. She also played the organ at the Methodist church for 25 years. They sold the Riverside house in the 80s, and they built a smaller house on Harrietstown Road. After Jack passed away in 1988, Kitty moved to some apartments on Lake Flower. She moved to Will Rogers a few years ago and enjoys knitting and reading mystery novels.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.