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Preserving Jewish Heritage in Texas Texas Jewish Est. 1980 Historical Society September 2020 News Magazine TJHS To Hold Zoom IN THIS ISSUE: Board Meeting Message from the President .................................. 2 A Jewish Woman Warrior ..................................... 3 Weekend by Mel Eichelbaum With a successful Zoom Board Meeting that was held in June, 2020, the Meeting Committee, chaired by Sally What I Did During the Pandemic ......................4-6 Drayer, has decided to hold the Fall Board Meeting via Speaker’s Bureau In the Time of Zoom with virtual activities over a weekend. It will be COVID-19................................................... 7 held October 23-25, 2020, which is the date that TJHS was by Jan Siegel Hart going to join the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society in Los Cruces, New Mexico for a joint meeting. The Galveston Movement ...................................8-9 The Meeting Committee, with President Susan Zack Meet Your Board ............................................. 10-11 Lewis, have planned the following tentative activities for the weekend. The final schedule and Zoom link will be Update on Temple Freda in Bryan, Texas .......... 12 sent to all Board Members prior to the weekend. Lynna Kay Memorial Award Friday, October 23, 2020 in Texas Jewish History ........................... 14 Attend Zoom Shabbat services of your choice, and after Grant Application ................................................ 15 services join TJHS for a virtual Oneg. The “hospitality room” will be “open” from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. Three Marshallites Become Citizens .............16-17 by Vickie Vogel Saturday, October 24, 2020 From the Zoom Board Meeting, June 2020 ....... 18 2:00-2:30 PM Vickie Vogel will speak Application for Preservation of Texas about the 1918 Pandemic and Jewish History Award ............................. 19 how it affected Texas. 7:00 PM TJHS Texas History Awards ............................... 20 Havdalah Service with TJHS by Willie Braudaway members participating with Roots and Boots .................................................... 20 their unique Havdalah Sets. by Tumbleweed Smith 7:15 PM Mel Eichelbaum, TJHS Board Guess this Member............................................... 21 Member, will speak about In Memoriam ........................................................ 21 significant cases dealing with civil rights and poverty law reform based on his book, The Legal Aid Lawyer. Virtual “Hospitality Room” will be “open” following program until 9:30 pm. Sunday, October 25, 2020 9:30 AM Zoom Fall Board Meeting Texas Jewish Historical Society - September 2020 © 1980-2020 Texas Jewish Historical Society, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 Message from the President by Susan Zack Lewis Big plans… choice. posting it. This should be a great No plans… Understanding David’s prophetic time for someone to take on the task Months flow like psalm, of writing and researching a paper on sand. I see the valley, Jewish life in Texas. Technology Feel the shadow near the alley of When we were in Palestine last friend reality. summer, historian Ben Campbell Technology foe, Words taking flight, spoke to us about Jewish history in Too much to Landing hard at night. that city. He mentioned that the mu- learn, This virus is a fright… seum had the dedication tablet, cor- Too much to know. Ready to steal………..Life. nerstone and two windows from the Hopeful Collected thoughts running synagogue there. Sadly, the museum Hopeless around in my head sometime over- is closed and not expected to reopen. Sad to say, shadow the work and effort to main- He offered these items to the society. I won’t need that new dress. tain meaningful progress. However, That prompted a search on my part to Sun rise…too real, as I look through the emails from the find a home for them. It’s ongoing. Courage found, last few months I do see that life con- However Ben is looking into the pos- Must cook that meal. tinues and accomplishments happen sibility of having the tablets mounted Zoom meetings, with amazing determination. on stone and placed inside the Jewish Almost fine. Recently I received word that the cemetery in Palestine. They’ve been Facebook messages, latest issue of the Southwestern His- exposed to the elements for a number We’re live now…on line. torical Quarterly contains the notice of years and should be fine out there. Virtual services to hear Rabbi’s voice of the Lynna Kay Shuffield Award. I welcome ideas for the windows. Best we can do, there’s no other Willie Braudaway did a great job of The colored glass is plain with no decorative design. A stained glass artist might be able to use the glass in The Texas Jewish Historical Society some way to honor their origin. September 2020 I’ve had questions about finding a home for old Jewish themed shel- Quarterly News Magazine lac records from a gentleman in the The Texas Jewish Historical Society News Magazine is published Dallas area. I was able to send him four times annually. Stories about Texas Jewish history, oral histories, and contact information to help in that requests for assistance with research are welcome, as are photographs and quest. historical documents. Please provide color photocopies or scans at 300 dpi When the Jewish newspapers ar- rive I look for familiar names. During or greater in gif, tif, or jpg format, and send electronically to Editor Davie June and July there were numerous ar- Lou Solka at [email protected] or by mail to 3808 Woodbrook Circle, Aus- continued on page 14 tin, TX 78759, 512-527-3799. Be sure to include your name and contact information. The News Magazine of the Editor Davie Lou Solka Texas Jewish Historical Society Layout/Design Editor Alexa Kirk (USPS) is published four times a Proof Readers Ruthe Berman, Sally Drayer, Jan year by the Texas Jewish Histor- Hart, Jack Solka, L. David Vogel, ical Society, P. O. Box 10193, Vickie Vogel Austin, Texas 78766-0193, Travis County. Periodical postage paid Note: The Texas Jewish Historical Society is unable to guarantee the at Houston, Texas. Postmaster, safe receipt and/or return of documents and photographs. It is strongly send address changes to the Texas recommended that you provide color photocopies of both color and black & Jewish Historical Society, P. O. white documents. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Box 10193, Austin, Texas 78766- Visit us on the web at www.txjhs.org. 0193. www.txjhs.org Page 2 Texas Jewish Historical Society - September 2020 A Jewish Woman Warrior by Mel Eichelbaum Born in Brooklyn in 1935, Han- her home which kitchen. As Seder guests, they were nah Margolis spent the predominant it has remained welcomed to bring gifts of matzah and part of her youth being raised in the ever since. wine, provided the products did not Bronx borough of New York City. Af- Hannah’s come from Israel. ter graduating high school, the family first overseas While in Libya, Hannah had the moved back to Brooklyn where she assignment opportunity to work with the local attended Brooklyn College, complet- was at Wheelus hospital treating their polio patients. ing her undergraduate work with a AFB in Tripoli, Although in the U.S. that disease had degree in Education and a specialty Hannah Margolis Libya. This pretty much been brought under con- in Physical Education (P.E.). Being a at her retirement was during trol, the same was not the case in Lib- bit influenced by her mother, Hannah ceremony. the pre-Kadafi ya. By utilizing her P.T. skills, Hannah thought she would drift into a position era, and one was able to help and improve the lives of teaching P.E. in high school, but as of Hannah’s of hundreds of afflicted individuals, it turned out her ship was destined to patients was the while at the same time not only en- sail a different course. Queen of Libya hancing her personal reputation, but Hannah had a yearning to go to who used to also bringing a sterling credit upon her graduate school, but her family could show up, cov- country, her branch of service, and her not afford it. In 1956 the Air Force ered from head gender amongst the local population. had a significant need for Physical to toe, in ul- Hannah’s second overseas as- Therapists. Upon inquiry Hannah was tra-orthodox Ar- signment was at Clark AFB in the convinced that the field of Physical abic garb. Upon Philippines. This was at the height of Therapy was the profession to which Recent photo of her arrival at the Vietnam War. Many American and she wanted to dedicate her life’s Hannah Margolis the hospital, South Korean troops who had been in- working endeavor. At that time the wearing blouse and at which time jured were in need of treatment before Air Force offered an opportunity to scarf she wove. no other Arab being sent home. While there Hannah pay for one year of graduate school persons were allowed to be there, she and her team were able to develop in exchange for two years of military quickly donned western-styled attire, temporary prostheses, using a plaster service. To Hannah that was a “win- which she much preferred. Private- cast, a crutch part, and a foot made win” solution, and so despite her par- ly the Queen was distinctly rather from spare parts recommended by ents being somewhat skeptical about pro-western. an aircraft mechanic. Assisting these her being in the military, Hannah Hannah’s tour in Libya was troops to be able to walk again was in- joined up. At that time Hannah had no particularly challenging for a Jewish deed an inspiring experience. During idea that the military would become woman. As a First Lieutenant, she this tour of duty, she had to deal with her career. was the senior ranking Jewish officer an assigned Orthodox Rabbi, which Initially Hannah attended the and so ended up being the Jewish could have posed a bit of a problem.