Oral history interview with Henry Ralkowski, 1973

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Ralkowski, Henry
Title
Oral history interview with Henry Ralkowski
Dates
1973 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 sound cassette (40 min.); transcript: 28 pages
Collection Number
2111 (Accession No. 2111-001)
Summary
Interview regarding a Jewish business in Seattle
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Tape recorded interview covering the years 1898 - 1940, conducted by Meta Kaplan and Karyl Winn on 19 Jan 1973; transcript.

Ralkowski tells how his father and Sam Mosler knew each other from Poland where they were both apprenticed to bakers. In Seattle, Sam started the New York Bakery in 1898, and Walle Ralkowski came to Seattle a few years later and worked with him. Ralkowski remembers the other bakers in town and the location of key shops and the names of shop owners. He talks about how Sam Mosler was a pioneer in "health food" and how he was always inventing something new to eat. He started toasting cereal before Kellogg's came out. Ralkowski tells how his father and he both went to work for Lippman. Gus Rasmussen and B. B. Skinner started a big bakery, the Continental, about that time. Ralkowski traces the development of bread baking, how an old-time bakery had very few utensils and didn't use bread pans. With the development of packaged bread, everything changed. He talks about all the bakeries in town and how they delivered bread by horse and wagon to all the local restaurants. He also talks about the difficult life of all the Jewish small businessmen and how their entire families were dedicated to keeping it going. Ralkowski remembers all the small shops and families in his old neighborhood.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Listen to the audio recording and view the transcript of this interview on the Libraries Digital Collections site.

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated by Henry Ralkowski, Seattle, 1/19/1973

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Ralkowski, Henry--Interviews

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)