Top of page

Notice
Monday, February 16, 2026: For the President's Day holiday, The Library will open under normal operating hours.

Audio Recording "She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money."

"She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money."

About this Item

Title

  • "She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money."

Names

  • Garcia, Luz (Narrator)
  • Carroll, Thomas D. (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-09-14

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Beauty Shops
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  21st Avenue (Paterson, N. J.)
  • -  Mari's Hair People (Paterson, N.J.)
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Paterson

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Interview with Luz Garcia, owner of Mari's Hair People.
  • -  Summary of audio segment: Mother worked in a factory when first came here, worked at Zerega's, a pasta factory in Fair Lawn, in the 1960s. After that she worked in coat factory because they paid more money. Mother sewed, made linings. She liked it better because was making more money, the nature of the work wasn't the factor. She wanted to get ahead. That's the way it was back then. Even LG worked in factory in summer, got $1 an hour. Then someone told her about a job in Hawthorne, making metal toothpaste tubes, and she went there. But work was so bad, burned her fingers, and left there, even made more money. Had to pack tubes in box right from the machine, they were so hot. And work was fast, no chance to get away, to the ladies' room, for example. They paid $2 an hour. That was a summer job.

Medium

  • Digital Audio Tape

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-TDC-A025

Source Collection

  • Working in Paterson Project Collection (AFC 1995/028)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the material in this collection, except as noted below. Users should keep in mind that the Library of Congress is providing access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other holders of rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance.

Credit line

Working in Paterson Project collection, 1993-2002 (AFC 1995/028), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Garcia, Luz, and Thomas D Carroll. "She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money.". -09-14, 1994. Audio. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afcwip004002/.

APA citation style:

Garcia, L. & Carroll, T. D. (1994) "She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money.". -09-14. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afcwip004002/.

MLA citation style:

Garcia, Luz, and Thomas D Carroll. "She started working in the coat factory because it paid more money.". -09-14, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afcwip004002/>.