Document text
STATE
NAME OF
AD1r:ESS
DA1F
SU6JECT
HMV i-:
Pel-sonal or infort
New York State
vouP, Terry Roth
47 W. 69th It.
November 9, 1938
"TE,PRING THE CALF IN HALF". LOUIS JAFFE TELLS TALES
1. Ancestry Lithuania
2. Place and date of birt;:
Lithuania, 1801
FOLKLORE
NE'' YORK
'3. Fa11111-Y Wife, and three children boy and girl are maritited
Third is a teacher.
4. Places I ivO' l, i.ti drAeL
not given
Hebrew education in Europe
5. Education, ltL;?J.).i,es
h. Ocupations nod accplicncc, with aate
Glazier and picture framer for 37 years
7. Special skAlUs and interests Likes to tell stories and wants to
write a book
8. Community and religious Retillit:.es
Is a officer in some Jewish Brotherhood organization
9. Description of infomant
56 years old, about 516" weight about 155 lbs,
farsighted, his squinted eyes do not hide the twinkle. is proud of
his :thick greying hair, although he thinks his wrinkled face makes
lo. Other Points gained in itterview him appear much older than his 50 years.
Informant is an unhappy and lonesome man. Complains t hat he has
no one to speak to. The children go their ways and his beLutiful
and clever wife doesn't seem to be around. As a matter of fact
he hinted that she had recently left him. Was very worried at the
time of the interview that Niue Dewey might win the election and bring
with him a wave of anti-semitism. Spoke a great deal about the plight
githailtyat pnoPulleitrin gragletAt
wapiti stet(
is
CO
FORM C
57-xt of if -,ter low
STATE Now York State
NANE OF WUlUil Terry 1:oth
ADDRESS 47 Vs 60th r..
DATE NOV* ge 1030
SUBJECT ntrEarlin 71E C LF IN NALF".407IS .37FE TELLS TAL,,S
"you tink it's goying to rain tamers (tomorrow?) Ef I'll
know it's goying to rain tamers I voodn't advertise. I hay sou houses
opton. (Speaks into phone to American want Ads) II vent to put in
en ed fur unfoornished apotments. Zia is Jaffe. You hay do ed dare:
landlord. Veil, so viii you take a new ad so maybe you ken fees it
op. Unfoornished, fur, fife rums, moddin, refeegeation, 5 Emoted.=
Evenue, look me op dare. My credit's good. Next time X esk for
Mis Jones. Tell me, you tink Pridey is better? Vhatever you say, Miz
Jones.' Now, Miz Rutt, tell me someting. I heir in my mind to write
a book abut such tinge happen to me. Of oourse I'm not so eliosted
bot stories I ken give you two towsend pees. Maybe your boss ken
come to see me. I dont vent I should get reeoh from die. You tell
him I'll geeve him full voluble merohandTee. You tink maybe I'm
a full (fool), tell me1 you tink l'ken do it? It's not det I tink
someting vunderful happens to me but I know some good stories. It's
really very hod (hard) fur me to tell you vun like die. Ef you come
into my store end you talk to me I tink of someting I know. Den I
ken tuck (talk) fur hours. Flot to stot (sold like die is hod fur
me. You tell me someting.
It's your job to write stories. You tell me vun foist, den maybe I
ken tuk to you. Also, how ken I tuk to you von you dunt vetch me.
I know you write it but kent you look et me vunce in a while. I like
to see your face vhen I tuk. Not dat I mean anything wrung by it.
Vwn ting you should know, I'm a gentlemen, I say it's easy to crull
(crawl) in de mud but it's hod to crull out of de mud. I dont know*
to some people I ken talk a lot. Vunce I told a story it lested
tree nights and de people deyc rime each night and said, Veil, Jaffe,
finish op, so I conteenud end dey liked it. So now, you tell me vun."
I did.
"Now, Miz Rutt, here's somting I remember. In de uld days I
close my business et seex o'clock. Acruss de strit from me dere vus
a drug store, a Mr. Schrader, where I used to go somtime in de
evening maybe to play a little casino, pinochle, who knows. I used
to go in ,.'ere in de beck of de store vhere is a table end a few
chairs, and hay an enjoyetle evening. Vim Saturday night I said to
my vife. "Vhere are you goying?" "Veil', she says, 0I'm goying
over to my modder,' so I says, 'I'M goting acruss de strit and maybe
hey a poker game. Ef it's ull ri•Jit I'll be beck abut tvelfe o'clock'.
So I vent in de beck of de drug store. Dere vere udder men dere.
Leon Trotsky, you know him, he used to come, in dere. He vus an
editor dot time in a Rnssian noosepaper, so ve sit donne abut fife
of us, Trotsky and some store kippers. Ve had a :.900-1 game rnd ve
played a little lunger. Abut tvolfo o'clock, his 'rife she brut donne
tea and pancakes. 'I know you like potatoe pancakes, Mr. Jaffe',
she says, so natural ve drink tea and eat de pancakes. Then a
a vomen goes to all dat trouble, vhat else? So abut two o'clock
I hod a vary lucky night, I vas ahead of do game about tree dollars.
Ull of
who is
coming
Police
-3.
a sodden I hear a holler in de beck uf de door. I vunder
dis. My vire. She stands dere honoring, 'Ef you are not
home you know vhat I'm goying to do, I'm goying to mill op
Coruterst. Trotsky says ve dunt like de idea. You viii hef
to go home. So I took my money and vent home. Vhen I get op
opstairs, ve lived two fli6hts op, she starts to holler end scream so dat'
de neighbors dey run out in de halls naked in pajamas* De more'
I beg her listen, de more she hollers. I didnt know vhat to do vid
myself. Vhen she hollers sommore, I vent true de people. Ef it
vood heppen today I vood be snot (smart)* I vood know to pay 402.00
at a hotel. Bot I dindt know abut such tings den so I vent over
in de Pock (park). It vus summer time end I suppose I fell asleep.
Ull of a sudden I'm avake. A policemen says 1Vhats de metter,
misLer.v Efter ull, I vasn't a bum, dressed nice. So I vent home.
Vhen I came home it was eight o'clock. No vun vas home dare so I
took a both and I shaved. I vent out to a lunch room end
around fur a while. Von I came home my vife was asleep.
into de kitchen end made myself a bit end vent to sleep.
day she begins again. 'To Link I should merry a gambler.
my familyt Den it comes out. Dat Saturday night she was
I valked
So I vent
De next
Never in
coming
home frum her modders* she meets a neighbor. 'Vhats de metter,
Mrs. Jaffe* you're alone so late. Vhere is Mr. Jaf_:el. 'He vent over
to Schrader to play coda'. 10y, gembling, you let him he should
gemble avay ull his money dare. It's de end fur you, Mrs. Jaffe.
My husband he should only tink abut gamling I'd geeve him to de
police'. So she got so yolked op she came fur me, She begins to
neg me and nag me so finally I vented to get revenge at her. If she
vas home I vood tuk to myself out loud. 'Oh my god, I'm sorry I
vent tonight. I lust tvelfe dollars'. De next night I vood come back
end say,
tVhIr kent I atop dis gambling, a tventy fife dollar loss
is too much for vun night'. It vas just a bluff. Idindt lose a
penny. All de tile I vas sitting in de pock every night. So she
vent to my fodder and says your son became a gambler, and he made
me promise det I vood never play cods again. It happened dot I
vasn't de fellow dot tore de eat (cat) in hef (half). You don't
understend dot? Happened in Europe dot a man fell in luf wid a
goil. Ull his friends dey yarned him, 6f you viii merry dot goil
you viii hey a terrible life because she hoe a terrible temper.
You'll be sorry ull your life. Veil, he said, take a chance,
so he married her. Efter, she started negging him he vas goying
crazy. Everybody was right. No metter vhat he done or vhat he
said vas no good. Finally vim night she sotted in again end de
cet vus running around in de middle uf de floor, end he got so
excited dot he picked op de life cot and he tare him in hef like
dat (with gestures). Then she saw dis she vas frightened like
crazy dot a men ken be so med dot he ken take a life cot and do
dis ting, So she crulled to him on her hends end knees.
do anyting you vent only promise me, never, never, to tear a cot
in hef again.' Dis is only en illustration. It just happened
dot I dindt tear de cot in hef so I vas to suffer. My vife,
she vood now be better trained.