Chicago Jewish History
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Look to the rock from which you were hewn Vol. 33, No. 2, Spring 2009 chicago jewish historical society chicago jewish history Report on May 31 2009 Summer Tours Open Meeting: Sunday, July 19 An Archivist’s Journey Through Chicago Chicago Jewish Jewish Roots: History The South Side with Joy Kingsolver with Irv Cutler The Society’s most recent open meeting was held on Sunday Sunday, August 16 afternoon, May 31 in the chapel at Temple Sholom, 3480 North Lake Two New North Shore Drive. The speaker was our colleague, Joy Kingsolver, Director Suburban Gems of the Chicago Jewish Archives, with Leah Axelrod from 1996 to 2008, and a member of the CJHS Board of Directors. She is head archivist at the Shel KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation Sign Up Today! Silverstein Archive in Chicago, 1100 East Hyde Park Blvd. continued on page 6 “Chicago Jewish Roots: The South Side” See Enclosed Flyer Photograph: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing. (From Left) Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Skokie; Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston. “Two New North Suburban Gems” 2 Chicago Jewish History Spring 2009 President’s Column Look to the rock from which you were hewn MY VISIT TO HYDE PARK ACADEMY. chicago jewish historical society Chaya, my wife; Ari, Judy, and Miriam, my Officers 2009 children; their spouses, their seven children, and Walter Roth Helen, my sister, recently arranged a wonderful President birthday treat for me—they rented a bus and Burt Robin took me on a tour of the Hyde Park area where Vice President I grew up after coming to Chicago from Nazi Dr. Carolyn Eastwood Germany in 1938. Recording Secretary Walter Roth We stopped at the Kenwood School and the Dr. Edward H. Mazur Blackstone Library, where I first learned English. Treasurer We traveled past President Obama’s home and past some of his favorite restaurants. We went on to the Ray Elementary School, the Directors University of Chicago, and the building that formerly housed Leah Axelrod Congregation Habonim (no longer in existence.) Then to Charles B. Bernstein Congregation Rodfei Zedek, of which Chaya and I are members, Rachel Heimovics Braun* and the Museum of Science and Industry. Our final stop was at Dr. Irving Cutler 6840 South Euclid Avenue, at the house where we lived for twenty- Herman Draznin Herbert Eiseman seven years, raising our children. There were warm and nostalgic Elise Ginsparg memories for the entire family. Dr. Rachelle Gold Two days after that outing, and after two of our children and Clare Greenberg their families had returned to their homes in other cities, our Dr. Adele Hast* daughter Judy arranged a visit for Chaya, myself, and Judy’s two Janet Iltis children to visit Hyde Park Academy at 6220 South Stony Island Joy Kingsolver Avenue. I attended the school from 1943 to graduation in 1947 Melynda Lopin when it was called Hyde Park High. Seymour H. Persky We arrived there Muriel Robin Rogers* early on a Monday Norman D. Schwartz* morning and Dan Sharon climbed the front Dr. Milton Shulman steps of the building Dr. N. Sue Weiler that on the outside *Indicates Past President was unchanged from all the years that had Chicago Jewish History passed since I was a is published quarterly by the student there. As we Chicago Jewish Historical opened the front Society at 610 S. Michigan Ave., doors, we were met #803, Chicago, IL 60605. by a waiting crowd of faculty and students. Phone (312) 663-5634. E-mail There was Ms. Murray, the assistant principal with whom my [email protected]. daughter had corresponded; Principal Thomas Trotter; the basketball Single copies $4.00 postpaid. and football team coaches, and scores of students who burst out Successor to Society News. singing “Happy Birthday.” Editor-Designer Bev Chubat I was stunned by the exuberance of the adults and teenagers as Editorial Board Burt Robin, they greeted us with handshakes. It was a real homecoming. Walter Roth, Norman D. Schwartz, The school is in much better physical condition on the inside Milton Shulman than in my student years. It has been repaired and remodeled to Send all submissions to: meet modern needs. The school is heavily engaged in teaching TV Editor, Chicago Jewish Historical network programming. In fact, I was interviewed by two students Society, at street address or e-mail for a C-Span program. continued on page 4 address shown above. Chicago Jewish History Spring 2009 3 Symbol of the Society ery early in its life, the Chicago Jewish The images, reading from left to right: VHistorical Society was fortunate enough to Fort Dearborn—stood at the mouth of the acquire a distinctive and eye-catching logo. Chicago River 1803-1812; rebuilt 1816-1856. The work of Rose Ann Chasman Z”L, a local artist Two Jewish-Owned Stores on Clark Street— and a found-ing member, the logo contains an 1857. Deliveries were made by horse and wagon. illustrated running history of the city, with “Concordia Guards”—Company C of the 82nd emphasis upon its Jewish aspects. She used the Illinois Infantry Regiment, the only all-Jewish typeface American Uncial and added her own unit to fight in the Civil War. So nicknamed Hebrew calligraphy for the accompanying because the men volunteered at a B’nai B’rith quotation from Isaiah 51:1, which encapsulates Ramah Lodge meeting at the Concordia Club. the Society’s purpose: “Look to the rock from American Flag with Hebrew Inscription— which you were hewn.” an inspiring quotation from Joshua 1:4-9; Rose Ann Chasman went on to enjoy a presented by Chicago City Clerk Abraham Kohn successful career creating Judaic art using Hebrew to Abraham Lincoln in February 1861. letterforms—in paper cutting, ketubot (decorative Chicago Fire and Water Tower—the 1871 Jewish marriage contracts), and synagogue conflagration and the surviving landmark. installations. Shortly before her passing in 2007, Museum of Science and Industry she graciously provided us with a new pen-and- — ink rendering of her CJHS logo art. established in 1926 by Julius Rosenwald; site of the Bicentennial Jewish Exhibition in 1976 which n 1999, we began producing our publications inspired the founding of the CJHS; a man is I on computer. To approximate the uncial pictured performing the hagbah ritual—lifting the typeface used by Chasman, we chose the digital Torah scroll and displaying it to the congregation. font Neue Hammer Unziale. We learned that it Maxwell Street Market—bustling center of its was named for its designer, Victor Hammer Near West Side neighborhood until the area was (1882-1967), a distinguished printer in Austria, acquired by the University of Illinois. who devoted a great deal of his life to the design Hull House—settlement house opened by Jane and development of the letterform known as Addams in 1889; helped immigrants and others uncial, the handwriting used by medieval scribes. gain a place of self-respect in society. His Hammer Unziale was produced in 1921. Municipal Flag of Chicago Hammer fled the Nazis in 1939, leaving all —four six-pointed his cutting and casting tools and most of his fonts red stars on a field of blue and white stripes. in Austria. He came to the United States, where Auditorium Building—landmark architecture by he had been offered a post teaching art and Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, completed in lettering at Wells College in New York. It was 1889. (Upper stories and tower not shown.) there that he began work on his best known type, Three Patriots Monument—George Washing- American Uncial. With the help of the Society of ton, Robert Morris, and Haym Salomon; Wacker Typographical Arts (STA) in Chicago, sufficient Drive and Wabash Avenue; dedicated in 1941. money was raised to complete the project. Chicago Loop Synagogue—showing Hands of So it turns out that every element of our logo Peace sculpture by Henri Azaz and stained glass has a Chicago connection! window by Abraham Rattner, 1958. Look to the rock from which you were hewn chicago jewish historical society 4 Chicago Jewish History Spring 2009 Letter to the President President’s Column Rescued, Grateful continued from page 2 A couple of days ago I had lunch with Jane Tennenbaum of the Mr. Trotter offered facts JUF. She gave me your latest book, Avengers and Defenders, which I about the school, which has enjoyed reading. When I read the story about Levy Mayer, I thought about 2,000 students. maybe you would like to know a little more about the firm of Mayer I talked with the coaches Meyer Austrian and Platt, which was the name of the law firm when about their teams. In my I came here in 1940. I don’t believe that thirty members of my years, Hyde Park High had a family, including me, would have been able to escape from Germany top basketball team—and it had it not been for Carl Meyer and his wife Mildred. still does today. Our arch I come from a very small village near Bamberg. It had only rival then was Marshall thirty-two houses and maybe one hundred and thiry inhabitants, of High. The coach told me it which more than fifty percent were Jewish, all cattle dealers.… is still true today. Carl Meyer’s parents also came from southern Germany. Levy As we walked through Mayer’s brother Isaac married Carl’s sister and Carl later joined them the corridors of the school to in the law practice…. Carl Meyer and his siblings donated the Meyer view the many classrooms, House at Michael Reese Hospital in memory of their parents. we encountered smiles from In 1936, an uncle of mine, who owned the second largest shoe all and hand-shakes from factory in Nuremberg, Germany, took a trip to Chicago to see his many, even from the hall cousins, Mildred Pritz Meyer and her husband Carl, as well as guards, who greeted us Mildred’s brother in Cincinnati.