Interview with Roselyn Schwartz

Interview with Roselyn Schwartz

Roselyn Schwartz

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Interviewers

Alan Hoff

Description

Interview with Roselyn Schwartz, née Davidson (1916-2007) recorded on August 9, 1995 in South Haven, Michigan. Originally recorded by Monadnock Media for a Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit on Jewish resorts in South Haven. Roselyn came to South Haven in 1921 at around five years of age. Her father soon bought property and built the cottages for his wife, Anna Davidson, to run, which she did until her death in 1963. She recounts her memories of growing up in South Haven, and the summers at her mother's Roseline Cottages, including:

  • her father building the cottages to provide a vacation rental that was not restricted to gentiles like some in the area;
  • the 13 self-contained cottages;
  • families arriving in their cars, unpacking, settling in;
  • private beachfront on Lake Michigan, with swimming and beach bonfires;
  • walking down the beach to fish at the pier by the Black River;
  • her mother running the cottages alone, beginning to relying on Roselyn;
  • her chores, like making beds, pressing the curtains;
  • meeting and marrying Arthur Schwartz in 1933, leaving with him for Chicago;
  • the cottages, their amenities, and guests changing over time;
  • loss of her mother Anne in 1963, and closing the cottage business, and
  • her mother's story, an immigrant arriving in the U.S. the day WWI broke out.

Date of Interview

8-9-1995

Location of Interview

South Haven, MI

Series

The South Haven Jewish Resort Oral History Project

Keywords

Cottages, Vacationers, Lake Michigan, South Haven, Michigan

Disciplines

Hospitality Administration and Management | Jewish Studies | Oral History | Public History

Notes

Digitized from videocassette.

Language

ENG

Document Type

Interview

Length of video

0:54:08

Length of video log

-

Interview with Roselyn Schwartz

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Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.