Document text
Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
FOLKLORE
CHICAGO
STATE
NAME OF WORKER Betty Burke
ADDRESS 1339 S. Troy St.
DATE May 11, 1939
SUBJECT American Laves
Packinghouse worker on killing floor
1. Date and time of interview
2. Place of interview
3. Name and address of informant
4. Name and address of person, if any,
who put you in touch with informant. None
May 10, 6:30 p.m.
5413 Calumet Awe.
Elmer Thomas
5413 Calumet
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
None
6. Description of room,house, surroundings, etc.
Two roans in a nicely kept flat, 3rd floor, kitchen and bathroom shared
by three families, including the Thomases. Comfortably furnished,
definitely middle class, crowded. Dining rocs: set and three piece parlor
set in one roam, besides occasional tables, radio, etc. Very caftgested
district, 20 and more people living in flat apts. built to house no more
than 6 persons. This neighborhood not the poorest nor the most crowded
of the South Side Black Belt, either.
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms, each bearing
the proper heading and the number to which the material refers.)
W3621
FORM B
Personal History of Informant
STATE
NAME OF INORKER
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT
NAME OF INFORMANT
1. Ancestry
2. Place and date of birth
3. Family
4. Places lived in, with dates
5. Education, with dates
Betty Burks
1339 S. Troy St.
May 10, 1939
Packinghouse worker
Elmer Thames
Negro
FOLKLORE
CHICAGO
Eastern Illinois
Around 32 years ef age
life, stepson
Marion, Ill., Chicago, Ill.
Finished 4 yrs. high school in
Marion
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates Butcher in sheep kill for 12 years
.7. Special skills and interests Is secretary of his union local
and steward in his dept. at work
8. Community and religious activities Belongs to the Metropolitan Non-
denominational Church at 41st and South Parkway. Proud of the fact that
his church bars no one from its doors, and makes no issue of color, oreed
or sect.
9. Description of informant Very clean and neat, dresses rather
expensively for wkr. 1411 built 6 footer, dark brown skinned, quietly
intelligent, plain speaking. Likes to discuss problems and solutions to
his raoels problems. Very race conscious. Thinks his people ought to
10. Other Points gained in interview
concentrate more on businessedministration courses in their education, rather
than
the more speolalised proressions or lawyer, doctor, or any or .arts4
Elmer Thomas
Form B
Thinks this would build the initiative neoessary for them to create their
own centers of industrial and economic activity, and do away with the
extreme exploitation of the Negro in his own conmiunity, at least. Says
Jewish merchants and absentee landlords are worst and most resented.
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
STATE
NAME OF WORKER Betty Burke
ADDRESS 1339 S. Troy St.
DATE May 10, 1939
SUBJECT Paokinghouse worker
NAME OF INFORMANT Elmer Thames
FOLKLORE
CHICAGO
Time ah went to the yards they put me on as a laborer on the Killing
floor. That was in Beef Kill but they soon had me transferred to Sheep
Kill. Ah used to try handling a knife, try to do some of the butoher jobs,
you know, when the foreman wasn't around. Well, that's a trade and ah
wanted to learn it so ah'd have a better chance to keep a job there. Time
ah started there was lots of Negro workers there, you know, had been in
the yards since they were brought from the South to help break the big
strike, well, they'd let me pick up the trade, helping them on the job.
Foreman, he came over once and see ah know how to handle a knife so ah got
a butchering job as soon as there was call for that. What ah do is out
off sheep's head after it's been dressed. Ah been doing that particular
job more than 12 years now. Ah Know fellows, told me when they started in
the yards, and tried to learn to butcher, white men on the floor didn't
like to see it. They'd do almost anything to keep them from learning,
throw anything they could lay hands on at them, knives, sheep fat oups,
punches, (that's tools we work with) anything. The white butchers, they
hated the Negroes because they figured they would scab on them when trouble
came and then („et good paying, skilled jobs besides. Well, that was a
long time back, with the• CIO in, all that's like a bad dream gone. Oh,
we still have a hard wow but this time the white men arewith us and we're
with them.
Elmer lhomas
Form D
being paid for the time he was putting in. Never had to do
that myself, but sometimes the foremen would make us work
five, ten minutes overtime, and finally we stopped that. At
that time they had those big sheep fat cups hanging on the
ohains. We'd see they were working us past supper hour.
Man fatthest away from the foreman would whistle and all the
guys at work would start hollering 's-o-u-pl and whistling
and banging the cups around, working all the time, you know.
So they couldn't fire us all and we made so much racket they
quit that particular chiseling after the first few times.
There's an old man, he pulls hog fat. Pulls hog fat off
the carcass and stows it in the fat cups. He's been oaths
killing floor for thirty years, and been stone blind for
twenty years. Be can get around on that floor as well as
anyone of us with eyesight. Knows every man on the floor by
the sound of his voice. He does his full share of work, and
better than most, at that. Ah was workinl with him 6 months
before ah found out he was blind, he gets around that good.
Don't know how he lost his sight. He don't need but a man to
take him home at night and bring him to work mornings. Guess
after you been working thirty years at one job you don't need
much else except habit to keep going. Some guys come to work
drunk, so drunk that they can hardly walk, but they can do
their work. They've been doing the same thing for so many
years, they can do it sleeping.
Elmer Thomas
Form D
They have a./oredit union/ in Armour's, keepea lot of
people out of the CIO. If you want a loan from them yom
have to have a /good/ reoord. Well, some fellow, colored
fellow, he tried to get a loan. They knew he was a Union
man, so they made it hard for him. Told him to get some
worker with a bank account in the credit union to vouch for
him. Fellow went and got Charlie. Oharlield been in the
yards a long time and he happened to have some money there.
He walked into the office and signed them papers, and them
in charge of the loans with their eyes popping like a fish/
out of water. Manager asked Uharlie to step into his private
office, he was so upset. He said to him, /You really mean
you want to sign for that man, and he a colored maul I hate
to think of a white man would want to take on that responsi-
bility./ Charlie, he's Irish, and he looked at this manager
and grinned. He said, iNell, sure now, I do appreciate that
bit of advioe, min/ you ainit oharginl nuthinl for it. But
that black boy's my friend. He works with me. He's a union
brother and I guess maybe you're surprised to hear thet I'm
with the union, tool So just save that advice of yours for
somebody don't know no better./ Walked out of there and
slammed the door. You think that colored fellow didn't get
his loan? He got it. Manager couldn't do a thing. He
really spoke his piece out of turn that time. Got a union
man mad, that time, and got himself told.