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cl)rcclc,o JecL)rsl) brstoretcol socleXy socwxa ne(L)s VOLI'ME XI NWBER I SEPTEMBER1987 SEPTEI4BER20 MEETINGFEATURES TALK ON STRAW HAT SHUL Dr. VishnyTo DiscussAnshe Sholom TOURS At B'nai ZionCongregation IN SOCIETY'STENTH SEASON PROVEPOPULAR AND SUCCESSFUL The colorful story of one of Chica- go '" oldest East-European congregations Localand 0ut-of-Town TriDs will be the subject of the September Are Informative,Enjoyable 20 neeting of the Jewish Histori- ca1 Society. Dr. Michele Vishny has tit- The end of the sumner saw the close led her speech Sholom, Chieago: A "Anshe of another successful season of sunner bus Congregation Founded on a Straw Ilat.rl tours sponsored by the Society. According to longEioe tour chairman Leah Joy Axel- The meeting, which will be held at rod, the last tour, that of the old Jewish Congregation Brnai Zion, 6759 North Green- West Side held on August 9, was a sellout view Avenue, will begin with a social hour as usual. The other tours hrere siurilarly tour and of the B'nai Zion building at weI1- at t ended. 1:00 p.m. The prograu beginning at 2:00 They included two entirely new tours, p.ur. will also include a short presenta- one to small Jewish conununities in the tion by Edward Bernstein, 16, whose exhib- southwest and far south sides of the city it on his grandfather Sam Lesner won a and one to Ligonier, Indiana, site of an grand prize at this yearrs Chicago Metro important rural Jewish cournunity in the History Fair. last century. An account of one new tour Free Bus Service Available appears elsewhere in this issue; the other will be discussed in the next issue. rrour Free bus service, available at the thanks are due to Charles Bern- Marriott Hotel at Rush and ohio Streets, stein, Dr. Irving Cutler and Mark Mandle, r.'i11 take members to and from the meeting. who served as tour leaders this year," Departure will be at l2:30 p.m.; return said Mrs. Axelrod. Presiden! Nornan will be at 4:30 p,m. and no stops will be Schwartz coumented that there would have made along the route. been no tours at all without the careful The subject of the prograx0 is today planning and arrangements nade by Mrs. known as Anshe Sholom Brnai Israel Congre- Axelrod. gation and is located at 540 West Melrose. Suggestions for 1988 tours will be Dr. Vishny will trace its development from welcomed by Mrs. Axelrod, who can be its unusual beginnings on the Near reached at 432-7OO3. West Side of Chicago over a century ago. B'nai Zion Plays Interesting Role which is playing an unusual role in its conrmunity, " said President Nornan Schwartz "This neeting will provide mernbers who advised people to come early enough to and guests with an opportunity to learn tour the B'nai Zion buildiag. not only about Anshe Sholom but also about Speakers will- be introduced by pro- our host congregation, Brnai Zion, [continuedon nexr page] L

SOCIETYBUS TRIP VISITS VANISHED JE}IISHCOMMUNITY IN LIGONIER All-DayTour Views Remains 0f UnusualRural Settlement by Mark Mandle

For lhe second in this year's series of summer tours the Society nade a pil- grimage outside Chicago to rural Indiana to visit the remnants of a once thriving Jewish comnunity. I was unfamiliar with Ligonier, Indiana, and curious about what the tour would be 1ike. I should have realized thaE if Chuck Bernstein, noted genealogist, and Joseph Levine, ex- ecutive secretary of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, were in charge' it had to be good. Our packed but very comfortable Lour 120-year-o1d ex-synagoguevisited on Ligonier Tour bus quickly traveled the 140 miles from --Photo by Les Axel"rod Chicago to Ligonier. 0n the way we went Isaac and Jacob. through Amish country and saw several by Jews named Abraharn, of the Amish families and wagons. We also saw the Jewish Part Ligonier Cemetery with t\to imposing maus- Two Families Began Jewish Settlement oleums and scores of well-kept graves. Ligonier is a snral l but PreEty town The Jews Di s appear whose population has never exceeded 2,500. As the Jews prospered, their children We first stopped in the Jewish Room of the coLlege and did not return. Ligonier Public Library, ful1 of relics of went away to Members of the straus farnily rnoved to the townrs Jewish cornmunity' Mr. Levine prominenE as briefly told us the Ligonier Jer,rish saga. Chicago where lhey became Today only It is a fascinating story of the Straus and bankers and financiers. in Lig- Mier families who transformed an Indiana che relics rernain. The Iast Jew years town into the second wealthiest smalI town onier died several ago. bY in America in the 1890's. The families The lour was ski11fu1lY Planned a fascinat- established banks, bought farmland and Leah Joy Axelrod. It offered sma11- manufactured buggies. ing glirnpse of a once-flourishing Jewish communitY. The first Straus, Frederick Wi11ian, town (known as F.h1. Straus) came to Ligonier in 1854 because the railroad \tas coming SeptemberMeetins (cont'd) through Ligonier. The Ligonier Jewish Icontinued from Pageone 1 conmrunity numbered about 55 families at gram Chairman Burt Robin. Refreshments its height. Ligonier Jews started a syn- will be supervised by Hospitality Chairman agogue in 1865 which lasted until the Shirley Sorkin. 1940's. Like many German-Jer,rish conmuni- Dr. Vishny Specially Qualified To Speak ties in the U.S., the synagogue was found- ed as Orthodox and became Reform in a gen- Dr. vishny is a specialist in art his- eration. tory and has published widely in that field. She has served as a professor, Town Full of Jewish Relics prirnarily at Northwestern University, but The tour visited the charming former also at other area c olleges and universi- synagogue, whieh is today a church. We ties during the past twenty Years. saw the section of town cal1ed "Jew Town" It is par!icularly aPProPriate that because many Jews lived there. she speak about Anshe Sholom because of her One inEersection with four gracious familyts record of involvement and promin- corner houses was called Piety Corner be- ence in local Orthodox Jewish insritu!ions cause three houses were formerly occupied and affairs. FIRSTZIONIST LIADER IN CITYVJAS IIETHODIST I'lINISTER INITIATEDI89O CONFERENCE, SOUGHT A JEWISHSTATE IN In 1890, before political becarne a gleam in the eye even of I'heodore ELerzL, a by Walter Roth local Christian minister made a concerted effort to have PalestiDe re-created as a Nearly every person dwelt upon by H. Jewish state. Through conferences, peti- L. Meites in his monumental work, HisLory tions and other tireless efforts he sought of the Jews in Ch icago, was a Jew. Christian.and Jewish support for his Zion- Yet he included a story on the Reverend isE ideas. In this article, Valter Roth, William E. Blackstone, a Methodist minister attorney and CJES board member, looka into who lived in Chicago in the late nineteenth the motivation, technique and results of and early twentieth centuries. This inclu- the efforts of Reverend llillian E. Black- sion aroused my interest, and after re- stone. search on the Reverend Blackstone, I learn- ed that he was indeed an unusual man who played an interesting role in local Jewish left the business arena to live a life de- history. voted to their religious missions. I learaed that he had written a booi< Pre-dated Theodore Herzl cal1ed Jesus Is Coming using the literary pseudonym "W.E.B.,' The book had sold uril_ Blackstone, however, added a factor to lions of copies since its first publication his activities whieh brought hin in close in Chicago in 1878. It is still on Lhe and welcomed contact with the Jews of Chi- evangelical best selIer 1ist, and copies cago and America. l{e became a Zionist be- are avaiLable at the Moody Bible Institute fore the rise of Jewish political Zionism Bookshop in Chicago and at other Protestant and before the call by Theodore llerzl for bookstores. It has been translated into the First Zionist Conference. His trip many languages, including both Hebrew and to Palestine in 1888 was ten years before Yiddish. In Hebrew the book is called, Ilerz 1 arrived there . rrHofaat I'a Ha Mashiash lla-Shnia,'r The Second Like Herzl, he saw Palestine as Appearance of the Messiah. Blackstone had land L'ithout a people and a people h'ithout many copies of the book stored in Petra, a land.rr He was impressed by the new Jew- Jordan, for use by Jews who he believed ish settlements there and saw them as proof r would go there at the "time of Jacob s that great events were at hand. Like the trouble,rr read the book, convert to Chris- Reverend Jerry Falwe11 today, he saw the tianity, and save themselves from destruc- return of the Jews to their land as t ion. a fulfillment of biblical propheeies and affirmation that the second cominq was at Played Seminal Role as Zionist hand , But Meites obviously did not include Chica€o Christians in Old Palestine Blackstone in his book on Chicago Jews be- cause of the Reverendrs conversion activi- While in Jerusalem, Blackstone visited I ties ; he did so because of Blackstone s an old friend, Anna Spafford, who was a role as an early Christian Zionist. Christian evangelist from Chicago. Anna In 1888, Blackstone, then a resident Spafford and her husband Horatio had suf- of Oak Park, visited Palestine lrith his fered a great tragedy when four of their daughter Flora. He was forty-seven years of children drowned in a nid-Atlantic ship- age and a well-known Chicago Methodist wreck, with only Anna surviving. (Itoratio evangelist and missionary. Revival meet- had not made the trip because of a last- ings were at their height in America, and rninute business interruption.) As a result Blackstone. while no! a mass entertainer of this tragedy, Anna had a religious awak- like BiIly Sunday, achieved farne as ening" and soon Ehereafter, in I88I, the a lecturer and organizer, preparing his Spaffords and some Chicago friends moved to people for the rrsecond coming" of Christ. Jerusalem. Horatio died in 1887, and Anna He was closely identified with another Chi- and her friends devoted themselves to nurs- cagoan, Dwight Moody. Both Blackstone and irg, feeding and teaching the people of Moodv were successful businessmen who had lcontinued on next pageJ 4 Chicasollinister SoushtPalestine for Jews(cont,d)

[continued fxom Page three] The conference attracted nuch local Jerusalem. attention and was prominently reported in The group lived a conmunal life and the local press. The Zionist proposal became known as "The Anerican Colony." The stinulated discussion in both Jewish and Spaffords also purchased an o1d Arabian Gentile segments of the city. Echoing the palace in the 01d City, known today rabbis referred to above, lhe debates among as the American Colony Hotel. Over the Chicago Jews were to continue for more than years this hotel has prospered, and today EWOgenerac rons . direct descendants of the original Chicago fanily still own it. Formulates Petition to U.S. President Fnr hic narf Ri r.kstone hlent on from Organizes Conference on "Israel " this unusual conference to organize a The trip to Palestine undoubtedly in- drive for the preparation of a petition on spired Blackstone to be more active behalf of the Jews, to be presented to Ben- in Jewish affairs. In November of 1890 jamin Harrison, then President of the Unit- Blackstone organized a Chicago conference ed Stales. The petition, known as the MethodisE Episcopal held at the First Blackstone Menorial , was completed in Church at the corner of Clark and Washing- 189I and is set forth on a subsequent page. rrpast, ton Streets to discuss the present and future of Israel." Three leading Jew- It contains a clarion call for ish Reforn rabbis from Chicago were among the restoration of Palestine to the Jews. Ehe participants: Emil G. Hirsch of Sinai It called upon the President to lend his Congregation; Bernhard Felsenthal' the re- good offices to the calling of a Congress tired Rabbi of Zion Congregation; and Jo- of European powers which would give Pales- seph Stolz of Zton Congregation' The tine back to the Jews and thus make it Christian participants were Protestant min- possible for Russian Jews, \,Iith both Rus- isters, professors and theologians. A rnin- sia's and Turkey's consent to settle in ister struck the theme of the conference: Palestine. Its sirnilarity to Herzl's writ- ]-^^ t^.. :^ ,,^r ir that there could be no doubt "about the r'rtss d^ ycdrb -r^- ulrdL,rrJ' ,EL rL 'Ew restoration of 1srae1. " is unlikely that Herzl saw it before he Rabbi Hirsch, the great humanist and wrote "Der Judenstaat" in 1896. leader of the Reform movement responded, Anerican Leaders Sign Pet i t ion however, with his belief that, "We modern Jera's do not wish to be restored to Pales- Over 413 well-known Americans signed tine....We say the country wherein we live the petition before it \n'as presented to the is our Palestine, and the city wherein we president, who while expressing slnpathy dwell is our Jerusalem. we will not go for the plight of Russian Jews, never re- back...to form again a nationality of our ferred publicly to the Memorial . Among the own...." signatures were those of J. P. Morgan' Cy- rus FieId, John D. Rockefeller, the future Rabbis Disagree at Conference President WilIiarn McKinley, the speaker of Rabbi Felsenthal, on the other hand, the U.S. House of Representatives' the did not agree with Hirschrs view and openly chief jusEice of the U. S. Supreme Court, supported a return of Jews to their Chicago businessmen such as Potter Palmer, homeland. Yet the Jews Felsenthal was re- Philip Armour, Emmanuel Mandel and John ferring to for settlement in Palestine were Shedd, well-known newspaPer and book pub- not Anerican Jews, but Russian Jews who in lishers, and clergymen of all faiths in- 1890 were coming under increasing anti-Sem- cluding Ronan Catholic archbishops. itic attacks in the Russian Empire and were Jews Endorse His Efforts migrating to America in large numbers. All of the leaders at the conference according- A number of Chicago rabbis signed the ly united in their call upon the rulers of Memorial though objecting to the statement the world to help Russian Jews. However, that Jews lrere not to be farmers because by I'sojourners." the Jewish leaders did not respond well to nature they were to be The the ministerst accompanying call for their rabbis felt that Jews could also be farmers conversion, which was widely regarded as a if given the opportunity by society. Many Christian theological necessity. other rabbis and Jewish laymen also s rgnec . Blackstone is a difficult person for a The Memorial brought Blackstone to the Jew to evaluate. lle was a staunch friend attention of U.S. Jewish Zionist leaders, of Zion at a time when many Jewish leaders and he met \a'ith them often in later openly denounced Zionism. His efforts un- years. Blackstone kept up his efforts. Ile doubtedly helped to prepare public opinion rltrote to President Grover Cleveland in 1894 in Anerica to be receptive to the idea of a reminding him of the Memorial presented to Jewish homeland. his predecessor . In 1903, the Chicago But the Jewish masses instinctively Methodist Preachers Meeting endorsed the recoiled at another part of Blackstone I s Blackstone Memorial, sent it to president mission: his articulated attempts to con- Theodore Roosevelt and called for an "In- vert Jews. Blackstone wanted to settle ternational Conference of the Powers" to Jews in Fal€stihe so that the srillennium meet to "consider the conditions of could come. But there would first have to the Jews and their right to a home in Pal- be the "tirne of Jacob 's trouble'r in estine. " which two-thirds of all Jews would die be- cause they would not accept the Messiah, His Efforts during llorld Lrar I and the remainder (estimated then at Blackstone's wife died in 1908 and he 144,000 ) would survive because they wenE to China to join his son in missionary would accept the true faith. (Blackstoners r{ork there. In l9l4 he returned to Chicago book Jesus Is Coming was stored in Petra and once again took up his Zionist work. for those Jews would would survive.) In The first World War had broken out, and the the meantime, and until the nillenniurn, Turkish Empire was in shambles. Blackstone conversions of the Jews would continue. like other saw the opportunity, and he be- The Anerican Zionist leaders who em- gan a drive for a new Memorial to be pre- braced Blackstone apparently took a short- sented to President lJilson concerning the run view and accepted the benefits of restoration of Jews to their homeland. Blackstonets work, 1ittle caring that in By then 75 years of age, he worked the long run Blackstonets theology offered closely ruith American Jewish Zionist lead- no legitimacy to the Jewish religion nor ers, particularly Nathan Straus. The l9l6 hope for suivival for its people. Petition like the I89 I Memorial asked the A Stimulus to Local Zionists United States to call for an international conference to deal with the question-of a Meites in his book took a similar Jewish homeland, It was adopted in l9l6 by viewpoint. I{e was willing to overlook the the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Reverend's conversion activities among the Church and presented to President Wilson. Jews of Chicago and to remember the Such ZionisE leaders as Rabbi Stephen Wise, good deeds of this Christian ZioBist. Jacob De Haas and Supreme Court Justice Meites concluded: "Whatever may have been rs Louis D. Brandeis welcomed Blackstoners Blackstone quixotic expectations as to rfulfillment efforts, consulted with him and often wrote the of prophecyr through his to h im. efforts, his Memorial had a direct effect Blackstone I s inpact upon President in the repeal by Russia of the expulsion Wilson is conjectural. tlhether it had an edicts that had driven hundreds of thou- influence on the sands of Russian Jewish refugees to which came a year later is unknown. Some America and elsewhere. And it also started historians, however, have written that the first Zionist efforts in Cbicago and in rs rl Blackstone efforts must have had some rhe United states. impact upon events of the time. Ilis Conversion Ideas Overlooked SocietyFounders 6et Married Blackstone moved to Los Angeles and The Society wants publicly to extend continued his efforts for Zion. He lrrote its best \dishes to treo founders of the or- letters to presidents, but as he grew older ganization upon their recent marriages. he faded into obscuriry. He died in 1935 Muriel Robin, our founding president' is at the age of 94. Blackstone the great now Mrs. Fred Rogers of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. jurist, British an alleged ancestor of the Burt Robin, our current program chairman, Reverend, and Blackstone the magician are was married in late sPring to Susan stil1 well known--but Blackslone the Zion- Kril1. Congratulations to all tot:.. ist is virtually forgotten. ^ 6 CHRISTIAN'SI89I ZiONISTPTTITIONTO U.S. PRESIDENT SECUREDSIGNATURES OF HUNDREDS portion of the national debt. l^Je befieve this is an appropriate time OFAIIERICA'S F1OST PROI'IINENT I'IEN for all nations, and especiaLly the Christian na- The following is the text of the unusual peti- tions of Europe, to show kindness to Israel. A tion prepared by the Reverendl^lilliam E. E.Iackstone million of exiles, by their terrible suflerings, are piteously jrJstice, undex the cixcumstancesrecounted in the previous ar- appealing to our sympathy, and humanity. ticle. It is particularly interesting becauseit Let us no|,'/reslore to them the land of which they |/iere anticipates the ideas and even the language to be so cruelly despoiled by our Roman ancestors. incorporated j.n Theodore Herzl's later Der Juden- petition gqggL, !,rhich lirst outlined the program of Jeoish To this end ne respectfu.lly His Excel- n^l i t i..l 7i^nicm Iency Benjamin Haxxison, President of the United States, and the HonorableJames c. Btaine, Secretary good l4emorial Presented to of State, to use their offices and influence r,,lith Presidenl Harrison March 5th, 1891 the Governmentsof their Imperial Majesties-- Alexanoer L)1, vzat oI Rusta; llhat shaU be done for the Russian Jews? It is Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Empress both unu{ise and usel.ess to undertake to di.ctate td of India; Russia concerning her internal affairs. The Jew$ tJilliam II, Emperorof cemany; have lived as foreignexs in her dominions for centur. Francis Joseph, Emperorof Austro-Hungary; ies, and she fully believes that they are a burden Abdul HamidlI, Sultan of lurkey; upon her resources aod prejudicial to the !,relfare of His Royal Majesty Humbext,King of Italy; her peasant population, and will not allo|t'l them td Her Royal l.lajesly Marie Christiana, QueenRe- remain. she i.s determined that they must go, Hence, gent of Spain; and the the covernmentof the Republic Like the Shepardiflrof spain, these Ashkenazlmmust of France and with the Governmentsof Belgium, Hol- emigrate. But where sha]l 2,000,000 of such poor land, Denmark, Slreden, Portugat, Roumanla, Servia, people go? Europe is cro!,/dedand has no room for mole Bufgaria, and , to secure lhe hotding, at an peasant population. Shall they come to America? early date, of an international conference to consid- rhis will be a treme^dousexpense and require years. er the condition of the Israelites and their claims |tJhy not glve Pa.lestine back to them again? to Palestine as their ancienl home, and to promote, According to cod's distribution of nations it is in all other jusl and proper ways, the altevlation of their home--aninalienable possession from which they their suffering condition. were expelled by foxce. Under their cultivation it lThele fol.lowed the signatures of 41f prominent An]er- |I'lasa remarkably fruitful land, sustaining millions i..nc .hi ofl v caniilac l of Israelites, who industriously tilled its hi-[]sides and valleys. They were agriculturists and producers as well as a nation of greal comnercial irnportance-- Sol BrandzelChosen Dy tlayor the center of civilization and religion. ToHead City Boardof Ethics t"lhy shall not the powers which under the treaty of Berlin, in 1878, gave Bu.lgaria to the Bulgarians Yet another honor combined with najor and Servia to the servians no!,!glve Palestine back to responsibility has come to Soeiety found- the Je!,/s? These provinces, as raell as Roumania,Mon- er, board member and former officer So1 tenegxo, and Greece, ererewrested fron the Turks and Brandzel. He has been appointed chairman given to their natural owners. Does not Palestine of the City of Chicago Board of Ethics by riqhtfully belong to the Jews? It is sald that rains Mayor Harold Washington. are increaslng and there are manyevidences thal the The nervly created board is charged land js recovering its ancient fertility. If they with enforcement of a recently passed eth- could have aulonomy in government, the Jews of the ics ordinance designed to monitor the world would rally to transport and establish their ethical behavior of both appointed and suffering brethren in their time-honored habitation. elected city officials. For ovex seventeen centuries they have patiently A longtime civic and labor leader in waited for such a prj.vileged opportunity, They have Chicago, Mr. Brandzel has previously serv- not becomeagriculturists e.lserlherebecause they be- ed as a member of the city colleges gov- lieved they wete mele sojourners in the various na- erning board as well as member and presi- tions, and |,'Jereyet to return to Palestine and ti1.I dent of the Chicago Board of Education. lheir olrn land. I,lhatevervested rights, by possess- Ile is also a past president of the ion, may have accrued to Turkey can be easily eompen- Chicago division of the Aurerican Jewish sated, possibly by the Je!'is assuming an equitable Conqres s . A BOYGROWS UP AT THE|VIARKS NATHAN ORPHAN HOI'IE

I.IEI.IOIRRECOUNTS HOUI LOVING CARE Every older person has reminiscences HELPEDCHILDREN OVERCOME ADVERSITY of his early life. Rarely are they shared as widely as they deserve to be and even by Sol Berrnan nore rarely are they recorded. Eowever, in as told to Anne Berman the instance of the late So1 Berrnan, his rife Anne yrote dorrn his recollections of I was born December 18, 1904, when an unusual childhood and has since donated Chicago was still reeling from the shock of them to ttte Chicago Jewish Archives. the lroquoi-s Theatre fire. The famous Dr. Excerpted from those nemoirs is this world. .Ioseph B. Delee brought me into this noving and heartrrarming story of adversity I was born on Chicagors lJest Side in an overcome and reassurance as to the rtorth of area which was considered a middle-cIass oue of our now vanished Jewish comunal neighborhood, We lived on Hastings Street, organizations. a beautiful, tree-lined, shady street popu- lated by ltalian, Gerrnan and Jewish fami- lies. I remember a very friendly street rn'ere linked together by its world-famous where neighbor greeted neighbor in passing. boulevards. It was a happy day for us when An old-time German band often came to we went riding. In those days horses and play on the corner, and we were given a buggies outnunbered autornobiles four to penny to offer to the leader in the hope one . that we would hear rnore nusic. We used to At that time, around 1908, it was pos- follow the band for blocks. I recall an sible to ride west on T\relfth Street (now old German who used to sit on his front called Roosevelt Road) until we got to stairs and smoke his two-foot-long German Western Avenue, where we were already out pipe, which he let me hold if I promised to in the country. It was just farrnland all be careful. I always hoped thar some day around. We loved to stoD at various I would be the proud owner of a pipe like farms and buy a jug of buttermilk with that. lumps of butter floating in it and eggs My father was in the construction bus- sti11 warn from having been under lhe hens. iness with my uncle as a partner. f was Eggs sold for Ewelve cenls a dozen and the oldest of three children, two boys and were placed in a basket or paper bag, a gir1. My sister was a very thin' as egg cartons were unknown. Apples and pears sickly child who required constant care to \,rere sold only by the bushel, and we keep her we1l. My mother fed her malted were allowed to pick them from the tlees milk tablets, which were very popular in ourselves. the early 1900's, in the hope that it would Every trip was an adventure, Stray put some weight on her. Mother bought dogs used to come and bark at our horse. these tablets by the dozens, but my sister My father, a very genlle man, used to snap always remained th in. the whip in the air so as not to hurt the My brother was a sturdy blond who was dogs but to frighten them away. our horse forever getting lost and then being would rear up in fright, causing us to found in the neighborhood police station scream in terror. It was not uncornmon for with an ice cream cone in his hand. I some of these dogs to have rabies, and we really believed he enjoyed being lost in were afraid of our horse getting bitten, order to collect sweets from the police. My father loved the country so much that I often wondered why he did not be- Horse & Buggy Days come a farmer. but he claimed he was a Chicago was at that time a young and city man. beautiful thriving city. I,Jewere the proud Playgrounds and Ball Parks possessors of a new buggy and horse, which my father took great pride in and One day my father decided to move to groomed and exercised every day. I remem- Polk Street, righE next door to a play- ground. ber the wonderful Sunday rides the family It was one of the first play- grounds pLayed took in our horse and buggy on Chicago's in Chicago. I,Ie there for much young boulevard system. The city had had the of our 1ives. Mother always foresight to build a series of parks which -continued on nexl pagel d

GrowingUp in a ChicagoJewish 0rphan Home (cont,d)

[continued from page sevenl The family of the dead rode in black en- knew where to find us. closed carriages, as automobiles were sti11 The Chicago Cubs had their ball park very rare, Each carriage had a brass kero- on Polk Street in those years. Their sene lamp mounted on each side. mascot was a baby bear, which they paraded Most funerals were held in the morning up and down the field. That's how the team because of the Iong, slow carriage ride go! iEs name. It rdas the tirne of "Tinker fron the starting point to the cemetery. to Evers to Chance," and God help the vis- A big wicker basket of food was taken along iling team who tried to steal a base. since the funeral started in the morning There was no way with those three on the and didn't end until lace afternoon. Af- f ie1d. ter the funeral, refreshments were served About this time Carter Harrison was at the cerneEery or in a nearby tavern. Mayor of Chicago. The city fathers decid- The corner of Twelfth Street and DesPlaines ed to build a new combination city hal1 Avenue was dotted \^'iEh taverns and restau- and county building, the present building rants where one could get a sandwich and a bounded by Washington Stleet on the south, glass of beer. If you bought a pitcher of Randolph Street on the north, Clark Street beer, you could help yourself to a free on the east and LaSalle Street on the West. lunch laid out on the bar. It was the marvel of its tine. Built of huge granite bLocks, it, in later years, Funeral s for the Rich caused me to shiver everv time I looked at If the deceased was from a wealthy ir. farnily or was a soldier, the hearse was Tragedy Strikes Family preceded by a mil itary band playing the solemn beat of a funeraL rnarch. The trip Construction was started in 1908, four to the cernetery was long and tiresome and years after I was born. My father was one body-wearying. When we returned home, it of the sub-contractors on the building. was from a 1ong, exhausting, burnpy ride on One dreadful Monday my father failed to a dirt road. come home from the task of supervising con- There was another way of conducting a struction on the county building. My noth- funeral , but it was more costly. This r,ras er was very upset. She seemed to have had on the elevated line's speciaL funeral car. premoniti.on a that something was wrong. The car was attached to a special lrain How right she was ! She ca11ed all her thaf had a space for Ehe casket and children in from the playground and seats for the mourners. The train came held thern close to her. It was not Iong down to ground level before approaching before Uncle Dave, a huge man over six feet DesPlaines Avenue where the various ceme- tal1, came in crying like a child. My teries nere located. There the casket was mother cal1ed out, "Sam?" and Uncle placed in a horsedraLrn hearse and the fami- nodded his head, "Yes, he is dead." ly followed on foot to the cemetery. Father had walked out on a girder on At that time death was a double hard- the ninth floor of the building inspect to ship. lf it was a winEer funeral , everybody it, and he slipped and fe11 to the ground. suffered from the severe cold. The When they picked him up he r"'as still alive. carriages had no heat, and rire had to bring They took him in a primitive horse-drawn along blankets for protection from the arnbulanee to County Hospital, where he co1d. Everybody huddled together in an died. It had been a 1ong, slow drive to effort to keep warm. In the summer the the hospi tal, and the ambulance had heat was similarly a cause for mourner nothing in it to ease his pain. He was discomfort. only twenty-seven years old when he died, and I lras the eldes! of the children. Sent to the Orphan Home years I was four old. After Father's dealh. Mother had to Burial s Before Automob i 1e s pick herself up and go to work, Her first job was at the Mandel Brothers department I sti1l can reca11 how a funeral was store in downtown Chicago. She eventually conducted in those days The custon was worked herself up from selling in the sub- for hearses to be puIleJ by black horses. basement to becoming a buyer for women's ql

!!!i !l -_

The former l.4arks Nathan Home, nev./ in 1909 whenSoI Bermanarrived. wear. My younger brother and sister went These girls and boys were responsible to live with my grandparents, who were aL- to supervisors in the home for our care. ready taking care of two other half-orphan- The girl put her arms around me, introduced ed grandchildren. Being the eldesf, T was herseLf and took me around the premises at sent to an orphan home, as Crandma and once so I \,/ould not see ny mother and Grandpa !./ere getting too o1d to take care grandfarher Ieave. She did a good job of so many children. of diverring my aLLenrion from cheir depar- I was placed in the old Marks Nathan ture. Orphan Home on Wood and Division Streets, I was taken to the storeroon, where I an o1d frame building which would be con- was outfitted with new Erousers, under- sidered a real fireLrap today. About six clothing and shoes. I was told rny number months Later the orphan home moved to was thirty-six, and it was imprinted in Albany Avenue and Sixteenth Street. indelible ink on all my possessions. The It was a new building specially built storeroom was equipped with large boxes of as an orphanage. lL was steam heated and seasonal clothes for each chi1d. We were had all the luxuries of a modern building. always wel l dre s s ed. Hailed as the finest and largest orphanage We had large separate dormitories for of the Midl'est, it contained a house of boys and girls. Each room had approximately worship, a public school, a gymnasium, a thirty beds. Linens were changed twice a swimrning pool, a library and a lluge cement week or as needed. A11 rooms were kept yard that was ideal for ro1ler skating. clean by out s ide he1p. There was also a large pLayground suitable Feeding the Orphans for baseball games and other athletic events. It was buiLt with funds from many My Big Sister, May, told me that when Jewish individuals and organizat ions. I heard the bel1 ring it was for meal time. I was to wash my hands and wai L for Transit ion to Orphan Life the second bel1 to go into the dining room. Unlike storybook orphanages, the Marks The horne, being sLrictly kosher, had sepa- Nathan Home was operated by kind and good- rate kitchens for meat and dairy cooking, hearted people. l^Ihen I \das first brought After school we were lined up in the din- to the home, I was quite young and very ing room and each chi 1d was given a homesick. I was turned over to the sweet ro11 and a glass of mi1k. care of one of the girls in the home. She The head cook was a special favorite like other older girls had rhe responsi- of mine, a roly-poly woman whom I loved bility of caring for a group of five or dearly. hrhenever I was hungry, which seem- six ehildren. The home used the Big Broth- ed a chronic condition wirh me, 1 could go er and Big Sister sysEen- Icontinued on next pageJ IO

sleep by tell ing us hair-rais ing ghost stories and other weird ta1es. I would 1ie there, the blanket covering my head, shivers running up and down my spine and loving every ninute of it. Discipline was doled out \rith a kindly hand. When we got into mischief, we were sent to the superintendent, r^rho told The late Sol Ber- us ro put out our hand. He brought a I'graduale" man, a ruler srnart Iy down on the palm of our of the Marks Na- hand. We quickly learned that if we cried than Home. loudly and jurnped up and down the punish- (cont'd) ment would stop. So, whenever I \^ras sent An0rphan's Story to be disciplined I yelled and cried loud Icontinued from page nine] and clear at the first slap on the paln' Eo the kitchen door and just stand there. and the punishment would stop with a warn- !^ r^ i+ Sure enough, she would always come out with rLrB rruL LU uw !L dSdrLr.-^^:- a huge piece of buttered bread or another One day my buddy Charlie and I got in- sweet ro11. Thinking I was her favorite, I to an argument and were caughl fighting by dld not know at the time tha! she was doing one of the supervisors. He quickly put an the same for aIl hungry younger chi ldren enormous pair of boxing gloves on each of who came and stood at the kitchen door as I us. They were like large pillows. did. A cror,rd of kids quickly gathered to cheer A11 our meals started with the us on. we started fighting. but rhe boxing blessing of the bread. The superintendent gloves were so heavy that both of us rapid- of the home always 1ed the children in the 1y becaure exhausted. Neither one of us was prayer before mea1s. E1i Trotsky was a capable of licking the other. After what former rabbi from England who gave up a seened like a long period of tine, holding rabbinical careei to becorne superintendent each other up as \re couId noL ionger raise rha our arms with those massive boxing gloves, ^f ^rnh.n.oa Each table had its own Big Brother or we both announced that we did not want to Sister who went up to the serving table fight anynore. I{e were permitted to take ' brought back the food and served it to the gloves off, and wiEh our arms around each child at regular dining tables. Sec- each other for mulual suDDort we \,ralked off ond helpings were always there for the ask- ln cears. ittg. No child ever left the table hungry. Real corporal punishmenc was never al- If I did not care for: a particular lowed in the home. A sharp word here and kind of food. I would trade it with another there \ras almost always sufficient to keeP child who did not care for his. For in- us in line. if I did not like my side dish of stance, Educational Opportun it ies beets I would trade it with a kid who hated potatoes, under the disapproving eyes of The children of the home were given the Big Sister, who insisted that we should education according to their abilities and eat it because it was good for us. It their desires. A11 the children of the seemed that whalever we didn't like was Marks Nathan Home were graduated from llar- good for us. Oatmeal and beets were rison High School. my particular dislikes. It was a proud day, just before mY high school graduation, when I was called Lessons, Play and Discipline into the office of the home lthere there After supper those children who did was a long conference tab1e. Around it not have any homework were permitEed to were seared various members of different play outside in the playground until bed- organizaEions. They asked me to be time. Some nights of the week we had swim- seated in the center of this table and ming lessons under the watchful eyes of their smiling, encouraging faces put me at supervisors who s ar,J to it that nobody got ease. hurt or got into mischief. My dormitory Their spokesman asked me what I in- consisted of twenty beds under the super- tended to do after I finished high school. vision of an older boy who lulled us to I reolied I was not sure. t had taken ne- il

chanical drawing at Harrison and had Sonsof CJHSLeaders Follow thoughts of going into drafting. I r{as In TheirParents' Footsteps quickly discouraged by one of the members An interest in their Jewish heritage who suggested that I take up automotive comes naturally to the children of engineering. He suggested I try it for Charles B. and Roberta L. Bernstein, both six monEhs and if I did not like it by of whom make and have made important con- that tiEre I would be given the opportunity tributions to the work of the Society. to change to another field. I rdas sent to We are happy to report that that interest the Greer College of Automotive Engineer- has been recognized by awards recently ing. I did not care for it but stuck it earned by their sons Edward, 16, and ou! for six months. Then I met with one of Louis, 12. the members of the board and complained Edward, a sophomore at Kenwood High that I did not like the course. The equip- School , was one of six grand prize win- ment was old and I was noE too happy with ners 3,500 entrants in the recent ir. among Chicago Metro History Fair. He won $500 Trained for a Career and Success for his exhibit on his grandfather, Sam Lesner, the son of Russian irnmigrants, who He asked me, "So1, do you have any became celebrated as an entertainment idea of what you would like to do?rr I critic for the Chicago Daily News and told him I would like very much to attend other publications. an electrical school as I was interested in Louis, a sixth-grader at Ray School' electricity. He then suggested that I ap- was the sole Chicago winner in a nation- ply to Armour lnstiEute of Technology and rrwhat wide essay contest on the constitu- see if I could make the grade. Several of tion Means to Me and My Country." His the boys who were attending Armour \,/ere prizewinning essay, which resulted in a very encouraging and ful1 of praise trip to washington, D.C., emphasized that for the school. I applied and passed the constitut ional rights are particularly entrance examinations with good grades. I precious to Je\,rs, who have suffered fo! took to the work and was happy there. centuries in their absence. other boys from the home who were attending The parents of these boys have every Armour were taking different courses. rrchips right to be proud of such talented ott the old blocK.' I \^ras still in the hone rrhen I got my --r.J.s. first job r^rith an electrical engineering firrn. During that year aIl the rDoney f Newt'lembers Continue earned was put in a bank account in my name. After one year of working I was told ToAdd to Society'sResources by the home that I was now o1d enough and one of rhe best indic.r!ic,ns of the able to go out into the world and support health and attractiveness cf t,re il:ic'L;lo rnyself . My mother was called in and was Jewish Historical Society are the lists of overjoyed to learn that I could come to new members published in each issue of live with her and help support her and lhe Society News. Even after ten years, rest of the family. we continue co grow at an encouraging rate. We welcome the following, who have Among the children frorn the Marks Na- indicated their desire to be involved in than Orphan hone who graduated from various the preservation of the record of our Jew- colleges were doctors, architecrs and law- ish past. And we suggest that readers yers, including two who became judges, te11 their unaffiliated friends what they Sone ra'ent into the business r1'orld and were are missing by not joining. very successful; others went into various Libra.y, Je,,,i sh TheoLogicaL engineering fields. A11 were given the Assoc:ated Talmud Torahs Seni oary of Aner:ca opportunity of a good education, often a Anericar JeNish Consress Mrs. M. RafieL much better one than that of children not Conglegac ion Or Shalom Char loc te ReiEer oi Lake County Fi orence SeLigman in the orphan home, whose parents could not Jennie Einhorn Charlorte Steiner afford many advantages. We in the home had Ceci Ie Hennick Hill ian Sle inf€ ld opportunities provided by various organi- Mr. 6 Mrs. T. 8. Horvich Charles Srrizak Nathan Jaffe Jean€ t te lftlmann zations and private donations, and I shall EnltrranueLM. Katcen Ceorge 6 Ilene Uhlmann always be very grateful for then. Dr. & lrrs. Sher\ryn l,larren