Archives West Finding Aid

Scope and Content: Tape-recorded interview, 7-13-78 by Meta Kaplan and Adena Russak; program and "Progress," 1935.

Albert Franco tells of his family's life on the Isle of Rhodes; why they left; how they came to Seattle. He tells of his father, Marco Franco's, achievements in business and of his father's extensive participation in community affairs, in the Sephardic community and in the community in general. He tells of his own education, his career as a lawyer, his war service in the Army Intelligence, and of his work in the community. He experienced discrimination by his fellow Jews when no Sephardic student could join a Jewish fraternity or sorority.

This interview gives illuminating insights concerning the history of an early day Sephardic family and how a child who grew up in that era reacted as shown in his community work as as adult. His account of his father, Marco Franco, as a liaison between the various segments in the community is interesting.

Scope and Content: Tape-recorded interview, 6-30-82, by Howard Droker with a transcript.

This is a follow-up interview which focuses on Franco's introduction to Zionism, the Sephardic congregations in Seattle, his opposition to moving Ezra Bessaroth, his involvement in B'nai Brith, and concludes with a long discussion of the Jewish community's role in civil rights matters in Seattle.

Scope and Content: Tape recorded interview covering the years 1948 to around 1975, taken on August 23, 2000; transcript.

Mr. Franco discusses the lawsuit of Eugene Levy vs. Jewish Family and Child Service (JFCS) of 1948.