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Audio Recording "When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department."

"When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department."

About this Item

Title

  • "When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department."

Names

  • Balistrieri, Sam (Narrator)
  • Taylor, David Alan, 1951- (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-08-07

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Italian Americans
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  Retirees
  • -  Textile industry
  • -  Paterson Museum
  • -  Work processes
  • -  Silk industry
  • -  Vocational education
  • -  Wages
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Paterson

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Interview with Sam Balistrieri (aka Sam Balister) at the Paterson Museum, 2 Market St., Paterson, NJ. Balistrieri works at the museum as a docent/textile expert.
  • -  Summary of audio segment: How Sam got into the type of textile work called "twisting." He learned how to twist when he was about twenty years-old; speed and accuracy are what count in twisting. When he got a job as a twister, the quality of Sam's work increased to the point where he was as good or better than the more experienced men who made more money. Sam asked for equal pay ($35/week) but was told he had to serve out a five-year apprenticeship first.

Medium

  • Analog Audio Cassette

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-DT-A003

Source Collection

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

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

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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:

Balistrieri, Sam, and David Alan Taylor. "When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department.". -08-07, 1994. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000017/.

APA citation style:

Balistrieri, S. & Taylor, D. A. (1994) "When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department.". -08-07. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000017/.

MLA citation style:

Balistrieri, Sam, and David Alan Taylor. "When I was on the floor, I was in the twisting department.". -08-07, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000017/>.