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Keyser, Dora Stoller (audio interview #1 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of three interviews conducted with Dora Keyser in her home for a women's oral history class at UCLA. Keyser was a willing participant and easily established rapport with the interviewer, to whom she was introduced by Sherna Berger Gluck, who was teaching the class at UCLA. A fourth interview was conducted three years later by Gluck. 1974-1
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- 2021-01-27
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- SUBJECT BIO - Dora Stoller Keyser was a lifelong anarchist activist, starting from the age of fifteen, two years after she arrived in the US. Born in the Ukraine, the 17th of 18 children, Dora Keyser was the last of her family to emigrate to the US with her mother in 1913 after her father's death. She recalls not only the pogroms in her native village, but also the protection that Gentile neighbors provided for her family. Like most of her siblings, she had very little education in Russia. After arriving in New York, at the age of thirteen, she started in the first grade. Within two years, she finished through the sixth grade. However, she dropped out of school to care for her sick sister and then went to work in the garment industry, participating in the 1916 strike of the ILGWU, Local 22. Gaining a political education from the lectures and activities in her Brownsville neighborhood, Keyser joined the anarchist movement when she was fifteen, following in the footsteps of some of her siblings. After her sister's death, she and her common law "husband" took over the care of her two children. Later, they had two children of their own. The Keyser family lived for a while first at the Ferrer Colony in Stilton, NJ and then later at the Sunrise Farm in upstate Michigan. Keyser and her partner played an active role in the activities of the two anarchist colonies, particularly in setting up a school. Keyser was close to many of the more prominent figures in the anarchist movement, including Rudolf Rocker, whose papers she helped to organize in later years in Los Angeles. She also provided housing for other anarchists and after the death of one of her roomers, she began to produce ceramic busts of Voltarine deCleyre from the molds that he had left. She remained a staunch anarchist and advocate of vegetarianism all her life. At the time of the interview she was still singing with the ILGWU Mandolin Orchestra and continuing to raise funds for the United Farm Workers. The interviews with Keyser were conducted by a women's oral history student at UCLA in conjunction with the Feminist History Research Project. An additional short interview about Rudolf Rocker was conducted later by project director Sherna Berger Gluck at the behest of the Minnesota Libertarian Society. TOPICS - family background; family life; childhood; Russian Revolution; anti-Semitism; pogroms; socioeconomic status; education and schooling; immigration to US; garment work; working conditions; wages and hours; anarchist movement; courtship; guardianship of sister's children; move to Philadelphia; and husband's anarchist activities; The audio quality of this interview is fair;abortion; birth control; children; husband; anarchism and gender equality; Emma Goldman; attitude towards women's liberation movement; Ferrer Colony; Sunrise Farm; the Depression; gender roles; and schooling and education; The audio quality of this interview is fair;
- *** File: refdkeyser1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:00)... The audio quality in this segment is fair. Keyser was born in Russia, where she lived until she was thirteen years old. Her village was frequently the target of pogroms. As the seventeenth of eighteen children, she grew up under better circumstances than her older siblings. During the 1905 revolution, her father lost his job, but her mother supported the family by selling baked goods to the community. Her father was an educated man and taught Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian studies. At the start of the revolution, her brothers instructed her to bury literature in the yard so that it would not be discovered by the police. (3:00-4:23)... The audio quality of this segment is fair. The sale of her mother's baked goods sales helped to improve the standard of living of Keyser's family and also meant that there was always bread to eat in their home. As a result, Keyser had it much easier than her older siblings who frequently had to go without food when her parents were struggling on her father's meager teaching salary. In the impoverished economy of the community, parents could only afford to pay educational expenses once a year. Her father's salary was used to purchase clothing and other items for the family. (4:23-5:50)... The audio quality in this segment is fair. Only ten percent of the Jewish population in their community attended public school. Tuition was one ruble per month. Keyser and her sister took turns going to school each month because her parents could only afford tuition for only one child. Keyser's public school education ended the day she showed up to class without tuition. (5:50-8:39)... Anti-Semitism was widespread in the village where she was raised. On Sundays and religious holidays, Gentiles paraded through the streets with Catholic icons. Keyser explains that Jews had to hide in the basement to avoid the peasants to whom vodka had been distributed. She comments that they knew very little; they believed that the Jews killed Jesus and they thought they had to kill the Jews. Keyser notes that there was a gentile family who was victimized during a pogrom. (8:39-11:40)... The audio quality in this segment is fair. Keyser discusses the positive aspects of growing up in the Ukraine. Although gender roles were clearly defined in the community, her parents shared responsibility in supporting the family. Her father was educated and a liberal thinker. Her parents were very social and their home was a gathering place on the weekends. At these gatherings, her father deftly challenged the prejudices and exaggerated stories told by his neighbors. (11:40-17:30)... Keyser's father was married twice before he met her mother. His previous marriages resulted in six children and her parents had twelve children together. In addition to raising the children from his previous marriages, Keyser's mother was responsible for taking care of her four younger brothers, a request made by her mother as she lay dying from injuries she incurred as a result of physical abuse at the hands of Keyser's grandfather. Keyser briefly discusses the siblings closest to her in age. (17:30-19:56)... Although her parents were not politically active, her brothers were involved in the 1905 revolution, one was the secretary of an anarchist organization, and two of her sisters were members of the CP. She digresses regarding her relationship with an older brother and discusses his family life. (19:56-21:49)... Even though her mother was not formally educated, she was an intelligent woman who could read and write. Her father, on the other hand, received a college education. She talks about her father's status in the community and his ability to calm any hysteria that resulted from exaggerated tales. (21:49-24:11)... Keyser and her siblings wanted to go to school but their parents could not afford the educational costs. For Keyser and families like hers, the only way to get an education was through relatives or friends who could afford to go to school. For instance, Keyser took lessons from a cousin from whom she learned Polish and German. (24:11-27:06)... The leather factory in her village employed most of the men in the community, including Keyser's brother and her father who worked as a bookkeeper. He lost his position when the factory was closed after the owner's died during the 1905 revolution. Keyser and her mother were the last members of the family to immigrate to the US. After her father died, the two supported themselves selling baked goods and with money sent to them by her siblings, all of whom were employed in factories in the US. She and her mother left the Ukraine for the US when she was thirteen years old. (27:06-32:03)... When Keyser arrived in New York, she adopted July 4th as her birthday. She attended public school for approximately a year before going to work in a dress factory as a finisher. At that time, she joined Local 22 of the ILGWU. In the factory, she was exposed to radical ideas and by the age of fourteen she was an advocate of anarchism and socialism. After a co-worker taught her how to sew buttons, she moved to New York City and went to work at a non-union shop sewing buttons for $5/week. She participated in an ILGWU strike and her wages increased to $9/week. (32:03-36:53)... Keyser and her family settled in Brownsville, an area of Brooklyn, New York largely populated by Jews. The area also was a hotbed of radical and intellectual ideas. She later relocated to a similar environment in the neighborhood of East Broadway in New York City where she continued to participate in the anarchist movement. Although she shared political views with her siblings, she considered herself an oddball because of her ideas about communism and her vegetarian habits. (36:53-40:54)... There is an interruption in this segment. Keyser talks about meeting her husband, a Russian immigrant and leader of an anarchist commune in Philadelphia. Shortly after they married, her sister died and she became the guardian for her sister's two children. They returned to Philadelphia and she stopped working in order to raise her nieces. Her husband continued his work in the anarchist movement and organized a group of Russian workers. He narrowly escaped arrest during the Palmer Raids. (40:54-43:54)... In addition to raising her sister's children, Keyser helped care for her brother's children because her sister-in-law was inept. Prior to relocating to Philadelphia, Keyser and her nieces spent the summer at the Ferrer [anarchist] Colony [Editor's note: located in Stelton, New Jersey]. She clarifies her activities before marrying and permanently moving to Philadelphia. End of tape. *** File: refdkeyser2.mp3 (0:00-4:01)... The audio quality of this segment is fair. In the early years of her marriage, Keyser did not want children of her own because she was busy raising her nieces. During that period, she had several abortions, which were performed by a physician in New York for $10 each. She had her first child, a son, when she was twenty-two years old and her second son a few years later. Her husband supported her decision to terminate her earlier pregnancies. She experienced difficulty while she was pregnant with her sons and her husband helped out by preparing meals and taking care of their household. (4:01-9:06)... Even though she was familiar with Margaret Sanger and Emma Goldman's discussions on birth control, Keyser and her husband did not use contraceptives. She first heard Goldman speak in New York and the two later became friends. When asked about the status of women in the anarchist movement, she maintains that men and women were equals, noting: "that is why I say I liberated myself so many years ago and I can't be a part of women's lib because I am liberated already." In later years, she aligned herself with the Norman Thomas wing of the Socialist party. (9:06-11:57)... Keyser discusses her views on the women's liberation movement. She supported Emma Goldman's ideas about gender equality and believed that it was unnatural for there to be any separation between the sexes, particularly among anarchists. Although she went to lectures on various radical perspectives, she did not participate in any other radical activities prior to becoming an anarchist. (11:57-13:53)... Although she was a natural organizer, she did not feel comfortable fulfilling a leadership role in the anarchist movement, partly because she was a mother and did not think the environment was appropriate for children. Her husband, however, was an active organizer and the breadwinner. While their relationship followed traditional gender roles, she was on an equal level with her husband. (13:53-17:52)... Keyser's early activities in the anarchist movement included working with a cooperative restaurant that catered to vegetarian cuisine. After she married and began taking care of her nieces, her activities decreased because of family obligations. Her husband maintained his activities as an organizer for the anarchist and cooperative movement. She discusses the release of documents related to their activities. (17:52-21:40)... During the Depression, Keyser and her family moved to Sunrise Farm, an anarchist cooperative in New Jersey. [Editor's note: this is more likely the Sunrise Colony that was located in Michigan.] Her family subsisted comfortably on their vegetable garden. She and her husband helped organize a school and various community programs in the colony. They also aided mining families on strike. Their home was the center of activity because of her husband's organizing and leadership abilities. Keyser discusses her parenting style and the importance of education in her life. (21:40-24:58)... When she started school in the US, Keyser was placed in the first grade. She proceeded to complete six grades in one year, after which she left school to take care of her sister. She then decided to get a job in a garment factory. Once a week, she went to lectures at Cooper Union and tried to teach herself English by using a dictionary to translate Russian words into English. Her educational pursuits continued over the years and she eventually enrolled in community college after taking an entrance examination with her granddaughter. (24:58-28:03)... Keyser and her husband remained in contact with other anarchists through the Anarchist Federation. Although there were different factions in the movement, Keyser ignored these schisms and worked with anarchists from every faction. In addition to living at the Ferrer Colony, in 1929 she and her family moved to the anarchist commune, Sunrise Farm [Editor's note: presumably, she is referring to Sunrise Colony in Michigan, which was comprised mainly of former Ferrer Colony residents.] End of tape.
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