Interview with Anne Fidelman

Interviewee

Anne Fidelman

Files

Interviewers

Alan Hoff

Description

Interview with Anne Fidelman, née Shapiro (1911-2000) recorded on August 10, 1995 in South Haven, Michigan. Originally recorded by Monadnock Media for a Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit on Jewish resorts in South Haven. Anne first visited Fidelman's Resort 1936 as a guest, later marrying Hyman Fidelman and returning as part of the Fidelman family, and working at the resort. She recounts her memories of the resort, including:

• history of Fidelman's Resort as first a farm, then farm resort;
• visiting the resort as a guest in 1936;
• meeting Hyman Fidelman again in Chicago at a gathering of the Itsy Bitsy Club, a group of singles who met at the resort;
• marrying Hyman and returning after their honeymoon to work at the resort;
• joining her mother-in-law in the kitchen;
• hostessing, creating the seating arrangement for the dining room;
• Friday night service, like is offered in Jewish homes;
• heydays of the 50s and 60s with guests coming from Ohio, St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit;
• typical guest arrival by car;
• entertainment for guests including hayrides, storytelling, mock weddings, bonfires and roasted corn; and
• selling her share in the resort, stepping away, and watching the decline in the final years.

Date of Interview

8-10-1995

Location of Interview

South Haven, MI

Series

The South Haven Jewish Resort Oral History Project

Keywords

Resorts, Hotels, South Haven (Mich.)

Disciplines

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

Notes

Digitized from videocassette.

Language

ENG

Document Type

Interview

Recommended Citation

Fidelman, Anne, "Interview with Anne Fidelman" (1995). Kalamazoo Valley Museum - The South Haven Jewish Resort Oral History Project. 7.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/south-haven-resorts/7

Length of video

0:58:50

Length of video log

-