WEBVTT
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Elaine Weissman [Weissman]: Or what they can use it for. Your name is?
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Morris Oringer [Oringer]: Morris Oringer.
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Weissman: And your age?
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Oringer: Well, I'll be 72 on December the 29th.
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Weissman: And your place of birth?
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Oringer: Northside Pittsburgh, PA.
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Weissman: What was the maiden name of your mother?
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Oringer: Spann. S.P.A.N.N.
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Weissman: Were there any name changes? Was that the original name?
Oringer: Of what?
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Weissman: Your mother's? Oringer: That was her original name.
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Oringer: That is right. Weissman: Do you know anything about your mother's
family? Where they came from?
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Oringer: Well, I presume she came from where my father came from,
Austria.
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Weissman: So that would be, uh, the origin. And what language do you speak
and understand Morris? Oringer: English. Weissman: And your former
occupation, you are now retired. Oringer: Right. Weissman: And formerly
you?
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Oringer: Well, I had an assortment of things over my lifetime. How far
back do you want to go?
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Weissman: Well, we'll be going into that later on. But if you wanted to
put something down when you were graduated from Harvard, what kind of a
degree did you have?
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Oringer: Bachelor of Science.
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Oringer: Degree. Weissman: Was that an engineering or any-- Oringer:
Liberal arts.
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Weissman: Uh huh.
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Weissman: Your religion? Orthodox? Conservative?
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Oringer: Well, we are conservative people.
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Weissman: Do you remember who your family voted for when Eugene Debs was
running for president in 1921?
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Oringer: That's the year my father died, no I do not remember that.
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Weissman: Uh, were they Republicans or Democrats?
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Oringer: I don't know. I can't recall [laughs].
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Weissman: It's a long time ago. Oringer: It is a long time ago. Weissman:
And how long have you lived in the Pittsburgh area?
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Oringer: Well, with the exception of the either 17 or 19 years that we
lived in Washington PA, all the other time was in Pittsburgh.
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Weissman: Uh, were you-- What organization for Jewish people were you
active in? Or what organization was most important to you?
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Oringer: The only thing is Tree of Life Congregation. I at one time
belonged to the men's club but I don't belong to it since we moved away and
came back.
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Weissman: And B'nai B'rith [ph] were you a member of that or-- Oringer:
No. Weissman: None of these other ones. Now that we have family history,
you said your parents were born in Austria. Do you know the region or the
village?
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Oringer: I am not sure. I think it might be it might be what they call
Horodenka [ph], but I'm not positive if that's the right name.
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Weissman: Do you know the port of entry of your parents into the US?
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Oringer: Where they all come from? New York? Where else would they come
in? [laughs]
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Weissman: Oh, there's Baltimore was a port of entry, too.
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Oringer: No I'm pretty sure they came in-- this is before my time. I
wasn't even born, so I would think it would be New York, but I don't know.
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Weissman: And when they came to this country, they planned to stay here?
Oringer: Definitely. Weissman: Do you know where your parents moved into
the Pittsburgh area? What neighborhood they moved into?
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Oringer: We moved to several. Where do you want to know-- Weissman:
Start.
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Weissman: Whichever one you.
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Weissman: Remember. Oringer: From the North Side.
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Weissman: Yeah.
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Oringer: From the North Side we moved to, let me see, Point Breeze. I
guess that's that's the last place, I don't recall living anywhere else
between those. Point Breeze.
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Weissman: You don't. And your father's occupation? You say he died in 21--
Oringer: 1921. Weissman: Oh. His occupation?
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Oringer: Uh, he was. Well, he owned 51% of the home fur-- the Auringer
Home Furniture Company. And he owned the Johnson Earle Myers Company
wholesale.
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Weissman: Furniture and groceries. Oringer: At the same time. Weissman:
That's interesting. Did mother work outside of home?
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Oringer: Taking care of the family, that's what mom would do. It was a big
thing.
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Weissman: How many brothers and sisters?
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Oringer: Living?
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Weissman: No, how many brothers and sisters did you have when you were
growing up?
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Oringer: Well, there were, let's see, five brothers and three sisters.
Eight of us living and one passed away. So that's seven of us.
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Weissman: And you at once mentioned your mother adopted children too.
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Oringer: 1926, she adopted four cousins.
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Weissman: Four cousins. And are they living?
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Oringer: Three of them are living.
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Weissman: And your mother brought them up?
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Oringer: From 1926 until they.
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Oringer: Reached the point where they struck out for themselves and
married. Practically all of them got married and then.
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Oringer: Moved. Weissman: And they shared your home?
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Oringer: Yes, they did.
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Weissman: And you had no borders, I presume? Oringer: No borders.
Weissman: Uh, education or special training? Oringer: Who's? Weissman:
Yours [laughs].
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Oringer: My education or special training taught me to swear [laughs].
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Weissman: [Laughs] I don't know. He got the special-- Oringer: It was.
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Oringer: Uh, liberal arts majored in English literature and minored in
French.
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Weissman: Any other special education after you were through with
college?
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Oringer: No, of course. I tried to go around.
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Oringer: In art, but my sister was a little bit too advanced and I
couldn't beat that so I quit.
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Weissman: But that's a hobby you should keep up with. I've seen your work.
Do you remember your first job and how old you were at the time?
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Oringer: You mean after I graduated from college? Weissman: Or even.
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Weissman: Before. Oringer: Frank and Seder departments.
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Oringer: Do you remember that?
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Weissman: I came later on. In what.
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Weissman: Department? Oringer: First floor, three departments. Jewelry,
leather goods and ladies[??]. What did you do? I was supposed to be an
assistant but it was a joke. I didn't stay there more than six months.
Weissman: Uh huh? Oringer: I didn't get along well with my boss.
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Weissman: Any other interesting jobs you had?
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Oringer: I can't say that any of them were interesting.
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Oringer: To tell you the truth. Weissman: Any of them--
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Oringer: They all involve a lot of work. Steal. Of course I had a lot of.
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Oringer:: Years of steel. Weissman: Yeah. When you were through with
Harvard, you worked for U.S. Steel. Oringer: After I left the department
store yeah.
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Oringer: Jones and Laughlin for ten years. Two and a half year. American
Steel Foundries in Pittsburgh and two and a half years with American Bureau
of Shipping. That was the only good job out of the three that I had.
American Bureau of Shipping and it paid well.
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Weissman: And you started to support others other than yourself about
when? How old were you? Oringer: About how old? I don't know.
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Oringer: Actually, when I was in-- Weissman: When you.
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Weissman: Got married.
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Oringer: When I got married. Before that, of course, I contributed a lot
to the house, too, you know, when I was living at home before being
married.
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Weissman: Oh, you did? Oh, right after college. Then you helped support at
home? Oringer: Oh yes. Weissman: Very, very good. All right. Now we're
going into the community. The reasons for coming to Pittsburgh. Well, you
were born here. That's so that we don't have to ask. Where did people come
from in the first neighborhood you remember? In the North Hills, you said--
Oringer: North Side. Weissman: North Side.
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Oringer: Where did they.
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Oringer: Come from? Weissman: Yeah, were they--
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Oringer: My God, that's so long ago. I do not remember. But there were all
kinds of people over there.
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Weissman: It wasn't strictly one ethnic group?
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Oringer: No, it was a conglomeration of all people.
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Weissman: Well, uh, did you have any hard problems in life living in
Pittsburgh while growing up? Of course. This applies sometimes to aliens
that came in. You were Jewish, but did you have any difficulties as a
child?
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Oringer: No I didn't have anything diffcult, nothing. Weissman: Right.
Oringer: When I was growing up.
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Weissman: How were you treated as a Jew? Oringer: Where? Weissman: In the
neighborhoods you lived in.
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Oringer: Well, no. We got along very well with all our neighbors. They
didn't exactly look down on us because we were Jewish. Jewish people that
lived at that stageaAssociated with, they didn't care if you were Jewish or
not. I found this to be true. The North side I cannot remember because
that's too far back. But I know in Point Breeze, we were the only Jews on
the street, the only ones. And there were very few homes and very affluent
people. All of them.
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Oringer: All of them.
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Oringer: Of course we had more property on that street than any of the
others as far as I can remember.
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Weissman: And this is when the four adopted children were living with--
Oringer: Oh, no, no, no. Oh, this was after my mother sold that property.
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Oringer: She sold that property.
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Weissman: In Point Breeze?
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Oringer: And moved to Squirrel Hill. And that was the year I graduated
from college. And when I came home I had a surprise.
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Weissman: My four cousins. Oh, after college.
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Oringer: When I just graduated there they were. Mother never told me.
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Weissman: And how old were they? They were.
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Oringer: Little ones. I can't remember [laughs]. They were small.
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Weissman: No, I didn't realize she adopted them so late. I knew she had
adopted them.
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Oringer: 1926. Well, that's 49 years ago. Down there. They were young.
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Weissman: Uh, do you remember the first organization of Jewish people
being organized or existing when growing up?
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Oringer: Draw a blank on that, I don't know.
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Weissman: Uh, and you don't remember the most important member or worker
or organization or what they did? Like, was any temple formed when you were
growing up? Any synagogue that was new?
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Weissman: Nothing like. Oringer: The one I belong to is over 100 years
old. Weissman: So it was there. Oringer: So it.
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Oringer: Was there. And I don't remember any of the newer [??] been
formed.
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Oringer: So I guess out here like that, Bell [ph] is fairly reasonable.
We didn't stay very long.
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Weissman: What was the most important organization for Jewish people when
you were growing up? Did you ever hear of the Zionists?
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Oringer: Yes, the Zionist Organziation of America. I belong to it. You
know what it with me I was in. I have not affiliated myself with it
completely.
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Weissman: Did Mother belong to any organizations?
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Weissman: Was she active in anything? Oringer: My mother belonged to
organizations. She was a very active person [??] sisterhood she belonged
to. And she'd want to organize in those days or not. But if it was, she was
a member.
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Oringer: Because she was a very hard working person.
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Oringer: It was amazing to me that she could do everything she did.
Besides raising all those kids.
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Weissman: Was she active in the business at all? She wasn't active in the
business. Oringer: Neither business. Weissman: And of course, this question
any of these organizations ever make help available when needed? The answer
is no. You see, some people came to this country and they had no money and
they did get help. Do many of your friends now belong to charitour[ph]?
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Oringer: That congregation that's kosher. I don't know. Weissman: You
don't know?
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Weissman: And now you belong to Tree of Life.
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Oringer: The reason why I got involved with that was we were charter
members of it. Also we, my father, they wanted him to be president When the
Tree of Life was in Oakland, where the playhouse is now, that was the old
Tree of Life Building. But before that they had another one even older than
that. But when it was in Oakland on Kraft Avenue they wanted him to serve
as President but he turned them down. So he served as vice president.
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Weissman: And his first name was?
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Oringer: Was Oscar Oringer. Yes. And I was on the board of directors of
Tree of Life. And my name is engraved on the ground. One of the bronze
tablets in the new Tree of Life building.
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Weissman: And did your sister, whose name is the artist?
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Oringer: Leona Oringer?
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Weissman: Yeah. Did she do any decorating for Tree of Life?
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Oringer: The only thing that Leona did, I don't think she did any of that
decoration inside. She designed that permanent bulletin, outdoor bulletin
that we have at the in front of the Tree of Life. That was her design. I
don't think she did any of it inside.
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Weissman: What's her married name?
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Oringer: Clasky. C.L.A.S.K.Y.
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Weissman: Leona Clasky.
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Oringer: Well, she goes by Leona Oringer. She signs her name with
Oringer.
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Weissman: Uh, were you ever a local large or a national officer?
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Oringer: No, I just belonged. But I'm not an officer.
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Weissman: Were you ever a member of a labor union? Oringer: No.
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Oringer: They weren't in existence when I was working with you at that
time.
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Weissman: Those damn steel companies. Do you remember the Great Depression
of the 30s? Oringer: Yes. Weissman: Did it have an effect on you?
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Oringer: No. We managed to carry on.
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Weissman: Your life wasn't. Oringer: No. Weissman: You don't remember
anybody losing a lot of money or-- did anybody come to your family for
benefits for help in those days?
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Oringer: I know somebody that lost a lot of money, but do I have to tell
you that?
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Weissman: No, not really. I mean, if it affected your family. Oringer:
This.
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Oringer: Happened in our own.
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Oringer: Family. Weissman: Oh. Oringer: And it was he screwed up [??].
00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.000
Weissman: Was this is the result of stock.
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Weissman: Market or a bad real estate investment?
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Oringer: That's one of the things. Yes.
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Weissman: Stock markets. Oringer: Right. Weissman: So it affects-- it did
affect your family. It didn't completely wipe you out. Oringer: Oh no no
no.
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Oringer: But that but that was only one part of it. Then, of course, the
furniture business.
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Oringer: Was the other. Screwed us up on that too, because he wanted [??]
forced out.
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Weissman: That was your father's brother.
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Oringer: Cousins. Second cousins. Weissman: Oh, a second cousin. Oringer:
He died not too long ago.
00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:09.000
Weissman: Do you have any contact with the old country? Any relatives of
you or your.
00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:13.000
Oringer: I have no relations living that I know there.
00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:17.000
Oringer: I might have some relations in Europe, South America?
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Oringer: I don't know.
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Weissman: Uh.
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:29.000
Weissman: Does your wife ever send money or gifts to South America?
00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:33.000
Oringer: Not that I know of.
00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.000
Weissman: But her father.
00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.000
Weissman: Does.
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Oringer: Oh he does. He's got his family. So he does now and then.
00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000
Weissman: Yes. And now you belong. To which synagogue?
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.000
Oringer: Tree of Life.
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.000
Weissman: Do you participate? Do you go there often?
00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.000
Oringer: Well, fairly often. You know.
00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:23.000
Weissman: When you go to Saturday morning services-- Oringer: Once a-- I
like Tree of Life very much. Weissman: Uh, do you remember-- what was the
role of the rabbis in World War One and Two? Did they encourage
Americanization? How did they feel about the war? Were they patriotic.
00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:37.000
Oringer: Well, I can't give you a good answer on that. I draw a blank
because I really don't know what the rabbis, what their ideas and thoughts
were about the war. I really don't.
00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:50.000
Weissman: Well, I can understand that. Do you know about the difference
differences between Rabbi Sivits and Rabbi Ashinsky? Did you ever hear of
Rabbi Sivits? Oringer: No.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:19:09.000
Oringer: Well, yeah, I guess I did. And I heard of Rabbi Ashinsky. But
frankly, between you and me, I don't know very much about either gentleman.
I draw a blank. I don't know anything I can say about either one.
00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:18.000
Weissman: How did the World wars affect you as a Jewish person? World War
One?
00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:24.000
Oringer: World War One. Weissman: I know you were a little too.
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.000
Weissman: Young to be in there.
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:36.000
Oringer: Yes a little bit too young. And I. Just didn't think too much of
it. I guess I just took it as a campaign. Wasn't affected.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:44.000
Weissman: You must've been about 14, 15 or 13 at that time. And World War
Two. Did that have any effect?
00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:49.000
Oringer: Oh, just that a couple of my brothers were in it. That a little
bit of thought.
00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:54.000
Oringer: But thank God they both come out of it all right. As far as.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:19.000
Oringer: The war, I don't know. I didn't give it too much thought. I know
at that time, when World War Two was on, I was with the American Bureau of
Shipping and we were building ships. They called those liberty ships for
the war efforts. So I was busy with that. I didn't think too much.
00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:41.000
Weissman: Well, it didn't affect you specifically because you were Jewish?
Oringer: No. Weissman: Uh, did you ever have any money saved with an
insurance company or fraternal organization? You were American born, so
possibly this didn't. But do you ever remember anything like that?
00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:46.000
Oringer: Well, the only thing like insurance policy. But I didn't have
any-- Weissman: Nothing.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.000
Weissman: With a fraternal organization?
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:55.000
Oringer: No no I wouldn't. I turned down one for [??]
00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:12.000
Weissman: Uh, and uh, cemetery arrangements were never made with any
fraternal organization. Oringer: No, no. Weissman: Uh, what is your
spouse's ethnic group?
00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.000
Oringer: You know, I've had that word so often what does it mean?
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:27.000
Weissman: Well, you can say it's race or it's a-- is she similar to you in
background or religion? Well.
00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.000
Oringer: I would say [??] here and there.
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:37.000
Weissman: And does she belong to any fraternal organizations? Oringer: Not
that I know of.
00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:43.000
Oringer: [??]. That's a big fraternity.
00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:57.000
Weissman: Were there any crucial aspects of being Jewish when you were
growing up? Was it difficult for you to be a Jewish young man in
Pittsburgh? Oringer: No. Weissman: No problems?
00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:07.000
Oringer: No problems in Pittsburgh. No. Weissmn: And. Uh. Ottenheimer:
This was in 1925 or 26.
00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:19.000
Weissman: You say, Oh, you just remembered. You said your childhood had no
problems. But in 1925-- Oringer: 26-- Weissman: When you went to Harvard,
what happened?
00:22:19.000 --> 00:24:56.000
Oringer: Well, you see, in those years, Harvard did not have enough
dormitories actually to go around. So for your senior year, everybody who
was a senior wanted to get into the yard, which I had hoped to do too. You
had a much better chance of getting into a dormitory if you apply for a
roommate. So I applied for it. I got this Italian boy. His name was Peppino
Porfilio. An Italian. Weissman: No question. Oringer: All right. We lived
together. We were on the fifth floor. That was the top floor in the oldest
dormitory in the yard there. We lived together for, I would say, about a
month. We were in the room together this particular afternoon and one of my
very dear Jewish friends come up to visit me, an extremely wealthy boy from
Waco, Texas. His father owned the Goldstein McGill Department store in
Waco, Texas. They were a very wealthy. You come up to see me, and I
introduced this roommate to him and he was civil. And as soon as this boy
left, my roommate jumped on me. He says, how well do you know this boy?
Very well. I said, Why? He says, did you know he's Jewish? I said, sure, I
know he's Jewish. I says, he happens to be one of my best friends. Then he
starts to give me a oh Mcgill[??]. He says, you don't know who my uncle is.
I says, no, I don't know who your uncle is. And what's more, I won't give a
damn who your uncle is. So he said, well, my uncle happened to own a dress
manufacturing plant in New York City. He is retired. He moved to Monte
Carlo and he turned the plant over to his employees. So I says, what's that
got to do with me? So he said, this uncle of mine wants me to make a
certain fraternity and also to make the track team.
00:24:56.000 --> 00:26:47.000
Oringer: So I says, what's stopping you? He says, Well, if they know that
I'm associating with a Jewish boy, he says, it'll ruin my chances. So I
says, what do you want me to do? He says, we can't live together any
longer. I says, fine, you can get the hell out of here. He said, suppose I
can get you a different room. He said, would you be willing to move? I
said, you're darn right, I'll get out. I'm climbing up and down five
flights of stairs. I don't know how many times a day. Do you know within an
hour we had a suite for me on the first floor in the same place, and we
didn't live together after that, Although we were taking the same course
together. I never saw that boy again till we were taking final exams. And I
just forget the name of the course. But do you know what he did? Instead of
turning the blue book with the answers in? He must have been nervous. You
know, in Italian he could remember. It shows you how the proctors paid
attention. He turned the examination question paper and carries out the
book. And he's got it in his hand. He's walking down, he sees me and he
runs up to me and he tells me about. He says, oh my God, what am I going to
do? I says, I can't tell you. I said, you better contact your proctor. I
says, after all, what are they going to think? They're going to think you
took your book out and wrote the answer. He didn't make the track team. He
didn't make the fraternity. As far as I know, he didn't graduate. But this
is what I had.
00:26:47.000 --> 00:27:01.000
Weissman: Well, in obtaining jobs, did the fact that you were Jewish have
any. Were you ever turned down? Oringer: I think so. Weissman: By what
companies?
00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:03.000
Oringer: It's a couple I think that maybe.
00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:04.000
Weissman: You can name them.
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:11.000
Oringer: Hey, you know something?
00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:32.000
Oringer: You see, I can't drink anything. Uh oh. What companies? I'm
pretty sure I'm this guy. Oh, this was years ago. Well. I, although I knew
at that time.
00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:37.000
Oringer: This was Copperweld Steel.
00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:48.000
Oringer: What's his name? Kaplan. I think he died. Frank Kaplan. I
wouldn't know. And I know Copper, that a Jew has bo chance to get in.
00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:53.000
Oringer: There if you stand on. This piece was referred to.
00:27:53.000 --> 00:28:00.000
Weissman: Well, I have heard that years ago it was difficult getting in
with some of the Pittsburgh companies.
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:10.000
Oringer: Those two especially I don't know why.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:25.000
Weissman: I know I once applied to, um, I think it was JC Penney. This
goes back to the 40s and. I didn't get the job. And when I told someone,
they said, Well, they don't hire any Jews. So that was the story then.
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:35.000
Oringer: Oh, listen, I had other applications. I'm sure of that. But see,
you don't know it.
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.000
Weissman: Because at that time you had to put down your religion. Now you
don't you.
00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:46.000
Oringer: You don't know it. But these two companies specifically, I can
remember.
00:28:46.000 --> 00:29:07.000
Weissman: Now. Now, I've heard various stories. Uh, we're back to that
ethnic group again now. Ethnic, you can say race, religion, nationality.
What ethnic group do you feel? Do you feel is closest to your own?
00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.000
Oringer: You mean religion?
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:12.000
Weissman: Well, you could say religion in this case.
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:14.000
Oringer: Well, Jewish, I mean.
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:23.000
Weissman: Well, you are Jewish, so you are closest to them. But next to
that.
00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:24.000
Weissman: Protestants.
00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:25.000
Weissman: Catholics.
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.000
Oringer: Oh, you mean you have to put down another.
00:29:27.000 --> 00:30:16.000
Weissman: If you want? Well, no. That you feel closest to. If you had
another child and he was getting married, would you prefer he marry a
Catholic or Protestant or Baptist? Presbyterian? No preference? Oringher:
No preference. I mean, I-- Weissman: All right. And now you can consider
ethnic as a race as well. Uh, what ethnic group is most different from your
own? Would you say? And this is a question a lot of people think about. And
if you have no prejudices, it's hard to pin one down. Most different from
yours. Your daughter married an Indian, a Chinese, a Black.
00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000
Oringer: Russian. I'd be sort of set against the Russians.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:31:20.000
Weissman: The Russians? Good. Good. Uh, your membership in the Tree of
Life, has it affected your position in the Jewish community?
