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(Kaplan) Spitzer, Lottie (audio interview #5 of 9)

INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is one of eight interviews with Lottie Kaplan Spitzer conducted over the course of four months as part of a Senior Honors project in collaboration with the Feminist History Research Project. Spitzer was very cooperative, but also a bit guarded, since she thought the interviewer was affiliated with the union (ACWA). The interviews were conducted at the ACWA Retirees Center, which probably helped Spitzer to remember and focus on her union experiences. On the other hand, it might have reinforced only positive sentiments about the union, particularly since at the time of the interview visits there constituted Spitzer's main social excursion. There is a great deal of overlap and repetitiousness between the interviews, partially because of Spitzer's tendency to go off into different directions in response to the interviewer's question. Clearly, certain events and people represent more salient memories and these are the ones she tends to repeat. Despite some of the repetitiousness, however, the interviews provide a nice picture of the kind of grass roots union organizing that women like her carried out, especially in the 1910s. TOPICS - family background; socioeconomic status; housing and living arrangements; social class distinctions; childhood friends and activities; classism; family history; and reunion with childhood friend;description of Russian hometown; housing and living arrangements; family history; religion; immigration; conditions and experience on voyage to US; and Spitzer's reaction to first seeing a Black person;socioeconomic status in Russia; family history; family life; father's social values; boat trip to Fall River, Massachusetts; family reception in Fall River; classism; child labor laws; job responsibilities in cousin's jewelry store; job in overall factory; wages; demographics of Fall River; working-class conditions; and living arrangements; 9/13/1974