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Simmons, Etta (audio interview #3 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the third of four interviews with Etta Simmons, conducted in her living room of her modest one-story home in Manhattan Beach. The interview took place shortly after the death of her husband and although she seemed to be adjusting relatively well to being alone, she welcomed the company and enjoyed the attention the interview provided. Simmons was very candid and talked freely about her past. She was often self-critical and self-reflective, using the interviews as a way to analyze her life. Although the interviews reveal a person who has been the victim of unhappy circumstances, off tape Simmons was a lively woman with a good sense of humor. 4/8/1981
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- 2021-04-30
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- *** File: rrresimmons9.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:05-1:33)... Simmons discusses her waitressing jobs in Castaic, California. (1:33-3:29)... Simmons believes that many of her co-workers at Western Holly were men and women laid off after the war. She lost contact with them after she moved to Castaic. She recalls that she was making over $1 an hour when she was laid off. Like most people at work, she anticipated that she would lose her job after the war and she began to make plans to join her cousins in Castaic. (3:29-6:02)... Simmons did not bother looking for another job in the Los Angeles area when she lost her job at Western Hollly because she had already decided that she was going to join her cousins in Castaic. When she left on a Saturday morning, it was raining and her car was not equipped with windshield wipers. Even though she had never driven long distances before, she was not afraid of the trip ahead of her. (6:02-11:36)... Simmons hourly wage as a waitress in Castaic was less than a $1, plus tips. Even though her pay was substantially less than in her war job, she was able to save some money because her living expenses were less in Castaic. She viewed waitressing as a temporary arrangement until she could find something better. Initially she worked at a small coffee shop until she got a better job at "The Tower." When it closed down a few months later, she returned to Boston to visit family. In this segment, she also describes her living arrangements with her cousins and their living conditions in Castaic. (11:36-14:22)... When she went back to Boston to visit her mother in 1946, in an effort to save enough money to move back to California, she worked in garment factory during the weekdays in a restaurant evenings and weekends. She also walked to and from work in an effort to save enough money to move back to California even though the restaurant was located in a bad part of Boston. (14:22-19:11)... Simmons stayed in Boston for about six months before returning to California in 1947. She moved in with her cousins in North Hollywood and worked as a waitress until she found a job at a lingerie factory sewing straps. She was then hired as an operator at a dress factory, but quit when the factory signed a union contract. She decided to relocate to Lancaster with her cousins, who were always in search of a better climate because the cousin's husband suffered from asthma. Until she left Lancaster in September 1948, she worked as a waitress again. (19:11-26:03)... Simmons and her cousin coordinated their work schedules so that one of them was home with the children. She changes the topic and talks about her visits to her family back east. While visiting a sister in Chicago during the 1946-47 period, she got a waitressing job in order to pay her sister room and board. Then, when her cousins from California arrived to visit, she accompanied them to St. Petersburg, Florida. They moved into a trailer and both she and her cousin got waitressing jobs at a restaurant in front of the trailer park. Simmons began dating the restaurant owner, but when her cousin's husband became protective of her, she decided to go back to Boston, where she stayed until her cousins returned to North Hollywood. (26:03-28:20)... Moving so often during the postwar period was not conducive to establishing close ties with women. Most of the people she socialized with were male suitors she met while waitressing in Castaic. End of tape. *** File: rrresimmons10.mp3 (0:06-10:54)... Simmons left Lancaster in September 1948 after she and her cousin had a physical altercation that resulted in Simmons receiving a black eye. Desperate and penniless, Simmons contacted her ex-mother-in-law and asked for help. Her cousins drove her back to Los Angeles, where she met with her ex-mother-in-law, who gave her $40 and addresses to two available apartments. Simmons ended up moving into a renovated garage, but within a week decided to move into a rooming house for $25 a month so that she did not have to be bothered with shopping, preparing meals or paying for childcare. Once her black eye cleared up, she went to work at a garment factory in downtown Los Angeles. (10:54-13:59)... In 1948, Simmons began working as an operator at a Los Angeles garment factory that manufactured maternity clothing. She was paid a piecework rate, making approximately $40 a week. Most of the workers were women. She remarried and bought a house in Buena Park in 1955 with her husband, commuting to work with a neighbor who also worked in Los Angeles. (13:59-18:30)... When Simmons returned to Los Angeles in 1948, she began socializing more and going out on dates. She relates an incident of a man she dated who borrowed $10 from her and then left in the middle of their date. When she finally tracked him down at his job, she learned that he was married and had two children. He never repaid her and the experience made her feel like a "sucker." For the most part, however, the few men she dated before she re-married were nice. (18:30-24:52)... Simmons describes meeting her second husband, John Simmons, in 1950. During this discussion, she sheds light on her living conditions at the rooming house in Los Angeles. The landlords were alcoholics and constantly argued. On more than one occasion, the residents of the rooming house called the authorities and her landlady's husband was arrested for spousal abuse. Simmons eventually decided to move out because of this unstable environment. When she met her husband, he was living in this rooming house and working for Tidewater Oil in Vernon, California. They dated for two years before marring in December 1952. (24:52-26:11)... When Simmons started to date her second husband, John, her son was a teenager. He welcomed John and encouraged his mother to get married. However, after she married, her son began to rebel against John's strict rules, which clashed with Simmons' milder disciplinary habits. They had some minor problems while he was growing up, but things became more stable as Allen reached adulthood. (26:11-28:50)... Simmons and her son are very close. She considers him a confidante and a friend. When he was growing up, she spent most of her spare time with him. On weekends, she took him to the movies or to events like the circus or the rodeo when her finances permitted it. Occasionally, her ex-mother-in-law took them on day trips. Simmons did not participate in her son's school activities or the PTA. End of tape. *** File: rrresimmons11.mp3 (0:05-2:58)... It was an adjustment for Simmons when she remarried in 1952 after having been single for eight years. Finding time to spend time with her husband was difficult because of his inconsistent work schedule at Tidewater Oil. On the other hand, she felt that she because she did not feel the pressure of cooking meals for him on a regular basis. After they married, he moved into her apartment which meant that she did not have to adjust to a new neighborhood and living environment. (2:58-8:46)... After her second husband, John, got out of the service, he married and went to college for approximately a year. It became difficult for him to manage both is work and school schedule after they had a child and he quit college. He eventually divorced because his wife did not support his education aspirations. Simmons encouraged him to go back to college but he was never motivated to return except for taking courses in accounting and income tax. After a ten-year career at Tidewater Oil, he left the company in 1959 and used his profit-sharing allowance to purchase and equip a truck to haul oversized mobile homes. He contracted to haul mobile homes on behalf of the Campbell Company located in Long Beach. (8:46-14:56)... Note; there is an interruption in this segment while Simmons answers the telephone. The audio quality is poor. Simmons continued to work after she remarried. Her husband purchased a home on the GI Bill in 1955 and she was thrilled to move into a house. They lived in their home in Buena Park for approximately three years, but then moved into an apartment in Inglewood so that her husband could be closer to his job at Tidewater Oil. She discusses her husband's work history but the audio quality is poor and it is difficult to understand her. (14:56-26:11)... Note: the audio quality is poor in this segment. After Simmons left the garment factory in Los Angeles in 1956, she went to work in Anaheim. Because of the poor audio quality of this segment it is difficult to understand to understand her description of her responsibilities. She returns to a discussion about unions in the garment factories in which she worked during this period. Eventually, Simmons went to work for Mattel for $75 a week. End of tape. *** File: rrresimmons12.mp3 (0:02-2:36)... Before Simmons was hired at Mattel, she was required to take an aptitude test but not a sewing test. Although she was never promoted during her years at Mattel, she received periodic raises, so that when she was laid off in 1972, she was making $137 per week. Mattel was a non-union shop. Simmons and several of her co-workers approached their supervisors and asked for a wage increase to $150 per week, which they did not receive. The company went through several layoffs while she was employed there. (2:36-5:48)... Simmons describes her job responsibilities as a seamstress and a pattern maker of doll clothing at Mattel. Her job was challenging because of the size variations of the dolls and the small patterns she was expected to produce. (5:48-12:29)... After Simmons was laid off from Mattel, she went to work for a company that manufactured clothing for stuffed animals. She had conflicts with the designer with whom she worked because of their dissimilar work habits, and she was laid off a few months later. She began working as a seamstress from home and eventually went to work for one of her previous bosses making pillows. She stopped working for him in 1980, by which time she was making $4.50 per hour. Although her boss opened a factory in Gardena, she preferred to work from home so that she could stay home and take care of her ailing husband. Most of the people in the factory were Mexican and she would have had a difficult time communicating with them. (12:29-13:16)... Simmons' husband quit working for Norris Industries after they moved to a new location. He had been employed as an assembler until he was promoted to inspector. [Editor's note: although this was detailed in the previous interview, the audio quality dealing was poor and the conversation was unintelligible.] (13:16-16:41)... Simmons and her husband made family and financial decisions together. They pooled their money and he paid the bills. Although she disliked asking him for money, he always gave her whatever she needed. When her husband began hauling mobile homes, which required that he spend several days away from home, she took over the finances. However, whenever she got tired of this responsibility, he paid the bills. (16:41-20:29)... She continues to discuss her marital relationship and how she and her husband managed their home. While her husband expected her to accompany him whenever he wanted to make purchases, she did not need his approval to make similar purchases. (20:29-22:23)... During their marriage, their social life revolved around socializing with friends and taking weekend trips. They also enjoyed picnicking and going to movies and plays. When her husband began having health problems, their social activities decreased and they spent most of their time at home watching television. She describes her husband as a perfectionist. They argued because they thought each other was bossy. End of tape. *** File: rrresimmons13.mp3 (0:00-4:22)... Simmons speculates on what her life might be like if she was a young woman living in the 1980s. She jokingly talks about how she would refuse to wear miniskirts because of her heavy legs. In fact, she went back to wearing dresses after the war because she thought that slacks made her look even heavier. She believes that women today have it more difficult because there is more competition between them and it is more expensive to live. (4:22-8:25)... She thinks that women today are more knowledgeable about social and political events than women in her generation, which she believes is partly due to the influence of television. After she re-married, she became more conscious of social and political changes in and outside the country, which she liked to discuss with her husband. However, she thinks that the years she worked at home stunted her in this respect because she was not around people to discuss world events. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Even though she worked at Lockheed for less than two years, the experience had a profound impact on her. The third of six children, Simmons was born in Boston and raised in various locations in Massachusetts. Immediately after graduating from high school, she began working and from 1936 until her marriage in 1938 worked in a WPA sewing job. She became a full-time homemaker for the next three years, first in Massachusetts and then in Los Angeles, where she moved with her husband infant son, in 1940. In 1941, she went to work as an operator in the garment industry, and a year later began working at Lockheed. Her brief employment at Lockheed seemed to give her the impetus to finally divorce her "ne'er do well" husband. After that, starting in 1944, with a few exceptions, she mainly worked as a sewing machine operator in various factories and at home for the next thirty six years. The interviews with Simmons were conducted shortly after the death of her second, who she had married in 1952. TOPICS - postwar layoffs; postwar migration; living arrangements; living conditions in Castaic; waitressing work and wages; visits to Boston and work history during those periods; socioeconomic status; postwar work in LA grelationships with former in-laws; return to Los Angeles; living arrangements and conditions; garment factory work; wages; social life; dating; meeting second husband (John Simmons); husband's work history; home pumarital relationship; husband's background, education, work history; work history after 1956; union activities; job with Mattel; and wages; The audio quality of this interview is fair in the beginning and gets prowork at Mattel; wages; home work (sewing); marital relationship; managing household; married life; and social life and activities;reflections on life; societal changes and effects on women's lives; changing clothing styles; and knowledge and awareness of political and social events;
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