Watch this interview online here.

An interview with Jinny Holden
"I am not ...'just living'-- I am ALIVE!" -Jinny Holden

Jinny answered the door looking very chic, dressed in red and black colors which were complimented by bright, white hair fashioned into a stylish bob. She offered up a chair and delivered a mug of hot coffee along with fresh-baked pumpkin muffins. The living room was sunlit, cheery and warm and full of knick-knacks and mementos of family life and history. One living room wall was covered with photographs of her ten grandchildren which she proudly pointed out and identified each grandchild by name.

Conversation focused on the course of Jinny's life which has mainly been spent as a resident of Hopkinton. At the age of 83, Jinny admits to having witnessed many major historical events as well as changes that have affected the world as well as changes that have taken place in the small town she grew up in. She has been through the challenges of World War II and The Depression, being widowed and more, but through her stories, she has emphasized how simplicity in approach to daily living, a religious foundation and strong family ties have not only gotten her through life, but also have helped her to feel very blessed in living a full, happy life where she has both given and received much love.

Where and when were you born?
I was born in Newton, Ma. I have two sisters and one brother.

What was your Mother like? Your Father?
My mother was a good sport. She got along with all people...she was a good scout...in fact she started the girl scouts in Hopkinton! She had a good outlook although she went through a lot. Both my mother and father had a good sense of humor. Both were jokers. Maybe you had to have an attitude like that during the days of the Depression...what we are going through now is nothing like the 30s and the 40s back then.

My father was a sergeant serving in Germany in World War I. He lived out west in Vale, South Dakota near a reservation when he grew up. He helped to herd cattle out there. His family had a cellar in their house where they would hide from the Indians when there were uprisings. The Indians were good to his family. The Indians would warn them of the revolts so my dad's family could hide and my father would would bring them food in exchange. When he got older... my father came out to Boston area to woo the woman he wanted to marry. Eventually he did and later on he bought 25 acres of land in Hopkinton.

My parents taught me the mottos I went on to use with my own family: "Practice the 5 Gs in life: grit, guts, gumption, grace and God " and... "Eat it up, wear it out, make it do or do without!"

What was it like where you grew up?
I remember the Depression years when my father would go around and look for jobs. He was a man of all trades. He often got work as a welder. Sometimes he'd even go as far as Saco, Maine for a week and my mother would be home alone with four little ones. We didn't have a lot then but we never starved!

How did the war and Depression affect your family?
Rationing was awful. Gas was rationed ...at least we had buses then! Shoes were rationed. We had to get special coupon vouchers to get our shoes. Sugar was also rationed in the stores so we had to cut down on our baking and canning. You'd go to the store with your list and they'd fill it for you. It would take like forever to stand in line and wait for the store clerk to fill your order ...we didn't shop on our own with carts back then. Also you were given food stamps and you had to make them last!

What do you remember about your childhood?
We didn't have TV back then. We used to go outside and play until dark. There were loads of kids in our neighborhood. We would play "Run, Stop, Run", "Mother May I", Ring--A-Leave-O", "Stoplight Tag" and "Hide and Seek". Those were our games. We had one bicycle to share and we thought that was how everyone lived.

I also loved to read books. I would walk home with a book in my face. I was going to be a writer and maybe a librarian. I remember when my son was a boy...he loved to read too. One time he fell asleep while reading a book there. The librarian locked up and, not seeing him, left him in there. When he woke up, he called home and was so embarrassed. I told my kids "If you love to read...you'll never be lonely." But I guess he found out the hard way!

I still love to read and I swap book with my friends these days. I especially love Anne Rice.

I also remember church prayer meetings on Friday night. We went to church fairs and suppers and plays. The church was a big part of our life back then.

We went to my grandmother's house on Christmas Day. Our Christmas was simple, we had presents and the turkey and we looked forward to it...always hoping to get just one thing that we really wanted. I'm just old-fashioned. We all loved Christmas.

When did you move to Hopkinton?
I moved when I was in my teens in 1942. That was the first time I went to the movies on a Sunday...of all days! That's when I started "living" I guess! I remember we once went to the Congregational Church. There were soldiers there who went home with some of the families for a weekend. I thought "that's nice...to arrange for the soldiers to go to someone's house and have a home-cooked meal!" I don't go to church now...the stairs are treacherous. If I had my druthers, I'd go to a Methodist church.

What was Hopkinton like back in the 1940s? What did you like best about living in Hopkinton back then?
I went to the Hopkinton High School in my junior year. I left Newton High which was a big high school and Hopkinton was little by comparison. One of the funniest things that happened there that I remember was that the boys and girls had separate entrance doors into the school. One day I said "No way...I'm not going to wait to go through the girls entrance door. Give me a break!" So I used to use the boys' door as well.

Hopkinton has changed. I loved that it was a small town. I think we were better when it was...we have too many buildings now and it seems the more people you have in a town...the more you have to improve things in it.

What is one of your best memories of a person or time while living in Hopkinton?
My friends. I have a friend I still see since I first moved into Hopkinton. I have another friend who is older than me at 83. Another friend of mine doesn't drive...so we talk on the phone. I also have a friend who is 93 and lives in Woodville! We go out to lunch or to the senior center. I have a lot of fun talking and being with them.

What did you do for work?
My first job was a soda jerk for a paper store in Hopkinton. It was a little country store with a soda and ice cream fountain. I graduated from Becker College in 1946. That is where I met met my husband. I studied to be a medical secretary and then I worked at Cushings Hospital. I used to type the notes from doctors' recordings ...there was a whole pool of us.

Where did you meet your husband?
We met at the bus stop... so we'd see each other often and walk to and from college with each other. Sometimes my husband would drive his truck to college and I'd sit on the boxes and get a ride...it didn't matter. After we met, he got drafted and went into the army in Germany. We wrote a lot of letters to each other back then. When he was away, I read and re-read those letters. I wrote to him all the time...I think it kept him going! He used to fill up the pages when he wrote back to me. I was pretty faithful in writing quite a few back to him! When he came home we went steady. We would court by going dancing out in Marlboro. We would also go to the drive-In. That's where he proposed...it was very exciting!

Did you have children?
I have three sons and one daughter. My daughter once wrote on one of her school papers that was on display "I have three bothers" when she really meant "I have three brothers"...or so I think!

I have a big, wonderful, loving family. One of my sons lives in Andover with his family, one in Pennsylvania with his family and my other son lives here in Hopkinton. My daughter lives in Hopkinton with her family as well. I also am blessed with ten beautiful grandchildren, six boys and four girls. Family is the most important thing in my life.

What do you consider to be one of the greatest challenges of your life?
When my husband died. He was young and its very daunting to look ahead...one day to the next. We were married 47 years when he was having surgery and there was a very small chance of risk but he failed on the table and went into a coma and had to have life support. I have been living in the house without him for 13 years now. It makes me feel close to him. It's expensive, but I want to stay here even though Social Security doesn't seem to want to let me live in my own house!

I have a close family fortunately that has helped me through the hard times and good friends who have also helped an awful lot.

What is one of your most "famous" moments in life?
I once wrote a letter to the weatherman in Taunton. He had been weatherman for 35 years and one day he described having seen a horizontal rainbow....that was like a rainbow line going right through a cloud!

I told him in my letter that I saw this same rainbow and it was fascinating to see. In it I told him that my granddaughter and I were looking out at the clouds since we like to find shapes together and we spotted the horizontal rainbow in the sky! He wrote a nice letter back saying how my granddaughter was lucky to do such a thing with her grandmother.

What have you learned in later life that you now wish you had known sooner?
I wish I had learned how to drive...and I had my own car to drive. I also wish I had taken piano lessons. When I come back in my next life I will do these things!

I also wish I had asked my family to share more of their stories. My brother and my sister have Alzheimer's and I wish I kept the stories alive from the past....now it's too late. I hope our future generations will look to their grandparents and preferably live close to them...to keep them in their life. I think both children and grandparents miss something when they live apart from each other.

What do you wish for our future generation of children?
I hope that we don't have to go to war anymore in the future.

Toward the end of our interview we both noticed how tiny rainbow images began to appear and dance about in the living room as the noontime sunlight streamed through the cut glass prisms that were hanging in Jinny's windows. Jinny remarked how she loves to have the rainbows come into her living room whenever the sun shines and then added one more after-thought to her wish for the future generation ...by saying ...with a twinkle in her eye... "and I hope that there will always be rainbows for us...all over! "