P1010724

Singer Sewing Machine, 1927

Singer Sewing Machine, 1927

Giovanna “Jenny” Maria Filippi was born on June 24, 1892, in Alcamo, Sicily, emigrating to the US in February of 1915 and marrying Mariano Ferrara the next year. She and her five-year-old son moved to Kalamazoo in 1921, leaving her husband behind in Detroit. They left Detroit to escape the pressure of the Mafia, who wanted them to hide smuggled Canadian whiskey in their apartment. The daughter of a tailor, Jenny got a job working as a seamstress at the Kalamazoo Pant Company and soon bought this 1927 Singer sewing machine, on credit, to supplement her income. The machine was electrified sometime in the 1950s to make sewing quicker. According to her family, Jenny’s hands were never idle, always occupied with sewing and crocheting. She specialized in creating and embellishing linens for a bride’s trousseau and letter sweaters for high school athletes. Jenny retired as a seamstress around 1965.

Object #2021.22.1

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