Interview with Iman Sigman, 1975, Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Partial Transcript: Name, birthplace, date of birth and uncertainty surrounding this, date of family's emigration to the U.S.

Partial Transcript: Father's work as foreman in a glass factory near Brest-Litovsk, the company town and its Jewish owners, Russo-Japanese War and factory's closing.

Partial Transcript: Plant closing, equality and inequality of status, parents' conversations in the home, inequality in the military.

Partial Transcript: Number of brothers and sisters, circumstances of siblings' emigration, places of birth.

Partial Transcript: Departure of Jews from factory town and travelling to school in neighboring village, the cheder and its physical setting, teachers, courses of instruction, Sigman's level of scholastic achievement in 1907, level of difficulty and the hard daily regimen, discipline.

Partial Transcript: Age of Sigman upon emigration, father's job at Hamilton Manufacturing in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, father's pay, circumstances of settlement in Two Rivers, friends from Russia living in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, period of residence in Two Rivers, brief description of father's job.

Partial Transcript: Lack of job security, learning the trade from the handful of Jews living in Two Rivers, collecting rags and junk with mother and siblings after school, Iman “the horse,” Sigman's job in Mann Brothers' pail factory from 1914.

Partial Transcript: Mann family interest in the pail factory, factory's financial difficulties, department store ownership, Mann family departure from Two Rivers, their former community leadership, charitable activity, the Mann Public Library in Two Rivers.

Partial Transcript: Number of Jewish families in Two Rivers, High Holy Days observance in Manitowoc, description of the old Manitowoc synagogue building, raising a minyan in Jewish homes, going to services in Manitowoc on the streetcar, the Golden family, maintaining a kosher home, going to the kosher butcher in Manitowoc, spoiled meat on the streetcar.

Partial Transcript: Placement in school immediately upon arrival in Two Rivers, second grade, brothers and sisters' placement in school, their completion of school opposed to Sigman's interruption of schooling to take job in the pail factory, siblings' subsequent careers, locations, difficulties of learning English in the second grade, mastery in the fourth grade through desire to read, use of the English and Yiddish languages in the home, mother's course in English at night school, support from the home.

Partial Transcript: Lack of major problems arising from immigrant status, clothing, teasing, sympathetic teacher and classmates.

Partial Transcript: Peddling, extra job setting pins in a bowling alley, difficulties with conflict between part-time jobs and classes, reason for quitting school, job in the pail factory, part-time job picking beans with other family members.

Partial Transcript: Enjoyment of reading and desire to become a journalist, enrollment as special student at the Marquette University School of Journalism under a misconception, job as a Western Union messenger and a contact with the world of professional journalism, job as copy boy and journalist at the Milwaukee Free Press, job as sports and telegraph editor for the Appleton Post-Crescent, the eighteen-hour day, marriage with a newspaper-woman and resultant departure from the newspaper business for the ladies' and children's clothing business in 1923.

Partial Transcript: Starting the business with the financial sacrifice of Sigman's parents; husband and wife's work in the store.

Partial Transcript: Birth dates of son and daughter, decision on family size, modest boasting about the grandchildren.

Partial Transcript: Reasons for locating outside of downtown, Two Rivers customers, curtain and drapery branch and children's takeover of business upon Sigman's retirement in 1967.

Partial Transcript: Number, names, and natures of establishments, other occupations of Manitowoc Jews, family businesses, Borris family, their furniture store, community activities, work with the Manitowoc Coordinating Committee.

Partial Transcript: Number of refugee families in Manitowoc, names of those who remained in the area, Hugo Rose and an anecdote on a ruse, his present activity, his early days in Manitowoc, help from Simon Schwartz.

Partial Transcript: Date of founding of lodge, number of charter members, present membership, frequency of meetings, activities, connections with Zionism.

Partial Transcript: Listing of Jewish organizations in Manitowoc and their commitment to Zionism.

Partial Transcript: Personal reactions, good relationships with German and Polish ethnics in Manitowoc and lack of connection with what was going on in Germany at the time, gradual penetration of Hitler's “ideas” among ethnic groups, B'nai B'rith response.

Partial Transcript: Personal reactions to the war in Europe, Sigman's enlistment in World War I as the “war to end wars,” German friends, Sigman's children and the war.