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Forms to be Filled out for Eacn Interview
FORM 1
Circumstances of Interview
STATE New York
NAME OF vORFElt Herman Spector
ADMESS 4121 Third Avenue, NYC
DATE January 5, 1939
SLWECT A GENZIL FOR THE HOLIDAYS
1. Date and time c" interview
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
2. Place of interview Chicken Market under Delancey Street bridge
at Pitt Street
3. Name and address of informant Ralph Lifshitz
4. Name and address of person, if any, vino put you in
touch with informant. None
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surrounding,s, etc.
This is a sawdust -littered loft opening on dark street -island under the broad
ramp of the Bridge. Butchers and shoikets in long white coats stained with
blood walk about. Just -killed potarTIWEE those just expiring can be seen on
floor or fluttering madly in baskets. Coops full of live chickens and geese
are stacked to ceiling -height against the walls. Feathers everywhere. An
office, divided by wire partitioning, at the side. An air of activity is
created by the constant oacklina and casual moving of the restless fawl.
(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.)
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
STATE New York
NAVE OF WORKEfl. Herman Spector
ADDRESS 4121 Third Avenue, NYC
DATE January 5, 1939
SUBJECT A GENZIL FOR THE HOLIDAYS
FOLKLORE
+Am.,
NEW YORK
"You caught one of them yawning, you say? Oh, that one,
sticking his neck out of the coop? Probably bored with life; anxious to
get it over with. A nice fat goose, isn't he? They've all been
specially fattened for the holidays. No, I don't mind the smell
anymore. After six years, you don't notice it. Friend of mime quit
this business; studied medicine, opened up a practise. He came
around to see me the other day; he said, 'You know, Ralph, I've been away
so long I even begin to notice the smell of a iarket now.' He's lucky.
But come inside; it's warmer, and we can talk without being interrupted.
"Take your coat off, you don't want to catch cold. I hope
you don't mind, it's a little filthy, I can hang it up for you. It's
not exactly a business I would want to go into if I had the choice.
Yes, it's an honest living, but I wanted something else. It wouldn't
interest you Well, journalism. Graduated N. Y. U., then waited
around, nothing turned up, so here I an. This place was built by my
father twenty years ago. I never thought I'd end up here. I used to
pass by on the other side of the street. So one day my father said,
'Drop in once, look around, if you don't like it you don't have to
stay, nobody's holding you.' I didn't have anything to do, so I stepped
in, and I never went out again. That's the may it happened.
"This street was once the fish and poultry center of the city.
There was a city -owned fish market across the may, but it didn't make
out. People moved uptown, the markets moved with them. We still get
plenty of business here. Not the same kind of trade, of course. I
would say it's more discriminating today. If you want to get an inter-
esting picture of the change in tastes you should come here at about
nine o'clock Thursday morning; that's our busiest time for the housewife
trade. You should see how they pick up a chicken, blow on it from all
sides, examine the color Oh yes, you can tell that vv. A yellowish
color shows fattiness. Then, by feeling the breastbone, a housewife can
usually detect whether a chicken is plump enough. Years ago almost
anything went. Roosters over a year old plain meat, but it was cheap,
so they bought it. Nowadays they want something tasty; we couldn't
sell a coop of roosters in a month's time.
"Most of our sales are to butchers; they're choosy too, but
you'd be surprised, they don't know any more about what's good than the
housewife. We have six shoikets (ritual slayers of fowl) working here,
and they have plenty to do. They are unionized, you know. It's a skilled
trade, and naturally they have a sort of monopoly on it. They have to
go through a regular course of training until they get what amounts to
a diploma. They must know all the religious laws of Schreetor (slaught-
ering) before they can touch a chicken. The knife they use is called
a chalifs unless the point is perfectly smooth, it isn't considered
kosher. When a chicken, for any reason, is wrongly out, it's called
a Schmootoor; and it can't be used as kosher. They make a nice living,
theghoikets; they are paid by the pound. Oh, yes, they always check
on weights. When they kill they pronounoe a prayer wait a minute,
I'll get it straight for you It goes like this:
1Zeh chalifasy, zeh timurasy,
Zeh oaparasy, zeh hatarnigol;
Yalaych l'misah, veyani ekanays,
Veh aylach lechaim,
Tovim aruchim ulshalom."
"Translated roughly, it means: 'This is my redemption, this
is my salvation, this is my substitution. This is the chicken that
will go to its death, and I shall enter and go into a good and lasting
and peaceful life.'
*ffe don't exactly have seasons here, but holidays are im-
portant. Before "Simkas-Torah" that's the holiday of rejoicing in
the giving of the Torah they use ducks. During the Passover holidays
the best of all poultry is used all the luxury items; capons, turkeys,
and the finest chickens. This past Thanksgiving not a Jewish holiday,
of course but I believe more Jews bought turkeys than ever before.
Why? In my opinion, it's due to particular world relations at this time,
to conditions of oppression abroad and the desire to give thanks for
living in America. During Chanukah week they prepare fat for the
Passover, so specially fattened geese are brought to the city then,
like the ones you saw outside. With the devout housewife, not to be
able to have a genzil (goose) for the holidays would be a tragedy of
of the first order.
"Generally, we find that there has been a drop in the consump-
tion of poultry. I don't think it's poverty alone that's responsible.
For one thing, the family of today is smaller than that of twenty and
twentyfive years ago. There were seven in my family, for instance, but
you won't find so many among the younger generation. Then there has
been a shift toward vegetables, toward a balanced diet. And the younger
Jewish housewives, not being so religious, also tend to buy trafe (non
kosher) chickens, because the prices are cheaper. And many people like
the taste of cold -storage chickens, you know. Still, quality is always
a consideration, and we have customers coming from all over the city
and Long Island for our chickens. Even Gentiles, who feel that Jewish
poultry is healthier, shop in the East Side markets. You know, it's
only the Jews and Italians who go in for fresh -killed meat. That is,
to any extent.
"We work all hours; it's not as bad as in the old days, naturally;
there's even a tendency to make it a six -day week in this industry, and
maybe five days eventually. The routine is a little different each day,
it depends on the Schreetor, which usually lasts till five o'clock.
We're closed from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, naturally.
Sometimes we may work from Saturday sundown to late Sunday night without
stop. Thursday we do, I should say, sixty percent of our entire business.
I guess I'm used to the hours, you know haw it is, we have coffees on
the job, hang around and schmooz when it's slaw when I get home
usually I'm too tired to even think of reading a book. Funny, you know.
I never could see myself in a business like this. You have to mix with
all kinds; not my type. Outside the job, I try to mingle with more of
my awn element doctors and lawyers you know; at least I think they're
my element. You can't do what you want when you've got a family to
think of. It's a living, that's all Well, drop in some time
again. Glad to see you anytime. Don't mention it