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I'm Nellie Finberg. I'm interviewing Joan Geiger, August the 8th, 2000, for the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. Joan, how and when did your family get to Dallas? My daughter moved here in 1973. She married her husband. He was in school, and I followed in 1980. So I'm a young native. Yes. Where did you come from before you came to Dallas? I lived in Jackson, Mississippi for 32 years. And before that, I lived in Orlando, Florida. And before that, I was born in New York City. How about, can you trace your family before they came to the United States? My family, basically, my mother's family came from Poland, and my father's family came from Russia.
and both my parents were born in this country. My grandfathers came, I think, around 1870, 1880. Both my parents were born and brought up in New York City. Who lived with you when you were growing up? Did you have grandparents that lived with you? No, my grandparents lived in New York City. My father's mother lived in Brooklyn, and my mother's family lived in New York City, and I never knew my two grandfathers. Did you have brothers or sisters? I have one brother. He's a scientist, and he lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Okay. And do you have a large family, aunts and uncles? I have a large family on my father's side and a not so large family on my mother's side.
But they basically now have scattered. We all lived in New York City until I was 12 years old and then we moved to Orlando Florida and my father became a gentleman farmer He had been in business before that in New York City Can you tell me about the neighborhood in New York, what it was like? Yes, it was basically a Jewish neighborhood. Lots of Jewish children. We belonged to a reformed temple. I always went to a Reformed temple. When I moved to Orlando, Florida, there were only 35,000 people in Orlando, and there was only one synagogue, and that was a conservative synagogue. So actually I was confirmed in a conservative synagogue.
But ever since I left Orlando, I belonged to a Reformed temple. Did you go to high school in Orlando? Yes, I went to high school in Orlando. Did you have any interactions with your classmates? Oh, yes. There were very few. There were only 15 boys and girls in my grade at that time. Our friendships, our nucleus grew out of that group. And then I belonged to, I was part of the AZA group that they had in Florida, Central Florida and Northern Florida, where we traveled around when I was in high school and went to dances and things like that. And so the synagogue was a little different than what you were accustomed to, correct?
Absolutely, absolutely. In fact, it took me a long time to understand the southern accent from people in Orlando because I was always accustomed to the New York accent. Did your family participate in the synagogue's activities? Yes, they did. My father, my mother, they both belonged and they did participate. when when you were after you grew up after you were growing up and you were married how did your family celebrate Jewish holidays We were a nuclear family It was just the four of us. We didn't have any relatives there. We didn't have any relatives in Orlando. So we celebrated Passover, and we always went to the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and we were active in the synagogue, but it wasn't an overriding thing.
And then I went away to college and never really went back there to live. What Jewish organizations did your parents belong to? I don't remember any. I don't know what they had in Orlando at that time. And I don't remember that they belonged to any of the organizations. It was a very small Jewish community. What did your parents do for a living? Well, when they lived in New York, my father manufactured shirts. When we moved to Orlando, Florida, he became a gentleman dairy farmer. but he was not really he loved it but he was not really experienced so within that so during World War II he had a ration coupons for sugar and he turned the farm into a fudge candy manufacturing and he sold candy to A&P and 5 and 10's And then after that, he turned the land from the dairy farm.
He built many warehouses. He was one of the first ones to build many warehouses. So he wasn't a gentleman farmer later in life. When you lived in New York and then moved to Orlando, how were you treated? Any differently between the two communities, two states? Yes well I think we were My parents had a couple of very good Gentile friends but we lived outside the community outside of town and so they didn have a lot of very good Gentile friends but we lived outside of the community outside of town and so they didn I had some good friends in the Jewish community. I did not have that many Gentile friends at that time.
How would you describe the Jewish community in Dallas through the years? Have you noticed any changes? I have loved living in Dallas, and yes, I think Dallas has grown. The Dallas Jewish community has grown, even since 1980. And I think the opportunities here are endless opportunities to work within the Jewish community. And what has been your adult involvement in the Jewish community personally? Well, when I lived in Jackson, Mississippi, I was active in civil rights. I was involved within the Jewish community. I wasn't too involved in the organizations, even though I belonged. And I worked as a social worker in Jackson, and then when I moved to Dallas, I worked for 13 years at Golden Acres.
Have you been involved in other civic and cultural groups in Dallas, other than Golden Acres? Yes, I belong to the symphony and I go to Titus, which I love. I take many courses at SMU and also belong to the JCC. Tell me about your family today. I have four children who are all married. I have ten grandchildren. One family lives here, one in Jackson, Mississippi, one in Connecticut, and one in Tampa, Florida. Okay. What are your role models, and who were your role models? Well, I think my parents were my role models, I agree, and I think I had a wonderful childhood.
