Věra Beinhauerová, U Opavice 4, July 26, 2018
“My husband told me I couldn’t manage a crane . . . well, that made me mad.”
The Beinhauers moved to the apartment at U Opavice 4 in 1969. At that time, Mr. Beinhauer worked as a coal miner at the Šverma mine in Ostrava. He was originally from Opava but the couple first lived for several years with Mrs. Beinhauer’s parents in Hradec nad Moravicí and Mr. Beinhauer commuted from there to his job in Ostrava. Later the couple was assigned a flat in Hlučín, where there were many apartment buildings specifically for miners, and there they lived for four years. Mrs. Beinhauer recalls how her husband and his co-workers were setting records at work and eventually the couple found their way on a waiting list for a coop flat in Opava, their preferred location. In September 1969 they moved to the U Opavice 4 apartment building. Mrs. Beinhauer was on a maternity leave for seven years with her two sons but later she got a job at Ostroj, where her husband was also then already working. By then he was suffering from health issues and had a partial pension. At Ostroj, Mrs. Beinhauer got a job as a crane operator, despite her husband’s doubts about her ability to manage a job like this. She wanted to work; it helped them financially and she also enjoyed being out of the house. In the interview she recalls her husband (who died at the age of 47) and she talks about their two sons. She enjoys the quiet living at U Opavice and likes the community here. She also talks about the various work positions that women held at Ostroj.
