Top of page

Audio Recording "I started off as a picker."

"I started off as a picker."

About this Item

Title

  • "I started off as a picker."

Names

  • Murphy, Anne (Narrator)
  • Murphy, Claire (Narrator)
  • Taylor, David Alan, 1951- (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-08-17

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  Retirees
  • -  Textile industry
  • -  Wages
  • -  Weaving
  • -  Irish Americans
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Totowa

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Interview with retired textile worker Anne Murphy and her daughter Claire Murphy at their home in Totowa, New Jersey. Anne Murphy was born in Totowa on January 11, 1898.
  • -  Summary of audio segment: [Taylor: When did you go to work?] I had a sister, passed away now. She took me down to Newberger's. That was on Ward Street in Paterson. And she asked them, when we got to the door, she asked them if they needed any help. "Yes, yes." And so I started off as a picker. They said "picker," you just cut the treads off. And then I went to weaving and I wove towels. [Claire Murphy: When you were picking, was that piecework?] I think I worked for seven dollars a week at that time. They wouldn't work for that now.

Medium

  • Analog Audio Cassette

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-DT-A018

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:

Murphy, Anne, Claire Murphy, and David Alan Taylor. "I started off as a picker.". -08-17, 1994. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000061/.

APA citation style:

Murphy, A., Murphy, C. & Taylor, D. A. (1994) "I started off as a picker.". -08-17. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000061/.

MLA citation style:

Murphy, Anne, Claire Murphy, and David Alan Taylor. "I started off as a picker.". -08-17, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip000061/>.