Interview with Liz Levy, October 1, 1983

Interview Summary

Liz Levy begins her interview by describing where she was born and her family history. She mentions her husband and the family business in Lexington. They owned a tailoring store for twenty five years, where she sewed and altered clothing. At the store, they had important customers from all over Kentucky and from other states. Liz explains that the Jewish population wasn’t too large, and she describes how she remembers downtown Lexington from when she was a young adult. There were once trolley cars, and farmers sometimes came into town on horse and buggy.

Liz later describes her son, Melvin Levy. She worked many hours at the store after Melvin was born. Once he could go to school, she started going to the store more often. Melvin attended Maxwell and it was a grade school. From there, he attended Morton Jr. when it was at the corner of Walnut and Short. Melvin was going to flunk because he couldn’t hear and had a speech impediment, but his father wouldn’t allow it. They didn’t have the facilities that they have for the children now. He went to a private tutor when he was 16 and it helped him a lot, and eventually, he got along well in the business world.

Finally, Liz explains how often she goes to the Synagogue. She used to only go on the holidays, but now she goes every Friday. She enjoys it. There were not many synagogues and so they often came to Lexington even if they weren’t from Lexington.

Interview LC Subject

Jews--Kentucky--Lexington. Race relations--Kentucky--Lexington

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.