Zuza, Carmela


Object Type
Oral history
Object ID
13367
Date
July 3 2008
creator
Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Description
Carmela Celardo Zuza (1924- ) grew up in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, with eight siblings. Her parents moved to the United States from Naples, Italy after they were married. Carmela worked in small factory jobs before she began working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1942 as an arc welder. In her interview, Zuza discusses her experience growing up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn. She describes in detail the garden that her parents kept, the beer and wine her parents made, and other local foods. She expresses the pride she felt doing her work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and seeing the christening of the USS Missouri battleship. Zuza also talks about transportation to and from work, security at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, discrimination, uniforms and clothing for women, gender relations, social activities and dating.
Related Collection
Brooklyn Navy Yard Oral History Project
Subjects
Labor and Yard Workers, Security, Women
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