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4-13-04 Interview With My Bubbie Marina My Bubbie (Grandmother) is named Gertrude Elaine Moss - Zekley. Was born to Ben and Rebecca Moss. When she was born her mother Rebecca, didn't give her a middle name, so when she grew older, she gave herself one, so her name would spell out GEM. She was born on February 5th, 1919 in Detroit, Michigan. Her birth was also 9 months to the day after her mother was married. Marina Did you go all the way through High School? Gerti Yes, I graduated from High School in 1937, but I didn't go to college because I had to help my dad pay rent and to buy food. When I graduated, my dad gave me a sewing machine (a National) and then I started sewing my own clothes. Marina Did you have a job? Gerti My first job was during the 'bad times' (The Depression) where the government had set up an NRA chapter at my school, where I worked at the office. I got 12$ a week from the NRA. After work, I had another job across town in a men's furnishing store. I would always get a banana split for lunch. Marina How did the Depression effect you personally? Gerti Personally, it didn't affect me at all, I just gave the money I earned to my parents. Marina How did the Depression effect your family? What did you lose, if anything? Gerti My dad had a market. Some car factories went on strike, some closed, so people would come to the store and want to charge stuff, though they didn't have any money. My dad would turn them away, but my mom would tell me to find out what the needed, then tell her, and my mom would give me the stuff, go out the back, and give them the food. They ended up giving and giving and giving until the shelves were empty and my dad had to close the store. Marina What did your parents do after they lost the store? Gerti I got married to your grandfather Fred, who I had known through school, and was living in Los Angeles at the time, and moved there to live with him. My parents missed me, so they moved to L.A. too, and bought a lot with two houses on it. My parents lived in the back house, and me and Fred lived in the front one. My dad worked in another market until he saved up enough to buy his own. Marina Did you witness any strikes? Gerti Yes, I witnessed automobile factory strikes, people were fighting in the streets of Detroit. Marina Did you lose your savings? Gerti We lost everything, because after the store closed, we had to use up our savings to live on. My mom had an upright piano, and she ended up pawning it off for $100 to live on. Marina How did WW2 effect you? Gerti I wasn't really effected by WW2. During that time I divorced Fred (There was this thing, where you couldn't just be divorced, you had to give it a year) and went back to Detroit, and got some war related jobs. I ended up getting a letter or call from fred that said he was being drafted. So I ended up going back to L.A. with a friend, only to find out he wasn't being drafted at all because he was an engineer, he just wanted to see me. He worked on airplanes that were used in war, he helped to invent a bomb that was used in planes. Marina So what happened to your dad's store? Gerti My dad got cancer, and had to give up the store, but he still wanted to work, so he bought a truck, and got eggs from egg farms, and went around and sold them to people. Marina All in all, my Bubbie has had a pretty amazing life, and I'm so happy I've gotten to know her better, and hear all her stories. She worked in the NRA that Roosevelt set up, which helped out her family. Her father, like most men in those days, had to have a job. She witnessed strikes, even violent ones, by automobile workers, because no one had enough money to buy one. Her and her mother gave food to the workers that had lost their jobs, even though they ended up giving everything away and had to close the store. She, probably like most kids back then, gave all the money she earned, to her parents, to help pay for everything to live on. My Bubbie is a totally awesome lady, with a kind heart and a wonderful spirit. Gertrude Zekley Website |