Ghysels, Aline, 1992 April 7, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Alternate Format: Recorded interview and transcript available online.

Biography/History: Aline (Gerneulen) Ghysels was born on March 17, 1906, in Belgium. She was one of seven children and had three brothers and three sisters. She was raised in Belgium and came to this country when she was 24 years old. She married Victor Ghysels, and together they owned and operated a sixty- or seventy-acre farm in Kenosha and raised onions, cabbage, and berries. Mrs. Ghysels had a son who was born in 1930 and he was killed in an accident as an adult. She also gave birth to a stillborn daughter. Mrs. Ghysels has been a Catholic all of her life. She continues to live on a portion of the property that composed their farm in Kenosha.
Scope and Content Note: Mrs. Ghysels begins the interview discussing farm labor and difficulties in obtaining help on the farm during the war. She talks about the types of crops raised, selling at the Chicago market as well as from their roadside stand. She talks about her experience with German POWs sent to work on the farm during the day. Her husband spoke some German and therefore was able to communicate more easily with the men than was Mrs. Ghysels. She discusses problems with shortages such as sugar and gasoline. Mrs. Ghysels tells about what she did with her free time, and her family's interaction with other Flemish families in the area. She talks about her problems with learning the language, and her son speaking only Flemish until he started school. She then talks very briefly about reactions to the end of the war and the contrast between World War I, when she was still in Europe, and World War II.