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Birth:          25 Jan 1896 Craiova, Romania

Notes
http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?
docId=kt2h4n992z&doc.view=content&chunk.id=d0e11113&toc.depth=1&brand=calisp
here&anchor.id=0
md 1 month
later married William J Kettler.
Interview History
Ernestine Hara Kettler
The Feminist History Research Project contacted Ernestine Kettler who was known in 
the Los Angeles Women's Movement for her participation in the Washington, D.C., 
National Woman's Party picketing in 1917. She had joined the National Organization 
for Women (NOW) in about 1968 and during the Jubilee Celebration of Woman's 
Suffrage, August 26, 1970, was one of the principal speakers, describing in rather 
moving terms her jail experience. An initial exchange of letters with her revealed her 
long involvement in the labor movement following her participation in the suffrage 
struggle. 

Ernestine Hara Kettler is a very petite woman who appears younger than her seventy-
seven years. Despite her appearance, she is a rather inactive and depressed woman 
who feels she is at the end of her life--a life which she believes has been wasted. This 
mental state was obvious even in our first interviews, though at that time she did not 
suffer from any acute medical conditions. 

A series of five interviews were recorded over a two-month period, beginning January 
17, 1973. The interviews were conducted in her hotel in the MacArthur Park area of 
Los Angeles, a neighborhood populated primarily by pensioners and retirees. Her room 
in the hotel was rather sparse, and many of her belongings were in boxes, reflecting a 
state of uncertainty about her future. She considered moving back to San Francisco, 
and in the end of April, 1973, while preparing to make the move, suffered the first of a 
series of strokes. 

Throughout the series of five interviews there was evidence of poor memory; she 
could not recall what might be considered dates of major events in her life, and her 
grasp of details was poor, a possible indication that she had suffered minor strokes 
prior to the interview. She clearly did not want to talk about events that she felt were 
personal. She was primarily interested in discussing her ideas, rather than the details 
in her life. 

Despite these factors there is information contained in the Kettler interviews that is 
valuable in understanding the range of participants in the suffrage struggle; the 
sections on feminism and suffrage in the manuscript reflect the ideas and motivations 
of a young woman on the fringes of the anarchist/socialist/bohemian movements of 
the 1910s. It was not very usual for these "new women" to become so actively 
involved in the suffrage campaign, though there were notable exceptions like Crystal 
Eastman. 

Because of the larger scope of the Feminist History Research Project, many of the 
interviews with Ernestine Hara Kettler covered her union activities and this information 
is not included here. Because, however, the discussion about the union activities 
were interwoven with those on suffrage and her views on feminism, liberties were 
taken by the interviewer/editor in editing the transcript to provide a natural flow to the 
material. Despite the rearrangement of material, I do not think that either the spirit or 
the intent of her thoughts or language were violated. The full tapes have been 
retained by the Feminist History Research Project. Unfortunately, as a result of her 
more recent strokes, and the subsequent double vision, it was not possible for 
Ernestine to actually read the transcript herself. However, in conference with her, 
points requiring clarification were reviewed. 

Sherna Gluck Interviewer-Editor March 1974 
Biographical Data: Ernestine Hara Kettler
Personal
Personal 
Born to Buhor Hara and Mali Eliescu Hara, January 25, 1896, Craiova, Roumania 
Emigrated to United States, 1907 
Married: Van Kleeck Allison (Anarchist journalist for Mother Earth), 1916 or 1917. 
Duration, one month 
Archer Lyle Emerson (I.W.W. organizer), 1919. Separated 1923, divorced 1927 
William J. Kettler, 1928, widowed 1936 
Education
Education 
High School, New York, 1912-1915 
Oberlin College, 1915-1916 
University of Wisconsin, summer session, 1925 
Career
Career 
Worked in clerical positions for various unions, beginning in 1918 in Seattle until her 
retirement in 1959 in Los Angeles. A few of these were: 
I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of World), 1923, Butte, Montana and Chicago, Illinois 
Marine and Fireman's Union, San Francisco 
Bakers Union, San Francisco 
Carpenters local, Los Angeles 
Member of Professional and Office Employees Union 
Geographic Mobility (Areas of residence)
Geographic Mobility (Areas of residence) 
Roumania, 1896-1907 
San Francisco, California, 1926-19 
New York, 1907-1918 
New York, 1936-1938 
Everett, Washington, 1918 
San Francisco, 1938-1948 
Seattle, Washington, 1918-1923 
Los Angeles, 1949-1974; brief trip Butte, Montana, Chicago, Illinois, to England, 1959 
and Israel, 1923, 1966 
Writings
Writings 
Poetry, published in small radical magazines, to 1917 
Unpublished stories, plays 
Political Essays, published in various radical journals and newspapers, e.g. New 
America, The Pagan, and The Socialist Tribune 


Marriage To ALLISON Van Kleeck (19 May 1893 - 15 Mar 1920)
    m. ABT 1917 dv. ABT 1917 

Notes

Parents
ALLISON William Outis (30 Mar 1849 - 18 Dec 1924)
HOVEY Caroline Longstreet (12 Jun 1862 - 31 Mar 1896)

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