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Elaine Kelsky: A lot of Jewish men started as peddlers.
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Esther Newman: Yes.
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Kelsky: Can you tell me about that?
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Newman: Well, I knew this one Jewish man personally. He had used to come
to Hazlewood and had a lot of customers. He used to sell mostly bedding.
Sheets and pillowcases. And if the women wanted something, they told them
what to bring them the next time. He came around regularly every week. He
was very well liked, and he trusted the people. They all had to buy a
credit from payday to payday. And there was one Syrian woman, Rosie. Just
called Rosie, and she used to come around and she used to bring them
everything that they wanted. And she became like a fixture in this.
Tragically, she she lives next door to me and she burned to death in her
home. It's very tragic. But they, they thrived on this business. Then
later, another Jewish woman used to come out. And she also catered very
much to these people and there was a good business for them.
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Kelsky: How did they bring their-?
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Newman: Packages. Just in packages on the streetcar. Just carry packages
out under their arms.
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Kelsky: And were there many different kinds of goods that they brought, or
was it always the same?
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Newman: It was mostly the same, except if they asked them for something
that they were able to get them special. They did. Yes. Blankets, sheets,
uh, not too much clothing because that, they had to try on and take back,
you know, it was mostly dishtowels, those kind of things.
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Kelsky: Well, did these peddlers eventually go into a store room and sell
or-?
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Newman: Uh, no, they didn't. Not these that I'm talking about. No, they
didn't, they didn't have a store.
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Kelsky: They just brought their-?
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Newman: They just brought, they didn't have to pay rent. They you know,
and they had their customers. And I suppose that that's how much they were
able to do.
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Kelsky: Were there any other kinds of occupations that were mainly Jewish
merchants, like-?
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Newman: Well, Jewish merchants, we had in Hazelwood many Jewish merchants.
There was a hardware store--No, a furniture store. Harware store is not
Jewish. There was a furniture store. There were 3 or 4 men's furnishings.
There were two shoe stores. One shoe store is still there. Big shoe store,
still doing very well in Hazelwood. Uh, grocery stores. Several grocery
stores. And, uh. Five and ten--
Kelsky: Doctors?
Newman: Many doctors? Yes. There were many doctors in Hazlewood. Yes. In
Fact, there's. One Jewish doctor there. Now, that I that was there then and
still there doing very well. Mhm.
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Kelsky: Politicians? are there are many politicians.
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Newman: Yes, yes. There were politicians. I remember they used to come to
the store to talk to us. We knew them real well. Mhm. Were running for all
kinds of offices. One congressman very well, was a very good friend of ours
in ____[??] locally, you know, board chairman and stuff like that. You know
all of them.
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Kelsky: Did you vote when you were able to?
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Newman: Yes. Yes. We always voted. My husband and I both.
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Kelsky: I guess you were too young in Hungary to vote.
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Newman: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I, uh. I was too young, and women didn't vote,
in, vote in Hungary.
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Kelsky: Can you tell me more about your working conditions in New York?
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Newman: The conditions weren't very good, but everybody was working.
Everybody knew that that's what he came to this country for, to work. And I
don't remember any jobless people at that time. None of us made very much
money, but still we were working. The conditions. They were crowded. They
were, uh. How should I say? Nothing was too, too comfortable. And the
unions at that time, started to work on us. I worked, uh, it was on my
first job and I was working. We were only four girls in the store. And this
woman, she was the owner. She also got from factories, bundles of dresses
that we sewed up on a machine. At that time, we were making like $9 a week.
And two fellas came in once and started to threaten girls. We're going to
stop working. They have to pay you more money. And they told the owner, uh,
you have to pay them more money and gave them, you know, uh, threatened
her. If not, she says, If not, she says I can't afford to pay them any more
money and we were satisfied we didn't ask for any more. She said, you'll
find your windows broken and you'll find that you'll be out of business
altogether if you don't give in to them. And she was--we really had
sympathy for her. We really sympathized with her. We pitied her. And they
took us to a, you have to come to a meeting and they took us to a meeting
hall.
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Newman: And, uh, it was just a big, empty room with a lot of seeds. And
one man got up and started to talk and, you know, threatened and all that.
And to me, that was so foreign. I was only a couple of months in the
country. I got scared. I was I, I didn't understand the whole thing. And
then she had, she had to raise us a dollar. So she raised that, that $1 to
just to, to gain her you know. And we had to pay them so much union dues.
And they gave us a little book, a small booklet, and we had to pay them. So
I said, Well, what did we gain? You know, we had to pay the union people.
And I didn't like, I didn't like the guys, you know. So I quit my job here.
And I, and that's when I moved to New York. And I went to that factory
where about 2, 300 girls worked in that factory. And, uh, that was a little
hectic at first, you know, because it was so noisy for me and big. But I, I
really made a lot more money there. But I don't remember whether I belonged
to the union then or not. That I really don't remember. But then I got. I
came, I left there, I got married and I stopped.
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Kelsky: Well, joining the union in Brooklyn, wouldn't that, was that the
same as when you worked in New York? Would it be the same union?
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Newman: I don't know if it would be the same, the same, uh, branch. I
really don't know. I was so frightened because they yelled and they
hollered, Do this and that and all that. Things like, you have to hate your
boss and you just have to. Well, I guess they must have done a lot of good
things because they abolished child labor and all that. But at that time
that was so new to me and so frightening that I just--. Since we got a
little bit more money here and we had to pay it to them for dues, so I
didn't know what we were gaining. I know more about the unions, you know.
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Kelsky: Did you see much child labor there?
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Newman: No. No, I don't think so. I don't think that I saw children like
12 and 13 year olds working. Maybe that was before my time. But I was only
16 myself at the time, but I was ready to work. I was working at home
already. I was a dressmaker when I was 15.
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Kelsky: You already had your education?
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Newman: Yes. Yes.
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Kelsky: Did these people when you were living on, in New York, did they go
to school? The, uh, the children?
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Newman: Yes. Yes. Oh, yes.
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Kelsky: To public school?
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Newman: Oh, public school. That was, uh. That was compulsory.
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Kelsky: What about religious school?
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Newman: They all went to religious school. That was after public school.
They went to heaven [??]. Sure.
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Kelsky: But they didn't go to, uh, school other than public? They didn't
go to a Jewish school? Just a hadar?
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Newman: Just a hadar. At that time, the Jewish schools developed. Oh,
they, many years later that they went to the parochial schools for all
their education. I get here, that, that didn't come about, uh, for many
years after that.
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Kelsky: Is there one last thing you would say before we stop the
interview?
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Newman: Well, one thing I always regretted that I was never able to go to
school in this country. I started to work as soon as I came out, and
somehow there was no way for me to get to a school by myself. And then I
got married. Our business used to be open till ten, 11:00 at night. I
always helped my husband. And, I was always talking about school, and
somehow there was never an opportunity. I--Getting pregnant right away and
had my children and I couldn't leave somehow to go to school. And I always
regretted. Then when I moved to Squirrel Hill, I was, all I thought I was a
little too old already. I was 58. Now, I think I still could have done it
had I driven a car and been able to get around myself, I would have still
gone to a school or there would have been something in the neighborhood. I
just, I just couldn't. And it was always because I loved school and I was
always very much for education. And that's why I crammed in as much reading
as I could possibly read. And I didn't just read, uh, short stories or
novels, but I read some real good books. The only trouble with me now is I
read things and I forget them. I don't, I don't, you know, they don't stick
with me like they used to before, but, uh, that's the only thing.
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Kelsky: Do you ever go to lectures?
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Newman: Once in a while. Once in a while. I, I go to a lecture. But that,
too. Those are the things you hear on television so much, you see on
television. I don't miss anything on television that's a debate or a
discussion or anything important. Like 60 Minutes or whatever is important
on television. I listen to those things. I just wish that they, all those
things would stick with me now that I would remember everything.
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Kelsky: Did you listen to the debates between Ford and Carter?
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Newman: Of course, of course.
Kelsky: What did you think about that?
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Newman: Well, they were, naturally, they were enlightening and revealing.
But it was, it was a debate and everybody I say, they promise everything.
What can we say? Do they ever do what they promised? or are they able to do
everything that they promised? Especially the third debate, uh, for the one
thing which we knew that was wrong and Carter said something else, which I
know he can't enforce. So let's hope for the best. But I listen to them,
so, uh, I don't know. I just said I wish I, I, I wish some of the things
that they, that they promise and they say they're going to perform. I said,
I would like to know how. How we can do everything that he's promising to
do?
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Kelsky: We'll find out.
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Newman: So that's what he said. Now, I said he's elected. We have to give
him the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best. That's all.
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Kelsky: do you ever go to the, uh, senior citizen groups up at the Ike's?
Never go up?
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Newman: No, no, no. I went once or twice a day, and it's nice. Somebody,
somebody wanted me to come for some reason or other. And once to the, to
the Ike's. Uh, I wasn't ready to join them. That I should go there every
day, because I was always, I always had enough to do at home. And I played
cards a couple of times a week. And, uh, my time is always occupied, so I
never found that I was bored. Had I been bored, and looking for
companionship, I would have gone. But I never found it necessary. Even now
I was sick and I can't do too much right now. Now it's even harder for me
to go because of that travel. If my children don't take me, I can't go. But
they take me wherever I have to go. And, uh, I still can do little
alterations for my kids. I don't make any new clothes anymore like I used
to, because that's a little hard, especially for myself. But, uh, I never
found time just to go.
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Kelsky: Do you have many friends? Uh, contemporary friends in the city?
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Newman: Oh, yes, yes, yes. I mean, thank goodness I met a lot of good
friends. Oh, yes. I can converse on the television as much. I mean,
telephone. And, uh, I'm never home. I'm, I'm never lonely. I'm really not
lonely. Between reading and crocheting and talking on the telephone. I am
not lonely.
