Interview with Annette Mayer, March 24, 2016

Interview Summary

Annette Mayer describes the circumstances in which she and her family moved to Lexington, Kentucky following the attack on Pearl Harbor. She describes her parents' relationship to Judaism and her upbringing as a young Jewish girl in Lexington, Kentucky. Some stories include purchasing kosher meat, celebrating Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and her recollection of attending Hebrew School.

Mayer began her undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky in January of 1950 and was inspired to pursue a major in Radio Arts and Television with a minor in Journalism by the founder of KET, Len Press. She joined the Jewish sorority Phi Sigma Sigma in 1952. The sorority was struggling to find members because of the small number of Jewish women who attended the university. Mayer describes some of the student activities the sorority participated in, including the homecoming parade and socials with the Jewish fraternity Zeta Beta Tau. After college, Mayer moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she began working for the television station WLWT as a publicity writer. After about three years, she began working for the United Way which was known at that time as the Community Chest and Council of Cincinnati. Mayer has been involved in numerous Lexington Communal Organizations including the Pew Civic Entrepreneur Initiative and the One World Film Festival.

Mayer discusses raising her children Jewish in Lexington. Annette talks about the differences between her own Jewish identity and her children's, and her thoughts on Zionism and the state of Israel.

Interview Keyword

Communities. Community development. Anti-Semitism Fasts and feasts--Judaism. Holidays.

Interview LC Subject

Family histories. Jewish children Jewish families. Jews--Kentucky--Lexington. Lexington (Ky.) Worship (Judaism) Jews--Identity. College students--Social conditions Greek letter societies. University of Kentucky Judaism. Religion

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.