LEVINE:

Today is December the 18 th , the year 2003. I'm here with Miles Kuchar, who is a nephew of Ludmila Foxlee, who was a social worker here at Ellis Island. It seems as though she ended her — her work career at Ellis Island in 1945, having worked here for 19 years prior to that. She has written an extensive — I — I would say it's a draft for a book, which we have copies of. We have a copy in the library here at Ellis Island and I'm going to have a copy in the Oral History Research Office in the — in the folder of Miles Kuchar, her nephew, who will also have an interview in our oral history archive here. Mr. Kuchar has brought a number of other things, including correspondence with Thomas Edison, because Ludmila Foxlee sang for him. And it turns out that she was an immigrant born in Austria in 1885. And she came to this country in 1892, which means that she might have cast through Ellis Island when she arrived here. I'm not sure if she mentions that in her — in her draft for her book or not. But anyway, that being the case, she apparently did sing some Bohemian songs for Mr. Edison. And we're going to try and see if we can track down a — a record of that. So anyway, [clears throat] Mrs. Foxlee settled in Montvale, New Jersey, which is where Mr. Kuchar has lived as well, and lives now. And this is Janet Levine for the National Park Service. Okay. If we could start, if you could remember anything that your aunt told you about her childhood, did she ever talk about that with you?

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

No. And —

KUCHAR:

They — they all [chuckles] lived in a Czech neighborhood, what we call Czech neighborhood on York Avenue.

LEVINE:

In — in Manhattan?

KUCHAR:

In the '70s. There was a group, like, '70 up to '79. And there was a Czech group and they all lived in an area.

LEVINE:

So that would have been Yorkville in — in —

KUCHAR:

Yorkville. Right.

LEVINE:

— in Manhattan.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And so — so that's where her family settled?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And when she worked at Ellis Island, did she live there, do you know? Or did she live already in Mont — oh, well, if her name was Foxlee when she —

KUCHAR:

No. When she worked at Ellis Island, she'd lived in Montvale.

LEVINE:

In Montvale.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And she had married by then?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Right. Okay. Were you — do you remember your aunt when she worked here?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Yeah. And did she — do you remember any things that she ever said about her work here or the immigrants here —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

— or anything? No. Okay. So when did you — w — let's see. So you would have known her — oh, you would have known more about her life after she left here.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

And could you say what she did after she left working here in 1945?

KUCHAR:

Oh, she — to go back — her sister and her sister's husband died young, and they had two children. And they were living in Yorkville. And my aunt, I guess, was responsible for bringing them up. And she didn't want to bring 'em up in New York, so she bought the farm in Montvale.

LEVINE:

Uh-hmm.

KUCHAR:

And — I don't know if you want this.

LEVINE:

Yeah, that's good.

KUCHAR:

And then she — an immigrant by name of George Rile [PH] from Germany came through Ellis Island, and she brought him up to the farm to work the farm for —

LEVINE:

Do you know why he, of all the immigrants that she dealt with?

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And —

KUCHAR:

Maybe he didn't have anybody here.

LEVINE:

Right.

KUCHAR:

I don't know.

LEVINE:

He was from Germany?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And so then did he stay working at the farm?

KUCHAR:

He stayed working there till he died.

LEVINE:

Wow.

KUCHAR:

And my aunt — I don't know the way it went, if she died before George. He couldn't stay in her house until he died.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

[unclear].

LEVINE:

Now, was he — was he a you — was he a young person when he came through Ellis Island? Do you — I mean — was he significantly younger than she? Let's put it that way.

KUCHAR:

Yeah, I — he must have been about 30, I'm guessing.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

Because from what I understand, he went down South America for a while. Then he came up and went through Ellis Island.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Why she picked on him, I don't know.

LEVINE:

Yeah. Would he have come through Ellis Island before the war years, before the Second World War, you think?

KUCHAR:

Oh, yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Yeah. Because I knew him back in the '40 — '30s.

LEVINE:

Oh. Oh, okay.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Can you say anything — what — what was he like? What was his personality? What was his temperament?

KUCHAR:

Well, he didn't say much but he was a very hard worker. And [unclear] part as then when he died, the people the bought the house, the woman came home one day and saw an image of a man in the window. And she described him; it was George Rile to the T. And then they had a — she looked all over the house. Nobody broke in or nothing. Then they had a plumber come in, work on the boiler. He looks up and sees an image of George standing there. Then the second people that bought that house, she came home and saw an image of George in the window again.

LEVINE:

Hmm.

KUCHAR:

Y — you don't want to believe those things but when a plumber grabs his tools and run out and [chuckles] —

LEVINE:

Yeah. Well, what did he die of?

KUCHAR:

Ah, I'm not sure. See, shortly before he died, some kids broke in the house and beat him up. And I think he died a year or so later.

LEVINE:

Do you think it was connected with the beating?

KUCHAR:

I'm not sure.

LEVINE:

Uh-hmm. Wow, wow.

KUCHAR:

That's — that was a [unclear].

LEVINE:

Yeah. How old a man was he when he — when he passed away?

KUCHAR:

I don't know.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

I — I'm assuming 70s.

LEVINE:

But he died after your aunt died.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh. And how about — how about your aunt? What kind of a personality? How would you describe her as a person?

KUCHAR:

Oh, sh — she was a wonderful person. Everybody went to — several immigrants that went through Ellis Island that she met would come talk to her two or two times a year.

LEVINE:

Uh-hmm.

KUCHAR:

Because she had a stand also. The house she had was an antique place and they used to buy antiques and, you know, fix them up and sell them.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

Sh — she was doing things all the time.

LEVINE:

So in other words, when she — was her first job, as far as you know, at Ellis Island?

KUCHAR:

No. First, she was a singer with a band. That — and she may have played the piano but I think, basically, she was a singer. They went all over the United States and Canada.

LEVINE:

And she sang in English?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Wow! What — what kind of music? Can you say? Was it —

KUCHAR:

[unclear]

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

Not the music we hear now.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

[chuckles]

LEVINE:

And so she went all over the country singing?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

And then, do you know how she happened to come here and get the job at Ellis Island?

KUCHAR:

From what I un — after First War, the Red Cross asked her to go to what became Czechoslovakia and help children to get, you know, a settlement if they'd lost their parents or find their parents.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

And h — you know, help the Red Cross get people back together and so on.

LEVINE:

And she was approached to do that because she — she knew several languages. Isn't that right?

KUCHAR:

Six languages.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Full. I mean, she could write 'em and —

LEVINE:

Wonderful. So — so in other words, she — so she did. She went to — to Czechoslovakia?

KUCHAR:

What became Czechoslovakia —

LEVINE:

Right.

KUCHAR:

— after the First War.

LEVINE:

And then she — after that was when she came here to work?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

And she —

KUCHAR:

W — would the Red Cross have anything to do with her coming here, you think?

LEVINE:

Possible. But she — I think she worked for a religious organization while she was here.

KUCHAR:

[unclear] —

LEVINE:

No?

KUCHAR:

I don't know.

LEVINE:

Yeah. I think it's mentioned in her — in her book. Okay. So — so — well, actually, she was a social worker in both instances.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Going to Czechoslovakia and then coming here. And —

KUCHAR:

What was her position here?

LEVINE:

Well, I assumed it was social worker but —

KUCHAR:

Some way — I thought somebody said she was like a supervisor.

LEVINE:

Oh, well, maybe she supervised other social workers, possibly. I mean, she was here for such a —

KUCHAR:

I — I'm not sure but somewhere I heard that.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And then when she left here, what did she — is that when she took up the farm and the stand and —

KUCHAR:

Yeah, she'd concentrate on the farm and antiques and —

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And did Mr. — is it Wile [PH].

KUCHAR:

Yeah, George Rile.

LEVINE:

George Rile. Did George Rile help her with the antiques as well as with the farm?

KUCHAR:

I don't know. Possibly.

LEVINE:

Uh-hmm. And she was married and she had — and she raised her sister's two children then?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Oh, in Montvale?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Do you have any idea why she stopped working at Ellis Island when she did?

KUCHAR:

I don't know. [chuckles]

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

I never heard.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

But see, that — that was a two-hour trip for her.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

Because I say that she went by horse and buggy from the farm to the railroad station, but maybe my uncle had a Model A or one of those cars. But you know, it's — it's five miles from her place to the railroad station, two hours. I mean, from the time she left to — got to Ellis Island, two hours. Of course, she'd get on a train, go to Jersey City, take a ferry to New York and a ferry to Ellis Island.

LEVINE:

Wow. And she did that for 19 years.

KUCHAR:

And while she traveled, she wrote articles for two Czech newspapers —

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

— in Chicago.

LEVINE:

Wow. So she wrote them, I assume, in Czechoslovakian.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Wow.

KUCHAR:

And I think she also was writing a book, you know, when she was doing that too.

LEVINE:

I see. Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

She had to be busy all the time.

LEVINE:

Now, you say you — you weren't sure how much education she had.

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

So maybe she didn't have a lot of education but she certainly was productive and —

KUCHAR:

Everybody said the book she wrote, it's well written.

LEVINE:

Well written, very well written. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah. Well, what was she like for you, as a little boy? Y — what was your Aunt Ludmila like? [chuckles] How did she treat you?

KUCHAR:

Well, she taught myself and I think my sister and my other cousin how to play the piano. And so once a week, the — you know, she came to my house and I had to go to her house and play. Then she would take me to New York to a Czech concert pianist to learn technique.

LEVINE:

Really?

KUCHAR:

Mmm.

LEVINE:

Well, was that because you were the best student of the — of your [laughs] — of your family?

KUCHAR:

[unclear]. No. I was in high school; I stopped playing, never played since.

LEVINE:

Ah, uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

I don't know why.

LEVINE:

Wow. But you went into — you came into New York to get lessons too?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Wow, uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

I used to say the swingingest music she'd let me play was Sousa's marches.

LEVINE:

[chuckles] And wh — what — what was her temperament? Was she feisty? Was she — was she patient? Was she —

KUCHAR:

She was patient. She — she was a very nice person.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Now, she was who to you? Your — your — was she —

KUCHAR:

My father's sister.

LEVINE:

Sister. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. So does that mean that your father also came — was born in Austria, or no?

KUCHAR:

Oh, I had heard and my sister had heard that my grandparents came here when my aunt — my grand — my grandmother conceived and she was ready to deliver the baby. They would get on a ship and come back to Bohemian. The baby would be born and then they'd come back. They — as far as I know, they did it four time.

LEVINE:

Wow.

KUCHAR:

My father was, you know, the only one born here.

LEVINE:

Wow.

KUCHAR:

And my mother was here.

LEVINE:

Did — did anybody express why they did that?

KUCHAR:

My sister said she thought she heard that they intended to come to United States, get rich, and go back to Bohemia.

LEVINE:

Uh-hmm.

KUCHAR:

But they stayed. See, my — her father was an insurance agent for that area. And her mother had, like, a candy store. And the interesting part is that they all had to learn English to survive around here. You didn't see any signs up in Bohemia or Czech or anything giving them directions. I mean, they had to learn.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

My aunt and none of my uncles or aunts had any accents. So, you know, they were really young when they came here, learning English.

LEVINE:

Right. So your gr — your grandmother had the candy store?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

In Yorkville?

KUCHAR:

Yorkville.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And — and your grandfather. Uh-huh. So —

KUCHAR:

And on my — my mother's side, her father had a — he had a shoe store in Yorkville.

LEVINE:

Huh. Oh.

KUCHAR:

It was interesting.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah. Is there anything — did — did your aunt ever speak about Yorkville or growing — being there when she —

KUCHAR:

No, I don't remember.

LEVINE:

No. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So I — I take it, her husband died a while before she did.

KUCHAR:

That's — I think it's —

LEVINE:

Oh, yeah. In 1962.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

So she — so he — he must have been involved with the farm?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

And then she continued after his death with — with George Rile working the farm and —

KUCHAR:

Yeah. Mostly George, though.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Because Mr. Foxlee, he'd drive the tractor and George Rile'd be in the back with a spray — spraying [chuckles] trees or whatever.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh. Did you know anything about why the kids beat him up? I mean, was it — was it be — was he — was he dif — was he mean to children or —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

Hmm.

KUCHAR:

What — what I heard they did, they knocked on the door and when he opened it, they put their foot in the door so they couldn't — he couldn't close it. And I know no reason why he would do anything, except they [unclear].

LEVINE:

Hmm.

KUCHAR:

I think they stole some minor things, maybe a clock hanging on the wall or something like that.

LEVINE:

Hmm, wow. Wow. Well, h — how about — I mean, we have — we have a picture of your aunt here with all these — this correspondence with Edison. Is there anything she ever said about Edison or about singing —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

— for him or —

KUCHAR:

I — I couldn't remember.

LEVINE:

When you think of your aunt, what — are there any — at any — any times that you feel — that you remember particularly with her? Things you did together or ways she was with you or anything?

KUCHAR:

Well, played a piano with her.

LEVINE:

Oh, you'd play together?

KUCHAR:

[unclear].

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

The interesting part was my father could pi — pick up any string instrument and start playing it.

LEVINE:

Your father?

KUCHAR:

Yeah. He had a banjo, mandolin. My mother's father had a violin and my mother had it, so my father just started playing it.

LEVINE:

Wow.

KUCHAR:

And my aunt had a harp and they had — take harp in the house. My dad took it home and fixed it in there, put strings on it and he start playing. I mean, it's an aptitude that not many people have.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah. What was she like with your — with her brothers and sisters? D — can you remember them?

KUCHAR:

They all got along good.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Real good, yeah.

LEVINE:

Yeah, uh-huh. And did she ever say anything about the book she was writing?

KUCHAR:

Not that I remember.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, yeah. Let's see. Are th — well, it sounds like she was like a liberated woman before women's liberation. I — w — is that true?

KUCHAR:

Oh, I think so. Yeah.

LEVINE:

Yeah. Wh — what — d — can you say what it was like for you to have her as an aunt?

KUCHAR:

Oh, I — I don't think I could have a better aunt than she had.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah.

KUCHAR:

And I don't know what education she had or how far she went through high school or anything. But she — everybody said to me that the book she wrote was very well written.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh. Did she have plans to publish it? Do you know what happened with that?

KUCHAR:

Oh, we've been trying to find, you know, somebody to publish it.

LEVINE:

But how about her? Did she try?

KUCHAR:

I don't know.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah. So what — can you think of her last years? I mean, apparently, her husband died and then her — the — George Rile died before she did. What were her last years like?

KUCHAR:

No, she died before George.

LEVINE:

Oh, she did?

KUCHAR:

Yeah. Because George stayed in the house.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

You know, until he died.

LEVINE:

I see.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Was she ill before she died?

KUCHAR:

Not that I know of.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

I think she just died in her sleep.

LEVINE:

Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. Could you say anything about the house that — that she bought or that she and her husband bought in Montvale?

KUCHAR:

Well, it — I don't remember the exact dates but the first wood [unclear] was built in 1785, I believe. And at Sandstone [PH], the first section was built, I believe, in 18 — yeah, 1880 something. And then they added other sections onto it. And I was born there. My cousin was born a month earlier. And while my aunt was working in Ellis Island, a young girl from Europe came through. And she was pregnant, going to have the baby soon, so my aunt took her up and she was born within a month that my cousin — the baby was born within a month that my cousin and I were born. [chuckles]

LEVINE:

Well, how was it that you h — you and your h — cousin were born in that house?

KUCHAR:

My father — when my aunt bought the farm, my father would work the farm for her.

LEVINE:

Ah.

KUCHAR:

Walk behind a plow and a horse and then he'd take a skiff [PH] and throw the stones in and build stonewalls around the fields. And then in 1921, my father and his brother started a construction [unclear]. Then the third brother came in with them so they had three brothers. And my two uncles, they had a — they were engineers, civil engineer. Joseph went to Columbia and Frank went to Brooklyn Polytechnic.

LEVINE:

And they also had come here. They were the — they are the two — they came from — from Europe too.

KUCHAR:

Well, like I said, when they were conceived, my — my grandmother went over there and they —

LEVINE:

Right.

KUCHAR:

— were born there. Then she came back.

LEVINE:

Well, now, what was the — do you know what the — the idea was behind that you would go back to — to Bohemia and have your babies?

KUCHAR:

My — my sister heard, or — that they wanted — become rich here, my grandmother — and grandmother. They wanted become rich here and go back to Bohemia.

LEVINE:

But why did she go every time she was going to have a baby?

KUCHAR:

I don't know. Just try and imagine that trip back in 1880 or 1890.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

And going cross-country way back to Bohemia.

LEVINE:

Well, I — I guess maybe her mother was alive. Maybe she wanted to be with her mother when she delivered her babies?

KUCHAR:

I never heard that.

LEVINE:

Yeah, uh-huh. Wow. Did your aunt ever go back —

KUCHAR:

Oh, she —

LEVINE:

— to visit?

KUCHAR:

Yeah, she did. I understand on — after the First World War, the Red Cross asked her to go with them to what became Czechoslovakia and help orphan children and families get back together and get organized. How long she stayed there, I don't know.

LEVINE:

Did she go back at — on other occasions to visit family or anything? Do you know?

KUCHAR:

Ah, she had written a letter to Edison when she was singing for him saying that she was on ship and they had — they were leaving in April and — because her husband came from England. They were going to spend some time at England and then they were going to Germany and Bohemia, and they weren't coming back till August. So I — when I read that, I figured, boy, they must have had a lot of money to — in those times [chuckles] to afford the time and —

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

— not to do anything.

LEVINE:

Wow. And what was her husband like?

KUCHAR:

Well, he was ni — real nice person. Yeah.

LEVINE:

Was he a — adventurous in the way that she seems to have been?

KUCHAR:

Well, I don't think as much as she was.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Wow. Now, did she have children?

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

No. But she raised the two children of her sister.

KUCHAR:

Yes, yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And did they remain close to — were they close?

KUCHAR:

Yeah, they — they lived around locally here.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

One child worked in [unclear] Laboratory and I think the second one worked there later.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh, yeah. Well, just from what you know of her, from b — from her being around, can you — can you imagine what it was — apparently, she liked working here.

KUCHAR:

Oh, yeah.

LEVINE:

Can you say what about th — doing what she did with the immigrants sort of matched her personality, what it was about her that you would imagine her doing this kind of job?

KUCHAR:

Oh, I think she just wanted — she just want to help these people when they came in to go through the process and get tied in with their relatives that live here now. I think she liked to help people. And I think basically that's why she did it.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

How she learned six languages, I don't know.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

But some of those, like Poland and — and Czech and Hungary and [unclear], they might — they [sniffs] — they're similar but they — you know, they're really different.

LEVINE:

Do you think she learned those languages here or she knew them before?

KUCHAR:

I don't know.

LEVINE:

Yeah, oh. Uh-huh. Wow.

KUCHAR:

I would assume she'd have to know 'em. Yeah.

LEVINE:

Beforehand, yeah.

KUCHAR:

To help here.

LEVINE:

Yeah. So was she a citizen of the Montvale community? Was she a community-minded person?

KUCHAR:

I think she may have been on the school board but —

LEVINE:

I think I did see that some —

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

— on something. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

I see. So she — so she was active in the town.

KUCHAR:

Yeah, but in those days, women didn't drive and, you know, my uncle — if she was on the school board, he would have to drive in town and come back and pick her up.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

So it's very few women — my mother knew, I think was one of the first women to drive.

LEVINE:

Oh.

KUCHAR:

In New Jersey.

LEVINE:

Wow. Well, was there anything else about your aunt, about being a woman that — where she stood out doing things that women didn't ordinarily do at that point in time in New Jersey?

KUCHAR:

Oh, she worked hard at the farm and on the stand and selling their produce.

LEVINE:

Did she actually work in the fields?

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

No, she worked in the stand.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

And — and the antiques, right?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Well, gee, is there any other — did she — did you ever know, like, what she was, like, really proud of? Or did she ever talk that way or —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah.

KUCHAR:

You know, a lot of — like, a lot of people say she worked here. But even myself, a lot of things that happened to me, I never told my parents about, which I'm sure — and my success in business, I — I never told anybody. But when I look back, I mean, I might say I'm bragging about it.

LEVINE:

Huh.

KUCHAR:

But I think with her in — I think it was the same thing.

LEVINE:

That she wouldn't brag — she wouldn't talk about her —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

— her — her s —

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

— satisfactions of doing things.

KUCHAR:

No.

LEVINE:

Huh. [END OF TAPE 1, SIDE A] [BEGIN TAPE 1, SIDE B]

LEVINE:

Thinking about her life, do you think she was happy with it?

KUCHAR:

Oh, I think so. Yeah.

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

I think she liked what she was doing.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh. And how about for you? Having — having her as an aunt? Was that —

KUCHAR:

I'm proud of her —

LEVINE:

Yeah.

KUCHAR:

— for what she accomplished and sang and wrote and spoke six languages [unclear]. Not many people [chuckles] do that.

LEVINE:

Yeah, yeah. Okay. Well —

KUCHAR:

Why Edison picked her, I don't know.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

Al — also, about Edison, we had a chef living in Montvale, worked in a prominent restaurant in New York. And I guess Edison met him there. And I heard he used to come up and visit this chef and my aunt because they lived fairly close together. [sniffs]

LEVINE:

Huh.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Wow. So — well, maybe he knew her from her singing career. I mean, she traveled the country. Right?

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

So maybe she made records when she was —

KUCHAR:

Oh, I never —

LEVINE:

— a singer.

KUCHAR:

I never heard any about it. You know, I never seen it.

LEVINE:

Uh-huh.

KUCHAR:

I never heard her sing or remembering her singing.

LEVINE:

Wow. What was it Edison said? She had a — a sweet voice?

KUCHAR:

A sweet voice.

LEVINE:

Sweet voice. Yeah.

KUCHAR:

But that was — that probably was the first time she sang for him, because he says — I guess she sounded like she was nervous.

LEVINE:

Yeah. [chuckles] Right. Huh. Okay. Well, is there anything else you can think of that maybe I haven't asked about that y — you might want to say before we close about your aunt?

KUCHAR:

No, I can't think of anything else.

LEVINE:

Okay. Okay, well, I want to say thank you for talking with me and also for these materials that will be on file here now.

KUCHAR:

Yeah, yeah.

LEVINE:

Which is just great. And —

KUCHAR:

If — I don't know if you have any source that might be interested in writing her book or, you know, publishing her book.

LEVINE:

Yeah. Huh.

KUCHAR:

Of course, we — we've been asking around Hallond [PH] House too and then — then she's in a museum in Park Ridge, active in that museum. And there's a woman that's — I gave her a copy of that book too and she's trying to find somebody to publish it.

LEVINE:

Publish it.

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

Well, I — I mean, I'll keep it in mind. I don't have any —

KUCHAR:

Yeah.

LEVINE:

— body in particular in mind. But — okay, well I just want to say I've been speaking with Miles Kuchar, who's the nephew of Ludmila Foxlee. And this is Janet Levine for the National Park Service at Ellis I — at the Ellis Island Museum on December 18 th , the year 2003, signing off. [END OF INTERVIEW]