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Falk, Rose Priola (audio interview #1 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This third interview with Rose Priola Falk was conducted as part of a special project focused on women in the ACWA in Chicago, focusing those involved with the Women's Local (275). All of these interviews conducted by Kris Feichtinger, in cooperation with the Feminist History Research Project of Los Angeles, were recorded at the ACWA union hall. The first two interviews, which focused on the union, were conducted jointly with Agnes Budilovsky. This third interview was conducted separately and focused on Falk's own background and experiences. TOPICS - family background; family history; family life; economic status; childhood; ethnic neighborhoods; and early union activism;ethnic neighborhoods; schooling; childhood; family life; household responsibilities; career expectations; early work experiences; wages; mechanization in garment industry; and attitude towards women and work; 10/28/1974
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- SUBJECT BIO - Rose Priola Falk, an activist in the Chicago Women's Local (275) of ACWA, was born in Chicago and raised in a largely German neighborhood on the near north side. She began working when she was fourteen, but then was forced to go to high school when the truant officers threatened her mother. After one semester, in 1922, she quit and got a full time job at Hart Schaffner & Marx, where her sister was an assistant chairlady. Initially, she was too young to do more than odd jobs, but after two years she became an operator. She initially joined ACWA Local 144, but then when she went to work at another company in 1940, where Clara Leon was the Business Agent, she switched to the Women's Local and proceeded to hold several offices in the Local. When she was thirty, she married another ACWA activist; they married at an ACWA Convention. They had no children, which enabled her to devote most of her time to the union, and especially to the Women's Local, of which she was an ardent advocate. She viewed her union activism as an avenue to fulfill her dream of becoming a social worker - an ambition that she could not realize due to a lack of education. Even since her retirement (in the early 1970s), she spends a great deal of time in ACWA activities. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This third interview with Rose Priola Falk was conducted as part of a special project focused on women in the ACWA in Chicago, focusing those involved with the Women's Local (275). All of these interviews conducted by Kris Feichtinger, in cooperation with the Feminist History Research Project of Los Angeles, were recorded at the ACWA union hall. The first two interviews, which focused on the union, were conducted jointly with Agnes Budilovsky. This third interview was conducted separately and focused on Falk's own background and experiences. TOPICS - family background; family history; family life; economic status; childhood; ethnic neighborhoods; and early union activism;ethnic neighborhoods; schooling; childhood; family life; household responsibilities; career expectations; early work experiences; wages; mechanization in garment industry; and attitude towards women and work;
- File: lhgwrfalk1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:24)... Falk's parents' families were close friends in Europe and immigrated to the US together when her parents were about fourteen years old. They all settled in New Orleans and lived on a large plantation. Her parents married while living in the South and first migrated to Pennsylvania, where they lived for several years, and then to Chicago, where she and her younger sister were born. Her father got a good job with the telephone company. (2:24-7:06)... Falk's father died in 1938 after struggling with heart disease for two years, during which time, he did not work. Falk's maternal grandparents helped support the family and her mother also did handwork for a tailor shop in their neighborhood. Neighbors also provided her mother with handwork because they were aware of her family's poor economic status. When Falk's brothers and sisters were old enough they entered the workforce to help their mother support the family. Falk attended one year of high school and then left school to work in the garment industry. At that time, she was earning $16 a week, which was more important to her than getting an education. (7:06-12:20)... Falk talks about her family's living standards following her father's death. When the union organized the clothing industry in Chicago, her mother stopped bringing work home and went to work in a garment shop on a full-time basis. When Falk and her siblings were all employed, their mother quit working. It was very important to Falk and her siblings that they support their mother and provide her with a good life. Falk's older sister began working in an office when she was twelve years old. She eventually went to work as an operator at Hart, Schaffner & Marx because the pay was better. (12:20-15:08)... Even though Falk's mother was not active in the union, she encouraged Falk to accompany her older sister - who was an assistant chairlady and very active in the union. - on organizing drives. The union was just beginning to recognize women and her sister was one of the few women who occupied a chair position at the shop. The women in Local 144 initiated the strike at Hart, Schaffner & Marx. Bessie (Abramovitz) Hillman was among the several women who walked out of the shop. (15:08-18:52)... According to Falk, it was common for married, immigrant women to work to help their husbands support the family. She talks about the changes in parent-child relationships and recounts telling a group of college students who visited the union hall to appreciate their parents for providing with with the means and opportunity to attend college. (18:52-23:16)... Shortly after Falk's father died, her mother became ill and was hospitalized for two months, during which time Falk and her siblings were separated and went to live with relatives. When her mother recovered, Falk's grandfather rented an apartment for them and supported the family until the children were able to. Falk and her siblings had three goals: to live in a heated apartment, to furnish that apartment, and to earn enough money so that their mother did not have to work. Overall, Falk remembers having a difficult childhood. However, her grandparents made holidays special and provided financial assistance whenever it was necessary. (23:16-27:46)... Falk was born in "Old Town," the neighborhood on the north side of Chicago where the Mother Cabrini homes stand today. When she was ten years old, her family moved further north to a community that is now known as Old Town Chicago. The neighborhood was predominantly German when they moved there. When WWI began and the landlord found out that Falk's family was Italian, she asked them to leave. The family attended church at St. Michael's, which was a German parish at that time. She started the first grade while living in this neighborhood and attended Waller High School. Their home was located a short distance from Vine Gardens. Falk remembers taking dates there and listening to Joey Bishop perform. She did not have any ideas about getting married because she was busy working and being active in the ACWA. She met her husband in the ACWA as he also was active in union matters. They married when she was thirty years old. End of tape. File: lhgwrfalk2.mp3 (0:00-1:46)... Falk continued to talk the neighborhood in which she grew up on the north side of Chicago. She remained at the same grammar school throughout her childhood and comments that this school deteriorated once the "colored" people moved into the neighborhood and eventually had to be renovated. (1:46-4:06)... Falk did not learn about the divisions among Italians on the north and west sides of Chicago until she was older. She discusses her friendship with Marie Aliotto [another member of Chicago ACWA whose interview is included in this series], who attended grammar school with Falk's older sister. While she and her older sister went to public school, their youngest sister went to Catholic school. Their mother was a strict Catholic and wanted all of her children to go to Catholic school but she could only afford to send one child. However, all of the children received catechism at St. Michael's Church. (4:06-7:19)... Falk did not have a very pleasant childhood. Every day after school she and her sister Frances ran errands for relatives .25 a week. When they were finished with their work, they went home to help their mother with household chores. They usually had time to play outside for about an hour, which included playing ball or jacks. They were never permitted to swim in the lake because their mother feared for their safety. On Saturdays, their day was spent doing more chores around the house. When her family's economic situation improved, the highlight of their week became attending the nickel show on Sundays. (7:19-9:06)... Falk did not anticipate pursuing a career or an education when she was a young woman. Her priority was earning enough money to afford to dress nice and go dancing or attend shows downtown. On the weekends, she and her girlfriends walked to the Drake Hotel and window shopped. They often fantasized about the possibility of purchasing the fancy clothing they saw. Even though education was not a priority while she was growing up, if she were a young woman today she would pursue an education to enrich herself and to "get ahead." (9:06-13:52)... Falk went to work for Montgomery Wards when she was thirteen years old. In order to get this job, she used another girl's birth certificate. She returned to school at the end of the summer and finished grammar school. She went back to work instead of going to high school. But when a truant officer threatened to fine her mother if she did not send her daughter to school, Falk stopped working and enrolled in Waller High School where she studied typing, among other subjects. At the end of the year, she received a summer work permit and went to work at Hart, Schaffner & Marx when she was fourteen years old, not returning to school in the fall. (13:52-14:31)... Falk worked in "floor work" at Hart, Schaffner & Marx for two years before she was promoted to an operating position. Machine work was appealing because it paid higher wages and there was more potential to make money because it was piecework. (14:31-16:09)... Falk notes that there were a large number of Italian women employed in handwork when she entered the clothing industry. Clothing sewn by hand was considered the best quality. Over time, machines displaced hand workers and fewer clothing articles required hand stitching. (16:09-17:26)... Falk disputes the contention of a foreman who once stated that Italian women married too young and therefore were not a stable workforce. Most women returned to work after they gave birth to their children and could not afford to stay home. Among her friends and family, a vast majority lacked an education because they had to work. End of tape.
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