Photocopy of "Interview with Gene Olswanger Lyons," by Anna Olswanger, 1993

This interview was published in the second issue of the Olschwanger Journal. Gene Olswanger Lyons (1911-1986) is the sister of Berl Olswanger. In the interview, Gene Olswanger describes growing up in an Irish neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee, her father's dry goods store, her siblings and their spouses, and celebrating Jewish holidays with her family. Olswanger also discusses her singing career in Chicago in the 1930s. Page 58 of the interview mentions an anecdote that was the basis of "Big Mistreatin' Bittersweet'n Blues." The interview includes reproductions of photographs and documents.