Fall 2000 Newsletter a Bit of the History of San Antonio Jewry by Hilton Goldman

Preserving Jewish Heritage in Texas Texas Jewish Established 1980 Historical Society Fall 2000 Newsletter A Bit of the History of San Antonio Jewry by Hilton Goldman

Let us invite you, dear reader, to take an Russian persecution, began arriving. These Jews imaginary tour of some of the places of Jewish were religiously Orthodox. So, in 1889, Congrega- interest in San Antonio. But before we start the tion Agudas Achim was chartered as an Orthodox tour, have a seat while we give you a little back- Congregation. ground information about the beginnings of the With that bit of background, we will now Jewish community in San Antonio. start our tour. The first site that we will visit is the Most of the early Jewish arrivals came corner of Jefferson and Travis streets downtown. from Germany, and Germany was where the This is the location of the first Temple Beth-El structure. Reform move- By 1903, it was ment in Judaism replaced by the second began. Informal Temple Beth-El religious structure. That struc- services were ture was sold to Travis held in private Savings and Loan in homes as early 1927 when the congre- as 1854. By gation relocated to 211 1874, a group of Belknap Place, the some 44 Jewish present site of Temple men were Beth-El. Incidentally, meeting to about 15 years after organize a Travis Savings and formal Congre- Loan purchased the gation. It was site, they decided to do formally some remodeling, and, chartered that in the process, discov- San Antonio’s active downtown business disctrict, circa 1870, same year. ered a sealed-off room at Commerce and Main, showing D & A Oppenheimer’s. Then they they didn’t know was invited plans to there. When they build a synagogue that would not cost more than entered this room, they were amazed to find that it $10,000. (Actually, it cost $14,000.) On Friday contained an eternal light, and that light was still evening, Sept. 10, 1875, the dedication ceremonies burning for Temple Beth-El were held. The sanctuary was Now let’s move a few blocks from there to packed, and, interestingly, quite a few of those Main and Quincy and some of the history of Congre- present were Christians -- an indication that gation Agudas Achim. In its first few years, services relations with the gentile community were very were held in private homes. Their first Synagogue good. The Union Of American Hebrew Congre- was constructed in 1898. It was replaced by a new gations was organized in 1874, and that same year Synagogue at this site in 1921. But, that same year, Temple Beth-El joined the Union. just prior to the High Holidays, there was a heavy By 1870, a large influx of Jews from Eastern Europe, who were fleeing from Czarist Continued on page 4 From the TJHS President In Memory of

Dear Members The exhibit weighs 40# in two boxes Florence Blum of TJHS, and can be shipped anywhere in the State via UPS. The exhibit depicts the When I was preparing to On Sunday, July passage from Europe, to many cities in assume the presidency of TJHS in 16, the Officers Texas. There is no charge for the 1998, I called Florence Blum and and Board of exhibit other than freight return. The asked her to serve on the Board. She Directors met exhibit, titled “Passages,” is finally was somewhat reluctant and shared for our quarterly ready to be displayed and available for her concern about her ability to attend meeting at the shipment. every meeting. But I assured her that Dallas Jewish To the Officers and Board Community members, my sincere thank you for the bylaws only required a board Center. First of all I want to express your work and efforts in making our member to attend at least ONE my gratitude and thanks for the Society so viable. The next Annual meeting a year and she already cooperation of the center to our needs Gathering will be in Austin at the attended more meetings in the capacity as far as facilities and meals. They Radission Hotel April 20-22, 2001. of a non board member. Some time certainly contributed to the success of Please mark your calendar accord- later she confided to me that she was our meeting. ingly. The program will be very surprised and flattered to be asked to Some 62 members attended exciting and we hope to view the serve on the board because people of the Board meeting with visits from finished movie “Matchmaker” pro- her age are usually no longer asked to members of the Dallas Historical duced by one of our members. take an active role in organizations. I Society. Everyone participated in spirited exchanges and I can report found that very short sighted on the that your Historical Society is in great part of organizations! shape both enthusiastically and finan- Florence accepted the role of cially. We discussed on-going efforts Board member, came to almost every on how to obtain more complete Our membership is meeting during those next two years, information of Texas Jewish History. I and most important of all, spoke from proposed a plan to divide the State into now 610! experience and with wisdom on many ten regions and appoint an individual in Your membership enables us issues. She continued to serve on the each region to aid in research by current Board and she was an ex- asking neighbors and friends to write to accomplish our goals of tremely active and valuable member of stories of their families and how they got to Texas. I am happy to report that collecting and disseminating the Board of TJHS. Additionally, she was one of the most gracious, intelli- two weeks after the meeting, we have the valuable information about three volunteers who will help in gent and delightful women I have various regions. The State is so large it the interesting heritage of the known. makes it hard for individuals living Jews of Texas. She died Erev Yom Kippur as elsewhere to do any research miles she was dressing to go to services. I from their home. For a non-recorded message have heard through the years that only For months the society has on the further benefits of TJHS the most blessed people die on Yom attempted to put together a traveling Tov and this seems a perfect example. exhibit of historical pictures and text to membership, call The news of her death filled me with be used for schools, Sunday schools, 409-866-5205. JCCs, Synagogues and Temples etc. profound sadness. She will be greatly missed by all of her friends and fellow Board members of TJHS. We send The Texas Jewish Historical Society Newsletter our sincere condolences to her family. is a publication of the Texas Jewish Historical Society, P.O. Box 10193, Austin, Texas 78766 May her memory always be a bless- ing. Jack Gerrick (Fort Worth)...... President Buddy Freed (Fort Worth)...... Managing Editor Walter Fein (San Antonio)...... Proofreader Sandra Freed (Fort Worth)...... Proofreader Helen Wilk (Corpus Christi)...... Proofreader Helen Wilk Geri Gregory (San Antonio)...... Layout, Typesetting and Distribution Past President, TJHS

Page 2 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Letter to the Letter From Editor Our Editor to Their Editor Dear Editor: The following letter was written by our newsletter editor, Buddy Freed, I was dismayed and disap- and appeared in the September 1, 2000 issue of the Forward. pointed that the name of Dr. Jakob J. Petuchowski was not mentioned in the “Texas Jewboy” two articles on the history of the Regarding Texas Jewish Historical Society: Laredo Jewish community in the June Masha Leon’s “Some comedian once quipped 2000 issue of the Texas Jewish August 18 that there were no Jewish cowboys. I Historical Society Newsletter. Dr. column. I am a wonder how one could meet his Petuchowski had served Temple B’nai Texas “sabra.” I qualifications? Not to be Jewish, but to Israel in Laredo from 1956 to 1991, grew up in a be a cowboy? I have known many small South Jews in the cattle business. My father with enormous distinction, as its visiting Texas town owned over 5,000 acres of land and rabbi. He was revered by both Chris- learning more 2,000 head of cattle when he died. I tians and Jews in Laredo. about New took the operation over and ran it for In addition to officiating at York than New several years before moving to Fort High Holy Day worship at the Temple, Yorkers have Worth. Charlie Gurinsky Cattle Dr. Petuchowski often delivered the ever learned about Texas. I have Company in San Antonio prospered in sermon at Congregation Agudas often, and accurately, said that New the cattle business as did Freedman Achim in Laredo at its services for the Yorkers do not think that there is Brothers and Siegel and Block in second day of Rosh Hashanah and viable Jewish life west of the Hudson Houston M. Schwartz of Uvalde was preached the Sunday sermon at one of River. I have even been told that the very big in the sheep and goat busi- the local Methodist churches. Jews who settle in small towns, do so ness. Abe Mehl, Sylvan Gurinsky, Abe How fortunate Laredo was to to hide. Be assured that if a Jew wants Moses and many others I cannot to hide, the big city is a far better place recall, made their living from farming benefit from Rabbi Petuchowski’s vast for concealing one’s Jewishness. In a and ranching. Here in Fort Worth, the wisdom and knowledge. For several small town, if you forget you are a Rosenthal families were in the meat decades, he was a Professor of Jew, the non-Jewish community will packing business. Cowboys? Perhaps Rabbinics, Theology and Liturgy at surely remind you of your heritage. the comedians’ definition of a cowboy Hebrew Union College-Jewish Insti- The reason that David Brenner and is a bit fuzzy.” tute of Religion in Cincinnati. A Jackie Mason make jokes at the To say there are no Jewish world-renowned scholar, he published expense of those who had the courage cowboys is to demonstrate a lack of over 600 books and articles in Hebrew, to break from the herd and make their knowledge. It ain’t funny, McGee! English and German. mark as ranchers shows their igno- I feel blessed to have been rance. The following is a quote from a one of his students and to have written speech I delivered to a meeting of the both my rabbinical thesis and doctoral dissertation under his supervision. I was also privileged to be present when the members of Temple B’nai Israel Save the Date! honored him on his 25th and 35th years of service in 1981 and 1991, respec- Annual Gathering – April 20-22, 2001 tively. I hope that any future histories In Austin, Texas, at the of the Laredo Jewish community will take ample recognition of his signifi- cant rabbinate there. Austin – Downtown Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin 111 Cesar Chavez Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl Austin, Texas 78701 Temple Beth-El www. radisson.com/austintx San Antonio, Texas 1-800-333-3333

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 3 History of San Antonio, continued they formed a partnership. Almost Rivercenter. But, until a few years from cover immediately, they began to buy land on ago, it was known as Joske’s. When which to graze cattle. Most of their Julius Joske, an emigrant from Ger- rainstorm that caused the San Antonio initial herd was received in payment many, first arrived in San Antonio in River to flood the downtown area. It 1873, he opened a modest dry goods destroyed the Synagogue structure and store on Austin Street. Two years all of their records, so a new Syna- later, he moved to this Alamo Street gogue was created on the same site. location. A new two-story structure, In the next few years, the congrega- known as “The Big Store”, was tion experienced yet another change as opened on this same site in 1888. In it went from its Orthodox roots to its 1903, Alexander Joske, Julius’ young- present Conservative ideology. Over est son, became the store’s guiding the succeeding years, as the congrega- force. When Alexander died in 1925, tion grew, it relocated in 1954, and yet he was called “a merchant prince and again in 1996. Its present location is organizer of the greatest department 16550 Huebner Rd. store south of St. Louis”. Joske’s was Time to move to the next responsible for a number of Texas location, the Palmetto Street Cem- “firsts”. In 1886, the nickel was the etery. This was the first Jewish lowest standard of value since pennies cemetery in San Antonio. It was were scarce. Julius Joske considered it created in 1855 by the Hebrew Mayer Halff an insult to small quantity customers Benevolent Society. Some years later, that penny items sold for a nickel, so its eastern half was transferred to for merchandise. At one time, they he began to market goods at the Temple Beth-El and its western half to controlled more than six million acres closest price to the penny. The San Agudas Achim. of ranchland. In 1864, they moved to Antonio Light newspaper praised From the Palmetto Cemetery, San Antonio and started a wholesale Joske for his fair-mindedness in an it is a short distance to our next stop, dry goods company, M. Halff and article, “The Pioneer One Cent Store”. the site of Congregation Rodfei Brother. Mayer managed the ranches Joske’s also promoted San Antonio’s Sholom, an Orthodox congregation, while Solomon ran the store. Mayer first International Trade Fair in 1888. organized in January, 1908. They first became one of the largest stock Now we proceed just two met in members’ homes. Their first raisers in Texas. Mayer Halff was a blocks west on Commerce Street, and Synagogue, at 214 Wyoming, was built founder of City National Bank in San there on our left is the Hertzberg in 1918. The congregation relocated in Antonio. He and Solomon participated Circus Museum and Library. I know 1942, and again in 1989. Its present in the founding of Alamo National you would like to go inside and see location is 3003 Sholom what they have, but we Blvd. will have to leave that for Now, let’s move a another time. Sorry. To short distance to the area tell you how this museum called Hemisfair Park, and came to be, I must first more precisely. to a 2-story tell you about Harry building there known as the Hertzberg. The son of Halff House. Mayer Halff Anna and Eli Hertzberg, built this in 1876 at a cost of Harry was born in San only $3400. The house was Antonio in 1883. He restored in 1967 for became a prominent $250,000 as part of San lawyer, got active in civic Antonio’s Hemisfair Cel- affairs, served in the ebration. To understand why Texas Senate. He also the city bothered to do this, had another interest: the you need to know the other circus. He began collect- Halff of the story. Mayer The Mayer Halff House as it appears today. ing circus-related things at Halff was born in an early age. He acquired Lautenberg, Alsace in 1836, and his Bank and Solomon became its books on the history of the circus, and brother Solomon was born two years vice-president. became friends with many great later. When Mayer was 14, he mi- Two short blocks from the performers of his day from whom he grated to Texas and opened a small Halff House, at the corner of Alamo received many unique and historic business in Liberty, Texas. Seven Street and Commerce, we see a large gifts. When he died in 1940, his huge years later, Solomon joined him and building with a sign that reads collection was donated to the city.

Page 4 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Two years later, the Hertzberg Circus broadcast nationally on National Public ment, laces, hosiery and notions, and Museum was opened in what had been Radio. Anna Hertzberg also founded, agents for Butterick’s patterns. the Carnegie Library and served as According to the write-up in the 1885 structure at 210 W. president of, the edition of “The Industries Of San Market, and the collec- original San Antonio Antonio”, “Having, the irrepressible tion was opened to the Symphony Orches- vim and mercantile spirit, characteristic public. It is reputed to be tra. Also, under her of men of German descent, they have, the largest circus direction, the in a limited period, despite strenuous collection of its kind in Tuesday Musical competition, built up a business without the world. Club established a a peer in their line in this city, and, in There is another scholarship fund to accomplishing this, their example has Hertzberg that you aid talented students been of incalculable benefit to the city should know about: in their studies at the and section.” Rather remarkable, since Harry’s mother Anna. New York Conser- they started the business in 1882. She was born in New vatory of Music. In Now we will proceed three York, came to San 1915, she was the short blocks west on Commerce Street Antonio in 1882 as the first woman elected to the intersection with Main. This was young wife of Eli to the San Antonio the site of D & A Oppenheimer Hertzberg. She was a Anna Hertzberg School Board. And, Bankers (Unincorporated). Daniel and talented pianist and a while Anton Oppenheimer graduate of the New York Conserva- President of the San were brothers, born in tory of Music. With this background, Antonio Council of Bavaria. Dan came to she became interested in the musical Jewish Women, she Texas first, in 1854, life of San Antonio. It started with her organized the first night working as a peddler, getting together with a few of her school in the city; it was first in Palestine, and musical friends in one of their homes eventually absorbed by then in Rusk. He was a on Tuesday afternoons, where they the city system. peddler because in rural took turns performing. This led her and Our next stop is areas merchandise was six other charter members to organize just one block away, at sold by a man with a the Tuesday Musical Club in 1901. 202 Commerce Street. horse and cart. Anton Today, their annual concert series, This was the location of followed, and in 1858 which is performed in the Sanctuary of Blum and Koenigsberger, they established D. and Temple Beth-El, is nationally recog- dealers in fancy and The entry to the Hertzberg A. Oppenheimer in nized, brings to San Antonio each year staple dry goods, cloaks, Circus Museum today. Rusk. Both served in the a number of top-notch performers, and ladies costumes, ladies the recordings of those concerts are undergarments, dressmaking depart- Continued on page 6 Texas Jewish Historical Society Donor Cards

This card is available for anyone wishing to honor or memori- The Texas Jewish Historical Society alize an individual through our gratefully acknowledges your gift to our endowment fund. Upon receipt of your gift, the Society will respond Endowment Fund with this acknowledgement. To the of $______members who have sent in funds in the past, thank you on behalf of in ______of TJHS. To all those who will send funds in the future, please send your ______gift to: An acknowledgement has been sent to the party you specified. Texas Jewish Historical Society P.O. Box 10193 Your gift will further the efforts to record, preserve, and disseminate Austin, Texas 78766-0193 historic information about the Jewish culture in Texas.

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 5 San Antonio History, continued Antonio as a saddle and harness Kibbutz in Israel was seeking Angora from page 5 maker. He chose San Antonio be- goats for the purpose of starting a cause of all the ranches in the area, mohair industry, he raised a herd of these goats that was shipped to them. Confederate Army. After the war, Another of Perry’s activities that they moved to San Antonio and brought him a lot of recognition was a prospered with a wholesale and retail radio program he hosted which he store on the Main Plaza. From 1874 to called “Kallison’s Trading Post”. It ran 1905 State banks were prohibited by for about 40 years, was begun to Texas law (because their previous promote his business but soon became history had been bad), but there was a public service broadcast as well. no law against an individual doing Also, he received the Joe Freeman banking. (National banks were permit- Award for Outstanding Service to ted, but it cost $50,000 to get such a Agriculture. Morris, with some aid charter.) So the Oppenheimers con- from Perry, branched out and became ducted a type of banking operation as a developer of downtown office an adjunct to their mercantile business. buildings in the S. Main and S. Flores They advanced merchandise or money St. area. to customers until crops were har- Perry’s wife, Frances, who vested and livestock sold at market. was TJHS’s second President, also They accepted cattle for payment, achieved much well-deserved recogni- bought land, and became cattle ranch- tion for a variety of activities, including her Master’s Thesis titled, “One ers and livestock financiers. In 1908, Perry Kallison they sold their 100,000 acre ranch and Hundred Years of Jewry in San cattle for $1,000,000 and invested it in plus two breweries that used big dray Antonio,” which still rates as the best the bank. The D & A Oppenheimer horses. When the automobile began to source of information on the subject. Also, through Francis and Sophie Bank, the oldest private bank west of come in, around the time of World War I, he foresaw a diminishing Bodenheimer’s efforts, classes for the Mississippi, was always unincorpo- blind children were established in San rated - it never had a charter, and its market for harness and saddlery. So he converted his business to a farm Antonio, so that it was no longer deposits were not covered by the necessary to separate these children Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora- and ranch supply and general dry from their families to send them to a tion. Because of long droughts and bad goods store. residential school in Austin, Texas. cattle markets, there were periods Nathan’s sons; Morris and The other site that we would when they had to carry their custom- Perry, continued this business. They like to tell you about is the Freeman ers for years. also introduced Polled Hereford cattle Coliseum, a multimillion dollar show- Moving only four place on a 174-acre plot east short blocks brings us to of downtown San Antonio. For years, Joe Freeman was the corner of Houston and doing everything he could to St. Mary’s Streets. Here promote the construction of a we see a large clock structure to exhibit livestock mounted on top of a pole. and cattle shows and rodeos The historic marker at its Recently, County Commis- base states that this is the sioners Court acknowledged Hertzberg Clock, and that its debt to Freeman for his from the time it was “untiring personal efforts and installed in 1878, it has unselfish and liberal dona- been the city’s “official” tions”, noted that he was time piece. It is unique mainly responsible for the building of the coliseum, and among post clocks in named it the Joe and Harry continuing to be Freeman Coliseum. hand-wound rather than Temple Beth-El, as seen in 1905. This was the second building, Freeman’s life, as well electrified. at the corner of Jefferson and Travis Streets. as the life of his brother There are two Harry, is a rags-to-riches more places we would like to include to the area because they found they story. He was born in an adobe house in this tour, but traveling to them would could do much better selling registered in San Antonio in 1885, but spent most take too long, so we will just tell you Hereford bulls to breeders going into of his youth in Seguin. When his father about them and the people involved. the cattle business and to those who died, he and Harry consolidated the The first place is the Kallison busi- wanted to upgrade their commercial family interests in a partnership. Their herds. When Perry learned that a nesses. Nathan Kallison came to San partnership was simple. Harry said,

Page 6 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 “Joe, you do the worrying, and I’ll do the work.” Over the years, the part- Have Exhibit, Will Travel nership became a multimillion dollar operation involving about a dozen businesses. Among other activities, he was a large-scale cotton exporter to foreign countries, and then launched the first large-scale pecan shelling industry in San Antonio in 1930. During the 1930s, Harry was adminis- trator of the business affairs of the famous Hilton sisters, Siamese twins who were exhibited all over the world. Freeman was instrumental in a musical

The Texas Jewish Historical Society, in cooperation with the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, has designed an exhibit to be used as an educa- Joske’s Dry Goods Store as it appears tional tool for schools, Sunday Schools, Jewish Community Centers, Synagogues, today – Rivercenter Mall. Temples, and Special Events in any town or city in Texas. The exhibit depicts the journey of Jews in tiny villages and schtetls in act built around the sisters, and they Europe to America and their eventual settlement in the communities of Texas. It performed all over the U. S. and in shows families, businesses, homes, children, religion, and holidays. England while he managed their The exhibit is designed to be either hung on walls or set up on tables on affairs. foam board with an easel stand. The entire exhibit comes in two boxes, weighs 40 lbs., and can be shipped very easily via UPS. There is No Charge for the This is where we will end this exhibit and the only cost is the return charges via UPS. tour, although there is so much more To reserve the exhibit, along with a speaker, contact Jack Gerrick at that could be said. Thank you for your (817) 927-8765. attention. If you would like to sample a bit of the San Antonio Jewish community as it is today, we suggest that you Texas Jewish Historical Society visit the recently completed Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Campus of the Website San Antonio Jewish Community, a multipurpose complex, located at Texas Jewish Historical Society • P.O Box 10193 Austin, TX 78766 19500 N.W. Military Highway (near Telephone - (281) 276-9693 loop 1604), that houses the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, the E-Mail address - [email protected] Barshop Jewish Community Center, Web Site address: http://www.txjhs.org the Eleanor Kolitz Academy, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, the The Texas Jewish Historical Society draws its membership from Beldon Library, and the Sheldon across the State of Texas, bordering states and across our great nation. Vexler Theater. Have a good day. TJHS supports a wide-ranging agenda. Quarterly Board Meetings are held at points of particular interest, an extensive newsletter is published NOTE: If you are interested in regularly, and a speakers bureau is maintained. A variety of research receiving a bibliography of the texts used projects are facilitated through the Jewish Archives in the Barker Library, in the writing of this article, please write or supported directly such as “Virtual Restoration of Small-Town Syna- to Geri Gregory, 327 West Lullwood gogues in Texas.” Avenue, San Antonio, Texas 78212, or e- We are very proud of our organization and ask you to look us up mail her at [email protected]. and celebrate the joys of Texas history.

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 7 The Migration of Eastern European Jews through Brenham, Texas, 1860 - 1960 By Nechama Breningstall (5th generation descendant of the Susnitskys of Brenham) Senior Division Historical Paper

Sixty miles northwest of question, ‘Is life worth living?’” someplace.” Houston, Texas, is a small town Such was the frustration felt Ironically, the Reform German named Brenham. Located on a dusty by many Orthodox Jewish Eastern Jews aided the emigrants. The clash road in Brenham is a one-hundred- Europeans upon their arrival in between the Reform German Jews and year-old Orthodox Jewish synagogue America in the late 1800s. As a result the newly arrived Russian and Polish in perfect condition. This humble of the cramped, foul living conditions immigrants now so strong that some synagogue tells a story of the migra- in New York, the infant daughter of wealthy Reform German Jews, who tion of a people into Brenham who one family, that of Pesach Susnitsky were major investors in the new remained but three generations, yet of Kalbri, Russia, was stricken with a railroads, established the Galveston who took Brenham with them as they nearly fatal disease. Plan. The Galveston Plan was a emigrated once again. This was not the only prob- scheme to rid New York of the Eastern How did this synagogue, a lem the Susnitskys faced. Like most European Jews by distributing them to Texas Historical Monument and a Eastern European Jews landing on isolated rural locations far from New National Historical site, come to be the shores of America, they encoun- York. Relocating the Jews to the built, who built it, and why is it empty tered bitter prejudice from gentiles, smaller towns would help the Reform and silent today? If its whitewashed and, unfortunately, from the more Jewish Germans in other ways, because walls could speak, this is the tale they established Reform Jewish Germans it served their financial interests to would tell of the Jews of Brenham, who scoffed at their traditional ways. develop the towns along the railroad as Texas: “The German Jews looked down on centers of commerce. In other words, the Russian and Polish Jews who although it met the needs of the Jews Give me your tired, your poor, immigrated to America later [than who immigrated to the South and West Your huddled masses yearning to they did],” explains Donald Teter, to do so, it also met the needs of the breathe free, president of the Texas Jewish Histori- new towns to have experienced mer- The wretched refuse of your teeming cal Society from 1993 until 1995. chants and tradespeople. As a result, shore. Was life really worth living? there was a steady percolation of Send these, the homeless, tempest- This was a question that Pesach hopeful Eastern European Jewish tossed to me: Susnitsky may have asked himself, settlers from the Eastern Seaboard I lift my lamp beside the golden until the day he received a telegram towards the South and West via the door! from a good friend in Texas, which railroads. described the economic benefits of In his telegram, Pesach’s friend Emma Lazarus’s words the South. Though his friend was only wrote that Brenham, Texas, was a illustrate the hopes for a new, wonder- talking business, Pesach Susnitsky small but thriving community near ful life that dwelled inside the late realized the clean Southern air would Houston populated by German gentiles nineteenth century immigrant first be much healthier for his ill infant who were known to be very industrious, arriving on the shores of America. daughter, Sarah, than the polluted which would be good for future busi- How frustrating it must have been for New York air, according to Sarah’s ness endeavors. The Jews spoke many of these immigrants to see that account many years later. Pesach Yiddish, a language similar to German, these “golden doors” were actually the Susnitsky also may have heard that which would make communication polluted, unsanitary streets of New the South was an open-minded area easier. Another advantage was York City or, according to Yiddish where people were new to the idea of Brenham’s size: Jews who went into writer Leon Kobrin, the “gray stone Jews and less prejudiced. business in small towns were usually world of tall tenements.” Jacob Riis, a The decision was set that successful. Pesach Susnitsky was a New York reporter and Danish Pesach, his wife Slava, and baby merchant and successful business was immigrant, wrote: “The gap between Sarah would be heading towards the his goal. dingy brick walls is the yard. That strip South. The only question was where The Susnitskys were not the of smoke-colored sky up there is the they would go. As Donald Teter said, first Jews to reach Brenham. In 1861, heaven of these people….What sort “All through history, Jews have had to B. Levinson was the first to arrive. In of answer, do you think, would these migrate from place to place, so it 1866, Alex Simon Sr. appeared with his tenement house dwellers give to the wasn’t any different. They had to go family. The Susnitsky family came

Page 8 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 around the year 1890. The family of some of the original Jewish Brenham World War I, there was hardly a Hortense Yarno Kamin arrived soon residents, restored it. Leon Toubin, still center of commerce in Texas that did after Mr. Levinson, although the year living in Brenham, currently maintains not have a Jewish owned store is unconfirmed. Kamin tells how her the synagogue. stocked with clothing for all types of family ended up in Brenham: They had Going into the synagogue, one people. boarded a western-bound train imme- sees where the Mikveh, a bath for Working at first as a peddler diately after disembarking from the ritual immersion, was on the near side. who traveled with his wagon from boat from Eastern Europe. Being The Aron Kodesh, the Holy Ark, farm to farm, Pesach Susnitsky native-born Lithuanians, they spoke which still contains the Torah scroll, is eventually opened the more “classy” Lithuanian, German, Russian and located at the eastern wall and the Boston Store, which sold dry goods. Yiddish, but no English. They had no Bimah, the platform used for the After his retirement he passed the specific destination in mind, and a reading of the Torah scroll, is placed in company on to his sons, Samuel and German speaking conductor recom- the center. In the foyer are simple Joseph Susnitsky. Pesach was the mended they go to Brenham because stairs leading up to the women’s ideal combination of religious Jew and its inhabitants were mostly German; section. On the eastern wall are paper- successful merchant. In 1892, he they would be able to communicate cut and water-colored signs marking became the vice-president of the brand and thrive as a result. the wall Mizrach, meaning eastern, new B’nai Abraham Synagogue. A These core families, all made by the Rabbi’s wife before photograph portrays him standing Eastern European Orthodox Jews, World War II. regally in a pure white starched shirt proudly became the Brenham Jews, Many of the first synagogues and yarmulkah, skullcap, perched on “our Jews,” as their Gentile neighbors built in Texas in the late nineteenth his head, all the while proudly holding a fondly referred to them. By hard work century began as Orthodox but slowly cow by the rope as if it were a mag- and determination, the Jews of diminished their observance of the nificent white stallion. Brenham prospered socially and traditions. Brenham’s B’nai Abraham Professor Charles Morris financially over the next century, while Synagogue is the only nineteenth remembers his grandfather, Pesach steadfastly maintaining their identity, century synagogue in Texas that Susnitsky, vividly. He spoke of his laws, and customs. remains Orthodox to this day. grandfather’s strict regulations saying, Jewish immigration to One of the hardest challenges “My mother, Flora, told me that my Brenham continued to increase. By that Jews in Brenham and other grandfather always insisted on feeding 1885, there were enough Jews to southern small towns faced was the animals before feeding himself.” make a minyan, the necessary prayer maintaining their Jewish identity, laws, Pesach Susnitsky was more than a quorum of ten men past the age of 13. and customs. Surrounded by gentiles good businessman – he was learned as They formed an Orthodox Jewish and few Jews, they had no examples well. Professor Morris stressed this congregation, calling it B’nai Abraham. to follow, rather they had to set the point by saying, “There was always a Services were held in the Second example. Yet they succeeded in doing rabbi, but my grandfather was unques- Texas Infantry Band Hall, located so while succeeding financially as well. tionably the head of the Jewish com- where the Brenham Public Library In those days, Jews wanting to start a munity. He was well educated in now stands. Sabbath and holiday business in a small town found it Jewish studies and I always felt sorry services were celebrated in the hall relatively simple to do so. Many had for any rabbi who had to serve under regularly during those early years. plenty of talent and useful resources: a him.” A deed registering B’nai Alex Simon, a Reform Jew knack for languages and numbers, the Abraham’s acquisition of its land in who never entered the synagogue, willingness to work hard, a far-ranging Washington County in 1895 lists donated the funds to build a beautiful support network, and a “yiddeshe Pesach Susnitsky as the first of five permanent home for the congregation kop”. Many of them had been trustees. in 1892. The new synagogue burned trained in Europe for a specific trade, Pesach Susnitsky was not the that year and the repairs were com- like tailor or shoemaker; all used the only one whose Jewish purity and pleted the next year, 1893. The B’nai basic skills achieved in cheder such as philanthropy shone. His wife was also Abraham Congregation didn’t officially good memory, analytic ability, and known as devoutly Orthodox and buy the land from the Simons until quick wit. A small amount of cash was carried her own air of dignity. She 1895. B’nai Abraham is believed by always needed as start-up funds, but was the only one of the women many to have been the first Orthodox this they could borrow from a fellow belonging to the B’nai Abraham synagogue built in Texas. This has not Jew. Congregation who could read and been proven; however, it is known that While some Jewish merchants write in Hebrew. She was also presi- it was one of the first in the state. The preferred to run bargain stores, others dent of the Jewish Ladies Aid Society synagogue remains in its original site, followed the model set by Mr. Neiman and collected money for Jewish to date remodeled only twice: once in and Mr. Marcus in Dallas, offering up- organizations on a regular basis. Her 1893 due to the fire, and more recently to-the-minute fashions and a sophisti- when Leon Toubin, a descendent of cated environment. Either way, by Continued on page 10

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 9 Brenham, continued from page 9 Brenham. The first was that many young men left to serve in the army Book Commemorates th obituary proudly states that she was “a during World War I. After the war, 100 Anniversary of true daughter of Israel.” there were economic problems caused Because Brenham was a tiny by the Great Depression, and opportu- Galveston Hurricane town with a small and close communities for the younger generation On September 8, 1900, a nity, everyone managed to get along. seemed more tangible in big cities like massive hurricane slammed into The Jewish children went to public Houston and San Antonio. Several, Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of school along with their gentile play- like Sylvia Levin, the daughter of some four feet in as many seconds mates, although the boys were tutored Pesach Susnitsky, left in order to inundated the city, while the wind in Hebrew studies in the late after- attend college in Houston. Her older destroyed thousands of buildings. By noons. If a mother wanted to call a brother Mose left to open a store in the time the water and winds subsided, child in from play, all she had to do Baytown, Texas; later their sister, entire streets had disappeared and as was call the telephone operator, “Miss Idah, joined him in order to help tend many as 6,000 were dead — making Irma” who would lean out of her his store. Many young people wanted this the worst natural disaster in office window and yell to that child to be part of larger Jewish communi- America’s history. that his mother wanted him home. It ties. Of Pesach’s eleven children, four In Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane made no difference whether the child daughters married Easterners and settled in New York. As the younger in History, author Erik Larson blends was a Jew or a gentile. science and history to tell the story of There could have been a ones drifted away, many older people moved to the cities to be near their Galveston, its people, and the hurricane problem with Jews closing their that devastated them. Drawing on businesses on Sabbath and holidays, children and grandchildren. Finally, those loyal Jewish Brenhamites who hundreds of personal reminiscences of but low prices, good deals, and a the storm, Larson follows individuals stayed could not live forever. Sadly, all reputation for honesty made up for through the fateful day and the storm’s that. The gentiles realized that certain have now left or passed on except for aftermath. At the center of it all is customs were very important to the Mr. and Mrs. Leon Toubin. Isaac Cline, employee of the nascent Jews and respected them for following Although the Brenham Jews Weather Bureau, and his younger these customs. Many gentiles believed left Brenham, they did not leave the brother — and rival weatherman — that it was bad form and showed lack town void. They left their everlasting Joseph. Larson does an excellent job of self-respect when a Jew would be legacy on what would have been a of piecing together Isaac’s life and found working on a High Holy Day boring, dusty small town had they not reveals that Isaac was not the quick- such as Yom Kippur or Rosh come in the first place. The walls of thinking hero he claimed to be after the Hashanah. the synagogue clearly tell the beautiful storm ended. The storm itself, how- The two World Wars created story of this migration. ever, is the book’s true protagonist — uncomfortable interactions between While living in Brenham, it is and Larson describes its nuances in most Germans and their neighbors clear the Jews thrived socially and horrific detail. throughout the United States. Brenham financially while preserving their Isaac’s Storm recaptures a was an exception. In Brenham, the religion and heritage. Not only did they time when, standing in the first year of Jews and Germans not only had a preserve their heritage inside them- the century, Americans felt like they wonderful business relationship but got selves, they also imbedded it in the ruled the world — and that even the weather was no real threat to their along quite well socially. Their friend- hearts of their descendants. It is true supremacy. Nature proved them wrong. ship and mutual respect remained that the Jews have left Brenham, but it should be known that Brenham never Isaac’s Storm was published intact. in 1999, and is available through For example, in a high school has and never will leave those Jews who come from Brenham. Amazon.com in hardback, paperback, senior yearbook from 1918, one of audio cassette, audio CD, and large Pesach Susnitsky’s daughters, Goldye, print. NOTE: Please contact Geri Gregory was featured as if there was no Source: Amazon.com difference between herself and her at (210) 738-1335 if you would like classmates. The comments made in to receive a copy of the full anno- the yearbook hinted that Goldye was a tated Bibliography that accompa- nied this article. Please Note: social, bright, and well-liked student. The Texas Jewish Histori- Yet despite their friendly relationship cal Society and the editorial staff with the non-Jews, the children were of this newsletter cannot guarantee aware of their limits and a Jewish girl the accuracy or authenticity of any would never date a non-Jewish boy. article. This is the responsibility of Today, most of the Jews who lived in each contributor, so please direct Brenham have left. There are a few your questions, comments and/or reasons why the Jews started to leave corrections to each author directly.

Page 10 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Share the Pleasure of Historical Texas Synagogues with Someone Special!

Send Historical Texas Synagogues note cards when corresponding with friends or relatives. Each pack contains color prints, two each of five different synagogues - 10 cards and 10 envelopes.

Package A contains: Temple Beth-El, Corsicana Temple Mizpah, Abilene Temple Freda, Bryan Temple Beth Israel, San Angelo Schwarz Family Synagogue, Hempstead

Package B contains: B’nai Israel, Galveston Temple Emanuel, Beaumont B’nai Abraham Synagogue, Brenham Sinai Hebrew Congregation, Jefferson B’nai Israel, Victoria

Name:______Mailing address: ______City:______State:______Zip:______Telephone:______Quantity: ____Pack A @ $10.85 ea. _____Pack B @ $10.85 ea. Discount to shops (40%) Shipping: 1-5 Packs $3; 6-10 Packs, $4, Over 10, add $.50 per pack Total Enclosed: $______Make check or money order payable to: The Texas Jewish Historical Society and send with form to: TJHS, c/o Charles B. Hart 2509 Redwing Drive Temple, TX 76502 Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Retail shops receive a 40% discount with a minimum order of any 10 packs. A Texas Resale Certificate must be included with order.

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 11 Texas Jewish Historical Society 2000 - 2001

Officers Jack Gerrick (Fort Worth)...... President Charles Hart (Temple)...... First Vice-President Ed Katten (Waco)...... Second Vice-President Cynthia Wolf (Beaumont)...... Third Vice-President Ben Pfeffer (Houston)...... Treasurer Mitzi Milstein (Longview)...... Recording Secretary Shirley Morris (Fort Worth)...... Recording Secretary Beverly Beck (Houston)...... Corresponding Secretary Marvin Rich (Houston) ...... Parliamentarian Blanche Sheiness (Houston)...... Historian Howard Lackman (Arlington) ...... Archivist

Board Members 1999 - 2001

Suzanne Campbell (San Angelo) Marvin Leshin (Corpus Christi) Roy Elsner (Odessa) Naman Lipinsky (Waco) Dorothy Harelik (Hamilton) Selma Mantel (Houston) Sam Harelik (Waco) R. D. Moses (Fort Worth) Ruth Heidenheimer (Cisco) Mina Parven (Austin) Leo Hoffman (Dallas) Louis Pink (Houston) Rosalind Horwitz (Beaumont) Julien Rosenthal (Houston) Eileen Kessner (Plano) Don Schlossberg (The Woodlands) Sylvia Gayle Klein (McAllen) Vickie Vogel (La Grange) Annette Lackman (Arlington) Sherry Zander (Dallas)

Board Members 2000 - 2002

Norma Albert (McAllen) Goldye Levi (Dallas) James Alexander (Dallas) Patti Maltz (Austin) * Florence Blum (Houston) Rusty Milstein (Longview) Doris Epstein (Laredo) Cynthia Mondell (Dallas) Walter Fein (San Antonio) Herman Morris (Fort Worth) Buddy Freed (Fort Worth) Berta Schlesinger (McAllen) Ima Joy Gandler (Waco) Louis Sokol (Houston) Mickey Graubart (Houston) Max Stool (Del Rio/San Antonio) Kay Goldman (College Station) Mimi Toubin (Brenham) Dave Hoff (Midland) Hollace Weiner (Fort Worth) Edward Winkler (Fort Stockton) * Deceased

Page 12 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 TJHS Members Featured in Three Newspapers Evelyn and Nathan Hoffman’s story of Wartime Romance was featured in the New York Times on 12-31-99, in USA Today, and in the Waco Tribune-Herald. This is the article, written by Evelyn Hoffman, that appeared in the Waco Tribune-Herald on March 26, 2000.

WASHINGTON - Whitney documentary, The Unfinished Journey. White House for the New Year’s Eve Houston sings a beautiful song: “Give me It highlighted the events of our Party. The security check was tight one moment in time.” This was it. last century with a dramatic musical befitting all the Y2K publicity. We Standing on the steps of, the score by Williams. The rest of the couldn’t enter unless we passed Secret Lincoln Memorial before 350,000 people musical entertainment was directed by Service personnel, dog-sniffing and and a national TV audience, there we Quincy Jones and George Stevens Jr. electronic devices. We also needed were, Nathan and I, reading excerpts In the entire three-hour production, there picture IDs and birth certificates. from some of our World War II letters. were about 1,000 celebrities - and us. Inside the president was dancing with Behind Chelsea. No one us, fitted into was allowed on Steven the floor until they Spielberg’s of- left. fering for the We were di- “America’s rected to the buf- Miliennium” fet on the third celebration, floor. I was as- several huge sisted to an eleva- screens tor by a handsome flashed pic- Marine aide. So tures. John Wil- much to see - the liams’ orches- portraits of the tra accompa- presidents and first nied. ladies, official There china on display. we were on the Finally, the screen – our buses took us to first date in a our hotel. We Times Square couldn’t believe it night club, our was 5:30 a.m. young faces Nathan and Evelyn Hoffman prepare with Steven Spielberg for their live We slept al- when war appearance in his presentation, The Unfinished Journey on New Year’s Eve most the entire flared, our at the Lincoln Memorial. Inset: A photo from Times Square shows the Hoff next day. It was words on pa- mans’ first date just before he was deployed for service in World War II. worth it, even as it per. was to fly over to There were pictures Nathan We are still dumbfounded. How New York on Sunday. The next day we took himself of places his Army division did we get so lucky? were picked up at 7 a.m. to be had liberated including Landsberg, a Steven Spielberg told us why: interviewed by Katie Couric of the German concentration camp with dead We had met during World War II. After “Today Show” on NBC. Katie and her prisoners stacked up. only five dates, Nathan was shipped out crew are terrific hosts. As we stepped up to read, I to Europe, but we corresponded every When we got off the plane in looked out at the thousands of people day for 16 months. We had saved all our Waco, one more surprise awaited. A who had braved the freezing winds. I letters. We’re married 54 years and still large group of our friends and relatives spotted our three children, their spouses, together. Nathan’s letters told about war had prepared a “Welcome Home our grandkids. They were waving and abroad. America’s Sweethearts” complete with giving the OK sign. This was my “one My letters told about how flowers from our rabbi and congregation, moment in time.” women served the war effort at home. posters, video and TV cameras and a On stage right in a private box On New Year’s Eve the words and our proclamation from Mayor Mike Morrison were the president, Mrs. Clinton and pictures helped tell a story all the nation in honor of the “romance of the Chelsea. could celebrate. century.” Hillary Clinton started planning All-nighter at White House The telephone still rings fre- the extravaganza two years earlier. It quently. The mail keeps piling up. We’re, was her dream to celebrate the arrival of Spectacular fireworks arrived still interviewed by newspapers and 2000 at the Lincoln Memorial. She at midnight, but for us the best was yet to magazines all over the country. We are enlisted Spielberg to produce the come. recognized by strangers. Wow. We had all been invited to the

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 13 From Billy B. Ladabaum Wedding in Mexico Goldberg My parents, Joseph and Anna Goldberg, were married in Krakow, Poland, and about 1910 they came to the United States. They went to Cleveland, Ohio where my father was a barber in the Union Depot near the train. My sister, Helen, was born in 1913 and I was born in 1915. My mother had pneumonia three times in Cleveland and in 1921 received word from the doctor that the three-time pneumonia was enough and that our family should move to Texas. We moved to Texas to a small city called Falls City. My parents were in the dry goods business there for about six years and then moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 1927 or 1928. My father became a fruit shipper out of Pharr. My mother had a dry goods store on the main street in Pharr. My sister, Helen, graduated McAllen High School and went to the University of This photograph, submitted by Blanche Sheiness, is of a wedding that Texas at Austin and later at Galveston took place in Monterrey, Mexico, on August 20, 1935. On the back is written, where she graduated and became a “Mr. and Mrs. Harry Ladabaum and familia, Monterrey, Mex., 20 Agosto, 1935, doctor in June, 1937. I was a graduate signed B.F.K.” of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School Blanche writes, in 1931. I had six years of pre-law and “Most of the people in this photograph are related to the bride’s family in law school and graduated from the some way and are from San Antonio. The people I recognize are all my father’s University of Texas in June, 1937. I cousins and their families. Among these are Barbara Rosenberg’s uncle (Israel practiced law in Pharr for 1-1/2 years Barenblat, as a young man), his father, step-mother–my father’s cousin, Harry and in January, 1939 became an Cohen’s wife (Irene Barenblat). Assistant Attorney General of Texas Starting at the seated row, from left to right are: Sam and Leah under Gerald C. Mann. My sister Sugarman, Ben Barenblat, groom’s father, Groom, Bride (Sylvia Noodleman), became a medical intern in 1937. Bride’s mother, Rifke Kagan (Mrs. Sam –sister to Leah and Naomi), and my During the time I was in the Valley as a young attorney, I did some work to father’s brother, Yankel Ladabaum. help establish a Jewish synagogue in Standing behind Sam Sugarman is Naomi Barenblatt (Mrs. B), her Mercedes. daughter Irene (Mrs. Harry Cohen), my brother Joseph Ladabaum, Haskell When my sister and I left the Israel Rabinowitz, my cousin as a child, his father, Abe Rabinowitz, Mrs. Celia Valley, Helen came to Houston. I got and Cantor David Kanter, the bride’s brother is directly behind the groom, my in the Army in 1942 and spent over aunt Fanny Ladabaum Bijman is standing directly in front of her husband, Sam four years in the service. Bijman of Monterrey, Zizzie Katz, his son Sam and wife Gittle, parents of Ann Joseph and Anna both decided Katz Wolf of Fort Worth. Sam Kagan, Israel Barenblatt, don’t know next. to retire, and at that time they moved The top row, on left of fan – I only know the lady, my aunt, Mrs. Abe to Houston where they spent the rest Rabinowitz (Sadie-Sima). On the other side of the fan I know only my uncle of their lives. Our family was well Sam Bijman of Monterrey standing right behind his wife – my father’s sister received in the Valley and provided Faiga.” Jewish leadership. After I married my wife Rosalie 57 years ago, we were very civic-minded and made community help, B’nai Brith, Hadassah, and especially Israel, our top priorities. Throughout our lives we have maintained relationships with friends in the Rio Grande Valley.

Page 14 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Wiesenthal Family Remembered

TJHS member, Marion and whose feet, I hope, were comfort- How foolish I thought she Edelstein Cohn, of Dallas, submitted able in her cotton stockings and heavy was! My young and inexperienced this photograph for publication, along black shoes. Her long white hair was emotions and values had led me to with a letter she wrote about her pulled severly back and knotted as was believe that going to the movies and grandmother, Jenny Kreisler then the style for the “elderly.” being with my young friends were of Wiesenthal, pictured here in the center. I don’t recall her speaking a far greater value! “This dear, gentle and kind lot of English, although she did when It was not until I reached woman came to Galveston at the turn she was younger. She ran a little store adulthood – at an age much, much of the century from Podhajec, Galica which provided for her family. older than had she, that I fully realized (later a part of Hungary and Poland I remember, oh so vividly, her the wisdom of her words and the and now in the Ukraine) with her visits to Brownsville by train. I’m beauty of her life. husband, Ben, three sons and one small reminded of the large tins of rugulah In the photo are pictured my daughter. A fourth son was later born she brought to us. My mother and I Grandma and Grandpa, 3 of their 4 in Galveston. would also travel to see her in Hous- sons (Emanuel, Isadore and Philip) and Her Yiddish name was Shana. ton, which even then was a very large their daughter. Their son Max was out She was courageous to have left other city. of town when the picture was taken.” family and friends to venture across In Galveston, my grandpa the ocean to a new land and a more busied himself meeting the ships of hopeful and safer life. refugees and doing for them whatever Don’t forget to mark your Her early life in America was he could. He took many home where far from easy. She was blessed, they could bathe, have new clothes, calendar for our upcoming however, with a devoted, loving family eat, and some would stay in their home to which she dedicated her life. until they got settled. Annual Gathering in Austin: My earliest memories of her – Grandma was deeply and she was then about the age I am now traditionally religious. She had great – were those of a very old woman faith in God. I recall her repeating April 20-22, 2001 whose modest and colorless long- over the years the Yiddish equivalent sleeved dresses reached her ankles of “Health and Wealth.”

Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 15 Fram Family Information, Please! Reunion TJHS is looking for information on the following families, reputed There was a Fram family to have lived in the cities listed. Please contact Jack Gerrick at (817) reunion in Houston May 26-28, 2000. 927-8765 if you have any information for us. Thank you! To everyone’s surprise and delight, almost ninety people attended-over sixty adults and thirty children. They Yorktown : Deutsch, Yaring, Jackob Schmidt, Alex Lieberman, gathered from as far away as New Goodfriend York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and San Francisco. This was the first gathering of the descendants of the Halletsville:Eli Rubin, Reichman, Kleins late Rev. Abraham Fram of Dallas, whose life and those of his nine children, was celebrated over the weekend. The Kennedy: Jake Friedman, Bennett, Handleman, Jake Mayers, actual program was primarily presented Louis Miller by the Sheinberg families, as they lived in Fort Worth, and had the closest relationships with Rev. Fram during the Yoakum: Albert Moses, Levy, Meyer Handleman, David 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Reisfield The central theme of the reunion was the long, productive life of Rev. Fram. He was born in Lithuania Gonzales: Michaelsons, Shahls, Irving Forgetstein around 1875, and studied in the large Yeshiva there. He was married to Bayla Schulman, and most of his Cuero: Jake Cohn, Ben Tudzin, Max Tudzin, Leo Mendelovitz, offspring were born in Europe. He Simon Cohn, Dalkowitz, Frank Grossman (wife and son was a trained mohel, schachet, and Dr. Mervin Grossman), Sam Cohn, Levan, son and cantor who sang with perfect pitch. Near the turn of the twentieth century, daughter, Mr. Stein -feather factory opportunity knocked with the offer of a cantoral position in Mobile, Ala- Beeville: Jacob Schmidt, Jake Goldstein bama. This offered the means for the large family to immigrate to America. The number of children rose to nine. Though life was good in Mobile, a better opportunity arose before WWI Can Anyone Identify This Photo? from Shearith Israel Congregation in Dallas, and the rest of Rev. Fram’s life was fruitfully spent in Texas, singing, being a mohel and schachet and family advisor. At the family reunion, eighty-eight direct descendants attended. According to the information from this gathering, there are nine physicians, eight musicians and teachers, six attorneys, three archi- tects, two artists, two rabbis, a nurse, a newspaper sports editor, a caterer, an environmental geochemist, a Naval officer a retired Brigadier General in the Israeli Defense Forces, business men and women, and on and on... This certainly is an impressive group from such humble beginnings. Although it is difficult to make out, this unidentified building has the word –Submitted by Dr. Philip Sheinberg “Nussbaum” painted on the side, with some other unreadable characters. Does anyone (Fort Worth) out there have a clue about what this building once was, or where it is located?

Page 16 Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 A Story from Pioneer Jews in Updated Edition Gerald Sherman

My mother, Ida Sherman, nee Schwartz (1910-1985) was placed in a Galveston orphanage sometime soon after 1920. Also placed was her brother Leon, who was 2 years younger. Both children were from Fort Worth and knew no one at the home. They were soon discovered by Rabbi Henry Cohen in his regular visit. The Rabbi convinced both children that he was their “Uncle” Henry, and he assumed that role, visiting and bringing gifts. Both children were enrolled in B’nai Israel’s Religious School. For Harriet Rochlin’s Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West was my mother, it was always a source of published by Houghton Mifflin Company in hardcover in 1984. The book has great pride that she was confirmed since gone through eight printings in softcover, and is featured in the bestselling from B’nai Israel under Dr. Cohen’s guidance. backlist section of the Mariner Books catalog. In July, 2000 it was released in In 1928, my mother went to an updated edition with a new cover, preface, 250 photographs, and a revised Jersey City to live with a cousin. I profile of the controversial Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp. don’t know if my mother kept up The San Francisco Chronicle lauded the work as “Social history at its regular correspondence with Rabbi best,” and the New York Times hailed it as “. . .packed with information and Cohen, but he acknowledged her wedding in 1933 and my birth in 1935. anecdotes likely to surprise most readers.” The study covers Jewish pioneering My mother said there was no contact in the Far West, from the Rockies to the Pacific, from 1590 to 1912. after that, but 13 years after my birth, For further information about Harriet Rochlin’s works, please log on to the Rabbi sent me congratulations for her web site at www.rochlin-roots-west.com. (Ms. Rochlin is a member of my Bar Mitzvah! TJHS) Texas Jewish Historical Society Annual Membership o YES! I am enclosing my dues payment to the Texas Jewish Historical Society for the 2000-2001 membership year. I am a o New Member o Renewing Member. o $36 – Annual Member o $50 – Supporting Member o $100 – Sponsor o $250 – Sustaining Member o $500 – Benefactor o $1,000 – Patron

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Texas Jewish Historical Society – Fall 2000 Page 17 Welcome Address Changes New Members! Kay Goldman Susan Hardwick June 11 – October 28, 2000 4016 Stony Creek Ln., College Station, P.O. Box 396 77845; (979) 690-6427 Forest Ranch, CA 95942 Rose Biderman (Dallas) [email protected] Mike and Pat Blum (McAllen) Max & Ellen Heffler (Goren) Pincus and Helen Brounes (Houston) Mina Parven (Stein) 9319 Woodmeadow St., Houston Philip and Gene Chapalas 8003 Raintree Place, Austin 78759 77025; (713) 218-7027 Fax: (512) 459-0888; [email protected] (Jenkintown, PA.) [email protected] Charles and Madeline Cytrin (San Antonio) Leonard & Nancy Berry (Fried) Relda Hoffer (Houston) 202 Lampwick Circle, College Station, Robert and Melanie Markoff 77840; (979) 846-1007 Has Your [email protected] (Sugar Land) Address Dr. Sam and Dottie Miller (San Harold & Phyllis Falik (Binstock) Antonio) 121 N. Post Oak Lane #1001 Dr. A. Aaron and Jo Mintz (Houston) Houston, 77024; (713) 686-6828 Changed? [email protected] Marion Prager (Houston) Has your address Ralph and Chana Robinowitz (Dallas) Jessie L. Foss changed? What about your Area Alex and Gaby Scharlack (San 3043 Verot School Rd. Code or phone number? Has your Antonio) Lafayette, LA 70508; (337) 856-5939 name changed? Do you want your G. Claude and Martha Villarreal [email protected] name to appear differently on the TJHS mailing label? Please let us (Washington, D.C.) Dr. Charles & Arlene Gaitz know. We’d really appreciate 5100 San Felipe St. #303-E your help. Please send new In Memoriam Houston, 77056; (713) 682-5955 information to: Florence Blum Edna N. Greenberg (Spero) Geri Gregory 203 Welwyn Rd. 327 West Lullwood Avenue TJHS extends condolences Wilmington, DE 19803 San Antonio, TX 78212 e-mail: [email protected] to Florence’s family.

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