Browse Items (42 total)

After immigrating from Scotland to Philadelphia in 1922, Johnny Mulligan boxed professionally, danced with the Irish Merrymakers, and played striker for the Electric Storage Battery Company's industrial league soccer team.

Born in 1908, Esther Davalos was born as a third generation American; her family came from Spain and settled in the part of Mexico that later became Texas. After the Mexican Revolution, which her father fought and died in, the family moved to…

Anthony Catalano (b. 1910), the son of a hat maker, grew up in South Philadelphia. Like his father, Catalano worked at John B. Stetson Company and Stylepark Hats. In his 1982 interview, Catalano talked about his life in Philadelphia, his time at The…

Dennis Clark (1927-1993) grew up in the Kensington neighborhood of north Philadelphia during the Great Depression. A glazer by profession, Clark's father could rarely find employment during the 1930s, so the family struggled to afford rent or food…

Sam Spritz was born (circa 1898) into a Jewish family in pre-revolution Russia.  In 1913, he moved with his father and brother to Philadelphia, attracted by the promise of freedom, democracy, and easy access to education.  In the early 1920s,…

In this interview, Isatu Kallon, born in 1991, speaks about her experiences growing up in Kenema, Sierra Leone, her family, and what it was like growing up during the Rebel War. She begins by introducing her relationship to her grandmother, the woman…

Bangde "Annie" Fu (b. 1998) grew up in a small town in Guangxi, China. In search of a better life, Fu moved with her mother to the United States to join her father. Once in Philadelphia, Annie was immersed in a whole new world, which she welcomed…

Yan Tai Lau emigrated from Hong Kong to Philadelphia in 2016. The interview discusses Lau's migration from China and the challenges she faced in trying to assimilate to American culture, as well as her long-term goals for the future.

Jara begins by reflecting on his early childhood memories and family in Mexico City; he remembers his first home and the family and pets that lived there with him as well as the bigger home his family moved to outside of the city. He continues to…

Irena Melekhina recounts her experiences growing up in the USSR, earning a degree in dentistry, and then seeking refugee status along with her husband prior to immigrating to the United States in 1991. She recalls a sense of being brainwashed by the…