Bess Arick
Bess Arick was born in 1913 and raised on a dairy farm in Millbury, Massachusetts, the daughter of Russian immigrants. She grew up in a close-knit, observant household shaped by economic hardship during the Great Depression and experiences of antisemitism, graduating as valedictorian. She married Wilfred Arick and raised two children. In midlife, she began a professional career in St. Louis, eventually serving as managing editor of a leading medical journal, where she developed expertise in scientific publishing and worked closely with physicians and researchers. Arick remained active in civic and Jewish community organizations throughout her life. In later years, she reflected on the cumulative loss of her husband, twin brother, parents, and daughter, and described the emotional realities of aging, emphasizing loneliness, reading, and continued engagement with family and meaningful volunteer work.
These two interviews with Bess Arick document her life history, including her upbringing on a dairy farm in Millbury, Massachusetts, as the child of Russian Jewish immigrants; family structure and religious practices; and experiences of antisemitism and gender-based barriers to education. Arick discusses marriage, early adulthood during the Great Depression, and the impact of World War II on family life and mobility. She describes her later career in St. Louis as a managing editor for a medical journal, including her work in scientific publishing and engagement with academic and medical communities. The interviews also address caregiving for her chronically ill husband, community involvement, and volunteer work. In later-life reflections, Arick speaks extensively about aging, loneliness, intellectual life, sexuality, and the cumulative effects of loss, including the deaths of her parents, twin brother, husband, and daughter.
The views expressed in these interviews are solely those of the speakers and do not reflect the positions of JWA or its affiliates.
