Interview begins with a discussion of Kramer's maternal grandparents, the Leavys, who emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1903. The couple and their infant daughter (Kramer's mother, Sarah) settled in Savannah, Ga. where Mr. Kaplan established a successful jewelry business. Kramer also mentions her paternal grandfather (Kaplan) who was born in Ohio and married a Russian immigrant; Kramer's father, Hyman Kaplan was born (1900) and raised in Ohio. She discusses how her parents met (ca. 1920) on Parris Island, S.C. while her father was in the marines; they married and moved to Ohio, then Huntington, West Virginia where Josephine spent the majority of her childhood. Kramer recalls growing up in West Virginia, summers spent with her Leavy grandparents in Savannah, and her grandmother Kaplan who lived with the family after her husband's death. The Kaplan's joined a conservative Jewish temple in Huntington, adhered to kosher dietary laws and celebrated the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Josephine and her siblings attended Sunday school although she was never confirmed because her father did not want to pay the fee. Conversation turns to Kramer's adult life. She discusses meeting and marrying her husband, Dave Kramer of Savannah, Ga., during World War II; the couple's wedding took place the day President Roosevelt died in 1945. As newlyweds, the Kramer's lived first in Charleston, S.C. and later in Sumter, S.C. where Dave Kramer opened a shoe store. She mentions her two adopted children and recalls her son Anthony received much of his Bar Mitzvah training from her husband. Kramer reflects on her family's involvement with Sumter's Congregation Sinai throughout the years. Dave Kramer served on the temple board for thirty years and she was active in the Sisterhood and worked as an assistant to the Rabbi. Kramer notes that the temple congregation has shrunk over the years and services are more liberal and participatory than in the past. Miscellaneous discussion about Sumter's Jewish community includes Kramer's assertions that she has not experienced anti-Semitism in the area and that Sumter's Christian community does know much about Judaism. Interview ends with Kramer's statement that she considers herself both Jewish and Southern at the same time.
