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Lowe, Eva (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews with Eva Lowe, conducted in her home in San Gabriel. Although Lowe was a bit more comfortable in the second interview than in the first, the interviewer had also changed her strategy, trying to record the "essence of Eva's experience," rather than the specific details of her life. 9/26/1980
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- 2021-04-23
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- SUBJECT BIO - Eva Lowe was working as a waitress before she went to work at Douglas in 1942. Born in Indiana, the second of two children, Lowe came to Los Angeles with her family when she was five. She married when she was seventeen and was a full-time homemaker, taking care of her two children, until her divorce in 1939. She then began to work as a waitress. After she was laid off in1945, Lowe first returned to food service work for five years and then became an LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse). She worked as an LVN until her retirement in 1973. Three interviews where conducted with Lowe at her compact, one bedroom home in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. Her bleached blonde hair, pulled back into a pony tail, made her appear much younger than her years. Despite Lowe's casualness and the rapport that she developed with the interviewer, she remained a reluctant participant throughout. Nervous and uncomfortable, Lowe's answers tended to be very brief. She repeatedly asked that the tape recorder be turned off to ask the interviewer a question, collect her thoughts, or simply relax. TOPICS - advertisements for defense jobs; application process at Douglas Aircraft; training; working conditions; work attire; tools; mechanical skills; description of plant; gender relations; men's attitudes towards women;pay raises; rationing; mechanical skills; health and work injuries; dispensary and healthcare; overtime; housing; impact of war work on life; friends; work breaks; plant security; safety precautions; union; and famovertime; social activities; postwar layoffs; postwar recall; unemployment; attitudes about layoff; work as a cafeteria cook; and children;
- *** File: rrrelowe4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-1:57)... Lowe learned about job opportunities in the defense industry through newspaper and radio advertisements. Her main motivation for seeking a job in defense was monetary. When she applied at Douglas, she was asked to fill out paperwork and she believes she took an aptitude test. She also was required to take a physical, during which time she was told that she had high blood pressure. The doctor advised her to drink some coffee and smoke a few cigarettes before being re-tested later that day. (1:57-4:58)... After she was hired at Douglas, she was required to complete a three-week training course. There were predominantly women in the training school with Lowe. She was trained how to rivet and buck, which was "all Greek to me." She detested working at Douglas for the first month because she was not comfortable with her skills and she did not like the noise or the lighting in the plant. Once she got the hang of it, however, "it was more or less of an adventure." (4:58-6:37)... She was told what type of work she would be doing when she was hired at Douglas. She was grateful that her neighbor had tools and helped her get acquainted with their uses before she went to work in the plant. When she started at Douglas, she chose the night shift so that she could be home with her children before they went to school and in the early evenings. When she started at Douglas, she was still living with her ex-husband. (6:37-8:34)... Women were required to wear bandanas on their heads to keep their hair from getting caught in the machinery. One of her co-workers lost a piece of her scalp because her hair was not tied back. Their work attire consisted of overalls or slacks and a blouse. Lowe had never worn pants before she went to work at Douglas. She had no problems adjusting to pants and continued to wear them even after she left Douglas. (8:34-11:59)... She had to purchase a toolbox and a set a tools before she started working in the plant. Drill motors and rivet guns were supplied by Douglas. She was not familiar with tools before she went to work at Douglas. As her skills increased, she applied her knowledge to household repairs and home improvement projects. She became a skilled carpenter and even helped her father build a house. She also took courses in the evenings to enhance her carpentry and home improvement skills. (11:59-14:09)... Lowe did not know what to expect before going to work at Douglas. She never imagined the plant would be so noisy. She describes the plant as a huge, barn-like facility. For the first few weeks, she cried every day and dreaded going to work. She says, "I had no experience with anything like that. I think that's why I hated it too at first. It was all so strange to me, but the longer I worked there the better I liked it." (14:09-17:51)... She could not recall how she was assigned to a department the first day she arrived at the plant. She was immediately paired with a man, indicating that there were still a lot of men working in the plant at that time and "you know how they felt about women." Her impression was that men did not want women working beside them and even though they never said anything to her, she felt that they did not think women were capable of doing the work. However, everyone on her team was friendly and they all got along well. There were a lot of pranks pulled in her crew. She describes an incident in which she was a victim of one of these pranks. (17:51-21:59)... Note: the tape is turned off briefly in this segment. Although men did not make sexual advances towards women, "there were men you sort of chummed up with and you were more friendly with some of them than others." Lowe dated a few of her co-workers and was very friendly with two of her leadman. She remembers that there was a lesbian couple at the plant. She was not familiar with homosexuality and probably would not have recognized homosexuals "unless they were thrown right in my face." Lowe recalls that the lesbians were like a man and a woman in the way they conducted their relationship. They did not work on her crew and she does not know if they were ever harassed because of their sexual preference. (21:59-24:52)... Lowe describes the people on her production crew as friendly and nice. After she was trained by a man, she was paired with a woman. She talks about her relationship with her partner Bernice. Lowe believes that there were twenty people on her crew. When she was assigned to army pickup work, there were ten people on her crew. (24:52-27:18)... There were very few Blacks employed in Lowe's department. Black and White women were never paired up in production teams in her section. She recalls how uncomfortable the women in her crew felt when a Black man was assigned to their section because "you felt just like he was taking off your clothes piece by piece." Lowe believes that Blacks were discriminated against at Douglas and that they were most likely segregated because she never worked with a Black women. She does not recall any racial encounters in the plant. (27:18-28:36)... She does not believe that any of the women in her crew were from other states. The women she worked were from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. When she started at Douglas she was approximately thirty-five years old and she believes that most of her female co-workers were about the same age as her. (28:36-29:24)... Even though she liked her supervisor, most supervisors at the plant were "looked down upon by the workers" and not held in high esteem. She never chimed in when people complained about her supervisor because she never had any reason to criticize him. End of tape. *** File: rrrelowe5.mp3 (0:00-1:02)... Lowe continues to discuss her supervisor at Douglas. She never had to ask for a raise while she was employed at Douglas. Her leadman evaluated her job performance and submitted the report to her supervisor who was responsible for approving her pay raise. (1:02-2:44)... While she was employed at Douglas, her family helped her around the house. Her daughter baby sat her brother during the summer when they were on break from school. Lowe did whatever she could around the house when she got home from work. Her ex-husband did most of the grocery shopping during the week. On the weekends, she spent her time housecleaning and doing laundry. On Saturday evenings, she went out dancing with her boyfriends. She also went on dates during the week. (2:44-3:39)... Even though she had her own vehicle, she was a member of a carpool and very rarely drove herself to work. She was not eligible for extra gas or tire rations because she did not head a carpool. She remembers having to buy a tire on the black market. (3:39-5:48)... She discusses rationing during the war. Douglas made it possible for employees to get cigarettes from a truck parked outside the plant. Douglas did whatever it could to help employees, such as arranging for people to register their vehicles or settle speeding tickets. Lowe was not aware of a company store at Douglas, nor did she know if the company sponsored any recreational activities or clubs. She may not have heard about these services because she lived in San Gabriel, not Long Beach. (5:48-7:01)... Lowe was proud of the fact that she learned new mechanical skills while employed at Douglas. She digresses regarding nerve damage she developed in her finger from operating a rivet gun. (7:01-7:41)... She once visited the plant dispensary for a sore throat. The nurse told her that she had strep throat and to see a doctor in the morning. Lowe was out of work for a week, which was the only time she ever missed work during her years at Douglas. (7:41-9:08)... Employees on the graveyard shift worked seven hours, but were paid for eight. Whenever she worked overtime, she received time and a half and double time on Sundays. She worked a lot of overtime because she needed the money. When she started at Douglas, she had $100 in her bank account and an old car. She purchased a small home during the war and had it not been for Douglas, she would not have been able to upgrade into new homes over the years. (9:08-9:58)... Lowe made a lot of friends when she worked at Douglas. She occasionally socialized with her co-workers on the weekends. However, her family and domestic responsibilities kept her busy most of the time. In addition, most of the people she met at the plant lived in Long Beach while she lived in San Gabriel. (9:58-11:24)... She does not know why she chose to apply for work at the Long Beach plant. Just before she applied for a job at Douglas, she was working in the dining room at the Alhambra Sanitarium. One of her co-workers applied for a job at the plant and when he was rejected, she went to the plant to apply for a job. (11:24-14:36)... Lowe describes the work injuries she incurred while at Douglas. Whenever she was injured, she went to the dispensary for treatment. (14:36-16:15)... Besides wearing a bandana, she could not recall the other safety precautions in place at the plant. She remembers falling a few times because of her own carelessness. She digresses regarding the responsibilities she had while working as an assembler in army pickup work. She was paid a higher wage than what she earned riveting. (16:15-18:22)... She discusses the pace of production at Douglas, indicating that there were downtimes in production. When her crew did not have anything to do, they were told to "get out of sight." They were not allowed to go to sleep during these downtimes. Occasionally, Lowe went to sleep during work breaks when the plant was quiet. She believes they had two fifteen-minute breaks and a lunch break every shift. (18:22-20:01)... Lowe ate her lunch with her co-workers in the production area. The plant was equipped with a cafeteria and some people went there to eat lunch. She thought it was more fun to bring a lunch because it gave them more time to sit around and talk. (20:01-22:05)... There were security officers outside the plant; however, she does not believe that employees were watched inside the plant by anyone but their leadmen. The women's restroom was attended by a Black "maid." The women got along with her well and Lowe does not recall anyone treating her with prejudice. (22:05-23:50)... Douglas was not unionized when she started at the plant. Some time afterwards, a union election was held and employees voted to unionize the plant. She joined the union; however, she was not involved in union activities, stating, "I was there to work and make money and to do all I could for the war effort and beyond that, I wasn't interested in anything else." (23:50-24:36)... No one in Lowe's family fought during WWII. However, she had many friends and acquaintances fighting overseas. (24:36-26:22)... Everyone was "busy, busy, busy" during the war and Lowe did not have a lot of time to visit with her extended family. One of her cousins also worked at Douglas during the war; however, she worked the day shift and Lowe only saw her when the shifts changed in the morning. Lowe called her parents on the telephone everyday until they died. End of tape. *** File: rrrelowe6.mp3 (0:30-1:36)... Occasionally, Lowe started her shift two hours early when extra help was needed. Some employees did not want to work overtime. If her partner did not go in early, Lowe was assigned to work with someone new until her regular shift started. Employees were pressured to work overtime in order to meet production schedules. Supervisors did not have any preferences when they asked people to work overtime. (1:36-3:20)... Lowe thought it was a catastrophe if she did not go dancing on Saturday evenings. Dances were held everywhere, but she usually went to dance halls in her area. Other than visiting her parents and taking her children to their activities, Lowe did not have time for any other types of activities. Although she was active in the PTA when her children were young, she stopped going to meetings once she started working. (3:20-6:48)... She heard that the war ended over the radio while driving to work. The people on the night shift were put on days before they were laid off. About two or three weeks after she was laid off, she received a recall notice from Douglas, "but it was a noisy place and a lot of us were tired, so I decided that I would not go back." She was unemployed for about two months before she was hired as a cook at her son's high school. She worked there for eight years and was very happy in that position. (6:48-11:38)... Lowe was relieved when she was laid off because she was tired. She worked a lot of overtime while at Douglas and once worked four weeks without a day off. She knew that she had to support herself, but she was not worried about future job prospects. She talks about the recall process at Douglas, stating, "they told me that if I didn't want to come back it was all right and they didn't really want us, the women. They would have preferred, I think, if all the women had quit." She received unemployment for about two months before she started working again. (11:38-13:45)... After Lowe moved out of her ex-husband's home, she purchased a home a mile away so that she could be near her children. Even though they lived with their father, they frequently spent the night with Lowe. When Lowe was laid off from Douglas, her daughter was already in college. Another reason Lowe was relieved that she was laid off was that she would no longer have to drive from San Gabriel to Long Beach, giving her more time to do things around the house and spend time with her family. End of tape (Note: interview ends at 13:45, but continues without sound for approximately six minutes)
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