Indiana Jewish History

INDIAN A Indiana JEWIS H HISTORICA L Jewish SOCIET Y Indiana Jewish Historical History Society

SOUNDS AVENUE INDIANA HISTORY CENTER 450 W. OHIO ST. INDIANAPOLIS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2006

Publicatio n 7:30 PM at the intimate BASILE THEATER #4 1 201 5

Indiana Jewish Historical Society Publication #41

6.00 x 9.00 .178 229 mm x 152 mm 4.521mm Content Type: Black & White Paper Type: White Page Count: 86 File Type: InDesign Request ID: CSS1525706 Indiana Jewish History

by The Indiana Jewish Historial Society © 2015 The Indiana Jewish Historical Society All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author. First published by Dog Ear Publishing 4011 Vincennes Rd Indianapolis, IN 46268 www.dogearpublishing.net

dogTvea3gT\C r PUNISHING ISBN: 978-1-4575-4194-0 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS

Foreword v

Acknowledgements vii

Presidents Message ix

Past Presidents of Society & Original Board of Directors x

Officers and Board Members xi

About our Society xii

Jimmy Guilford 1

A Jewish History of Purdue 1920-1940 15

Andrey Abraham Potter: The Man for All Reasons 29

H. Gordon & Sons Department Store 41

The Story Of David S. Redelsheimer 49

Congregation B'nai Judah in Whiting, Indiana 65

Foreword

The Indiana Jewish Historical Society is proud to present its 41st issue of Indiana Jewish History, which continues its tradition of publishing articles collected or written by IJHS members, which focus on the history of Jewish life in Indiana. Their personal commitment and interest in preserving and teaching others about Indiana Jewish History are evident in these articles. Congregation B'nai Judah in Whiting was once a small vibrant congregation. Due to lack of membership and participants, the congregation was forced to dissolve in 2002. The B'nai Judah story unfortunately has happened to many small Jewish congregations around the country, with its younger generations relocating to larger Jewish communities. The H. Gordon & Sons Department stores in Whiting and later in Gary, were the premier department stores of the Calumet region. From a very humble beginning, this family-owned business prospered, and for many years provided Northwest Indiana shoppers with quality merchandise and devoted service. Like all the other stores in downtown Gary, H. Gordon & Sons closed when its customer base moved to other neighboring communities.

David S. Redelsheimer was among the early Jewish residents of Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana. Carolyn Lickerman, a past IJHS board member, researched her family for many years to tell the history of her great grandfather. Carolyn was able to find precious rare documents and pictures to add to her family's story.

Every university has a person of cherished memory. At Purdue, that name is Andrey Abraham Potter, Dean of Engineering. He was Purdue's first Jewish faculty member and University President. Dean Potter paved the way for Purdue to become a frontrunner university in the field of engineering. Be sure to read the anecdotes at the end of the article from various people who knew him. Dean Potter kept his Jewish roots a secret until the later years of his life.

During the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, Purdue, like many universities, had few Jewish faculty members. The few were very mighty, and played important roles in the Audiology and Speech Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics departments. The Jewish history of Purdue is very similar to other universities, nationwide.

Entertainer Jimmy Guilford is a sometimes forgotten treasure in Indianapolis. Not only is he a member of Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, he performs at their social events and fundraisers. He has an interesting story highlighting his family's Jewish connection. Sheila Greenwald met with Jimmy, who is now in his eighties and recorded his story.

Funding for this publication was provided by Frank and Dorothy Newman through the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. Frank was a long- time supporter of the IJHS and served on its board for three consecutive terms. Additional funding was also provided by the remaining members of Congregation B'nai Judah from the proceeds of the sale of the building.

I cannot thank Sheila Greenwald enough for everything she does for the IJHS. Her stamina, ideas, and passion for the IJHS has revitalized the orga- nization. Under her leadership, the IJHS is thriving and we continue our mission of collecting, publishing and sharing the history of the Indiana Jewish Experience.

Eileen Baitcher Executive Director Indiana Jewish Historical Society Acknowledgements

The Society is very appreciative of the following individuals who gave of their time to help with this publication. Thank you so much. Sally Cook Rochelle Greenwald Shawn Teets Stephanie Dlatt

Presidents Message

Welcome to the 41st publication of wonderful Jewish Indiana stories for you and your family to share. Many of the stories come from IJHS members just like you! I must confess that I absolutely love the opportunity to listen and talk to the folks who end up in our publications—their stories are important to publish and share. This year, for example, I was fortunate to interview Mr. Jimmy Guilford. Jimmy has an unusual history that encompasses popular music, Jewish, and African-American experience. I spent many hours looking through his pictures, recordings, and music memorabilia and listening to him tell his story. I am sure you will appreciate his dynamic contributions to historic Indiana Jewish life as I did! All of the stories and histories of the people and places in this publication fulfills our IJHS Mission Statement: to collect, preserve, publish and share the history of the Jewish experience in Indiana. You can participate by continuing your membership in the IJHS. Every member is important. Time is fleeting and we are constantly working to catch the histories and physical artifacts of our Indiana heritage. Keep your eye on us in 2016 as we celebrate the State of Indiana's Bicen- tennial and show how the Jews of Indiana were a proud part of our great history.

Sheila Greenwald President PRESIDENTS OF THE INDIANA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

* Max Einstandig 1972-1975 * Mary Fink 1975-1978 1978-1980 * Charles Fine 1980-1982 Marty Schwartz 1982-1985 David Kleiman 1985-1986 * David Fogle 1986-1989 * Earl Brenn 1989-1992 * Wynn Robin 1992-1993 Arthur Meyers 1993-1995 Richard Friedman 1995-1997 Paul Bloomberg 1997-1999 Judy Koor 1999-2003 Trent Pendley 2003-2009 Alan Gilbert 2009-2012 Sheila Greenwald 2012-2015 * Deceased

INDIANA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORIGINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS DECEMBER 22, 1977 * David Bucove Flo Mary Mantel * Mrs. Arthur Cassell * Illene Maurer * Armand Cohodes * Louis Pearlman, Jr. * Mary Fink * Morris Polis * Betty Fleck * Irvin Rose * Arthur Friedman * Meyer Ruchman * Melvin Goodman * Maurice Schankerman * Mrs. Melvin Goodman Marty Schwartz David Kleiman * Ervin Weil * Mrs. Walter Lichtenstein Rose Weinraub * Frank Maidenberg * Deceased INDIANA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

2015-2016 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Sheila Greenwald Indianapolis President Rosalie Gussow Indianapolis First V.P. Mary Tilden West Lafayette Secretary Barbara Goldman Indianapolis Treasurer

2015-2016 BOARD MEMBERS

Paul Brockman Indianapolis Steve Bulloff Indianapolis Linda Cohen West Lafayette Stephanie Dlatt Indianapolis Kelly Farkas Munster Alan Gilbert Fort Wayne Len Grabovsky Indianapolis Kevin Krulewitch Indianapolis Carolyn Leeds Indianapolis Jim Mulis Peru Brandon Roger Indianapolis Stanley Steiner Marion he Indiana Jewish Historical Society (IJHS) was founded in T1972 to collect, preserve, and publish material dealing with the two centuries of Jewish life in Indiana. Whatever illuminated the Jewish experience in Indiana is of interest, concern and value. It is our aim to gather and preserve the records of synagogues, temples, and societies, as well as personal papers, diaries, memories, governmental documents, newspapers and magazine articles, photographs, and even burial and cemetery records. We provide information and insight about the role played by individual Jews and Jewish communities in the creation of the diverse religious climate of Indiana. In August of 1999, the archive collection of the IJHS was per- manently gifted to the Indiana Historical Society. The Indiana Jew- ish Historical Society Archive Collection at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis, contains over seven thousand items. In addition to past records, the society is also interested in obtaining current records, for such records will be history for coming generations. We cordially invite your participation.

Indiana Jewish Historical Society 6301 Constitution Dr. Fort Wayne, IN 46804 260-459-6862 [email protected] ijhs.org Jimmy Guilford

immy Guilford's paternal grandfather, Wilburn Guilford, was the Jonly member of his father's family that he knew, other than an uncle. The members of his mother's family died when she was young, and she grew up as an orphan. Jimmy is working with a man to trace his ancestors, but the process is not complete. He has learned that his paternal great grandfather was a free man in 1859 rather than a slave. Wilburn was a cook and restaurateur in Vincennes, Indiana. His wife, Evelyn, was a Choctaw Indian. They had two sons, Wilbur and Harry. Evelyn died when Jimmy's father, Wilbur, was still a little boy. After that, Wilburn lost hope and "just pitter pattered around" to make enough money to feed his sons. They continued to live in Vin- cennes. Harry played the halfback position on his high school football team and had a record that lasted for 30 or 40 years. Wilbur married, and the couple had a son they named Jimmy and a daughter, Dorothy. Before that, Wilbur had played in a band. At one point, Cab Calloway hired the band to play with him in French Lick and then in Terre Haute. Harry was also in the band, and both he and Wilbur played bass. But Wilbur quit playing music after Jimmy was born because he said that it was not a good thing to be doing out on the street at night when you had a child. At the beginning of World War II, Wilbur brought his wife and son to Indianapolis because there were no factories or other places to work in Vincennes. His brother Harry had already moved to Indi- anapolis and lived near the Walker Building on Indiana Avenue, so when they got off the train from Vincennes, the family began walk- ing toward Harry's house. Jimmy was about five years old. When the family passed the Severin Hotel, Wilbur saw a big sign in the window that read "Fry Cook Wanted." Since Wilburn had taught his sons how to cook, Wilbur walked in and said that he would take the job. Wilbur had planned to only spend a short time in Indi- anapolis, make some money, and then move the family north, because he wanted to work at the Indiana Harbor for U.S. Steel, who had just begun doing defense plant work. But he began working in the restaurant, and they never left Indianapolis. Wilbur worked from 6:00 AM until 2:00 PM as a fry cook. He also worked five days a week from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM for Juli Maurer on Senate Avenue as a torch man cutting up cars. The cooking job did not pay much, but with the income from the second job they did okay. Wilbur told his wife that he did not think they should move north because Gary, Indiana was not a good place for a kid to live. The money would be better, but he hoped they could do well in Indianapolis by him moving up to a chef position at the hotel and only doing the car cutting job on the weekends. The family moved into the other half of the dou- ble house where Harry lived. But their neighborhood on Indiana Avenue was not too good by that time. During the 1920s-1940s, the Indiana Avenue area was a mecca of entertainment. It was called black and tan because there would be more white people than black people there during the weekends. White people came to the area to hear the jazz music. The biggest names in entertainment worked on Indiana Avenue, such as Nat King Cole and Cab Calloway. In fact, Mavis's Pawn Shop once had a tuxedo that belonged to Cole, who had to pawn it to get out of town because he was not doing well. The Avenue did not become a bad area until after the Korean War when drugs came into town. Then unsavory people targeted visitors dressed in nice suits, assuming they had money, and robbed them to get money to buy drugs. Then when the law was passed in 1964 that allowed African Americans to go any place they wanted, they stopped going to the Avenue. Jimmy always thought that he was Jewish because his grandfather, Wilburn, said he was. Wilburn told Jimmy that they belonged to something called Lemba - not Ethiopian, but Lemba. The Lemba are Bedouins who do not live together or talk with each other. They do not live in ghettos. They have separate herds of goats. They worship Judaism all the way. Wilburn told Jimmy that he was Lembas-Boba from the Boba tribe. But the difference between being Ashkenazic and Sephardic is like day and night. Being a Bedouin, his family did not know about city life or ghetto life as there was in Warsaw, Poland, which was completely different from how they lived. Jimmy didn't know about challah or brisket but does know kasha, couscous and things like that. No one taught them the difference, but the religion is the same. His family was orthodox all the way. Jimmy's father disagreed, saying they were Falashas. The Falashas came along the spice trail from Alexandria to Or. They followed Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, from Ethiopia to Jerusalem. Supposedly one of Makeda's castles has been found over by Iran that has the same dimensions as one she had in Ethiopia, but Iran will not allow it to be excavated. The Lemba think that they are not kin to the Queen of Sheba Makeda's Falashas, but the Falashas say that they are not sure. Jimmy's family practiced Judaism, but Jimmy recalls that his family did not go to Temple in Vincennes, although there was one just down the street, and he never knew why. They observed all of the Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, Pesach, and Yom Kippur. For the high holidays, they went up to Beth-El in Chicago. Jimmy later learned that Wilbur thought that the Jews in Vin- cennes were prejudiced and did not like the way that they treated him. The white Jews treated the African American Jews pretty badly and would not even talk to them, saying things such as, "You're not Jewish, get outta here" and "Well, you can convert." Wilbur and his family felt that was not true Judaism. When they moved to Indianapolis, Jimmy's father told him not to tell anyone that he was Jewish. Neither the African American nor the Caucasian kids liked him. He feels that it was their families' fault. And Jimmy's family did not prepare him to deal with the other African American kids. When they would say that they were having chitlins or pigs feet, he would say, "What? You're having what?" He was not trying to be funny, but the other people asked, "You think you're better than us?" That was not the case. Jimmy caused a problem by not knowing that he was offending people. It was so bad that Jimmy learned how to box. His mother's cousin, James Campbell, was one of Joe Lewis's sparring partners when Lewis was heavyweight champion of the world, and Campbell taught Jimmy how to fight. Jimmy attended Public Schools 56 and 37. During the first grade, he had to run home every day because there were boys chas- ing him. His father just told him to turn the other cheek and not fight, because if he said nothing, they would leave him alone. But Jimmy's grandfather said, "If you turn the other cheek, they're gonna break your doggone neck. Get you a stick and you knock them upside the head and they will leave you alone." Jimmy decided to follow his grandfather's advice and prepared himself for a fight. He gathered sticks that were two or three feet long and placed them in parts of different people's hedges on both sides of the streets. Then all he had to do was run to a certain spot on either side of the street and grab a stick. He only had to hit one boy, Jimmy Jones, and he broke his head completely open. He never had trouble with anyone again. After that, the other boys left Jimmy alone and said that he was crazy. Jimmy says that he was not a good student and "was an idiot in school" because he knew from the day when he began the first grade that he was going to be in entertainment. He had no interest in the Bastille, Cortez, Ponce de Leon, and the Aztecs, and the only class he passed was physical education. He was a very good athlete. Jimmy was also good at music from an early age and says that he hears music in his head. His mother told him that when he was little, he would lie in his crib and move his arms as if he were directing a band. They called him the little band leader. He knew every song by listening to a radio called "At Water Kent." While the other kids were riding in the street, playing baseball, or riding their sleds, Jimmy was in the house listening to Stop the Music or Lucky Strike Hit Parade. His favorite singer then was AI Jolson, and he also liked Richard Tucker. That was the kind of music that he wanted to do, but by the time he was old enough to do it, that music was passe. Rock and roll was becoming popular, so that is what you had to do. At first, Jimmy would not sing in school because he had a high voice like the girls and all the boys laughed at him. He played the trumpet instead. But once Jimmy heard the Ink Spots and realized he sounded like their lead singer, he was no longer ashamed to sing. Jimmy went to Arsenal Technical High School and played a little bit of football, which messed up his knees. He did very well as a track runner. His specialty was the 200-yard dash, and he placed in the city and state for it. During high school, Jimmy would leave the house and was supposed to be at the YMCA boxing. The Cotton Club was next door to the Y and across the street from where he caught the bus to go back home. Jimmy would go to the Y to box but ended up standing outside listening to the music from the Club. After a while, he started going inside. Although he was only 13 or 14 years old, Jimmy was six foot tall and real tough. The owners probably knew that he was not 21, but since he did not drink or smoke, they were not afraid of him. Jimmy had a beautiful voice. He would go into the Club, sing, and walk back outside. Soon they began paying him $7 a night to sing. He took the money and started rolling it into little rolls and hid it in the cattle cars of his electric train. At one time he had $200-$300 in his train. One day, the insurance man came to the house to collect the pre- mium and said, "Boy, your son really knocked them out last night." Jimmy's mother assumed the man was referring to Jimmy's boxing and replied, "Yeah, I'd really like to see him fight." Then the insurance man told her that Jimmy was singing at the Cotton Club every night. When Wilbur found out, he asked Jimmy how long he had been singing. Jimmy said, "Couple weeks or so." When Wilbur learned what Jimmy was being paid, he told him, "Well, now it's gonna cost you $10 a week to stay here and if you get in j ail don't call me because I'm not gonna get you out." That was all that Wilbur said about Jimmy singing at the Club, but he did let Jimmy use some of his money to buy a motor scooter. Due to his athletic ability, Jimmy received a couple of offers to go to college but did not want to go. His father "just had a fit" because he wanted Jimmy "to be something that meant something, a doctor, a lawyer." Jimmy told Wilbur that college was not for him. He tried to explain that he would not make it as a lawyer or doctor, saying, "I will be taking my own pills. I can't do that. That's not what I'm about. I'm not lazy. I work as hard as anyone will." After graduating from high school, Jimmy was 17 years old and joined the Marine Corp just to get away from his father. After Jimmy returned from military service, he began to earn a living by playing music in a band. From the early 1950s through 1963, Tuffy Mitchell was the band's manager, but he never took any money for his work. His nickname for Jimmy was Grift. From the beginning, Tuffy was great to the band members and arranged for them to play in Las Vegas. When the band arrived in Las Vegas, the men only had two suits each. Tuffy bought each of them ten suits, as wells as several shirts, overcoats, and shoes for each suit and had UPS send it all to Las Vegas. Jimmy and his band worked with a lot of stars in the entertainment industry. He enjoyed working with Big Maybelle Smith. He recalls that she was a dope addict, weighed about 400 pounds, and was deformed. But Jimmy felt she was a great person and a wonderful singer. Ethel Merman tried to get Jimmy to come to New York after she heard him sing at the Club Carousel. Merman was working at the Hilton U. Brown Theater and would come into the club after she finished her show. The first time Jimmy was surprised to see Merman there, and she explained that she just wanted to sit and enjoy herself without people recognizing her. Jimmy said he understood and sang his songs. One night when Merman got ready to leave, she invited Jimmy to a party at The Marott where she was staying, but he did not go. He says, "This was Ethel Merman and I didn't go. I am a 22, 23 year old singer trying to get started and I didn't feel like I fit. I didn't feel like I had the clothes. I had just dropped out of singing with groups and I just thought I'm gonna start singing by myself. So I had a lot to learn. I wasn't comfortable and this is Ethel Merman. I love Ethel Merman." Jimmy did the same thing that his father did regarding music in 1972. Barry Gordy's wife was his manager - he was with Motown before Motown became Motown. Jimmy's sons were 4 or 5 and 8 or 9, he says, "I quit the big time. The big time didn't quit me, I quit it. My youngest boy used to call me up when I was in New York and ask, 'When you coming home daddy? I wanna show you how you showed me to throw the football and all that.'" So then Jimmy decided to only sing around Indianapolis in clubs. He was able to still make a better living than men working at Ford and Chevrolet. It was easy for Jimmy to make $1,000 a week as a singer because he worked hard. The only thing that he did not get by being a musician was a retirement plan. When Jimmy was 40, his father said, "I was wrong because you have worked like a dog to be an entertainer, haven't you?" Jimmy said yes, and Wilbur replied, "When you were a kid, you were probably working just as hard. I was wrong about you." That brought tears to Jimmy's eyes, because he had always wanted to hear that from his father. Wilbur had always been very hard on Jimmy because he did not want to attend college and said that Jimmy preferred to run the streets at night because he was lazy. Jimmy now feels that his father was right about wanting him to go to college. Wilbur was determined to not have Jimmy be like him and have more opportunities in life. Around that time, Jimmy's father also said that he should check what amount he would get at retirement, but it was not much he had always worked for himself. So Jimmy began selling cars at a Lincoln Mercury dealership. Jimmy continued to sing at Meridian Hills, Hill- crest, and other country clubs that had a Lincoln clientele. Every night, he took the prettiest Lincoln on the lot to work and leaned up against it when he went outside for a break. When someone asked about the car, he would say, "That's mine," and give them a business card. Jimmy sold a Lincoln every week and earned $1,500-2,000 for doing so. He was the number one Lincoln salesman in Indianapolis. Jimmy sold cars for 12 years, until he lost his vision. Jimmy was diag- nosed with glaucoma late in life, after a buildup of fluid in his eye had already damaged his optic nerve. When CBS was filming a TV movie about Masada, someone found one of Jimmy's business cards on the board. CBS sent him a little statue of Masada with a note that said, "I can't believe it. Every- where we looked on Masada, your card was there." Jimmy says, "That was the best place to advertise in the world." Many African Americans like Jimmy were not allowed to be thought of as Jews or have Bar Mitzvahs until around 1978 when Operation Moses occurred. Before that, if you were a Jewish African American male, you could not marry within your own religion. You had to marry the color of your skin, and there were not that many African American ladies that were Jewish. Jimmy says, "That cut our throats. But if you check with history, half of the Afro-Americans that came here in slavery were Jewish. They were captured by Muslims because the Muslims didn't like them because they were Jewish. All of Ghana four hundred years ago was Jewish. Ethiopia is not the only place." Jimmy talked to the Rabbi at 34th and Ruckle, who asked him why he did just not convert. But Jimmy did not want to convert, stat- ing that, "To convert means to change. I have never worshipped Christianity in my life. I don't go to church. Well, he said it's just a matter of words, but I said words would be coming out of my mouth. And this is all I know." After that, Jimmy met with Rabbi Davis at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and started studying. But, due to Jimmy's musician lifestyle, which often took him out of town, he could not stay with the program. He went to school on Wednesday nights at IHC for years but never got to finish. Eventually Jimmy did finish and was finally happy. He wishes his grandfather and great grandfather had been alive to see that because they had been subjected to prejudice. The rabbis in Vincennes had let Jimmy's grandfather, Wilburn, work in the temple and prepare the wine, cut the challah, etc., but he was not allowed to join. Wilburn could come in and pray, but he could not belong to the temple. Jimmy did not have a Bar Mitzvah. At first, he was learning to read and speak pretty good Hebrew in school, but he had to quit when his eyesight got worse. He had trouble making out some of the little dots in the Hebrew letters. He feels a Bar Mitzvah gives a child a sense of accomplishment and pleases their parents, but as an adult, it would have only been for him, and he did not feel that it was necessary. Jimmy wishes there was only one type ofJudais m but admits that would not make anyone happy. He feels the biggest problem today is that Jews cannot really live like they would like, since some people have work on Friday night or Saturday because their job requires it. The orthodoxy is tearing people apart and they are losing people, rather than letting all people in to worship and feel happy. Jimmy goes to all the high holidays at IHC. Jimmy feels that IHC does not take advantage of things that they could be doing to earn revenue. He has asked why but was not given an answer. Jimmy did a show at IHC with Cantor Roger. They expected 50 people to attend, but 300 came. IHC was only going to charge $5 for a ticket, but Jimmy said that they should charge $20 because of the theater and the talent. Jimmy says they should hold shows all the time to create revenue. For example, mothers sending their children to dance and music school would love to see Susie and little Johnny perform. There are also some singers there with beautiful voices, so Jimmy feels that he could put on some great shows. Jimmy is involved with the American Jewish Song Book and a performance is planned last June at the Indiana Roof. He feels that it would be great to open a school for children with talent for entertainment and wants to do anything he can do to help Mark Roger. Jimmy states, "Mark's sister-in-law, Cantor Janice Roger, has the most beautiful voice. A lot of people the deeper they sing the louder they get but she doesn't have to do that." Since Jimmy worked on Broadway as a singer, he can share his expertise with the children at BJE. He says, "If they're sure they want to be on Broadway, someone needs to explain what that really means. And what it means to audition. You can go up on the stage and sing three notes and they will say that's enough. You feel like they don't like you. That's not the case. I lost a job because I hit three notes and they said that's enough. They didn't even let me finish the song and I said that's enough, I'm going home." Jimmy found out later that they loved him and did not need to hear him sing more. But because he did not leave a forwarding address, he lost the job. You need to know certain things, such as what type of character you are auditioning for. Jimmy says, "If this is a feisty person, you can't do a song you hold back on. If it's a Liza Minelli type of tune, you're gonna be Liza Minelli. You have to know that or you don't get the audition." Jimmy wants to do whatever he can to pay back some of the things that have happened to him, because he feels very blessed, saying, "To come from Vincennes, Indiana and we didn't have two nick- els to rub together, but my dad never said one word about us being poor. I never heard the word poor or the word ghetto. I never heard any of that come out of my dad's mouth and we had a meal every time it was supposed to be there. My dad would go out with that shot gun and he'd shoot a deer and he'd cut it and give it to various neighbors and they would exchange it for eggs and different things. My dad was a very good shot. We had a small plot of ground so we grew cabbage. We had no money." Jimmy feels that people have helped him all of his life, even when they did not know him. When he was checking out of a hotel in Jerusalem, a man said that he knew him. Jimmy thought the man was trying to hustle him for a tip, but then the man said, "You used to work with the Duke out in Grundy." Jimmy said, "You mean Count Fisher and Earl Grand?" The man said yes, and he worked at the Embers when Jimmy worked down the street with Joe Rayburn at the Crescendo. Jimmy's sister, Dorothy, did not go into the religion. He has three female cousins in Chicago and one male cousin in California that did. Jimmy's mother says that she does not know how everybody is not Jewish and wonders how a person can read the bible and believe it and not be Jewish. He is a true believer in Orthodox Judaism. Jimmy has been to Israel 10 to 15 times. The first time he went with his cousin, Phil, and Phil's wife. When Jimmy stepped off the plane at Ben Gurion, he told Phil that the ground felt hot, and Phil agreed. Jimmy felt like the heat was moving up his legs and he was scared that his legs were burning. But then, all of a sudden, he felt like he was ten feet tall. He never felt so good in his life and says that by the time they reached the airport, he felt as if he was John Wayne. The same thing happened when he got to touch the wall and enter David's tomb. Jimmy says, "I spent five hours. I couldn't leave it. I could not leave. All it is a red moldy drape over the rock. But the thought of where I was and where I had come to get to where I was and who was behind this rock was so huge." Jimmy has two sons, James and David. James lives in German- town, Maryland. He spent twenty-five years in the Navy and now works for the government in Washington, DC. He has five children. David lives in Nashville, Indiana and has one child. In 2003, Jimmy recorded duets of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Christmas Is" with Kelleen for her CD titled Simply Beautiful. Jimmy says that he is no longer listed in the phone book to avoid getting fan mail or calls from fans. People used to call him at 2:00 or 3:00am to say they saw him sing somewhere and he was great. But he says that you have to draw a line somewhere. In 2009, Jimmy received the first annual lifetime achievement award for Cabaret. Today, a spare room in Jimmy's home is decorated with pictures from his lifetime of making music. He has played the Apollo Theater in Las Vegas five times. He is proud that he never got booed and had retail success, including a song that sold a million copies. Jimmy currently plays with the Cool City Band. Watching him perform, you would never realize that he cannot see you. Before a show starts, he goes out on the stage and paces off how many steps there are to the center and the edge, so that he will know where he is at all times during his performance. Band members drive him to the shows, but Jimmy says that he misses seeing the crowd reaction.

Federal The Cool City Jazz Band Labels King The Ink Spots Ran Dee & The Four Sounds Tuff OpenG The Teasers Deco The Counts GPI Jin\(T\y) GUILFORD Universal The Monograms Chelae The Sharps Wish * The lamplighters vM\ Checker •TheBoppers ©Force Thelma Wheelvllle *Kelleen Solid Hit *Jimmy Scruggs *Groups Recorded With Grooveville

A JEWISH HISTORY OF PURDUE 1920-1940

Jules Janick Purdue University Prepared for Jewish Studies, November 28, 1990

ne of the curious facts about Indiana is that it is a true mirror Oof the nation. Multiply almost any Indiana statistic by 50 and you obtain the U.S. total. For example, our population of 5 million x 50 = 250 million and 1,000 yearly deaths in Indiana due to automobile accidents x 50 = 50,000, the United States total. Thus, Purdue's history, much less Jewish history, is not a unique episode but mirrors the nation's experience. At present, Jewish faculty is scattered over various departments, especially prominent in science, mathematics, and the humanities, beyond what would be expected based on population. This situation is found throughout academia. Precise data are unavailable for Purdue and beset with difficulty on whom to count: Who is a Jew? An informal count by school, using a Jewish staff member as census taker for each department, reveals the following statistics:

Agriculture 2.3% Engineering 7.2% Education 7.9% Management 10.5% Liberal Arts 19.8% Science 22.2%

The average of the above is 12.5% (171/1366). I estimate the total is 200/2100 = 9.5%. The Jewish population of the U.S. is less than 3%. There are other qualitative measures of the presence of Jews at Purdue. In 1990, the four largest departments in the School of Sci- ence were chaired by Jews. Purdue's Nobel laureate is Jewish. Two of Purdue's recent vice-presidents have been Jews. I know of no evi- dence in recent years of any institutional anti-Semitism at Purdue. There is a Jewish Studies program and a Hillel Foundation. Other good news: ln the 1950s, Purdue had a Jewish quarterback, Froncie Gutman, who scored a touchdown and beat Notre Dame. The bad news: It was on Yom Kippur. One could argue that being Jewish is a matter of choice, and counting who is and who isn't can be, by its nature, an invasion of pri- vacy, parochial, even racist or gestapo-like. To many Jews, their heritage is a rich part of their culture and belief and is an essential fact that determines who they are. To others, it is confining, an impedi- ment, an accident of birth, and a return to a past that they wish, for their own reasons, to leave behind. One recoils from probing into such a personal area, often one of anxiety and pain. But the fact is that even at the end of the 20 th century, Jewishness is something that is hard to escape from because the world refuses to think of it as a matter of choice but rather as an irrevocable condition of birth, no matter how fervent the denial or how passionate the conversion. This is underscored in the Jewish history of Purdue. It is a history of some remarkable men who participated in changing Purdue from a small college to a major research university. It is also a sad story - of big- oted administrators, frightened people, and missed opportunities. The Jewish history of Purdue has a dark side. Indiana, after all, was the home of the Ku Klux Klan. Purdue, in its earlier years, rep- resented a small, struggling land grant college that reflected the mores of its time and community. From its founding in 1869 to 1920, as far as l can ascertain, there were no Jewish facility members although there were Jewish students. The first Jewish fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu, was formed in 1922, and the second, Tau Epsilon Phi, in the early 1930s. In contrast, Lafayette, from its inception, had a small but vibrant Jewish community - Temple Israel was founded in 1849 and Sons of Abraham about 1903. In l990, there were four Rab- bis in the community. The Jewish history of Purdue can be conveniently divided into the following periods:

1869-1920 The first 50 years at Purdue without any Jews on the faculty. 1920-1940 The Edward C. Elliott years and the emer- gence of a Jewish history. There were only five Jewish faculty of which the two most prominent were not openly Jewish. 1940-1945 The war period: The opening up of the sciences and mathematics, and the influx ofJewis h graduate students in physics. 1945-1960 The post-war Hovde years: The integration of Jews throughout Purdue.

Andrey Abraham Potter

In 1920, President Winthrop Stone invited Andrey Abraham Potter, a distinguished Dean of Engineering at Kansas State Agricul- tural College, to become Dean of Engineering at Purdue. Potter was a remarkable man who was to become the dean of engineering deans in the country. He singlehandedly brought Purdue into prominence as an engineering institution. Potter holds the distinction of having been Purdue's first Jewish faculty member as well as its first Jewish president for, at the retirement of President Elliott in 1943, he served as acting president. In R.W. Topping's biography of Purdue, A Century and Beyond, Potter is described as "a Lithuanian immigrant who ... firmly believed that being a patriotic, Christian gentleman, which he was, was life's most important success." From a Jewish perspective, Potter's life is a sad one, as a closet Jew who repressed his Jewish identity for almost his entire life. Potter's biography, The Dean, was written in 1974 by Robert B. Eckles while Potter was still alive and published by Purdue Univer- sity. Eckles noted that he was born in Vilna, Russia in 1882, but his Jewish heritage is not mentioned. He spoke and read French, Ger- man, and Russian. He almost became a professional musician and demonstrated his musical ability during his adult life by playing the ocarina - the "sweet potato." As a child he was profoundly influenced by reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and he vowed to go to the United States. During his early years, a pogrom in Vilna scarred Potter emo- tionally and he "escaped" to the United States at the age of 15. This fact is mentioned by Eckles and is the only indirect reference to Pot- ter's Jewish heritage. Young Potter lived with relatives in Boston and entered MIT as a freshman in 1899, after a year of study to improve his English. With permission, he fudged his birthdate to get around the 17 year minimum age requirement for entrance. He was a brilliant, popular student, interested in music and the theater, and a bud- ding actor. He became interested in steam turbines. Upon graduation, he worked at a GE plant in Schenectady but eventually chose academia, accepting an assistant professorship at Kansas State Agricultural College, arriving on December 31, 1904. One would like to know more about his first year at Kansas. We do know he rented a room in the home of a Presbyterian Pastor in Manhattan, made friends with the family, attended church regularly and, at a church social, met a young lady graduating in elementary education named Eva Burtner. They were married in 1906. His wife continued as a Sunday school teacher, his children were brought up as Protestants (his daughter later converted to Catholicism), and he slipped into the Gentile world. He didn't fool anyone, much less himself. When l was a young faculty member at Purdue, my colleague, Professor Earl Honeywell, assured me that he knew Potter when he was just a Jew in Kansas. At the end of his life, l met Potter at the John Purdue room and we had lunch together. I can't recall what we discussed but I remember that he reminded me of my grandfather, with the same pro- nounced East European accent, though he was elegantly dressed. He died in 1979, at the age of 97. Potter's life as a Marrano would have forever been a subject of speculation had it not been for a remarkable event - his reunion with his past as his life came to end. He returned to his Jewish roots and made peace with who he was. The Dean asked his physician, Dr. Ben Klatch, to take him to synagogue services and referred there to his father as Polanski. Somewhere along the line, his name had been changed. He became close to Rabbi Gedalyah Engel, who has graciously provided his recollection, which follows

"A.A. Potter's Jewish background was well known to the 'initiated.' Dean Joseph Well of the University of Florida College of Engineering, a friend from my work as Hillel Director at U of F 1947-1949, advised Marilyn and me of Potter's Jewish background when we first came to Purdue in September 1955. Religion is a personal matter, so l avoided embarrass- ing the Dean by trying to meet him on campus. However, in the Spring of 1976 when the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra came to Purdue to give its only American Bicen- tennial Concert in Indiana, l visited Dean Emeritus Potter in his office and asked if he would like to be a sponsor for the buffet supper-reception we had planned at Hillel. The spry nonagenarian pulled out his wallet and gave me one hundred dollars in cash. He felt very comfortable about giving to such a secular cause. Similarly, he was proud to be known as a Founder of the Technion in Haifa, Israel. After the Dean's death, his daughter presented Hillel with his Technion Founder's Plaque, which I hung on the wall of my Hillel office along- side the photo of the five Lafayette men at the 1951 groundbreaking ceremony for the Purdue Hillel Founda- tion building. The two photos were a study in contrast. The group of men reacted to adversity by proudly identifying as Jews. The new building was their hope that their children could follow in their footsteps. In a free society being Jewish was not a major handicap. In America it had been possible for them to overcome economic hardship. The difficulty of maintaining personal Jewish religious identification had been more than balanced by group solidarity and love, However, A.A. Potter, as a child in Russia, had witnessed a pogrom. For the rest of his life his goal was to remove himself and his family from having to face such a man-made obstacle. When Potter arrived in America in his teens, he was taken in by members of his family who lived in Boston. It was then possible for him to study at MIT. When he left for industry, he also left behind his family baggage - the stigma of being known as a Jew. A.A. Potter was the most polite of men, a soft-spoken gentleman. Yet, during his final years when his mind would become clouded, he would quietly curse past Purdue Pres- ident Edward C. Elliott for being anti-Semitic and making trouble for A.A. Potter. To Potter his birth was a handicap, perhaps even more so than his accent. His timidity about his tainted background made him shy away from being considered for anything more than Acting President of Purdue, a position he filled between presidents. He truly knew the bigotry of his era. At Purdue no known Jews taught when Potter arrived on campus. There was no good reason for a fund raising president to be Jew- ish. It was not until the war years caused a shortage of qual- ified teachers that individuals were hired without regard to religious background. By then Potter had fit into the mold of trying to be a WASP. Perhaps it was the changing times that also made him feel that being a Jew in America was no longer such a severe handicap. Once A.A. Potter became a sponsor of Zubin Mehta when he conducted Israel Philharmonic. After the concert event at Hillel, he also became a personal friend whom l visited regularly. That Fall he came to High Holiday services at Hillel. He did so for several years. Then he felt comfortable enough to attend adult High Holiday services at Sons of Abraham in Lafayette with his physician Ben Klatch. While the Dean became more at ease with his Jewish- ness, he never overtly expressed regret for having raised his children as Christians. But, when his mind clouded, he turned to his son, a retired Professor of Engineering in Florida, and said, "My son, you are Jewish." His son, who could not tell a lie, respectfully responded, "No, Father, I am a Presbyterian." His daughter, standing nearby during this conversation, said nothing. She who had converted from Presbyterianism to Catholi- cism understood her father's needs. Perhaps in the back of A.A. Potter's clouded mind was the hope that someone would still say "Kaddish" for him after his death. This never happened. After Potter died his daughter spoke to me. Public funeral arrangements had been announced. She explained that two of his family members from Boston would be coming for the funeral the night before. She wanted to make them feel comfortable. Would I? The night before the public church ceremony, Andrey Potter's daughter, the couple from Boston, my wife Mari- lyn, and l were together for a very special service at the funeral parlor. I cried for a man who was so afflicted by anti-Semitism in the land of his birth that he carried his Jewishness as a burden all the days of his life."

As early as 1921, Potter caught the eye of Purdue trustee James W. Noel as being of presidential caliber. Noel persuaded the trustees to consider Potter to succeed President Stone, who died in a moun- tain climbing accident. Potter declined to be considered. He did not feel it to be expedient for Purdue to have a president who was not a native and who spoke English with an accent, in light of the impor- tance of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. In addition, he stated that Mrs. Potter was unenthusiastic about assuming the role of a president's hostess. Potter decided to remain an engineer. Potter's influence was felt by one of Purdue's most famous engineers and, perhaps, the first professed Jew at Purdue: Maurice J. Zucrow (1899-1975). Zucrow received the first BS (cum laude) and MS in Mechanical Engineering at Harvard and was employed as a research assistant at Purdue's Hydraulic Laboratory, which was under the jurisdiction of Civil Engineering in 1923. Potter showed an interest in Zucrow's research, invited him to dinner, and became involved in his work. Zucrow transferred to the Internal Combustion Engine Lab in Mechanical Engineering and was induced to work on a PhD under Potter. Zucrow received Purdue's first doctorate in 1928, defending his thesis before the entire Purdue faculty. He left Purdue in 1929, contributing to the research and development of rocket engines. He returned in 1946 as Professor of Gas Turbines and Jet Propulsion and eventually trained more than 90 graduate students as head of the Jet Propulsion Lab at Purdue. Zucrow served from 1959- 66 as Atkins Distinguished Professor, was one of the founders of the American Rocket Society, and later received an honorary degree from Purdue.

Karl Lark-Horovitz

Another towering figure at Purdue was a man born in Vienna in 1892 as Karl Horovitz, the son of a Jewish physician. He entered the University of Vienna in 1911 and pursued studies in chemistry, phys- iology, physics, and pre-Socratic philosophy. He served for four years as an officer in the signal corps of the Austrian Army in World War I and was wounded. He returned to the University of Vienna and received a PhD in physics the same year. His wife, Betty, used the name Lark, an anagram of Karl, in her professional work, and in 1926 the family name was changed to Lark- Horovitz to link his wife's professional name to his own. Later, he induced his children to drop the Horovitz. Lark-Horovitz worked at the University of Vienna until 1925 and came to the United States on a Rockefeller International Fel- lowship, first to Toronto (where he met the young Isadore Waler- stein), then to the University of Chicago, to the medical research lab at the Rockefeller Institute, and to Stanford. In 1928, Lark-Horovitz was invited by R.B. Moore, Dean of the School of Science (former head of Chemistry) to deliver lectures at Purdue and was persuaded to accept a permanent position in 1929. His transformation of physics from a service department to a leading scientific institution received the support of Moore and, apparently, President Elliott, who was interested in developing science at Purdue. Lark-Horovitz had an enormous effect on science and physics at Purdue. He was a strong, dominating figure in solid state physics but did significant research in x-ray and electron diffraction methods and early studies in experimental nuclear physics. He was a renaissance man with tremendous impatience and unbounded enthusiasm. He, like Potter, was a devoted musician, but his instrument was the violin. Lark-Horovitz was urbane and blended into the Gentile world. He did not convert and I suspect never fully assimilated. He once told Ralph Bray that Professor Whaley, the assistant head of the department, was his liaison with the administration because "he was a goy and could get along with others." Lark-Horovitz was extremely ambitious and a difficult person. Stories about him are legend. A hay fever sufferer, he entered a Chicago hospital in the late 1950s as a result of a botched hay fever injection. A steady stream of Purdue faculty traveled to Chicago to visit him and report on research progress, for he had his finger in every detail of departmental research. The physician in charge warned him that he would get ulcers if he continued working during his convalescence. Lark responded: "l don't get ulcers. l give ulcers." He was to have a profound effect on the sub- sequent Jewish history of Purdue, as a direct result of his efforts to facilitate the transformation at Purdue from a teaching to a research university in basic sciences. ln the period between 1920 and 1930, however, only one other Jew joined Purdue's Physics Department. In 1929, Lark-Horovitz brought Isadore Walerstein to Purdue to found the spectroscopy laboratory. Wally, as he was known to the entire Jewish community, was its conscience. He and his wife, Lillian, were greatly involved in the life of the Jewish community. When he retired from Purdue, he emigrated to Israel, lived in Jerusalem, and helped organize an Israeli high school and undergraduate education in physics. He died in 1983. In 1938, Lark-Horovitz persuaded the administration to hire two foreign-born applied mathematicians; one was Cornelius Lanc- zos, a Jew. Lanczos left Purdue after a few years for Toronto and was to become an important figure in mathematics, spending most of his career at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Study. He died only recently. Lark-Horovitz brought a great number of well-known European refugees to campus as lecturers, visitors, or visiting professors. These included prominent Jews such as Wolfgang Pauli, Edward Teller, Hans Bethe, Otto Stern, K.F. Herzfeld, Guido Beck, Richard Courant, and Luther W. Nordheim. Lark-Horovitz became close friends with R.B. Stewart, the powerful financial officer of Purdue, who helped him obtain funds for the department. Due to Lark-Horovitz's leadership, the department was poised for the tremendous effort required during the war years, which brought an influx of Jewish graduate students to physics. The first two Jewish-born professors at Purdue, Potter and Lark-Horovitz, were Europeans. Both were non-practicing Jews. Both were to have an enormous impact on Purdue. They were, clearly, driven men who put their energies into their professional lives by, in a sense, escaping from their past. Their story was to be repeated at Purdue by others of Jewish heritage, who have become legends in our time. Men of great talent, some of genius - outsiders who seemed to psychologically channel their energies into achieving success in a new culture. Thorstein Veblen, in a 1919 article (Political Science Quarterly) explaining the intellectual pre-eminence of the Jews in modern Europe, related it as follows: Jews were half-way men, sus- pended in limbo between their own culture and the majority's. As such they enjoyed a degree of exemption from hard and fast precon- ceptions, a skeptical animus, . a release from the dead heat of con- ventional finality. (From Kevles, The Physicists, 1971) The only other Jewish member of Purdue's faculty was Max Steer, who came to Purdue from Iowa in 1935 to set up a program to improve the communication skills of engineers. He was to receive his PhD at Iowa, but his major professor suggested he take the Purdue job and delay his degree so that he could return to Iowa on an assist- antship if things didn't work out. But things did work out; Max Steer still resides in Lafayette after 55 years, where he served as long-time head of the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, as the Hanley Distinguished Professor, and now as Professor Emeritus. The Elliott Years

The years 1920-1945 are the Elliott years at Purdue, and the story of this period cannot be told without understanding this man. Elliott, born in 1874, came to Purdue from Montana, where he served as chancellor of the university system. He was neither a scien- tist nor a scholar but a professional administrator, a leader in public education. He became a skilled orator; his most popular subject in his early career was rating teachers. In his biography of Potter, historian Robert. B. Eckles described Elliott as "... abrasive, abrupt, eloquently powerful with a strong rhetorical style. His executive orders were commands to hired help. The faculty and Staff members coming to see him were given short shrift unless they answered in kind [who would dare], then a give- and-take would take place." One common theory was that "(Elliott) was a very ambitious man always seeking to excel. He unconsciously resented the success of a colleague and showed it in his abruptness." The other, kinder theory was that he loved a good debate! There are many examples of Elliott's intolerance and xenopho- bia. The most public was an incident brought to light in 1979 by A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., a black attorney who was a freshman at Pur- due in 1944. Elliott refused to intervene in an intolerable situation when 12 black students, refused housing in Purdue dorms, complained of the freezing rooms arranged for them. Elliott was quoted as saying, "The law does not require us to allow black students in the dorm. You and your black friends must accept things as they are or leave Purdue University." Higginbotham left Purdue and, unfortunately for Elliott's reputation, became a prominent judge. The story appeared in the Lafayette Journal and Courier (May 13, 1979), the year Higginbotham was granted an honorary degree at Purdue. Potter tried to have Purdue hire Carl Terzhagi, an Austrian engineer who single-handedly created soil mechanics. Elliott declined, telling Potter that "Purdue did not need any more foreigners." When Potter became president of ASME, Elliott wrote a grace- ful and appropriate congratulatory note but then held up his leave. The common conception of Elliott by the Jewish community was that he was haughty and unapproachable - at no friend to Jews and at worst anti-Semitic. Yet, Elliott had a close contact with Lark- Horovitz and could be influenced if Lark-Horovitz persisted. In one famous story, Lark-Horovitz trouped to Elliott in 1940 requesting permission to hire young Julian Schwinger, a student of I. Rabi, who had lectured in graduate school in Columbia while an undergraduate in City College. Elliott wanted to know why Lark-Horovitz hadn't gone to Enders, Dean of Science, and Lark-Horovitz said that he didn't go through channels because Enders wouldn't hire Jews. Elliott signed and, on leaving, Lark-Horovitz ran into Enders, who inquired what he was doing at the President's office. He replied that he had come to Elliott to secure approval for an appointment that Enders wouldn't give but, if he (Enders) wanted to sign the paper now, here it was. Schwinger went on to receive an honorary degree from Pur- due in 1961 and the Nobel prize in 1965. It was difficult for Jews to get jobs in academia. Lark-Horovitz wrote Rosalyn Yallow, a student of Rabi's at Hunter College, that he would accept her as a graduate student but could not be responsible for getting her a job. She chose to switch fields and went to the Uni- versity of Illinois at Urbana, where she was later a Nobel laureate. In the early 1940s, the war brought about additional hiring of Jewish faculty in mathematics, the first hiring in chemistry, and an influx of Jewish graduate students in physics including Seymour Benzer, Ralph Bray, Arthur Ginsberg, Ernestine Rose, Paula Berger (later Feuer), Harry Rosenberg, and Erwin Hahn, as well as a new instructor soon to be Annie Akeley. A pipeline from Brook- lyn College to Purdue was opened by Seymour Benzer. (After working on transistors, Benzer changed fields and became a leading light in phage genetics and the fine structure of the gene.) In 1942, Jennie Rosenthal, a physicist at Columbia, discouraged Ralph Bray from considering Purdue as a graduate student, remarking that Purdue was known to be anti-Semitic and that he would be better off at Notre Dame. When Benzer was hired as an assistant professor in 1945-46, Professor Edward Akeley thought it would be the last Jewish appointment for a long time. Whatever the true story of Elliott, it is known that when Frederick Hovde came to Purdue, the situation changed dramatically if not irrevo- cably. Jews were hired throughout the university as the faculty increased to accommodate the tremendous influx of returning GIs as students. American universities and Purdue truly entered a new era. There were still to be problems for Jews at Purdue, particularly in the late 1950s when Purdue's approach to the legislative demand to decrease the number of out-of-state students was to stop recruiting students from New York City and New Jersey. Jewish enrollment declined precipitously. This little-known story involving President Hovde, Rabbi Engel, and the Board of Trustees should be a topic for a future chapter on the Jewish history of Purdue. Let me end this brief history with some observations and conclusions. 1) The reluctance of Purdue to hire Jewish faculty in the 1930s was a great loss. This was the time that world-class scholars and sci- entists, refugees from Europe, were available for a song. Purdue did not respond to this opportunity and missed out on a generation of scholars that could have had a great impact on Purdue's stature. It could be argued that times were hard in the 1930s. Nevertheless, Purdue always found the funds when it wanted to through David Ross and others when it felt it was in its interest. For example, many thousands of dollars were garnered to make a splash with Amelia Earhart. 2) The history of Jews at Purdue during the war years needs to be researched and remembered. This talented group played an important role in the history of the Departments of Physics, Chem- istry, and Mathematics. 3) The increasing tolerance at Purdue and other universities must be emphasized. The past was not always glorious. Nostalgia often overlooks injustice. Jews, despite their pre-eminence, had a difficult time getting hired at Purdue prior to 1945. There are other groups whose stories at Purdue should be told: Asians, African-Amer- icans, and women. We must make sure the University continues to judge men and women by their character and contribution rather than their color or creed. References

Burrin, Frank K. 1970. Edward Charles Elliott, Educator. Purdue University Studies, Lafayette, Indiana. Eckles, Robert B. 1974. The Dean. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Johnson, V.A. Karl Lark-Horovitz. Pergamon Press, New York. Kevles, Daniel J. 1979. The Physicists. Vintage Books, New York. Topping, Robert W. 1988. A Century and Beyond. Purdue Univer- sity Press, West Lafayette, Indiana. Topping, Robert W. 1980. The Hovde Years. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Andrey Abraham Potter: The Man for All Reasons By: Harry H. Hirschl

few years ago, I traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to Aescape the Indiana winter. There I connected with the Jewish community by attending the Saturday morning Torah study and worship service. I joined other "snow birds," primarily from the East Coast, to form a congregation of fifty or sixty each Shabbat. Our opening ritual was to sit down and announce, "I'm Harry Hirschl from Lafayette, Indiana." One Saturday, the couple sitting next to me was Grace and Irwin Lebow from Washington, D.C. When Grace heard, "Lafayette, Indiana" she said, "My great uncle was Dean of Engineering at Purdue." I responded, "You mean Dean Pot- ter?" When she said, "Yes," I was flabbergasted, this was more Jew- ish geography than I ever expected in a hundred years! Later over dinner, I heard more about "Uncle Andrey." I knew Dean Potter slightly during my years at Purdue University, 1944 to 1947, as an undergraduate student studying engineering. He gave freshmen lectures about the role of engineers in society, starting with, "We must learn zee mother language," spoken with a thick European accent. Potter reminded us that engineers must become good citizens of the world and develop interests outside our professional activities besides being able to apply scientific knowledge to engineering processes. I also recall eating dinner with him in the residence hall I lived in. When I told him I came from Missouri, he said, "Missouri made a big mistake in funding two schools of engineering, one at the University of Missouri in Columbia and the other in Rolla, the School of Mines. Missouri doesn't have enough money to have two good schools. You made the right decision to come to Purdue instead of going to a Missouri engineering school." I was impressed with Dean Potter, a physically short man with a large nose, perfectly dressed, yet at ease in the company of students at a dining table. I have a long-standing emotional attachment to Purdue, but am very much aware of its dark side (biased administrators), as well as its long and distinguished attainments. Robert W. Topping has written A Century and Beyond and The Hovde Years describing these achieve- ments. Robert B. Eckles wrote The Dean, a biography of Dean A.A. Potter; from this book I read what a great man he was. Purdue University was founded in 1869, and arrived at its current status as a world class institution of higher education through the efforts of many outstanding men and women. Dean Potter, of blessed memory, was one of those all-time "greats," very possibly the greatest. He was an outstanding teacher, both of undergraduate and graduate students, a brilliant researcher in heat-power, an administrator of sound judgement, and a distinguished executive; he did it all. Eckles book has recorded his academic and management achieve- ments; I will summarize a few highlights from that book. Dean Potter was born in 1882, and came to this country at the age of 15. He spent time learning English, then entered the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology as a freshman in 1899. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with honors in 1903, then started his career at the General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York. In 1905, he switched to academia and was appointed Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. Eight years later, he was appointed Dean of Engineering. In 1920, the president of Pur- due University presented his name to the Board of Trustees, and he was appointed Dean of Engineering. He served as Dean at Purdue for 33 years, where two buildings were named in his honor, the Andrey A. Potter Building at the Calumet Campus in Hammond, Indiana and the A. A. Potter Engineering Center on the Lafayette campus (no other individual has been so recognized with two buildings) and a life-size portrait now hangs in the Elliott Hall of Music. Nationally he was awarded ten honorary degrees and was president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and the American Society for Engineering Education, both very prestigious positions. As I read Eckles' book I noted one glaring omission: Dean Pot- ter was a Jew, born in Vilna, then Russia now Lithuania, to Gregor & Riva Potter. Gregor was of Dutch descent while Riva was Russian. But not one word of his Jewish background is to be found in the book. In his study, A Jewish History of Purdue 1920-1940, Prof. Jules Janick wrote, "Potter holds the distinction of having been Purdue's first Jewish faculty member as well as its first Jewish president..." Obviously Dean Potter did not tell Eckles about his Jewish background; "Why" I asked myself. To me the answer is simple: Purdue, and the United States, were overtly anti-Semitic for many years especially during his tenure. To some extent this prejudice has changed since World War II, but there are still undercurrents to this very day. When Potter moved to Manhattan, Kansas, the home of Kansas State University, he rented a room from the Presbyterian minister and "regularly attended services at his church." He met Eva Burtner, the daughter of the minister, at a church social gathering and soon married her. After moving to Lafayette, Indiana, he became a prominent member of Central Presbyterian Church here. Now I want to tell the untold stories about Dean Potter, starting with those told by great nieces, Grace Lebow and her sister, Ruth Zirin; from my interviews with several people that knew him here in Lafayette; and from documents sent to me by his close friend, J. Day- ton McCormick, the minister of the Central Presbyterian Church from 1947 to 1974. Grace and Ruth told about Dean Potter's financial support and deep affection for his Jewish family in Boston. "Uncle Andrey" came to this country hoping to become an inventor, inspired by reading a biography of Thomas Edison. He told Grace that in Russia he had some wish to become a rabbi, bringing with him a kippah (skull cap) and tallit (prayer shawl) but soon learned that the profession was not a realistic possibility. When he arrived in Boston, he lived with Uncle Nathan Pelonsky who told him that religion was for Europe; he was now on his way to becoming an American citizen and Americans were either business men or professionals - doctors, lawyers, engineers or professors - not rabbis. Forget religion and become an American was Uncle Nathan's advice. While Uncle Andrey did not regard Uncle Nathan very highly, he greatly appreciated Uncle Nathan giving him room and board. Following Uncle Nathan's advice, he put away his kippah and tallit. Uncle Andrey showed his gratitude in a very tangi- ble way through his lifelong dedication to and support of Uncle Nathan's four children: Lillian, Anna, Fred and Selma. Uncle Andrey remained attached to his Jewish Boston family throughout his life and traveled there frequently to visit his mother, Riva his sister, Olga; and her daughter, Sonya (Grace's mother) as well as Uncle Nathan's family. Both Olga and Riva lived with Grace in her parents' home at various times. And in her later years, after Grace's mother's death, Grandma Olga came to live with the Lebows. Uncle Andrey continued to visit and to help financially with his sister's care until her death at age 92. Andrey's arrival in Boston always included a meal with his mother's prize pickled tongue. After she died there was no one living that knew the recipe, so the family had to explain to Andrey that they could no longer treat him with what they thought was his favorite delicacy. He responded, "That's OK, I never liked tongue anyway." When his grandniece and nephews were studying to become Bat and Bar Mitzvah, Dean Potter wrote them letters in Hebrew to further their studies. He was a serious student of languages, fluent in French, German, and Russian in addition to English. After Grace's son William's bar mitzvah, Andrey gave him his long unused tallit - a possession highly prized by William. It was on that occasion that Andrey told Grace about his religious views and his early attachment to Judaism. He told the family that he attended Presbyterian services but never accepted Jesus. A big family discussion arose when Andrey became a 33rd degree Mason (an honorary degree conferred only on outstanding Masons). What was going on? Did the 33rd degree ritual him to accept Jesus Christ to become a Christian? The family never did find out, for the secrecy of the degree precluded their knowing about this detail. From my own experience, for I am a convert from Christianity to Judaism and my family had great difficulty accepting my change, this discussion involved tension and uncertainty about the rela- tionship of Andrey with his Boston family. He was very generous towards his family, sending money each month to a relative in Vilna; helping pay for his mother's and sister's passage to America (his father died in Lithuania) and giving money for the family's living expenses. During the Depression he sent $50 each month, an amount that "kept the family going for many years," as reported by Donald Hackel, a brother of Grace Lebow. On a personal level, he was quite frugal. When Andrey started to work for the General Electric Company, he went to Filene's Basement in Boston and bought a suit that he wore until it was threadbare. He waited for his next visit to the family and made another trip to Filene's Basement to buy another. During his years at Purdue, he was a fastidious dresser wearing carefully tailored suits, beautiful ties, etc. He was careful with money nonetheless. For example, on one trip to Boston, he insisted on buying Grace a canary as a gift. He invited her to walk to the store with him, about a three-mile trip. After the purchase, Grace expected to take the street car home along Beacon Street and said she could not carry the cage all the way back. Andrey understood, reached in his pocket, gave her a dime for the streetcar fare, and walked back by himself. Dimes were not to be wasted on frivolous things like streetcars when you could walk! Uncle Andrey also financed college for his grandnieces and grandnephews: Donald Hackel at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Ruth Hackel Zirin at Simmons College, and Allan Hackel at Northeastern University (Andrey was particularly pleased about this choice since it was a land grant university like Purdue). He gave money to help Grace Hackel Lebow finance her education to Tufts University and later, Simmons College. He did not neglect the education of his children; son James earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton and daughter Helen a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University. After he retired as Dean at Purdue, Potter enjoyed a lucrative consulting business. His fee was $1,000/day, a handsome sum in the 1950s. One day after consulting with the Air Preheater Company, Wellesville, New York, he stopped to see his sister in Boston. There he endorsed the $1,000 consulting check over to his sister, saying, "Here, you keep this check for a rainy day. You never know when this money will come in handy." The fascinating part of this story is how Dean Potter, Uncle Andrey, held within himself membership in a Chrisitian church and recognition of his Jewish background. In his story of Purdue, A Cen- tury and Beyond, Robert Topping wrote, "In 1920 (Dean) Benjamin resigned, (President) Stone found his successor in the remarkable man who served as dean of engineering thirty-three years, turned Purdue into one of America's truly prestigious engineering and scientific education. He was Andrey Abraham Potter, the Lithuanian immigrant who played the ocarina, venerated Benajmin Franklin, and firmly believed that being patriotic and a Chrsitian gentleman, which he was were life's most important successes." How this fits with the Lithuanian immigrant arriving with a kippah and tallit is a mystery we will never know. The end of Dean Potter's life reflects his enigma. He died on Monday, November 5, 1979. His daughter, Helen, called Boston relatives Irene and Donald Hackel and arranged a Jewish service at Pot- ter's request, on Thursday, November 8th. Potter's body was clothed in a shroud, a Jewish custom, and Rabbi Gedaliah Engel, director of the Hillel Foundation at Purdue, recited the Hebrew prayers before the closed casket in the funeral home. Then on Friday, November 9th, a graveside service was held at 10 o'clock at the Grand View Cemetery in West Lafayette, the Rev. H. Kenneth McCullen, minister of Central Presbyterian Church, officiating. One of those attending, Dick Grace, said it was a rainy dreary day and the water went over his shoe tops. It was almost as if God were a mourner, crying at the loss of this great man. At 4 o'clock, a memorial service was held at Central Presbyterian Church with speeches by Father Leo Haigerty, pastor of the students' Catholic church, St. Thomas Aquinas; the Rev. McMullen; and Arthur Hansen President of Pur- due University. In these stories, we see a mensch (Yiddish), a maasim tovim (Hebrew), a man to admire, respect and emulate - words expressing the highest accolade in Judaism. Dean Potter, Uncle Andrey, was such a man as well as being "a Christian gentleman." Here are the other stories I have gathered:

From Bill LeBold

Potter came to the US on a cattle boat; he bargained with the owners for his ticket: he would entertain the crew by playing his ocarina and leading them in song if the owner gave him free passage. The owner accepted the offer. When a Russian delegation came to this country during the early days of the "thaw" in the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, Potter was asked to meet with the group because he spoke fluent Russian. When he met them, he asked, "Do you still sing 'the old songs'?" The Russian said yes, Potter took out his ocarina and led them in song. Potter met a young man working on the Canadian railroad and was impressed with his ability. The man asked if he could come to Purdue, Potter said yes, but the University would not admit him because he did not have a high school diploma. Potter went to the president to plead his case; President Elliott said "No"; then Potter said, "I will give you my letter of resignation that you can accept if he doesn't graduate." Elliott accepted the offer; the man enrolled and did graduate. He then went on to become the president of the Canadian National Railroad. During the worst times of the Depression, Potter traveled around the country representing the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and heard how discouraged the faculty and students were in the colleges and universities. He decided he would like to make a tour, tell them that the current situation would change for the better and explain that good times were ahead. Potter was optimistic, knew times would improve and wanted to encourage his colleagues with an uplifting speech. He went to President Elliott to ask his permission, and Elliott turned him down cold, saying that was not Potter's job. Potter argued that it was; Elliott said he couldn't stop him, but Pur- due would not reimburse him for his travel expenses. Potter immediately went to the Lafayette National Bank, borrowed the money and made the trip. Thereafter he never applied for any reimburse- ment of his Purdue travels. After his retirement, Potter gave a $100,000 to Purdue, saying that this sum represents all the salary money he had been paid in his thirty years as an employee. After Potter became too infirm to travel by himself, the university asked Bill LeBold to accompany him. Richard Grosh, dean of engineering after Potter's tenure, was appointed president of Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute. Potter was invited to attend the inaugural and LeBold accompanied him to Troy, NY. They stayed in a hotel, and on the day of the inaugural, LeBold woke up to find Potter's bed empty. LeBold searched everywhere and could not find Dean Potter. He put out a call to the police who found Potter in downtown Troy buying gifts for the Grosh children; he was very attracted to Dick Grosh and his family and wanted to show his affection.

From Dick and Connie Grace

Potter had a fondness for children. About 5:15pm, Connie and her sister Ginnie would walk to the corner of 5th and Waldron Street to great Dean Potter. He would pat them on the head and say "How are my two 'leedil' girls today?" On Halloween, Connie and Ginnie would be dressed up in cos- tumes and their parents, John and Virginia Fotos, would take them to the Potters. The dean would come out and pretend he didn't know who the "leedil" girls were. Dean Potter knew the Grace's children, Virginia & Rick. One day he gave them eacha copy of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. He also asked if they would like a Lincoln Medallion. Their expec- tations were very high, but each was given a penny, "a Lincoln Medallion." A penny - they couldn't believe it. Dean Potter was a past president of the American Society for Engineering Education and attended the annual meetings. At the time the annual meeting was held at the US Naval Academy, Dick & Connie Grace took their children. Their daughter, Virginia, was about 16, and she asked Dean Potter if he could arrange for her to dance with a midshipman. Many families took their daughters, all expecting the "date" and midshipman, but only three showed up. These three middies were kept busy dancing all night with all the young women. Dick Grace asked Dean Potter his secret for living such a long life (he died at 97). He responded with three things: his ancestors lived a long life, he ate only well done meat, and he drank very small amounts of alcohol. Potter and Thomas Edison were good friends. Edison was very deaf and had an ear trumpet horn piece. Potter had to yell into the gizmo but doubted that Edison ever heard a word Potter said. Henry Ford invited Dean Potter to consult with him in Detroit. After spending a day or two with Ford, Potter was ready to leave and asked about his consulting fee. Ford said there would be no fee. When reporting this transaction to Dick Grace, Potter swore - the first time Dick ever heard those words. The memory of the transaction was still fresh in Potter's mind forty years after the event. Dick and Dean Potter were traveling to a Lafayette Rotary meeting, but had to stop at a faculty member's home for an errand. A very over-weight teenage daughter came out with her father. Always praising, Dean Potter said, "My she has a lovely Germanic figure." Dean Potter attended many Rotary meetings and had to be helped in and out of the car in his later years. His daughter Helen warned about Potter's difficulty of keeping his pants above his waist; one day as he walked into the meeting, his pants fell down to his ankles. His companions stopped, yanked his pants up over his stom- ach, tightened his belt and proceeded into the meeting. When Dean Potter was asked to be Acting President between the retirement of Edward Elliott and the arrival of Fred Hovde, David Ross was president of the Board of Trustees. Ross made the offer to Potter, which included a $500 salary increase. After Hovde took office, David Ross went back to Potter, said the $500 was non- recurring, and reduced Potter's salary back to the previous level. When Potter told this story to Dick Grace, Potter swore at Ross - the second and last time. Gala week was one of the Purdue traditions Potter attended each spring after his retirement. It gave him the opportunity to renew acquaintances. He knew many people by name, years after they were graduated. He would go from table to table to greet his friends and give a five-minute speech about the triumphs of the Land Grant Uni- versities. He gave the same speech at each table, each year, repeating the entire procedure for about ten years.

From Ray Cohen

Maurice Zucrow was granted the first Purdue Ph.D. in Mechan- ical Engineering. Dean Potter recruited Zucrow and they became fast friends. After arriving here, Zucrow married a local woman and they soon has a baby. A few months after the baby's arrival, Dean and Mrs. Potter called on the proud parents. The baby was sitting on the floor playing with a large rubber ball. Dean Potter immediately got down on his hands and knees and rolled the ball back and forth with the baby - who was without a diaper. Imagine a dean playing with a bare-bottom baby; the mother was mortified! Dean Potter set a high standard of dress on the Purdue campus: carefully tailored suit, starched white shirt, handsome tie, and carefully polished shoes. One faculty member that tried to follow that standard was an engineering professor, William Fontaine. One day Potter was strolling across the campus and met Fontaine; he took one look at his attire and said, "Professor Fontaine your coat must match your pants." Fontaine was were a sport coat and slacks. Some years later, Potter attended a meeting in a checked sport coat, gray slacks and a loud tie; an engineering faculty member asked him why his jacket didn't match his pants. Potter's response, "times change."

From Members of Central Presbyterian Church

For many years, Dean Potter would walk from his home to the church each Sunday, a trip about four miles. His presence at the church was very impressive - perfectly dressed in a suit with a white shirt and tie. One of the women members said he scared her to death with his appearance and sedate manner. Many church members found Potter pleasant to talk to, very charming and he knew almost every member by name, greeting them in a very friendly way. Dean Potter was known as the "go to guy," the man who would see the things got done or do them himself. He was also an Elder, a member of the board of trustees, the governing body of the congregation, thus a much respected member. A member's husband was on the faculty of the Electrical Engi- neering school. When the husband was promoted to full professor, Dean Potter wrote a congratulatory letter which the wife and husband never forgot.

From Father Leo Haigerty

Dean Potter's daughter Helen, who was a member of the Catholic church, moved back to West Lafayette, Indiana after the Dean's wife died and regularly attended Mass. From time to time, the Dean would attend Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas with Helen. Father Leo Haigerty, an engineering graduate of Purdue and friend of Potter, greeted Dean Potter after services one Sunday and said how glad he was to see him. Potter said, "I'm always glad to be in the company of people that believe in God."

From the Rev. Dr. J. Dayton McCormick, minister at Central Presbyterian Church

To express his opinion of Dean Potter, Dr. McCormick sent an article about a dean at Princeton University, Henry Burchard Fine, with the comment, "my opinion of Dean Potter." The article was highlighted with the following: "(Dean Fine) was a man of noble character, wide culture, deep experience, eminent ability in his special branch, a successful and faithful teacher, a wise counselor in committees, and when call to administrative office, discreet, firm and coura- geous. He was devoted to intellectual interest, made them prominent in daily intercourse, and obliged even frivolous or underdeveloped minds to bow down to them. In science, philosophy, history, politics, and literature he was well read and his opinion carried weight. He has been a tower of strength in the faculty, never captious or con- tentious, never selfishly ambitious, always reasonable, sane, temperate, preserving an exact balance between severity and good nature. He had so much practical sense, so much knowledge of men, and so much sympathy with human weakness that he could rebuke without offending. Nothing in his appearance told of the afflictions he had endured, as nothing in his behavior revealed the honors that had been bestowed upon him. Pride, ambition, anxiety, the cares of office, and even grief itself had made no marks on his nble and serene counte- nance.." Dr. McCormick explained that biblically that Dean is described in Psalm 15: "Lord, who may sojourn in your tent, who may dwell in your holy moun- tain? He who lives without blame, who does what I right, and in his heart acknowledges the truth; whose tongue is not given to evil; who has never done harm to his fellow, or borne reproach for his acts toward his neighbor; for whom a contemptible man is abhorrent, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who stands by his oath even to his hurt, who never lent money at interest, or accepted a bribe against the innocent. The man who acts thus shall never be shaken."

The following individuals provided the stories about Dean Potter:

Raymond Cohen, Purdue Professor of Mechanical Engineering Connie Fotos Grace, as a small child, a neighbor of Dean Potter Richard Grace, Purdue Professor of Metallurgical Engineering Mary Hesselberth, wife of a Purdue Professor of Electrical Engi- neering, member of Central Presbyterian Church Catherine Hostetter, member of Central Presbyterian Church William LeBold, Purdue Professor of Engineering Grace Lebow, grandniece of Dean Potter Ruth Michaud, member of Central Presbyterian Church Carolyn Risk, member of Central Presbyterian Church Maxine Swezey, member of Central Presbyterian Church Ruth Zirin, sister of Grace Lebow, great-niece of Dean Potter H. Gordon & Sons By: Lou Kaplan

Gordon & Sons department store has its roots on the sandy H shores of Lake Michigan in Whiting, Indiana. Harry Gor- don, founder, opened his first retail establishment there in 1899, on the corner of New York Avenue and Fischrupp Street. This was the humble beginning of what was to become the premier department store of the Calumet region. It was often likened to Marshall Field's and Carson Pirie Scott in downtown Chicago. In 1889, Standard Oil Company built a huge refinery on the shores of Lake Michigan. The city of Whiting was incorporated that same year. Harry Gordon was one of the pioneer residents of the city. He came there with his wife and seven children. In an effort to provide a better life for his wife and family, he opened his first small dry goods store in 1899. The store was a tiny sixteen by thirty-five foot establishment with barely enough room to house its merchandise. Because of the lack of space it was often necessary to display the merchandise on the sidewalk in front of the store. The store began to prosper almost immediately. Harry Gordon soon found it necessary to move to a new, larger location on New York Avenue. The new store had a frontage of twenty-five feet with a depth of seventy-five feet, quite an improvement from its original sixteen by thirty-five foot space. With the firm continually growing, Harry began bringing his sons into the business. Louis A. Gordon, the eldest son, joined the business in 1909. Five years later in 1914, Robert F. Gordon, the youngest son, was brought into the business. Benjamin H. Gordon, the middle son, was a lawyer and Navy veteran of World War I. After practicing law in Whiting for a few years, he joined the firm in 1919. The store continued to prosper. Another move was made, this time to Whiting's main street, 119th Street, where a fifty by a hundred-twenty foot space was purchased in 1919. The next year, 1920, a forty-five foot vacant lot next door to the store was purchased. A new building was erected, the old store remodeled, a second story added, and a new, modern department store created with ninety-five foot frontage on 119th Street and many new departments added. This became the premier retail establishment in Whiting and remained so until its closure in 1939. During this time the city of Gary was booming due to the steel mill which was built on Lake Michigan in 1906. Harry Gordon recognized the potential for retail development in the new city. He made his first move into Gary when he opened a small store at 10th and Garfield in the Tolleston section of Gary. He closed the store soon after when Broad- way Avenue began to develop as the retail center of Gary. A store on the east side of Broadway between 7th and 8th Avenues was rented in 1922. It had a frontage of seventy-five feet with a depth of a hundred-twenty feet. The new store opened for business in 1923. Shortly thereafter a fifty foot building became available next door and the business again expanded into a new store with a hundred-twenty five foot frontage on Broadway Avenue. The firm had undergone a huge expansion from 1919 to 1923. This was not achieved without taking on considerable debt. Financ- ing was obtained from Carson Pirie Scott in Chicago, which at the time had a wholesale division which sold merchandise to smaller stores such as Whiting. H. Gordon & Sons now had two large operations going on at the same time, the store in Whiting and the new Gary store. Up until this time the firm operated as a partnership consisting of Harry Gordon and his three sons. In 1931, it was decided to incor- porate the firm. All the stock of the new corporation was owned by the four partners. Harry Gordon was elected Chairman of the Board, Benjamin Gordon was elected President, Louis Gordon was elected Vice-President and Robert Gordon was elected Secretary-Treasurer. In 1934, the owner of the property which housed the Gary store leased the entire building to Montgomery Ward & Company. H. Gordon & Sons was forced to move again. A building on the corner of 8th Avenue and Broadway that had been occupied by the Gary Elks Lodge became available for sale. It was a unique building designed in the style of the Prairie School of Architecture with three floors and a full basement. The Gordon Corporation purchased the building realizing, of course, that extensive remodeling would be necessary. They tried as much as possible to maintain the architectural integrity of the building while converting it into a modern, state of the art, department store. The building had a low ceiling in the basement and a very high ceiling on the third floor which created areas difficult in which to effectively display merchandise. It was necessary to lower the basement floor to two feet. A new modern air conditioning and ventilating system had to be installed and also all new electrical and heating systems. The architectural firm of I.M. Cohen was employed to draw up plans for the modernization. The William Stern contracting firm was awarded the contract to do the work. The project was carried out during the height of the depression when many people were out of work. As a testament to the social awareness and responsibility that Harry Gordon was imbued with, he told William Stern not to use machinery in the breaking up and removal of the old concrete floor. He wanted all the work to be done by manual labor. That meant hiring twenty men to do a job that could have been done by two men using machinery. When Stern complained that this was going to add considerably to the cost, Harry Gordon, after consulting with his sons, told Stern to go ahead and do it anyway. He didn't think it would bankrupt the firm and this way more families would have money to spend and pay their bills. The Gordons wanted to spread the employment around to the greatest number of breadwinners, even though it cost the firm considerably more money. The work proceeded. A new front and side fagade were added, new display windows were built, elevators were installed and many other changes were made. The newly remodeled building was completed and open for business in early September of 1934. This was the newest, most modern retail establishment in Lake County, Indi- ana. To celebrate the 3 5th anniversary of the founding of the Gordon department store and also the grand opening of the new modern store, the employees of both the Whiting and Gary stores, which now numbered more than 150 people, held a dinner dance in a downtown Gary tavern with Harry Gordon and his sons as the guests of honor. During this time period, Louis Gordon, the eldest son, had been seriously ill. He passed away in 1936. Ben Gordon, the president of the corporation, became the Manager of the Gary operation. The stock owned by Louis was held in trust for his widow. Harry Gordon assumed Louis' position of Vice-President and also remained as Chairman of the Board. Robert Gordon remained as Manager of the Whiting store. At this time the addition of a fourth floor to the building was already being contemplated. The third floor with its extremely high ceiling did not prove suitable for the display of merchandise. Plans for the new addition were drawn up. In June of 1939 construction had begun on the latest remodeling and modernization of H. Gordon & Sons Department store. The result would be five floors of the latest, most modern selling space with a completely new air conditioning, heating and ventilating system. All the work was completed in January of 1940, at which time a fire broke out in the building. This was a serious setback, but undaunted, the firm directed the contractor to immediately begin to repair the dam- ages. The repaired and newly remodeled building officially reopened in May of 1940. Gary now boasted the newest, most modern, state of the art retail establishment in Lake County. Concurrent with this latest modernization, a building behind the store on Massachusetts Avenue was purchased. This building was used to house the drapery workrooms, display studios, a workshop and a warehouse. In 1941 an eighty by a hundred-twenty five foot lot adjacent to the building was purchased and converted into a parking lot for the convenience of the customers. Shortly after the store opened in its new location in the Elks building at 8th and Broadway, the employees, on the occasion of Harry Gordon's 70th birthday, gave him a beautiful leather uphol- stered chair as a token of their esteem. It became the Harry Gordon's prized possession. He had the chair placed in the store by corner of the first floor staircase landing where he would sit and greet customers and old friends. This became the "reception room" in the busiest part of the store. Harry especially liked to greet and talk to the children, all of whom called him "Grandpa Gordon." He held court in this location on the first floor landing until shortly before he died in 1947, at the age of 82. Prior to his moving to Gary, Harry Gordon had been a prominent merchant and civic leader in Whiting for 40 years. He was much esteemed and loved by the people of Whiting. To show their apprecia- tion a "Harry Gordon Day" was proclaimed by James T. McNamara, the mayor of the city of Whiting. A large celebration was held with the entire eighty piece Whiting High School band parading up 119th Street, stopping in front of the store where many dignitaries were gathered, including the vice-president of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, its refinery manager, and the general superintendent of the Union Carbon and Carbide plant in Whiting. In attendance were Harry's two sons, Benjamin and Robert, and the widow of son Louis. A ceremony was held during which Harry was presented the key to the city by Mayor McNamara. Hundreds of Whiting residents and merchants witnessed the ceremony. Afterwards Harry was escorted to the Illiana Hotel where he was guest of honor at the weekly luncheon of the Whiting Lions Club. The entire Whiting executive and management staff of the Stan- dard Oil Company were there. The Whiting store, however, was not doing well. The three years prior to 1939 proved to be unprofitable. The difficult decision was made to close the Whiting store after being in business there for forty years and consolidate its operation in the newly remodeled Gary store. The Whiting building was sold to the J.J. Newberry Company out of New York. Harry Gordon continued to serve as Chairman of the Board and Vice-President of the company. Ben Gordon remained as President and Manager with Robert Gordon serving as Secretary-Treasurer and Co-Manager. The store continued to prosper in the Gary location. It was the most modern, up to date department store in Northwest Indiana, providing all the services that big city department stores such as Mar- shall Field's in Chicago provided. It had built up a loyal customer base and had many loyal employees who had been with the store for many years, many of them starting at the bottom and working their way up to managerial positions. Benjamin and Robert Gordon had been imbued with a sense of civic responsibility by their father and learned early on that if you treated the customers with courtesy & respect and provided quality merchandise at fair prices, they would remain loyal for many years. Both Benjamin and Robert were very active in Gary civic affairs. Ben helped established the Gary Chamber of Commerce. He served as president of the Gary Downtown Merchants Association, was the first president of the Gary Jewish Welfare Federation, was president of Tem- ple Israel and president of the Gary B'nai B'rith lodge. He served as director of the Gary Community Chest, the Methodist Hospital, the Credit Bureau, the Stewart Settlement House and the Gary Red Cross. He was a member of the Gary Rotary Club and the American Legion. Robert also served as president of the Downtown Gary merchants Association, the Gary Jewish Welfare Federation, as a director of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts, the Gary Sym- phony Orchestra, the Y.M.C.A. and Goodwill. He was head of the Gary Civilian Defense during World War II and the Food Ration Board. During World War II the store received a citation from the United States Treasury Department for selling over 250,000 worth of war bonds. The Gordons encouraged their employees to take an active interest in community affairs. The Gary Parent-Teachers Council was established by a Gordonite. The store was generous in providing publicity and window display space to various civic enterprises and backed Little League baseball teams in Gary. Another thing they did for many years was to sponsor an art contest among all the Gary high schools. The store continued to prosper throughout the war years despite the competition from a number of other fine stores in Gary carrying similar lines of merchandise. There were Sears Roebuck & Com- pany, Henry C. Lytton & Sons, Montgomery Ward & Company, J.C. Penny Company, Goldblatt Brothers, Hudson's and the Blackstone Shop among numerous other stores. Under the leadership of Ben and Robert the store gained a high reputation among the shops of Gary and was considered to be one of the best places to work. It was recognized by retail experts throughout the nation. The store received Retailer of the Year Award several times. Ben Gordon became ill in 1951, with an incurable heart disease and was forced to retire. He passed away in 1958, a great loss to the community and the store. Brother Robert became the president. Overall management was taken over by Robert and Morrie Kaplan, Ben's son-in-law, a World War II veteran who was brought into the business after he was discharged from the army in 1945. The store continued to prosper under Robert and Morrie's leadership. In 1960, it was determined that the store was ready for another expansion. A new building was erected on the site of the old Massachusetts Avenue building. It was a modern two story which was connected to the old building on the second floor, the alley between the two buildings remaining intact. A considerable amount of new retail selling space was added, new executive offices built, and a modern tea room-restaurant added. The newly remodeled store and addition opened for business in 1962, to great fanfare. Again, H. Gordon & Sons became the newest, most up to date, state of the art retail store in all of Lake County, Indiana. Robert Gordon retired in 1970. Morrie Kaplan became the president and general manager of the store. Business was still booming for most of the 60's. However, towards the end of the decade dis- aster struck, not only for Gordon, but for all of the fine stores that lined the Broadway Avenue corridor. A huge demographic shift occurred during which Gary lost a large percentage of its population. People began moving out to the southern and eastern suburbs. New shopping malls began springing up in these suburbs. U.S. Steel Company, the area's largest employer, began laying off many workers. The people who made up the loyal customer base of Gordon's and the other stores were gone. Business dropped off drastically. In 1972, the Massachusetts Avenue building was closed down and the retail operation was consolidated in the 8th and Broadway building. Retail operations continued for two more years in the 8th and Broadway building, but in 1974, the entire retail operation was shut down. After 75 years there no longer was a H. Gordon & Sons Department store. Sears Roebuck & Company, Henry C. Lytton & Sons, Montgomery Ward & Company, J.C. Penny Company, Gold- blatt Brothers, Hudson's the Blackstone Shoppe, and many other fine shops also closed their Broadway Avenue stores. This then, is the saga of H. Gordon & Sons Department Store, for many years one of the most successful and respected retail operations in the city of Gary and Lake County. Sources Information for this history was obtained from the Calumet Region Archives at Indiana University-Northwest. Information was also obtained from personal interviews with Elaine Gordon Kaplan Beck. Thanks to Steve McShane, head archivist, and Peg Schoon, assistant archivist at the Calumet Regional Archives housed in the library of Indiana University-Northwest for their help and coopera- tion in accessing the archives. The Story Of David S. Redelsheimer By Carolyn Adler Lickerman, Great Granddaughter

HE STORY OF DAVID S. REDELSHEIMER: a prominent mercantile merchant in Northeast Indiana in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

In the early 1800's Roedelheim was in the principality of Wurt- temberg, a large German state. Roedelheim was home to the Jews as early as Roman times and therefore we assume early ancestors lived there. Possibly as far back as 1500's all people in Germany were required to take surnames. The name Redelsheimer is derived from the city of Roedelheim where the family probably lived. The city was the center for printing Jewish prayer books and bibles in the 19th century. Amschel Rothschild, the founder of the Rothschild banking family, was born and buried there. We know Sigmund and David Redelsheimer came from Wurttemberg but as the population was fairly mobile at that time we don't know what village they actually came from. Today Roedelheim is in the state of Hessen and is located 4.4 km from Frankfort near the Frankfort airport. "David Redelsheimer was born in Wurttemberg Germany on May 22, 1836. He was the only child of the first marriage of Sigmund Redelsheimer (born on February 15, 1810), the son of Solomon Redelsheimer, a native of Saxony, Germany. David's mother (nee Esther Dessauer), also a native of Wurttemberg, was born in June 1817; the daughter of Gottlieb Dessauer who was a prominent citizen and a magistrate in his village. When David was three years old his mother died and his father emigrated from Germany to America and left David in the care of his Grandmother that he might benefit from a good German education." (1) "Sigmund Redelsheimer was by trade a shoemaker, and from his nineteenth to twenty-second year served in the volunteer service of his country in Hamburg, Germany. After his return home he was conscripted in the army at Wurttemberg and for six years thereafter was on active duty. In 1839 after his wife died he emigrated to America." (2) In those days it was no easy overnight trip on an airplane. He had to take overland transportation to Havre, France to embark on a sailing ship to New York City. From there he took a steamship up the Hudson River to Albany, New York where he transferred to a barge on the Erie Canal. The canal, which was an engineering feat at that time, followed the Mohawk River and went through the escarpment of the Niagara, a distance of 363 miles and a rise of 600 feet requiring 36 locks. Barges were pulled by oxen and horses on a towpath running along the edge of the canal. The termination was Buffalo, New York on Lake Erie where he again transferred to a boat to take him across the lake to Fort Detroit, Michigan. At Detroit he probably boarded an ox cart to take him to the mouth of the Maumee River (now the location of Toledo) where he sailed or steamed up the river 136 miles to Fort Wayne, Indiana arriving in 1839. It was a long and arduous journey. Why was his destination Fort Wayne? They were building the Wabash Canal to connect the Great lakes with the Mississippi and the port of New Orleans. The builder, Mr. Rudisill, was not satisfied with his workers. The work was hard physical labor and his workers tended to drink too much and not show up for work the next day. He wrote to Germany to advertise for workmen for the project, "I wish you by all means to send me the Germans. I would prefer the Wurt- tembergers as they are the most industrious and temperate." (3) This was probably how Sigmund and other friends knew about Fort Wayne and why it was his final destination. Probably Sigmund had no intention of working on the Wabash Canal, he quickly became associated with Abraham Oppenheimer in the mercantile business, (an occupation not readily available to him in Germany because of his Jewish roots). Sigmund became one of the pioneer merchants in the city. His successful career as a merchant extended from 1839 to1876 when he retired. In his working years he owned other stores including a wholesale liquor and grocery business. Some years after his arrival in America he married a second time to Lena Salinger, a native of Posen, Germany in Lafayette, Indiana. They had seven children, Celia (Ben Rothschild of Fort Wayne), Flora (Ben Levy of Moberly, MO), Theresa (Leopold Levi of Hunt- ington, IN), Sallie (Ben Lehman), Edith (Seinsheimer of Cincinnati, OH), Julius R (Seattle, WA), the owner of the Emporium Depart- ment Store in Seattle, Charles R. (Detroit, MI). Sigmund was a founding member of the first Jewish congregation in Indiana, Achduth Veshalom in Fort Wayne and served as its first Vice President, later becoming the third President of the Tem- ple. When he retired he lived with one of his daughters until he died on April 19, 1895. Both Sigmund and Lena are buried in the Lin- denwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne. David Redelsheimer at the age of fourteen completed his education in Germany and set out for America with his Aunt Helena Redelsheimer. Again they took overland transportation to Havre, France, a ship that sailed on July 6, 1850 to New York Harbor, but by this time there were trains to Fort Wayne which shortened the trip considerably. The trains were not comfortable like today. The trains were hot and dirty as the steam engine spewed cinders into the open windows of the cars. David arrived in Fort Wayne on or about August 4, 1850, "was reunited with his father and step-mother and attended a Seminary where Professor A.C. was principal for two years to learn English. Afterward he was apprenticed to C. W. Wood printing office and became familiar with every detail of the work." (4) "He was not engaged in that work for long as he enlisted in the First Heavy Artillery of the U.S.A. and served active duty under Cap- tain Brennen, and later Major General Brennen. He spent three years fighting the Seminole Indians in the South. After receiving an hon- orable discharge he returned to Fort Wayne, and in the year 1860 established himself in the general merchandise business in Van Wert, Ohio just over the border from Indiana. On January 5, 1861 he issued a hand bill which read, "Down with Sectionalism, Civil War is declared! Southern Forts taken by the Secessionists. "From and after this date I will sell any and all of my stock of goods at Cincinnati wholesale prices as I wish to sell out and prepare to volunteer at the First Call to regain and protect government property taken by the Southern Secessionists. I have now on hand a well-selected stock of Toys, Groceries, Glassware and Notions etc. Store one door south of the post office. D.S. Redelsheimer Watchman print." When the call of President Lincoln was made the remainder of goods not sold were auctioned off and David responded to the call and enlisted as a private on April 18, 1861 in Company E of the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment assembled at Columbus, Ohio, formed a three-month regiment and was sent to Western Virginia. The regiment participated in the battles of Philippi, Waverly, and Garrick's Ford. At the termination of the three months the regiment returned to Columbus. David Redelsheimer endeavored to re-enlist but was rejected on account of disability and was discharged on August 28, 1861." (5) "On his return from the army David joined his father in the wholesale liquor and grocery business at No. 15 East Columbia Street in Fort Wayne where he continued until 1872. That year he severed connection with his father's establishment. He went into a fancy millinery and goods business with Joseph Black who had a large wholesale business in both Fort Wayne and Cleveland." (6) On December 22 1862 David married Charlotte Strass in Fort Wayne. The marriage was performed by Rabbi Edward Rubin, one of the first Reform Jewish Rabbis. Charlotte was born on January 25, 1840 in Stettin, Bohemia Germany. Her father Solomon Strass was a Rabbi and in the old country she was expected to marry a Rabbi. She had no intention of marrying a Rabbi and came all the way to Fort Wayne by herself to be with family living in the America. Her mother and father eventually also immigrated to Fort Wayne in1872. Her father served as the Rabbi in Ligonier, Indiana for many years. He and his wife died in Fort Wayne (he in 1894 and she in1895) both and are buried in the Lindenwood Cemetary. David and Charlotte had four children Clara, Frances, George, Rebecca. They all died within a month of scarlet fever. The family story is that she came home from burying Clara to learn that both Frances and George also died. They subsequently had three more children who lived to adulthood, Rose, Malie, and Adolph. In 1878 David had planned to join Joseph Black in Cleveland and Charlotte had her wardrobe ready for the life there, but David changed his mind and instead bought a stave factory (stave mills pro- duce the narrow strips of wood for the sides of barrels) in Mon- roeville, Indiana. He mistakenly thought that Monroeville would be an up and coming community in the future and moved his family there. Charlotte was disappointed but said she had many wonderful friends in Monroeville and enjoyed her life in the small town. They were the only Jewish family in the town. At the same time David was also one of the firm D.S. Redelsheimer, manufacturing jeans, worsted pants, overalls, jackets, and sack coats in Fort Wayne. On July 5, 1878 he purchased a drug store in Monroeville, and in 1886 he bought a flour mill (gristmill) all of which he operated for some time. In 1888 the mill burned and for lack of timber the stave factory was closed. He enlarged the drug store and subsequently added other lines of merchandise until he carried a full stock of merchandise, "perhaps the most complete assortment of any merchant in the county (Allen County). In 1881 he erected a large brick building (22 feet by 32 feet) that had three stories and a basement connected to the old building (22 feet by 71 feet) all filled with goods. In addition he had a two story warehouse 20x90 feet where wool, salt, glassware, seeds etc are stored. He also had a general store in Balwin Indiana, a town located on the Fort Wayne, Findley, and Western railroad. He was a very successful merchant doing an annual business of $50,000." (7) David was well read and had an extensive library including the complete works of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, the Waverly novels, and many other authors of the time. David became a naturalized citizen of the United States on October 11, 1880. He went to many of the Grand Army of the Republic encampments, he is listed as an official at the Indiana 22 nd encampment in Indianapolis and as an official representative from Monroeville Indiana at the 35th National Encampment in 1900. "He received the degrees in a number of secret organizations and was honored by official preferment in same. He was a member of Blue Lodge, chapter and council, F&AM; IOOF Lodge no. 14 all of Fort Wayne; William K Link Post no.301, GAR Monroeville of which he was Senior Post Commander I. N. Walker. He was one of the pro- gressive citizens of the county. In politics he had always taken an active part affiliating with the Republican Party and giving his support to the advancement of all movements which in his opinion were intended to promote the general welfare." (8) He gave the land for the new school and served as a member of the school board in Mon- roeville serving as president for one year and as treasurer for many others. He filled his offices honorably. Both his daughters, Rose and Malie taught in the school. Rose later would recount remembrances of her star pupil, the famous author Lloyd Douglas. Lloyd Douglas in his later years wrote a book about Monroeville "A Time to Remem- ber." There are two stories about David Redelsheimer in the book. The family lore is: David was a bit of a "rounder" (he liked the ladies). When well intentioned friends would report his philandering to Charlotte, she would reply, "Every woman knows her own husband." They were married for forty five years until David's death. When he retired both he and Charlotte went to Cleveland to live with their daughter Rose and her husband Emanuel Strass. David received a pension from the U.S. government for his service in the Civil War. Probably he was eligible because of his disability. When he died Charlotte applied for the widows pension, which she did receive. David died on February 4, 1907 and Charlotte in 1931. Both died in Cleveland and are buried in the Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne. Rose married Emanuel Strass on June 29 1892 and had two children, Clarissa Rena and Albert. Malie married Edward O. Reiss in Fort Wayne on September 12, 1898 in Fort Wayne. They lived in Memphis Tennessee where Edward worked in a cigar store in the Peabody Hotel for a Samuel- son cousin. They had two children, Jay Dee and Frances. Sadly, Malie died in 1903 as a result of giving birth to Frances in Mon- roeville. She is buried in the Lindenwood Cemetery. There is yet a Sigmund Marvin Redelsheimer living in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Adolph Redelsheimer (1876 -190?) had a falling out with his father and moved to the South. He married Ida Chap- man (1886- 1961) they had two children. William Mayo (1906- 1964) married Dorothy Burke and Sigmund Miles (1904-1930) married Eleanor Turner (1905- 1978) Sigmund Miles died tragically in an automobile accident shortly after his son Sigmund Marvin was born.

Bibliography

Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana 1896 Valley of the Upper Maumee River by R.E. Robertson Volume I Frontier Faith: The Story of Pioneer Congregations of Fort Wayne Indiana 1820-1860 by George Mather Allen County History Achduth Vesholom 150 year History Allen County Historical Society of Indiana Fort Wayne During the Canal Era

Archival Material from the U.S. Government Military Archive

Chapter Endnotes 1 Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana 2 ibid 3 Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 4 Memorial Records of Northeastern Indiana 1896 5 ibid 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 ibid THANKSGIVING 1984 BY: FRANCES REISS ADLER GRANDDAUGHTER OF DAVID S. REDELSHEIMER

have been waiting to write about the family's sojourn in Indiana I for a long time but kept procrastinating until now when we are all together at Carolyn's in Indiana. Let us go back to the family beginnings in Stetten, Germany in the early 1840's when a baby girl was named, Charlotte born to Rabbi and Mrs. Strass. This little girl must have been born with an indomitable spirit because when she was in her teens she broke with tradition and came to New York by herself. Many, many years later she explained to me her reason for coming. It had been ordained by custom that the daughter of a Rabbi must marry a Rabbi, and as she told me "She wasn't going to marry a schnorer." Let me explain: a Rabbi is a scholar, a student of the Torah and The Talmud (the book of laws), a teacher of boys in reading, writing, and Talmud until they reach the age of thirteen at which time they have a Bar Mitzvah and are recognized as a man. If a Rabbi did all this, how could he have time to work and provide for his family? Therefore a Rabbi and his family depended on the generous donations from his congregation and the alms a schnorer might collect. Early Jewish schnorers were not considered beggars, but were regarded as performing a social function. Charlotte, our first liberated woman, would have no part of this and had the courage to break all tradition and come to America. She went directly to New York where she set up housekeeping with her brother who had preceded her. After a short stay in New York, they decided to go further inland to Fort Wayne, Indiana where they had some family. Believe it or not, they traveled the whole distance from New York to southern Indiana by water, and from there took the one railroad (which bisected the state) to Fort Wayne. In the meantime David Redelsheimer born in Wurttemberg, Germany in 1836 found his way to Van Wert, Ohio where he put up a general store. (Van Wert is close to Fort Wayne on the Ohio/Indi- ana border.) By the age of twenty-two, David Redelsheimer, my grandfather, had built a successful business, but the Civil War had broken and he decided to sell his business and join the Union Army to fight in the war. Life is stranger than fiction as just last year, 1983, our cousin Paul went to a swap meet in Ohio where a peddler was selling old fly- ers and "for a buck and a quarter," as Paul said, he bought a copy of the original flyer advertising the sale of Grandpa's store in Van Wert. By this time David and Charlotte were keeping company, but off to war went Grandpa Redelsheimer. However the blithe spirit, Char- lotte, wasn't going to sit home and wait for him. She went buggy riding every Sunday afternoon with one or another beau. Time passed and on December 20 1862 David and Charlotte were married in Fort Wayne where they lived for several years. But there was sorrow there too. With few doctors and none of modern medicine's techniques, they lost five small children in two weeks during a scarlet fever epidemic. Soon afterwards they had three more children, Rosa, Malie (my mother), and Adolph, who lived to adulthood. David and Charlotte saved some money and decided Grandpa would invest in a large clothing manufacturing business in Cleveland, Ohio. Grandma was delighted and hired a seamstress to come to the house and make all new clothes for the children and her to be able to travel in style to the big city. Catastrophe, catastrophe, before they had time to leave, Grandpa changed his mind and without a word purchased land in a town nearby, Monroeville, Indiana. He had been convinced it was a boomtown with water and the railroad and it would soon be the metropolis of Indiana. How Grandma ever over- came this tragedy, she never told me, but to Monroeville they went. Grandma lived to be 93 but she never tired of telling me of the wonderful times they had in Monroeville, the lovely people, and the good friends. In a short time Grandpa prospered, he seemed to have the knack. Grandpa thought a proper school was called for and gave a par- cel of land and built a small schoolhouse. This schoolhouse still stands with the inscription over the door "Redelsheimer School," but it is no longer used as a school. Eventually, the older girls, Rose and Malie, finished whatever education was available in Fort Wayne and came home to Monroeville ready to teach. Aunt Rose who lived to be 90 (I guess we are a long lived family), never tired telling about her prized fourth grade pupil, the author Lloyd Douglas, whose father was the pastor of the Lutheran Church. In the last year of Douglas' life he was so ill and despondent that he vowed never to write another word, but his doctor persuaded him to write a little something every day as therapy. He wrote a little book titled "Time To Remember" of all his early recollections. I would like to quote a couple of paragraphs:

Monroeville, in1883 had a population of about six hundred. Our parsonage, across the street from the white frame church was five blocks from the business center, which was one block long. These business buildings were mostly two stories high. The most imposing was a three, story brick structure which housed Redelsheimers General Store. The Redelsheimers were the only Jewish family in town. Mr. Redelsheimer was a short, chunky man, probably in his sixties. He always wore a black skullcap and shuf- fled about with quick short steps in floppy slippers, waiting on his customers with a courtesy and dignity unmatched by any of the other merchants. I have tarried here a bit, for Mr. Redelsheimer made quite an impression on me. I had never seen a Jew before, but had heard a great deal about them. They belonged in the Old Testament. Moses had led them out of Egyptian bondage. Joshua had marched them around Jericho until the city fell down. David had killed a giant with a slingshot, a story I never tired of, though the picture in Chatterbox showing young David triumphantly holding up Goliath's bloody decapitated head by the ears was so fascinating grue- some that Mama pasted the preceding page over it, much to my disappointment. In Mr. Redelsheimer I found a real Jew who resembled these men of old, with his somber face and kinky reddish- brown beard. When I entered his store with Papa or Mama he gave me a polite little nod and wisp of a smile, almost as if I was a grownup. He was very gracious toward our family and never charged us full price for our purchases. I think that this should be enough about Mr. Redelsheimer, at least for the present, if we are ever to finish this story, seeing as I am only six now and still have a lot of ground to cover. The Redelsheimers had a beautiful home in the block east of the store. It was shaded with tall Maples. In the rear of the house was a large vineyard that must have been very carefully tended, for it was in October with the largest and most luscious Concord grapes I have ever seen. There were three children. The two older girls were away at school. We had glimpses of them in the summer. The boy, a little older than I, went to our public school. Sometimes he asked me to come over and play with him. I was invited to ride his tricycle: I pined and prayed for one of my own, but that was far too much to hope for. When the grapes were ripe, Adolph asked me to come and have all I wanted. They were delicious! I was given a heavy basket to carry home. I can't recall that anybody in town was prejudiced against the Redelsheimers. Certainly the kids in school never pestered Adolph about his race.

The beautiful home, about which he writes, still stands, well cared for and newly painted. Only I wish they hadn't removed the porch that ran all the way around. This very house is where, at the turn of the century, I was born and where my mother died as a result of childbirth. But on to a happier note, again quoting Lloyd Douglas: It is nearing Christmas, and there are to be "exercises" in our Monroeville church in celebration of the enchanted night when Shepards and Kings indifferent to such trivial matters as social caste and protocol, knelt together in a sta- ble. Mama had consented to plan the program for our Christmas entertainment. There were plenty of poor folks in Monroeville, and Mama spread the word that something would be done for the ragged children in our town, something more substantial than candy and popcorn. She can- vassed the merchants for donations. She even had the nerve to approach Mr. Redelsheimer. He reminded her with his usual courtesy that he was a Jew. "Christmas is not a feast day for my people," he said. "But you do believe that Jesus was a kind man, who went about doing good; don't you, Mr. Redelsheimer?" "Yes," agreed Mr. Redelsheimer, "Jesus was a kind man, but he was not a God. There is only one God." "Well," said Mama, "The birthday of a good man is worth a celebration, don't you think?" Mr. Redelsheimer grinned and asked her what she wanted him to do. She told him what the church was trying to do for poorly clad children, and he said he would think it over. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, while a score of church people were beautifying the tall pine tree with gay baubles, Mr. Redelsheimer came in person, with twenty- five new suits for boys' clothes and as many woolen dresses for assorted size girls, together with warm underwear, socks, stockings, and shoes. The Christmas Eve entertainment was an immense success. Papa made a short talk, and so did Mama, who put in a good plug for the Jews in general and Redelsheimers General Store in particular. When Indiana celebrated it sesquicentennial, Monroeville con- tributed its own history. A long and wordy chronicle mentions Grandpa Redelsheimer several times and even includes a complete newspaper account when in1905 the Model Store (the Redelsheimer building) was leveled by fire. About two years ago Carolyn wrote to the National Archives and Record Service in Washington D.C. for Grandpa Redelsheimer's war record and received a complete document; including his name date of enrollment, regiment, date mustard out, account request for soldiers pension of $12, and the later stop payment because of death, as well as a copy of the Death Certificate. Carolyn also asked for a copy of Grandma's application for a widow's pension. This document is eleven pages of affidavits to prove her identity and even a facsimile of the original marriage license. By this time the pension was $19, and I remember Grandma waiting every month for the mailman. Also, how she wrote every May to the cemetery in Fort Wayne to be sure they put a U.S. Flag on Grandpa's grave on Memorial Day. Here we are eleven of us on Thanksgiving Day 1984, 144 years later at Carolyn's house in beautiful Columbus, Indiana just a few miles from Monroeville. My purpose in putting all this together is not to glorify Grandpa Redelsheimer, but to prove to you that your Indiana, American, and religious heritage is all factual and not the fantasy of your old and sometimes senile Grandmother. Charlotte Redelsheimer

House in Mooresville Rosa and Adolph

Malie David Redelsheimer Congregation B'nai Judah Whiting, Indiana By: Lou Kaplan

ongregation B'nai Judah of Whiting, Indiana was founded in C1903. Whiting is located just east of Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan. It is an industrial town that grew up around the huge oil refinery built by Standard Oil Company on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan in 1889. More refineries and steel mills were built in the neighboring areas until the Calumet region from the Chicago line to Gary became the largest concentration of heavy industry in the world. The industrial jobs and all the other work that flowed from them in the trades, professions and commerce attracted immi- grants from all over the world including Jews from the shtetls of Rus- sia, Poland, Lithuania, and the rest of Eastern Europe, as well as, other parts of the United States. This is how Congregation B'nai Judah came to be founded on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in the early years of the 20th century. B'nai Judah was an old world congregation of working people from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and all the provinces of what used to be referred to at the times as, "The old Country." It was almost pure Ashkenazi, nourished on gefilte fish, herring, chopped liver, schmaltz and chicken soup. Yiddish was the spoken language with all the accents of "the old world" from the Baltic to the Black Sea. When the congregation was founded in 1903, it did not have a building. Services were held in the homes of the founding members, some of whom were Harry Gordon, Nathan Migatz, Solomon Recht, Charles & Oser Pitzele, Peter Seifer, Abe Weisberg and Peter Brand- man. More Jewish families began to move into the area and the need for a building to house the growing congregation soon became apparent. In 1909, a simple one-story frame building with a basement was constructed on White Oak Avenue. It was sandwiched between two houses and directly across the street from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Some of the early Rabbis' were: Gold- berg, Silvian, Plotzky, Kaplan, Miller, Israel Brown, David Korb, Epstein, Greenberg and Schwartz. These were the men who were the spiritual leaders and teachers during the early days of the congregation. Community activities were led during these years by the synagogue presidents: Harry Gordon, Peter Seifer, Abe Winsberg, Peter Brandman, Gershon Gurevitz and Abe Oberlander. Other organizations were formed, growing out of the needs of the congregants for the synagogue. A Sisterhood was established for shul fundraising and a Hadassah chapter were formed by the female members as well. The Jewish Mens Club was organized for both philanthropic and social purposes. Charity drives have always been an important function of B'nai Judah. For many years David Kissen and Charles Perel were chair- men of the united Jewish Appeal fundraising committee. Due to the community's desire for charitable work and David & Charles deter- mination the congregation led several successful charity drives. During the 1930's, 40's, 50's the congregation grew and prospered. At its peak it had a membership of approximately 80 families, not large by big city standards but very viable for a town the size of Whiting. In 1922, B'nai Judah acquired its own cemetery at Waldheim in Forest Park, Illinois where many of the founding members of the congregation are buried. Although in recent years there have been few burials at this site, the cemetery is maintained to this day and sup- ported by a fund earmarked for that purpose. By the late 1940's it became apparent that the old building on White Oak Avenue was no longer adequate for an active, growing congregation. An exploratory meeting was held to study the feasibil- ity of building a new, more modern building. Much interest was shown in the form of donations specified for the construction of a new building. Committees were formed and led by the officers of the shul. The officers consisted of: Dr. Harry Barton, Leo Brown, George Gross, Dr. Morris Picklin, Max Sherman, Ben Weiner, David Weiss and Mayo Winsberg. David Kissen and Sidney Levin were appointed co-treasurers. Building plans were drawn up by architect David Kaplan. The building contractor was Nathan Kaplan, David's father, and the plumbing contractor was Harry Kaplan and his sons Seymour and Louis who were the uncle and cousins of David. The committee worked diligently, accepting donations from members of the congregation and friends, as well as, former members who no longer lived in Whiting. Additional money was raised through the sale of the old synagogue and of several lots which had previously been considered as a site for the new synagogue. A new site was acquired on the corner of Davis Avenue and 116th street. A ground breaking ceremony was held on May 22, 1950. The corner stone was laid on June 25, 1950, and by the fall of that year the roughly finished building housed its first High Holiday services. The congregation flourished for the next ten years but by the end of the decade began to experience a decline in membership due to the younger families moving out of Whiting to the southern suburbs where new, more modern housing was available. During this time the religious school and Sunday school were active but it was decided that a full time rabbi was no longer needed. The last full time Rabbi was Rabbi Silverburg who left in 1962. Services were held every Saturday morning, led by Abe Oberlander and Harry Kaplan. A rabbi from out of town was brought in to officiate at the High Holiday services. Rabbi Isadore Strauss and then Rabbi Louis Levy became the part time rabbis for the congregation. In the early 1970's, leaders Abe Oberlander and Harry Kaplan passed away. Leadership of the congregation was assumed by Daniel Gardner and Marvin Finkelstein, with Jeanet Ripinski serving as secretary-treasurer. Throughout this time the shul still had an active Sisterhood with Sarah Gardner, David's wife, serving as president. Many successful rummage sales and social events were held which raised enough money to keep the shul solvent. Money was never a problem. Saturday morning services continued to be led by David Gard- ner and Marvin Finklestein and later on by Louis Kaplan. Services for many years started at 7:30 am to accommodate the merchants who opened their stores at 9 am. In time many of these merchants retired or moved away and it was decided to start services at 10 am. This proved to be a wise move because attendance suddenly increased. After the retirements of Rabbi Strauss and Levy, Rabbi Joseph Weisenburg of Minneapolis was brought in to conduct High Holiday services which he did for a number of years. He was forced to retire due to ill health at which time Rabbi Michael Shoring of Chicago took over as part-time rabbi. In 1990, Marvin Finklestein retired and moved to Arizona. Daniel Gardner began spending winters in Florida. A congregational meeting was held and Louis Kaplan was elected to serve as a co-president with Daniel. Daniel Gardner became the summer president and Louis Kaplan became the winter president. Janet Ripinski continued to serve as secretary-treasurer. Saturday morning services were still being held with a steady core of 14 or 15 people attending. By this time most of the people attending were living in the towns south of Whiting: Munster, Hammond, Highland, and East Chicago. Starting time was 10 am. The service was shortened to one hour after which Kiddush was held with coffee, pastries and other sweets being served. A lively discussion was held and a good time was enjoyed by all. By the year 2002, it became evident that the shul was running out of people. A meeting was held and it was decided by the remaining members to dissolve the congregation and sell the building. The building was sold to a Pentecostal church. Congregation B'nai Judah had been an active congregation for exactly 100 years. Today all that remains of Congregation B'nai Judah is its cemetery at Waldheim which is administered by its last president, Louis Kaplan, and a fund dedicated to the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery. The Torahs of Congregation B'nai Judah

Congregation B'nai Judah owned four Torahs, all of which were acquired by the early 1920's. They had their origin in Poland and Russia. It is not known exactly how they were acquired, except for one. Traditionally when a congregation is disbanded its Torahs are passed on to other congregations which may be in need of a Torah. Two of the Torahs were given to a congregation in Minneapolis* where Gary Gardner, son of long time B'nai Judah leader Daniel Garner, was a member. Gary transported the Torahs to Minneapo- lis. After his congregation received them, an expert was brought in from New York to examine and appraise them. It was determined that they indeed were of European origin and each one was valued at the time at over $35,000. One of the four Torahs was known to have been donated to the shul by Isidore Weiner, father of long time congregation leader Ben Weiner and great grandfather of Gary Kaplan, who is not only the grandson of Ben Weiner and grandson of past President Harry Kaplan and nephew of President Louis Kaplan. Gary is a member of a congregation in Dedham, Massachusetts that was in need of a Torah. It was decided to give the third Torah to Gary's congregation and it would be fitting to give the one donated by Isidore Weiner. The only problem was two of the four Torahs were already gone and it was not known which of the Torahs was the Weiner donated Torah. Since no one really knew, the Torah that was chosen to be given to the Dedham congregation was designated the "Weiner Torah." The next problem was how to get it to Dedham. Gary suggested crating it and shipping it. That did not prove feasible because after some inquiries it was found that the Torah was considered a valuable object of art and would have to be appraised, crated in a special way and insured. The cost would be prohibitive. It was decided that Gary should fly to Chicago, purchase a ticket for the Torah and return to Boston with the Torah placed on the seat next to him. The plane fares for the Torah and Gary would be cheaper than having the Torah shipped. This is what was done. The Torah and its cover were carefully wrapped in an old white kittle (robe) that was worn by the rabbi during High Holiday services; then wrapped in a tablecloth that had been used at B'nai Judah for Banquets and finally wrapped in yards and yards of bubble wrap. The wrapped up Torah Torah was placed in a golf club shipping bag that had been donated by Seymour Kaplan, uncle of Gary and brother of Louis, and strapped onto a wheeled luggage cart. When Gary purchased the tickets for himself and the Torah ("Scriptures, Holy") he explained to united Airlines what he was doing. United Airlines treated him and the Torah as VIP's and allowed them to board the flight early and take their seats. Gary and the Torah arrived safely at Boston's Logan Airport where they were met by a delegation from the Dedham congregation and driven to their final destination. Upon arrival at the synagogue in Dedham*, the Torah was carefully unwrapped and examined by the rabbi. He noticed an inscription in Hebrew on one of the handles. It read, "Donated to Congregation B'nai Judah by Isidore Weiner, 1922." The Torah given to the temple in Dedham was indeed the "Weiner Torah." The fourth Torah was given to the Jewish Federation of North- west Indiana where it is prominently displayed in the lobby of the federation community building.

Books and Stars

B'nai Judah also had an extensive book collection which had been acquired over the years. Marlene Kaplan, wife of congregation president Louis Kaplan, was given the task of disposing appropriately of the many books. Some of the books were of historic value, having been published in the middle 1800's. Books were given to Indiana University Library in Bloomington, Indiana. Some were also given to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Notre Dame offers a course in Jewish Studies and was happy to receive them. A complete set of the Jewish Encyclopedia was given to the Munster, Indiana Public Library and many were given to the Spertus College of Jewish Studies in Chicago. The books printed in Yiddish were sent to the National Yiddish book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. The remainder were donated to the Brandeis University Book Fair which was held every year in Skokie, Illinois. The old prayer books and other books that were no longer of any use were buried according to Jewish law in the cemetery of Congregation Beth Israel in Hammond, Indiana. The only things remaining of congregation B'nai Judah were a small bright stained glass window with a Star of David on it and two large metallic Stars of David on the outside of the building. The congregation was prepared to remove them but the new owners of the building requested that they be left. Three Stars of David are prominently displayed on the exterior of the Pentecostal Church of God, 1545 David Avenue, Whiting, Indiana.

Chapter Endnotes

*Shir Tikvah, Minneapolis, Minnesota **Congregation Beth David, Dedham, Massachusetts The Orthodox synagogue B'nai Judah in Whiting Courtesy Lou Kaplan

The Mission of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society is to collect, preserve, publish and share the history of the Jewish experience in Indiana

$12.50 U.S. ISBN 97A-l-4575-4194-0

DOG nEAR Publishing

9 f O I tJ I Jt I7tU

Perfect Bound Cover Template

Document Size: SIM"