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00:04:07
00:06:11
00:04:07
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Transcription: [00:04:07]
{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
And what--and what did Mr. Barakat do?
[00:04:09]

{SPEAKER name="M.Barakat"}
He had a pool hall back then, and worked in manufacturing. Between the two.
[00:04:14]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Mm-hm. Yes, I remember.
[00:04:17]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Mrs. Zakem.
[00:04:18]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
Yes.
[00:04:19]


{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Your name please.
[00:04:20]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
I'm Suzy [?] Zakem, and wife of Iskander Zakem. What do you want me to--
[00:04:24]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Both.
[00:04:24]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
Both.
[00:04:24]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
I'll take both of them.
[00:04:26]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
Right.
[00:04:26]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Um--ah--and you, where were you born?
[00:04:29]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
I was born in Rashaya. Rashaya Al-Wadi.
[00:04:32]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
And--uh--which year did you come to America?
[00:04:37]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
1912.
[00:04:38]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
How old were you?
[00:04:40]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
20 years. Long time ago.
[00:04:42]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Long time ago!
[00:04:44]

(laughter)
[00:04:46]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
You came--to where did you go?
[00:04:47]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We came to New York, from New York we went to Montreal.
[00:04:52]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
In Montreal my husband opened a poolroom.
[00:04:56]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We stayed 3 years, had 3 kids, then went to Grand Rapids.
[00:05:01]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
What brought you from New York to Montreal, did you know people there?
[00:05:05]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
Yes, my uncle's son.
[00:05:06]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Um--then I--then, what did Mr. Zakem do after that?
[00:05:12]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
After that, we stayed in Grand Rapids. He had a club, nightclub.
[00:05:17]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Mm-hm.
[00:05:18]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We stayed 3 years, and then the whiskey closed, it became dry, you know.
[00:05:22]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Oh, yeah.
[00:05:23]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
So we went West.
[00:05:24]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We opened in the West.
[00:05:25]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Where's West?
[00:05:26]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
In Lincoln Nebraska.
[00:05:28]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Oh, you really got far, didn't you!
[00:05:30]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
Then, when did you return to here?
[00:05:32]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We returned to here 1926, to Grand Rapids.
[00:05:38]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We came back, from the West.
[00:05:41]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
In 1926?
[00:05:42]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
1926.
[00:05:44]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
We opened a butcher's shop and Crosley, he got sick, we left it, and we stayed doing--
[00:05:51]

{SPEAKER name="A.Naff"}
When you first came to America, did you come to stay? What brought you to America, I want to know.
[00:05:56]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
Well, my husband was here in America.
[00:05:59]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
He was married.
[00:06:01]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
And he wanted to--he wanted to--yeah, he came to stay--
[00:06:04]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
But I wasn't coming to stay. No, I was coming to stay 5 years then go back.
[00:06:08]

{SPEAKER name="S.Zakem"}
And then I stayed--I stayed 45 years.
[00:06:11]


(laughter)
[00:06:12]










Transcription Notes:
PLEASE ONLY SUBMIT FOR REVIEW OR APPROVAL IF YOU ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND TRANSCRIBE ARABIC. This is Arabic, I think. I translated from Arabic in context. Believe that Mrs.Zakem identified her first name as Suzy, but voice was muffled. Labelled her as speaker S.Zakem.