Lucy Glaser Merritt - July 8, 1991
Immigration to America
Now you had comestraight to Detroit. Well, you came first to New York I assume, and then.
Yeah, he came to New York and then to Detroit.
When you and yourparents came UM, when you got to New York what was the procedurethat you had to follow?
You just got off uh, the boat and uh, you werepointed out apparently to the people who picked you up. And then she went intogreat shouts of "cousin" and kissed everybody in sight. And I didn't know herand my mother said she wouldn't have recognized her. They had to come and pickyou up.
From Detroit.
From New York. Then in New York we lived in, in theHIAS for awhile. And then they said they didn't want a concentration ofrefugees in New York. So they assigned everyone to go to the city where theirsponsor was. And our sponsor lived in Detroit. So they gave us a ticket, go to Detroit.
Um, this was a cousinwho lived in Detroit?
Yes, my mother had numerous cousins. There wereseven of 'em in the States.
And how long had thecousin lived here?
Oh he came after World War I. They've been here along time.
What was the name?
Katz. One was Schultsman here and the others wereKatz. K-a-t-z. And there were seven of 'em.
So did they have toprovide you
Theyhad.
with jobs or?
No, they had to promise that they would support usfor a year. But actually that was a paper promise because the Jewish communitysaw to it that they were not taxed. That they didn't really have to pay. Sothey helped us out for awhile and then my father got a job as a bookkeeper. Andso we didn't need it. And they were very nice to me because I was working forawhile and then I wanted to go back to school and we really didn't have thatmuch money. So I had to ask their permission because then I might need helpfrom them again. And they said I could, I could go back.
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