Oral History Interview with Electra Catterall, April 6, 1984 Page: 1
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ST. DAVID'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: ORAL HISTORY, ELECTRA CATTERALL
INTERVIEWER: JOAN VICKERS, APRIL 6, 1984
Vickers Friday April 6,1984. It's 9:30 in the morning and I'm doing an oral history with
Electra Catterall at her home number 6 Woodstone, Austin, Texas. This is side
one of the tape and my name is Joan Vickers. Electra lets begin by, you telling
me some of the things that you remember particularly about St. David's when you
first came there. Tell me again when you first came and what it was like when
you came?
Catterall Well I was a student here at the University for two years. And in order to get
away from the campus and look see a little bit of Austin. I went to St. David's
rather than All Saint's and it was purely having something different to do on a
Sunday, instead of the campus. I went to church regularly, but at that time there
was very little activity there, except for Sunday services. And they may have had
a young people's program, but I didn't know anything about it. That was in 1923
and then in 1927 my father came down here to be a health officer and asked me
to come and we would have an apartment together. So that was just great ahd at
that time I felt like I would be a resident of Austin. So I joined the choir down
at St. David's and was active of course as far as the choir was concerned going
to church on Sunday. But I never did go in to any of the activities during the
week. And I really didn't get into women's organizations or anything like that
until about 1932 or 33.
Vickers How many people would you say typically attended church there on a Sunday
during the first time that you were a member?
Catterall Well, I don't know how many people it holds, about 400 or 500 something like
that. And that was, it was filled with the parishioners and guests Easter and of
course Christmas. But ordinarily there would be oh I guess 300, 2 or 300 people
at the eleven o' clock. Now I don't know about the nine o' clock because we
were, eleven o' clock. I don't believe they had a service in the church at nine
I don't recall it. It seems to'me like we had a children's, something like that.
Vickers Sunday School.
Catterall Sunday School. And part of the time they had a Bible study for the adults, but
of course I only went to practice a little bit in the choir, singing at 11 o' clock.
Vickers How many clergy did they have? Was there just one at the time?
Catterall Oh yes. Only the rector and his secretary. In addition there was a Parish
secretary and that was it.
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Vickers, Joan & Catterall, Electra. Oral History Interview with Electra Catterall, April 6, 1984, text, April 6, 1984; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201192/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. David’s Episcopal Church.