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Shelit, Alicia (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews with Alicia Shelit conducted in the kitchen of her daughter's home, where she had recently moved. As in the previous interview, it is occasionally difficult to understand Shelit because of her tendency to mumble. 2/19/1981
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- 2021-03-30
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- *** File: rrrashelit4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-6:51)... Shelit met her husband while she was packing tomatoes and grapes for his father in Merced. She married when she was about seventeen years old. Her husband was an Italian with a large family. Much to her dismay, he enjoyed gambling and they divorced after six years of marriage. Shelit did not have any preconceived notions about marriage and her parents did nothing to prepare her for matrimony. She digresses regarding an injury her brother suffered and her family's trip to the San Francisco area in search of a surgeon to operate on his foot. (6:51-12:29)... She started packing fruits and vegetables when she was eleven years old. When she was fifteen, she started baby sitting for a teacher in Lakewood, whose wife taught her how to set tables and serve food. She entered a table-waiting contest at the Hollywood Bowl and won first prize: $5 and a cookbook. At that time, she went to work for Knotts Berry Farm as a waitress. She only earned tips, not wages. Mr. Knotts pointed out customers who were good tippers so that she would make money. He often offered to drive her home, but her parents forbid her to accept rides. Shelit describes the facilities at Knotts Berry Farm in the 1930s. (12:29-15:08)... Whenever Shelit went out with her fiance, she was chaperoned by other family members. Although her mother liked her husband, her father thought he was too good looking to be any "good." Her husband did not like her father either. When they married, she went to live with his parents in northern California. However, this arrangement did not work out and Shelit left her husband. She did not have any money and went to the police station for assistance. An aunt wired her some money and she took a bus back to Los Angeles to live with her parents. (15:08-20:09)... Shelit did not realize she was pregnant with her first child. She remembers feeling nauseous during the early part of her pregnancy. She gave birth to three children in the 1930s, her third while she was going through a divorce with her husband. One child was born at her in-law's home, one in a county hospital, and the third at a police station in Chula Vista. After she married, she worked budding and cutting dahlias on her aunt's flower farm. (20:09-21:17)... When Shelit was working her mother took care of her children. She gave all of her earnings to her mother to use towards the care of her children. She "worked like a man" to feed her children and allowed her mother to raise her children as she saw fit. Her mother also watched her children when she wanted to go to dances or to the movies. (21:17-27:09)... Shelit decided to divorce her husband because he was a jealous man and his behavior was erratic. The last straw was when he locked her in the cellar because she was talking to his brother. His family was "mean" and often argued. She did not want to raise her children in this environment and decided to divorce him Her husband never provided any financial support for his children nor did he spend time with them after they divorced. It was not until he was old and ill that he tried to get in contact with his children. Although the circumstances are unclear, her ex-husband apparently murdered his doctor for prescribing too much Valium while he was ill. He was jailed at Atascadero. (27:09-29:59)... Shelit married her second husband in 1946. He was a good man and got along well with her children. However, they divorced in 1954 when she learned he abused drugs. After that marriage ended, she decided she did not want to ever marry again. End of tape. *** File: rrrashelit5.mp3 (0:00-4:02)... Shelit decided to apply for a job in the defense industry because a friend talked her into it. In 1940, she accompanied her friend to a small building located on Lakewood and Carson and applied for a position at Douglas Aircraft. She was hired and assigned to a plant in Los Angeles to make parachutes. She describes the responsibilities involved in making parachutes. The plant was completely staffed by women, except for the male supervisors. (4:02-8:00)... After making parachutes, Shelit was transferred to a plant in Santa Monica to work on aircraft. She was told that she had "mechanical" hands and would not need to attend training school. Her leadman, Mr. Jacob, taught her all of the necessary skills required of the job. When he was transferred to the Lomita plant, she cried. In the 1950s, she was transferred to Lomita and was reunited with Mr. Jacob. She became close friends with his wife and they worked together on different aircraft. Shelit was never let go but transferred to different plants whenever Douglas experienced layoffs. (8:00-11:26)... She was assigned to work in several different capacities while employed at Douglas. Most of the jobs she did required the use of a riveting gun or other machinery. She worked with sealant that gave off a fowl odor and the material she used to clean parts during repairs upset her stomach. A few "alcoholic" employees poured this solution into a rag and sniffed it while they worked. She believes that working with this solvent affected her breathing. (11:26-13:26)... Shelit was transferred to the Long Beach plant in 1941. She worked there until 1945, at which time she was sent to Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego to finish a Douglas contract. She was offered a lead position but declined the offer because she thought the position required too much responsibility. When the contract was over, she went to another aircraft manufacturer and worked there until she returned to Long Beach plant in 1951. She was never laid off following the war. (13:26-18:53)... Shelit moved her mother and her children to San Diego when she worked for Consolidate Aircraft. They lived in a housing project owned by the company. When she returned to Long Beach in 1951, she rented a room at a hotel on Lakewood Boulevard and moved her family back to the area. She co-signed for a loan on a house with her brother and remodeled the home to make room for her children and her parents. In 1951, she obtained a special permit and moved this house to Hawaiian Gardens. During this period, employees were on strike at Douglas and she walked the picket line. The union provided her with food stamps to purchase groceries for her family. (18:53-20:52)... When Shelit switched from making parachutes to mechanically oriented work, she felt uneasy because she was one of very few women working on the line. She was told that these positions offered her better opportunities to make more money. She was initially afraid to work with a drill motor. She digresses regarding her fear of being electrocuted when heavy rains flooded the plant in 1951. She became more comfortable with her position over time. She remembers her foreman telling her, "You got a man's job. You do a man's job." (20:52-27:32)... Shelit describes, in detail, the types of work she did and the machinery she used to assemble certain parts of an airplane. When she completed her tasks, supervisors and other plant officials inspected her work. She was thorough in her job and often referenced blue prints to confirm the correct location of parts in the airplane. She was reprimanded on one occasion for not properly installing a door; however, it was later revealed that the person who secured the door was illiterate and unable to read the instructions properly. (27:32-29:02)... She discusses her impression of the Long Beach plant when she started working there. (29:02-30:42)... When Shelit started working at Douglas making parachutes, she wore a uniform. She could not wear jewelry or loose clothing. While working on the line building aircraft, she wore overalls, a hair net, and safety shoes. Many people wore safety helmets and earmuffs. She had a difficult time wearing helmets and earmuffs because it restricted her movement when she worked in tight spaces inside the airplane. End of tape. *** File: rrrashelit6.mp3 (0:00-5:29)... Shelit wore pants when she was employed at a packinghouse prior to the war. She was accustomed to wearing pants by the time she went to work for Douglas. The foremen at Douglas wanted the women to be respected. They established strict behavioral rules, such as no swearing, gossiping, or talking about politics and religion. They also requested that women wear very little makeup. If an employee had a difficult time getting along co-workers, he or she was moved to a different department. There were a few fist fights over missing tools or job-related issues. She was friendly with all of her co-workers regardless of their race or sex. She discusses her friendships with co-workers and recalls a Black male employee in her department who treated the women very kindly. (5:29-6:46)... Shelit joined the union when she started working at Douglas. She attended union meetings and was a union steward for many years. In this position, she settled disputes between employees and leadmen or foremen. (6:46-8:25)... When Shelit was employed at Douglas, her mother helped manage her home. Her mother did all of the cooking and washing for the family. Shelit typically completed a deep cleaning of the house on the weekends when she was not working. (8:25-9:43)... During the war period, Shelit spent very little time with her children because she worked seven days a week. The shifts she worked did not coordinate with her children's schedules. Her mother took care of her children when they were not in school. (9:43-16:07)... Shelit discusses her social life and the activities she enjoyed with her friends. While she was employed at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego, she befriended another woman and they have remained friends their entire lives. Most of Shelit's free time was spent with her family. She typically spent Saturdays cleaning the house and Sundays at church or around the house with her family. When Shelit retired, she wanted to travel. She digresses regarding a vacation she took with her mother to Mexico in 1973. While on that trip, her mother became very ill and it was discovered she had heart problems. (16:07-18:02)... Shelit did not worry about layoffs when the war ended. She was good at saving money and felt financially stable. She did not think that she would retire early because she enjoyed working. However, she began to experience problems with her health and was forced to retire. A doctor from UCLA diagnosed her with white lung. She believes that her disorder is a result of her work at Douglas and she would like them to pay for her doctor bills and medication costs. Most of her savings has gone towards paying doctor and lawyer fees. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Until she was hired at Douglas Aircraft in 1940, Alicia Shelit has worked primarily in either service jobs or agriculture. Born in Artesia, California, the third of six children, Shelit began working in the fields at age eleven, after completing the fifth grade. She first married in 1932 and by the time she went to work at Douglas, she was divorced and raising her three children. Once hired, she was transferred to other Douglas plants as needed until she was forced to quit in 1976 due to health problems. She was subsequently diagnosed with White Lung (asbestosis) and went to court to have her disease recognized as work related. Three interviews were conducted in her daughter's home, where she had recently moved. Despite her failing health, she maintained a busy schedule, including serving as an advocate for Spanish speaking senior. But she was always ready to attend to the task of the interviews. Not intimidated by the interview process, she was open and straightforward, though she tended to skip over painful, personal events in her life. As with many of the other women who continued to work in aircraft, there was a tendency to jump back and forth between different time periods when talking about the job. TOPICS - family history; family life; marriage; husband; marital relationship; childbirth; pregnancy; childcare; and work experiences;skills and work responsibilities at Douglas; on-the-job training; working with chemicals and hazardous materials; gender roles; work expectations; work attire; family history; and living arrangements and housing;work attire; work etiquette; work environment; unionism; friendships; social activities; domesticity; and work-related health problems;
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